In her half-awake state, Lin Zhinuo heard her grandmother quietly reminding her father, “That child’s grandparents fled here during a famine. He doesn’t have much family. With the weather getting hotter, we can’t delay the funeral arrangements. Keep an eye on things and help him out where you can.”
Lin Jingshan gave a low response and hurried out the door.
It was only after Lin Zhinuo got up that she learned Xu Qingyan’s father had been taken away for cremation.
The funeral was simple and desolate.
In just six days, the courtyard next door had returned to its usual quiet and loneliness.
Lin Zhinuo sat beside her grandmother under the veranda, listening to the old woman sigh softly.
Outside the half-open courtyard gate, a slender figure appeared.
Over the past few days, the boy, who had already been thin, had grown even more gaunt. His cheeks were slightly sunken, and his jawline was cold, hard, and sharply defined. He wore an old black T-shirt that had been washed until its color had faded. Only his dark eyes remained deep and bright.
In his hand, he carried a brand-new folding stool with a backrest.
Lin Zhinuo ran over. Her gaze fell on his thin, narrow shoulders and back. Though there were still two steps between them, she could almost feel the hard bones beneath his clothes.
Her heart ached dully, so painfully that her eyes began to sting.
“Brother Qingyan, is there something you need?”
The boy’s gaze swept over her smiling lips, but when it reached her reddened, tear-filled eyes, it suddenly stopped.
The girl in front of him was clearly smiling, yet she looked as though she were about to cry.
The glimmer of tears in her eyes made his heart ache. The soft “Mm” caught in his throat.
He reached out and handed her the folding stool.
“A few days ago, Grandma Chen asked me to fix her stool, but it couldn’t be repaired. So I made her a new one.”
Lin Zhinuo froze for a moment. Only after he had turned to leave did she belatedly call after him, “Grandma is making steamed green beans later. I’ll bring some over for you.”
Sitting in the rocking chair under the veranda, Chen Xueying let out another long sigh.
“What a good child. So sensible and considerate. It really breaks your heart to see him like this.”
Lin Zhinuo bit her lower lip. For some reason, the brand-new folding stool in her hands suddenly felt strangely heavy.
So this was the reason for all his silence and restraint in her previous life. His painful childhood had shaped him into someone so mature and sensible.
At noon, the old woman made a large pot of steamed green beans, but Grandma Wang from across the way called her over.
Lin Zhinuo filled a large bowl and piled a thick layer of beef slices on top. Then she carried it over to Xu Qingyan.
The courtyard gate was only half closed. Lin Zhinuo pushed it open a crack and peeked inside.
The boy was sitting on a stone bench beneath a tree. In front of him was a bowl of dry, plain noodles.
There wasn’t even a stir-fried dish, let alone a plate of pickled vegetables.
“You’re only eating this?”
Her heart tightened with pain.
In her memories of her previous life, Xu Qingyan had been an excellent cook. Even the hired cook had praised his dishes.
Back then, her emotions had always been terrible. Whenever Xu Qingyan had free time, he would make all kinds of delicious food, constantly changing the dishes, carefully trying to please her and cheer her up.
“Eat this. Grandma steamed the green beans, and the beef is braised beef. It’s tender and full of flavor.”
Lin Zhinuo placed the bowl in front of him and motioned for him to try it.
Xu Qingyan had naturally eaten Grandma Chen’s steamed green beans and braised beef before.
Whenever Grandma Chen asked him to help with something, she would always send him some food afterward.
“Brother Qingyan, hurry and eat.”
She stood very close to him. The sweet, fruity scent of her hair drifted over. Even the plain noodles that had originally seemed utterly unappetizing suddenly tasted much better.
Under her expectant gaze, Xu Qingyan picked up a piece of beef with his chopsticks and put it into his mouth. Then he gave a slight nod.
Lin Zhinuo was satisfied. She pushed the bowl a little closer to him.
“Grandma said you have to finish everything. No wasting food. When you’re done, I’ll come back and get the bowl.”
At his age, a growing boy naturally had a big appetite. He was far too thin right now.
She had to make sure he ate more.
Xu Qingyan said nothing. He simply lowered his head and ate quietly.
Afraid that he would feel embarrassed under her watchful gaze, Lin Zhinuo pretended to casually look around.
The little courtyard was old and run-down, but it was neat and tidy. It even had two more eastern rooms than her grandmother’s courtyard.
One was a simple kitchen. The other…
She pointed toward it.
“Brother Qingyan, is that the room you live in?”
As though he had eyes on the back of his head, Xu Qingyan didn’t look up. He merely gave a soft “Mm.”
“Can I go inside and take a look?”
Although it was a little impolite, Lin Zhinuo was genuinely curious about what Xu Qingyan’s room had been like when he was young.
