Chapter Index

    Chapter 40

    Xia Yize arrived at the school gate early, stepping on the light snow. He should have waited a little longer for Qi Ge to make up for his guilt.

    If Qi Ge still refuses to pay attention to him, he will become soft-hearted after seeing him standing outside for so long.

    It was snowing, there were no food stalls at the door, and there were few students. He was holding a brown paper bag and looking at the school gate, planning to wait for Qi Ge to come out and go up to plead guilty.

    But he didn’t notice that there was a car with double flashers parked in the distance for a long time. Xia Yize walked towards the school, and the car followed suit.

    Before Xia Yize could reach the school gate, the car parked directly beside him. The door suddenly opened. Before Xia Yize could react, he was pulled into the car and his eyes were covered with a black cloth.

    Xia Yize was still holding his brown paper bag in his arms, and the people around him were holding him down. He tried to struggle, but the person was not soft at all and slapped him on the head. “Be honest.”

    Xia Yize realized that he was no match for the other party, “Who are you? If you have anything to say, please speak up.”

    No one paid attention to him, and the rough voices of several people were buzzing in his ears, even talking and laughing, but he couldn’t hear clearly.

    “Did my brother ask you to take me back?” Xia Yize couldn’t think of anyone else who wanted to take him back. “I’m not going to run. Can you just ask me to sit up?”

    Still no one paid attention to him. He had a vague feeling that this was not his brother’s person. Even if his brother was angry again, he would not let his men be so rough.

    Could it be that he had offended someone? Before he could figure it out, the car stopped.

    Xia Yize was pulled out of the car, and the shield in front of his eyes was torn away. Xia Yize looked up and saw five people surrounding him. There was no light around, and it was pitch black. It wasn’t until a person squatted down and grabbed his collar that Xia Yize could barely see the person’s appearance.

    “You haven’t recognized me yet.” The man picked up Xia Yize and pushed it against the wall, shaking off a layer of dust.

    Xia Yize coughed twice and looked at him with squinted eyes. He did look familiar, but he couldn’t remember where he had seen him before.

    Seeing that Xia Yize didn’t speak, the hand pinched Xia Yize’s neck hard. Xia Yize suddenly felt difficulty breathing. The man snorted and said, “Do you need me to remind you how your house is doing?”

    Xia Yize’s pupils shrank slightly, his breathing was under control, and he spat out a few words with difficulty, “You are the intermediary.”

    Xia Yize’s face turned red, and his hands helplessly grabbed the man’s arm, but he couldn’t break it.

    As soon as the man let go, Xia Yize fell to the ground without any strength, breathing heavily. Before he could catch his breath, he was grabbed by the hair, but Xia Yize still firmly protected the brown paper bag in his arms.

    “You don’t rent if you don’t want to rent, you don’t pay agency fees, and you beat people, and we don’t care about you. I didn’t expect you to report us.” As he said that, the man raised his leg and kicked Xia Yize.

    “It’s not me.” Xia Yize bent down in pain.

    “It’s not you, who else? If you leave, something will happen to us. If you dare to do it, don’t take it seriously.” The man gritted his teeth and said: “We can’t go on anymore. If I don’t teach you a lesson, I really can’t swallow this breath. We have been waiting for you at the school gate for several days.”

    He pulled Xia Yize’s hair and forced him to look up. Xia Yize frowned and gasped for air. He couldn’t beat just one of them, let alone five of them. This was an old alley somewhere, and it was called every day. A good man wouldn’t suffer the consequences of the moment. If he was tough, he might be on the legal column tomorrow.

    “Brother, it’s really not me. Please let me go.” Xia Yize didn’t resist. “I have some money here. I’ll treat a few brothers to drinks.”

    The leader let go of Xia Yize and said, “Turn around.”

    Xia Yize silently thought in his mind that he would spend money to eliminate disasters. He transferred two thousand, remembering that two thousand could constitute extortion. Xia Yize felt a dull pain in his leg, and he trembled and reluctantly stood up.

    In their opinion, Xia Yize was so frightened that he couldn’t stand up straight. The man stepped forward and said, “I want to send us away for two thousand yuan.” He took a cell phone and patted Xia Yize’s face.

    Xia Yize turned his face away, gritted his teeth and turned another thousand and fifty, “That’s all I have, I’ll give it all to you.”

    Several people looked at each other and stared at the brown paper bag in Xia Yize’s arms, “What a good thing is this.”

    Xia Yize hugged him tighter and took a half step back, “It’s just study materials, just a pile of waste paper.”

    “Take it and take a look.” The man reached out, thinking that Xia Yize would hand it over obediently, but Xia Yize carried it to the back and said, “It’s not valuable.”

