Lily Lian was not sure she was not dreaming until she heard the voices of her grandparents outside. She lay on the bed, letting the knocks outside confirm another fact - just by listening to the sound, she knew Lucas Lu was very angry.
How did I offend him again? Oh, day by day, has this person grown up eating a powder keg? The pink bubbles that filled the whole room in the dream burst, and there was no longer a trace of tenderness. Lily Lian looked at the ceiling and sighed. She got up from the bed with no desire to live, dragged her heavy steps to the door, and opened it.
What caught her eye was Lucas Lu's handsome and irritable face. Lily Lian looked at that face and swallowed her saliva before she said, "What's wrong?"
Before Lucas Lu could speak, Grandpa Lian rushed in and said anxiously, "Xiao Lu's computer is missing. Please help me find it."
Lily Lian was still not fully awake, staring blankly at Lucas Lu's irritated face, and it took her several seconds to digest the information. But Lucas Lu, who was standing by, had already lost his patience. He stepped forward, frowning, as if he had lost his life instead of his computer. Without waiting for Lily Lian to speak, he pressed on, "Who entered my room?"
Lily Lian felt a murderous aura and sobered up instantly. She took a step back unconsciously, looking at Lucas Lu's scary look, and said, "Yesterday, the villagers celebrated the opening of the homestay. Many people came, but everyone sat for a while and left. No one entered your room."
Is this how a boss should act? Lucas Lu's face gradually turned ugly, and she stared at Lily Lian with eyes that seemed to be on fire.
He got up early this morning, went for a run, and found his PAD missing. He searched the whole room but couldn't find it. The PAD was full of projects he was looking at recently, and a lot of other people's private data. If it was leaked, it would be a stupid mistake. Being stabbed in the back is already humiliating enough, and if there is an information leak, he might as well quit the circle.
He was anxious to find Lily Lian, but Lily Lian was dithering and even tried to shirk responsibility when she spoke, which made him even more angry.
Lucas Lu didn't have a good impression of the boss. He thought that the owner of the B&B was extremely sloppy. He just admitted that he couldn't cook and could sleep as late as he wanted in the morning. Just like now, it was already seven o'clock. If they hadn't knocked on the door, there was no telling how long she would sleep.
Moreover, in Lucas Lu's opinion, Lily Lian lived completely opposite to him. She wasted time and life. He didn't even know what the meaning of living like this was. Before he came here, he was so busy that he wanted to split a minute into two halves. Even so, he still felt that time was not enough. If he relaxed a little, he would feel that time slipped through his fingers and became restless.
He cares about his efforts and gains every moment, but now someone has clearly told him through his actions that he lives too twisted and too tense, like an elastic rope that has been stretched to its limit and will break if it is stretched any further. Lucas Lu cannot tolerate others denying his life, but when he looks at Lily Lian, he will unconsciously doubt his own life.
Last night he advised himself to accept the differences, but today he couldn't hold it back anymore and now he was adding fuel to the fire. Lucas Lu was so angry that his fingers were crackling and he gritted his teeth and said, "You are the boss here, you don't have to..." Before he could even finish the word "responsible", he was interrupted by Lily Lian.
"Don't be anxious." Lily Lian took a step forward and said calmly.
Lucas Lu: ...⑧⑴4 Bar① flow nine six 3
All the rage in his heart suddenly dissipated, and it was as if he had fired a dud. He held his breath and just let out a slight "puff" sound.
Lily Lian didn't notice the subtle changes in his expression, and analyzed to herself: "I was at home all day yesterday, and no one entered your room, I promise. But when I went to see you last night, I was a little anxious and didn't pay attention to whether I closed the door." Lily Lian looked at him calmly and calmly, then turned her head to look at Grandpa Lian and asked: "Grandpa, did you close the door last night?"
Grandpa Lian was stunned, slapped his big hand on his leg, and said "Ouch", then his voice lowered several degrees: "The door was not closed." Grandpa Lian looked at Lucas Lu embarrassedly and said: "Every household in the village knows each other, and it's not a problem if the door is not closed normally. This... this, I really didn't know this would happen. That... Xiao Lu, is your computer very expensive? Grandpa will compensate you for one?"
Lucas Lu looked at Grandpa Lian, and the anger she had just felt was inexplicably gone. Now she really didn't know what to say. He hesitated and said, "It's not expensive, and the things inside are very important."
Grandpa Lian understood what he meant and became even more annoyed. He rubbed his hands together in embarrassment, not knowing what to do.
