Chapter 49#
It seemed that Mother Lin was looking this way. Lin Fengzhi subconsciously hid against the wall, his trembling body pressed tightly against it.
Not far away, the conversation continued.
Mother Lin asked curiously, “Little Yan, do you still have memories from that time? What exactly happened? Did you really dislike me and hide?”
Lin Fengzhi’s heart instantly beat deafeningly. His fingers gripped the edge of the wall, his smooth and polished nails digging heavily into it.
Did he hide?
Could it be?
Did Yan Heqing… hide back then?
He wanted to hear, yet dared not to.
A thought hovered in Lin Fengzhi’s mind, almost certain. If… Yan Heqing hid, the reason wouldn’t be that he disliked Mother Lin, it would only be…
For him.
Yan Heqing loved him.
He knew it.
Lin Fengzhi withdrew his hands, fearfully wanting to cover his ears.
Just then, he heard Yan Heqing’s clear voice, “I don’t remember clearly.”
Lin Fengzhi’s hands slowly dropped, pressing tightly against his incessantly beating chest.
He closed his eyes.
Yet blurred fragments still flashed through his mind.
Two children.
One was crying, “Brother, I’m so scared… I want to go home. When are we going home?”
The other held the crying child warmly, “Don’t be afraid, brother will always protect you.”
The child was still crying, clutching his brother’s clothes tightly, “An older brother told me that the family who adopted him was so fierce, they would beat him. He ran back by himself. Boohoo, brother, I’m afraid of pain…”
“They won’t.” His brother wiped away his tears and snot. “Xiao Song will meet someone very good who loves you very much, definitely.”
Xiao Song…
Yan Mingsong?
Lin Fengzhi’s heart felt as if it was being yanked hard by a hand, throbbing with pain.
Tears surged out of his eyes.
He didn’t want this!
He hated this feeling!
It made it seem like Yan Heqing gave up the chance to be adopted by Mom and Dad for him.
Clearly, they liked him the most!
On the other side, Mother Lin sighed, “Yes, you were too young then. Xiao Zhi waited for you until dark that day, but couldn’t wait for you. He cried miserably and fainted on the way home. He had a fever for two days and two nights; I was almost scared into a heart attack.”
Recalling it now, Mother Lin still had lingering fears.
Such a tiny person burning hot all over. Her heart ached just looking at him. She didn’t dare leave his side, watching over him for two days and two nights without undressing. When Lin Fengzhi’s fever subsided, she fell ill herself.
“Seeing so many pitiful children in the welfare home, and Xiao Zhi getting seriously ill on his first day home, I swore that since he lost his parents, I, his new mother, would love him countless times more.”
Compacting the soil, Mother Lin patted the mud off her palms and remembered another laughable incident.
“Because of this, the second son threw a tantrum once, crying and accusing me of only loving Xiao Zhi and not caring about him. He threatened to run away from home, stayed in a hotel and wouldn’t come back, saying he didn’t care if he died outside without my care.”
“Later, Xiao Zhi ran to his school after school. He ignored him. It lasted for about a month. One day Xiao Zhi was blocked and bullied. He rushed over to fight them and carried Xiao Zhi home with a face full of blood. Since then, he has been better to Xiao Zhi than anyone else.”
This was the first time Lin Fengzhi had heard about this.
He had long forgotten.
He couldn’t control a thought popping up.
If Mom and Dad had adopted Yan Heqing, would Lin Fengyi have been good to him from the start?
Probably not.
Lin Fengyi was so good to him, how could he be good to another person…
Lin Fengzhi covered his ears tightly, but he could still hear Yan Heqing’s voice, “Meeting you was Fengzhi’s blessing.”
Shut up!
Stop talking!
He didn’t want to listen anymore!
Lin Fengzhi bit his lips. A moment later, his endurance reached its limit. He wiped his eyes indiscriminately and ran away.
Vaguely hearing movement, Mother Lin looked towards the wall but saw nothing.
Several flower seedlings were transplanted. Her hands were dirty, so she stood up and said, “Go wash inside; the water outside is freezing.”
Yan Heqing didn’t miss the back of Lin Fengzhi running away from the corner of his eye. He brushed the dirt off his fingertips.
After washing his hands and returning to the living room, Lin Fengxian and Father Lin were indeed still studying the chessboard.
Mother Lin smiled and said, “I wasn’t wrong, right? Playing chess with them can worry a person to death.”
Yan Heqing smiled, “It’s okay. I’ve encountered people who waited for two days.”
Mother Lin was surprised, “That long…”
“Mom.” Suddenly someone called her.
