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墨書 Inktalez
Compared to the confusion surrounding Qiu Mowen, the days for Liu Jian and Qiu Mowen seemed to be hurried.
After Chen Shanni's incident, the media focused all its attention on Qiu Mowen, and wherever he went, a large group of reporters would follow him.
Originally Qiu Mowen's lawyer, Wang Shaowu had to let Liu Jian take over as his lawyer due to recent issues with the firm's taxes.
As Chen Shanni's parents took Qiu Mowen to court, his image shifted from "gentle handsome man" to "heartless man," with one gossip show even directly labeling him as a "murderer."
As Qiu Mowen's sister, Qiu Ruolan naturally couldn't escape the connection, and thus the talking heads on television brought up her rise to fame.
Autumn Wind sat on the wide sofa, leaning against the backrest, frowning as she listened to their sensationalized information.
Just when Autumn Wind was filled with righteous indignation over the talking heads' speculative statements, her phone on the table suddenly rang. As the noisy ringtone sounded, Autumn Wind angrily turned off the television.
Despite Liu Jian's countless warnings that loud music could affect prenatal education, Autumn Wind couldn't help but hum along to the energetic dance tracks of her favorite K-pop groups.
The call was from Qiu Feng, a woman who had been quietly tucked away in Autumn Wind's heart; Autumn Wind almost forgot about her existence.
Qiu Feng cleared her throat and spoke in a steady tone, "I’m back from Thailand. When are you coming to get the money?"
"Money? Ah... is it that money? You can use it first..." Upon receiving Qiu Feng's call, Autumn Wind felt excited but had to restrain her emotions, stammering in response.
Although Autumn Wind said this, she almost blurted out asking Qiu Feng to transfer it into her account; she was still very much looking forward to getting it compared to what was available at the fish store.
On the other end of the line, Qiu Feng was standing in a park. After dropping Phoebe off at kindergarten that morning, she took Yusha out to play. Ever since their friendship faced troubles, every time Qiu Feng thought about borrowing money from Autumn Wind, she felt uncomfortable. Taking this opportunity after earning some money in Thailand, she decided it was best to pay Autumn Wind back quickly.
Aside from this reason, more importantly, after Chen Shanni's passing, her studio has been disbanded, and the finances are being handled regarding the funding issues. It is believed that her money will be returned soon.
Thinking about how her most difficult times have passed, Qiu Feng couldn't help but smile slightly, "Now that I have a bit more financial flexibility... I should return it to you as soon as possible..."
"No need," Autumn Wind pouted. Thinking about how she hadn't seen Qiu Feng for a long time, she changed her words to, "Where are you now? If it's convenient, I'll come find you!"
Qiu Feng casually provided the address of a bank near the National Father Memorial Hall, saying, "Don't leave until we meet!"
"Okay... I'll head over shortly..." Autumn Wind said into the phone, but Qiu Feng had already hung up.
Was Qiu Feng really feeling relaxed? Of course not; at that moment, she was internally tormented by contradictions and guilt.
Thinking about the source of this unexpected money made Qiu Feng's heart ache. She looked at Autumn Wind's name on her phone screen and murmured, "I'm sorry, Autumn Wind. I didn't mean to this time..."
...
Autumn Wind had just exited the MRT when she saw Qiu Feng in a full white dress from a distance. Every part of her that could be exposed to sunlight was covered tightly; she wore a long skirt and a face mask while holding a large umbrella. Her precious Yusha followed behind her in a white fluffy dress like a princess.
The scorching sun seemed to almost melt the pavement, and the towering cold buildings behind them highlighted the insignificance and uniqueness of this mother-daughter pair. Autumn Wind squinted and looked down at her own outfit, feeling silly and out of place.
Seeing Autumn Wind approach, Qiu Feng pulled Yusha over. With her face mask on and wearing oversized sunglasses, Qiu Feng didn’t answer Autumn Wind's question directly but handed her a check instead: "This is for the money I owe you and this year's rent, plus your two months' salary. Take a look!" Her eyes didn't meet Autumn Wind's; instead, they were fixed on the glass door of the bank behind Autumn Wind.
Autumn Wind took the check without pausing to look at it for even a second, directly stuffing it into the outermost pocket of her bag, designed in the shape of red lips, and said, "Then I won't be polite... Was your trip to Thailand very smooth this time?"
Fearing the atmosphere would turn cold, Autumn Wind spoke in a relaxed tone, looking at Qiu Feng with delight.
Qiu Feng replied in a cold tone, "Not bad..."
"Really?" Surprised by Qiu Feng's indifferent response, Autumn Wind felt a wave of anxiety wash over her.
Even though she smoothly placed the check into her bag and despite the gentle breeze blowing occasionally, sweat continued to roll down from her forehead to her temples. Autumn Wind felt like an ice cream about to melt, with no semblance of composure under the scorching sun.
Autumn Wind looked up at Qiu Feng, who was dressed like a gypsy woman, swallowed hard, and asked, "Where are you going next? Filming? Or on vacation?" The implication behind Autumn Wind's words was that with such a tightly packed bag, it would be a miracle wherever she went.
