Chapter 192

Li Qingyao pushed Xie Rongcheng to the lakeside plank road. The wooden plank road was a winding path that stretched into the lake and then bent back to the shore, shaded by tall reeds.

Xie Rongcheng: "Do you mind if I smoke?"

"I don't mind. Did the doctor allow it?"

Xie Rongcheng smiled: "If you don't let me, I will still smoke."

Li Qingyao also laughed. Xie Rongcheng took out a cigarette box from his pocket. It was not the cigars or imported cigarettes in the TV series, but the authentic local cigarettes of Xiangcheng. He lit one and put it in his mouth, squinting his eyes in enjoyment and said, "This will give me strength. Please help me up."

Li Qingyao hurried forward and helped him stand up. It was indeed as he said, there was no problem with walking, but he was weak.

"May I?" He raised one arm and motioned for her to take it. Li Qingyao remembered that this man was not only a key university student in the 80s, but also learned to be a gentleman in Hong Kong. She happily took his arm and supported his body at the same time, and the two walked slowly forward.

"Has Xie Xinrui adapted to Hong Kong now?" she asked.

Xie Rongcheng was very satisfied that she changed her name to address her adopted daughter, which meant that she understood the meaning of the name.

"Luna is great. In fact, in Hong Kong, people usually call her by her English name. If you meet her one day, you might as well call her that." He said with a smile, as if he had forgotten that the person in front of him was a policeman, or perhaps he no longer cared.

But how should he put it? How can he be considered to have adapted to the new life? Judging from Luna's grades when she first entered the aristocratic high school, or her feelings about the new life, she was naturally not able to adapt. Other subjects were fine, but English was especially lagging behind, and her practical project experience and ability were even more lacking. Surrounded by Hong Kong-born and raised children of officials and businessmen who looked down on others, Xie Rongcheng had some face, but not much.

But if we talk about Luna's ruthlessness and hard work, she is very adaptable to the new environment, and it can even be said that she quickly excels. Xie Rongcheng remembered that in the first six months after Luna arrived in Hong Kong, the lights in her room were never turned off before 2 a.m. He did not persuade her to rest, nor did he care.

Since Luna was not good at speaking English, she asked him to help her find a foreign teacher and had oral conversations with him every day. Since she did not have enough social practice skills, she quietly observed her classmates, learned from them regardless of the ridicule and cold eyes of some people, and asked Xie Rongcheng for advice, absorbing everything like a sponge. By the second semester, she could already plan a scientific research or social activity project fluently in English, and arrange all aspects of people and things perfectly and properly - Xie Rongcheng didn't even know where she got to know so many people and found so many resources for her to coordinate.

A year later, Luna graduated with excellent grades and was admitted to the best university in Hong Kong.

"She's adapted really well." Li Qingyao praised. She really understood and appreciated Luna's strength. Because she had similar experiences, fighting with all her might. Maybe in a sense, she and her were the same kind of people. It's just that Luna had it harder than her.

"It wasn't all smooth sailing." Xie Rongcheng sighed, "She experienced school bullying, but she never told me. Later, when there was a big fight, I was invited to the school and learned about it."

Li Qingyao was silent. Subconsciously, she no longer wanted to hear about any unpleasant experiences Liu Tingmei had.

Unexpectedly, Xie Rongcheng saw her expression and smiled: "Don't get me wrong. That time, it wasn't someone else who bullied her, she fought back too hard. You are a kind child, just like your brother."

This was the second time he mentioned his brother, and Li Qingyao looked at him.

Xie Rongcheng still clearly remembers the scene he saw when he arrived at the school that time.

Those girls all had bruises on their faces, disheveled hair, dirty clothes, and looked timid. His Luna also had a bruise on the corner of her mouth, but it was much lighter than theirs, and she even looked relaxed and calm.

Xie Rongcheng suddenly became happy.

