Li Hanyang became nervous instantly upon hearing this, and both he and Lin Qiong stood there dumbfounded. Then, somewhat admirably, Li Hanyang said, "I didn't expect you to know so much."
Lin Qiong waved his hand, "It's just accumulated experience."
Li Hanyang nervously looked at the plump wild chicken, "Now, what should we do?"
Lin Qiong said, "Let it go for now."
Li Hanyang agreed.
Ten minutes later...
Li Hanyang's legs were a bit sore, "Why isn't it leaving?"
Lin Qiong thought for a moment, "This might be its nest."
Li Hanyang was shocked, "Isn't this nest a bit too bold? If it's seen by natural predators or people, it could be vulnerable."
Lin Qiong shook his head, "You don't understand."
Li Hanyang: ?
"True hunters often appear in the form of prey."
Li Hanyang made a profound face, "I see."
The two of them stood still in the same spot for another five minutes. Li Hanyang asked, "Lin Qiong, what should we do now?"
Lin Qiong lowered his voice, "Let's quietly leave without disturbing it."
Li Hanyang said, "No problem."
Then, the two of them quietly left as if they were thieves, disappearing without a trace.
After walking a distance, both of them couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief.
Li Hanyang said, "That was close just now, luckily you were here."
Lin Qiong replied, "It's nothing, really."
Then, looking at Li Hanyang, Lin Qiong, for some reason, asked, "I've never met Xingyun's mom."
The question came out of the blue, and Li Hanyang couldn't help but pause before saying, "Xingyun didn't tell you?"
Lin Qiong shook his head.
Li Hanyang looked somewhat hesitant for a moment. After all, it wasn't ideal to discuss matters about a good friend with someone else.
"How about you ask Xingyun about it?" he suggested.
Thinking about the last time when Xingyun was feverish and kept calling for his mom, Lin Qiong asked, "Is it something that's been bothering him?"
Li Hanyang nodded, "Yeah, it is."
Lin Qiong said, "Then tell me about it."
Scratching his head, Li Hanyang replied, "Brotherly matters shouldn't be talked about with outsiders."
Lin Qiong wore a stern expression, "Are you treating me as an outsider?"
"No, no." Li Hanyang suddenly felt tongue-tied, "I'm just worried that Xingyun won't be happy if he finds out."
Lin Qiong was serious, "You tell me, I promise not to tell anyone."
"Really?"
"Really," Lin Qiong said, "Besides you and me, there's no third person here."
With that assurance, Li Hanyang compromised, "Alright."
"Actually, Xingyun's mom divorced Fu Changfeng and went abroad when Xingyun was in high school."
Lin Qiong was curious, "Why?"
Li Hanyang said, "Do you know Fu Jinghong?"
"I know."
"When Xingyun was in his first year of high school, Fu Changfeng brought this illegitimate child back home. Aunt Fu married down to Fu Changfeng, helped a lot in his career, but was treated like this."
Lin Qiong frowned, "That's despicable!"
"Exactly!" Li Hanyang continued, "
Lin Qiong asked, "Why not?"
Li Hanyang continued, "At the time, Xingyun wanted to gather strength and take everything from the Fu family in the future. He planned to bring Aunt Fu back when he succeeded, but Aunt Fu left decisively when she found out that her children weren't going with her. She didn't even listen to any explanations. The misunderstanding was never cleared up, and she hasn't come back all these years."
"Xingyun tried to find her but couldn't."
"And..."
"And what?"
"After the divorce, Fu Changfeng brought the mistress back, but she committed suicide within two years."
Lin Qiong was shocked to hear this.
Li Hanyang continued, "At that time, we were in our final year of high school, and Xingyun was the first one to find out. Fu Jinghong firmly asserted that his mom was killed by Xingyun."
Lin Qiong felt angry upon hearing this, "Why does he say that? Does he have any evidence?"
Li Hanyang's expression darkened, "He claims that the last person his mom saw before committing suicide was Xingyun. So, he has always believed that Xingyun caused her death."
Lin Qiong suddenly felt that Fu Xingyun had it quite tough. Witnessing such an event during the crucial period of the college entrance examination was not easy.
