Chapter 114

Desi Middle School is located in the northwest of Xiangcheng. To the west of the school, there is a forest. Behind the forest is an experimental building. Outside the wall is a small printing factory. In Li Qingyao's memory, classmates often went to the forest to walk, play, and eat snacks. The forest extended to the outside of the wall, and some classmates would climb over the wall and the iron gate to play near the printing factory.

Li Qingyao would sometimes go to the woods to stay quiet and at ease. Later, she and Luo Huaizheng went into the woods three times.

But don't get me wrong, the early love of two good kids is limited to kissing and hugging. Luo Huaizheng's hand never even went into her clothes. If he really dared to do so, Li Qingyao would definitely break his claws. But at that time, Luo Huaizheng's eyes were clearly more passionate, pure, and clean than a stream under the sun.

Seven years have passed. The printing factory has closed down and has been demolished. Most of the forest outside the school has been plowed flat, and new residential buildings have sprung up. But the forest inside the school is still lush and green, taller and more luxuriant than before.

Xiang Siling told her that she put the towel in a glass bottle and hid it under the roots of a tree.

However, the girl, who was struggling with her secret, was too flustered. She came at night and clearly remembered the characteristics of the tree. But when she came during the day a few days later, she found that she couldn't find it at all. She dug several trees in a hurry, but there was nothing under the tree.

After that, she couldn't be found anywhere.

"This is probably God's will." Xiang Siling sighed woodenly in the interrogation room, making it difficult for the detectives to tell whether her words were true or false.

"If the rag is still there after such a long time, you are the only ones who can find it," she said to the detectives.

Ding Guoqiang immediately ordered to mobilize all forces and dig three feet deep into the ground to get a result.

It was destined to be a noisy night. The woods behind Desi Middle School were illuminated by countless lights. The criminal police team began to explore every tree, every handful of soil, every tree hole and even the bird's nest on the tree.

Xiang Siling couldn't remember the exact location. If they were unlucky, the tree might be outside the wall and had already been flattened, and all their efforts tonight would be in vain.

The survey work has been going on for more than an hour.

Small excavators, hoes, shovels, police dogs...all were used, with light and shadows interweaving and footsteps rushing.

Li Qingyao had already explored two trees and dug up the area around the roots, but found nothing. When she reached the third tree, she paused.

The tree has a root that is exposed above the ground. It is very thick and more than one meter long. Because people often sit on it, the upper part of the root has become smooth and serves as a natural bench. Above the head, the green and lush tree canopy can almost block all sunlight, making this small spot as secret and quiet as the depths of the forest.

Li Qingyao didn't expect that after seven years, this place was still the same, without any change.

Some memories that had been buried for so long that Li Qingyao thought they no longer existed suddenly rushed into his mind.

It was an early spring afternoon, the sun was very bright, so it wasn't cold at all. Li Qingyao came over and climbed the hillside to digest her food. Luo Huaizheng left the classroom 5 minutes after her, walked down the hillside, found her, and held her hand.

Li Qingyao clearly remembered that day, both of them were wearing thick blue and white winter school uniforms. Luo Huaizheng was wearing a thin black sweater, and the sun shone on his cheeks and slender fingers, flashing a white and clear luster.

Li Qingyao walked to the "old place" - the tree root that served as a bench, and sat down comfortably. Luo Huaizheng sat next to her. The overly quiet environment made the two of them a little awkward at first. But they soon started chatting again, just like sitting at the same table in the classroom.

"In the basketball game last night, Class 3 beat Class 5 by a large margin."

"I knew it. Doesn't our class have to fight against Class 3?"

"Yes."

"Our class is doomed to fail."

"Haha."

"Do we eat in the cafeteria or at the school gate?"

"At the door."

"What to eat?"

"It doesn't matter what we eat. Didn't you notice that when we went to the cafeteria together, there were so many people looking at us? Most of them were looking at you. Alas, a man is innocent, but he is guilty of possessing a treasure."

Luo Huaizheng was amused by her. He tilted his head to stare at her carefree and casual look, and stretched out his hand to pinch the tip of her nose: "It's obviously me who holds the jade."

She glanced at him and said, "Oh, that's a good love statement."

It wasn't long since they confirmed their relationship. She was carefree, but Luo Huaizheng's cheeks turned red at the word "sweet talk". The famous academic genius was so happy that he squatted on a tree like a fool, pulled some grass from the side, and threw it away in a good mood.

