CH 15

Zhang Yazhi was watching TV. She heard Chen Shiming’s tone when he came home and directly said, “Is there anything you can’t say to my face?”

Chen Qizhao ignored Chen Shiming and continued the topic he was just talking about. “Uncle Zhang told me that you haven’t been eating it. This is your own body. Can you think a little more about yourself?”

“I gained a bit of weight in the past two days. The things that Old Zhang made are too nutritious. You don’t understand that I can’t eat too much nutritious food at my age. If I eat too much then my body will gain weight.” Zhang Yazhi’s weight had been unstable lately and she almost couldn’t fit into the dress she often wore. “I will eat it when I control my weight.”

She was anxious to change the subject and looked at Chen Shiming. “Why are you looking for your brother?”

Chen Shiming handed the briefcase to Uncle Zhang. He saw Chen Qizhao talking to Zhang Yazhi and simply sat down next to his brother, his eyes always on Chen Qizhao. “I heard news that your youngest son went racing in the suburbs.”

Chen Qizhao was originally a bit impetuous due to Zhang Yazhi’s matter. He heard Chen Shiming’s words and looked up in surprise. “You saw me racing?”

Zhang Yazhi said, “What is this? Talk about it.”

Chen Shiming lowered his voice. “I didn’t see it but isn’t it true that you took the group of people to the racetrack?”

He had called the racetrack to inquire about it. Chen Qizhao wasn’t alone and also brought a group of his scoundrel friends. He heard Chen Qizhao’s indifferent tone and almost laughed angrily. “I thought you have been sensible recently.”

Chen Qizhao explained, “I was doing a test drive.”

“Test drive and then what?” Chen Shiming looked at Chen Qizhao. “The cars at the racetrack have all been modified. Have you ever thought that if you made a mistake, the speed will kill people?”

Chen Qizhao stared at Chen Shiming, as if he had returned to a day many years ago. “Then what type of speed do you think calculates human life?”

The weather was fine that day. He was sitting in the classroom and listening to the boring theory class when he received Zhang Yazhi’s phone call. Her voice was full of anxiety and worry as she told him with a crying voice that Chen Shiming had been in a car accident. This was the beginning of all the tragedies of the Chen family, from the temporary acceleration of an important meeting to colliding with a large truck when taking a detour.

The driver died on the spot and Chen Shiming was disabled for half his life.

It was from a proud son of heaven to a sick dog who died from depression.

“80? 100? 120?” Chen Qizhao stared into Chen Shiming’s eyes, his tone fast and cold. “You say that there will be an accident if one goes too fast. You only know how to teach others with your mouth and don’t even do it yourself. How do you have the courage to lecture others?”

Chen Shiming was stunned when he heard the words and quickly reacted. “Chen Qizhao, what nonsense are you talking about?”

Zhang Yazhi had never seen Chen Qizhao like this and murmured, “Xiao Zhao?”

Chen Qizhao spoke impulsively but his heart couldn’t come down.

Nonsense? Yes, he was indeed talking nonsense but what position did Chen Shiming have to lecture him?

Back then, he deliberately looked at the surveillance. It was a green light and the truck violated the law, but the speed of Chen Shiming’s car at the time still exceeded the road’s speed limit. If the speed was slower then the car might not have hit the truck.

There was silence in the living room. Chen Qizhao had rarely lost his temper during this period of time and maintained a rare friendly state with Chen Shiming. Even Zhang Yazhi felt that the two brothers were released from their previous frozen expression and supported them to move forward. The outbreak came so suddenly that everyone couldn’t react for a moment.

Chen Qizhao retracted his gaze. He took out his mobile phone to divert his attention and clicked on various apps to enter and exit.

Various images passed through his cranky mind. Some were from his previous life and some were from this life. However, more than there, there was the hospital and three gravestones side by side in the suburban cemetery. He forced himself to calm down, not wanting to bring his bad tempered self to his current family, nor did he want them to be angry with him again.

For some ghostly reason, he clicked on his phone’s contacts and scrolled to Shen Yuhuai.

He was about to call the number when he finally calmed down.

After a long silence, Chen Shiming realized his tone and slowed it down. “Chen Qizhao, let’s talk.”

At this time, an abrupt ringtone was heard in the living room.

Chen Qizhao’s mind returned and he saw the words ‘Shen Yuhuai’ on his phone screen. His irritable fingers stopped and he instinctively swiped the green answer button.

The screen instantly jumped to the call duration screen of 00:01.

Once it was 00:05, Chen Qizhao raised the phone to his ear.

“Hello, Chen Qizhao said in a loud voice.

The sound of the voice on the other side was wrapped in the sound of whistling wind. After a while, the wind stopped.

