Chapter 12

Li Zhuiyuan raised his head, looking at the desk in front of him, the desk lamp, and the fifth volume of "Jianghu Records of Strange Phenomena" that he had only flipped through a few pages.

That's right, he had fallen asleep; but he knew this was not a dream.

He didn't understand why, at the last moment, the old woman chose to "let" him out.

He didn't want to use the word "save," because the one who pulled him into this birthday banquet was also her.

Perhaps, it was very difficult to use simple labels like "good" and "evil" to describe her, just as she herself was a combination of human and cat corpses, which was a complex and contradictory manifestation.

Li Zhuiyuan closed his eyes, his fingers pressing against his temples, rubbing gently.

When he was studying in Beijing, he always felt he was walking on a one-way street. No matter how dense the traffic and crowd were, as long as he walked down this road, that was it.

But after returning to his hometown, he found that although the roads in his hometown were narrow and often had potholes, and there weren't many cars or people, these crisscrossing field paths among the rice paddies often made him fall into the confusion of choice.

He could feel the changes that had taken place in him since returning to his hometown, especially in the days since meeting Little Huang Ying.

He was observing harder, trying to figure things out more seriously, talking more carefully, and dealing with non-human existences... it was really not easy, because there was no room for error.

In short, it made him look less and less like a ten-year-old child now.

It was so simple to be a child before.

Suddenly, Li Zhuiyuan opened his eyes, and shock appeared in them.

He,

why would he have such a thought?

What did it mean that it was simple to be a child before? He was clearly just a child!

He began to feel panicked and afraid, his hands unconsciously hugging himself.

At this moment, what appeared in his mind was the scene of his mother looking in the mirror every morning after getting up when he was little.

Mother was breathing deeply in front of the mirror, trying to suppress something over and over again, as if it would break through her skin.

Li Zhuiyuan got up and walked to the wardrobe. There was a mirror in the middle of the door.

He looked at himself in the mirror and suddenly felt a bit strange.

He raised his hand and touched the mirror, and also touched his own face in the mirror.

He began to wonder what kind of person was under this skin.

He didn't dare to continue thinking. He turned around, kept breathing deeply, and told himself over and over in his heart that he was Li Zhuiyuan, he was ten years old this year, his grandfather was Li Weihan, his grandmother was Cui Guiying, and his Great-Grandfather was Li Sanjiang.

Finally, he returned to calm, and his face also revealed the innocence belonging to a child.

The previous him had felt a kind of terror, a terror no less than the moment he was found by the cat-faced old woman in the kitchen.

Because he vaguely felt that if he didn't stop that kind of thought just now and let it continue to spread, it was very likely that next, when he looked at himself in the mirror... he would reveal deep disgust.

Fortunately, he curbed it in time, just like his mother, who would reveal a gentle smile again after breathing deeply in front of the mirror.

"Phew..."

Li Zhuiyuan shrugged and looked at the time: 3:30 AM.

Did he sleep or not?

He didn't have the feeling of sleeping, but he didn't feel sleepy either. On the contrary, he felt better than when he slept normally before.

Was it because his consciousness left his body, allowing his body to fully invest in rest without any distractions?

Li Zhuiyuan pushed the door open and walked out. The late-night breeze at this hour carried a chill and also wrapped some dampness of the rain and dew that was about to come in the early morning.

Downstairs, it was already quiet, or rather, it had never been noisy.

But he didn't dare to go downstairs alone to see now. The sense of security from rationality could never overcome the fear brought by the unknown.

At this time, the window of Great-Grandfather's bedroom flashed. Although it didn't hit the standard distress signal of three long and three short, Li Zhuiyuan still immediately pushed the bedroom door and entered.

On the bed in the bedroom, Li Sanjiang was bleeding, his left hand grabbing the lamp cord at the head of the bed and pulling it constantly.

His neck was very painful, and he couldn't shout. He was very afraid that no one would see him, and even more afraid that the lamp cord would be pulled off by him or the switch would pop up and get stuck.

Fortunately, he saw Li Zhuiyuan, who pushed the door and entered.

"Little Zhuiyuan..."

Li Sanjiang hadn't shouted weakly yet, reached out his hand, and then saw his great-grandson standing at the door run out without hesitation.

Well, he knew the child went to call someone, but how to say it, Little Zhuiyuan didn't run to the bedside to anxiously ask and interact, which still made him feel a bit empty in his heart.

The words of comfort like "Great-Grandfather is fine" and "Little Zhuiyuan, don't cry" that were on the tip of his tongue were swallowed back, making him feel a bit stifled.

Li Zhuiyuan ran downstairs, ignoring the fear on the first floor. The lights on the first floor were off, but by the moonlight, he could see that the east side area was piled with paper figures.

Yes, these paper figures were still there. Li Zhuiyuan even saw the fat chef placed against the wall at a glance.

Most of the paper figures were customized according to tradition, but on this basis, in order to meet the calls of the diversified market, some special ones would be made individually according to the needs of the host family.