Mother Lin stopped and looked towards the staircase following the voice. Lin Fengyi had just come downstairs. Mother Lin asked, “Are you going out?”
Lin Fengyi glanced quickly at Yan Heqing before going downstairs as if nothing happened. “No.”
He had changed into a suit and specially styled his hair. Mother Lin was baffled. Why dress up if not going out? She didn’t ask further. “You just got up. It’s almost lunch. If you’re hungry, eat some snacks to pad your stomach first…”
In the kitchen, the chef who came to cook the family banquet was already busy.
Lin Fengyi walked into the living room. There were nuts and candies on the coffee table. Lin Fengyi casually picked up a pack of thin crackers, opened it, and ate absent-mindedly, his gaze drifting towards Yan Heqing from time to time.
Since he came in, Yan Heqing hadn’t looked at him once.
Focusing intently on the chessboard.
But a moment ago, he was clearly still talking to his mom.
Lin Fengyi was extremely unhappy, his teeth grinding heavily on the cracker crumbs in his mouth.
Some time passed. Lin Fengxian finally had an idea, and the chess piece pinched in his palm finally landed on the board.
He looked up at Yan Heqing. Before he could feel joy, Yan Heqing seemed to have anticipated this move long ago and placed a piece with a crisp sound.
“Good!” Father Lin clapped repeatedly. “Little Yan, this move is truly brilliant. Lin Fengxian has no chance.”
Lin Fengxian stared intently at the chessboard. A few minutes later, he pushed up his glasses, shook his head with a smile, “I lost.” He picked up the chess pieces. “Another game!”
Lin Fengyi didn’t understand Go. His gaze fell on Yan Heqing’s face, chewing the cracker lazily. “Is he really that good…”
Father Lin glanced at him sideways. “I taught you before but you wouldn’t learn, only caring about playing games. Now you can’t even understand a game of chess. What do you know? Little Yan is considered a master among the people.”
Lin Fengyi thought of the last time at the bar.
He actually lost to Yan Heqing in dice rolling. Even though he won the second time, thinking back afterwards, he always felt Yan Heqing let him win on purpose.
That feeling of Yan Heqing controlling the whole situation made him extremely unhappy.
Watching Yan Heqing and Lin Fengxian finish the second game, suddenly Mother Lin said “Eh?”, “Hasn’t Fengzhi gotten up yet?”
Lin Fengyi suddenly came back to his senses.
Right, why hasn’t Lin Fengzhi come? Didn’t he like this biological brother of his quite a bit?
He was about to go upstairs to wake Lin Fengzhi up when Father Lin said, “He got up early. Did he go out to play?”
Mother Lin poked his forehead. “Little Yan is here for dinner today. Why would he go out to play?” Mother Lin took her phone directly and dialed Lin Fengzhi’s number.
The phone vibrated in his palm.
A total of 48 minutes.
Lin Fengzhi stood not far outside the living room’s French window, witnessing the Lin family and Yan Heqing enjoying themselves harmoniously.
48 minutes before thinking of looking for him.
Lin Fengzhi’s eyes soured with grievance again. He turned off his phone forcefully and turned to leave.
Since they didn’t care about him, don’t look for him!
Lin Fengzhi stuffed the phone back into his pocket, ran to the garage with his head down, stepped on the gas, and sped away.
Mother Lin couldn’t get through. She dialed again and walked towards the stairs. “I’ll go upstairs and check.”
Yan Heqing placed a chess piece, his face calm.
He knew where Lin Fengzhi was.
Whenever Lin Fengzhi felt aggrieved, the first person he thought of was Lu Lin.
However, Lu Lin was not at the Lu family’s old residence now.
Ten minutes ago, Lu Lin posted a rare update on his Moments.
The picture was that pot of Haworthia cooperi.
The location was his office desk.
Lin Fengzhi drove aimlessly. When he stopped and lowered the window, he had arrived at the Lu family’s ancestral home.
Uncle Lu…
Lin Fengzhi suddenly felt even more aggrieved. He gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands, wishing he could immediately throw himself into Lu Lin’s arms and cry his heart out.
He missed Lu Lin so, so much!
Opening the door and getting out, Lin Fengzhi ran forward and pressed the doorbell urgently. He couldn’t wait to see Lu Lin.
Soon a servant answered the intercom.
“Hello, who is it?”
Lin Fengzhi sniffled. “I’m Lin Fengzhi from the Lin family, looking for Uncle Lu Lin.”
“Mr. Lu is not here.”
Lin Fengzhi was stunned. “Where did he go?”
