Silver Leaf Whale Chapter 15

red bean cake

Chapter 15·Red bean cake

His strong and broad shoulders made several circles back and forth, shaking as if to relax, and his sharp eyes shot into the water. The end of the black line of the swimming pool was his “bullseye.”

The swimming goggles were pulled down to cover the sharp points, a whistle suddenly sounded, and the body was like an arrow leaving the string, breaking through the water and entering the water instantly.

The paddler holds the water, inhales and retracts the legs, and pushes forward. Every movement is precise and neat, and the muscles of the giant whale are constantly contracting and stretching.

Lowering his head and pressing his chest, the frequency increased, and the kicking movements were closely linked to the rhythm of his breathing. His world became chaotic, everything disappeared, and only the black swimming lane line quickly retreated in front of his eyes, pulling him forward…

“Beep–” As the timer beeped, a sprint ended, and the giant whale broke out of the water, resting its arms on the edge of the pool, its chest heaving violently, and breathing rapidly.

He took off his swimming goggles, with water droplets hanging on his black eyebrows, dripping down his cheeks, and looked straight at the coach.

Pan Xiuping stood in front of the big screen, staring at the feedback data and nodding frequently. The swipe frequency and swipe width had made great progress, and the results far exceeded expectations.

“Pang, in this state, the game is stable!” Coach Pan smiled and walked to the edge of the swimming pool and patted the young man’s shoulder in the water.

Pang Whale was still gasping for breath, but the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but raise. Day after day of boring training, the pain of lactic acid accumulation, and the suffering of recurring injuries, all the persistence had an echo. He was finally able to return to the competition.

The high-intensity training exhausted his strength. Pang Jing changed his clothes and collapsed on the bench in the locker room to rest. His results have been stable recently, and his qualification for the competition is certain.

At this moment, the person I want to tell the most is not my parents and friends, but that person, the person who once said…if I have the chance, I must watch him play.

As soon as the idea came up, he immediately sent the message.

: “Are you free on the night of the 22nd?”

He received a reply immediately.

Little painter: “? What’s wrong?”

He held the phone in his hands and raised the corners of his mouth slightly: “There is something that may take up a little of your time. Can you leave your time to me?”

Pang Jing was thinking about Xiao Jiujiu. With his current results, he should be able to enter the finals without any problems, but he was also afraid that something would happen to him and he would be embarrassed in the preliminaries, so he didn’t dare to talk directly about the competition and only quietly explored the situation first.

He was lying on the bench, holding his cell phone in both hands, waiting for a reply, and the bright light of the screen reflected on his face.

The screen went dark and then lit again, going back and forth several times. The expression on his face changed from calm to anxious, and then from anxious to irritable. When his arms were tired, he still didn’t receive a reply.

Asleep?Still no time?Pang Whale looked at the time and saw that it wasn’t too late. He sighed, put his phone back in his pocket, and walked out of the locker room silently.

On the other side of the screen, the little painter was about to reply “No problem”. Before he could send it, his phone suddenly rang. It was Lin Yan’s call.

“Brother Xuan…” Lin Yan’s crying voice came from the other end of the phone. Qi Zhixuan was startled. After hearing what she said, he hurriedly closed the shop and rushed to the hospital.

When they arrived at the hospital, Chen Runsong and his sister were being questioned by the police in the ward. Qi Zhixuan was shocked when he saw a large net bag on Chen Runsong’s forehead through the glass of the ward.

Lin Yan didn’t speak clearly on the phone. He only knew that Chen Runsong was injured, but he didn’t expect it to look so serious. He was so anxious that he kept pacing in front of the door.

After finally waiting for the police to finish questioning, Qi Zhixuan rushed in impatiently. He stared at Chen Runsong’s swollen forehead, stretched out his hand to touch him, but was afraid of hurting him, so he asked him worriedly: “How are you, Songsong, you…what’s wrong with you…”

But Chen Runsong patted his shoulder easily and comforted him: “I’m fine. In fact, the wound is not big, just a little bit. It’s just that the doctor’s bag was scary, and he had to wear this pear condom on me.” He pulled the net on his head, feeling a little helpless.

