Qin Wangye said in a seemingly casual tone, “That is Wen.”
Song Que replied, “Wen Liangmao.”
“Why is he here?”
Song Que answered, “Mr. Shao called him to help.”
Qin Wangye let out a low, “Hmm.”
After closing the shop, Gu Yushuo also successfully pacified Shao Fuguang.
“You guys go ahead,” Qin Wangye said.
Shao Fuguang seized the opportunity to lean in. He was no longer upset, returning to his carefree, young master self. “Brother Ye!”
Qin Wangye asked, “What do you want?”
“A car.”
Qin Wangye chuckled. “You really do have such expensive tastes. Fine, I will buy it. Is your birthday not in a few days? We can count it as a birthday gift, deal?”
Shao Fuguang replied, “Deal!”
This time, it was Qin Wangye’s turn to squeeze into Song Que’s car. If asked why, the answer was that Gu Yushuo had borrowed his own.
Song Que certainly would not refuse, but he first had to take Jiaojiao home.
Li Shishan’s parents were elderly and light sleepers who worried easily. Sometimes, when they worked until 4:00 or 5:00 AM and pushed the door open, the elderly couple would still be awake. Song Que was close to them, so he planned to help cover for Li Shishan, as Jiaojiao would not be able to hide it on her own.
Song Que drove, with Qin Wangye in the passenger seat.
Glancing at the rearview mirror, Song Que saw that Jiaojiao seemed somewhat absent-minded.
He did not know much about this sister-in-law. He remembered one day when Li Shishan was beaming and told him he had fallen in love, true love. Song Que immediately offered his blessings. At that time, Zhuiyuan was in its development phase, and he was so busy he could barely find a moment to breathe. Time flew, and before he knew it, Li Shishan was married. Jiaojiao had a good personality, so she and Song Que got along well.
“Will Shishan go back to your hometown with you for the New Year this year?” Song Que asked.
Jiaojiao snapped back to reality, paused, and said, “I am not going home.”
At first glance, this seemed fine, but Jiaojiao continued, “I stopped associating with them a long time ago.”
Song Que felt he had stumbled upon a sore spot, but Jiaojiao’s tone remained as usual.
Jiaojiao had an older sister and a younger brother. Her parents had squeezed every drop of value out of her older sister for the sake of the younger brother, ultimately leading to the sister’s marriage breaking down to the point where she could not even see her own daughter. Jiaojiao had long since seen through their true colors and ran away as soon as she became an adult. Later, when she met Li Shishan, she was quite insecure, worried that Li Shishan’s parents would look down on her. However, the situation took a turn for the better, and she finally experienced what true family affection was.
Jiaojiao shared a few details, and both Song Que and Qin Wangye listened quietly.
Li Shishan had bought a three-bedroom apartment, which was quite spacious for two generations to live in. As soon as Jiaojiao opened the door, the living room lights turned on. Mother Li said happily, “So early today?”
Jiaojiao felt a lump in her throat; she rarely lied to her parents-in-law.
Song Que walked in from the hallway. “Auntie, Uncle, business was good today and everything sold out. The delivery truck broke down on the road, so Shishan went to pick it up. He will be back by tomorrow morning at the latest.”
Mother Li slapped her thigh. “Xiao Que!”
“It is me,” Song Que laughed. “I brought Jiaojiao back and decided to stop by to see you.”
Song Que was carrying gifts he had specially bought on the way, including two boxes of ginseng and cordyceps that Qin Wangye had swiped from Shao Fuguang’s trunk.
Father Li put on his shirt. “Come in, come in!”
Song Que said, “Uncle, please smoke less.”
Father Li smiled and extinguished his cigarette.
Following behind Song Que, a tall figure entered, causing the door frame to seem unnecessarily low.
Mother Li was stunned, and Song Que hurriedly said, “This is a friend of mine. We were together, and he does not have his own car.”
“It does not matter, it does not matter,” Mother Li said, staring intently at Qin Wangye.
