03

Geography textbooks say that there are billions of people living in this world.

Although Lu Xingchuan has never seen so many people of the same kind with his own eyes, he has also seen enough "happiness of others".

On the way home, he passed by the bright lights of thousands of homes, but there was no longer a warm one that belonged to him, and his mood could not be described as desolate.

In fact, her mother is not the greedy and beautiful water in everyone's mouth, on the contrary, she is very quiet and peaceful, low-key and never justifies herself, so that until she died in the hospital bed, as a son, Lu Xingchuan didn't quite understand why she insisted on being with her father, disturbing the other party's family, and then carrying countless infamy.

But those entanglements are no longer important with her death.

The rest of the things that should be borne only fall on the shoulders of one person.

By the time Lu Xingchuan walked to the door of the mansion, it was already completely dark.

He swiped his fingerprints and went in, but he didn't greet the kind Uncle Wang, but he was shocked by the cold questioning.

"Why is it so late? Is not coming home after school a bad habit of your mother?"

Lu Xingchuan carried his schoolbag, looked at the graceful and luxurious stepmother He Mei who was blocking him, and responded with the obtuse weapon of silence as usual.

"What did you do?" He Mei raised her thin eyebrows and looked at the young man in front of her who was almost as tall as herself, but still thin.

"Is there something wrong?" Lu Xingchuan has long been accustomed to her two faces before and after her father, and has no intention of causing disputes.

"Your dad went on a business trip to Japan and only came back on the weekend, and your brother heard that you were coming, and he will come back for dinner on the weekend, I hope you will be honest and at home at that time, and you will be a little educated and polite, understand?" He Mei hugged her hands, and her blood-red nails knocked and knocked on her fair skin.

She takes a bite of you, just because she understands each other.

"Okay." Lu Xingchuan held his back straight, but lowered his head, trying to hide in the bedroom quickly.

Unexpectedly, He Mei reached out and grabbed his arm, and then lifted his chin with a cold hand, as if gently brushing away his eye-blocking bangs, and looked at the young man's facial features very seriously.

Lu Xingchuan's delicate facial features were unreal, exposed to the not-so-bright wall lamp, like a skillful doll in the hands of a craftsman, and even those dark eyes did not have much life.

"Your child really looks like your mother, but the eyebrows and corners of his mouth are exactly the same as Lu Tao." He Mei sneered.

Lu Xingchuan felt like a snake crawling on his skin, and opened her hand in disgust.

In his new home, he really could endure everything, except that he didn't want to hear this woman talk about his mother.

Syllable!

He Mei responded with a resounding slap to her stepson's resistance.

Lu Xingchuan opened his eyes slightly and looked at his stepmother's hateful gaze.

――

Qiao Bai, who was also humming a song and rolling home, didn't have any worries, his schoolbag was stuffed with the booty of the game hall, and he just looked forward to eating and lying on the bed to play one by one.

It's a pity that no matter how well the abacus plays, it can't dodge the big move that the actress's mother has been accumulating for two hours.

As soon as he opened the door, he was beaten by Liu Yunan.

"Stinky boy, where did you go! Look what time it is, huh?" The actress had no image in front of her son, grabbed his ears and scolded: "The teacher at the cram school called me and said that you didn't go again!"

Qiao Bai's acting skills were instantly online: "What, are you tutoring today? I misremembered the time, it was Tuesday and Thursday."

"So where have you been?" Liu Yunanhu sniffed around his neck suspiciously, but he didn't smell anything except the fragrance of shampoo.

"I'm reading in the library with my friends." Qiao Bai said it as a matter of course, with a pure face: "You confiscated my pocket money, what else can I do?"

"Really?" Liu Yunan was deceived by him all day long and didn't believe it at all.

"I swear to God, Mom, I'm so old, you won't give me a penny, bamboo to buy delicious food, I can only watch from the side, so pitiful......" Qiao Bai blinked his big eyes and began to sell cute, as if he was about to shed tears in the next second.

