Chapter 17: A Father’s Intuition is Sharp
Before he could finish speaking, Chi Qiulin felt Liu Mingzhou’s arm, which was supporting him, tremble slightly.
Yao Xinyu was about to speak again when Chi Xiangming entered, glancing coldly at Yao Xinyu before saying with a forced smile, “It’s quite lively in here.”
Yao Xinyu awkwardly chuckled, his earlier confidence gone.
Chi Qiulin found it amusing. It seemed that Chi Xiangming knew his son’s near-death experience was largely related to Yao Xinyu, that despicable person, so he wasn’t giving him a good reception.
However, Chi Qiulin still couldn’t understand why Yao Xinyu would come and seek trouble.
He looked at Yao Xinyu with questioning eyes, but his line of sight was blocked by Chi Xiangming’s face. “What’s your name?”
The pressure from his biological father was overwhelming. Chi Qiulin’s tongue instantly tied itself in knots. “Chi… Jing Qiu Chi.”
Chi Xiangming carefully examined Chi Qiulin from head to toe, as if trying to find a hole in him.
Just when Chi Qiulin could take no more and was about to reveal the truth, he heard Chi Xiangming casually reply, “Oh.”
Chi Qiulin finally breathed a sigh of relief, nervously looking out the window.
Chi’s mother remained unconscious. By evening, Liu Mingzhou had to take Chi Qiulin home.
The two were unusually silent on the way until Chi Qiulin spoke, “Why is my mother hospitalized in my city?”
“After hearing about your fall, your parents rushed over overnight…” Liu Mingzhou took a deep breath before continuing, “Your mother’s condition wasn’t good at the time, so she was admitted to a nearby hospital. That’s when they discovered the malignant tumor in her brain…”
Chi Qiulin listened quietly, letting hot tears burn his sore eyes.
Liu Mingzhou’s grip on the steering wheel tightened slightly. “But your mother insisted on not transferring hospitals. She said she wanted to see the city where you live during her last days—later, her memory became confused. She kept thinking you were still alive, so Yao Xinyu and I kept weaving beautiful lies for her, hoping she could be happy in her final days…”
Chi Qiulin looked out the window at the bustling night city, feeling increasingly despondent.
Liu Mingzhou parked the car in the yard. As he was about to get out, Chi Qiulin grabbed his sleeve. “Xiaozhou.”
Liu Mingzhou immediately sat back down, looking at Chi Qiulin expectantly. “Ge, did you remember something?”
Looking into Liu Mingzhou’s eyes, reflecting the nightlights, Chi Qiulin was speechless.
He had once again thought of the boy from his memories, back when Chi Qiulin was in high school.
It was the summer Chi Qiulin remembered most vividly.
…
“Please welcome our new classmate—Zhou Xuan.”
Chi Qiulin looked up at the applause, but upon seeing the new classmate’s face, his breath hitched.
This shock wasn’t because the person on the podium was exceptionally handsome, but because—Chi Qiulin continued to observe the boy named Zhou Xuan. His pale face looked even more sickly in the sunlight. His slightly long, messy black hair fell to his ears. One eye was dark and bright, like it held the entire starry sky; the other was covered by thick bandages, on which faint traces of dried blood seemed to linger.
Not just Chi Qiulin, everyone in the class was surprised, looking at the boy with curiosity and scrutiny.
But among all those eyes, the boy’s gaze met Chi Qiulin’s, and his face brightened. “Teacher, I want to sit next to that classmate.”
Chi Qiulin looked at the perpetually empty seat beside him, unable to think of any reason to refuse, so he simply acquiesced.
【Author’s Note: A long flashback is coming!】
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Chapter 18: Don’t Just Wander into Abandoned Science Buildings
The boy slowly walked towards Chi Qiulin’s seat. Chi Qiulin noticed his gait was somewhat unsteady, as if he also had a leg ailment.
Although Chi Qiulin himself was a chatterbox, he didn’t enjoy interacting with other chatterboxes. Fortunately, the boy wasn’t talkative. On the contrary, his silence actually sparked Chi Qiulin’s own talkative nature—
“Zhou Xuan, right? The college entrance exam is only two months away. Why did you transfer schools? What a huge impact.”
The boy pursed his lips, not answering.
Chi Qiulin, finding this boring, began to closely examine the boy’s face—the boy was quite androgynous, with a round baby face and a bit of baby fat. His eyes were also round, unfortunately, only one was visible.
Chi Qiulin’s curiosity was piqued. “What happened to your other eye?”
The boy finally answered, “I was in a car accident. I lost my sight.”
“Oh—” Chi Qiulin showed no awareness of his tactlessness, continuing, “It seems you haven’t fully recovered yet. Why are you so eager to attend school?”
The boy replied, “Because the college entrance exam is coming soon, I can’t afford to delay.”
The logician Chi Qiulin immediately countered, “If you don’t want to delay the college entrance exam, why did you transfer schools?”
“…”
Seeing the boy fall silent, Chi Qiulin also felt his questions were unwelcome and shut his mouth, quietly waiting for the bell to ring.
If the boy didn’t want to talk much, then they would be ordinary deskmates, their lives separate. That’s what Chi Qiulin thought.
But his thoughts were shattered during the first break—the boy limped out of the classroom and didn’t return until after the bell rang.
Chi Qiulin, however, was diligently writing lines of punishment for his previous behavior and didn’t notice the boy’s absence.
Only when the teacher asked did Chi Qiulin realize his mistake. Zhou Xuan’s background was unknown, and Chi Qiulin couldn’t answer where he had gone, so he was blamed by the teacher and kicked out of the classroom.
Chi Qiulin listlessly stood in the corridor, silently criticizing the teacher for being unreasonable and arbitrary in his punishments. In a fit of resentment, he skipped class.
The high school Chi Qiulin attended had a long history, and so did its buildings.
Chi Qiulin wandered aimlessly, unknowingly arriving at the oldest abandoned science building.
The normally locked door was slightly ajar. Chi Qiulin hesitated for a moment before his curiosity got the better of him. Carefully, he pushed open the door and peered inside.
Despite the hot summer day, the science building was cold and dark, as if isolated from the outside world. Chi Qiulin followed the messy footprints on the dusty floor, arriving at a laboratory.
The laboratory door was ajar, but the interior was even darker than the corridor. After taking several deep breaths, Chi Qiulin bravely stepped inside. He discovered that the curtains were drawn, explaining the dim light.
Chi Qiulin secretly berated himself for being such a coward—it’s daytime, what’s there to be afraid of! He shook his head helplessly and walked forward to open the curtains.
However, the moment the curtains were pulled back, Chi Qiulin froze—behind the curtains was a solid, impenetrable wall!
At the same time, the sound of the laboratory door slamming shut echoed behind him. The remaining light vanished completely, leaving Chi Qiulin in utter darkness, his rapid heartbeat and breathing filling the suffocating silence.