CH 17

The small toy was stained with water after use. Lu Zhiqiao originally put it on the shelf, and wanted to tidy it up after taking a shower and drying her hair, but Qi Yan knocked on the door suddenly, interrupting her memory, and her mind was in a mess. Boundless and then forgotten.

Shampoo, shower gel and other items are placed on the shelf, which is placed next to the shower, and can be seen when the water is turned on and off, and it can be seen at a glance.

Qi Yan must have seen it...

Thinking about this, Lu Zhiqiao immediately blushed and was so ashamed, as if she had been stripped naked and thrown in front of the crowd, where there were many eyes staring at her, laughing wantonly.

"Mom—" The second bedroom door opened, and her daughter's voice went out, "Can I have snacks?"

Lu Zhiqiao hurriedly picked up the small toy, wrapped it in a tissue, held it in her palm, turned around, and saw her daughter, poking her head, her heart felt even more guilty: "No, it's late, brush your teeth and go to bed."

The little girl groaned, puffed her cheeks, but obediently took the toothbrush cup.

The water stained on the toy was absorbed by the paper towel. Lu Zhiqiao went back to the room and wiped it again with the wet towel. After drying it, she put it in the box and hurriedly stuffed it into the bottom corner of the closet. After stuffing it, she glanced at the room. Checking the doors and windows, for fear of being seen.

She wasn't able to sleep all night.

The next morning, Lu Zhiqiao took her daughter to the hospital for reexamination. When she came back, she ran into Qi Yan in the parking lot. The child was obedient and knew how to greet, while she didn't even want to raise her eyelids, but she had to pretend to be natural, so she glanced and smiled hastily as a greeting.

Qi Yan looked very natural, nothing abnormal, but her brows and eyes were still a little cold. She smiled back, asked about Lu Wei's condition, then quickly drove away from the basement.

Usually when they meet, Qi Yan would always tease her, either with words, eyes or body, but today she was so well-behaved that it felt a little strange.

The embarrassing situation last night was still lingering. Lu Zhiqiao felt uncomfortable all over, thinking that she would be embarrassed to see Qi Yan, but the other party's reaction was beyond her expectations, which made her feel lucky... Maybe she didn't see it?

In the afternoon, Lu Wei went to piano lessons, and Lu Zhiqiao decided to clean at home.

The house is big and hasn't been cleaned for two weeks, and there is dust and hair everywhere in the corners. She used to hire part-time workers from time to time. But ever since she was robbed last time, she had lingering fears and decided to clean herself.

There are many things in the house, and there are many lockers. After tidying up, she found that there are many unnecessary things that should be thrown away.

Lu Zhiqiao opened the door of the living room, packed the sorted waste products and placed them by the door, and moved out all the things that should be put away. Among them was a large box full of photo albums. Photos of the daughter from childhood to up to now, photos of them together, and...

...a family photo, a photo of a man, and a group photo of six people from three generations of grandparents and grandchildren are all placed at the bottom.

She squatted on the ground, took out the photo frames one by one, wiped them carefully with a paper towel, over and over again, her wrists becoming more and more sluggish, and finally her movements froze, like a sculpture.

——Patter and

...transparent water drips on the photo frame...

At this time, the corridor elevator stopped at the ninth floor, and the door slowly opened. Qi Yan came out from inside, shivered by the inexplicable chill. She hugged her arms tightly, raised her head, and saw the door of 901 was open, and the wind was coming from that direction.

Even if it is sunny and the sun is in full bloom, it is extremely cold in places that are not exposed to sunlight.

There were a few bulging bags piled up at the door, and they seemed to be sorting things out. She was curious for a moment, and stepped forward against the cold wind, looking around.

There were many sundries scattered in the huge living room, and the floor was in a mess. Lu Zhiqiao squatted there motionless with her back facing the door, her hair was coiled casually, and she was wearing a simple and casual white sweater and jeans. The sunlight came in through the floor-to-ceiling windows. She was shrouded in a warm golden light, gentle and bright.

Qi Yan narrowed her eyes slightly, her breathing became a little deeper, and she asked softly, "Do you need my help?"

