"It's me." Su Qi hadn't expected to meet Xu Linchuan so early.
That was right, if Xu Linchuan was the child of this place.
Then he must be the brother of that sister.
So, the siblings she met before were Xu Linchuan and Xu Linyun?
"You... how did you know there was a dog hole here?"
Xu Linchuan looked at the place Su Qi had been staring at.
"What, you know it too?"
Seeing Xu Linchuan's expression, Su Qi felt that Xu Linchuan seemed to have some recollection.
"Of course, this is..."
This was the dog hole Huo Tingyun had told him about.
Remembering something, the gentle smile on Xu Linchuan's face instantly froze at the corner of his lips.
"What's wrong?"
Su Qi saw Xu Linchuan's expression change instantly.
She didn't understand.
Why did the usually gentle Xu Linchuan's expression change so rapidly?
"It's nothing, I have surgery and need to rush back... Be careful on your way back, I'll contact you later."
Xu Linchuan turned and left as he spoke.
Strange...
She always felt something was off, but couldn't quite pinpoint it.
After Xu Linchuan left, Su Qi stood for a while, then stepped forward and pushed aside the weeds opposite the dog hole.
Fortunately, she could crawl through.
Although she had grown up, the rat hole was still quite large.
Bending down and crawling, she could easily slip through.
Brushing off the dust from her clothes, Su Qi let out a sigh.
She raised her eyes and looked ahead.
This place hadn't been maintained for a long time; all the plants in the yard had withered, especially in late autumn. Only the weeds on the ground were lush and growing wildly, showing no signs of wilting. The pavilion in front of her was already covered in dust and fallen leaves.
Su Qi walked forward and swept away the fallen leaves from the stone benches inside the pavilion.
She sat down.
Actually, it wasn't her first time back.
She had returned once during college.
Every time she faced difficulties and felt low, she felt that just coming back here to space out could help her shed all her negative emotions.
It was only when the sun began to set that Su Qi got up to leave.
Hospital.
Xu Linyun was drinking porridge. She had been staying in the hospital for the past two days after discovering she was pregnant.
Xu Ruoyun was worried about her health, so she had asked her to rest in bed for a few days, fearing a miscarriage.
Xu Linchuan knocked on the door. When Xu Linyun saw Xu Linchuan enter, she was overjoyed. "Brother, you're finally done with your work and have time to visit me!"
Xu Linchuan carried fruits and Xu Linyun's favorite daisies.
"Are you feeling better? You're about to become a mother."
"Yes, I'm almost a mother. Brother, you should worry about yourself too."
Xu Linchuan smiled without saying anything, placed the fruits and flower basket by the head of the bed, and sat down on a nearby chair.
They chatted for a while. Xu Linchuan washed an apple and said while peeling it, "I remember you told me before."
"Hmm?"
"About how you and Tingyun met."
"That's right."
Xu Linyun couldn't remember clearly either.
"Didn't Tingyun and I meet for the first time abroad? When I saw you, I told you the story about the little prince."
After asking for a long time, he still didn't get the information he wanted.
Xu Linchuan saw that it was getting late and stood up. "Take care of yourself, I have something else to attend to, so I'll be leaving now."
"Mm!"
Xu Linyun watched Xu Linchuan leave.
Why did she feel like her brother seemed to have something on his mind?
Was it her imagination?
When he left the hospital, night had already fallen.
Standing by the car, Xu Linchuan took out his phone, opened the car door to get in, and made a call.
"Tingyun, where are you?"
Night Scene Bar.
VIP booth.
Xu Linchuan, familiar with the place, went to Huo Tingyun's private room.
This location offered a great view, overlooking almost the entire bar.
He was the only one in the private room.
Sitting in the darkness, only the lights from the dance floor allowed a faint glimpse of the man's face.
The entire private room was filled with the smell of smoke.
Xu Linchuan frowned slightly but still entered the room. "You haven't smoked or drunk for a long time."
Huo Tingyun had been blind before, and the doctor had advised him against drinking and smoking. For the past year, Huo Tingyun had maintained himself well, and his physical functions had even improved significantly. However, since proposing divorce to Su Qi in the last few months.
He hadn't stopped smoking and drinking.
"Is something wrong?"
Huo Tingyun's voice was extremely hoarse. He exhaled a puff of smoke and then stubbed out the cigarette butt in the ashtray.
"No, I just came to see you. You don't seem to be in a good state recently."
Xu Linchuan sat down in the private room and poured himself a glass of wine.
He found that they were all strong spirits. Even with a lot of ice, the taste was still pungent.
"I'm very curious, why did you fall in love with my sister back then?"
Xu Linchuan swirled the foreign liquor in his glass.
Why?
Xu Linchuan had never asked such a question before.
"What do you want to know?"
"I want to know when you met my sister."
When?
"That summer vacation."
Summer vacation?
Xu Linchuan frowned. "Summer vacation?"
He had met Huo Tingyun before Xu Linyun.
The first time Xu Linyun met Huo Tingyun was when she visited New York and went to their school for a tour.
How could it be summer vacation?
At that time, it was a winter with heavy snowfall.
"Yes, summer vacation."
Huo Tingyun poured himself a glass of wine and drank it in one gulp.
Perhaps after drinking, his voice became clearer.
He lit a cigarette and then continued.
"That year, I was only twelve years old."
"Twelve years old?"
Xu Linchuan frowned severely.
How did he not know this?
Huo Tingyun met Xu Linyun when he was twelve, so why had he never mentioned it to him before that?
"At that time, I was still very young. During the time I was blind, she crawled through a dog hole and met me."
Crawled through a dog hole?
Xu Linchuan gripped the wine glass in his hand, his fingers tightening slightly.
Given Xu Linyun's personality, she would never do such a thing.
Thinking about what happened that morning, Xu Linchuan's eyes grew heavier.
"Are you sure the girl you met as a child was Linyun?"
"What?" Huo Tingyun raised an eyebrow, staring at Xu Linchuan.
He seemed to have something more to say.
"It's rare for you to come here to find me today."
Xu Linchuan had always disliked places like bars.
He never expected to come in person today.
It was quite surprising to him.
As soon as he sat down, he got straight to the point and brought up such a topic.
"Could it be that I recognized the wrong person?"
"Of course not, I'm just curious."
Xu Linchuan picked up his phone, glanced at the time, and stood up.
"It's getting late, I'm going back. You should also take care of yourself. Drinking like this is ultimately bad for your health, and Aunt Qin is also worried about you." With that, Xu Linchuan got up and left the bar.
Standing outside the bar, Xu Linchuan felt a tightness in his chest.
He fumbled in his pocket for a cigarette and lit it.
After smoking three cigarettes, the turbulent emotion in his chest finally calmed down a bit.
Xu Linyun was his sister, whom he had watched grow up.
He knew her personality like the back of his hand.