novel
| ← Ch.089 | Ch.091 → |
Chapter 90
He Shen said: "Have you been to a police station?"
When would Qiao Shao have had a chance to go? He did have to make a police report when he got home, but his condition was so bad then that the police uncle did his questioning directly in the hospital. After he gradually improved, Qiao Shao couldn't remember anything from that year and they couldn't find the reason why.
"No, but..." Qiao Shao looked at him, "If I'm with you, I can go anywhere."
He Shen looked down at him.
Qiao Shao realized that he had once again revealed another big truth, and quickly explained, "I meant to say, I'm not afraid. There's nothing to be afraid of at the police station. That's a place for law enforcement."
He Shen helped sum it up for him."As long as you're with me, you're not afraid of going anywhere?"
Qiao Shao: "..."
He Shen had no intention of taking Qiao Shao with him, but with how well-behaved he was being, how could he bear to just leave him?
"Let's go, " He Shen said, "we'll go and see Lou Xiao."
The two got in a taxi, and Qiao Shao just couldn't stop thinking about it."Did he really get in a fight with someone?"
When he first met Lou Xiao, Qiao Shao didn't have the slightest doubt that he deserved his name as school tyrant. He felt if this guy were in olden times, he'd be carrying a broadsword across his shoulders as he terrorized the town.
Now that they've known each other for quite some time, he's seen him for the near-sighted person he really was.
Lou Xiao was also a bit outwardly cold but he was actually a mass of cotton inside, and he treated others really well.
He Shen put his hand through the partition to where the mineral water bottles were shelved, making use of the cover provided by two water bottles to hold Qiao Shao's hand.
Qiao Shao glanced at the driver.
He Shen looked straight ahead, as if it was someone else who had sneakily grabbed hold of his hand. Even his tone was completely normal."He would, but he would never fight with students."
Qiao Shao didn't dare struggle, lest they be seen. He let him hold his hand and said, "But why did he fight with someone from outside the school?"
He Shen paused."It's related to his mother."
After saying this, he glanced at Qiao Shao from out the corner of his eyes.
Qiao Shao's pupils shrank when he heard this word, but that was all. There weren't any sign of a panic attack and he even managed to ask, "His mother?"
He Shen said, "Let's talk more when we get there."
Although the car driver wore a Bluetooth headset, he could still hear everything they said.
Qiao Shao could understand that He Shen didn't want to bring up these matters in front of strangers.
Before long, the two had arrived.
The police didn't feel like dealing with this kind of small-time case of petty fighting. As soon as He Shen and Qiao Shao appeared, the policeman in charge was surprised."You're He Shen?"
He Shen said, "I am."
The policeman looked him up and down."ID card."
He Shen took out his ID card and handed it to him.
The policeman took a look and asked, "'02? Are you his classmate?"
He Shen responded, "Yes."
The policeman frowned and shouted, "What's going on? Didn't I tell you to contact his parents? Why'd you call his classmate?"
The one who was in charge of making the call was a young man who was interning there. He replied, "He's the only contact on that kid's phone."
After hearing this, Qiao Shao was dumbfounded.
He Shen said, "Can I see him first? I can ask him for his family's contact info."
Although the policeman felt that this little high schooler was overstepping, when he thought of that headache-inducing boy inside, he really didn't want to deal with this bothersome matter anymore."Go, go."
He Shen and Qiao Shao walked into the inner room. They saw Lou Xiao squatting against the wall and another man who was grumbling and swearing.
The man was in his early thirties. He was very well-dressed, even though his shirt was full of wrinkles, it was obviously expensive. He had a large swelling on his face and it interfered with his speech."He wants to kills me. If you guys hadn't stopped him in time, he would have stabbed me with a knife! You can't let him off just because he's a minor! This kind of trash needs to rot in jail his entire life!"
He cursed up a storm, but it was like Lou Xiao didn't hear him. He just crouched where he was, head in his hands, still was a statue.