Lin Yan immediately retorted, “Why is it okay? You bleed so much!” As she spoke, her eyes turned red and tears started to fall again.

“Hey, auntie, please spare me. Stop crying.”

Seeing that the girl was about to cry, Chen Runsong quickly begged for mercy. He turned to Qi Zhixuan and sighed helplessly: “Oh, I didn’t expect this girl to call you here. It’s really adding to the chaos…”

How did he know that Lin Yan was so frightened that she was afraid that her brother had some shortcomings and that she was alone in this city without any friends. The only person she could think of was Qi Zhixuan.

After hearing this, Qi Zhixuan was angry and distressed. He frowned and said back to him: “Who else can you call me if you don’t want me to call you? If you hide this from me, I won’t eat a bite of your food from now on!”

Chen Runsong was so amused by his words, “Hahaha, okay, okay, in order to let you eat, I have to tell you.”

Then Chen Runsong briefly told what happened that night. Qi Zhixuan was stunned and didn’t say a word for a long time.

He had known that Songsong was a kidnapped child, and his adoptive father was a domestic abuser, so he had no choice but to run away from the countryside with his sister to make a living. To this day, there are still flyers of “Baby Come Home” on the counter of his store, and one of those flyers contains a page about Songsong.

But now he learned that Lin Yan was the child of his adoptive parents, who was his biological father and daughter. But because she was a girl and her adoptive mother died young, her adoptive father had always treated her very badly. He even wanted to marry her off to an old bachelor in his forties in exchange for a bride price when she was only in her teens.Chen Runsong, who had just grown up at the time, could only secretly take his household registration book and ID card and escape with his sister overnight.

The man also called the police to look for the child. In order not to be caught, the brother and sister wandered around the world. They struggled to get to the age where they became fully civil persons before they dared to use their ID cards to study and work openly. The hardships were unimaginable.

After listening to this, Qi Zhixuan felt as if he had been swallowed coptis and felt extremely bitter. It turns out that people carry unspeakable suffering throughout their lives.

Qi Zhixuan looked at Chen Runsong, feeling sorry for and admiring this great friend who protected his sister who was not his biological sister. When he heard that Lin Jiande had escaped, he asked with some worry: “Then…will he come to you again?”

“Oh, that’s what I’m worried about.” Chen Runsong said with a sad face, “He already knows that Yan’er goes to school here, and he’s afraid that he’ll find something unpleasant again.”

“Don’t worry, brother, I will pay more attention. The police are looking for him too, and there are so many people in the school. I just don’t go out. We are all so old, we are not afraid of him.”

Lin Yan is very optimistic. She used to hide because she was young and was afraid of being caught. Now they are all grown up, strong and self-sufficient, and no one can hurt them.

After staying with them for a while, Chen Runsong rushed Qi Zhixuan back. The doctor said that he could be discharged from the hospital tomorrow after a night of observation and nothing happened. Chen Runsong felt that he was fine and asked him to leave quickly.

“Go back and rest quickly. Yan’er is here. I’ll call you if anything happens.”

Qi Zhixuan couldn’t resist him, so he had to warn him a few times before returning home alone.

After taking a shower, I fell on the bed, but the warmth did not dissipate the heaviness in my heart.Qi Zhixuan turned over and over, his mind filled with the experiences of Chen Runsong’s brother and sister. The pain and suffering hidden in the calm narrative could not only be endured through gritted teeth, but also revealed a sense of optimism that refused to admit defeat. It was amazing.

Looking at the ceiling, he thought of himself again. He stretched out his left hand high and pushed down his sleeve little by little. One by one, hideous scars were entangled on his wrist. The deepest one almost killed him at the time…

The tip of my nose suddenly became sore, and my eyes became hot.He really wanted to be brave and be like them, but… it was so difficult.