For example, if a host family was worried that their relatives wouldn't eat well below, they would burn a chef down.

There were also some old men who left early, and the old ladies were worried that if they burned young maids down, they wouldn't have their own place when they went down, so they ordered old women who looked even older than themselves.

After running to the dam, Li Zhuiyuan went directly to the west room and knocked on the door:

"Auntie Liu, Qin Shu, open the door, it's Little Zhuiyuan, Great-Grandfather had an accident!"

The door was opened.

Standing at the door was Qin Shu. Li Zhuiyuan saw Auntie Liu behind Qin Shu sweeping the floor with a broom.

"Little Zhuiyuan, what's wrong?" Qin Shu asked.

"My Great-Grandfather is injured and bleeding a lot. He needs to be sent to the clinic."

"I'll go, I know how to stop bleeding and bandage." Auntie Liu dropped the broom, took out a cloth bag from the cabinet, and rushed out of the room door. Qin Shu also followed.

Li Zhuiyuan glanced at the paper scraps swept into the dustpan, and then looked at the backs of Qin Shu and Auntie Liu.

Did they not take off their clothes when sleeping at night?

Li Zhuiyuan glanced at the east room. She should be awake too, right?

But Li Zhuiyuan didn't go to the east room to knock on the door, but ran back. Passing by the paper figure pile on the first floor again, he walked to the fat chef, reached out, and touched him.

With just a slight contact, the fat chef fell apart and turned into a pile on the ground.

And this also caused a chain reaction. For a time, all the paper figures began to "collapse" one after another, like a block-pushing game.

Soon, the east half of the first floor, which had looked very crowded, became incomparably empty, just with more broken paper scraps and broken wooden strips on the ground.

Li Zhuiyuan was not afraid, nor was he surprised. He stepped on these paper scraps very calmly, ignoring the crisp "pat" sounds from under his feet, came to the stairwell, and walked to the second floor.

When he returned to the bedroom, he saw Auntie Liu was already bandaging Great-Grandfather.

A faint herbal smell permeated the air, a bit like tortoise jelly. It should have been medicine applied first.

Qin Shu changed the blood-stained mattress and straw mat, took out clean ones from the cabinet, laid them out, and then carried Li Sanjiang, who had been bandaged, onto them.

Seeing Auntie Liu finish and pack the cloth bag, Li Zhuiyuan stepped forward and asked: "Auntie Liu, how is my Great-Grandfather?"

"He lost quite a bit of blood, and the injury isn't light, but they are all external injuries. They have already been treated. No need to send him to the clinic, just rest and recuperate."

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Li Sanjiang lying on the bed and found that his face had regained quite a bit of color.

Auntie Liu also looked at Li Sanjiang. Actually, she was also very surprised. The old man was clearly very old, but his blood and energy were abundant. He looked old on the outside, but he was extremely healthy in his bones.

Other old men and women of the same age could be sent away if they were not careful and fell down, but he had been stabbed with so many holes and lost so much blood, yet it was as if he hadn't hurt his vitality.

"Little Zhuiyuan, if there's anything, call us again." Qin Shu said to Li Zhuiyuan.

"Hmm, alright, thank you, Qin Shu and Auntie Liu."

Qin Shu and Auntie Liu left. Li Zhuiyuan picked up the tea mug, poured some hot water, and walked to Li Sanjiang's bedside.

Li Sanjiang leaned his head against the pillow, his right arm hanging in front of his chest, and took the tea mug with his left hand, drinking it in small sips.

After drinking, Li Sanjiang let out a sigh: "Little Zhuiyuan, starting from today, the luck-turning ritual will be stopped first."

"Alright, Great-Grandfather."

"Wait until Great-Grandfather recovers, then we'll continue."

"Hmm." Li Zhuiyuan took the tea mug and put it aside. "Actually, no need to continue, Great-Grandfather."

"Little one doesn't understand, don't talk nonsense."

"Alright, I won't say it."

Li Zhuiyuan took off his shoes, climbed onto the bed, came to Li Sanjiang's side, leaned against the bed rail, and sat down.

"Go to sleep, Little Zhuiyuan, Great-Grandfather is fine."

"Didn't Auntie Liu ask how you got like this?"

"I said I fell and got injured."

They... just believed it?

Li Zhuiyuan had many things he wanted to ask in his heart, but he didn't know where to start, and looking at it, Li Sanjiang didn't intend to say either.

After a long while, Li Zhuiyuan said: "Great-Grandfather, how should I learn?"

If he was just ignorant during his first encounter during the Little Huang Ying incident, then tonight, he truly felt powerless.

When Li Sanjiang heard this, he thought this kid finally opened his mind and intended to study well.

He was secretly proud in his heart. It seemed that this luck-turning formation was effective. Didn't you see that Little Zhuiyuan had changed his nature?

Fine, this is very good. As long as the child is willing to make progress and study, he is willing to shed some blood.

It's just that Li Sanjiang was a rough person in his early years, and even if he had broken into the Shanghai Bund later, he was dealing with all kinds of people. In this life, he had never seriously entered school.