After Li Hanyang finished speaking, he glanced around and then whispered to Lin Qiong, "I've told you all this, don't betray me, okay?"
Lin Qiong patted his chest, "I won't, don't worry. Thank you for telling me."
Li Hanyang ruffled his hair and chuckled, "It's nothing, just treat Xingyun well in the future."
The two returned to the camping site where a few others were boredly playing cards.
Ji Yao noticed them coming back and waved, "Come here."
Lin Qiong and Li Hanyang approached, "Playing cards?"
Ji Yao said, "Exactly, we're playing and we need you two."
Lin Qiong glanced at the people around, "Isn't this a game for three players?"
"Yeah."
"It seems like we're not needed."
Ji Yao extended a finger and waved it, "Of course, we need you."
Then, he pointed at the others, "They've all given up."
Lin Qiong was puzzled, "Why?"
Ji Yao confidently smiled, "They've had enough losses."
"..."
An ordinary card game prodigy.
Then Ji Yao started shuffling the cards, "You two sit down; it's your turn."
Lin Qiong looked around, "Where's Xingyun?"
"He went back to the tent."
"I'll bring him out to watch the game."
Ji Yao, with an air of indifference, said, "Doesn't matter."
Lin Qiong got up and went to find Xingyun, "Xingyun."
Xingyun, who was reading a book, looked up, "Back already."
"Yeah." Lin Qiong looked at him and asked, "Are you bored?"
"Not really."
"Do you want to come watch me play cards?" Lin Qiong raised a hand, "I'm pretty skilled."
Xingyun: ...
"Now?"
Lin Qiong nodded and then went forward to help Xingyun up, "Let's go."
After the two arrived, the battle officially began.
Ji Yao and Li Hanyang weren't short of money, but Lin Qiong set the standard of not gambling with money. Naturally, there had to be some other form of punishment for the loser.
Ji Yao pondered, "How about playing something big?"
Lin Qiong and Li Hanyang felt a bit nervous, "How do you want to play?"
"If you lose, the peasants will do twenty squats hugging the winner."
Li Hanyang was surprised, "Doesn't that give me a huge advantage?"
The heaviest one here was Li Hanyang, who stood at over six feet tall.
Ji Yao glanced at him, "Do you even have a chance to be the winner?"
Li Hanyang scowled, "Are you looking down on me?!"
Ji Yao said, "Absolutely."
Li Hanyang turned to Lin Qiong, "Let's team up and defeat her."
"That's not very gentlemanly, and besides..."
Li Hanyang asked, "Besides what?"
Lin Qiong shyly lowered his head, "I have a chance to be the winner."
"..."
Since they were sitting on a blanket on the ground, Lin Qiong naturally leaned back against Fu Xingyun's leg after picking up his sorted cards.
Then, holding the cards in his hand, he shook them, "Do you think the cards are good?"
Fu Xingyun: "Average."
Li Hanyang glanced, "Why did you bring in reinforcements?!"
Lin Qiong raised an eyebrow and looked at him, "You can too."
Li Hanyang looked around at the people who had just lost and were questioning their life choices, his expression indifferent, "They don't deserve it."
"..."
Can you be polite?
Li Hanyang nudged Ji Yao next to him, "Lin Qiong has reinforcements."
Ji Yao, with the demeanor of an undefeated general, said, "In my eyes, they're all trash."
Li Hanyang: ...
Ji Yao looked at Lin Qiong and teased, "And Xingyun doesn't know how to play cards either."
Lin Qiong glanced at Fu Xingyun silently, then tried to please Fu Xingyun, "It's okay; I believe in you."
However, the next moment, when Fu Xingyun said the cards were bad, Lin Qiong called himself the winner. If the cards were good, he didn't. This perfectly illustrated saying one thing and doing another.
In the end, Lin Qiong and Li Hanyang lost so badly that they questioned their life choices. After another victory for the winner, Lin Qiong scattered the cards and had the look of someone who had survived a disaster, "Luckily, we didn't bet any money."
Fu Xingyun: ...
Afterward, Lin Qiong hugged Ji Yao and did twenty deep squats, then unsteadily pushed Fu Xingyun back to the tent.
