Silver Leaf Whale Chapter 23

Are you happy?

Chapter 23·Are you happy?

Pang Jing’s home is not far from the city center. The two of them had a meal outside at noon the next day and prepared to go out for a walk.

It’s colder here than in Beijing. It snowed heavily last night. The snow outside could reach up to your ankles. Qi Zhixuan deliberately walked to the place where the snow was thickest, making a squeaking sound when he stepped on it.

“Can you please put on your gloves?” When he took off his gloves for the nth time and pinched the little snowman on the roadside, Pang Whale finally couldn’t help but speak.

“It won’t be sensitive when you put it on.” Qi Zhixuan’s nose was red and his fingers were also red, but he couldn’t help but play.

Pang Whale had to wait for him to play for a while and then promptly urged him to dry his hands to avoid frostbite.

But the snowman he made was really nice. He started with a small snowman, then a little duck and a bear, and finally made a plaster statue. I don’t know if he was named David or Xiao Wei. Many passers-by stopped to take pictures.

After I finished making his plaster statue, my hands were almost frozen. I hurriedly tried to put it in my pocket, but Pang Whale took it out and wiped it before putting it back in again.

“You can even make flowers out of snow.” Pang Jing also took photos of his little snowmen. He has never made such a beautiful snowman in almost twenty years here.

“But I think the snow here is so difficult to pile up that it won’t stick together.” Qi Zhixuan rubbed his hands and put on his gloves.

“It’s pretty good here. At least there’s the sea next to it and it’s relatively humid. If you’ve never seen powder snow, it’s just like foam particles and can’t be touched at all.”

With that said, the two of them walked towards the beach. The weather was good and there were many people on the road. They found a place to stand in the sun. There were always seagulls flying around people. From time to time, they would stop beside them and look at them curiously with round eyes to see if this human would give it an unexpected meal.

They bought a ham sausage, broke off a piece and threw it into the sky. The seagulls were like flying puppies, catching it in the air.

More seagulls were hovering in the sky, making short “O-O-O” sounds from time to time. They could fly very high, so high that they could see the white snow, yellow sand, and blue sea, three colors stacked on the coast, while humans were just small black dots moving in the white, very insignificant.

“It’s so beautiful here. I’ve never been here before.” Qi Zhixuan was talking about the past two years of his travels. Because he was afraid of the cold, he rarely visited northern cities. He didn’t expect to miss so much.

“Yes, come often.” Pang Jing was still breaking off the ham sausage, but Qi Zhixuan was too cold to reach out and just watched him feed the “puppy” until the whole sausage was eaten.

The two of them walked along the seaside. The sky darkened quickly in the winter. It was only after four o’clock, and the sun turned orange. As they walked, the orange gradually spread in the sky, and then like fireworks that burned to the end, they darkened little by little, leaving only the sound of the waves echoing in their ears.

Qi Zhixuan looked at the canvas-like sky that had become silent. He did not feel that the beauty had disappeared, but instead felt a very peaceful beauty.

After watching the sunset, people were also freezing. The temperature dropped even lower once the sun went down. They wrapped their coats tightly and walked back quickly.

The sea in the north seems to be particularly majestic and the waves are very big, but there are few shells, only some pebbles that have been rounded by the waves. Before leaving, Qi Zhixuan saw one and wanted to pick it up, but he accidentally got his shoes wet.

“Soaked?” Pang Jing asked.

In fact, Qi Zhixuan couldn’t feel it. He felt a little stiff after being blown by the cold wind all afternoon. “Maybe, it’s okay. I have to go back anyway, so it won’t be cold in the car.”

Pang Whale glanced at his wet shoes. It would take at least fifteen minutes to walk from here to the parking place. In such a cold weather, wet shoes would definitely not be able to bear on his feet.

“Take it off, quickly,” Pang Jing took off his scarf and asked Qi Zhixuan to take off his shoes and socks.

“Ah? No need…” Qi Zhixuan was still hesitating, but Pang Jing had already reached out to help him.

“Believe it or not, your toes will freeze off in a while.” In the end, Qi Zhixuan took off his shoes obediently. His toes were wet when they came into contact with the cold air, and Qi Zhixuan shivered from the cold.

But the next second, the toes were tightly wrapped in a warm scarf, blocking out the biting cold wind.

“Come up, I’ll carry you.” Pang Whale squatted down, as if he were back on that autumn night.

This time Qi Zhixuan did not hesitate and lay on his back, but the scarf on his feet was knotted and it was difficult to exert force. He kept falling like a slippery fish.

Pang Whale could only lift him up from time to time so that his arms could wrap around his neck better, and then step on the snow with one foot deep and one shallow, leaving a series of footprints.

The two of them faced the cold wind. Qi Zhixuan’s hair was blown around by the wind. He looked a little embarrassed, but there was a bit of joy in his voice when he spoke.