When he learned to read, it was also to read the gossip news in Shanghai newspapers.

However, he could still talk about the common sense principles.

"Little Zhuiyuan, you must not be ambitious. You still have to lay a solid foundation so that you can go further in the future."

In other words, he still had to continue reading from "Jianghu Records of Strange Phenomena"?

"I know, Great-Grandfather."

"Hmm, if you know, you have to do it. Do it step by step, down-to-earth, so that you can have achievements in the future. Don't learn from your Great-Grandfather. When I was young, everything I did was hit-or-miss. When I got old, I felt regret."

"Great-Grandfather is also very amazing."

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Li Sanjiang, who was covered in bandages, and had a guess in his heart: Could that zombie have something to do with Great-Grandfather?

First, only Great-Grandfather was injured in the family, and second, Great-Grandfather's key bandaging positions highly overlapped with the areas where the zombie was attacked by the old woman.

So,

is this some kind of method used by Great-Grandfather?

"Ha, your Great-Grandfather has many amazing skills. So, you kid must study hard. You will definitely be able to do better than your Great-Grandfather in the future."

Li Sanjiang wasn't talking about side-door methods. What he was proud of was that he could manage his life and live comfortably. As for the side-door aspects... he didn't even understand whether he was in the industry or not, so he ignored it directly.

"Hmm, I know."

Li Zhuiyuan believed that as long as he continued to read the book, he should be able to know what method Great-Grandfather used today.

At this time, Li Sanjiang began to snore. He had lost blood, was tired, and fell asleep.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up the thin quilt beside him, gently covered Great-Grandfather's stomach, and then closed his eyes himself.

It was like taking another nap. When Li Zhuiyuan woke up, it was dawn outside.

He bypassed Li Sanjiang, who was still sleeping, got out of bed, and went out to wash up.

While brushing his teeth, he habitually raised his head to look at the east room.

Behind the east room, a little girl was sitting. The little girl was wearing a red dress today, with her feet on the threshold.

Beside her, Grandmother Liu was combing her hair.

Li Zhuiyuan smiled, and his heart felt a bit brighter. He picked up the washbasin and returned to the room.

When he left the terrace edge, Qin Liu raised her head and looked over.

"Hmm?"

Liu Yumei took away the comb and asked: "Grandma hurt you?"

Qin Liu retracted her head, looked forward, and didn't speak.

Liu Yumei continued to comb her hair and said with a smile: "You played for a really long time last night. Can you tell Grandma what was fun?"

Qin Liu didn't answer.

On the dam, Auntie Liu began to set up wooden stools, preparing breakfast.

Li Zhuiyuan, who had finished washing up, walked down the stairs and saw the empty first floor that had already been cleaned.

When he arrived at the dam, Auntie Liu smiled at him: "Little Zhuiyuan, time for breakfast."

"Alright, Auntie Liu."

Li Zhuiyuan sat down. On the wooden stool was a bowl of white porridge and a salted duck egg.

"Why are you staring blankly instead of eating?" Auntie Liu put down a bowl of fish jelly.

"I'm just confused from sleeping."

"It's good to be a young man, eating well and sleeping well." Auntie Liu walked away with a smile.

Li Zhuiyuan silently picked up his chopsticks. He remembered that at the closing banquet last night, the cat-faced old woman called people to call the family. The fat chef went upstairs, and several paper figure grandmothers ran out to call the east and west rooms.

Great-Grandfather was injured and bleeding, but they were like nothing had happened.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up his chopsticks, picked a piece of fish jelly and put it into his mouth. It melted in his mouth. Soybeans and chili were added, and the taste was very fragrant. It was a perfect match for porridge.

At this time, not far away, Grandmother Liu, holding Qin Liu's hand, also arrived at the wooden stool. Qin Liu sat down, and Grandmother Liu squatted beside her, beginning the "prayer" before every meal.

She didn't comb a bun today, her soft hair draped over her shoulders, paired with the red dress, looking both lively and dignified.

Thinking of her silly appearance in the dream last night, Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Some people indeed have this special charm. She can do nothing, and doesn't even need to speak. As long as she stands there, you look at her, and you can immediately feel pleasure.

Just like the exquisite vase that Li Zhuiyuan saw when he followed his mother in the cultural relic warehouse in Beijing when it was just unearthed.

Seeming to hear the laughter, Qin Liu turned her head and looked at Li Zhuiyuan, who was eating opposite her.

Grandmother Liu, who was still in the persuasion process, also looked over with some confusion.

Li Zhuiyuan was slightly surprised in his heart. How could the interaction in the dream last night be preserved to the daytime in reality?

Li Zhuiyuan pointed to the porridge bowl in front of him and shouted softly at her: "Eat."

Qin Liu lowered her head, picked up her chopsticks, and began to classify various pickles and sliced duck eggs, then paired them with porridge and began to eat.

Liu Yumei's eyes widened, looking like she had seen a ghost.