Lin Qiong lay on the sleeping bag to rest, and as he turned his head, he saw Fu Xingyun with a somewhat cold expression.
Lin Qiong quickly sat up and asked, "What's wrong?"
Fu Xingyun turned his head away, his voice indifferent, "Nothing."
"Are you not happy?"
"No."
"Liar." Lin Qiong said, "Why aren't you happy?"
Seeing that Fu Xingyun remained silent, Lin Qiong could only guess and tentatively said, "Is it because I didn't trust you just now?"
Fu Xingyun didn't say anything.
Lin Qiong leaned in, puckering his lips, "I was afraid you'd be unhappy if I hugged Ji Yao after losing, so when Ji Yao said you didn't know how to play cards, I felt a bit conflicted."
But in the end, he lost, did the squats, and now Fu Xingyun wasn't happy.
Fu Xingyun raised an eyebrow, "Do you trust Ji Yao a lot?"
Lin Qiong nodded but continued to plead, "But, of course, not as much as I trust you."
Seeing Fu Xingyun remaining silent, Lin Qiong asked, "Why aren't you talking?"
Fu Xingyun replied, "It's nothing."
Lin Qiong grinned, "Don't be unhappy. Let's lie down together for a while. We still have to watch the meteor shower tonight."
Then Lin Qiong pulled Fu Xingyun down, and for the rest of the afternoon, after a short nap, Lin Qiong took out his phone and searched for "massage techniques for rehabilitation patients" online.
Later, he also bought a set of books on rehabilitation and acupressure, and glancing at Fu Xingyun, who had closed his eyes at this point, Lin Qiong continued his search.
Lin Qiong first tried the techniques he found online on his own leg, feeling no discomfort. Only then did he gently approach Fu Xingyun.
"Xingyun?"
There was no response from the man.
"Xingyun, are you asleep?"
Seeing no sign of him waking up, Lin Qiong's actions became bolder.
Lin Qiong reached out to touch Fu Xingyun's calf, but when he touched it, he froze.
Unlike the upper part of his body, the man's legs were not as muscular, and even showed signs of muscle atrophy due to prolonged inability to walk.
Lin Qiong pursed his lips slightly, feeling an inexplicable bitterness in his heart. It seemed as if there was a hint of bitterness in his throat.
Still, Lin Qiong used the newly learned techniques to gently massage Fu Xingyun's lower leg. Because he wasn't a professional, Lin Qiong dared not press too hard, afraid of causing harm.
Fu Xingyun didn't know what Lin Qiong was doing, but he didn't respond when Lin Qiong called him, just to find out what Lin Qiong was going to do after confirming that he was asleep.
Later, Fu Xingyun raised his eyes slightly and saw Lin Qiong bowing his head to massage his leg. He couldn't sense it, but his heart trembled.
And so, Lin Qiong massaged Fu Xingyun's legs for as long as he lay there.
----
After nightfall, Lin Qiong excitedly pushed Fu Xingyun outside to prepare for meteor watching. "Xingyun, when do you think the meteors will come?"
"I don't know."
"Then let's wait outside."
Not long after, almost everyone camping on the mountain came out of their tents, ready to watch the meteors.
Lin Qiong rubbed his hands excitedly, "Xingyun, have you thought about your wish?"
"I don't believe in those things."
Lin Qiong acknowledged it, but still tried to persuade him, "What if it comes true?"
However, they waited for a long time, and it wasn't until nearly midnight that a meteor streaked across the sky.
Lin Qiong closed his eyes and made a wish.
"I hope I become rich overnight!"
"I hope I always have someone to love!"
"I hope my future is hopeful!"
Lin Qiong, who initially closed his eyes to make a wish, was surprised. Had the method of making wishes changed?
"I hope for a promotion and a raise!"
"I hope..."
Watching everyone make their wishes one by one, Lin Qiong was also moved. "Xingyun, do you think shouting out wishes like this will make them come true?"
Fu Xingyun raised an eyebrow, "You can try."
"I hope!" Lin Qiong took a deep breath, then looked up at the stars and shouted with all his might, "Fu Xingyun's legs get better!!!"