"Even if that kid doesn't eat it himself, I'm willing to give it to you, right?" Liu Yunan smiled, "Who are you in the library? Ke Yizhu doesn't count, he's bankrupt with my credit."

"It's the one across the door...... Just moved in, Lu Xingchuan." Qiao Bai could only continue to talk nonsense.

"Let me know you're lying again, and you're dead!" Liu Yunan put down this sentence and suddenly snatched the door away.

Qiao Bai hurriedly chased behind: "Mom! Mother! Don't cause trouble to others!"

――

said that the atmosphere of the Lu family had dropped to freezing, but it was broken by the sudden sound of a doorbell.

Uncle Wang ran to greet him in a panic, and then hurriedly: "Miss Liu, what's wrong? My wife is busy, waiting for ...... Wait!"

He Mei heard that it was the difficult actress on the other side again, so she had to change her smiling face and greet her: "Yu Nan? Why are you so angry?"

"Sister He!" Liu Yunan showed a big smile, and then enthusiastically asked the strange boy standing in the shadows, "You are Xingchuan, right?" The first time we met, I was Qiao Bai's mother."

Lu Xingchuan saw the big beauty who was always laughing and scolding on the TV screen standing in front of him, and nodded confusedly, completely ignoring Qiao Bai's frowning behind him.

"I heard you and my son went to play together after school?" Liu Yunan was confident, grabbed Qiao Bai and covered his mouth.

Qiao Bai struggled wildly, and became a fried-haired cat.

As a result, Lu Xingchuan actually replied, "We are doing homework in the library."

"Really?" Liu Yunan was surprised and let go in an instant.

Qiao Bai didn't know why this buddy was so close to him, but he immediately called out as if he had been wronged: "Mom, there should be more trust between our mother and son!" Ok ok! Don't disturb Aunt He, they're resting."

"Then you sue me, what is this?" Liu Yunan reached out and grabbed the toy price tag exposed in the seam of his schoolbag, unzipped it suddenly, and shook a lot of small plush toys to the ground, she picked one up and looked at it, and laughed: "Big player, your library name is special enough."

He Mei was strict with her own son, but she didn't bother to care about Lu Xingchuan, so she played a round: "Yu Nan, don't be too serious, children will inevitably be greedy for fun."

Liu Yunan really hated that iron could not become steel, so he slapped Qiao Bai a few times, and said angrily: "Just play, but I hate you being dishonest the most!" Where did you get the money, did you steal it?"

"It was Lu Xingchuan who paid for me." Qiao Bai hurriedly shook the pot, blinked his starry eyes, and looked at the seemingly honest Ergou, but he didn't know that he was also penniless as himself.

He Mei was very happy to humiliate her stepson in front of outsiders, and instantly laughed: "Xingchuan, where did you get the money, I haven't had time to give it to you, it's my negligence...... But if you don't have money, just tell me, why steal? Didn't your mother teach you the basics of being a human being?"

No matter how Qiao Bai was cleaned up by his own mother, he had never been so humiliated, and when he heard Aunt He's harsh words, he immediately showed an annoying expression, looking left and right, not knowing what to do.

Lu Xingchuan's lips gradually lost their blood, as if they were about to explode in an instant, but in the next second, he lost his strength and let go of his clenched fist and whispered, "I'm sorry."

Qiao Bai stared at him in surprise.

"Oh, I gave it to Xingchuan, madam, don't scold him, this kid is too introverted." Uncle Wang, who was onlookers, approached and explained, "Xiao Qiao, you are too playful, hurry up and apologize to your mother."

"I was wrong......" Qiao Bai chirped.

Liu Yunan rudely stuffed his stuffed animal back into his bag, picked it up and scolded, "Bastard! No dinner at night! Give me some reflection!"

Then he smiled at He Mei: "Sister, I was too anxious just now, don't be weird."

"It's all for the child, it's also for the mother, how could I not understand?" He Mei gently patted Lu Xingchuan on the shoulder, and went to see off the guests.