In her previous life, Xu Qingyan had always accommodated her feelings. During their three years of marriage, he had never crossed the line even once. They had even slept in separate rooms, making their marriage nothing more than a marriage in name.
She had rarely entered Xu Qingyan’s room. Occasionally, when she happened to see the door to his bedroom open, she would notice that everything inside was decorated in cold shades of black, white, and gray. Back then, even taking one extra glance made her feel irritated.
Before Xu Qingyan could say anything, Lin Zhinuo had already gotten up and walked over.
The walls were completely covered with newspapers.
A bed, a desk, and a chair that was all the furniture in the room.
Several books and a stack of papers lay on the desk.
Lin Zhinuo walked over and picked them up. They were several examination papers.
Her eyes were immediately drawn to the conspicuous red scores written across them.
Full marks in mathematics! Full marks in physics! Full marks in chemistry!
For Lin Zhinuo, who had always been one of the worst students in her class at mathematics, the discovery was a tremendous shock.
So he had already been this outstanding when he was young.
No wonder that in her previous life, he had been able to climb step by step to a height that others could only dream of reaching.
Just as she put down the examination papers, Xu Qingyan’s cold voice suddenly came from outside.
“Who let you in?”
Lin Zhinuo’s heart tightened, and she instinctively ran outside.
At some point, several unwelcome visitors had appeared in the courtyard a middle-aged man and woman, with the woman holding the hand of a boy around six or seven years old.
“Qingyan…”
“Don’t call me by my name.”
The moment the woman spoke, Xu Qingyan coldly cut her off.
Lin Zhinuo stared at the woman, and suddenly her pupils contracted.
The woman’s features bore a striking resemblance to Xu Qingyan’s.
Just as Lin Zhinuo was about to step forward, the middle-aged man, who had a pair of narrow eyes, swaggered over and dropped himself onto the stone bench. He even arrogantly crossed one leg over the other.
“This courtyard was jointly owned by your father, who just died, and your mother, so your mother has a share in it too. From now on, your mother will bring your younger brother here to live with you.”
Although Xu Qingyan was thin, his height gave him an imposing presence. He was still half a head taller than the middle-aged man.
The young man raised his eyes and casually glanced at him.
Just one look made the man’s heart tighten. The leg he had arrogantly crossed over the other quietly dropped back down.
“Get out.”
The boy’s voice was not loud, but it carried a bone-chilling coldness.
The middle-aged man’s back stiffened. Being intimidated by a mere kid made him feel humiliated. He suddenly slapped the stone table, knocking over the bowl beside him.
“You brat! I came here to discuss this with you nicely. Don’t push your luck.”
“Your mother and younger brother have nowhere to live. The houses in the neighboring village were all demolished because of this so-called new rural development project. We’re only staying here temporarily. Besides, legally speaking, now that your father is dead, your mother has a share in this courtyard.”
Xu Qingyan’s straight back bent slightly as he reached down and set the bowl the man had knocked over upright.
Steamed green beans were scattered across the stone table.
He lifted his eyes.
His long, narrow black eyes were dark and cold, filled with a ruthless menace, like a beast lying in wait while watching its prey.
“I said, get out.”
The middle-aged man’s expression changed. He instinctively reached a hand toward the woman behind him.
The woman immediately began wiping away her tears.
“Qingyan, are you really trying to drive your own mother to her death…?”
The moment she met the boy’s gaze, her crying abruptly stopped.
Xu Qingyan had his back to Lin Zhinuo, so she could not see his expression, but she could clearly feel the oppressive, icy aura surrounding him.
She hurried over and gently took his hand.
The soft touch of her hand against the back of his made Xu Qingyan’s entire body stiffen.
The murderous aura surging around him and the dark currents churning in his eyes vanished in an instant.
His voice was hoarse, low, and gentle.
“Go home first.”
But Lin Zhinuo stubbornly shook her head. Her small body stepped in front of him slightly, her face tense.
“Uncle Xu hasn’t even been laid to rest yet, and you’re already rushing over to seize his house. Don’t you have any shame?”
“As his mother, you cruelly abandoned your own son and simply walked away, never caring about him for all these years. And now you actually have the nerve to come back and take advantage of him?”
“You want to talk about the law? If you and Uncle Xu were divorced, then this courtyard has nothing to do with you. But if you weren’t divorced and you started another family with someone else, that would be bigamy. You could go to prison for that!”
The girl’s clear, crisp voice rang out like a thunderclap.
Her words had struck directly at the man’s sore spot.
The middle-aged man immediately became furious with embarrassment. Without thinking, he raised his hand.
“Where did this little brat come from, sticking her nose into other people’s business? I’ll tear that mouth of yours apart!”
Xu Qingyan’s expression changed drastically.
He suddenly pulled Lin Zhinuo behind him.