Qin Liu ate faster than Li Zhuiyuan. When Li Zhuiyuan put down his chopsticks, Qin Liu had already sat back in the threshold.

Auntie Liu's figure appeared quickly. This time, she snatched the bowls and chopsticks before Li Zhuiyuan.

"Thank you, Auntie Liu."

"Next time you finish eating, put it here. I'll collect it. You don't want to harm your Auntie Liu and make her lose her job, right?"

"I know, Auntie Liu."

"Little Zhuiyuan, come over and make tea for Grandma." Grandmother Liu called out.

She was sitting on a bamboo recliner, and beside her on the tea table was a tea set.

Li Zhuiyuan walked over. During this process, Qin Liu, who was sitting in the threshold, moved her gaze with him.

Liu Yumei noticed it. She raised her hand, signaling Li Zhuiyuan to stop.

Li Zhuiyuan stopped and also looked at Qin Liu's side. He began to step back, and then Qin Liu's gaze still followed him.

Liu Yumei stared at Li Zhuiyuan with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Grandma, still making tea?"

"Make it."

Li Zhuiyuan walked over and began to make tea.

Liu Yumei paid attention to her granddaughter there. Her granddaughter was looking here. Oh, it had been a long time since she could be watched by her granddaughter, and she had to rely on the light of this kid beside her.

"Little Zhuiyuan..."

"Grandma..."

Both spoke at the same time and paused. Just when Liu Yumei didn't intend to be humble and continue speaking, she heard Li Zhuiyuan's faster speed:

"Grandma, why do you live here at my Great-Grandfather's place?"

Liu Yumei smiled: "Just making a living."

"But, you don't lack life. You are very rich. This tea set, and the jade thumb ring you wanted to give me yesterday, could already buy a house in Beijing."

Then, Li Zhuiyuan added: "But the current big market for antiques hasn't arrived yet. It will be more cost-effective to sell it in ten years."

The grandfathers and grandmothers in the family courtyard who loved collecting had already started asking for news and collecting old objects in the alleys ten years ago, but they only collected and didn't sell, saying that antiques in a prosperous age should be sold in a few years or left to descendants.

"Little Zhuiyuan, you even understand antiques?" Following that, Liu Yumei sat up straight slightly, her face serious. "Did your Great-Grandfather tell you?"

Antiques rely on eye-sight, knowledge, and accumulation. How old is this child? Liu Yumei didn't believe he could see it himself.

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head.

Not to mention the collections that the grandfathers and grandmothers in the family courtyard liked to show off, he had seen the most antiques while following his mother in various museum units in Beijing, and there were many real treasures that were not exhibited to the public.

"Little Zhuiyuan, Grandma lives here because the air here is good, the climate is good, and it's good for A-Li's illness."

"Oh, I see. Grandma, what were you going to ask just now?"

Liu Yumei was a bit surprised. This child just believed it?

She asked: "Why is A-Li looking at you?"

Li Zhuiyuan said shyly: "Maybe I looked at her too many times a few days ago, and she feels she lost out and wants to pay it back."

Liu Yumei: "..."

Sure enough, this child didn't believe her words just now.

"Grandma, drink tea."

"Hmm."

One old and one young, each drinking tea, the luster flowing in the tea soup was all heart-eyes.

After drinking tea, Li Zhuiyuan was going to read. He went to the toilet behind the house first. Every time he passed the east room, he greeted Qin Liu, and Qin Liu gave him a gaze of attention.

Before entering the main house, he heard the hoarse angry shout of Great-Grandfather from the first floor:

"What's going on, what's going on, where did my paper-cutting go?"

Li Zhuiyuan watched Great-Grandfather so angry that he nearly jumped up, and after landing, he kept stomping his feet.

Auntie Liu walked over and said: "It rained a little last night, the rain hit in, and it's all ruined."

Li Sanjiang frowned: "What?"

Li Zhuiyuan said: "Great-Grandfather, you can get out of bed?"

"Of course, Great-Grandfather's body is fine... no, now is talking about the paper-cutting matter, how exactly did it get ruined?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Auntie Liu is right, the rain hit in."

"This..." Li Sanjiang opened his mouth. "This, this, this..."

Auntie Liu said: "Uncle, it's fine. A-Li and I will hurry to make more overnight, it won't affect the delivery."

"This is a matter of delivery. This material..." Li Sanjiang felt a burst of stuffiness, only feeling that the loss of this paper-cutting was more painful than his own hole.

He had money. This house, these tables, chairs, bowls, and dishes, this paper-cutting workshop... but he didn't save money. He lived a free and easy life. Suddenly, a warehouse of goods was gone, and he would have to be tight on money.

"Little Zhuiyuan, help Great-Grandfather run to Liu Blind's place and ask if the birthday date for Niu Fu's mother has been calculated. If it hasn't been calculated, tell her to hurry."

"Ah?" Li Zhuiyuan was stunned for a moment, and seeing that Auntie Liu had already left to get raw materials, he walked to Li Sanjiang: "Great-Grandfather, you are like this, and you still want to hold a birthday banquet?"