"Would he have beat you up if you hadn't insulted his mother?" He Shen said as soon as he came in.
Lou Xiao who had been completely unmoving before, suddenly looked up.
The man was startled and said a bit guiltily, "How can I have insulted President Lou? It's this worthless joker! He's like a mad dog, he'll bite anyone he sees!"
Lou Xiao bowed his head again, not uttering a word.
This obviously wasn't He Shen's first time doing something like this. He ignored the man and only spoke to the police."It was just a little dispute. No one was hurt."
The police were actually very annoyed by these trivial matters. He looked at the man and said, "It seems Mr. Ding Xiao feels that he has suffered a serious injury."
The man who Lou Xiao beat into a pig-headed fool was called Ding Xiao.
He Shen looked at Ding Xiao and said in a calm tone, "If Mr. Ding feels he has suffered a serious injury, we will need to contact the lawyer."
Upon hearing the word 'lawyer', Ding Xiao scoffed."He'll just use his status as a minor to get away with it. Wait one or two more years, I'd like to see what excuses you'll have as an adult!"
Having said that, he took the documents from the hands of the police officer and signed the document for a private settlement.
The policeman looked at Lou Xiao and said, "Okay, you can go. When something happens, use you brains more and your fists less. Does hitting someone get rid of your anger? In the end, you're the one who'll still get the worst of it!"
They also knew, more or less, what had happened and in fact, they felt really distressed for this child.
Would a child from a normal family have only a friend's contact in his phone?
When they asked for his family's contact information, he didn't utter a word. When they asked again, he said that he had no father or mother, and he was fine in prison.
During the entire process, Qiao Shao didn't say anything.
Everyone probably though he was He Shen's younger brother and didn't pay him any mind.
Lou Xiao followed them out, and He Shen asked him, "Have you eaten?"
Lou Xiao was expressionless."I've eaten."
"Yeah, right." He Shen hailed a ride and said, "Go, let's eat."
The school tyrant had on a blank face and a cold aura emanated from him. If He Shen and Qiao Shao were ordinary people they would have avoided him by a distance of 90 li. Unexpectedly, He Shen took no notice of it, pushing Lou Xiao into the car.
Qiao Shao looked dumbfounded. He Shen had a very different attitude towards him."What would you like to eat?"
Qiao Shao: "..."
Shouldn't we be asking poor Lou Xiao tongxue!
He Shen saw through his unvoiced thought."Don't worry about him, he's already eaten."
Qiao Shao blinked."???"
He Shen thought for a while and gave the driver a name. It was the Japanese restaurant they had visited.
Although Lou Xiao had a fierce look on his face, he sat in the passenger seat and fastened his seat belt. He still very well-behaved.
Who would dare think that this was the cold and unfeeling pain in the ass in the police station!
Because the restaurant was close, they were there in just seven or eight minutes.
As soon as Lou Xiao got down the car, he said, "I'm going for a smoke."
He Shen said, "We'll go in and order now."
Lou Xiao answered, "En."
Qiao Shao followed after He Shen into the private room. He was curious and asked, "Aren't you afraid that Lou Xiao's gonna run?"
He Shen was ordering on the tablet and looked up at him."Where can he run to?"
Qiao Shao was at a loss how to answer...
He Shen added to the variety of dishes and said, "Relax, he knows the seriousness of the matter."
Qiao Shao held back the flood of words he wanted to say."Just what happened to Lou Xiao?"
He Shen paused and said, "That man should be his mother's latest lover."
Qiao Shao's eyes suddenly widened.
He Shen sighed lightly, "We'll talk when we get home."
Qiao Shao nodded repeatedly."Okay..."
Lou Xiao didn't come back from outside until the food had been served.
Who knows how many cigarettes he'd smoked but he reeked of smoke.
Qiao Shao greeted him."Hurry up and eat something."
