Chapter 240: Outsider, renter, modeling teenager.

Chi Xiaochi stands in front of Lou Ying's house.

Lou Ying My sister-in-law and uncle are not at home.

He looked through the window, away from the rolled-up spread on Lou Ying's bed, his palm leaving a sweaty imprint on the glass covered with the bodies of tiny flying insects.

To be fair, Lou Ying's sister-in-law's family has been very kind to Lou Ying.

When Lou Ying first moved here, Lou Ying's sister-in-law had a thin wall built in the house, separating the couple's bed from Lou Ying's, giving him a separate room, and forcing her to make room for a bookshelf and a desk in the already tightly packed house. Lou Ying was fed and clothed with the best she could afford, for fear of being criticized by the neighbors that she, as a sister-in-law, was treating the motherless child badly.

...... But that's all in the past.

Chi Xiaochi slid along the door, slowly sat on the floor, the back of his head pressed against the door, surprisingly felt a long-lost peace of mind.

These days, he averages two hours of sleep a day, and when he closes his eyes, the smell of blood, men's head oil, softly baked asphalt, and the cold, icy grits of the morgue envelops him.

Only back here, he could remember what it was like to be sleepy.

He leaned against the door panel and slept peacefully until dark, until he was vigorously shaken awake.

Chi Xiaochi opened her eyes and saw Lou Ying's sister-in-law and uncle.

He wanted to get up, but both feet were numb, so hard that it was like there were millions of ants gnawing together, he couldn't move, and he couldn't say anything for a while, he could only grit his teeth and look up at the two men.

"Why are you sleeping here again? Don't you have a home?" He heard Lou Ying's aunt say coldly, "You are not welcome here."

Chi Xiaochi stood up slowly.

After the incident, he tried to come to Lou Ying's house more than once to explain.

But every time, there's either no one home, or they pretend there's no one home.

In Chi Xiaochi's opinion, the culprit in this case is Zhu Shoucheng.

In Chi Xiaochi's parents' opinion, the culprit was Lou Ying.

In the eyes of Lou Ying's relatives, the culprit was naturally Chi Xiaochi.

Chi Xiaochi held the door and slowly got up, lowered his head, his voice was soft: "Uncle, auntie, why ...... do you say forget it to the police?"

Lou Ying's aunt frowned and looked like he wanted to say something nasty, but was stopped by Lou Ying's sister-in-law.

The aunt's husband bristled and pushed Chi Xiaochi to the side, ready to get the key for the door.

Chi Xiaochi reaches over and covers the eye of the lock.

He no longer has the strength to speak in a high voice: "...... If you guys don't care about him, there will really be no one to care about him."

Lou Ying's aunt looked around and noticed that there were already neighbors poking their heads in, looking happy to see the gossip, his face changed slightly, and he forcefully pulled Chi Xiaochi's hand away, opened the door, let his wife in first, and then reached out and pulled Chi Xiaochi in again.

Making sure the door was closed properly, he growled in a low voice, "We're not going to go after you, and you come running over here? What the hell do you want?"

Chi Xiaochi's feet are still numb and she can't stand very well.

He said softly, "I've inquired, I'm not old enough to sue him without a guardian instead. Uncle, aunt, you are Lou's last relatives, please, please, don't leave him alone."

The aunt asked, "Sue who?"

"Zhu Shoucheng." Chi Xiaochi looked up, "He pushed Lou down, I saw it with my own eyes."

Upon hearing the news, Lou Ying's sister-in-law and uncle just looked at each other.

Lou Ying's aunt breathed a sigh of relief and made up her mind to deal with this stalker: "We've known about this for a long time. Mr. Zhu came to our door to say that he accidentally pushed Lou Ying down. He apologized and paid us back, and the police came but didn't investigate anything. Lou Ying and I discussed with his aunt, there is no need to make a big deal out of this matter ...... just let it be."

Chi Xiaochi opened his mouth.

...... "That's it".

One life, that's all.

He hissed, playing the emotional card that no longer made much sense: "Uncle, Auntie, Lou was brought up by you ...... you can't ......"