At this moment, Lily Lian, who had been listening for a long time, spoke up. She pointed to the surveillance camera in the corner and said, "It's okay, Grandpa. There is a surveillance camera. If it was really stolen, it would be filmed and we can find it if we filmed it."
Lucas Lu shifted her gaze from the corner to Lily Lian's face and said expressionlessly: "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
Lily Lian didn't even look at him, and muttered, "You didn't ask, but you questioned me as soon as you came."
...
"You..." Lucas Lu took a breath, and decided not to bother with her, so she swallowed the rest of the words.
"Why don't you go and see who it is? This is simply lawless!" Grandpa Lian was filled with righteous indignation and pulled Lily Lian: "Where are you looking? Come on, Grandpa is here to see. Grandpa knows everyone in this ten-mile radius."
Lily Lian nodded and led the two into the room.
Lily Lian walked to the desk, turned on the computer, and asked, "Just look at the time when we were away last night?"
Lucas Lu treated the room as her own, and said "hmm", and sat down at the desk. Lily Lian glanced at him, pushed the chair next to him for her grandfather to sit down, ran to wash up, moved another chair in, and sat next to her grandfather.
Last night, it took them more than an hour from the time they left to the time they came back. The three of them stared at the screen without blinking, not wanting to miss a single detail. Just when their eyes were swelling and they were about to lose focus, a black shadow suddenly appeared.
The three of them gathered in front of the computer, staring at it with wide eyes, until the black shadow moved to the east wing. Suddenly, with a "click", Lucas Lu pressed the pause button, and a slightly childish face froze on the screen.
Lucas Lu and Lily Lian looked at Grandpa Lian at the same time, their eyes full of confusion.
Grandpa Lian didn't have time to change his expression. He looked shocked, waved his hands, and tried his best to deny: "No, no, Xiao Tao is a very good child and would not steal anything."
Lucas Lu didn't say anything either. She pressed the space bar again. The screen started moving again. She saw the boy prying the door open deftly, looking around, and slipping into the room. After a while, he came out of the room with a pad in his arms.
At this time, even the grandfather did not deny it. He sighed and complained: "How could Xiao Tao steal things? What will happen if his grandmother finds out?"
Lily Lian didn't know who Xiao Tao was. Just by looking at the screen, she could only judge that he was probably a high school student. But no matter who he was, since she had found him, she had to get his things back. She stood up and said with ease: "Okay, we already know who it is, and the things are very important, let's go get them back."
Grandpa Lian also stood up and said with some embarrassment: "Um... I'll take you there."
Lucas Lu and Lily Lian looked at each other, and without any objection, they followed Grandpa Lian to Xiao Tao's house.
Xiao Tao's house is at the westernmost end of the village, about ten minutes' walk away. When the three of them arrived, the yard door was wide open and no one was in sight.
Grandpa Lian walked in quickly and shouted toward the corridor connecting the backyard and the front hall: "Lian Jiao, Lian Jiao, is Lian Jiao home?"
No one answered.
Grandpa Lian called a few more times, but there was no response. Just when they thought no one was home, an old woman slowly moved out of the kitchen in the backyard and asked in a low voice: "Who is it?" Before Grandpa Lian could answer, she saw who it was, grinned at him and said: "It's Brother Linsheng. I heard you went to the city, and you're back now."
The old woman's words were fairly clear, but her tongue was obviously a little clumsy and tangled. She also walked slowly, almost dragging one leg as she moved forward from the kitchen.
Lily Lian looked at the old woman and suddenly didn't know how to tell her why they came.
"Slow down," Grandpa Lian walked over quickly, helped Lian Jiao sit on a chair by the wall, and said, "Don't move around if your legs are not good."
Lian Jiao smiled, waved her hands, and said, "This has been an old problem for decades. It's not a big deal. I'm just a little slower than others." She saw the two young men behind Grandpa Lian. They looked very distinctive and were obviously not from the countryside. She asked in confusion, "Who are these two?"
"This is Qiaoqiao." Grandpa Lian said, pulling Lily Lian over and pushing her in front of Lian Jiao, saying: "You are 22 years old, a grown-up girl. This is your grandmother Lian Jiao."
Lily Lian called out. Lian Jiao happily responded, holding Lily Lian's hand, and said lovingly: "Qiao Qiao has grown so big, she looks so pretty, just like her mother." She seemed to remember something, and was slightly stunned, and said: "I heard that you are going to open a hotel in the village? They all went to see it, but I didn't go because I couldn't move easily. I'm sorry."
Grandpa Lian laughed and teased: "She just messes around and doesn't work properly."