Lou Xiao grunted in agreement and sat down to eat.
Most of the Japanese food was raw food. He poured several servings of the sashimi directly into the wasabi soy sauce and ate it like he was digging into rice.
Qiao Shao gaped at it."Won't... that burn your throat!"
How could someone stand that much wasabi!
Lou Xiao bowed his head and said, "No."
He Shen was familiar with his temper and said to Qiao Shao, "Don't worry about him, your unagi rice is here. Eat it while it's hot."
Qiao Shao nodded but couldn't help casting glances at Lou Xiao as he ate his own meal.
All he could say was that He Shen knows Lou Xiao very well. He had obviously put quite some thought into coming to this Japanese restaurant.
He Shen ordered seven or eight servings of sashimi, and Lou Xiao ate it all by himself.
He wasn't tasting the delicious food, but was venting his mood using the wasabi.
Anyone who has eaten Japanese food knows that even hand-grated wasabi was also very spicy and irritating. Eating this way was simply asking for punishment.
He Shen didn't stop him, and Qiao Shao couldn't say anything.
It wasn't until Lou Xiao ate up all the wasabi soy sauce in the bowl did he finally stop.
He Shen gave a piece of tamagoyaki to Qiao Shao and threw Lou Xiao a glance.
Lou Xiao was still blank faced, but he appeared much calmer.
He put down his chopsticks and said, "Lao He, I've decided to drop out of school."
Hearing this, Qiao Shao was startled and quickly looked to He Shen.
He Shen's expression was calm. It didn't seem to be a surprise to him. He only asked, "Are you sure you've given it enough thought?"
"En, " Lou Xiao said, "I've had enough of her."
Qiao Shao didn't know which "her" he meant but he thought it was probably Lou Xiao's mother.
He Shen also put down his chopsticks. He looked at Lou Xiao, "My suggestion is for you to take a leave of absence first."
Lou Xiao shook his head."It's not necessary. If I come back after a few years, I'll still be like this."
He Shen said, "If you've decided to go through with this, there won't be a way out."
Lou Xiao laughed at himself."When have I ever had a way out?"
Qiao Shao couldn't bear it, he said, "What the hell is going on? You can't not go to school, you're still a minor..."
What can a high school student do if not study?
Lou Xiao wasn't He Shen... Even if it were He Shen, it still won't do. The importance of a good educational background was truly something that cannot be measure with money.
Lou Xiao looked at Qiao Shao."I'm going to do what I want to do. Staying here is a waste of time."
Qiao Shao asked, "What are you going to do?"
Lou Xiao's mouth showed an extremely rare smile."Play for a living."
Young Master Qiao was immediately confused."Huh?"
He Shen smiled."He doesn't understand."
Lou Xiao seemed to be set on his course of action. The person's entire mental outlook had changed."No matter what the end, I want to stake it all on this."
He Shen said, "Being able to reach the pinnacle of any endeavor is truly satisfying."
Lou Xiao let out a quiet breath."En, I've decided!"
He Shen looked at him. To relieve the atmosphere, he said."Later, I'll give you a pair of glasses. It won't do to have poor eyesight if you're going to be a professional player."
Later on, Young Master Qiao will learn what a truly awesome person Lou Xiao is.
He was already very good at playing games, but he was actually good enough to win glory for their country.
Qiao Shao has broadened his horizons!
He Shen didn't hide Lou Xiao's matters from Qiao Shao.
On the one hand, because of their relationship, there was no need to hide anything between the two of them; on the other, Lou Xiao didn't mind if Qiao Shao knew. Since the two of them were together, he considered Qiao Shao to be the same as He Shen.
Lou Xiao's family was rich, but his family situation was terrible.
He still doesn't know who his father is, and since he was a child, he's only had his distinguished and accomplished mother.
No man in S city could possibly match up to Lou Runan's romantic history.