At these words, Lou Ying's sister-in-law inclined her face and let out a long sob.

Auntie's husband wrapped his arms around his sister-in-law, patted his wife on the shoulder for a while, and when he faced Chi Xiaochi again, his patience ran out.

"What are you talking about? Are we to blame for this? We've worked our asses off to feed him and give him a good life. What else do you want us to do? What else can we do? It was an accident, and Mr. Chu promised to tell the public that Lou Ying fell when he was tutoring at his house, so what else do you want to do? What else do you want to do? Completely discredit him in this building, discredit our family? We won't be able to afford to move then, will you? Besides, Lou Ying used to be such a good kid, but since he hangs out with you every day, he's all broken up, and he's been following you around all day. We didn't bother with you because his grades weren't bad, and now you're questioning us?"

Chi Xiaochi is cold.

In vain he argued, "I ......"

Auntie's husband took out all his frustration on Chi Xiaochi: "How old are you? You say we don't care about him! Do you know how much a lawsuit costs? If we make a big deal out of it, in the end, our family's reputation will be ruined, and we may not be able to get so much compensation, what do you want us to do in the end?"

Lou Ying's sister-in-law knew that her husband had gone too far with this remark and waved her hand, signaling her husband not to be so impulsive.

She was a woman with a very mild to weak temper, and said in a thin voice, "It's my fault for not educating Xiaoying well, and causing trouble for others. Teacher Zhu even compensated us with money, which is already considered benevolent."

"...... whole eight thousand." Lou Ying's aunt interjected, "The person is gone, and if we keep stalking Mr. Zhu, aren't we asking the rest of the building to look at us as a joke for nothing? Saying that our family is insatiable?"

"It's not like that. Lou did nothing wrong ...... " Chi Xiaochi gathered all her courage, intending to tell the story she had told countless times again, "It wasn't to save me, and he wouldn't have ...... "

You get used to tearing scars, you get numb.

Who would have thought that Lou Ying's aunt had no more patience to listen to him and simply said, "Lou Ying has been cremated today, so there is no use for you to say anything."

Chi Xiaochi froze.

His voice was as soft as his heartbeat at the moment, "What ......"

He didn't even know about it.

No one told him.

He hadn't gotten to see Lou one last time.

"Where will the body survive this summer, it will stink if it is not burned." The aunt's husband said, "It's been buried today. North Mang Cemetery."

A vortex grew in Chi Xiaochi's throat, swirling down all the words he wanted to say.

"Xiaochi, it's not that we don't care. I also suspected that Xiao Ying is not such a person." Auntie softly said, "But we're all so tired that we really don't have the heart and mind to care about this matter now."

Saying that, she raised her hand and touched her small abdomen: ''...... You are also a big child, aunt is not afraid of your joke. I am pregnant. Factory organization physical examination when found out, yesterday out of the report card, the child is almost two months, very healthy."

Chi Xiaochi pronounced a short syllable, "...... Ah."

...... He knows and understands.

Chi Xiaochi and Lou Ying have known each other for many years, and each knows everything about the other's family.

Lou Ying's sister-in-law and her husband have been married for many years and have never had any children. I heard that it was the man's problem, and they had been treated for many years, but there was no improvement.

That's why they take care of Lou Ying with all their heart and soul, so that they can have something to fall back on when they grow old.

Well now, they finally have a child.

To be brutally honest, Lou Ying, after all, is an outsider to this little family.

With this in mind, Chi Xiaochi looks back at Lou Ying's room and thinks about what it will look like when it is transformed into a baby's room.

Auntie's husband was anxious to rest after a busy day, and his words already had the meaning of an expulsion: "Do you have anything else to do?"

Chi Xiaochi heard herself say, "Yes."

He staggered to his feet, holding the back of his chair with one hand, and turned to the two men, kneeling slowly.

This kneeling confused both adults.

Auntie reached out to help him: "Aiya, Xiaochi, what are you talking about? Let's talk about things, don't kneel, get up."

Chi Xiaochi was motionless, and his voice was lower and steadier: "Uncle, aunt, I beg you for one thing. ...... Don t take away Lou s room."

