TSIBAMS Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Ye Xing couldn’t care about so much, and turned his head sharply.

The moment he turned his head, a startled, grey little figure quickly darted into the bushes, leaving a small nut spinning alone in place.

If he wasn’t mistaken…

It was a squirrel.

Damn it! It was a squirrel!

Ye Xing took a deep breath. Seeing the nut still spinning on the ground, it was probably something that had fallen out of his coat pocket while he was resting.

He was really scaring himself.

Squirrels were so cute, not scary at all.

He even regretted turning around so abruptly just now. If he had been gentler, maybe he could have watched them for a few more seconds.

All the tension he had felt before was swept away. Ye Xing felt his breathing become much smoother, and the chirping of the unknown birds sounded much more pleasant than before. He picked up his pen and continued drawing.

Until he heard soft rustling footsteps behind him again.

Is this ever going to end?

He was sure that this time it had to be a real person. After the two false alarms and his mental preparation, he was obviously much bolder this time. He turned his head slowly, deciding to take a look so he could put his mind at ease.

He turned around and immediately saw a tall, slender figure walking up the mountain not far away. He was wearing a light-colored knitted jacket and clean little leather shoes that seemed out of place here. If it weren’t for the things he was carrying in his hand, which looked like fruits and paper money, he would have looked like a student coming for a spring outing.

When Ye Xing shifted his gaze to his face, he was slightly surprised.

It was Qi Guang?

Why was he here so early?

Qi Guang was still some distance away from him, and because he wasn’t heading in his direction, he hadn’t noticed there was someone here. However, judging from his absent-minded appearance, even if someone were standing next to him at this moment, he might not have noticed.

His eyes were dull, and it was impossible to tell if he was happy or sad, but his figure looked extremely lonely.

Ye Xing had never seen him like this before, and he felt a bit sorry for him.

He was going to sweep a grave, right… alone? Whose grave?

Ye Xing had never been curious about anyone, but Qi Guang always gave him an elusive feeling. He was obviously from a wealthy family but pretended to be a poor boy to gain sympathy, and didn’t even explain it when his lies were exposed. And now, he had run into this dispirited side of him…

Ye Xing’s expression gradually became serious.

Heh.

Qi Guang, how am I supposed to see you?

“Although you can’t see it, don’t worry, I’m really doing well now,” Qi Guang said, placing the fruit neatly in front of the tombstone.

Engraved on the tombstone was his grandfather’s name.

He took out a small knife from his bag and cleaned the weeds beside the tombstone. “My biggest regret is that I didn’t bury you and Mom together. I’ve seen the cemetery at the gate; it’s very strict, and you need a pass to get in and out. It’s ridiculous, but I, as her own son, don’t even have the right to visit my own mother. But it’s good that they’re strict; it makes me less worried. Mom must be doing well there, not lonely.”

After cleaning up the weeds, he swept the area clean, then took out a bottle of wine in a mineral water bottle from his bag. There wasn’t much wine; it wasn’t even a fifth of the bottle. He poured the wine into a small glass and held it up, saying, “Now you can drink if you want. You probably don’t have high blood pressure over there. I don’t like any of the wines you brewed. I always bring you a little like this, so I don’t waste it.”

After speaking, he tilted the glass and gently poured the wine onto the ground in front of the tombstone.

Then, he got up and walked around several times, picking up some dry branches and leaves to pile together. He arranged the dry branches into a pyramid shape, leaving a space in the middle and a small opening.

It looked like a wild little tent.

Qi Guang took out a stack of yellow paper from the bag, scattered part of it into the small tent, and kept a few pieces to start the fire. He lit the paper with a lighter and put it in the tent. Soon, all the paper was burning, and then the dry branches were lit.

Luckily, there was no wind, and everything went smoothly. However, the fire was getting stronger, and the smoke was making his eyes uncomfortable. He squinted and tried hard to hold back his tears. “Grandpa, just be at peace there. I’ll buy you anything you need. Look, I bought you a big villa with a large study. It’ll definitely be big enough for all your books.”

After saying that, he took out a paper villa and put it into the fire to burn.

Qi Guang took a light breath and knelt down, adding paper money to the fire while looking at the flickering flames. He was lost in thought for a while before finally speaking, “A few days ago, Qi Jingsheng came. I don’t know how he found this place. After all, it’s been two years, and he never thought I’d come back here from that big city… I might really have changed. When I looked at him, although there was still some hate, there was more of a feeling of unfamiliarity… You know how much I used to hate him and that woman. Back then, I just wanted to kill them and then turn myself in. Don’t laugh at my foolishness. When I think about it now, it was pretty foolish. It’s not worth wasting my whole life on them.”

I’m not reconciling with him; I’m letting myself go.

Qi Guang thought to himself, a slight smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.

At this moment, a breeze blew, and several flower petals, from who knows where, landed on Qi Guang’s face. It tickled him a little. When he reached out and picked them off, he realized they were pear blossoms, pure white, small, and somewhat translucent.

