Chapter 127: IFâLi Qiulan Extra (Conclusion)
After waiting for a few minutes, Shen Tangqing received a call from a man.
The man claimed that Mo Lin had instructed him to pick up Li Qiulan.
Shen Tangqing gave the detailed address again before hanging up.
They sat for about twenty minutes.
Li Qiulanâs bodyguards didn’t arrive, but the parkâs PA system did. It announced that if Li Qiulan heard the broadcast, he should go to the security booth at the main gate.
After Mo Zeyan finished the roller coaster and realized he had lost Li Qiulan, he had frantically run to find the park security to help find his nephew.
Shen Tangqing only felt that the boy was “big-hearted” [careless].
He was just a kid himself, yet he dared to bring Li Qiulan to such a crowded place to play.
And he even left the boy aside to go ride a roller coaster himselfâwasn’t that just a lack of brains?
“Big brother, my Little Uncle is looking for me.”
Li Qiulan heard his name called over the broadcast.
Shen Tangqing looked at him. “So, do you want to go find him?”
Li Qiulan pursed his soft lips, thought for a few seconds, and slowly shook his head.
“I want to be with big brother.”
Shen Tangqing: “…”
This kid would probably help his kidnapper count the money after being sold.
He sat up straight, his expression serious as he looked at Li Qiulan.
“Li Qiulan, you need to have some vigilance toward strangers. Don’t be like a silly roe deer, believing whatever anyone says, you hear me?”
Li Qiulan blinked and nodded very obediently. “I understand, big brother.”
Shen Tangqing wanted to say more, but he opened his mouth and ultimately said nothing.
…
Shen Tangqing still took Li Qiulan to the security booth.
When Mo Zeyan saw Li Qiulan, he ran up and hugged him tightly.
“Qiuqiu, where did you go?” His eyes were a bit red; he was clearly crying from anxiety.
“I was with big brother.”
Only then did Mo Zeyan look at Shen Tangqing.
His expression froze for a moment.
The next second, he released Li Qiulan and thanked Shen Tangqing very politely.
He thought Shen Tangqing had found the lost Li Qiulan.
“No need for thanks. Youâre just a child yourself; don’t bring him to crowded places in the future. What would you do if you really lost him?”
Mo Zeyan was a bit embarrassed and also felt a lingering fear.
When he got off the roller coaster and didn’t see Li Qiulan, he had been completely dumbfounded. After searching the area and finding nothing, he had scrambled to find a security guard for help.
He had realized his mistake.
“I understand, big brother.”
“Iâve already contacted your family. They should be here to pick you up soon.”
Mo Zeyanâs expression changed, but he couldn’t say anything, so he could only nod his head dejectedly.
In his heart, he was thinking: It’s over; Iâm going to get a lecture when I get back.
…
The three waited for another ten minutes or so.
Shen Tangqingâs phone finally rang.
After hanging up, the three of them went out.
A group of people was standing there in a dense crowd, neatly lined up and looking very impressive.
Seeing Mo Zeyan and Li Qiulan, the butler in the lead hurried forward and bowed respectfully. “Eldest Young Master, Young Master Li…”
Then he looked at Shen Tangqing, his face wearing a proper smile.
“Sir, thank you for your trouble today. Madam said that you can make any request you want, and we will do our best to fulfill it.”
“It was just a small effort,” Shen Tangqing said faintly, his gaze sweeping over Li Qiulan.
“But you should put more heart into it in the future. Itâll be trouble if the child really gets lost.”
After saying that, Shen Tangqing added before the butler could reply, “I have things to do. Iâll be going now.”
Just as he turned around, Li Qiulan suddenly grabbed his sleeve. “Big brother…”
“What is it?” Shen Tangqing turned back to look at Li Qiulan.
Li Qiulan took off the jade pendant he was wearing around his neck and carefully handed it to Shen Tangqing.
“Big brother, Iâm giving this to you. With this, you can ask my grandpa to do anything for you.”
He finished and blinked. “My grandpa is very powerful in the Capital.”
He had learned that Shen Tangqing was from the Capital during their conversation earlier.
Shen Tangqingâs gaze landed on the jade pendant in his hand, and he couldn’t help but daze for a moment.
This was the third time he had received this jade pendant.
On the side, Mo Zeyanâs expression shifted. He naturally knew the importance of this jade pendant.
“Qiuqiu, this jade pendant can’t be given away casually…”
Before he could finish, Li Qiulan interrupted him. “Little Uncle, I know, but this is my thing. I want to give it to big brother.”
His expression was very serious and stubborn, not looking like the ignorant, confused state of a five or six-year-old child.
Mo Zeyan looked at Li Qiulan, and the words at his lips were ultimately swallowed back down.
After a long silence, Shen Tangqing finally accepted the jade pendant.