Li Sanjiang said as a matter of course: "It's precisely because I'm like this that I have to go even more!"

"Your body now, what if you encounter danger at Niu's house..."

"No money to spend, what's the use of this body?"

Li Zhuiyuan didn't know how to answer for a moment.

"Little Zhuiyuan, Great-Grandfather lives this kind of life. My life is cheap and I've lived enough, but I don't want to be tight on money. Be good, listen, go help Great-Grandfather pass the word.

Also, tell you, this time it's not just me and Liu Blind going. Great-Grandfather also invited a peer. Hehe, I guess he will come tomorrow too. That old thing, together with the child in his family, is very powerful.

Remember, you can't tell Liu Blind what I look like now. She is timid, and if she knows, she might shrink back!"

Li Zhuiyuan nodded and had no choice but to go to Liu Jinxia's house.

Cui Cui's North Grandma was sick and hospitalized, which was Cui Cui's father's mother. Li Juxiang took Cui Cui to the health center to visit, so she was not at home.

Liu Jinxia had already set up a bridge game in the morning, and she was playing happily when Li Zhuiyuan came. After listening to Li Zhuiyuan's message, Liu Jinxia shook off the cigarette ash and said: "The day after tomorrow, the day after tomorrow. The day after tomorrow morning, we will go to Niu Fu's house in Shigang together."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Grandma Liu, won't it be too fast?"

"Fast what fast, finish the matter early and collect the money early, hehehe. Besides, your Great-Grandfather is there, what is there to worry about."

If you knew what Great-Grandfather looked like now, you wouldn't think so.

Li Zhuiyuan returned home and reported the date to Li Sanjiang.

"Done, good, good, good."

Li Sanjiang, lying on the rattan chair on the second-floor terrace, patted his legs happily and reached out to pull the rope on the wall beside him. At the upper end of the rope was a black wooden box nailed to the wall.

First, there was some static, and after pulling it again, the sound of storytelling came out.

Li Sanjiang closed his eyes, lit a cigarette, and listened to the book while smoking. Even though he was covered in injuries, he still revealed a kind of unconstrained and free-spirited energy.

Seeming to notice that Li Zhuiyuan was still standing beside him, Li Sanjiang said:

"Little Zhuiyuan, this is the life your Great-Grandfather chose. Whatever work is dangerous, I do it. Why? Because this work is not tiring and has plenty of oil and water.

This, is your Great-Grandfather's fate."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded. He took out the fifth volume of "Jianghu Records of Strange Phenomena," walked to the southeast corner of the terrace, sat down, and began to study.

Just like before, every time he turned the page, he would raise his head and look at the girl below.

He found that the girl was also looking up at him.

Very good, the feeling of eye contact is more pleasing to the eye.

However, as he watched, Li Zhuiyuan found that every time he raised his head and looked down, he could meet eye contact.

Even Grandmother Liu downstairs was looking upward along her granddaughter's line of sight.

This made Li Zhuiyuan have to look at Grandmother Liu as well every time he wanted to feast his eyes, which made the eye-feasting feel strange.

Therefore, for the rest of the time until he finished reading the fifth volume, Li Zhuiyuan didn't raise his head to look down again.

Entering the room, taking out the sixth volume, Li Zhuiyuan sat down and raised his head to look down. Grandmother Liu was already sitting in the chair beside her reading the newspaper, but Qin Liu still maintained the posture of looking up at him.

She wouldn't keep this head-up posture all the time, right?

This made Li Zhuiyuan feel some guilt in his heart, and he felt a bit irritable when reading, unable to calm down completely.

Grandmother Liu, who was reading the newspaper downstairs, had actually been staring at the terrace from the corner of her eye. Seeing the little boy poking his head out from time to time, the frequency becoming more and more chaotic, she couldn't help but sneer in her heart:

This is a man. When he can come and go freely, he feels at ease, but once he is bound by responsibility, he becomes irritable.

But soon, Liu Yumei put down the newspaper in surprise, because she saw Li Zhuiyuan running down from upstairs, smiling when passing in front of her, and then walking straight toward her granddaughter.

"You..."

Before Liu Yumei could finish speaking, she saw the boy actually bend down and want to hold her granddaughter's hand.

"Dangerous..."

Liu Yumei knew what kind of terrible reaction her granddaughter would have when touched by an outsider. This boy would be scratched until his head was broken and bleeding. Even she, the grandmother, didn't dare to have overly intimate gestures toward her.

Following that, Liu Yumei stood up with a "swoosh." He actually saw that after the boy held her granddaughter's hand, her granddaughter also stood up.

This... what is going on?

When her granddaughter stared at the boy in the morning, she even specifically took advantage of the tea-making time to look closely to see if there was anything dirty on the boy that could attract her granddaughter to look.

But this interaction in front of her was already beyond Liu Yumei's understanding.

Li Zhuiyuan held Qin Liu's hand. Her hand was warm and soft.

"Your neck will be tired if you keep looking up like this. Go up and read with me, okay?"

