Stringy Wind in the Ear - Chap 58
Song Yang’s knees were covered in half-dried blood, but luckily they were just superficial injuries. Li Xun half-knelt and carefully handled them. After applying the medicine, he moved closer to blow on them. Suddenly, the shutter sound of a camera came from above his head.
He looked up, and Song Yang locked the screen guiltily and said, “I accidentally took a screenshot.”
Li Xun held his ankle, placed it on his thigh, and sprayed some blood-activating medicine on the swollen area.
There was a gust of wind outside the window, but it was very quiet inside the house.
Song Yang leaned on the edge of the bed with his arms, lowered his head and asked, “What are you going to do about Chu Zhi’s matter? Otherwise, let Chu Zhi live in my house first. My parents, grandparents can help you take care of him.”
Li Xun understood what he meant. “Hiding” Chu Zhi could avoid a lot of trouble, but this was only a short-term solution. Zhang Han already knew of Chu Zhi’s existence, and there would always be a way for him to find him.
Li Xun put away a pile of bottles and cans and put them into the medicine box: “I can’t really hide her forever. I have to face and solve the problems that need to be faced. In addition, Chu Zhi’s own ideas are also very important. I have to respect her choice first.”
Song Yang frowned. Sometimes his wife’s ideas were too mature, making it impossible for him, a man, to use his talents.
Li Xun seemed to understand his eyes and rubbed his head when he stood up: “I will definitely ask you for help when I need you.”
Song Yang then started laughing again.
After changing their clothes, they went downstairs to eat together.
Teacher Sun was on duty and didn’t come back, so Li Guotao prepared dinner. After long-term rehabilitation training, his right leg has basically regained sensation. He can move around with the help of crutches and do some simple housework, but it is still inconvenient for him to go up and down the stairs.
At the dinner table, Song Yang listened to the father and son talking about Zhang Han.
Li Guotao was shocked: “How did he find his way to the Children’s Palace?”
“I guess he found it online. I had an interview before, and Chu Zhi was also included in the interview. He happened to be right in front of the Children’s Palace. As long as he knew I was in South City, it would be easy for him to find me.”
The origin of the matter can be traced back to that game.
Song Yang lowered his eyebrows and blamed himself: “Blame me. If I hadn’t signed you up for that competition, there wouldn’t be so many things.”
Li Xun bumped his arm: “What nonsense are you talking about? What does this have to do with you?”
The dinner was sumptuous, but everyone was busy talking about what happened during the day and didn’t eat much.
Li Chuzhi could get some unusual and not-so-pleasant information from the adults’ conversations. She didn’t understand what was wrong with these men. Obviously, Dad’s return was something everyone had been looking forward to for a long time, so why were they all frowning?
She could also vaguely sense from between the lines that no one wanted her to continue meeting this father who had dropped from the blue.
She was still haunted by what happened during the day. She didn’t dare ask more questions about her parents’ past and just chewed the chicken leg dryly.
After dinner, Li Xun helped her check her homework. Song Yang peeled an orange and fed one slice to Chu Zhi, then fed one slice to Li Xun. At first, Li Xun was quite reserved and took it with his hands, but after two times, he switched to using his mouth.
Song Yang enjoys being a nanny.
After checking the homework, Li Xun got to the point: “Why didn’t you tell me that Zhang Han came to the Children’s Palace to look for you?”
“He said it was not the right time yet and asked me to keep it a secret for now.”
“How many times have you met?”
Li Chuzhi counted on his fingers, and Li Xun knew from the situation that the number must be quite a lot.
“About fifteen times.”
“So many!” Song Yang was shocked. “You only go to the Children’s Palace twice a week on weekends. How can you see them so many times?”
“They even came to the school to look for me.”
“Who else came to see you?”
Li Chuzhi answered the questions like squeezing toothpaste, answering one question at a time. Fortunately, her memory was not bad. Li Xun and Song Yang took turns questioning her for half an hour, piecing together all the details and basically figuring out everything that had happened in the past few days.
Zhang Han and Zhang Han’s mother would always visit Li Chuzhi at school during lunch break.
The primary school is not completely closed. Many senior students go home for lunch, and some parents bring them meals, so the access control during this period is not very strict.
Familiarity breeds strangers, and with this family always responding to her requests, Li Chuzhi actually enjoyed the feeling of being cared for. Gradually, she let down her guard and even agreed to go to Beijing to play for a few days.
However, it was Zhang Han who made the decision to ask for leave to go to the Children’s Palace. Li Chuzhi didn’t know that. When she came to her senses, Li Xun came over with a stern face.
Li Xun asked: “Do you want to go to Beijing to play?”
