After returning from Qian'an, Yan Qiu moved to that Chinese-style villa and lived in the small courtyard where Li Zhi recreated the "hometown" for him.

Lived a life of isolation.

Except for going to the master every week, the rest of the time is spent doing woodcarving in the yard.

That's why he didn't realize until a long time later that the name of this courtyard had been hanging high above the gate of the villa.

autumn garden.

Words written by Li Zhi himself.

Probably because of the different state of mind, after returning from Qian'an, Yan Qiu felt that his skills seemed to have improved a lot.

Even the master occasionally praised him a few words.

Because of the matter with Li Zhi, Yan Qiu was still a little cautious in front of the master, but later found that the master didn't really seem to care about this matter, so he slowly relaxed in front of him.

Time passed slowly...

Another year of spring came, and the laughter of thousands of families was delayed.

It seems that it has not been long since came back from Qian'an, and it is New Year's Eve.

Although it was a little far away from the urban area, Yan Qiu still heard the lively sound of firecrackers from a distance early in the morning.

He put on his clothes and opened the door and went out, and then found that the whole villa had been cleaned and looked brand new, with lights and festoons everywhere, full of the atmosphere of the New Year.

A servant was waiting for him at the door holding Spring Festival couplets, lanterns and blessings.

Seeing Yan Qiu come out, she walked over to him and said, "Mr. Yan, Mr. said that you definitely want to arrange the yard where you live, so you didn't ask us to clean it up."

"Where's Li Zhi?" Yan Qiu asked curiously.

Although the two now live here, they do not live together.

"Mr. went to the company. He said he would come back early tonight to watch the New Year with you."

Yan Qiu knew that Li Zhi was always busy, but he still had to work on New Year's Eve, so he couldn't help feeling sorry for him.

So he said to the servant: "Okay, let me cook the New Year's Eve dinner tonight, so you don't have to be busy."

Then he took the pile of things from the servant and carried them back to his small yard.

Yan Qiu first cleaned the entire yard.

Then they pasted Spring Festival couplets and blessings on the door, and hung two lanterns on the walnut tree by stepping on a ladder.

It has to be said that once the Spring Festival couplets are posted and the lanterns are hung, the whole yard is instantly festive.

After dressing up the yard, Yan Qiu began to prepare for the New Year's Eve dinner.

He was required to learn to cook since he was a child, so ordinary meals are not difficult for him, but they are all home-cooked.

It was dark outside by the time he finished cooking.

Yan Qiu arranged the meals, then turned on the TV, waiting for the upcoming Spring Festival Gala.

The sound of firecrackers outside is continuous, and all kinds of gorgeous fireworks will be in full bloom outside the window from time to time.

Yan Qiu stood at the window.While watching all kinds of fireworks blooming in the sky, he waited for Li Zhi to go home.

In the continuous sound of firecrackers, the feeling of the end of the year is getting stronger and stronger.

The prelude to the Spring Festival Gala came from the TV, and finally there was a sound from the gate. The red lanterns on the walnut tree in the courtyard swayed with the breeze. In the next second, Li Zhi pushed the door and walked in.

Seeing him, Yan Qiu immediately straightened up, looked at him and smiled, then got up and went out to meet him.

Seeing this, Li Zhi stopped in his tracks.

In fact, there were lights and festoons everywhere along the way just now, and red silk was hung everywhere, but none of this small courtyard moved him.

The lights in the yard were on, and the warm yellow light reflected the boy waiting for him by the window.

The moment he saw Yan Qiu running towards him from the house, Li Zhi's body, which had been tense for a day, suddenly relaxed.

The missing corner of my heart was finally filled.

In fact, all he wanted in his life was nothing more than this most plain and warm picture.

"Did I come back late?" Li Zhi looked at the young man running towards him, and naturally took his hand and asked.

"It's just right, if it's earlier, I haven't cooked the meal, and if it's later, the food will be cold, so you are very good at picking the time."

"Did you cook?"

"Well, today is New Year's Eve, so it must be special."

Li Zhi smiled and nodded, seeming to agree with him, "It's already very special."

The two sat down at the dining table, and with the background sound of the Spring Festival Gala, Yan Qiu raised his wine glass and touched Li Zhi lightly.

"Happy New Year!"

"Can you drink?" Li Zhi asked.

Yan Qiu glanced at his glass, shook his head, and smiled slyly at him, "So mine is sparkling water."