“I remember those people chasing us in the alley. At that time, you pulled me and they chased me. We ran as fast as we could. I was sandwiched between you sports students and I felt like my lungs were about to explode.”

Pang Whale panted slightly and laughed.

“So, were you happy that day?” Pang Jing suddenly asked.

“I’m so happy!” Qi Zhixuan replied with a smile, “Although my ankle is sprained, I ate delicious Russian food and completed half a month’s exercise in one go.”

“Then…why were you unhappy that day?” Pang Jing asked again, paused, and added, “That day at the pet hospital.”

Qi Zhixuan was stunned for a moment and did not answer.

The wind became colder and penetrated into people’s bodies. Qi Zhixuan shivered.

“Hold on for a while, we’ll be there soon.” Pang Jing felt his trembling and walked a little faster.

“Little fish.” Perhaps because of the cold, Qi Zhixuan suddenly pressed his body closer to Pang Whale and called in his ear.

“Why do you want to know?” he added.

This time Pang Whale was silent.

Just when he thought today’s conversation was over, Qi Zhixuan said softly: “It’s not impossible to tell you, it’s just… it’s not a good thing.”

Pang Whale’s pace slowed down a little, and he saw him sucking in his nose that was red from the cold, and continued: “You know, my parents are both dead. My mother died of illness in her early years, and my father… was killed by me. Because of some things I did, my father was involved, which later led to his death.”

He paused for a few seconds, and his voice was cold and nasal: “I feel very guilty and very afraid that my life will disappear because of me, so that day…it may seem a little strange.”

Qi Zhixuan smiled and said no more.Pang Whale held his legs tightly and hurried forward.

When they arrived at the parking place, Pang Jing stuffed Qi Zhixuan into the back seat of the car.

On the way home, the carriage was quiet, and Pang Jing was in a mess.

Qi Zhixuan’s words came to his ears repeatedly, but he couldn’t say a word.

He wanted to know about Qi Zhixuan’s past, but after hearing this, he felt extremely incompetent.What can I do if I know?What qualifications does he have to comfort?What qualifications do you have to change?

Glancing at the rearview mirror, Qi Zhixuan was wiping his wet trouser legs with a tissue. The dim light in the carriage outlined his hazy profile, as if he was crying while buried in the quilt that day.

But, but…

Almost home, at the last traffic light, Pang Whale stopped and waited. He took something out of his pocket and handed it to the back seat.

“Wow, you picked it up for me!”

Qi Zhixuan caught it in surprise. It was the round stone he wanted to pick up!I was hit by a wave just now and I was so anxious to hide that I didn’t have time to get it. I don’t know when the giant whale came back.

But he really didn’t want to see this man trembling helplessly and crying late at night.

“It’s so round and cute.” He held the stone and looked at it carefully in the dim light of the car, the smile on his face dazzling his eyes.

Just let him laugh, even as a friend.

A few days before the Chinese New Year, Pang Jing’s parents finally finished their work in the store and were ready to go to grandma’s house.

Pang Jing’s father didn’t have many relatives, so his family always went to his grandma’s house to celebrate the New Year.

My grandma’s house was far away, and it took more than six hours to drive there. I heard it was even colder than here. I even bought new snow tires before setting off. Father and son Pang Wei and Pang Jing took turns driving. Qi Zhixuan wanted to take over, but Pang Jing politely refused: “The road is not easy to walk, and I’m afraid you will dig a ditch.”

So Qi Zhixuan could only sit in the back seat and chat with Ms. Meihua.

“Oh, you don’t know. He has been very stubborn since he was a child. He is like a donkey. He can’t swim with others, so he soaks in the pool every day. His hair is yellowed by the water. He looks like a foreigner.”

Ms. Meihua was sharing Pang Jing’s childhood swimming history with Qi Zhixuan. Qi Zhixuan listened with great interest. Meihua also took out a bag of rice sticks to serve as popcorn, and from time to time stuffed a few sticks into the mouth of her husband who was sitting in front.

The father and son in front were studying the snowy road conditions. Qi Zhixuan saw that Pang Jing was driving alone because no one was feeding him, so he reached out from the back seat and handed over two glutinous rice sticks. Pang Jing took one look at them and ate them with his hands.

Meihua took Qi Zhixuan and chatted all the way, but his energy gradually failed to keep up, and when he arrived at the service area, he had fallen asleep leaning on his seat.Ms. Meihua felt tired of sitting alone, so she got out of the car and walked around twice. When she came back, her eldest son occupied her seat.

“What are you doing?” Meihua hurriedly chased her away and wanted to wait until Qi Zhixuan woke up to continue chatting. This child was polite, handsome, and willing to listen to her chatter. He was a perfect chat partner.