Shen Yuhuai’s voice came from the other side. “Hello, can you hear me?”

Chen Qizhao answered, “I can hear you.”

“Excuse me, I’m Shen Yuhuai.” Shen Yuhuai got straight to the topic. “I want to ask if Yan Kailin is by your side right now? I called him an hour ago and he didn’t pick up. I just received a reminder that he turned off his phone.”

“He…” Chen Qizhao frowned. “He isn’t here but he went back to school in the afternoon.”

After separating at the racetrack in the afternoon, Yan Kailin said he was going back to school and took a taxi back.

Shen Yuhuai said, “I went to the school but he wasn’t there.”

“I separated from him in the afternoon on Qinghe Road in the suburbs of the city.”

Chen Qizhao wondered, “Did he return to the city?”

“I didn’t find him in the apartment.” Shen Yuhuai seemed to be in the car. “Where are you now?”

Chen Qizhao glanced at Chen Shiming. “I’m at home.”

Shen Yuhuai asked again, “Do you have time right now? I happen to be near your house and I’m not quite sure what direction Qinghe Road is in.”

“Yes,” Chen Qizhao responded. His body had already risen from the sofa. He grabbed the coat next to him and planned to go out.

The other two people in the living room were very puzzled when seeing this situation and Chen Shiming asked bluntly, “Where are you going? You aren’t eating any longer?”

Chen Qizhao hung up the phone. “You eat. I have to go out and do something.”

Chen Shiming smelled the alcohol on his coat and couldn’t help frowning. “How much alcohol did you drink in the afternoon?”

“Three glasses of beer.”

Chen Qizhao looked at Chen Shiming. “But I’m sorry to disappoint you. I didn’t touch the car after drinking.”

Then he directly left the living room.

As Chen Qizhao went out, he met Chen Jianhong who had just returned home. He just said hello and quickly passed by this person.

Chen Jianhong entered the living room, saw the two people inside and asked doubtfully, “Where is he going?”

The two of them didn’t speak and Chen Jianhong had to ask Uncle Zhang to find out the origin of the matter.

Zhang Yazhi looked at Chen Shiming. “Just now, why didn’t you control your tone? You lectured him the moment you entered the door. It is like this every time. Can’t you two brothers talk well?”

Chen Shiming’s tone also eased. “Can he just touch a modified car? He needs his driver’s license before touching it.”

“Old Zhang, you go to the kitchen to arrange things.” Chen Jianhong said, “Shiming, call your brother back. Apologize and let him come back for dinner.”

—

The outside of the villa was quiet. The quiet trail was empty and there weren’t even cars passing by.

Chen Qizhao walked to the place where Shen Yuhuai had dropped him off last time. The inexplicable irritability in his heart had dissipated. He picked up his phone and sent a message to Zhang Yazhi, asking her to remember to eat the medicinal food at night.

The ringtone of his phone rang. It was a call from Chen Shiming.

Chen Qizhao didn’t want to have another unnecessary quarrel with Chen Shiming so he rejected it and stood on the side of the road alone.

He raised his sleeves slightly and smelled his sleeve. “Does he have a dog nose? How can he smell this?”

After a while, he undid the coat he had put on haphazardly, letting the evening wind dissipate the wine.

Shen Yuhuai arrived at this location and saw a young man standing on the side of the road in the distance. He was alone and quiet. Inexplicably, Shen Yuhuai felt that the other person was very lonely.

The young man noticed the noise on this side and gazed in this direction, squinting slightly as if making a judgment.

Shen Yuhuai lowered the car window. “Wait a long time. Get in the car first.”

After getting in the car, Shen Yuhuai noticed that Chen Qizhao’s hair was a bit messy and that he hadn’t done up the zipper of his coat.

“I’m sorry to bother you.” Shen Yuhuai skillfully reversed the car and returned. “Should we go directly to the suburbs?”

In the afternoon, he received a message from Yan Kaiqi saying that some of the certificates and luggage that Yan Kailin asked for last time had been sent to the apartment. Shen Yuhuai hadn’t returned to the apartment during this time. He wanted to call Yan Kailin to remind him to take it but he found that Yan Kailin couldn’t be contacted.

Chen Qizhao emerged from his confused thoughts but he didn’t look at Shen Yuhuai. Instead, he looked down at his phone. “I feel that he shouldn’t be in the suburbs…”

Suddenly, Shen Yuhuai’s hand stretched over with his mobile phone.

“I’m not very familiar with the road to the suburbs. Can you help me navigate where to go?”

