Chapter 110#
“I’ll give it all to you! I don’t care!”
“You have to give Uncle Lu back to me, I don’t care about any of these things…”
“I can give it all to you!”
Including.
Mom.
Mother Lin stared at the snow-white ceiling. There was nothing there, but she stared for nearly an hour.
The ward was quiet. Except for Yan Heqing, everyone else was outside.
“Heqing.”
Finally, Mother Lin broke the silence.
She turned her head, her eyes shrouded in a thick layer of grayish-green. “Why are you so sensible?”
Yan Heqing sorted out the cause and effect and understood what Mother Lin meant.
He had heard Lin Fengzhi’s words on the rooftop and knew that he had deliberately hidden himself to give up the adoption opportunity.
Mother Lin forced a smile. “You remember everything. When we went to dinner during the Spring Festival, you even covered for him.”
Yan Heqing explained, “I didn’t cover for him. It was my own decision at the time.”
He explained the situation at that time.
After the family accident, no relatives were willing to adopt them. He and Lin Fengzhi were sent to an orphanage. A few days later, Lin Fengzhi came to him crying, “Brother, I’m so scared… I want to go home. When are we going home?”
Lin Fengzhi’s little face was flushed from crying, and he burrowed into his arms. “A brother told me that the family that adopted him was very fierce and would hit him. He ran back by himself. Sob, sob, brother, I’m afraid of pain…”
Yan Heqing was only five years old at the time. He knew that someone would come to adopt them. The only thing he could think of was to let his younger brother go to a very good family where he would not be beaten and would be well-loved.
Mother Lin closed her eyes bitterly. Once there was a rift, she couldn’t help but think that Lin Fengzhi’s words had an ulterior motive.
“I love Mom the most in the whole world!”
“Mom is the most beautiful mom in the whole universe!”
“No one is allowed to bully my mom, not even Dad!”
“Mom, you can’t get sick. If you get sick, I’ll get sick too!”
“Mom…”
“Mom!”
The naive and innocent words, which were once the honey in Mother Lin’s heart, now turned into sharp blades, cutting her with pain.
These were all lies.
In Lin Fengzhi’s mind, she was a bargaining chip that could be exchanged for Lu Lin. Lin Fengzhi didn’t care, he didn’t care at all.
Mother Lin’s heart clenched in pain again. She scratched the bedsheets with her nails. Yan Heqing noticed and quickly pressed the red call button at the head of the bed.
The doctor and nurse rushed in. It was nothing serious, just that her emotions were too volatile. The doctor gave Mother Lin a tranquilizer. Before she fell asleep, she only gave one instruction, “I don’t want to see Lin Fengzhi right now.”
Mother Lin finally fell asleep. Yan Heqing left the ward, and Father Lin, Lin Fengxian, and Lin Fengyi went in.
As they passed each other, Lin Fengyi glanced at Yan Heqing and nodded slightly.
Lin Fengxian’s fiancée was not there. Lu Lin explained, “She took Lin Fengzhi away.”
In the current situation, only she could talk to Lin Fengzhi rationally.
Lu Lin said no more and took Yan Heqing’s hand. “Let’s go home.”
The corridor was quiet, and even the lights seemed colder than elsewhere. Yan Heqing nodded and held Lu Lin’s hand tightly.
The way back was not to the apartment in the city center, nor was it back to Yan Heqing’s rented small house, but Yan Heqing didn’t ask anything. He turned off his phone and looked at the receding neon lights outside the window.
Suddenly, the tune of “Sheng Sheng Man” sounded in the car.
Lu Lin asked, “Are you hungry?”
“Not hungry.” Yan Heqing lowered his forehead and pressed it against the cold window. He closed his eyes and said softly, “That building used to be my home.”
His voice had a缥缈 (piāomiǎo - ethereal) and detached quality. “I remember there was a beautiful pomegranate tree in the yard. The fruits were very big. My mom was very tall and could always pick the biggest and reddest fruits for us.”
