Chapter 4 It's as if we've known each other for many years

  Three people blocked the stairs and surrounded Qiu Qinghe's mother, who was arguing loudly, completely ignoring Shen Fang standing next to them.

  Shen Fang found Qiu Qinghe poking her head out of the window and beckoned her to come over and listen too.

  Qiu Qinghe shook her head, still looking frightened and patted her chest, then pointed at Shen Fang, pretending to be angry with a puffed out cheek and pursed lips, making a throat-slitting gesture, clearly having heard Shen Fang's boasts earlier.

  As they argued back and forth, Shen Fang quietly slipped away, but was immediately pulled aside by Qiu Qinghe at the stairwell. She scolded him severely, saying that children shouldn't learn such things, let alone imitate others' lustful behavior. Shen Fang couldn't help but feel frustrated, thinking to himself why he had to be five or six years younger than her.

  "Alright! You can't just because you're good-looking, not allow me to like you?" Shen Fang said with a mischievous grin.

  "What do you know about liking or not liking, little kid?" Qiu Qinghe tried to pinch Shen Fang's nose again, but this time he dodged it and smiled, "What are you talking about? Am I a thing? Don't say you don't have money, even if you did, you can't treat girls like that, do you know or not?"

  Shen Fang was speechless, and the more he looked at Qiu Qinghe, the more familiar he felt. He stared at Qiu Qinghe's chest, loudly swallowing his saliva, "Then you'd better teach me, how can I get you?"

  Although she knew Shen Fang was doing it on purpose, Qiu Qinghe still felt a bit embarrassed, covering his eyes with her hand and laughing scolded, "Don't stare... if you keep staring, I'll go to your dad and tell him, let him whip you hard with his belt!"

  A scene flashed through Shen's mind of Qiu Qinghe wearing a sexy black leather lingerie and swinging a whip, almost making him go soft. He quickly composed himself, laughing as he pulled down Qiu Qinghe's hand to hold it, "Sister Qinghe, is there something urgent at home that needs money?"

  She tried to pull her hand out of Shen's grasp, but he was holding on too tightly. Qiu Qinghe couldn't help but let out a soft "little pervert". Thinking that he was still just a kid, she decided to let it go and allowed Shen to lead her outside while saying, "It's true that treating my brother's illness does require some money, but waiting another year or so would also be fine. But I didn't expect that day my mom made a joke with someone else, and they all took it seriously. I don't even know what to say."

  "Will I be able to earn enough money to treat my brother's illness in a year and a half?" Shen Fang tried to establish a connection between Qiu Qinghe, Yao Qili, and the embezzlement case, but unexpectedly, Qiu Qinghe didn't say a word for half a day. When he turned around, he saw that she was already tearful, and couldn't help but sigh, "People can't choose their birth, can't choose their relatives, there are too many things that can't be chosen... People in this world are being pushed by fate, unable to resist, helpless... But people can choose to face everything with a smile. There's a saying 'laughter has a way out', don't you think?"

  Shen Fang's gaze was solemn and full of wisdom, and when he looked at himself, there was not a hint of shyness or evasion. Qiu Qinghe found that the little guy beside her had a unique aura of an adult, which made her feel at ease and even reliant.

  Shaking her head vigorously to drive away these unwanted thoughts, Qiu Qinghe was confused by herself. Obviously a 15 or 16-year-old kid, where did this tone come from? But thinking again about Shen Fang's words, she also felt it made sense. She couldn't help but purse her lips and smile, "So now that I'm smiling, does that mean the money for my brother's treatment will arrive soon?"

  "I don't know then, hehe, anyway that's what the book says... actually I don't really believe laughter can solve all troubles, but facing it with a smile is always better than crying and having a long face, this won't go wrong. And if you never have money to treat your brother's illness, and you're not willing to sell yourself, are you going to cry about it for the rest of your life?" Shen Fang deliberately steered the conversation back on track, although strolling hand in hand with Qiu Qinghe was very pleasant, he couldn't get so carried away that he forgot his original purpose for finding her.

  "Hmm..." Qiu Qinghe lowered her head, the wind blowing her long hair to cover her face. Her jade-like hands came from behind her head to tuck her hair behind her ears and then gently pressed down on it. She slightly turned her head to look at Shen Fang, who had already been enchanted by her charming and alluring movements. With a hint of shyness, she smiled and said, "It's very impolite for you to stare at a girl like that. You should learn to be more reserved."