She saw Qiu Feng lightly tap her sunglasses with her crystal-adorned fingers. Autumn Wind thought she wanted something, but what reached her ears was Yusha's childish yet sharp voice: "I don't want to meet those strange uncles! Why do I have to meet strange uncles? I don't want to! I don't want to!"
With exaggerated movements, Yusha waved her arms and ran around like a clown in a circus. Knowing that Yusha was a rather nervous child, Autumn Wind didn’t pay much attention and just smiled lightly while watching Yusha run amok.
Suddenly, Yusha hugged her head with both hands and dashed out like a ghostly light. In Autumn Wind's peripheral vision, she vaguely saw a car approaching.
Unless you experience it yourself, you can never know how fast your reaction can be.
Before Autumn Wind could process what was happening, she followed Yusha out and then caught both of Yusha's arms as if swinging on a swing. Immediately after, the sharp sound of screeching brakes echoed.
Yusha struggled and cried in Autumn Wind's arms. Finally realizing what had happened when she understood that she had pulled Yusha back from in front of a speeding car, Autumn Wind's back began to tremble uncontrollably.
It was hard to imagine that in less than three seconds, she had done so much while facing away from the road.
A yellow taxi came to a quick stop five meters away. The driver got out, his face full of anger, and began to carefully inspect the car. The passenger in the front seat was still in shock, patting their chest.
Autumn Wind turned around, her body completely out of control, shaking uncontrollably.
She bent down and started apologizing repeatedly. Seeing Autumn Wind bowing so low in apology, Yusha, who was held tightly by Autumn Wind, stared with wide, fearful eyes, not daring to make a sound.
Countless honks from cars behind them filled the air. The person in the front seat mumbled a few words, and the driver shot a fierce glare at Autumn Wind before returning to the car. Like an angry frog, he jumped slightly and quickly drove away from them.
Autumn Wind lowered her head and exchanged a glance with Yusha. Suddenly feeling weak, her arms went limp, and Yusha's feet fell to the ground.
Behind Yusha stood Qiu Feng, motionless. Autumn Wind couldn't see her expression through the white veil. Yusha ran to her side and hugged Qiu Feng's thigh but was immediately bounced back as if pricked by a needle.
Sure enough, Qiu Feng raised her arm high and then brought it down onto Yusha's backside. A slightly tearful voice came from behind the veil: "Are you trying to get yourself killed? What would happen if something went wrong!"
She suddenly lifted her head and walked in front of Autumn Wind. The large black lenses immediately reflected Autumn Wind's pale, tired face.
Qiu Feng raised her arm again, but when her palm slid down in front of Autumn Wind's eyes, it turned gentle. Her crystal nails lightly tapped Autumn Wind's forehead with a "pop": "You can't just disregard your life like that. If something really happened to you, how would I explain it to your husband? How would I explain it to Sister Sally..."
Oops, she slipped up. Qiu Feng immediately stopped talking and quickly bent down to hug Yusha, who was looking at her with terrified eyes.
Autumn Wind touched her forehead where Qiu Feng had tapped her and shrugged: "Does this mean we're okay now... what I mean is that we're still good friends..."
Qiu Feng held Yusha without saying a word; the head wrapped in white slightly nodded.
Autumn Wind still couldn't see her expression, but Yusha began to struggle free from Qiu Feng and burrowed into Autumn Wind's arms: "I want to be with Aunt Qiu Feng. Mommy, is that okay?" She looked at Qiu Feng with pleading eyes and then began to wriggle like a snake.
Qiu Feng turned her face towards Autumn Wind: "I need to go... record a video, ... can you... take care of Yusha for me...?"
Her voice trembled slightly, with a hint of hoarseness, as if she had eaten too much caramel.
She seemed to have anticipated Autumn Wind's response, placing Yusha on the ground and then pushing her in front of Autumn Wind: "Aunt Qiu Feng is not feeling well, so you have to walk by yourself. You can't let Aunt carry you!"
Autumn Wind clearly saw Yusha let out a heavy sigh, as if she had unloaded a heavy stone. This behavior, which did not match her age, resembled a complex silent play.
Qiu Feng raised her hand to hail a taxi. Autumn Wind and Yusha stood by the roadside, looking at her with complicated expressions. Autumn Wind's mind was suddenly struck like lightning as he remembered that Qiu Feng had just mentioned Qiu Ruolan, so he asked, "Was that your Sister Sally just now?"
"No! You heard wrong!" Qiu Feng denied it vehemently, turning her face completely towards Autumn Wind. In the reflection of her sunglasses, Autumn Wind saw his own face slowly transitioning from pale to flushed, but she remained silent and then got into the taxi.
Yusha's head was already resting against Autumn Wind's abdomen. Her braid poked through Autumn Wind's thin clothing, making him feel ticklish. He gently covered her braid with his hand and asked Yusha, "Who was that strange uncle of yours just now?"
She lifted her head, but her brows furrowed tightly like twisted rope. Biting her lower lip, she made a painful expression, and a look of terror reflected from her dark eyes: "I don't know him either... anyway, he's a very scary uncle; they hit people!"
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