    The man staggered Xia Yize and said, “Bring it here.”

    Xia Yize held the paper bag in his arms, knocked the man away with all his strength, turned around and ran out. The injury on his leg made him limp. He was about to be overtaken. He couldn’t imagine how miserable it would be if he fell into their hands.

    Xia Yize had only one thought in his mind, to run forward. The road was not smooth, with some bumps and bumps. Xia Yize stumbled and rolled forward.

    Suddenly his feet slipped and he bumped into someone. The person held his forearm. Xia Yize threw it away as if he was in a hurry and growled, “Let me go.”

    “It’s me.”

    The familiar deep voice made Xia Yize calm down instantly. He looked up and saw Qi Ge’s face, and he shed tears unsatisfactorily.

    The people behind him chased after him. Qi Ge protected Xia Yize in his arms and turned around, blocking the fist coming from behind. Xia Yize realized that Qi Ge had been beaten and yelled, “WCNM.”

    Xia Yize immediately jumped out of Qi Ge’s arms, like a little tiger that couldn’t be stopped.

    The five people on the opposite side were not papery. Xia Yize rushed out and punched the nearest person. He missed the person and was kicked to the ground first, and then kicked to his own head. Xia Yize ignored the pain in his stomach and turned around with all his strength.

    The foot did not fall down and was kicked from the side by Qi Ge. The man took a few steps back and sat on the ground. Several people nearby saw this and shouted: “Brother, are you okay?”

    Xia Yize turned over and stood back to back beside Qi Ge, his blood boiling, “Qi Ge, come together!”

    Qi Ge turned around and splashed cold water on his face, “Go and stay over there.”

    The four people on the opposite side helped the eldest brother up. The eldest brother turned his wrist and punched him. Qi Ge turned sideways and clamped his wrist, raised his leg to kick the man who was coming up behind him, and pressed hard with his hand. The man let out a scream from both of them.

    “Well done, Qi Ge!” Xia Yize cheered from below.

    The other two people rushed up from the side. Qi Ge threw away the person in his hands and took a step back. The two people rushed in front of him. Qi Ge punched him left and right, hitting the flesh. They both covered their faces and backed away.

    “Be careful behind you, Qi Ge!” Xia Yize shouted.

    As soon as he finished speaking, he was kicked hard in the back. He staggered forward a few steps, turned around and raised his leg for a feint, stepped forward and punched the person in the head.

    They didn’t expect Qi Ge to be so good at fighting, but there were many of them, so the eldest brother flexed his muscles and said, “Let’s go together.”

    Several people wrapped around him like wild dogs. Qi Ge punched him on the left and kicked on the right, and pushed the person in front of him out. They were all tall and powerful, and they pounced on him immediately after they hit him.

    After fighting for a while, the opponent finally caught the flaw and kicked Qi Ge in the leg. Qi Ge’s knees bent slightly. The people behind him seized the opportunity and threw Qi Ge to the ground. The leader held Qi Ge firmly, “You are looking for death, right?”

    He punched Qi Ge in the face, and then heard Xia Yize yell: “Let him go!”

    This voice was so shocking, with a bit of determination to burn the boat, and a lonely man with a mantis as a chariot. Several people turned to look at him.

    Xia Yize picked up a dry branch and swung it with all his strength with his eyes closed. Several people were caught off guard. The man holding down Qi Ge was hit hard. The man pulled the branch painfully and swung it. Xia Yize lost his balance and flew out.

    Qi Ge stood up and pulled him up, wiped the blood on his face, took off his coat and put it on Xia Yize, rolled up his sleeves and opened his posture, and several people from the opposite side also gathered around him.

    At this time, the sound of sirens came, and police cars were parked in front and behind the alley. Several people panicked and wanted to run away, but the road was already blocked.

    Xia Yize nervously grabbed Qi Ge’s sleeve, and Qi Ge held his hand in his, “It’s okay, I’ll call the police.”

    Qi Ge’s palm was warm, and Xia Yize magically settled down, holding his hand back and nodding.

    Several people were taken away to take notes. Fortunately, the surveillance in the alley was repaired in a few days.

    Those people all had criminal records to varying degrees. According to the records and surveillance, Xia Yize and Qi Ge were found to be acting in self-defense, and several others were suspected of extortion and intentional injury.

    A few hours later, Xia Yize and Qi Ge were released after cooperating with the questioning. The police asked them to keep their mobile phones open for a month, and they would need to cooperate with subsequent investigations and lawsuits.

    Xia Yize has been holding a brown paper bag in his arms, and one corner of the bag has been torn.