“I knew when my dad was at the entrance of the alley. The smell of fried cakes always arrived home before he did.”
“Do you want to eat some?” Lu Lin asked, “Fried cakes.”
Yan Heqing opened his eyes. The street scene outside had changed. He turned back, a faint smile on his lips. “No, thanks. Some things are best left in memories.”
Lu Lin was not sure if he was talking about the fried cakes or Lin Fengzhi, but it didn’t matter anymore.
It was already a memory.
It was almost 12 o’clock. Lu Lin drove into a wide, long road. There were no houses on either side. Tall, lush trees blocked the night sky. The night was dark. When Lu Lin stopped the car and got out, Yan Heqing opened the car door and smelled the fragrance in the air.
It was light but not greasy, fragrant but not vulgar. It was the scent of plane tree flowers.
The courtyard gate was a very ordinary iron gate. Lu Lin pushed open the side door and gestured with his chin. “Come in. I lived here for 18 years.”
Yan Heqing walked in. An orange light illuminated a cobblestone path. Ahead was a two-story Western-style building with warm lights on. The garden was surprisingly large. It was hard to see clearly at night, but he could faintly hear the sound of flowing water. He didn’t know if it was a stream or a lotus pond with fish.
As they approached the Western-style building, a rustling sound suddenly came from the bushes. Before Yan Heqing could react, a black mass jumped out of the flowers and pounced on his feet.
It wasn’t light. Yan Heqing took a step back and looked down to see a German Shepherd puppy sitting on the ground, looking up at him, its round, black bean-like eyes full of curiosity.
Yan Heqing’s breathing quickened for a few seconds. He squatted down and tentatively reached out to pet the puppy’s head. The puppy was docile and didn’t move. When his palm landed, it even stuck out its tongue and licked his palm carefully. The wet, warm, sticky feeling was not very pleasant, but Yan Heqing liked it very much.
He liked this dog. He looked back at Lu Lin. “Where did it come from?”
Lu Lin also squatted down and beckoned slightly. The puppy let go of Yan Heqing and ran to Lu Lin, wagging its tail happily. Lu Lin rubbed its head. “It’s ours. Its name is 51 Hertz.”
Yan Heqing was stunned. “51 Hertz?”
“There’s already a 52 Hertz, so it can only be called 51 Hertz.” Lu Lin picked up 51 Hertz with one hand and held it to his chest, but his eyes were on Yan Heqing, with a hint of teasing in his smile. “When your dog comes home, it can only be called 50 Hertz.”
Yan Heqing finally smiled. He looked at Lu Lin, and gradually, the corners of his mouth widened. The two of them and a dog stood at the door for a long time.
“A-Lin?” After a while, the door of the Western-style building opened, and an old man with gray hair walked out. His eyesight was not good. He stared for a long time before he recognized Lu Lin.
Lu Lin answered and explained, “He is my maternal grandfather’s butler. He is 90 years old this year.”
Yan Heqing nodded politely and raised his voice. “Hello, my name is Yan Heqing.”
The old butler was still in good spirits, but his eyesight and hearing had declined. Fortunately, Yan Heqing’s voice was loud enough for him to hear clearly the first time. He smiled broadly. “Oh, oh, A-Lin’s lover is here.”
There were two steps in front of the door. He was about to go down to shake Yan Heqing’s hand. Yan Heqing quickly stepped forward and held out his hand first. The old butler grabbed Yan Heqing’s hand and held it tightly. His eyes were sunken, but they were very bright. “Good, good, come in, come in.”
He led Yan Heqing into the house, walking very slowly. Yan Heqing also slowed down and looked back at Lu Lin as he walked. Lu Lin held 51 Hertz and followed them into the house with a smile.
The decoration in the house was already quite old, but it had a very homely feel. The leather sofa was worn with age, and a large plate of washed honey plums was placed on the coffee table. Each one was almost the size of an egg.