Qin Wangye greeted them, “Hello, Uncle and Auntie.”
“I made soup. Since Shishan is not coming back tonight, it will not be fresh by tomorrow morning. I will get some for you!” Before Song Que could refuse, Mother Li rushed into the kitchen.
Song Que looked back at Qin Wangye, who appeared quite at ease. “I will listen to Auntie.”
Jiaojiao set out the bowls and chopsticks, and the hot chicken soup was placed in front of them. It was a familiar taste, and Song Que’s nose twitched slightly.
“I remember you used to love drinking this,” Mother Li said, sitting across from Song Que.
Song Que replied, “I still love it now.”
“Then drink more, there is plenty more.”
After saying this, Mother Li could not help but look at Qin Wangye again.
Qin Wangye thought to himself that there was nothing wrong with his outfit today.
Mother Li paused and asked, “Your name is Qin, Qin Wangye, right?”
Qin Wangye was surprised. “Auntie, do you know me?”
“Yes,” Mother Li answered. “Did you not attend Ruicai High School?”
“Yes, I did.”
“That is it,” Mother Li said. “The top student in the grade. Every parent-teacher meeting, all the teachers would prioritize praising you for five minutes. It is hard not to remember that.”
For anyone around the same age as Qin Wangye, regardless of whether they were parents or students, he had left a deep impression.
Qin Wangye felt a bit embarrassed. “Is that so?”
Mother Li chuckled. “You were the school heartthrob, right?”
Qin Wangye shook his head. “That is not true.”
“Xiao Que was in your class too. I did not expect you to be such good friends now.”
Song Que’s back immediately stiffened.
Mother Li said excitedly, “Xiao Que was also a very good student back then.”
“I know,” Qin Wangye interjected. “He was only one or two places behind me.”
Song Que looked at Qin Wangye in shock.
Qin Wangye’s expression remained unchanged as he opened the lid and added more soup to Song Que’s bowl. He seemed very conversational. “Did Xiao Que come here to eat often back then?”
The way he said “Xiao Que” made Song Que’s eardrums tremble slightly.
“Yes, he would come back with Shishan after school.”
Father Li, who had been quiet until now, added, “We would ask him to come over for lunch too, but he was always shy and refused. He was so young, yet he insisted on going to do part-time work to earn money.”
“Exactly. He would not save the money he earned; he would use it to buy us gifts instead.”
“He was as thin as a bamboo pole.”
Song Que said awkwardly, “Uncle.”
Before he could finish, a hand resting on his knee was gently covered by Qin Wangye, stopping his protest.
Qin Wangye held it for two seconds before letting go. He continued to chat like a neighbor. “How long did Xiao Que do part-time work?”
“In total, about two years.”
Two years. Qin Wangye gently set down his spoon. Before he was even an adult, finding work usually meant manual labor. Shao Fuguang had told him about Song Que’s situation; his father did not care for him, his mother disliked him, and they treated him like a burden. Even so, Qin Wangye had assumed his basic needs were provided for, and that he had merely been kicked out of the inheritance.
It turned out they had just completely ignored him.
Noticing the change in atmosphere, Mother Li quickly stopped talking, thinking that Song Que was saddened by the memories of the past.
After finishing the soup, they got up to say goodbye. Fortunately, neither of Li Shishan’s parents questioned where he was.
Exiting the Li residence, the sky was pitch black, and the air was filled with a thin mist.
Before getting into the car, Song Que could not help but ask Qin Wangye, “You remember my class rank?”
Qin Wangye leaned against the car door with his arms crossed, a half-smile on his face. “How bad do you think my memory is?”
Song Que shook his head. “That is not what I meant.”
He had simply always believed that Qin Wangye had never really remembered him. Back then, Song Que was paranoid and gloomy, with hair covering his eyes, his whole being dull and lightless, and completely lacking the vitality of a youth. That kind of person was usually not worthy of Qin Wangye’s attention.