Miles in the Depths of Affection Chapter 6

During the Ghost Festival that year, Ethan Qiao took Julian Qiao to pay homage to his biological parents as usual.

The Yu couple was buried in Fengshan Cemetery in the suburbs. When Julian Qiao was still an ignorant child, Ethan Qiao would hold his hand and walk with him along the cobblestone path on the mountain. Now that the child has grown up, he walks ahead holding a bunch of white wine, leaving Ethan Qiao with a slender back.

According to the custom, they laid flowers on the tombstone and lit two incense sticks. Yu Xincheng was a heavy smoker and was addicted to cigars, so Ethan Qiao specially lit a Cuban cigar and placed it on top of the tombstone.

He asked Julian Qiao to come over and kowtow to his biological parents. Julian Qiao knelt in front of the tombstone, and Ethan Qiao looked down at his profile. It didn't take a lot of distinguishing ability, anyone with eyes could see the similarities between Julian Qiao and the man in the photo on the tombstone.

Julian Qiao kowtowed, raised his head and looked at Ethan Qiao, waiting for his father's next instructions.

His short hair stood up on his neck, his porcelain-like skin was so transparent that you could see the blood vessels. In the curling smoke, his pair of dark eyes were like warm black jade.

Ethan Qiao suddenly felt dazed.

The deceased friend seemed to come back to life at this moment.

He quickly turned his face away and coughed twice, pretending to be choked by the smoke to cover up his loss of composure. Then he deliberately said in a joking tone: "Xincheng, Amei, Julian Qiao will take the college entrance examination next year. You must protect him well in heaven and let him get into a good school. But it doesn't matter if he doesn't do well in the exam. I will pay for him to study abroad."

Julian Qiao jumped up in frustration: "Dad!"

"I was joking."

Ethan Qiao pursed his thin lips, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly. This was a sign that he was in a good mood.

People often say that he looks mean when he sMiles He, and he looks sarcastic no matter how you look at him, and he is not a good person. Julian Qiao was very annoyed when he heard this: What nonsense are you talking about, you know nothing!

My dad has the best smile.

After paying respects to the Yu family, the father and son walked out of the cemetery side by side. Along the way, they passed many tombstones, some of which were quite old, and the words on the tombstones were slowly worn away by time, showing traces of vicissitudes. Some were newly erected, with a smooth and flawless surface and clear and powerful words.

Julian Qiao saw a tombstone with the words "Tomb of my beloved wife Li" engraved on it, and a bunch of bright red roses were laid in front of the tomb. Another tombstone was engraved with the words "Tomb of my beloved son Zhang", and in front of the tomb, in addition to the flowers, there were also a small teddy bear and a toy car.

The city is now implementing "civilized tomb sweeping" and prohibiting the use of fireworks and firecrackers, so the cemetery is quiet, with only the sound of the wind echoing among the scattered tombstones. The father and son passed by many people, all of whom came to pay tribute to their relatives and friends. Most of them brought flowers and offerings. Some came empty-handed. Julian Qiao saw an old woman with nothing, standing alone in front of a tomb. The tombstone was engraved with "Tomb of So-and-so and So-and-so and His Wife", but below it was only a name and date of birth and death, and the other half was empty.

Julian Qiao felt depressed and uncomfortable, and quickly looked away.

Ethan Qiao suddenly asked: "Julian Qiao, do you really think I treat you badly?"

Julian Qiao glanced at his father in confusion.

Ethan Qiao continued: "Do you think you would be happier if your parents were still alive?"

Julian Qiao's throat was dry and he couldn't speak. Ethan Qiao didn't rush to ask, but waited quietly for his answer.

After a while, Julian Qiao managed to utter: "I... don't know..."

Ethan Qiao said nothing, his expression showing neither joy nor sorrow. Julian Qiao could neither see nor guess what was hidden under that deep and upright face like a marble sculpture. He could only carefully probe. If he probed too shallowly, it would be difficult to understand his meaning. If he probed too deeply, he was afraid of touching his angry nerves. Every step was like walking on thin ice.

A group of people came towards them, so Julian Qiao turned sideways to let them pass, and Ethan Qiao naturally walked in front of him. When the group of people walked away, Julian Qiao unexpectedly hugged Ethan Qiao from behind, hanging on his back like a little monkey.

"Dad, you are my dad." He hummed, and his tone sounded a bit like he was acting coquettish.

He couldn't see Ethan Qiao's expression, but he guessed that his father should be relieved and smiling at this moment.

"It's so heavy, come down." Ethan Qiao said.

Julian Qiao let go and landed on the ground, then walked around to Ethan Qiao.

as expected.

On the way back, Julian Qiao kept smiling foolishly.