Outside Huo Rou's small courtyard, by a corner of the wall.
Li Zhaodi pushed aside a small brick, inserted her finger, and after the fingerprint recognition, a small window in the wall opened.
She skillfully took out a quilt. "Aunt Huo is a kind person. She worried I would be too shy to ask her directly, so she hid a quilt here for me. Every time my mother kicked me out to do chores, I would come here to get the quilt and hide in my secret base."
She carried the quilt back, and as she walked, she spoke to Qin Ningyi about her time with Huo Rou and An An. She talked about their secret base, about An An's longing for her father, and about Huo Rou's low spirits and helplessness when she first arrived.
"Actually, I know Aunt Huo is different from us. She carries something big in her heart." Li Zhaodi looked at the completely dark sky. "Uncle Qin, you do too."
She envied people like them. When one's heart is filled with many other things, one is not confined to their own emotions, and they would be very happy...
"Uncle Qin, are you guys rarely affected by your mood?" she blurted out without realizing it. "When you have more things in your heart, you don't feel sad anymore, right?"
After speaking, she shook her head. She hadn't expected an answer to such a question.
Her heart was very small. Since childhood, her only wish was for her parents to love her as much as they loved her brother.
This wish was shattered with each passing day.
"Uncle Qin, take me with you when you leave tomorrow."
As Li Zhaodi said this, a faint smile played on her lips, as if she were saying something insignificant.
"My mother lied to me about coming back. She wants me to marry Da Tie Zhu from the village. His family offered the most betrothal gifts, and they want to save money to get a wife for my brother."
Those struggling in darkness can always wait for the light.
"Just drop me off at the fork in the road, okay??" wΑp.kanshu伍.net
Li Zhaodi tilted her head and pleaded.
Qin Ningyi looked at the quilt in her hand and felt the warmth of the jade in his palm. He pursed his lips, his eyes deep and unfathomable. "Okay."
Li Zhaodi beamed with her most radiant smile. Her steps became much lighter, and she walked back to the courtyard in a few strides. Qin Ningyi followed her from a distance, listening to the whistling wind.
"You will."
In the silent night, a gust of wind blew, chilling to the bone. Li Zhaodi couldn't hear Qin Ningyi's voice fading into the mist.
"You will feel sad."
How could he not feel sad? He missed A Rou so much...
His palm felt the smooth texture of the jade pendant. His thumb slowly rubbed over it.
The next day, after bidding farewell to Liu Dazhi, Qin Ningyi, as promised, dropped Li Zhaodi off at the fork between Daolin Village and Dacheng Village.
"Uncle Qin, this is my birthday gift for Aunt Huo." She got out of the car and took out a small box from her inner pocket. "Aunt Huo likes to read. I bought her a bookmark."
After giving the gift to Qin Ningyi, she quickly ran to the side of the road to flag down a car and leave.
Qin Ningyi looked at the box in his hand.
Yes, A Rou's birthday was approaching.
He had also prepared a gift...
"Let's go," Qin Ningyi said indifferently.
Everything he had prepared was meaningless. Without the main person, what difference did it make if he was home or not?
The road to Dacheng Village was extremely flat, a stark contrast to the other village.
The car drove unimpeded to the entrance of Dacheng Village. 看書喇
"Young Master Qin, should we go to their house directly now?" His subordinate, unsure of Qin Ningyi's intentions, cautiously asked, looking back.
Qin Ningyi looked at the wisps of cooking smoke rising from the houses in Dacheng Village. "Let's go back first."