Shen Yuhuai’s fingers were a bit icy. Chen Qizhao accidentally touched it and quickly retracted his hand. He wanted to call Yan Kailin but when he opened the address book, he noticed that the screen was still stuck at Shen Yuhuai’s contact information.

From a long time ago, he became friends with Shen Yuhuai and every time he was troubled, he always wanted to call or send a message to Shen Yuhuai. Even if the other person didn’t reply to him in time, his emotions would always disappear by sending a message. It was weird. Maybe it was because he was sick.

Chen Qizhao silently closed the contact interface and called Yan Kailin.

Yan Kailin was an adult and was unlikely to disappear for no reason. Chen Qizhao had to contact the rich second generation who had a good relationship with Yan Kailin and inquire about Yan Kailin’s whereabouts in the afternoon.

The car was very quiet. Chen Qizhao wasn’t as noisy as Yan Kailin. Apart from giving directions and making phone calls, there was no other sound in the car.

They were just about to arrive at the outskirts of the city when a phone call was received. Yan Kailin’s name appeared on the mobile phone screen.

“Yan Kailin is calling.” Chen Qizhao answered the phone after speaking.

On the other side of the phone, Yan Kailin’s extremely bright voice was heard. “Brother, are you looking for me? My phone was out of power before. I just turned it on…”

Chen Qizhao: “……”

“Your phone was out of power for four or five hours before it turned on?”

Perhaps it was because his voice was a bit louder but Shen Yuhuai, who was driving next to him, looked sideways. “What’s wrong?”

Chen Qizhao paused. “It is nothing.”

He remembered the words Yan Kailin had told him when chatting.

…His voice seemed to be too loud just now.

Yan Kailin was still talking. “It is none of my business if the phone runs out of power. Who would’ve known it would lose power so quickly?”

Chen Qizhao glanced at Shen Yuhuai and found that the other person was driving slowly. He couldn’t help slowing down his tone. “Where are you?”

“Now? I’m at school. I happened to meet students of the school on the road and hitchhiked back.”

The GPS in the car was still broadcasting the address and Qinghe Road was getting closer.

Chen Qizhao: “……”

Shen Yuhuai asked, “What happened? Where is he?”

Chen Qizhao held back the words that came to his mouth. “Why didn’t you make a call?”

Yan Kailin’s voice was filled with some grievances. “I couldn’t remember the phone number.”

Chen Qizhao gave up talking to Yan Kailin and told Shen Yuhuai, “He is already at the school.”

“That’s fine.”

On the other end of the phone, Yan Kailin seemed to hear something. “Huh? Brother Zhao, who is next to you?”

Chen Qizhao’s tone was normal. “I’m hanging up.”

Shen Yuhuai said, “I’m sorry, I thought something had happened and called you out.”

Chen Qizhao put the phone in his pocket. He usually didn’t have much patience. However, considering the fact that the other person was Shen Yuhuai, he paused for half a second before replying, “It’s okay… it is right to find someone if you can’t get into contact with them.”

Shen Yuhuai turned back at the intersection to return to the city. His memory seemed very good and he no longer needed the GPS.

“Go back to the villa area?” Shen Yuhuai asked.

Chen Qizhao didn’t reply immediately. He paused for a while before requesting, “Can you send me back to school?”

“Yes.”

Chen Qizhao looked at the road conditions ahead. He had drank some alcohol in the afternoon. Then he went home and had a big fight with Chen Qizhao. He relaxed slightly and sleepiness poured in.

It wasn’t until there was a sudden grunt that Chen Qizhao woke up.

Shen Yuhuai smiled. “I was negligent. Have you eaten?”

It was now after 8 o’clock in the evening and was close to 9 o’clock. Chen Qizhao’s stomach was empty aside from some fruit that he ate at the racetrack this afternoon.

“Not yet.” Chen Qizhao sat up straight. “It is okay. I’ll just go back to school and order takeout.”

It took less than half an hour to return to the city, but on the way, Chen Qizhao didn’t play with his mobile phone. He didn’t have any unnecessary movements.

Shen Yuhuai said, “I haven’t eaten either. I’ll invite you to dinner.”

He glanced at the young man sitting in the passenger seat only to see the other person pause for two seconds before agreeing.

The car turned the corner at the next intersection and finally stopped in front of a restaurant.

The two of them chose a seat by the window. After ordering the meal, Shen Yuhuai seemed to deal with work messages on his phone. He had apologized to Chen Qizhao and started replying to the message, using professional terms that Chen Qizhao couldn’t understand.

Chen Qizhao looked at the young Shen Yuhuai and seemed to see the scene of the two of them eating together in his previous life.

He didn’t make any extra movements and quietly waited for Shen Yuhuai to finish dealing with things before he asked, “How does Brother Huai know my phone number?”