Lu Xingchuan stood in place, glaring at Qiao Bai who secretly turned back in disgust, he really felt that he was a big trouble with no heart and lungs, God really knew how to arrange it, his fate was already bitter enough, how could he know this kind of guy who didn't look like a human at all?

04

The experience of this day in the Lu family made Qiao Bai feel very uncomfortable.

He is loved by his parents without a bottom line, so sometimes he dares to use those little lies and coquettishness to hide his playfulness and laziness.

But when she saw He Mei hook the corners of her mouth and asked Lu Xingchuan, "Didn't your mother teach you the truth of being a man?" In an instant, as a son, Qiao Bai could almost empathize with the sadness of this peer, and even after returning to his bedroom, he was still thinking nonsense: If one day his mother is gone, and a strange woman treats him like this, he will definitely go crazy on the spot.

Liu Yunan, who was rarely at home, drove away the aunt who helped the cook, stewed the yam pork ribs with his own hands and brought them upstairs, but he didn't expect to push the door and see his baby son sitting next to him in a daze with red eyes, and couldn't help laughing: "Look at your little bit of energy, doesn't it mean that you want to be hungry?" Hurry up and eat it."

Qiao Bai was still depressed, watching her put down the soup and approaching her, she suddenly hugged her and said, "Mom, I love you."

"Ouch, what's going on? If you love me, don't be angry with me, and go to tutoring tomorrow." Liu Yunan touched his head.

"yes, got it." Qiao Bai agreed.

"Here you go, I won't spare you when you go to the game hall again." Liu Yunan threw his wallet on the bed: "Eat well, put the bath water away, remember to wash it after eating."

Qiao Bai nodded, watched her hum a song and went away, depressedly jumped out of bed and ran to the balcony to look at the opposite side, but only saw the closed curtains.

"Wang!"

Xiao Demu smelled the aroma of food and slipped in.

"Two dogs! Ergou, where have you been? I miss you dead." Qiao Bai grinned and hugged it.

Liu Yunan, who hadn't gone far yet, roared angrily: "I said, it's called a pickup! Don't pick random names!"

"What's wrong with Ergou? Mom, didn't you still play the second dog daughter-in-law in the famine movie?" Qiao Bai leaned forward and back, and the fun kept coming.

Liu Yunan walked back with a cold face and grabbed the puppy: "Eat your food, or I will make you famine!"

――

Lu Xingchuan learned the idiom "living like a year" when he was very young, but it was only after living in the Lu family that he really realized its true meaning.

The pain of stretching time into a deformation is hard to describe.

He Mei's storage is suffocating, so being able to hide in school to study has become a relaxation of suffering and happiness.

In particular, the teachers of Nancheng No. 1 Middle School are of a very high level, and they always ask him to learn more things than before.

In the middle of class that day, Lu Xingchuan was sitting in the corner writing his homework, and the little scourge at the door ran to him excitedly, leaned on his desk and said, "Thank you yesterday."

Lu Xingchuan still wrote quickly: "Thank me, what are you doing?"

"You lied to me, although it didn't work out." Qiao Bai said with a grin.

"It's not to help you, it's just troublesome, please don't bring me with you when you talk nonsense in the future." Lu Xingchuan said ruthlessly.

Qiao Bai was originally quite sympathetic to him, but now that he heard this denial, his face was a little unbearable, and he couldn't help but snort: "What is your attitude, I originally wanted to help you."

Lu Xingchuan thought it was funny: "Help me with what?"

"Help you deal with Aunt He, aren't you angry that she bullied you so much yesterday?" Qiao Bai's three views are as simple as they are.

Lu Xingchuan suddenly closed the exercise book, and a complicated expression appeared on his childish face, and he said after a while: "My mother told me a long time ago, between people, the most taboo is to talk about each other, classmate Qiao, we are not so familiar, please don't interfere in my family affairs, you are just a neighbor who has nothing to do with me."