"That's good." Li Zhi finally felt relieved, and raised his wine glass, "Happy New Year!"

After eating, the two leaned on the sofa to watch the Spring Festival Gala together.

The Spring Festival Gala was still boring, but Yan Qiu didn't watch it seriously, his mind was full of Mr. Li who was spending the New Year in his ancestral house alone.

He always felt that on such a day, everyone should get together lively and have a family reunion.

Master is alone in the ancestral house, just thinking about it makes him feel deserted.

Yan Qiu has always felt that the relationship between them is very strange, but he doesn't know how to speak?So never asked.

Today may be an opportunity, so Yan Qiu's words turned around in his stomach a few times, and finally he asked.

"Li Zhi."

"Um?"

"Are we going to pay New Year's greetings to grandpa tomorrow?"

Li Zhi was peeling the oranges for him, when he heard his words, his fingers holding the oranges paused, but he soon returned to normal, handed him the peeled oranges, and replied flatly: "No."

"Why?" Yan Qiu asked puzzledly while eating the orange.

Li Zhi didn't speak, but turned his eyes to the TV, as if thinking about how to answer this question?

"Li Zhi?" Yan Qiu was a little worried if he had exposed his scars?So he tugged on his sleeve carefully.

Sensing his nervousness, Li Zhi turned around and smiled at him.

Then he patted his hand reassuringly and said, "Grandpa won't want me to go back."

"Why?" Yan Qiu was really puzzled, remembering what Lin Jin had said to him, so he asked cautiously, "Is it related to your parents?"

Probably because he recalled something bad, Li Zhi's eyes were instantly cast with a faint shadow.

After a long time, he replied, "...Yes."

Then, with a heavy sigh, he slowly reopened a piece of the past.

Although Mr. Li and Mrs. Li had a commercial marriage, they fell in love at first sight when they met for the first time.

After marriage, there is also a deep affection between husband and wife, and the husband and wife respect each other as guests.

My wife likes eustomas, so Mr. Li planted them for her at home.

It blooms in May every year, and the platycodon flowers bloom all over the mountains and plains one after another, and each flower hides the deep love of Mr. Li.

Since they got married, Mr. Li has respected his wife's decision in everything.

There was only one thing that made them disagree.

It was the only dispute between the two of them in their lifetime.

When Li Zhi's father, Li Zhou, was born, Mrs. Li suffered a hemorrhage and almost died of dystocia.

At the door of the operating room, Mr. Li saw the critical illness notices issued by the doctor. Such a strong person almost passed out at the door of the operating room.

Fortunately, there was no danger in the end, Mrs. Li was safe and sound, but her vitality was seriously injured.

It was only under the careful care of Mr. Li that he couldn't take off his clothes, he slowly recovered.

She gave birth to a son. Although Mrs. Li also liked it, she always felt a little regretful. In fact, she wanted a daughter more.

My daughter can tie her pigtails, wear beautiful little skirts, and dress up every day.

Sons are always limited in this regard.

So after a few years of recovery, Mrs. Li proposed to have another daughter.

After what happened last time, Mr. Li firmly disagreed. He even secretly had a vasectomy without telling Mrs. Li at that time.

But paper cannot contain fire after all.

After Mrs. Li found out, the two had their first quarrel since their marriage.

Afraid that she would get angry, Mr. Li coaxed her for a long time, and finally chose a plan that would balance both ends.

"Actually, if you want a daughter, you don't have to give birth to yourself. It's the same if you hold one."

Mrs. Li thought about it for a while, so the two reached an agreement and went to the orphanage to adopt a girl back.

When Li Zhou was ten years old, he also had a six-year-old younger sister.

Besides Mr. Li and Mrs. Li, Li Zhou also dotes on this younger sister very much.

They happened to be in elementary school at that time, so they would urge their younger sister to wash and eat together with the nanny every day, then they would go to school together holding her hand, and they would come back together at night, and they would even help their younger sister with her homework in a serious manner.

Mr. Li and Mrs. Li were also very happy to see that their siblings were in harmony, and felt that they had made a correct decision back then.

They have been together since childhood and have always been the closest people in each other's world.

Although they are not real siblings, they have always been better than real siblings.

Until the year when Li Zhou was admitted to university, he had to leave home to go to a university thousands of kilometers away.

On the day of saying goodbye to Li Zhou, Li Wei cried miserably. Although he called each other every day, he still missed him so much that he couldn't recover.