He didn’t know what his psychology was based on.
Perhaps looking at Li Qiulanâs expectant eyes, he suddenly felt a moment of being unable to bear it.
…
“Big brother, can you watch me leave?” Li Qiulanâs voice was a bit soft.
“What?”
“When you turned around just now, for some reason, I felt particularly sad in my heart.”
Shen Tangqing was stunned for a moment.
His gaze rested on Li Qiulanâs face. After a few seconds of silence, he nodded gently.
“Go on.”
Li Qiulan waved to Shen Tangqing. “Goodbye, big brother.”
“Goodbye.”
Li Qiulan followed Mo Zeyan and the others toward the car.
However, after taking only a few steps, he turned and ran back to Shen Tangqing, suddenly hugging his leg. He looked up with watery eyes.
“Big brother, will we meet again?”
Shen Tangqing was dazed.
After a moment, he slowly crouched down.
He reached out and rubbed Li Qiulanâs head. “We won’t meet again, but big brother hopes Qiuqiu can be a good person in the future.”
Li Qiulan froze for a second, then the sadness in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by a very sweet smile.
“I understand, big brother. Qiuqiu will definitely be a good person in the future.”
âââ
No one expected that many years later, Li Qiulan would resolutely choose to don a military uniform and become a soldier.
The Li family had already paved a political path for him. Even if he wasn’t willing to go into politics, inheriting the massive family business should have been the logical choice.
Everyone thought this pampered Young Master probably wouldn’t last a few days before running back to his grandpa crying.
Even Old Master Li thought he wouldn’t hold out.
But what shocked everyone was that he not only held out but performed exceptionally well.
From the top of the recruit camp to the blade of the special operations unit.
He used practical actions and the stars added to his shoulders one by one to slap the faces of all the skeptics.
…
In the office, the atmosphere was so heavy it could be wrung out like water.
Li Qiulan was dressed in a crisp military uniform, wearing the rank of Major. His posture was upright as he sat face-to-face with Old Master Li.
After a long time, Old Master Li was the first to break the silence, his voice carrying unmistakable fatigue and worry.
“Qiuqiu, cross-border missions are too dangerous. That place is a mixed bag of people, and bullets have no eyes. I don’t allow you to go.”
Li Qiulan lowered his eyes, his expression calm without a single ripple.
“Grandpa, I know the danger of the mission, but I can’t not do it just because itâs dangerous. I am a soldier.”
“You are a soldier, but you are also my grandson!” Old Master Liâs voice suddenly rose.
“Your father left early. If something happens to you, what will I do? Iâll communicate with Colonel Li this afternoon to transfer you. Go to the rear for a civilian post; you can serve the country just the same.”
“Grandpa, I am a frontline soldier. The battlefield is my post.” Li Qiulan lifted his head, his calm gaze landing on Old Master Li.
“I will come back alive.”
Old Master Li seemed to suddenly age many years.
He knew his grandsonâs character very well; once he made a decision, no one could interfere.
Actually, he was also proud.
His grandson hadn’t brought shame to the Li family.
Old Master Li picked up the tea in front of him, which was almost cold, and took a sip to suppress the bitterness in his heart.
“Qiuqiu, Iâve always wanted to ask you: back then, with a perfectly good path in front of you, why did you insist on being a soldier?”
Li Qiulan was silent for a moment. That face he could almost no longer remember surfaced in his mind.
“Someone told me to be a good person,” he said. Then he looked at Old Master Li, his expression rare in that it carried a hint of confusion.
“Grandpa, I don’t know how to define a ‘good person,’ but I think being a soldier who protects the home and the country should be a good person in peopleâs hearts.”
Old Master Li gently rubbed the teacup in his hand.
When his gaze landed on the badge on Li Qiulanâs shoulder, a smile suddenly surfaced on his face. “Qiuqiu, youâve done very well all these years.”
Having said that, he put down the teacup and spoke with earnest words. “Go. Grandpa will wait for you to come back.”
Li Qiulan stood up and gave Old Master Li a standard military salute.
âââ
Regrettably, Li Qiulan ultimately broke his word.
He didn’t come back.
To cover the retreat of his comrades, he proactively exposed himself, drawing all the enemy’s fire.
He was struck in the heart by a bullet.
In the final moments of his life, many memories suddenly appeared in Li Qiulanâs mind.
He remembered every bit of his time with Shen Tangqing.
The image finally froze in a room in a psychiatric hospital.
Shen Tangqing wasn’t there.
There was only him, all alone, still holding that jade pendant he hadn’t sent out.
His lips moved.
In the end, the sentence he wanted to say wasn’t spoken.
Perhaps he wanted to tell Shen Tangqing that in this life, he was a good person.
Or perhaps he wanted to tell Shen Tangqing that he had thought of him for his whole life.
âââ (End)
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