Lily Lian snorted and said to Lian Jiao, "You're welcome. If you want to go, I can take you there on my bike anytime." She smiled on her face, but in her heart she regretted coming to arrest people.
Although she would come back often when she was a child, she basically never went back after entering high school. She hardly knew anyone in the village. She only knew that it was Lianjia Village, and everyone in between could be considered a relative.
So, how should I start talking to a grandma like this?
Lily Lian was thinking in distress when Lian Jiao suddenly pinched her hand, pointed at Lucas Lu, smiled strangely, and asked: "That? Is he Qiao Qiao's boyfriend?"
Lily Lian was so scared that she waved her hands. Before she could explain, Lucas Lu's cold voice fell: "No, we are here to find Xiao Tao. He stole my things."
Lucas Lu's words hit them like hail, and it hurt them. Suddenly, the atmosphere in the backyard dropped to freezing point, and it was chilly. No one knew what to say. The yard was quiet for a long time, and finally Lian Jiao broke the silence.
"Brother Lin, is it true? What did Xiao Tao steal?" Lian Jiao looked at Grandpa Lian with sincere eyes and asked calmly.
Even Grandpa Lian's expression changed and he turned his head away embarrassedly, which was considered as his agreement.
"Computer." Lucas Lu rushed to speak.
Lian Jiao's expression became somewhat unbelievable.
Lily Lian sighed in her heart and thought, there's no need to be so direct. She looked at Lucas Lu and saw that he had no expression on his face and was still cold. She remembered his expression when he was annoyed by the noisy villagers and couldn't help but worry.
She wanted to explain something to Lian Jiao, but found that she couldn't refute it at all. Although Lucas Lu was an unkind person, he was not wrong. The fact was that Xiao Tao stole his things. She wanted to say something to ease Lian Jiao's emotions, but she found that she had no way to comfort her. Moreover, looking at Lian Jiao's appearance, it seemed that she didn't need comfort, so she simply gave up.
Lian Jiao regained her composure. She neither denied nor refuted. Instead, she apologized to Lucas Lu and said, "When he comes back for dinner, ask him." Then she stared at a grass growing in the corner of the wall and muttered to herself, "He always wants an Apple computer. Brother Lin Sheng, you know, we can't afford it. His parents haven't sent him living expenses for several months."
Grandpa Lian sighed and said helplessly: "Hasn't this child always been very good?"
Lian Jiao still stared at the weeds in the corner, sighed helplessly, closed her eyes, adjusted herself, and then told them about the situation at home.
It turned out that Xiao Tao's parents had been working in Shanghai for more than ten years. During those years, they sent living expenses home every month, but a few years ago, they suddenly divorced, and since then no one has taken care of Xiao Tao, and even the living expenses have become intermittent, like squeezing toothpaste, sometimes there is no living expenses for half a year.
The task of taking care of Xiao Tao also fell entirely on Lian Jiao.
Lian Jiao's husband passed away a long time ago. She suffered a minor stroke when she was 50 years old and lost her ability to work. She mainly relies on the minimum living allowance and usually earns a little money by loading fruit in Zheng Yuan's orchard.
Xiao Tao used to be easy to take care of, he was always very well behaved and had good grades. But maybe it was because he reached puberty or because he moved away from home after entering high school, his mindset became loose and his temperament changed drastically. He asked for pocket money at every turn, stayed in Internet cafes for entire nights, and skipped classes from time to time.
The teacher contacted Xiao Tao's parents, and they pushed the case to Lian Jiao, saying that his grandmother was at home and asked her to take care of it. But Lian Jiao was not in a position to take care of it, not to mention that she was physically disabled, and she couldn't understand what the teacher said. Despite this, she still realized the seriousness of the situation. She was afraid that Xiao Tao would cause trouble outside, so she squeezed out all her minimum living allowance for him.
But these could not solve the problem at all. Xiao Tao became more and more rebellious as he grew up. Now he would go home and leave after dinner. Apart from asking Lian Jiao for money, there was no communication between the two.
So Lian Jiao had no idea where Xiao Tao went or what he did last night.
Lily Lian fell silent after hearing this. She had heard many stories about poor families, many of which shocked her, and she would donate some money if she saw someone offering donations. But the real things happening around her now made her feel that they were not real and she wanted to deny them.
As she thought about it, she subconsciously thought of Lucas Lu. Lily Lian looked up, and the man's expression was the same as when Lian Jiao apologized to him just now, without any ripples, and even a little indifferent.
Lily Lian was a little nervous. Why was a person who could jump into the water to save people so indifferent now?
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