The aunt's husband immediately quit, "This is our family's family matter, don't you ......"

"You listen to me." Chi Xiaochi raised her head slightly and looked straight into her aunt's eyes, her body swaying a little but a wave of emotion settling in her eyes in black and white, "Don't take Lou's room, don't move his things. You guys rent this room to me, okay."

My aunt snorted, "You have to pay to rent a room."

Chi Xiaochi's hand slipped off the edge of her chair and dropped to her side, "I'll pay."

Lou Ying's sister-in-law and uncle were silent.

Chi Xiaochi, with a wooden face, said, "I asked around. The price of renting a room in this area, a room, a hall, a kitchen and a bathroom, 500 dollars a month. Our building kitchen toilet communal, Lou and only a small room, I rent it, paddle 200 dollars a month, you do not lose ......"

With that, he looked to Lou Ying's sister-in-law, "The baby's going to need this money, isn't she?"

Not knowing what to do, my sister-in-law turned her head to look at her husband.

This is not a small amount of money, the aunt's husband is already subconsciously looking with his eyes, estimating where the crib should be placed outside of the room, being tugged twice by his wife, Fang Cai back to his senses.

He asked, "Would your parents approve."

"I don't need their permission and I ask you not to talk to them." Chi Xiaochi said, "This money, I can earn it myself."

After reaching a preliminary agreement that there would be no deposit, monthly payments would be made, and the price would follow the market, Chi Xiaochi left Lou Ying's sister-in-law's house.

He held onto the wall and took one step down the hallway.

At this hour, the residents of the silo who had gathered in the stalls to chat had long since dispersed, and there were snores and insect noises intertwined in the hallway, while Chi Xiaochi's footsteps were so light that they could not make a sound.

He was alone, walking from the first floor to the second.

The dark corridors were usually his worst fear.

He walked up the stairs where the voice-activated light was broken, pressed himself against the base of the wall, and called softly, "Lou. Brother Lou."

Soon he burst out laughing silently at his own antics.

He laughed as he walked, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably, so much so that he crouched down at the corner of the stairs and buried his face in his knees, his shoulders shrugging one at a time as he laughed until he almost choked.

The next day, Zhu Shoucheng's son and daughter-in-law received the news and came to visit their "frightened" father.

They were carrying big bags, well-dressed, and I heard that they were doing business in some part of town and making a lot of money.

Chi Xiaochi stayed at home, his back against the wall, listening to the sound of a conversation that came faintly from over the wall.

"Dad, it's okay."

"It's okay, it's okay, look I'm fine."

"I heard it was a burglar who burglarized the house? The thief's hands and feet are unclean and morally corrupt, so if you die, you mustn't take it personally."

"I know, I know."

"Dad, after this kind of incident, is it appropriate for you to live here again? Why don't you come live with us in the city. Mei and I have discussed it, we'll change the house after the new year, and replace the second room with a third, for you to live in."

"No. Your dad is still early for retirement, he can still work for a few more years. Those kids love me and can't live without me."

"Then, Dad, I'll get you a new set of windows and doors."

"Hey, okay. What do you want to eat for lunch? I'll buy you some yellowtail soup?"

"Dad don't move, we know where the food market is, I'll go shopping with Mei later. Mei, go get that apple for Dad-"

"Then I'll put the garbage by the door, remember to take it out when you guys go down there later."

Chi Xiaochi stood up.

He didn't want to hear any more.

He went out, and when he reached the door of Zhu Shoucheng's house, the door happened to emanate from the inside with a rather sharp creak.

Zhu Shoucheng's face is revealed inside.

Holding a half-peeled apple in his left hand and a bag of garbage in his right, he looked at Chi Xiaochi through a screen door.

After a long time, he suddenly revealed a wry smile.

Zhu Shoucheng asked him, "...... still want to eat green bean lollipops?"

Chi Xiaochi ignored him and fled away with his backpack in his stride.

He escaped Zhu Shoucheng, and also escaped the people who gathered downstairs in twos and threes to gossip.

It is true that Zhu Shoucheng did not go out and say anything about Lou Ying's "theft".

But hell, he didn't deny it either.

