Chapter 74
The students in Class 9 returned to the classroom one after another.
Ji Rang sat up straight and helped the little girl with red eyes up. She didn't seem to be doing anything, he smiled and asked her, "Is your leg numb?"
Qi Ying sniffed, and whispered, "A little bit."
He drew her closer, bent over and hammered her slightly on her calf. Qi Ying was a little itchy, smiled and avoided: "No, itchy."
The students returning to the classroom peeped at them.
Ji Rang let go and smiled: "Okay, let's go back."
She nodded, turned and walked outside, took two steps, paused, and suddenly turned and ran back to hug him.
Ji Rang was taken aback, and whispered: "Yingying?"
She buried her in his heart, and her voice was small and dull: "Don't be sad, they are bad."
He curled up and trembled, touched her head, and whispered, "Well, I'm not sad."
After meeting you, my world has become a lot clearer.
Qi Ying went back to her class, as the class bell had rung. This was Liu Qinghua's class. She speeded up and trotted a few steps, and when she reached the entrance of the corridor, she saw Ji Weiyan standing there.
He did not leave.
When he saw her, he called her: "Yingying."
She stopped and looked at him quietly.
Ji Weiyan said: "I thought about it for a while, and I have something to say to you."
She crushed her hind molar lightly, and her voice was very low: "I'm going to class."
Ji Weiyan looked at her helplessly: "Ten minutes."
Qi Ying was silent for a while and walked over. Ji Weiyan smiled and asked her warmly: "I saw a milk tea shop downstairs. Uncle will invite you to drink milk tea?"
There were teachers coming and going here, and it was not a convenient place to talk. Qi Ying understood what he meant, did not say a word, followed him downstairs in silence. Ji Weiyan bought a large cup of milk tea with everything added in it and handed it to her.
Qi Ying held the milk tea without drinking it, and asked him, "What are you going to tell me?"
Ji Weiyan noticed the change in her attitude, did not mind, smiled slightly, and said in a low voice: "I know that Arang's changes are all because of you, thank you very much." He didn't want to say extra words to make the little girl impatient, "The teacher said that the next year is very important. He won't listen to our words, but it will only arouse disgust, so I want to ask you to help him a lot."
He paused: "He thought he was retaliating against us by those behaviors, but he actually hurt himself. I don't want him to fall into resentment and ruin himself. You are very important to him, no matter what, our family is thankful towards you, if there is anything you need help, just ask me."
He never knew how to get along with his child. At this moment, the tight promises and thanks made Qi Ying a little bit amused.
She lowered her head and rotated the milk teacup for a long time, then suddenly asked: "Have you regretted it?"
Ji Weiyan was taken aback: "What?"
"Didn't save his mother, but saved others, have you ever regretted it?"
Ji Weiyan stared at her blankly, and sighed for a while, "You know."
Qi Ying stared at him.
Ji Weiyan looked down and smiled bitterly: "I can't tolerate my regrets. At that time…" He paused for a while before saying in a dumb voice: "If I chose to save his mother, the survival rate was too low, and both of them might die. I could only save the one with the highest survival rate. I have my responsibility and I can't make a losing bet."
He seemed to want to smoke, touched his pocket, but thought that Qi Ying was next to him, and took it back.
"Back then, we watched the surveillance video and told him that it was the right and necessary choice, but he was too young to listen and believe, stubbornly thinking that I gave up on his mother."
Overwhelming media reports, friends and relatives kept talking, exaggerating and distorting his choice in order to create an image of selflessness and justice.
Ji Rang was making a lot of noise, and he locked himself in the room and saw no one.
Because of this incident, Ji Weiyan could no longer continue to face his status as an armed policeman. Despite the opposition of Grandpa Ji, he insisted on retiring and gave up his future in the army.
Grandpa Ji was also a soldier, and the Ji family had a soldier in each generation. They had been a military family for several generations.
Mr. Ji was full of meritorious service and was upright. He had always been proud of this and had insisted on the integrity and stubbornness of a soldier for decades.
He raised two sons. The eldest son was determined and decided not to join the army. He ran out to start a career by himself and had a good time in the mall.
So, he could only put the inheritance of the military on his second son. The second son was indecisive but filial, and his father's words were orders. He lived according to the rules, and he hadn't stepped wrong.
Until that accident happened.
Ji Weiyan disobeyed his father for the first time, resolutely retired, and never touched the police uniform ever since.