Fatigue and surging emotions were intertwined. He clenched his palms, slowly lowered his arms, and finally curled up in the quilt and gradually fell asleep.

Some people fell into a deep sleep, while others could not sleep all night.

After that day, Qi Zhixuan never replied to Pang Jing’s messages. Pang Jing thought over and over again what he meant and why he didn’t say anything if he agreed or not.

After two days of tossing and turning like this, Pang Jing was ready to end the training and go directly to him to ask him face to face to see if there was anything wrong that he couldn’t confirm the time for.

After training, the sky has already darkened, and the roadside stalls have been set up, selling pancakes, grilled sausages, red bean cakes, sizzling tofu and so on. The aroma is swirling in the autumn wind and entering people’s noses.

“Bring me two red bean cakes.” Pang Jing stood still in front of the stall. There was a dim warm light in front of the stall. The aunt’s hands were dipped in some flour and kept turning. With the “sizzling” sound of the iron spatula, bursts of the aroma of the burnt crust of the cakes were emitted.

Pang Whale took the red bean cake and put it into his arms. It was so hot that he shrank his arms, but he had no intention of taking it out and rushed to the car in a hurry.

On the other side, the restoration of ancient paintings has reached a critical stage.Qi Zhixuan was in the mounting room, concentrating on filling in the missing parts of the painting. Jiang Xianfan stood around and watched quietly. He accurately controlled the colors, started writing without hesitation, and his eyes were focused and serious. Qi Zhixuan was really good, he was sure again.

I didn’t dare to trust him at first. After all, this guy looked like a college student who had just graduated. It was only after a friend recommended him over and over again that I gave him a try. I thought it wouldn’t work, so I looked for him again.

Unexpectedly, there is a skilled craftsman hidden in the ordinary alleys. He is not only top-notch in restoration skills, but also knowledgeable about the past and present. He is very familiar with the works of famous artists. If Boss Qi had not had the intention to change his career, Jiang Xianfan would have wanted to recruit him into his company.

Watching Qi Zhixuan washing his pen and getting ready to call it a day, Jiang Xianfan took out a ticket from his arms: “Boss Qi, this is an exhibition ticket given by a friend. I invite you to come with me.”

It was an art exhibition. Qi Zhixuan wiped his hands, picked it up and took a look. There were some brief introductions printed on it, and he looked a little interested.

The date is… the 22nd… It’s such a familiar day. I can’t remember what I was going to do originally.

He agreed with a smile and thanked him profusely.Jiang Xianfan nodded: “I will just pass by here and come to pick you up.”

“Okay, please excuse me.” Qi Zhixuan pointed to a pile of exquisitely packaged fruits and tea leaves on the ground, “But don’t bring these anymore. I really can’t finish them. It’s such a waste.”

These were specially prepared thank-you gifts by Jiang Xianfan’s mother. This painting was of great significance to her. The Jiang family was mainly engaged in art investment, and Jiang’s mother was also an expert. After seeing Qi Zhixuan’s restoration results, she was full of praise. She was satisfied and expected to speed up the progress, so she urged her son to send more things.

“My mother’s kindness is not valuable.” Jiang Xianfan said with a smile, the thirst for talent in his eyes undisguised, “She is not in good health, otherwise she would have come in person. It would be great if a master like you is in our company.”

Jiang Xianfan had mentioned this before, but Qi Zhixuan didn’t answer the call at that time. He had no intention of changing his career. He just opened his own store and left if he didn’t want to. Joining a company would inevitably involve too much and would be too troublesome.

So he laughed and joked again that he had never gone to work and didn’t want to go to work.

At this moment, footsteps came from the door of the framing room. As soon as Pang Whale entered, he heard Qi Zhixuan’s lively laughter, accompanied by a deep male voice echoing it, a voice he had never heard before.