    Qi Ge held his hand slightly in the car and said, “It’s okay. Do you want to go to the hospital to check for injuries?”

    Xia Yize shook his head. At this time, he completely lost the momentum of swinging branches. He looked at the injury on Qi Ge’s face, raised his hand and touched it lightly. It seemed that the touch hurt him, and he retracted his hand.

    Qi Ge smiled and rubbed his head, “I’m fine.”

    “I’m fine too.” Xia Yize whispered, “I’m sorry.”

    “It’s not you who hit me. You don’t need to apologize.” It was dark outside, and Qi Ge’s voice sounded like a drop of water falling into Xia Yize’s heart.

    “I shouldn’t have relied on your mother’s words. I’m sorry.” Xia Yize lowered his eyes, with a scratch on the corner of his eye. His eyelashes trembled and he raised them carefully.

    “You think I’m irresponsible and indifferent.” Qi Ge repeated what Xia Yize had said before.

    Xia Yize quickly shook his head and raised his hand anxiously to put it on his mouth. Xia Yize’s cool fingers gently touched Qi Ge’s lips.

    “That’s not what I meant. I misunderstood you. It’s all my fault.” Xia Yize spoke incoherently.

    Qi Ge looked at his flushed face and pressed his hand slightly harder on his lips. Qi Ge closed his eyes briefly and kissed his fingers gently.

    The anxiety and struggle of several days disappeared in this moment.

    After just a moment of crossing the line, Qi Ge was forcefully pulled back by reason, and put down Xia Yize’s hand, “Okay, let’s go home.”

    Xia Yize still looked at Qi Ge guiltily, and handed the brown paper bag to Qi Ge like a treasure, “It’s for you.”

    Qi Ge saw Xia Yize hugging him all the way, “What is this?”

    Just as he was about to demolish it, Xia Yize stopped him, “Go home and see for yourself.”

    There are almost no cars on the road in the middle of the night. In the quiet night, the neon lights dance with secret and ambiguous colors.

    When he got home, he didn’t know whether it was because he was frightened or because he was exhausted. Qi Ge said, “Let me help you treat your wound.”

    Xia Yize shook his head, “I can do it myself, yours…”

    “I can also go to bed early and forget all this tomorrow.” Qi Ge looked at him with gentle eyes. In the past, Xia Yize would have snorted, so he didn’t care about it. But now in front of Qi Ge, his heart felt softer. He nodded, pointing to the bag with a hint of coquettishness, “Remember to look at it.”

    Qi Ge smiled, he couldn’t wait to open it, “I know, good night.”

    Qi Ge went home and carefully cut open the brown paper bag. There was a large envelope inside, and the paper knife slowly cut along the edge.It’s a diary.

    One-year-old Qi Ge, I am the sparrow outside your window, watching you and chatting with you every day.

    Below is a somewhat sloppy sketch of a little baby sitting in a cradle, looking at a bird outside the window.

    Two-year-old Qi Ge, I am the toy car in your hand, and I am your best play partner.

    Three-year-old Qi Ge, I am the wind, caressing your lovely cheek, kissing the wound where you fell, and running and jumping with you.

    Four-year-old Qi Ge, I am the comic strip in your hand. We have read many interesting stories together.

    Five-year-old Qi Ge, I am the rain from the sky, passing through your umbrella ribs and falling at your feet.

    Six-year-old Qi Ge, I am your schoolbag. We go to school together and come out from school together.

    seven years old

    eight years old

    Twenty-nine-year-old Qi Ge, I am the little flower on your morning run. I bloom as soon as you come every day.

    Thirty-year-old Qi Ge, I am no longer the wind, frost, rain and dew, the strokes in a book, or the flowers, birds, fish and insects. I have become a human being, named Xia Yize, and will always accompany you in their place.

    You are never alone.

    There is a small illustration on each page. Qi Ge was amused by his poor brushwork, but at the end of the laugh, his eyes became wet.

    Qi Ge closed the notebook and held it in his arms, closing his eyes. It seemed that the years before he met Xia Yize had been silently warmed by him.

    In those moments of grievance, sadness and frustration, it seemed that he really was by your side in another form, and those emotions faded away.

    Qi Ge turned over it several times, and if he made mistakes in some places, he used stickers to stick them on. The traces of pencil drafts can still be seen in the first few paintings.

    Qi Ge opened each sticker. There were traces of corrections hidden inside, and he seemed to see a serious Xia Yize sitting at his desk.

    There were especially many stickers on the last page, and Qi Ge guessed that he must have been tired by then.

    Qi Ge peeled off the stickers one by one. What was underneath was not a typo, but a line of words that had been checked out.

    Qi Ge, I like you so much.

    Note