It wasn't until one night that she even dreamed of Li Zhou in her dreams that she realized that something was wrong with her?

Normal brothers and sisters, would they be so tired and crooked?

This thought made her terrified, so she hurriedly forced herself to cut off contact with Li Zhou, trying to numb herself with learning.

However, when Li Zhou was on winter vacation, as soon as she came back, she saw a familiar suitcase in the living room.

Haven't had time to ask if Li Zhou is back?I saw a familiar figure coming out of the kitchen, holding a bottle of mineral water in his hand, and jokingly said while drinking: "Isn't this the little bastard who blocked me?"

Li Wei wanted to leave subconsciously, but Li Zhou stretched out his hand to grab him.

Li Zhou raised his hand and rubbed her head, and finally became serious, "Why did I make you angry? Mom said that you have been studying hard recently, and I dare not disturb you."

Li Weiwen raised his head and looked at him.

A pair of Shang Li Zhou's eyes, she knew that she was finished.

Li Wei forced herself to get farther and farther away from Li Zhou, she really didn't want to admit that she actually fell in love with her brother, even though she wasn't close.

But they grew up together, what's the difference between them and their relatives?

She didn't even dare to imagine what kind of reaction her parents would have if they knew about it?

They are not their own, but they have always treated themselves better than their own.

They treat themselves so well, and they cannot be sorry for them.

If they knew what they thought about Li Zhou, they would definitely be disgusted.

The more Li Wei understands his thoughts, the more panic he feels, and the more he hates himself.

Therefore, I can only suppress my feelings for Li Zhou and devote all my energy to studying.

Just like this, she survived the last two years of high school, and she successfully got the admission letter from the same university as Li Zhou.

On the first day of school, she and Li Zhou walked together.

Because of her deliberate alienation in the past two years, the relationship between them has weakened a lot after all, and their every move is alienated.

When sending Li Wei downstairs to the bedroom, Li Wei took the suitcase from Li Zhou and wanted to go up by himself.

"Can you really lift it up if it's so heavy?" Li Zhou asked.

"I can." Li Wei said, stubbornly took the suitcase.

Hearing this, Li Zhou sighed, and reached out his hand to touch her head like he did when he was a child, but before touching her, he thought of something, and finally took his hand back.

"Weiwei." Li Zhou suddenly called her sadly, "Why did brother make you angry?"

Hearing these words, Li Wei almost burst into tears, but still endured it and went back, lowered his head and didn't say anything, just left Li Zhou alone in the place with his suitcase.

She thought this secret would be hidden forever, but on the first day back home from the winter vacation, Mrs. Li came to talk to her.

Inadvertently saw a scratch on her wrist.

Li Wei immediately wanted to cover it up, but it was still a step too late.

Mrs. Li firmly rolled up her sleeves.

Then the expression in front of Mrs. Li changed from shock to heartache, she raised her hand to gently stroke Li Wei's arm, and asked in a trembling voice: "What is this?"

The girl's originally white wrist was covered with scratches, some were deep and some were shallow, some looked like old wounds, the original color could no longer be seen, some were still new, and the wounds had just scabbed over.

One after another, densely packed.

It was the only way she could hold herself through all the unspeakable late nights.

"Weiwei, what is this?" Mrs. Li was elegant all her life, and there were very few moments when she was so outraged.

Li Wei only felt that her whole body was wrapped in great fear. She was pale and trembling all over, but she still gritted her teeth and refused to say a word.

She knew that once she spoke, some things could never be undone.

However, Mrs. Li was eager to protect her son, how could she just watch her hurt herself and ignore it.

As a result, she also lost control, pulling her with red eyes and constantly asking, "Weiwei, what's the matter? Tell mom about it."

Li Wei shook his head, tears poured down his face, but he still stubbornly refused to say a word.

"Weiwei..." Mrs. Li hadn't finished her sentence when she heard a knock on the door, and then Li Zhou came in with a plate of fruit.

Seeing that both of them looked teary-eyed, they froze in place for an instant.

For a while, didn't know whether to come in or not.

Although I didn't know what happened, after thinking about it for a long time, I felt that no matter what it was, I, an old man, shouldn't be involved, so I turned around and wanted to leave.

However, as soon as she turned around, she was stopped by Mrs. Li, "Li Zhou, come here."

The author has something to say:

Li Wei is not Li Zhi's biological mother~