Qi Zhixuan noticed someone and looked up at the door: “Eh? Pang Jing, why are you here? What are you standing for? Come in quickly.”

Pang Jing walked into the mounting room and frowned slightly. Sitting next to Qi Zhixuan was a strange man, about thirty years old, dressed meticulously, exuding a sense of elegance, and drinking tea.

“This is Pang Jing, my friend.” Qi Zhixuan introduced the two of them, “This is Boss Jiang. I have been helping him restore ancient paintings recently.”

The two nodded to each other without saying anything more, and there was a subtle silence in the air.

Pang Jing’s eyes fell on the ticket on the table, and he picked it up and looked at it: “What is this?”

“Oh, boss Jiang gave me a painting exhibition ticket and invited me to see it.” Qi Zhixuan picked up the teapot and poured tea for the two of them, answering nonchalantly.

Pang Jing took a look at Boss Jiang. He took the teapot from Qi Zhixuan naturally and helped him refill the tea. He looked very comfortable, as if he had done it many times.

“Why are you here today? I haven’t seen you for a long time.” Qi Zhixuan asked casually as he saw Pang Jing staring at the teapot in a daze.

“Oh, I’ve been too busy training recently…” Pang Jing held the ticket and turned it over and over, thinking about what to say. Should he directly tell him about the game and invite him to watch?Or should I just ask him if he is free on the 22nd?

As he flipped through the pages, his eyes suddenly stopped at the date…the time of this art exhibition…the 22nd…it was also evening…

The entanglement in my heart suddenly disappeared, but what followed was not relief, but seemed to have lost focus and became empty.

So, is that why he didn’t reply?

Because he wants to go to an art exhibition with this person?

Swimming competition and art exhibition, he must also like art exhibitions more…

For some reason, Pang Jing felt an astringent feeling in his heart. He raised his eyes and looked at Jiang Xianfan. He was sipping tea slowly and expressionlessly. He was silent for a moment and slowly let go of the hand holding the ticket.

“Pang Jing?” Qi Zhixuan saw that he was in a daze again mid-sentence, and called him, “Why don’t you talk? Are you too tired from training?”

This person is usually full of energy, but it is rare to see him like this. It seems that he has been training a lot recently. Qi Zhixuan sighed in his heart, it is still too hard for sports students.

“Oh… yes, a bit.” Pang Jing tugged at the corner of his mouth with difficulty, finished the tea in front of him, stood up and said, “I just came to look at the swimming goggles. Forget it is not there, I… I will go back to school first.”

“Ah? Let’s go, don’t you want to sit down for a while…” Before Qi Zhixuan said a few words, Pang Jing had already walked out of the door quickly.

He looked at Pang Whale’s back and sighed. He felt that he had been so busy recently that he didn’t even bother to share his daily routine of sharing swimming goggles with him… He thought that after finishing this painting, he would have to take a good rest for a while.

Pang Jing was walking on the way back to school, and the autumn wind blew over. It felt crispy, not sticky and not sharp. It was strange, and it felt a little bitter in his mouth. Qi Zhixuan’s tea used to be quite delicious, but today it suddenly changed.

When he returned to the dormitory, Jing He was taking a shower, Jing Yao was writing and drawing on his tablet, and Xingxing was facing the game screen.Seeing everyone busy in their own way, Pang Jing sighed softly. When he took off his coat, two red bean cakes rolled out.

Just as he was about to pick it up, the sharp-eyed Xingxing snatched it away from him: “Hey, hey, it’s mine!”

“I want to eat too, hand it over!” Jing Yao couldn’t see the little fat man eating alone, so he immediately rushed to grab it, and he and Xing Xing had a fierce battle.

In the end, Xingxing took two mouthfuls of red bean cake and successfully kept the loot, feeling proud.

“Are you disgusting?” Jing Yao kicked him angrily and fell back on the bed, “I asked Jing He to buy me something else, who cares about your broken cake!”

Pang Jing looked at this scene and said nothing.

Yes, who cares?