The old butler was about to pour tea again. Lu Lin stopped him. “Go and rest. We’re going to rest too.”
The old butler reacted a few seconds later and said with a smile, “It’s time to rest. You two should go to bed early too.”
The old butler went back to his room. 51 Hertz was running around on the floor. Lu Lin picked a yellowish honey plum for Yan Heqing. “It’s too late to eat, it’s not good for digestion. Eat a few to fill your stomach. I’ll cook you something delicious in the morning.”
Yan Heqing took it and took a bite. It was crisp and sweet. He ate it silently. After eating one honey plum, he already felt full. Besides blueberries, he rarely ate fruit. Today, he ate three honey plums.
After eating, Lu Lin took Yan Heqing to his room. He didn’t go in. He knew that Yan Heqing was very tired today. He lowered his head and kissed his eyes. “Rest early. I’ll take you back to school tomorrow.”
Yan Heqing nodded. After entering the room and taking a shower, his mind was still very clear, but thinking that he had to do experiments tomorrow, he still forced himself to sleep.
Lu Lin went to the guest room and checked his messages.
The person who stayed at the hospital reported that Lin Fengxian’s fiancée had returned. Lin Fengzhi had tried several times to get into the hospital but was stopped. Now Lin Fengzhi was guarding the hospital entrance.
He probably knew about Yan Heqing’s plan. He didn’t care why Yan Heqing was doing this to Lin Fengzhi, he just wanted Yan Heqing’s plan to succeed quickly.
Yan Heqing was too tired.
Lu Lin opened another chat box. It was about Lu Muchi’s situation.
It was too easy for Lu Lin to investigate someone. The record contained detailed daily information about Lu Muchi.
Lu Muchi was beaten quite badly this time. Lu Changcheng temporarily relented a little and agreed to let him see Yan Heqing first, but Lu Muchi refused.
“Young Master Lu said to wait until his marriage proposal is successful.”
Marriage proposal.
Lu Lin stared at these two words, his index finger bent, tapping lightly on the table. After a moment, he sent an email in a foreign language.
The content was his and Yan Heqing’s ring sizes, to order a pair of wedding rings.
Yan Heqing woke up at six o’clock the next day. He turned on his phone. As expected, it was full of missed calls from Lin Fengzhi and his frantic WeChat messages.
Just as he turned on his phone, Lin Fengzhi’s call came in again.
Yan Heqing didn’t answer and blacklisted him. Then he opened yesterday’s recording. Although Mother Lin had heard it with her own ears, he still sent a copy to his email before deleting the recording on his phone.
After washing up and going out, the old butler was still sleeping. Lu Lin had already cooked two bowls of noodle soup. After they finished eating, Lu Lin sent him back to school.
Gu Xingye also arrived at the laboratory early. The two met at the top of the stairs. Gu Xinghe’s face was terrible, even worse than when he stayed up all night doing experiments. At this time, Gu Xingye’s phone rang again.
From last night until now, Lin Fengzhi had been calling him non-stop, asking him to take him to the hospital to see Mother Lin.
Gu Xingye knew that the Lin family would not let Lin Fengzhi into the hospital now, and Father Lin had specifically called to ask him to persuade Lin Fengzhi to leave the hospital and not to worsen Mother Lin’s condition.
Gu Xingye was in a difficult position now. He even had a headache when he saw Lin Fengzhi’s calls.
“Need help?” Yan Heqing suddenly asked.
Gu Xingye smiled bitterly. “If you knew who it was, you wouldn’t say that.”
“I know, Lin Fengzhi.” Yan Heqing said calmly, “I’ll answer the phone for you, and he won’t contact you again.” His voice was calm. “But he won’t contact you again in the future either.”
Gu Xingye understood Yan Heqing’s meaning. He was silent and did not answer immediately.
Yan Heqing did not rush him and just continued to go upstairs. When they were almost at the laboratory door, Gu Xingye finally called out to him.
“You take it.”