The teacher interrogated several girls about what happened and who started the fight first. Luna did not speak either, and glanced at the girl who was the leader. Xie Rongcheng recognized the girl, whose father was a high-ranking official and always arrogant. But today, the girl was in a state of despair, and said, "We...we heard that Luna came from the mainland and practiced kung fu, so we asked her to teach us a few moves. There was no conflict, it was just a joke. Miss Hu, please don't worry about it."

This is simply nonsense. But no matter how the teacher asked, the girls insisted that it was fine. In the end, they had to give up.

On the way home, Xie Rongcheng asked, "How did you do it?"

Luna seemed very thirsty. She drank a large bottle of sugar-free sparkling water before answering, "Your fitness coach Jony knows how to fight. I ask him to teach me for two hours every week and practice for an hour every night. Those idiots have been bullying me for a while. Today I used a trick to lock them in the dark auditorium, subdued them one by one, and tortured them. I know which parts of the body are painful, but the injuries are almost invisible from the outside; I also know which parts of the body will be difficult for them to talk about."

Xie Rongcheng was silent for a while and said, "Their family is not someone you can easily mess with. How can you keep silent even though they have suffered such a huge loss?" He probably couldn't do that.

Luna smiled and said, "I told you my dad is Xie Rongcheng. If you dare to sue the teacher, as long as you can't kill me this time, I will definitely kill you next time. I'm not afraid of going to jail. Anyway, I don't really want to live. They were scared and cried."

……

After telling this story, Xie Rongcheng's expression was calm and gentle, as if he saw the stubborn and cold-blooded adopted daughter across the lake, and also saw her full of pain and the simple kindness that could never return.

Li Qingyao remained silent.

"In her second year at university, she carved a few names on the side of her desk in her room: Luo Long, Qian Chengfeng, and Liu Huaixin. I found out and asked her who these people were. She said they were people who had hurt her. I asked her if she hated her parents and whether she would take revenge on her family. Do you know how she answered?
She was very calm at the time, saying that her parents gave birth to her and raised her. Although they were not good to her, they also supported her to go to high school and never deprived her of food and drink. She slipped from the roof, it was indeed an accident. She didn't need to do anything, the couple would mess up their lives. Without her, the family of three would have no hope in this life, and would only get worse and worse. And she would never see them again, and that would be it. "

"Look." Xie Rongcheng laughed sarcastically, "Luna is actually still a kind person at heart. She has let go of everything she can. If it were me when I was younger, I would definitely take revenge on my parents for causing me to be like that. I think, before she encountered those things, she may never have held grudges. Unless she really can't get over it, no matter what, she will keep it in her heart and take revenge regardless of the consequences."

Li Qingyao said: "She is extremely naive, but also extremely stubborn. Did she tell you what those three people did to her?"

"She didn't say it, and I didn't ask. There's no need to ask. Three men in their prime get a girl who has lost her intelligence and is stunningly beautiful, and they can make huge profits from her every night. What would that be like? What would they do to her? I don't want to ask, and I don't want to hear."

Li Qingyao sighed deeply and looked up. They had reached the farthest point of the wooden plank road that went deep into the center of the lake. In front of them was an open expanse of water. Clusters of lush water plants dotted the lake, making it look gray and green. Black birds spread their wings and flew by, making clear low calls. The sun shone through the mist onto the vast water, reflecting a light luster.

"She also carved a name in the most hidden place on the corner of the table. I discovered it by accident." Xie Rongcheng looked at Li Qingyao with his eyes full of vicissitudes and compassion. "It's Li Jincheng. That was the first time I saw this name."

Li Qingyao was moved: "My brother...did she say..."

Xie Rongcheng shook his head: "She also wants to find him."

Li Qingyao didn't know what was going on in his heart, so he swallowed it and asked again, "Did she ever mention what happened that night, the night my brother disappeared and she escaped?"

Xie Rongcheng still shook his head.

Li Qingyao breathed a sigh of relief, but she was still emotional, and slammed her hands heavily on the railing. She silently said to herself, "Li Qingyao, calm down. You are on a mission, and the most urgent thing is to find out what happened to Liu Tingmei."

We will meet again.

We will see each other soon.

(End of this chapter)