Qin Liu looked at Li Zhuiyuan and didn't speak.

"If you don't speak, I'll take it as you agreeing."

Li Zhuiyuan bent down to pick up the stool Qin Liu was sitting on, then pulled her and walked toward the room.

Liu Yumei didn't speak to stop it. On the contrary, after the initial shock, when she looked at the backs of the young boy and girl walking together holding hands, her eyes were immediately moistened by tears.

She covered her mouth with her hand, afraid that her crying voice would come out.

She even bit the back of her hand with her teeth to confirm that she wasn't dreaming.

"Bang!"

On the first floor, Auntie Liu, who was busy making paper figures, dropped a basin of paste directly to the ground, splashing everywhere. Fortunately, Li Sanjiang was on the second floor, otherwise, he would have jumped with pain again.

"Creak..."

Qin Shu, who was building the frame of the house, directly tore the beam of the paper house.

The two looked at each other, both thinking their eyes were blurred. What did they just see? A-Li was held by an outsider and walked up the stairs together?

The two immediately dropped their work, ran out to the dam, didn't see Liu Yumei, so they went to the east room again, and saw Liu Yumei standing in front of the memorial tablet, crying with joy and saying:

"Did you see it, did you see it, our A-Li, our A-Li..."

Li Sanjiang was listening to the radio storytelling, humming a little tune, turned sideways to pick up the tea mug and just took a sip of water, when he saw Li Zhuiyuan walking out of the stairwell holding hands with Qin Liu.

"Pfft!"

The water in Li Sanjiang's mouth sprayed out directly.

"Great-Grandfather, do you want me to add water for you?"

Seeing Li Zhuiyuan pulling Qin Liu toward him, Li Sanjiang immediately waved his hand:

"No, no, no, no need, you take her away, stay away from me! No, you also..."

Li Zhuiyuan held Qin Liu and came to the southeast corner, putting down the stool.

"You sit."

Qin Liu sat down.

Li Zhuiyuan sat back in the rattan chair, picked up the book, and just turned a page when he felt something was wrong, so he got up again: "Stand up for a moment."

Qin Liu stood up. Li Zhuiyuan moved her small stool away, replaced it with a slightly higher stool that Yingzi had brought up yesterday, and then placed it beside him.

"Sit."

Qin Liu looked at the new stool and didn't sit.

Li Zhuiyuan was a bit confused, but he immediately seemed to think of something and wiped the stool with his sleeve:

"Sit, it's clean now."

Qin Liu sat down.

Li Zhuiyuan put the book on the wooden stool and didn't hold it to lie down and read anymore.

The two were very close, head to head.

Qin Liu's gaze always fell on him, and he could also include the girl's face in his line of sight while reading.

The girl's hair was blown up by the wind from time to time, hitting his face; the fragrance on her body also lingered on the tip of his nose.

This feeling was very unique.

Reading and feasting eyes at the same time,

Li Zhuiyuan felt that he had found the highest efficiency of reading.

In the distance, Li Sanjiang went from initial panic to fear, then to worry, then to incredulity...

After watching for a long time and confirming that the girl just sat there obediently staring at his great-grandson without causing danger, his eyes... revealed appreciation!

This Little Zhuiyuan is really different from his mother when she was little.

Li Lan, that girl, often received love letters when she was in school. As a result, that girl's approach was to send all the love letters directly to the principal's office desk.

That day, I don't know how many boys were asked to call their parents. The principal's office was full of the sound of whips and slaps.

"Okay, very good. It seems our Little Zhuiyuan is smarter and more clever than his mother was back then, hehe."

Li Sanjiang closed his eyes and began to listen to the book again.

Near noon, Li Zhuiyuan felt a bit of urgency to urinate. It should be because he drank tea with Grandmother Liu in the morning. He asked Qin Liu:

"Do you want to go to the toilet?"

Qin Liu didn't speak.

"Then you sit here, I'll go to the toilet and come back."

Qin Liu didn't react.

Li Zhuiyuan got up, ran downstairs, and went around to the back of the house. Originally, the large vegetable plot behind the house was a place that could be marked. He had just stood still when he heard footsteps behind him. Turning his head, he found it was Qin Liu.

She followed.

"Uh..."

Li Zhuiyuan could only betray the teachings of brothers Pan Zi and Lei Zi, turned around, lifted the curtain, and walked into the toilet.

Standing still again, the curtain was lifted, and she came in again.

Li Zhuiyuan had no choice but to pull her out of the toilet and said: "I'm here to relieve myself. If you follow in, I'm not convenient. You just stand here and wait for me to come out, okay?"

Qin Liu didn't react.

Li Zhuiyuan lifted the curtain again and entered the toilet. After waiting for a while, he didn't hear the sound of the curtain being lifted, so he untied his pants.

There was a water vat beside the toilet. After picking up a ladle to wash his hands, Li Zhuiyuan walked out and saw Qin Liu, who had listened and stood in place this time.

"Do you need to go to the toilet? Why don't you go too."