The police came by, asked about Lou Ying's popularity, asked about semiconductors that had happened to Lou Ying, and naturally the imaginative people in the building were able to piece together a set of "truths" that they wanted.

Chi Xiaochi didn't want to stay in this place, not even for a moment.

Good thing he had an appointment today.

Yesterday, Zi Yu asked Chi Xiaochi out for lunch.

She loved this stubborn and headstrong teenager, but the bad thing was that she couldn't help him much at all.

Zi Yu can't do anything except put food in his bowl when he eats.

She hid the frustration in her heart and pinched a chopstick of shabu-shabu into his bowl, "Eat more. Look at you, just in these few days, you've lost a huge amount of weight."

Chi Xiaochi stuffed food into her mouth, "Sister Zi, you want to see me for something, right?"

Before Zi Yu had a chance to speak, Chi Xiaochi had already guessed, "...... closed the case?"

Zi Yu took another lotus root slice from the hot pot, not wanting to talk about it, "Hmm."

In small places, there are more than enough headless cases that happen and are closed in a haphazard manner.

Chi Xiaochi blew on the bowl and rolled the lotus root slices in the sesame sauce, "Mmm."

Zi Yu: "I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry for." Chi Xiaochi said, "It's not you who's sorry."

Zi Yu really didn't want Chi Xiaochi to get too caught up in his emotions.

So she pulled back, "What have you been up to?"

Chi Xiaochi replied, "Brush the dishes."

"...... Hmm?"

"It's a temporary job, but I don't earn much." Chi Xiaochi picked up the food in her mouth, "Real life modeling has recently become popular on the clothing street, I heard that it pays a lot, but there are more women than men in this business. I'm going to give it a try."

"But you're only fourteen ......"

"I don't look like that." Chi Xiaochi looked up from her bowl and winked, "Sister Zi, if you run into me on patrol or something then, don't tear me down."

The teenage playfulness in his demeanor always makes Zi Yu's heart ache.

Zi Yu advised him, "You are still so young, don't rush to earn money. It's only proper to study well."

Chi Xiaochi said briefly, "I will."

Zi Yu thought he didn't take it to heart, and sounded slightly more anxious: "Listen to Sister Zi, get your grades up, and walk out of here squarely in the future, don't stay in this place. You can fly farther, and this place really isn't for--"

"...... Sister Zi."

Chi Xiaochi put down her chopsticks, "Thank you."

Zi Yu is a little embarrassed, grabbed his hat: "Do not say thank you, sister did not help you what. Sister has already bought the single, the Institute a bunch of things to do, you here slowly eat, do not rush."

At the end, she added a little heartily, "...... Don't feel too bad either."

Chi Xiaochi smiled, "I'm fine. I can take it."

After Zi Yu left, Chi Xiaochi took out a cell phone, buried his face under the table, and typed in the text word by word.

While packing up Lou Ying's belongings, he found two used cell phones.

A cell phone, in this day and age, is definitely considered a rarity.

One belongs to Lou Ying and the other is a gift that hasn't been given yet.

The phone was tied with a small ribbon and placed in a gift box. When Chi Xiaochi charged it up and turned it on, she realized that Lou Ying had modified the phone's root file with some tool.

The opening screen is a firework, and the scattered smoke eventually gathers into a single line.

...... wishes Xiaochi a happy 15th birthday.

Chi Xiaochi's 14th birthday is just a few months away, and his 15th birthday is still a long way off, but Lou Ying already has a present for him.

And right now, Chi Xiaochi is holding his head against the table, texting Lou Ying with the birthday present she was going to give him.

He said, "Brother Lou, Sister Zi invited me to dinner. Hot pot, it's delicious."

After sending it successfully, he tucked his cell phone into his coat pocket and stuffed the bowl full of food Zi had given him into his mouth without stopping until he had filled a mouth to the brim.

He chewed his food like a little squirrel, taking a mouthful of sour flavor out of it.

He clutched the bowl, tears falling down his face, but he didn't cry out even a single sound.

After dinner, he had work to do.