Master Ji was too stubborn, stubborn to the point of paranoia, he beat Ji Weiyan with a belt in front of Ji Rang and called him a coward for giving up the responsibility of a soldier for a woman.
That was the first time Ji Weiyan saw resentment in Ji Rang's eyes.
Grandpa Ji had trained Ji Rang as a soldier since he was a child. Now he had no hope of his two sons. His only hope lied in this grandson.
But his grandson hated them since then and hated their so-called military responsibilities.
Ji Rang started to work against his family. He just wanted to do what he wasn’t allowed to do. He fought outside every day. He was arrested several times in the police station and became a completely bad boy.
Master Ji was offended and got high blood pressure and was hospitalized when he went into a coma.
Ji Weiyan tried to communicate with his son, but in exchange he always only received resentful eyes. He was taciturn and moved a bit, and was never good at communicating with people, so he could only think by luck that he would be fine when he grows up.
He followed his eldest brother to do business together, opened a company, and assigned 49% of the company's shares under the name of Ji Rang. He hoped that money would have at least some possibility of making up for his crimes.
He met Su Rong again, three years later.
She met a mischief, was pregnant with a two-month-old child and was beaten by her boyfriend in the street.
When Ji Weiyan rescued her, her husband had just passed away, but unfortunately the child still miscarried even after being rescued. Ji Weiyan rescued her again and took her to the hospital.
Su Rong broke up with her boyfriend and said that she would abort the child. But the doctor told her that she had already had an accidental miscarriage, her health was very poor, and she had severe heart palpitations. Another miscarriage would lead to life-long infertility.
Su Rong still wanted to be a mother, so she kept the child.
She was an orphan and there was no one to take care of her. He managed to save her life, and she had to live well to be worth the price he paid.
Ji Weiyan took care of her for a while, and Su Rong was very grateful and moved since he was her benefactor. She saw that Ji Weiyan was annoyed by his son every day and wanted to help him enlighten Ji Rang.
She thought that Ji Rang would also see her as a hostage, which would arouse his empathy. She didn't know that her appearance would only be a greater excitement for Ji Rang.
Ji Rang said something awkward, and Su Rong got emotional, causing her heart palpitations, and she fell down the stairs.
She saw that the boy wanted to reach out to pull her, but unfortunately, she could not hold it.
She fell so badly that she not only miscarried the child, but she also almost lost her life and went into a coma in the intensive care unit.
No one explained for Ji Rang. His previous actions were too rebellious. Everyone felt that he had pushed her intentionally.
The young man was stubborn and extreme. He just didn't explain a word, and even uttered bad words in front of Mr. Ji, who had just returned from the hospital. He cursed that woman as damned because she owed his mother a life, and he was going to kill her. A life for a life.
Ji Weiyan slapped him to silence.
Old man Ji's blood pressure soared, and he scolded him harshly: "There is no murderer grandson in the Ji family! Get out of here!"
So, he left and never came back.
When Su Rong woke up to explain clearly, they wanted to find Ji Rang again, but there was no longer a possibility of reconciliation.
Su Rong was almost unable to recover from the physical injury due to the accident, and her heart palpitations recurred. The doctor said that she would not live long. In the days to come, every time she fell into a coma with heart palpitations, there was a possibility she may never be able to wake up.
Ji Weiyan took care of her for two years and took her back home.
He couldn't let his son bear this life indirectly, he had to pay it back. Su Rong admired him; she knew that he just wanted to make her feel at ease before she died.
The sun above his head was getting stronger and stronger.
But Qi Ying still felt a little cold.
She suddenly understood why the boy still had a lingering coldness, even when he was standing in the sun.
Ji Weiyan sighed, feeling helpless.
Qi Ying smiled.
Ji Weiyan turned to look at her.
The little girl who was always soft, even her eyes became cold, and asked him calmly: "So? Does he deserve this?"
Ji Weiyan was taken aback for a moment: "What?"
Qi Ying looked at him: "He deserves to lose his mother. He is accused by everyone of being ignorant, and when you question him as a murderer, does he still have to bear your conscience’s condemnation for you being troubled?"
She looked at the dumbfounded man in front of her, and thought it was ridiculous: "Why do you use the ideals of an adult to judge a child?"
He was so young; how did he survive?
She felt terribly distressed when she thought about it.
She asked Ji Weiyan: "Each of you feels helpless and compelled, but from beginning to end, did he do something wrong?"
Ji Weiyan moved his lips: "I…"
Qi Ying stared at him coldly: "He did nothing wrong, from beginning to end, he was not at all wrong. But he has endured all the damage and the price."
