Chapter 32 Substitute Parent

  Hei San was chased away by Jiang Fang, and Gu Xiao saw the situation and turned to leave, but was stopped by Chen Yan, who let the other two go first and left only Gu Xiao.

  "Anything else?" Gu Xiao couldn't quite grasp what Chen Yan meant, and stood still on the spot.

  In a narrow alley, two young men, one handsome and the other charmingly evil, with different styles but equally outstanding, were sizing each other up.

  "Nothing, you and Xia Xi... are quite familiar?" Chen Yan, who had just been talking loudly, hesitated when mentioning this name.

  "Xia Xiya", Gu Xiao suddenly smiled, his demonic face seemed to be able to charm all living things, "Lu Dongqi is more familiar with her."

  Lu Dongqi, Chen Yan heard this name, his heart skipped a beat, and the fragmented memories in his mind slowly pieced together.

  She saw the gentle gaze, he accompanied her to run until the end point, on Christmas Eve when she was emotionally abnormal, seeing Lu Dongqi trying desperately to hide.

  Chen Yan's face darkened, and his ink-colored eyes became even more unfathomable.

  "Can you help me with something?" Xia Xi was woken up by the 7am phone call, and on the other end of the line, Gu Xiao sounded somewhat anxious.

  "Okay, you go ahead and say it." This was the first time Gu Xiao had asked her to speak up, and Xi Xi agreed without a hint of hesitation.

  "Today is An'an kindergarten's year-end parent open day, her dad and mom have gone back to their hometown, I had something urgent and couldn't make it, can you replace me?" Gu Xiao looked up at the clock on the wall, 7:05, An'an's school time was 8 o'clock, the sudden change of events disrupted his plan, just received a call from the band saying that something went wrong and he needed to rush over.

  "Alright, I'll be at your place in thirty minutes." Xi Xi sat up straight from bed.

  "As a token of gratitude, there's an unexpected surprise."

  Xia Xi hastily arrived at Gu Xiao's house and saw the surprise in his eyes from a distance - Lu Dongqi, who had just returned from studying English in Beijing.

  This was her first time seeing Dong Qi during the summer vacation. On a winter morning with fog, she walked too quickly and forgot to bring a scarf. She used the hood of her down jacket to cover her entire head, the furry edges wrapped around her face in a circle, making her whole head look very big, but her face was even smaller, just like a small animal hiding under its fur.

  Lu Dongqi waved his hand at her, and she felt a numbness in her heart, as if she had been stung by a cold needle. "Back?"

  "She just came back yesterday." Dong Qi led An An, a little friend, with one hand holding her small newspaper, and the little girl wrapped up, only revealing two big eyes, curiously sizing up Xi Xi.

  "Hello, Gu An'an, I'm Xia XiXi." She squatted down and looked into An'an's eyes with a smile.

  "Sister is good?" An'an pulled down the scarf with a bit of effort, revealing her mouth. XiXi pinched her little cheeks, and the little girl's mouth was really sweet.

  "Let's go," Dong Qi pointed in the direction of the kindergarten.

  Dong Qi held onto An An, An An pulled along Xi Xi, the three of them stood in a row on the pedestrian path, walking horizontally and domineeringly. Xi Xi secretly took a glance at Dong Qi beside her.

  With a gentle profile, the smile at the corner of her mouth seemed to spread out and even the air around her became warm. That was the gentle, beautiful Lu Dong Qi she liked. Also the distant, unapproachable Lu Dong Qi that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get close to.

  "I don't see you, I can't think of you. As soon as I see you, there's no room for anyone else in my eyes, Lu Dong Qi."

  Gu Xuan slipped into an abandoned factory building, the heavy and rusty red iron gate showed the long history of the factory, the desolate surroundings added a "crime scene" feeling to the building, this was the band's rehearsal venue rented with the money they earned from performing in bars, euphemistically called "Starry Garage".

  As he walked in, it was a mess inside. The remains of the guitar and drum set were scattered on the ground. The few pieces of furniture and instruments in the room had been smashed to smithereens. Those lonely fragments scattered on the ground made Gu Xuan hear the sound of his heart breaking.

  These instruments, purchased with the money earned from performing in bars, held the musical dreams of a group of young people, and now they announce the end of a dream in such a posture.

  The other three people in the band saw Gu Xiao coming and walked up.

  "Who did it?" Gu Xiao's voice was calm with a barely perceptible tremble.

  "Do you need to ask? It's definitely Hei San and his gang. They apologized in person a few days ago, but then they turned around and ruined our event. How despicable!" The pale man's face was red with rage.

  "I'll call up a few brothers in a bit, and we'll go settle the score with them. We have to let them know that we're not to be trifled with." The young man wearing a black leather jacket had a baby face, but his tone was quite overbearing.

  "Hey, Hai Ge, what do you think?" Gu Xiao looked at the young man who had been silent beside him. He wasn't there the day they fought with Hei San.

  This man with a short haircut is obviously several years older than others, and has more introversion. "Hei San and his gang have been mixed for so many years, they have extensive connections, a solid foundation, it's impossible for us to shake him now."

  "Except for swallowing blood and enduring the pain, we have no other choice." He lit a cigarette and continued.

  "I'd rather die fighting than be a turtle with its head in the sand!" The denim jacket youth grew even more enraged upon hearing these words.

  "Now we've lost our instruments, the band is basically done for. The provocateur is right there, Gu Xiao you're the lead singer, what do you think we should do?" The pale youth threw the question at Gu Xiao.

  "I..."?

  "Let's disband." Gu Xiao's words were cut off by "Hai Ge", and everyone turned to look at him, their faces filled with surprise.

  "Are you serious?"

  "Actually, I was going to tell you all this anyway. Next month, I'm going to work out of town. Playing music doesn't have a future." He sighed and blew out a ring of smoke.

  Several young people stood amidst the chaos in silence.

  Xi Xi and Dong Qi sat in the auditorium for nearly an hour, watching different children's solo performances, choruses, and duets, until An An's program finally arrived.

  She made a guest appearance in a children's play as a small flower, a role with no lines, but the little girl performed it with extraordinary seriousness, without a smile.

  Xi Xi looked at her serious expression and thought of herself performing on stage in kindergarten, and burst out laughing.

  "Have you ever felt that her temper is a bit like yours?" Dong Qi asked with a smile, tilting his head to one side.

  "Really?" Xi Xi asked, where was the stubbornness? In front of him, she was as obedient as a little lamb, afraid that one word would be out of place and arouse his suspicion, not even daring to make friends. With a heart full of thoughts, she turned and turned but couldn't speak them out.

  "When you were in kindergarten, you went on stage to perform a dance. Although your foot was twisted when you got on the stage, you didn't say anything and continued dancing with pain. After getting off the stage, your ankle was swollen and you couldn't move." Dong Qi's voice was soft as she whispered into Xi Xi's ear, her heart fluttering like it was suspended in mid-air.

  It wasn't just her who remembered, those youthful memories were also treasured in his heart. Xi Xi suddenly felt a lump in her throat, this person, sitting right next to her, with countless interactions, yet she couldn't grasp him. From the intimacy of childhood to the gradual estrangement now, time seemed to have spun an invisible cocoon between them, though face-to-face, they couldn't take a step closer.

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