Qin Liu walked toward the toilet and lifted the curtain, but her hand was grabbed. She stopped, turned her head to look at Li Zhuiyuan, showing confusion.

This kind of confusion was the same as when she was sitting in front of the dining table last night, when Li Zhuiyuan told her to eat but didn't allow her to eat.

Li Zhuiyuan was a bit worried. Would she be able to go to the toilet by herself? Looking at the way she was taken care of by Grandmother Liu on weekdays...

In short, he knew very little about Qin Liu, only knowing... she was beautiful.

Li Zhuiyuan was about to find Grandmother Liu to ask, but when he raised his head and looked at the passageway, he saw Liu Yumei's head poking out.

"Grandmother Liu..."

"Our A-Li can eat by herself, go to the toilet by herself, and take a bath by herself. Our A-Li is the same as normal people."

"Alright." Li Zhuiyuan nodded and let go of her hand.

Qin Liu walked into the toilet.

Li Zhuiyuan stayed in place, feeling Liu Yumei's fiery gaze sweeping over him constantly.

"Little Zhuiyuan."

"Grandmother Liu."

"You just take our A-Li to play, take her to play."

"Alright, Grandmother Liu."

The sound of washing hands came from the toilet, and then Qin Liu walked out. She spread her hands in front of her.

Grandmother Liu hurriedly reminded: "Wipe your hands, wipe your hands."

"Oh."

Li Zhuiyuan stepped forward, took Qin Liu's hands, and wiped them on his jacket.

"Alright, clean now."

Qin Liu retracted her hands.

Li Zhuiyuan held her hand and returned to the second floor. On the way, he went to get a clean towel and draped it over his shoulder.

Returning to the northeast corner of the terrace, Li Zhuiyuan sat down to read. After Qin Liu sat down, that beautiful face also entered his line of sight.

Finished the sixth volume.

Li Zhuiyuan stretched, then stood up and walked to an empty place, seriously doing the national middle school student radio gymnastics.

Just finished, took out the seventh volume, and heard Auntie Liu calling for lunch from downstairs.

Li Zhuiyuan and Qin Liu went down.

Li Sanjiang ate separately from them, and this time was no exception. Qin Liu was led to that side by Grandmother Liu.

After Li Sanjiang sat down, he took out a bottle of white wine.

"Great-Grandfather, you are injured, you can't drink."

"Pfft, your Great-Grandfather is half-buried in the ground. Every time I drink, I earn it."

Ignoring the remonstrance from his great-grandson, Li Sanjiang poured himself a full glass. Just as he took a sip and picked up his chopsticks to press down with some food, he saw a figure suddenly walk over. It was Qin Liu.

Behind her were Grandmother Liu and Auntie Liu who had followed.

"Sorry, everything is ready on our side, and we are just about to eat, but A-Li left the table and ran here."

"Come, A-Li, go back to eat with Grandma first, and then go play with Little Zhuiyuan after eating."

Qin Liu didn't move. She just stood there, looking at Li Zhuiyuan.

And along with Liu Yumei's pulling, her eyelashes began to flutter slightly, and her body began to tremble gradually.

Liu Yumei could only let go, not daring to pull anymore.

Li Sanjiang, besides having opinions on the four white-eyed wolves in Li Weihan's family, was not a stingy person. He waved his hand and said: "Just let the girl eat here,

"Then thank you," Liu Yumei said hurriedly, "sorry for the trouble."

Li Sanjiang waved his hand: "What are you talking about? It's great that the two little ones can play together; they both have a playmate, so they won't be lonely."

Liu Yi brought over bowls, chopsticks, and small stools.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up the towel on his shoulder and helped her wipe the stool: "Sit down and eat together."

Qin Liu did not move.

Liu Yumei: "A-Li, sit down and eat with us."

Qin Liu still did not sit, but she turned sideways toward Li Sanjiang; although she didn't look at him, her meaning was very clear.

She did not want to eat with Li Sanjiang.

Li Sanjiang was just holding his wine glass, ready to drink, but when he saw this posture, he said somewhat blankly:

"Then... should I leave?"

Liu Yumei didn't speak, but inwardly she was delighted that her granddaughter was actually expressing emotions, and not through that kind of madness.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't respond either, silently wiping the small stool again.

Li Sanjiang smacked his lips: "Hehe, hehehe. Forget it. Ting Hou, divide the food for me; I'll go sit over there."

"Hey, alright, alright, sorry for the trouble, Uncle, I'm really sorry."

Liu Yi immediately divided the food and set up a separate table for Li Sanjiang in another spot.

Qin Liu finally sat down.

Liu Yumei said to Li Zhuiyuan with full anticipation: "Xiao Yuan, get A-Li to eat."

It was the same this morning; every time she needed to painstakingly persuade her for a long time, yet after one word from this boy, her A-Li would eat.

"Wait a moment." Li Zhuiyuan stood up and ran to the kitchen.

Qin Liu also wanted to stand up, but she saw Li Zhuiyuan return with four small plates and a small bowl.