Qi Guang was stunned. These were the flowers his grandfather loved most when he was alive.

Was this his answer?

He imagined his grandfather patting his head while saying, “Good boy,” and his nose couldn’t help but sting.

“I will study hard, get into a good university, and live the rest of my life properly! Although I wasted some time before, thankfully Sister Xiaoyun pulled me back in time. I will never fall down and not get back up again.”

“Damn it, why did it have to start raining?” Ye Xing muttered, hugging his easel as he ran into the pavilion.

Luckily, he had reacted in time, his painting wasn’t ruined, and his clothes weren’t too wet. He was thankful there was a pavilion nearby; otherwise, he hadn’t brought an umbrella, and his half-day’s work would have gone to waste. He breathed a sigh of relief, and suddenly realized his little chair and toolbox were still where he left them.

Am I a moron?

Ye Xing put on his hat and quickly ran back to rescue his poor little chair and toolbox.

That was close; the rain hadn’t gotten heavy yet.

He sat down at the edge of the pavilion and sighed, watching the drizzling rain. “Is ‘Rain falls ceaselessly during the Qingming festival’ a curse?”

This damn weather. My underwear won’t dry today.

He glanced at his painting. It was pretty much done. There weren’t many uncolored areas left, and they weren’t the focus. He could finish it at home. Ye Xing took out his phone and checked the time. It was already afternoon.

It was okay before he checked, but now that he had checked the time, he realized he was a little hungry.

The rain didn’t seem like it was going to get heavier or stop any time soon. This was making him a bit annoyed. This kind of drizzle that didn’t even wet your face was less refreshing than a downpour.

Ye Xing quickly packed up his things, put his drawing board in a waterproof bag, and prepared to leave in the rain.

He had barely taken one step before he immediately jumped back. “Crap!”

In the distance, someone was walking this way. No, they were coming down the mountain on this path. This person was wearing the same light-colored knitted jacket Qi Guang had been wearing this morning.

And, yes, it was Qi Guang’s face.

Qi Guang hadn’t seen him, and he wasn’t coming toward the pavilion to take shelter from the rain. The bag of things he had carried up the mountain was now empty. He walked slowly with his hands in his pockets, oblivious to the scenery, or the rain. He didn’t seem to be thinking about anything.

His small leather shoes, which had been so clean this morning, were now covered in mud.

Ye Xing slowly retreated, hiding behind a pillar. He didn’t know why he was hiding, but when he saw Qi Guang’s red eyes and nose, he subconsciously felt that if he showed himself now, he might get hit.

He was probably crying.

Or had cried.

This was the second time he had seen Qi Guang looking so forlorn, and it was on the same day. This feeling was strange, even a little painful.

Then a voice immediately appeared in his mind—

Why feel sorry for this actor?

When you cried and told him about your father being imprisoned, he was still acting out his family tragedy! Who knows if he was laughing at you, you poor fool.

Ye Xing shook his head. He was no longer curious. He stood behind the pillar for a while, and when he was sure that Qi Guang had gone far enough, he came out. Then he put on his hat, hugged his waterproof bag, and left the pavilion.

Although he looked a little foolish, even a little disheveled, luckily, he didn’t run into anyone on the way, so it wasn’t embarrassing.

But it was annoying when he got a phone call at this time!

He impatiently shifted everything in his hand to his left hand, reached into his pocket with his right hand to get his phone, “Hello.”

“Brother Ye! You’re not at home?” Zhou Tian’s voice came from the other end of the phone.

“Didn’t I say I was going to the highlands?” Ye Xing put on his headset and put his phone back in his pocket.

“But you’ve been looking at the scenery all day. I thought you’d been carried off by a wild animal.”

“There are wild animals here?” Ye Xing laughed.

“Yeah! They specialize in catching little virgins like you who like to wander around alone.” Zhou Tian said seriously, making things up.

“I spit on you!” Ye Xing was so angry he almost slipped on a stone. “You’re the little virgin! Your whole family…”

Zhou Tian interrupted him, “You can say that about me, but don’t drag my dad into it. Otherwise, it’ll be a family drama.”

“Just say what you want to say. Your father, I’m getting rained on! I’m hanging up,” Ye Xing said.

Zhou Tian quickly stopped him, “No, no, no! I have something serious to tell you. Our class is having a get-together tonight. Why don’t you come along?”

“Wait, why do you always ask me to join your class get-togethers?”

“Hey! Isn’t it because…”

It’s because the girls in our class insisted!

He was afraid that if he said that, Ye Xing would hang up the phone, so he changed his words, “There aren’t many people! You know, the people in the top classes are all studying machines. Only a few of us slackers can’t help but go out when we have a break!”

Hearing that there weren’t many people, Ye Xing, who was from the social anxiety planet, wasn’t so resistant. After all, he didn’t have anything important to do. So he agreed, “Alright, I’ll go home first. You can call me later.”