Lin Qingping and Gu Juncheng

Chapter 236 Protection

Zhiyuan held the photo and walked forward step by step, while the Wen family members retreated step by step.

Zhiyuan only stopped when the last person—the man from the port city—had nowhere left to retreat and bumped into a chair, making a noise.

Zhiyuan looked at everyone present. Despite his young age, his smile carried a mockery that belied his age. "Are you all afraid of my dad?"

No one answered.

“My dad is a hero! He sacrificed himself to protect the country and the people! Why are you afraid of him?” Zhiyuan asked loudly.

The sudden loud noise startled the Wen family.

Grandpa Wen, standing at the front supporting Wen Xiao, tried to explain, "Zhiyuan, it's not that I'm afraid... it's... it's because he's already passed away... it's unlucky during the New Year..."

"He's my dad!" Zhiyuan shouted. "My dad and mom have never said anything unlucky. You...you...my dad is the one who called you dad. You're saying he's unlucky?"

The last sentence was said to Grandpa Wen, who was so embarrassed that his face turned red and he was speechless.

Grandma Wen didn't dare look at the person in the photo either. She mustered her courage and stepped forward to persuade Zhiyuan, "Zhiyuan, shall we put the photo away for now?"

"No!" Zhiyuan shouted in protest. "My father said that even though he's gone, he'll be watching over me from heaven, watching me grow up well! Protecting me from being bullied! I want to put my father's photo somewhere he can see me, watching me read and sleep, accompanying me as I grow up!"

It's unclear whose house set off the firecracker, but it was a double-bang firecracker. It exploded in the air with a loud bang, and when Zhiyuan said, "Watch me from heaven," the Wen family couldn't help but scream in unison.

The two sisters-in-law of the Wen family ran away with the children. Wen Xiaogang, the man from Gangcheng, was also frightened and ran out. Wen Xiao, supported by her maternal grandfather, burst into tears, trembling all over and unable to stand. She covered her ears and screamed "Ahhh!" incessantly.

Zhiyuan walked up to her, his eyes filled with sadness. "Are you scared too?"

Wen Xiao heard the sound, paused, and when she opened her eyes, there was a black and white photo shoved right in front of her.

"Ah—" she screamed, collapsing to the ground. Even Grandpa Wen couldn't hold her back. She lay there like a lump of mud, trembling.

Zhiyuan's voice continued, "You said you didn't want me anymore, that you wanted me to leave, just like you didn't want me and my dad back then. Well, I'm leaving now. From this day forward, never come looking for me again! My dad and I don't want you either! We never wanted you!"

By the end, Zhiyuan was practically screaming. After he finished, he hugged the photo, straightened his back, and walked out of the Wen family's house and out of the tenement.

The young boy, with his proud spirit and stubborn face, could only hold on until he left the tenement.

Ultimately, he was just a first-grade elementary school student.

He had to fight against so many members of the Wen family all by himself, reliving the pain of losing his father, experiencing the hurt of being disliked by his mother for the second time, and also trying his best to appear strong and powerful in front of the Wen family. Although it was only a short time, it had already exhausted all his strength.

She was already putting on a brave face the moment she left the Wen family home, so she just held her father's photo tightly, pressed his face against her chest, and strode forward, forgetting that she hadn't put on a coat or shoes.

An older woman passing by in the alley saw a child walking outside in the cold winter wearing only a sweater and socks, with a schoolbag haphazardly hanging from his wrist. Thinking he was a runaway, she felt sorry for him and pulled him aside, asking, "Whose child are you? Aren't you afraid of catching a cold walking around outside like this? Go home quickly!"

Zhiyuan's mind was completely blank at that moment.

The cold wind howled outside, as if it were blowing into his brain, making a buzzing sound inside.

In the midst of chaos, only this buzzing sound remained; all other sounds were inaudible. He was completely bewildered as to who was pulling him and what they were saying to him.

With bewildered eyes, all I could see was the unfamiliar, blurry face of the older woman.

"Oh, child, why are you crying like this? Did you get beaten? Which courtyard do you live in? I'll take you home!" the old woman sighed.

Zhiyuan suddenly realized, had he been crying?

He hugged the photo in his arms tighter, broke free from the old woman's hand, and continued walking forward.

Gu's father said that his father would protect him from heaven.

Sure enough, this time, it was his father who protected him again...

But Dad, I'm useless. Why am I crying? I didn't want to cry at all, really, I won't cry anymore, I promise I won't cry anymore...

Zhiyuan kept telling himself: Don't cry, Li Zhiyuan, if you cry again you're a coward!

But he couldn't control himself.

The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to cry. He clenched his teeth to keep himself from crying out loud, but his tears flowed in the wind, layer after layer.

Dad, you can see me from heaven, right? Look, I didn't cry, I really didn't cry. I'm just so sad, I don't know why I'm sad. I never wanted to go back to her, but why do I feel so sad after leaving her house? Dad, can you tell me? Dad, I miss you…

Long alleyways, tiny people.

Wearing only thin clothes, I walked the whole way, tears streaming down my face, and somehow I even lost one of my socks...

Everyone who passed by looked at him and whispered among themselves. Some kind people called out to him, just like the old lady from before, but he ignored them all and continued walking forward blankly.

Then a voice boomed like thunder: "Zhiyuan!"

Zhiyuan trembled, and through his teary eyes, he saw a woman in a red down jacket rushing toward him like a madwoman.

Lin Qingping?

He couldn't see clearly.

He doubted he was seeing things...

He rubbed his eyes and looked again, and it really was Lin Qingping!

Lin Qingping ran incredibly fast, reaching him in an instant. Looking at him, her eyes blazed with fury. "How did you become like this?"

She shouted as she took off her clothes.

Zhiyuan stared blankly at her, only to see her wrap the down jacket around him. She exclaimed in surprise, "Where are your shoes and socks?"

Zhiyuan then realized that he had forgotten his clothes and shoes.

In Lin Qingping's eyes, Zhiyuan had always been a clever boy, not only quick-witted but also agile. She wondered what sins the Wen family had committed to end up like this.

"Damn it! I'm going to settle the score with them!" Lin Qingping picked him up.

The seven-year-old child, and since he came with her, Zhiyuan has been getting better and better. He is no longer the sick little thing he was in Gujia Village. He is really heavy to hold in her arms, but Lin Qingping is burning with anger. She has the strength to smash the Wen family to pieces. Moreover, the anger is so intense that she doesn't even have the mind to ask Zhiyuan what happened. She only has one thought: to settle accounts with the Wen family!