942: 684 Next Ti (Request for Monthly Ticket!)_2 942: 684 Next Ti (Request for Monthly Ticket!)_2 The leaves rustled in the wind.
“When I was little, I loved the food cooked by my aunt the most.
The fish she made was much tastier than my mom’s,” Hong Xiaoyu’s gaze shifted to the photo on the gravestone, “and my eldest uncle, every ti it was my birthday, he would take to buy toys, sothing he barely did for my brother.”
“No wonder your brother didn’t like to play with you.”
Unable to contain a smile, as if realizing it for the first ti, Hong Xiaoyu said epiphanically, “Right, that’s the reason.”
The atmosphere quieted down.
Hong Xiaoyu looked at the woman wearing a cap.
Because he was standing two steps behind, he could only see a small part of her profile and not her expression, just like he couldn’t fathom what she was thinking while facing his cousin’s parents.
However, simply by her being here, he felt that his cousin’s ex-girlfriend must at least be a very cultured person.
Thus,
A question weighed on his heart resurfaced.
Why did his cousin and she break up?
Watching her, he ultimately didn’t dare ask.
“Uncle and Auntie really looked like a matching couple.”
Ai Qian spoke up.
“Right?” Hong Xiaoyu imdiately responded, “I think so too.
And hasn’t my brother inherited all their best traits?”
Ai Qian smiled without teasing the other’s earnest praise of his sibling, looking at the gravestone, “If your uncle and aunt were still here, they would definitely be proud of your brother.”
“My brother has always been their pride,” Hong Xiaoyu declared, and then a trace of sorrow finally seeped into his voice, “I think what saddens my brother the most is that uncle and aunt left too early and didn’t live to enjoy their later years.”
Children wish to support their parents, but sotis they’re no longer around.
It’s easy to say, but when it hits reality, it’s unspeakably heavy.
Hong Xiaoyu clenched his hands, “Many people say that my brother has bad luck.”
Ai Qian was silent for a long while.
Nobody knew what she was thinking.
A bit later, she finally said, “But it seems like your brother has always felt very happy.”
Hong Xiaoyu curled his lips, finally resembling Jiang Chen a bit; he didn’t smile but just exhaled, “My brother, well, he has always been a very optimistic and proactive, upward-looking person.
Or rather, he doesn’t like to show his fragile side to others.”
“That’s true.
Everyone sees him smiling, so it seems like they feel, he never gets sad or hurt.”
As he spoke, Hong Xiaoyu felt an increasing heaviness in his chest, even a suffocating feeling, which made him exhale more forcefully.
“He was forced to be that way.
Uncle and aunt are gone, and if he was weak or sad, what would it change, when there’s no one left to feel sorry for him,” Hong Xiaoyu continued as he balled up his fists.
Ai Qian’s expression was wooden and her unnoticed hands clenched in secret.
“But my brother has grown up now; the hardest tis should already be behind him.
The future can only get better,” Hong Xiaoyu declared with uplifted spirits.
“Yes, eventually bitter tis will turn to sweet.
A person like your brother, he has endured all his hardships in the first twenty years of life; the rest of his life can only be filled with happiness,” Ai Qian comnted.
Hong Xiaoyu laughed.
“Let’s go; I’ll treat you to a al,” he suggested as Ai Qian turned around.
“Really?”
“After all, I’m like your older sister; why would I lie to you?
What’s good to eat in Sha City?
Price doesn’t matter; pick whatever you like.”
“Then I won’t be polite.”
“No need to be polite, it’s just this once, so you gotta seize the chance,” she said as their voices gradually faded into the distance.
Only the lilies left swaying in the wind in front of the gravestone.
Though he said he wouldn’t be polite, in the end, Hong Xiaoyu took her to a barbecue restaurant in town.
As for his mom, he made up a lie, saying he was going to check up on Brother Tie Jun.
“Are you on a break?”
Barbecue places usually cater to the late-night crowd, and there weren’t many people around at dinner ti, so the owner personally served them.
“Yeah, ca back to have fun for a couple of days.”
“Take a look, what would you like?”
The limping owner passed the nu to Hong Xiaoyu while appraising Ai Qian.
Hong Xiaoyu handed the nu to Ai Qian without thinking.
“Xiao Yu, won’t you introduce her?”
The owner glanced between Ai Qian and Hong Xiaoyu, his smile cryptic; clearly, he had misunderstood sothing.
Understandably so.
Ai Qian looked young, especially dressed in fresh sportswear; sitting with Hong Xiaoyu, it was hard to tell their age difference.
Hong Xiaoyu was of age and certainly not naive; he instantly sensed what the owner had in mind.
His expression tightened, and he hurriedly clarified: “Brother Jun, this is my brother…”
His words halted abruptly.
Brother Tie Jun and his cousin were childhood friends, who grew up together.
So things couldn’t be spoken carelessly, and he also had to consider whether the “sister” whose na he didn’t even know was willing.
“This is my friend,” he eventually introduced her.
Tie Jun nodded with a smile, whether he believed it or not.
After all, having returned from military service, he was not like Fu Zili—had Fu Zili been here, he certainly wouldn’t have let the matter rest, and would have made sure to tease him.
But Tie Jun simply said, “Call when you’ve decided,” and then understandingly walked away,
Ai Qian casually skimd through the nu.
“That’s the owner of this barbecue place, nad Tie Jun, I usually call him Brother Jun; he’s my brother’s childhood friend,” Hong Xiaoyu volunteered information.
Upon hearing this, Ai Qian glanced over at Tie Jun heading toward the kitchen.
“He used to be a soldier but got injured, hence he was discharged and opened this place,” Hong Xiaoyu explained as he couldn’t help asking, “Hasn’t my brother ever talked to you about his childhood?”
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