Runan Media, which she founded, was powerful and earned a lot of money. But she can never get rid of her reputation as a woman who 'sleeps around'.
Lou Xiao had never been close to her, even when he was a child. She had no interest in this unexpected child. Although she reluctantly raised him, she has never spent, not even a single day, fulfilling her duties as a mother.
Lou Xiao had complicated feelings about her.
Which child wasn't attached to his mother? Even if this mother wouldn't look him in the eye.
Lou Runan despised him. She would look down on him even in the presence of her lovers.
Lou Xiao didn't care about these at all. But one thing he couldn't stand was that these men would insult Lou Runan.
As long as he hears it, he would definitely beat them up.
He had fought countless times in his life, all for Lou Runan.
After she found out, all Lou Runan had to say was — can you not cause trouble?
Qiao Shao listened to He Shen and he was completely dumbfounded.
Turns out, there was actually a mother like this in this world!
He Shen asked him softly, "Was your mother good to you?"
Qiao Shao froze, his eyes stung a bit, but he still voiced out what his heart said, "She loved me very much. She was the one who loved me the most in the world."
But he lost her forever.
He Shen held his hand and said, "Don't be sad, she certainly wouldn't want to see you sad."
Qiao Shao was dazed. A memory of the past emerged in his mind.
It was still in the Xie Family's mansion. He brought his mother a beautiful lily."Mom, look. This flower is so big."
Her voice was so gentle, as if ringing in his ears."Silly boy, you've plucked it off. Won't it miss its home?"
Qiao Shao said, "It's just a flower."
"A flower also has roots that would worry about it, " she said.
Qiao Shao frowned.
She added, "Like how I care and would worry about you and Da Qiao."
"Qiao Shao?" He Shen's voice roused him.
Qiao Shao returned to his sense and found that he had been out of it for a bit.
"What's wrong?" He Shen asked worriedly.
Qiao Shao rubbed his eyes and said, "It's fine."
He Shen also wanted to ask again but Qiao Shao said, "I'll go home tonight. Once school starts, I won't be able to go home for a while."
He Shen nodded.
Qiao Shao was afraid he would worry and said, "I'll send you a WeChat when I get home."
He Shen: "OK."
Before Qiao Shao left, he couldn't help but call out to him."He Shen."
He Shen: "Huh?"
Qiao Shao smiled."Actually my dad is very nice. He's good to me, and he will be good to you in the future."
He Shen was stunned, and by the time he returned to his senses, Qiao Shao had already walked quite a long way away.
Qiao Shao turned down another street before stopping, and his hands were shaking as he stood.
He has never before known so clearly what he needed to do.
His mother was gone and he couldn't let her continue to worry like roots that had lost their flowers.
Qiao Shao dialed Zhang Guanting's phone: "Dr. Zhang, is there any way to restore my memory?"
Zhang Guanting didn't seem surprised, but still asked him, "What brought his on all of a sudden?"
Qiao Shao sighed softly and asked in reply, "My dad needs me, right?"
Zhang Guanting paused, his voice was gentle."Yes, he needs you."
Immeasurable strength suddenly welled up in Qiao Shao's chest. At this moment, he finally saw himself standing on the dividing line between darkness and dawn.
And he now had the courage and strength to move a step forward.
"Tell me, what should I do?" Qiao Shao asked Zhang Guanting.
If he remembers everything, he can't run away anymore. Da Qiao was already in so much pain, he won't abandon him any longer!"
Zhang Guanting asked, "Did you remember something again?"
Qiao Shao told him what he'd remembered.
Zhang Guanting thought for a moment and said, "Why do you always remember these things that happen in the Xie Family's home?"
Qiao Shao was stumped for words. He didn't know it himself. He obviously had nothing to do with Xie's, and didn't know anyone from that family...
Zhang Guanting said, "Would you like to find an opportunity to go to the Xie Family's house and have a look around?"
| ← Ch. 089 | Ch. 091 → |