The servant didn’t know Lu Lin’s itinerary, and even if she did, she wouldn’t tell a stranger. She smiled and said, “Sorry, I don’t know.”
Lin Fengzhi asked again, “When will he be back?”
“Not sure either.”
Lin Fengzhi was extremely depressed. He also understood that with Lu Lin’s status, there must be many social engagements during the Spring Festival.
After spacing out in the car for a while, Lin Fengzhi reversed and left.
Now, he could only go find him…
Mother Lin didn’t find Lin Fengzhi in his room, searched the second floor again, and still didn’t find him. She went downstairs strangely. Could he really have gone out to play?
Mother Lin looked at Yan Heqing and sighed faintly. She was really embarrassed to let Yan Heqing know. She walked into the storage room, closed the door, and made a call. The other party answered quickly, “Auntie Lin.”
“Xingye.” Mother Lin smiled. “Is Fengzhi with you?”
Gu Xingye was just about to speak when the garden gate slowly opened and a car drove in. He changed his words, “Yes, is there something wrong?”
He really went to play! How could this child be so insensible towards Yan Heqing? Mother Lin sighed a few times in her heart. “Nothing, just asking casually. Be safe when you play.”
Gu Xingye replied, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of him.”
Mother Lin then hung up with relief.
Going out, she made an excuse, “Xingye seems to have something to do and called Fengzhi over. He’ll be back after it’s done.”
The Lin family all knew Gu Xingye. Mother Lin explained to Yan Heqing separately, “He’s Fengzhi’s high school classmate. Like you, he’s also a student at Jing University, just don’t know which department.”
Lin Fengyi was disdainful. “Biology Department.” He stared at Yan Heqing again. Yan Heqing said he wanted to transfer to the Biology Department this semester. Wonder if he succeeded.
Yan Heqing smiled. “It doesn’t matter. Business is important.”
Mother Lin’s heart softened. This child was raised so well. She sat down next to Yan Heqing and said with a smile, “Next time we have a gathering, invite your parents over. We’ll all be relatives in the future, good to visit each other.”
Yan Heqing said frankly, “I’ve severed ties with them.”
As soon as these words came out, the Lin family looked at him in unison. “Severed ties?”
Yan Heqing smiled faintly. “They adopted me because they couldn’t conceive, but suddenly gave birth the following year.”
He stopped there, but everyone understood.
Mother Lin looked at Yan Heqing’s thin face. Before, she thought it was because Yan Heqing’s family conditions were poor and he didn’t get enough nutrition. Now hearing this relationship, she suddenly realized he had been abused!
Only loving their own biological child, why adopt a child!
No sense of responsibility at all!
Mother Lin was very angry and at the same time felt particularly sorry for Yan Heqing. She patted Yan Heqing’s arm. “Come home often in the future. We are your family.”
Father Lin also echoed, “Right, right.”
Lin Fengxian didn’t speak, only smiling encouragingly at Yan Heqing.
Only Lin Fengyi looked at Yan Heqing with complex eyes.
So Yan Heqing’s living environment was that bad. No wonder he worked at a bar, and… his gaze fell on Yan Heqing’s hands again.
Rough, like the hands of a worker in his thirties. Were they all worn out from working to earn money?
And on New Year’s Eve, Yan Heqing didn’t eat with his foster parents’ family whom he had fallen out with, spending the New Year alone?
Does Lin Fengzhi know about this?
Lin Fengyi was distracted.
——
Lunch was sumptuous. Lin Fengzhi didn’t return after eating, so Yan Heqing was about to take his leave.
Mother Lin naturally disagreed. “He will definitely come back tonight. Stay at home today. The room is all tidied up.”
Lin Fengyi glanced at Yan Heqing.
Before Yan Heqing could speak, Lin Fengxian took over the conversation. “I’m too full to play chess. Let’s play a few rounds of games. The second brother has a lot of out-of-print classic game discs. He also set up a game room on the second floor, which is super fun.”
Yan Heqing explained politely, “I haven’t played games before. I don’t know how.”
Lin Fengyi finally caught a chance. “Don’t know how, or too noob to dare play?”
Lin Fengxian laughed a few times. “Playing games is just for fun. Winning or losing doesn’t matter. Let’s go, let’s go.” He got up and pulled Yan Heqing’s arm to the second floor. “Young people should play more games. When you reach my age, you won’t have the energy even if you want to play.”
This time Yan Heqing didn’t refuse again.
Lin Fengyi felt his blood boiling.
The chance to wipe away his shame had come!
He had never lost to anyone in playing games. Watch how he crushes Yan Heqing today!
He quickly followed them.