Ji Weiyan was stiff and couldn't even make a sound.
"You put your own ideas on him, and if he doesn't accept it, it becomes what you call rebellion. Don't you think it's very selfish?"
Ji Weiyan could not speak.
The girl threw the milk tea that she hadn't drunk in her hand into the trash can. She turned her back to him for a long time and said softly: "This is not fair."
She took a step forward and walked towards the teaching building.
The sun stretched her delicate figure thinner, shaking and throwing the shadow on the ground.
Ji Weiyan raised his hands and slowly covered his face.
…
After the end of the final exam, the teachers of each subject quickly presented the papers, and then began the class. After all, time is very tight. After the final textbook knowledge was finished, a round of review began as soon as the school started in September.
The weather was getting hotter and hotter. In mid-July, they didn't know if the school suddenly bought a lottery ticket, but they began to install air conditioners in the classrooms.
This made the students happy, and even energetic in class.
On Qi Ying's seventeenth birthday, Ji Rang also happened to have his basketball finals.
No. 1[1] and No. 6 middle schools competed for the final league championship.
Now that the study time was so tight, the school did not let them go to the game. The prospective seniors went to class as usual, but the senior students who had not yet reached the second year of high school had all gone to cheer.
The team started training together early in the morning and only stopped in the afternoon. Before class, Qi Ying received a message from Ji Rang. He said, "Wait for me to take first place and give you a birthday gift."
Yu Zhuo also sent her a message: "Sister, do you want me to broadcast it to you? I'll broadcast it to you if you divide your next week’s pocket money with me."
Qi Ying: "…"
She turned off her mobile phone and concentrated on class.
After the afternoon class was over, Ji Rang’s message had been sent. He asked her: "I got the first place, is there any reward?"
She was so happy, and returned the message: What do you want?
Ji Rang typed "want you" in the chat box, and felt that this was too irritating, so he deleted it!
At the end of the competition, prizes will be awarded, and Qi Ying's self-study will be over when the program got over. As soon as she left the scene, she called him with a soft voice, "I'm on the bus and I'm almost home."
He wiped the sweat from his forehead: "Wait for me at the Begonia Tree."
He rode the motorcycle to the cake shop first, took the ice cream cake he had ordered in advance, and then rushed to her house.
When he arrived at Haitang Road, he saw the little girl from a distance carrying a schoolbag, standing obediently under the Begonia tree, kicking the steps gently with her toes.
When she heard the motorcycle engine, she looked up in surprise, the bike seemed to squeeze by her in a gust of wind, and the boy who had not even changed his shirt jumped off the bike.
He smelled of sweat all over.
The hair was messed up by the helmet, and it looked very rough. But the action was very light, and carefully took out the ice cream cake from the back and handed it to her: "Look if it's broken."
It was not bad, it looked exquisite and delicious.
He laughed and took out three candles from his pocket and put them on the cake.
Begonia flowers on the top of the head were blooming beautifully.
He lit the three candles with matches, and the warm orange color reflected the soft eyes of the girl.
He said: "Say three wishes, and I will help you realize them."
Qi Ying blinked, and her surprise was palpable: "Really? Any wish?"
Ji Rang nodded: "Well, any wish is fine."
The girl curled her eyes and smiled: "Okay."
Looking down at the cake she was holding in her hand, she looked soft and pious, and said seriously: "The first wish, I hope that Ji Rang will be safe and healthy, and live a long life."
The young man froze for a moment.
She continued: "The second wish, I hope that Ji Rang will be happy, without injury in his life."
His heart trembled slightly.
"The third wish." The girl paused and slowly closed her eyes. For a long time, she whispered: "I want to marry Ji Rang."
The boy's heart shook twice.
The night breeze blew over, blowing off a flurry of begonia flowers.
She opened her eyes and blew out the candle.
Ji Rang was dazzled, and she looked at him shyly and tenderly.
Ji Rang made his Adam's apple move. After a while, he reached out and touched her head, and said in a dumb voice, "Okay, these three wishes, when you grow up, I will help you realize them."
Author’s Note: You can scold the scumbag, don't scold me… You can tell me that I am actually made of glass, so I don't need the wind to blow, and I will be broken if I scold me two sentences!
T/N: I hate Ji Weiyan so much, he had so many justifications for himself… but none for a young boy who lost his mother because of his father and was condemned by his family as a murderer.
[1] Haiyi Middle School