He wants to preserve the last little traces of Lou in this world, so he can't spend the money Lou has saved up to pay the rent, because those are also one of the evidences that Lou once existed.

Chi Xiaochi worked many jobs during the summer.

However, there are so many jobs that require IDs and so little money to be made running errands, washing dishes, etc., that it's barely possible to do it now, but once he starts school, he won't be able to make as much.

Eventually, he made his way to Clothing Row and applied for a job at a men's clothing store owned by a woman.

In a short period of time, Chi Xiaochi, always sensitive and thin-skinned, quickly learns how to strike a pose in the crowded garment street, distribute flyers, help the boss's wife to buy and carry goods, deal with the flirtations of both male and female customers, as well as help the boss's wife to take care of the small gangsters who come to make trouble and collect money.

Chi Xiaochi shape is very outstanding, and long legs and long hands, is a natural clothes rack, a little dress is the whole body of the young man valiant, even if the quality and version of the clothes fell on him, can be he wore a unique flavor.

Because of him, the owner's wife has many more repeat customers.

Chi Xiaochi lied that he was in high school, something happened at home and he needed money urgently. The boss's wife didn't suspect anything and agreed with him that if he could commute, she would pay him $600 a month and when he went to school, he would have to report here every Saturday and Sunday and she would pay him $250 a month.

Towards the end of the summer, Chi Xiaochi fetched a tub of water, dipped her tattooed foot in it, and scrubbed the tattoo off a little bit with a wire ball from a dishwasher.

Everyone says Chi Xiaochi has changed.

Since the end of the summer, his grades have skyrocketed.

Usually, teachers always like to use "so-and-so is very smart, but just do not love to read" to teach, but also know that most students with poor grades, and smart is not linked at all, and can not be said directly, so can only be used to "just do not love to read" for generalized encouragement and The most important thing is that you have to be able to get the best out of them.

Chi Xiaochi is different.

He's really not a big reader, but is really smart enough.

In a year's time, Chi Xiaochi's grades rocketed to the high school where Lou Ying was born, as everyone watched in disbelief.

It's funny how Chi Xiaochi's luck found him when he was no longer looking for anything from anyone.

A professional modeling manager was accompanying his wife and sister-in-law on a shopping trip to Clothing Street when he saw Chi Xiaochi modeling in front of a floor-to-ceiling window.

Later on, Chi Xiaochi finished a whole year of modeling on the clothing street, said goodbye to the boss's wife and left with the manager.

Prices are going up, the price of rent is going up, and it's time for him to find a new job.

When filling out his modeling card, the manager asked him if he wanted to consider going full time since he was so well qualified.

Chi Xiaochi speaks with a grown-up accent: "It's not necessary."

The manager also knew that he didn't have bad grades and that dropping out of school to do this was a bit of a waste, so he mentioned it and that was it.

Chi Xiaochi's pen stopped at the "English Name" field.

The manager said, "This is more fashionable these days, with an English name, it's fashionable to say it. But if you have it, fill it in, if you don't, forget it."

Chi Xiaochi said, "I have."

With that, he filled in the field with his English name.

......July-Chi.

The manager was curious, "July? You were born in July?"

Chi Xiaochi cocked her head slightly and replied, "No, I died in July."

The manager was so confused that he simply assumed he had heard wrong.

For good looking people, eccentricity of character and behavior doesn't matter too much at all.

The manager knows that Chi Xiaochi has many quirks. At a young age, he can smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol, like a perpetual motion machine that never needs to rest or sleep, he knows how to listen to people, he knows how to get along with people, but he doesn't like to talk much, and he often waits for people in the neighborhood of a public high school.

The manager thought that maybe it was his little girlfriend who was studying here.

The manager lives near that public high school, and on several occasions, driving from work, he's seen Chi Xiaochi hanging around after evening study.

The teenager in the white shirt leaned against the mottled white railing, carrying a heavy book bag and holding a cigarette in his hand, looking across the road at the public middle school with a faint expression, not knowing what he was thinking.

Taking two puffs of his cigarette, he lowered his head and pressed his exercise book against the railing with one hand to work on the problems, making it difficult for a moment to distinguish whether he was a punk or a good student.