"The old clock in the printing factory is quite beautiful." Luo Huaizheng pointed, and Li Qingyao turned around and looked at the old and dilapidated clock on the roof of the opposite building in the direction he pointed. The boy took the opportunity to lean over and kissed her slightly cold cheek. Li Qingyao stopped looking at the clock and looked at him. Before this, she had never looked at any boy with such bright and affectionate eyes.

Luo Huaizheng slid down, put one hand forward and pressed it on the tree roots behind her, while the other hand was placed properly on his leg. He tilted his head and kissed her.

It was broad daylight, but the surroundings were dark, with only a few rays of light quietly falling through the leaves. There was no wind, and no one was around. Under their feet was soft soil and dry leaves that had fallen for who knows how long.

Li Qingyao still remembers the feeling that kiss gave her.

She remembered Luo Huaizheng's scent, fresh and sweet. She remembered the feeling of his cheek against hers, which was the same as hers, a little cool and soft. His lips and tongue were warm, and his movements were clumsy, as if he didn't know what to do, so he licked her tongue gently, which made her head numb and her whole back tremble slightly as if she had been electrocuted. The sharp current rushed into her heart unreasonably, silently trying to blow her apart.

She couldn't stand it anymore and wanted to push him away. But he was unusually strong, and the hand that was originally pressed on the tree root suddenly hugged her waist to prevent her from hiding. The other hand also gently grasped her arm and kissed her for a long time.

It was so long that when he let her go, her jade-like cheeks were red, and her eyebrows and eyes seemed to be stained with a thin layer of moisture. Li Qingyao didn't know where the slightly wet feeling came from, but she thought that her appearance must be no better than his.

"This is my first kiss." He said with his head down, then looked at her with a smile.

Li Qingyao: "You make it sound like everyone is not."

His smile became even brighter, and he couldn't help but reach out and hold her in his arms, looking into the distance side by side. After the kiss, they didn't speak for a while, but the two of them were filled with the same sweet and happy emotions, and the boy's heart could no longer accommodate anything else.

Before slipping back to class, Li Qingyao looked back again and said, "I will always remember this place and this noon."

Luo Xueba, who was familiar with her, held her head with one hand, lowered his head and kissed her again, saying, "Me too, forever."

They walked and talked as they went.

"When you get into college and have your winter break, I'll bring you here for a date."

"You're planning on revisiting the past now, aren't you?"

"You used the idiom incorrectly, Chinese class representative."

"Okay, squad leader, I'll be frank with you. Please don't keep thinking about kissing... um..."

……

Li Qingyao stared at the clear and deep lines on the old tree trunk. She didn't expect that this memory would still be vivid today, so distant yet as if it happened yesterday.

But after the silence, she just raised her head and looked at the dark and dense treetops. From this angle, they seemed very tall and silent like giants. Then she lowered her head and continued to work with full concentration.

The moon was already hanging high above the treetops. Tonight was destined to be a late night, and the logistics department sent a truck of boxed lunches. Chen Pu had been running around all day and had not eaten dinner, so he was already hungry. After being called to rest, he took two portions without saying a word and squatted down in a clean place. He was almost finished with the first portion when he noticed that Li Qingyao had not come yet. He looked up and couldn't find her for a while.

It happened that Yan Yong also came to eat. Chen Pu remembered that he and Li Qingyao were assigned to the same search route, so he asked, "Where is Li Qingyao? Why didn't you come to eat?" She, like him, did not have dinner.

"I called her," Yan Yong said, "but she said she wasn't hungry and didn't want to eat."

Chen Pu quickly finished both meals, and went to the logistics department to get another one. He was very picky, and did not order the braised pork, but the diced chicken. The logistics staff were surprised: "Chen Pu, how long have you been hungry?"

Chen Pu didn't explain. He picked up another bottle of water, put it in a plastic bag, and walked in the direction Yan Yong came out of the woods.

Soon, Chen Pu found the figure lying on the ground, cleaning up fallen leaves and searching for tree holes. Most people were eating at this time, and there was not much light, so the woods were even darker. Chen Pu looked at her back and felt that she looked particularly thin and frail.

"Li Qingyao."

She turned her head: "What's the matter?"

Chen Pu tapped the paper lunch box with his fingers: "It's already 12 o'clock, eat something before you continue."

She turned her head back again, her hands moving non-stop: "Thank you, I can't eat it, give it to someone else."

Chen Pu frowned, and after a moment of silence, he put down his lunch box and water, walked over, and gently picked her up from the back. Li Qingyao was stunned, and he easily lifted her to the side and put her on the ground.

"I really have no appetite." She said, her eyes revealing stubbornness.