Chapter 20: Move Forward, Don’t Look Back
Li Qi pushed Chen Jiamu out of the hospital. Along the way, Chen Jiamu didn’t ask a single question; Li Qi handled everything.
The sun was shining brightly. As they drove further from the city, Chen Jiamu became curious, “Where are we going?”
“What, afraid I’m going to sell you?”
In response to Li Qi’s teasing, Chen Jiamu wiped his face, disdainfully saying, “I’m worth a fortune.”
People tend to laugh when they’re speechless. Li Qi’s mouth twitched slightly; he didn’t take his words to heart.
As they got further from the city, Chen Jiamu’s curiosity grew. But since Li Qi didn’t speak, he stopped asking.
They took a taxi to a place on the outskirts of the suburbs. Li Qi first carried the wheelchair out of the car. Chen Jiamu was about to get out, but when he looked up, he bumped his head on the car door.
“Oof…”
Li Qi looked back at him, a hint of helplessness on his face. He walked over and carefully helped him out of the car.
The air was filled with heat, but Li Qi felt cool, and Chen Jiamu found it strangely comfortable.
Only after Li Qi placed him in the wheelchair did he come to his senses, finding his earlier thoughts absurd.
“Where are we?”
Chen Jiamu looked around. Except for a weathered stone stele, the area was desolate, overgrown with weeds and rocks, with treetops swaying in the wind.
The wind rustled through the leaves, and Chen Jiamu saw the words “Qing Dao Guan” (Clear Path Temple) clearly written on the stele.
However, the inscription was weathered and faded with time.
“A temple?”
“There’s a Taoist temple in B City?”
Chen Jiamu was excited. It was his first time seeing a Taoist temple. He’d only seen them online before; this was his first time visiting one.
“Mm.”
Li Qi was calm, pushing him slowly down the path. This temple had existed for a long time. When Li Qi was twelve, Zhang Yongmei kicked him out of the house. It was a cold winter, and he was wearing only a thin autumn shirt as he walked down the street.
A middle-aged man in a blue Taoist robe saw him and took him back to the temple, giving him food and clothes.
At that time, Li Qi thought that staying at the temple for life wouldn’t be a bad idea. However, two days later, the police came.
It turned out that a neighbor, noticing his absence, reported him missing, and he was found at the temple.
Zhang Yongmei casually lied, saying he had been playing truant.
Li Qi wanted to stay at the temple, but he knew he couldn’t.
Later, whenever Zhang Yongmei bullied or abused him, he would secretly go to the temple to see the Taoist priest.
Over time, the priest got used to his occasional visits. The priest was kind and taught Li Qi many things, but he passed away when Li Qi was fifteen.
That year, Song Jin also found him.
It was then that he realized he was someone others despised. Zhang Yongmei had destroyed Song Jin’s family and given birth to him.
The irony was that Zhang Yongmei didn’t love him, and neither did Li Ru…
So, when he saw Song Jin, he thought he shouldn’t have been born; perhaps death would be his best destination.
He originally thought Song Jin would hate him; after all, who would like the child of a mistress?
But Song Jin was gentle, her eyes wet, her gaze filled with pity. She said the name Li Xixi wasn’t nice and changed it to Li Qi.
Whenever he couldn’t cope, Song Jin would anxiously and gently call him Xiao Qi, urging him to live on.
She said, “Your life is just beginning; you shouldn’t give up so early.”
Bang…
The wheelchair bumped into something. Li Qi snapped back to reality, leaning over to see that the wheelchair had hit a rock.
Chen Jiamu’s foot was caught.
Li Qi looked over. Their eyes met. Chen Jiamu quietly pulled his foot back, waving nonchalantly, “It doesn’t hurt, really.”
Li Qi looked away, awkwardly adjusting his direction and continuing forward. The path leading to the temple was paved with many flagstones, and walking on them felt strangely relaxing.
Sunlight filtered through the branches and fell on them, and Chen Jiamu was unusually quiet.
“You have many memories here, don’t you?”
“Mm.”
Zhang Yongmei’s two outbursts made it clear to everyone that Li Qi’s background was questionable. If Chen Jiamu hadn’t been kind to him, his status as a lovechild would have been widely known.
But Chen Jiamu hadn’t, so Li Qi’s secret remained. However, Li Qi clearly knew that as long as Zhang Yongmei existed, his secret would eventually be revealed.
“I often came here before I was fifteen.”
“I’m not Song Jin’s biological son.”
They reached the temple entrance. After the priest’s death, the temple had been neglected. The old signboard was covered in cobwebs, and weeds grew wildly in front of the gate; the entire temple exuded an air of desolation.
Li Qi revealed his identity, and Chen Jiamu’s eyes widened in shock; his hands clenched into fists…
“You…”
Chen Jiamu didn’t know what to say, his lips pressed together, unable to utter a word.
“It’s fine if you know; it won’t be a secret for long anyway; everyone will find out.”
After a quiet look at the entrance, Li Qi pushed him to a place he often visited: a patch of cleared land with a swing the priest had made for him.
Li Qi left Chen Jiamu aside and cleaned the accumulated leaves and dust from the swing.
He tried swinging it gently. With the breeze on his face, Li Qi felt like he had returned to the time he spent with the priest when he was fifteen.
Sitting on the swing, Li Qi stared ahead blankly. The white T-shirt had black marks, and the sunlight on his face gave him a melancholy air…
“I want to sit on this swing; can you help me?”
Chen Jiamu couldn’t bear to see that aura on Li Qi; it made him uncomfortable.
“Do you dare to sit?”
Li Qi stood up from the swing, looking at him doubtfully. Chen Jiamu smiled confidently and tried to stand up. Li Qi, fearing he would fall, quickly supported him.
Sitting on the swing, Chen Jiamu was still a little worried. Could this thing, exposed to the elements for three years, still hold up?
“Hey, this is actually pretty fun.”
After swinging a couple of times, Chen Jiamu dared not continue. His leg hadn’t fully healed…
Back in the wheelchair, Chen Jiamu felt relieved.
“Mm.”
Li Qi took out his phone and took a picture of the swing. As soon as he finished, the swing’s frame collapsed…
At that moment, Song Jin’s call came in. Li Qi answered before he could react.
Upon learning they had gone out for a walk, Song Jin didn’t say much, only urging them to return early.
Hanging up the phone, Li Qi silently tried to fix the swing, but no matter what he did, he couldn’t fix it.
He was also covered in dirt.
Chen Jiamu couldn’t stand it anymore. He grabbed Li Qi’s clothes and said seriously, “Li Qi, you need to look forward, not live in the past.”
“Before we came, it was still standing. As soon as we arrived, it fell. What does that mean? It means it’s saying goodbye to you.”
“It’s telling you to move forward, don’t look back.”