20demayo 285
285
Gu Xinglan spent a week feeling utterly annoyed.
The child was full of energy and had no idea what boredom was.
Today they went even further, drawing on his face.
They used ink to draw a smiling face with its tongue sticking out on the side of his face, almost circling his right cheek.
It will take at least four days to completely remove those ink stains!
Gu Xinglan went to Li Yuan specifically to complain.
"Uncle Yuan," he called out mournfully twice.
The pattern on his right cheek almost made Li Yuan lose his composure. "What happened to your face?"
"Li Shengwa, that naughty kid, he deliberately used calligraphy practice ink to draw on my face!"
When I was complaining, that smug look on his face flashed into my mind, an image I couldn't help but conjure up.
After a long pause, Li Yuan stroked his beard and said with a kind smile, "I'll teach him a lesson for you."
"Okay, just remember not to include my name."
He feared this person was vindictive and might dare to smear his face with ink today, and might even dare to hit him directly tomorrow. If this person did something really outrageous, where would he go to seek justice?
For the next two days, the area he was sweeping was quiet, and he couldn't see anyone else at all.
Li Yuan's words were helpful, and Gu Xinglan felt a little relieved.
It had rained a few days ago, but the temperature didn't drop; in fact, it got even higher. The air became very dry, and Gu Xinglan wanted to go swimming in the river behind the house.
He was the captain of the school swimming team in college, and he had a six-pack. Unlike now, he just eats and sleeps all day, and you can't even see a hint of firmness in his muscles.
The river current is not rapid at the riverbank. This is the upstream area, and you can see the stones on the riverbed clearly from the riverbank.
The sound of rushing water mingled with a series of intermittent cries.
Gu Xinglan stood behind the big tree.
The tree obscured half of a person's figure in the distance.
There were tissues next to the boy's thighs. He cried and pulled out tissues to wipe his face. Finally, he took off his shoes, preparing to fall into the river.
That would be terrible!
The boy by the river turned out to be Li Shengwa, whom he hadn't seen for several days.
Could this person be contemplating suicide by jumping into the river after being reprimanded by Li Yuan? Gu Xinglan's nerves tightened at the thought, and she quickly threw away her phone, kicking off her slippers as she ran.
Before Li Shengwa fell, Gu Xinglan grabbed him by the armpits, struggling to hold him up, and shouted at the top of her lungs:
"Please, please don't do anything rash!"
Gu Xinglan's face turned red, and she was panting heavily before she finally managed to utter those words.
Li Shengwa was a little dazed, but after recovering, he immediately started swinging his legs.
"Let me go!" Damn it, he was just feeling down and wanted to go swimming, when suddenly someone grabbed him from behind.
When she turned her head, she saw Gu Xinglan's worried expression.
They even said things like, "I know you must be feeling really bad right now. If you're unhappy, would you like to talk to me about it?"
Especially the person's cautious expression.
Li Shengwa's struggling movements slowed down, her eyes widened, and she was suddenly pulled into a fragrant embrace.
It has a faint fragrance; you have to sniff it closely to discover its rich aroma.
He didn't dislike the smell.
But how dare this person touch his head?
"I'm sorry..." Gu Xinglan lowered her eyes, with faint ink marks on her right cheek. She was clearly unhappy, but she still forced a smile at him.
Li Shengwa raised his eyebrows almost imperceptibly.
“Li Yuan reprimanded you, but I was the one who complained. You should be looking for me, not risking your life.”
Hearing this, Li Shengwa wanted to laugh.
But I still want to see what other strange things this person can say or make.
The air was silent for a long time. Li Shengwa clutched his heart, tears streaming down his face, looking as if he was about to collapse.
"You all treat me like a good-for-nothing. What use am I in this world? To produce carbon dioxide?"
Gu Xinglan quietly raised her eyes.
The boy's sad expression was genuine.
It seems that his complaint was indeed the last straw that broke the camel's back.
"Everyone has strengths, and you are one too..."
Just as Gu Xinglan was speaking gradually and gently patting the boy's back, his chin suddenly stung.
Li Shengwa pushed him away and ran off.
"and many more!"
Gu Xinglan was afraid that the person might do something rash again, so she chased after him, but in the blink of an eye, the person had disappeared.
This is the Li family home, and the Li family members are naturally more familiar with it than he is.
He told Li Yuan about it and asked Li Yuan to take Li Shengwa to see a psychologist.
“That child hates me, I’ll stay away from him from now on,” Gu Xinglan said with a worried expression.
But Li Yuan just laughed, his laughter so loud it was almost uncontrollable.
"...Is this funny?" Gu Xinglan frowned deeply.
This is clearly a very serious matter.
"You don't need to worry about him. The children of the Li family may be physically weak, but they cannot be mentally weak."
This statement by Li Yuan was not only applied to Li Shengwa, but also to Li Jianbai.
For the next few days, Gu Xinglan stayed in a corner of the Li family's private school and noticed that Li Shengwa would secretly come here every day.
He placed a piece of paper on the table and shared some interesting things on it.
In particular, when he introduced the fun and delicious things to do in Wushui, the other party was clearly very interested and even wrote a reply on a piece of paper.
Gu Xinglan came over early in the morning.
The note ended with: "[Could you tell me more about the story of being kidnapped and taken to the mountains?]"
In the past few days, he recounted several stories about his past experiences, highlighting how he overcame his disability and persevered in life.
It's clear that Li Shengwa is an adventurous and playful person, and he certainly wouldn't have suicidal thoughts.
Could it be that that day was really a misunderstanding?
Gu Xinglan scratched his head and simply wrote on the paper: [If you want to know, we can chat face-to-face tomorrow. I have something to do today.] He even drew a smiley face after writing it.
Today I'm going to Li Jianbai's courtyard to test out those hunting rifles.
He seemed to have a sense of both closeness and awe towards guns.
The midday sun is high in the sky; it's lunchtime.
He hasn't come over since the thunderstorm.
Li Jianbai still owes him a wish.
I don't know if it will still be honored.
The courtyard gate was tightly closed, and Gu Xinglan pulled on the bolt and knocked twice.
The door opened quickly from the inside, and he didn't recognize the person who opened it.
But standing behind the unfamiliar servant was the familiar Li Jianbai.
Li Jianbai was dressed more conservatively than before, and only then did he realize that this person actually had muscles, though they were quite thin.
"What have you been busy with these past few days?" The voice was weak and listless.
Li Jianbai led him inside, not even glancing at him, and wiped the black gun with a white cloth.
But the moment Gu Xinglan stepped inside, she had no energy left to reply; her attention was entirely focused on the two rows of things on the table.
"Xiaobai, are you sure this is a hunting rifle?"
"Ah."
What kind of hunting rifle is this? Gu Xinglan picked up a small pistol with dense, seemingly random yet orderly patterns on it, and instinctively pulled the safety off.
The slide was pulled back, exposing the barrel to the view.
There were no bullets inside.
Gu Xinglan couldn't tell whether she felt relieved or disappointed.
You can handle guns too?
“Li Taihe taught me,” Gu Xinglan replied casually.
To be precise, he was the son of Li Taihe in his previous life.
"Hmm?" Li Jianbai frowned slightly.
Why would Li Taihe teach someone from another family how to use firearms in China? But looking at Gu Xinglan's determined expression, he remained silent for a long time before saying, "Would you like to try?"