Of course Li Chuzhi wanted to go. She saw many interesting places on Zhang Han’s mobile phone. Zhang Han also said that he could buy her all the peripheral products of Qi Xingdailu, but she also knew that her uncle would be unhappy if she answered like this. After a psychological struggle, she shook her head.
Even Song Yang could tell what she was thinking from her hesitation, not to mention Li Xun who raised her since she was a child.
“So do you think they treat you well?”
Li Chu nodded subconsciously, but soon shook his head: “Not as good as you and grandpa.”
“Truthfully?”
Li Chuzhi nodded heavily.
The child couldn’t keep secrets and thought he could please the adults, but in fact Li Xun heard everything clearly.
The reason why you are not well is that they are also very good to me, it’s just that I have been with you longer and our feelings are deeper.
“Then if you were to go to Beijing alone and live with them, your father would take you to and from school, buy you food, and it would take a long time for me, grandpa, brother, godparents and others to see you. Would you be happy with that?”
Li Chuzhi immediately shook his head and timidly expressed his doubts: “Can’t we live together?”
Li Xun and Song Yang exchanged glances.
“You have to tell me the truth.” Li Xun looked at her and said gently, “Do you really want to live with your father?”
It was this seemingly simple question that made Li Chuzhi cry.
She didn’t dare to tell the truth and make Li Xun angry, but when she recalled the various grievances she had suffered at school, she couldn’t help but burst into tears: “My classmates all have parents, but I don’t. Why?”
Li Xun’s heart trembled when she asked him.
Crying is the thing that men can’t stand.
Poor Li Xun, a grown man, he was so arrogant outside, but he was easily knocked down with one punch. When he returned home, after coaxing the older one, he had to wipe the snot bubbles from the younger one.
Li Xun once asked his father the same question.
Why do other people have mothers but I don’t?
He didn’t understand it when he was young, but slowly, he figured out the answer.
Life is destined to be full of injustices and helplessness. Sometimes the mistakes made by adults have to be borne by the next generation.
Li Xun originally thought that as long as he treated Chu Zhi better and better, when she had enough love and care, this pain would be alleviated or even disappear.
Now I think he was too naive. Every family is made up of pieces of a puzzle. If one piece is missing, no one can replace it.
That night, Li Xun suffered from insomnia, which was rare.
Song Yang got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and found that his phone screen was still on. He asked hoarsely, “Why aren’t you asleep yet?”
Li Xun put down his phone and turned back to look at him: “Did I wake you up by typing?”
“No, I got up to go to the bathroom.”
Li Xun turned on the screen again.
He looked up many legal provisions on the Internet, but the professional terms were obscure and difficult to understand. Later, he contacted a high school classmate who studied law for consultation for a long time.
The other party gave a fairly easy-to-understand answer, but the result made him feel upset.
——It is one thing that the child is close to you, but on a legal level, he is the child’s biological father, and this is a fact that cannot be changed. Unless he commits a crime, abuses the child, or does other things that are obviously detrimental to the child, the court will cancel his legal guardianship and the child will be handed over to you for raising. But I think this is definitely not a situation you want to happen, right?
——In addition, the judge will also consider other factors, such as family background and the conditions of the family members themselves. Think about it, you are 30 years old, single, unmarried, and have no children, and she is a little girl in the developmental stage, do you understand what I mean?
How could he, a grown man, not understand?
I just think it’s ridiculous.
Outside the window, the rain keeps falling. The night is long and I don’t know when it will end.
Song Yang crawled back into bed in the dark, moved towards Li Xun until their feet touched, and then pulled back a little.
“Are you thinking about Chuzhi?”
“Um.”
The phone screen went dark. They looked at each other in the darkness, vaguely able to see each other’s outline.
Li Xun said softly: “And mine.”
“What’s wrong with you?”
Li Xun lowered his eyes.
Looking back on the past, he once had family, friendship, passion, glory, and youth, but he had to watch them slip through his fingers one by one, powerless to do anything.
In the end, that little bit of warmth will be taken away as well.
His heart was like a wilderness, full of nothingness.
“Nothing.” Li Xun buried half of his face in the quilt, feeling muffled. “I just feel a little uncomfortable.”
“What’s wrong with you?” Song Yang thought of the heavy rain in the evening and touched his head nervously, “Do you have a cold? Or a fever? Did you get cold while taking a shower?”
There was a little warmth in his palm, and Li Xun approached him greedily like a traveler longing for water in the desert.
Song Yang was startled by the hand that suddenly circled his waist. He thought Li Xun was going to tickle him, so he grabbed his wrist to stop him.
“What are you doing…I’m ticklish.”
“Don’t move.” Li Xun leaned over and breathed slowly on his chest, “Just let me hold you for a while.”