The woman's back straightened, her arms raised and moved, and there was a slight gasping sound, then she stood up after a long while, turned around. When she came over, her eyes were a little flustered, but her voice was as calm as ever: "No need."

Her eyes were red enough to show that she cried, but she didn't know the reason.

Qi Yan looked into her eyes, a corner of her heart suddenly collapsed, she didn't care, she changed her shoes and went into the house, as familiar as if she was at her own home. She looked down at the sundries all over the floor, and asked, "You don't want these books anymore?" 

"No, I was going put them in the cabinet." Lu Zhiqiao looked at her nervously, curling her fingers into her sweaty palms, and seeing her look natural, her heart gradually eased.

Maybe she really didn't see it last night...

"Which cabinet?"

"The second one from the left."

"Put it in a storage box?"

"Hmm."

There is no way to refuse. Then she saw Qi Yan squatting down, putting books one by one into the box, neat and tidy, she didn't talk much, and didn't make unnecessary movements, she just buried her head in the books.

Since the questioning in the elevator yesterday, the coldness in this woman's expression has never melted.

Lu Zhiqiao frowned slightly, feeling a little uneasy for no reason, everything that should be explained has been explained, she didn't lie, what else is it that is making Qi Yan unhappy? She couldn't figure it out for a while, so she had to suppress her heart for the time being, turned her back, and continued to organize the photo album.

She doesn't care about other people, but she can't do that with Qi Yan, she is her daughter's teacher. If she gets offended by her, Lu Wei will be forced to wear small shoes at school*. Because of a past experience, she can't help but worry.

*to be given a hard time, to be picked on.

Behind her, Qi Yan slowed down picking up books, raised her eyes and glanced at the bathroom, then her eyes fell on Lu Zhiqiao's back, and the corners of her mouth curled up.

She actually she saw it.

As soon as she entered the bathroom, she saw the pink toy on the shelf. It was cute and small, and it was still stained with water.

But she chose to pretend not to see it.

With people like Lu Zhiqiao who have a very strong self-esteem and have high demands on themselves. It’s nice to know they do normal things. Besides, everyone has physiological needs. It's not something worth ridiculing.  Although she wanted to tease her, and see her blushing shyly, she opted not to. It's good to give others some face, and leave room for her.

It's just a pity that she lost against a small toy.

The wind blows in from the balcony window, carrying the smell of sunshine, but it is chilly, forming a convection with the living room door.

Lu Zhiqiao shivered, got up and closed the window, turned around and saw that Qi Yan had already sorted two boxes of books, felt a little sorry, so she poured a cup of hot water and put it on the tea table, "Ms. Qi, stop working, just sit down for a while "

"Is it difficult to call my name?" Qi Yan raised her head and raised her brows.

Lu Zhiqiao quickly changed her words: "Qi Yan."

She half-closed her eyelids, and seemed to hesitate to speak.

Qi Yan went over and sat down next to her, and took a few sips of the water glass in a face-saving manner, but she still didn't smile or speak, and the atmosphere was extremely embarrassing.

"Yesterday that..." Lu Zhiqiao said anxiously, rubbing her palms on her knees, "He's really just a friend."

"Huh? Which one?"

"The man who sent me back."

Qi Yan put her teacup down calmly, and suddenly turned around. Nodding her head, a charming smile appeared on the corner of her mouth: "You have no obligation to explain to me, what are you doing?" As she spoke, she leaned over, grabbed her chin with one hand, and licked her lips ambiguously, "Do you care? About how I thought?"

Lu Zhiqiao was stunned, and her lips were immediately covered by a piece of  warmth. Without any temptation, she went straight into the depths, with the smell of aggression like a beast, like punishment..

"Hmm—"

She was inexplicably excited, and even had a hint of expectation.

However, when she felt completely overwhelmed, Qi Yan let go of her, turned her face away, glanced at the sundries on the ground, and suddenly stopped. "Is that your husband?"

Photo frames were stacked by the cabinet door, with a man's photo on top.

Lu Zhiqiao followed her gaze, her face changed slightly, and hurriedly got up and stuffed the photo frame into the cabinet, glanced at her, lowered her eyes and said, "No."

"So, who is it?"

Lu Zhiqiao pursed her lips and did not answer.