Li Zhuiyuan was seen portioning the food, placing it into each small plate, and then ladling soup into the small bowl.

In Qin Liu's eyes, there seemed to be a bit more luster.

Liu Yumei watched this scene with a bit of curiosity.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Alright, let's eat."

Qin Liu picked up her chopsticks and began to eat.

She picked up food from one plate at a time, took a bite of rice, followed the row of plates until finished, then took a sip of soup, and continued to repeat the process.

Liu Yumei was surprised that she actually felt her granddaughter was eating very easily this time, even with a little bit of a young girl's joy.

"It can be done like this?"

Li Zhuiyuan smiled; the remaining food on the plates was his, and he also began to eat.

Benefiting from the fact that his tablemate was a patient with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, he naturally understood how to get along with such people.

Qin Liu ate very quickly; by the last round, all the food on the plates was finished, the soup was finished in the last sip, and the rice was just right.

She put down her chopsticks.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up the towel, folded it, and helped her wipe the corners of her mouth and her hands; the towel was large and could be divided into many functional areas.

After eating, Li Zhuiyuan took Qin Liu to the terrace to read again.

He was reading this "Record of Jianghu Strange Tales" faster and faster; by dusk, he had already reached the twelfth volume.

He felt that this speed could be improved tomorrow; in a few days, he would be able to finish the introductory encyclopedia, and then he could go back to the basement box to hunt for treasure.

During this time, when he drank water, he gave Qin Liu water; when he went to the restroom, he took Qin Liu with him.

Not eating snacks much himself, he was afraid she would be hungry, so he opened a few bags of snacks and shared them with her.

Every time after, he had to wipe her hands; because he used the towel himself, it was getting dirtier and dirtier.

Li Sanjiang grumbled somewhat dissatisfiedly, asking why Yingzi didn't come to tutor him today.

Li Zhuiyuan felt that his sister should be at home digesting the problems he helped her solve yesterday.

But Li Sanjiang believed that Yingzi felt Li Zhuiyuan was too difficult to tutor and didn't want to come anymore.

For dinner, Li Sanjiang was still at a separate table.

This time, Liu Yumei had prepared the plates and divided the food for her granddaughter in advance, but when Qin Liu sat down, she didn't pick up her chopsticks.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up his own chopsticks and slightly adjusted the amount of food on each plate.

Qin Liu picked up her chopsticks and began to eat.

Liu Yumei: "A-Li, it's Grandma's negligence; I didn't control the portions well."

In reality, the old grandmother thought: Hmph, don't I remember how much you eat in one bite? This girl, she did it on purpose!

But the old lady had no dissatisfaction in her heart, only happiness, because these were all good trends; she wasn't afraid of her having a temper, she was only afraid of her being like before, completely closing herself off like a piece of wood—that was true despair.

Liu Yumei turned her head to look at Li Sanjiang, who was sitting alone drinking sullen wine, then looked at Li Zhuiyuan in front of her, and sighed in her heart:

Having lived here for so long, have I finally waited for good fortune?

After dinner, Li Zhuiyuan didn't intend to use the desk lamp to read at night; he had read a bit too much today and felt tired, so he prepared to go back to bathe and sleep.

Looking at Qin Liu, who still wanted to follow him, he said seriously:

"A-Li, you go back to wash up and sleep; I'm going to sleep too. We'll read together again tomorrow, okay?"

Qin Liu didn't speak.

Li Zhuiyuan turned and walked toward the stairs, then stopped and looked back, discovering that she hadn't followed him but was obediently following Liu Yumei to the east room; only then did he set his mind at ease and go upstairs to bathe.

After bathing, Li Zhuiyuan thought about taking out that dirty towel to scrub it well, but discovered that the towel he had been hanging on his shoulder all along was gone.

"Did I drop it somewhere?"

In the east room, watching her granddaughter lie down on the bed to sleep after washing up, Liu Yumei felt deeply comforted.

With a smile on her face, she walked out of the inner bedroom and came to the place where the spirit tablets were enshrined.

She had a lot to say today, and she wanted to have a good talk with A-Li's grandfather, A-Li's maternal grandparents, and A-Li's parents.

Having protected her for so long, now that she finally had hope for rehabilitation, she believed that they, as well as the ancestors, would all feel happy.

After all, A-Li was the only remaining descendant of the Qin and Liu families.

Sitting down in front of the tablets, Liu Yumei was just about to open the conversation when she suddenly discovered that there was something wrong with this six-layer tablet shelf.

Logically speaking, it was impossible for anyone to touch this place; there were only so many people in the house, and Qin Li and Liu Ting would never dare to touch this place when cleaning.

But what exactly was wrong with it?

Liu Yumei looked up and down carefully several times and finally discovered the place hidden in plain sight.

That was, in the middle position of the third layer of the tablets, the tablet that originally belonged to A-Li's grandfather, her own husband, was gone!

Replacing it,

was a... dirty towel folded into a small square and placed there.

(End of chapter)