“Dad, let me take a nap.” Pang Jing said seriously.

“You can’t sleep in front.” Meihua glared.

“I just love sleeping here.” Pang Jing remained motionless, while Meihua could only sit in front angrily.

When Qi Zhixuan woke up, Meihua and grandma were on the phone, saying that they were off the expressway and would be there soon.

“Xiaoyu, are we almost there?” Qi Zhixuan rubbed his eyes and found that he was leaning on Pang Whale’s shoulder. No wonder the waves had been rising and falling in his dream. It was the smell of his body, like the sea.

“Come on, are you hungry?”

Qi Zhixuan shook his head. Ms. Meihua fed everyone a lot along the way, even a little bit.

It was still snowing outside, but not very heavy. Qi Zhixuan wiped the fog on the car window, and the scenery changed from white to a little red. It turned out to be lanterns hung by people on the roadside. Some people also piled big snowmen at the door, covered with iron buckets as hats, and inserted two bad brooms as arms. Their snow-white and round bodies looked cute and stupid.

When the map was traveling all the way north to Xiaohongqi Village, I saw someone waving in front of me from a distance.

“It’s brother! Wait for us at the door!” Meihua immediately lowered the window and waved, and the cold air rushed in, which awakened everyone in the car.

When he arrived at the door, Qi Zhixuan saw clearly that he was a tall and strong man wearing a Lei Feng hat with bright eyes. This was Li Guorui, Pang Jing’s uncle.

After a warm greeting, the uncle opened the iron door and led everyone in.

The yard is extremely open, surrounded by rows of small bungalows, with thick snow on the roof, smoke rising from the chimney, piles of firewood piled high, and several large vats placed in front of the door.

A girl timidly came out of the house and took out something by the pot. When she saw the person coming, she threw the things into the pot and ignored them. She jumped up and shouted into the house: “Miscellaneous! My aunt and the others are here!”

“Oh, this girl!” When I entered the door, my uncle took out the basin in front of the door. It turned out to be sauerkraut.

The room was very warm and everyone greeted each other. The Li family members were loud and lively. Qi Zhixuan greeted each one politely amidst laughter and laughter.

“Brother Xuan, you are so pretty! Why do you have such good skin? How do you take care of it?” Pang Jing’s cousin Li Yunyao kept praising Qi Zhixuan, which made him feel a little embarrassed.

Qi Zhixuan is from the south. He is not that tall and straight, relatively slender and well-proportioned, and has a gentle and gentle temperament. He has seen many bold and tough people in the north, so it is really refreshing to see him suddenly.

“Hey, this Xiao Qi is also learning to swim?” Grandma didn’t know Qi Zhixuan’s age and thought he was classmate Pang Jing.

“No, grandma, I don’t learn to swim. I opened a shop selling painting tools, just opposite Xiaoyu School.” Qi Zhixuan replied gently.

“Oh! We’re already working! I thought you were as big as a small fish. Come on, come on, eat some of this.” Grandma said cheerfully, and gave a few juniors a bag of hazelnuts to peel and eat.

The family chatted about the situation on the road for a while and then started to work on dinner. Li Meihua and her aunt were in the kitchen cutting pickled vegetables and preparing to stew the ribs. Pang Wei and his uncle were rolling out noodles. Grandma went over to add some heat from time to time.

The little ones did nothing but eat snacks and watch TV on the kang in the back room.

It was the first time for Qi Zhixuan to sit on the kang. It was very hot, and his heart became very hot. Everything seemed ordinary and warm.

“Here.” Pang Jing handed Qi Zhixuan a handful of opened hazelnuts.

“I want it too!” Li Yunyao also stretched out his hand. When Pang Jing didn’t hear him, Qi Zhixuan smiled and gave her half.

“It’s better, Brother Xuan, you are not allowed to eat pork ribs for a while!”

“Just eat.”

“Hmph, it depends on your ability!”

The two of them started to bicker with each other, but before they could tell who was better, the sky got slightly dark and it was time to start dinner.

On the Kang table was a hot pot of pickled cabbage and pork ribs, two plates of red sausage, one over the water, and several noodles. Each bowl was attractive in color. Qi Zhixuan didn’t feel hungry at first, but looking at the table, his stomach couldn’t help but growl.

“We don’t have any other treats. We are just going out to make dumplings and bring home noodles. Don’t dislike it, Xiao Qi.” The uncle greeted, and Pang Jing fished him some noodles. Qi Zhixuan held the bowl and said, “It’s delicious at first glance.”

“It’s delicious. Eat more. The egg-braised soybean paste is made by ourselves. I’m sure you’ll eat one bowl and think twice.” The uncle scooped a few spoons into his bowl, and Qi Zhixuan mixed it and tasted it. It was indeed delicious. Everyone was chatting while eating, and everyone had a satisfied smile on their face.