After Qiao Bai was taught by him, he was silent for a moment of embarrassment, threw down the sentence "If you think like this, don't beg me in the future", and then left the classroom in a menacing manner.

Lu Xingchuan shook his head helplessly, and once again confirmed that with his ruthlessness and sophistication, he may not be able to make any friends in this life, and he will not be good to others for no reason, or accept others' kindness for no reason.

――

Since Xiao Qiao's olive branch was ruthlessly broken, he hasn't taken care of the small facial paralysis on the other side for several days, anyway, there is no such person in the original life, since Lu Xingchuan does not accept the overtures, then he will take care of his life.

After a hard week, the weekend is finally here.

Qiao Bai took out his skateboard again and had a great time in front of the street at the door.

Near noon, a very stylish royal blue sports car passed under the tranquil plane trees.

"Brother Lu!" Qiao Bai chased after him and beckoned from outside.

The sports car stopped slowly, and the handsome young man holding the steering wheel was He Mei's biological son Lu Yuejing, and he smiled, "Hey, why are you skating here? How dangerous it is when you pass by the car."

"It's okay, I'm already skilled." Qiao Bai has been neighbors with him since birth, and fourteen years of friendship made each other rude, and immediately climbed into his convertible with a skateboard: "Quick, take me for a ride."

Lu Yuejing couldn't help but pat his head, but he still obediently stepped on the accelerator and drove through the house.

The sound of the sports car engine made Qiao Bai very envious: "Hey, when will I have my own car?"

"When you are an adult, I will give you a driver's license." Lu Yuejing replied with his hands on the steering wheel.

"Growing up too slowly...... Qiao Bai replied depressedly, and then cheered up again: "Is your school fine, why did you suddenly come home?"

Lu Yuejing instantly let out a disdainful snort: "It's not that there is an idle person in the family, no matter how you say it, you should show your face."

"Your brother, I think he's fine, but his temper isn't very good." Qiao Bai touched his head.

"I don't care if he's okay or not." Lu Yuejing was very annoyed when he mentioned this, but he couldn't explain it clearly to the child: "It's done, I have to go back to eat first, it's too embarrassing today, don't come and make trouble."

"Oh." Qiao Bai nested in the passenger seat: "Then you said last time you took me to see the racing car, when will you go?"

"How do you remember the fun so clearly? I'll ask you if there's a game today." Lu Yuejing replied.

"Great!! Brother Lu, I love you!! Qiao Bai was not wearing a seatbelt, but when he heard this, he immediately stood up excitedly!

Fortunately, the area is full of residential areas, and the speed of the car is not high.

But Lu Yuejing was still so frightened that he stepped on the brakes: "You sit down!" Are you crazy?!"

Qiao Bai thought it was funny, and he kept ha next to him.

Lu Yuejing rudely tied this guy with a seat belt: "When your mother saw it, she had to kill me."

"She went to Hengdian to film." Qiao Bai stole the sunglasses he kept at hand and put them on his pretty little face, and then looked at himself curiously in the rearview mirror, this idle naughty appearance was no different from when he was a child.

But his height had already stretched, and his voice had begun to mature, and the matter of growing up had actually come quietly when Qiao Bai was unconscious.

Lu Yuejing stared sideways for a moment, falling into a brief silence.

――

Qiao Bai's father Qiao Feihong is an excellent novelist and a 100% loving father, as long as Liu Yunan is not at home, he is almost all left to dote on his son, and he doesn't care what he is messing around.

After saying goodbye to Lu Yuejing for a while, Qiao Bai didn't go into the house to find his father for dinner, and played with the dog in the yard.

He inadvertently saw the scene where Uncle Wang opened the door, He Mei took Lu Xingchuan and others behind, and felt that it looked warm, but it was a little scary.

Maybe the messy neighborhood family affairs are really not what his little head can understand.

Anyway, Lu Yuejing has such a powerful temper, and when the time comes, he will give his younger brother a good look, and it is none of Qiao Bai's business at all.

-- He pondered indignantly: Who told you that I am shallow and deep?