  If it were in the old society, Shen Fang would have suspected Qiu Qinghe of being a beautiful spy who had undergone strict training. How could there be such a woman who could almost subconsciously mesmerize everyone with her movements?

  "What's wrong, why aren't you talking?" Qiu Qinghe nudged Shen Fang with her arm, seeing that he just shook his head, his eyes somewhat sorrowful. Suddenly feeling a little flustered for no reason, she gently patted her cheek and sighed, "Actually, I wasn't upset earlier because we didn't have money to treat my brother's illness..."

  "Hmm, I know." Shen let out a sigh of relief. He had been pretending for half the day and finally made some progress.

  "To be honest, I shouldn't be telling you this, but for the past half month, I've been living on edge, unable to eat or sleep, having to hide everything in my heart and not letting anyone know. I'm really suffering so much...I even doubt if going to ask Director Yao was a huge mistake..."

  Qiu Qinghe's expression fell again, her face filled with helplessness and sadness. Shen Fang could feel her hand trembling slightly, her complexion turning pale like a sheet of white paper. He couldn't bear it, but had no way to comfort her, so he teased himself, "I'm born with two ears that don't match, what comes in from the left ear goes out from the right ear. If there's such a profession as accompanying chat, I wouldn't need to study and could use 500,000 yuan to buy you back home as my wife."

  "Does your family use burlap sacks to carry money? Stop being a smart aleck, don't you know that's the most annoying thing...?" Qiu Qinghe said with disdain, but her mouth curled up into a smile. "Anyway, Director Shen must have told you about these things too, so just humor me and listen to me talk for once? But you have to promise not to tell your dad or Director Yao, otherwise they'll think I'm complaining..."

  After leaving Er Ma Xiang, Shen bought two bottles of soda from a small supermarket next to the post office on the opposite side of the street, inserted two straws, and then walked with Qiu Qinghe into Donggang Happy Park while drinking.

  It was past three in the afternoon, and there were few people in the park. Only occasionally could be heard the whispers of young men and women talking about love and laughing in the dense woods. Under a row of Chinese parasol trees was a small path paved with pebbles, where three or five sparrows jumped around, also eating something unknown. Occasionally, when the wind blew by, the leaves and flowers of the Chinese parasol tree swayed together, making it a perfect place for young lovers to date.

  "Let's go sit over there." Qiu Qinghe said with a hint of shyness, pointing to the artificial lake not far away, surrounded by lush greenery and flowers. "In the past when I passed by here on my way to school, I would always imagine how wonderful it would be if I could have a heart-to-heart talk with the one I love by the lake... just thinking about it made me feel drunk... haha, didn't expect that the first time I came to Happiness Park would be with you, little brother..."

  "What's wrong with being with me? My dad is Shen Yun, my godfather is Yao Qili, follow me and I'll make sure you eat well, drink well, wear gold and silver, and never worry about food or clothes for the rest of your life. When we're bored, we can buy the whole park, do whatever we want, and if we're still bored, we can just burn money, invite a bunch of celebrities to sing and dance around a bonfire made of cash, how cool is that?" Shen Fang said with a smile, completely ignoring Qiu Qinghe's angry expression.

  "Hum, are your dad and Director Yao very rich? You're still playing with fire, do you really think you're a young master?" Qi Qinghe shook off Shen Fang's hand, quickly ran a few steps to the lake shore, stretched out her arms and comfortably arched her back, then used force to throw the soda bottle towards the lake surface.

  It must have been a long time since I've felt this way... Putting the empty soda bottle on the stone bench by the road, Shen Fang remembered that in his past life he often came here to collect empty bottles and cans to sell outside, and most of the pocket money he earned was given to the owner of the game hall at the corner of Er Ma Alley - young and fond of playing games, unaware of the hardships, but now that youthful heart is gone.

  A gentle breeze swept across the water's surface, stirring up layer upon layer of bashful ripples. The red leaves and flowers swayed slightly, as sunlight danced like gold coins, filling one's vision. It made one feel that the entire world was filled with warmth, perhaps because of the person beside them, or perhaps it was just a fleeting exchange of glances that left an eternal mark on their heart.

  Qiu Qinghe was unusually quiet, ignoring Shen Fang's arm that had suddenly wrapped around her waist, sometimes close and sometimes far. These days, she had been living a life of exhaustion and hardship, subconsciously seeking someone to rely on and confide in. Moreover, at this moment, Shen Fang was not just a child in her eyes, but a truly trustworthy friend, all because of the look in his eyes and his expression, as if they had known each other for many years.

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