There was a small lake behind the Mu family villa. Standing on the second floor, you could overlook the entire lake. It was tended to by dedicated personnel, and the lake was clear, with wild chrysanthemums spread around it in white, pink, and bright yellow. They connected a large area, and when the wind blew from the lake, it brought a refreshing coolness.

This was not a public community landscape, but one dug out by the Mu family themselves. Not far from the lake, on a fence as tall as a person, purple clematis climbed up to form a wall of flowers, which was beautiful and blocked prying eyes.

Mu Nanqiao took Lu Qi to row a boat on the small lake. He also prepared the boat himself. 

Lu Qi tossed fish food in the lake, and koi fish followed leisurely one after another. He didn’t know the species of koi, so Mu Nanqiao pointed them out to him one by one.

“This one that has three colors like Xiao Sanhua is a ‘Dazheng.” The one with black flowers on a red background is a ‘Fei Xie,’ and the pure white one is a Butterfly Koi…..” Mu Nanqiao looked at Lu Qi: “Which one do you like? Let’s take it back?”

“No, I have a cat at home, ah. Xiao Sanhua has eaten enough fish today and shouldn’t take some to go.” Lu Qi closed his eyes, clasped his hands together, and made a wish: “Koi fish, when I’m preparing for the exam next year, make sure I pass!”

He silently added in his mind: Make sure Mu Nanqiao is safe and sound every year. You have eaten so much fish food from this family, so you must repay this kindness, ah, little fish!

Mu Nanqiao had other things on his mind.

Lu Qi was planning to continue his studies at Shenmei University. He owned a property that happened to be near Shenmei. It was a top floor flat. The cat climbing tree Lu Qi liked but couldn’t buy due to space constraints could be placed in the guest bedroom, and one of the guest bedrooms could be given to Xiao Sanhua in the future. 

It was also convenient to commute to Shenmei. Although it was far away from the company, this wasn’t a big problem. He could get up early.

The more he thought about it, the more suitable it seemed. It appeared to be time to decorate, and the style should be the cream wood style Lu Qi liked…..

When he returned to his senses, he realized that he had thought too much.

But it seemed that within this plan, leaving 502 was a natural thing. If Lu Qi was his in the future, he couldn’t leave the sunshine in a dark and humid forest. 

Thus, he bowed his head and was about to send a message to his assistant, asking him to contact his previous psychiatrist, but received a call from the assistant first. 

Mu Nanqiao would never avoid Lu Qi when answering the phone, not to mention that the boat was only so big. Even though Lu Qi lowered his head to look at the koi, he still heard a few words.

He heard “Hengin Group” several times.

He was a little worried about what that trash had done again, but looking at Mu Nanqiao’s expression, it didn’t seem that anything was wrong.

After hanging up the phone, Mu Nanqiao waved Lu Qi over to sit. “Didn’t you say you wanted to row the boat back? Come and give it a try.”

Lu Qi hesitated before sitting across from him. Both of them had long legs, so they had to stagger them apart a bit and touch their knees together.

Lu Qi took the oars and whispered: “I didn’t eavesdrop on purpose, but is Lin Yuan causing trouble for you?”

Mu Nanqiao laughed. His beautiful fox eyes reflected the light of the lake, and his tone was relaxed, as if he was telling a joke. “It’s Mu Group that has been making trouble for Hengjin, and he finally couldn’t help but fight back.”

“Is the problem serious?” Lu Qi became nervous.

“En, very serious.” Mu Nanqiao frowned.

Lu Qi: “Ah…..”

“I had originally planned to have barbecue by the lake for dinner, but it seems that will have to wait until next time.” Mu Nanqiao’s face was full of regret. “It’s so serious.”

Lu Qi: ……

He made two random strokes with the oars and threatened fiercely: “If you keep joking like this, I’ll knock you down and let you swim back!”

Mu Nanqiao laughed and took the oars. “To be on the safe side, it’s better for me to row the boat. After all, I must abide by male ethics.”

“Shameless…..” Lu Qi muttered softly. When he gave Xiao Sanhua a bath last time, who was it who, when the cat was not yet wet, made himself wet first?

. . . . . . .

Mu Nanqiao sent Lu Qi home. That night, Mu Nanqiao did not return to 502.

Lu Qi didn’t know that the Shanghai business world was going through turmoil that night, and that many people had lost everything in this game. He received a call home, and took the train back to Yuncheng before dawn.

Yuncheng was adjacent to Shanghai. It was not as large as Shanghai’s coastal port, but due to the development driven by Shanghai in recent years, various infrastructures had gradually been improved. Standing at the exit of the train station, Lu Qi even felt a little unfamiliar with this city.

This was the city where he grew up, and also the hometown he had not returned to during his four years in university.

The call was from Li Yimiao, telling him that his father had suffered a bone fracture. Lu Qi hurried back with only two changes of clothes and a small bag on his back, and took a taxi home.

When he reached the downstairs of the unit, he began to hesitate again.

The quarrel from his graduation year still lingered in his ears. His chubby dad was caught in the middle, at a loss. Crying, his mom asked if she had done something wrong and was a bad influence on him. Otherwise, why would a good boy such as him like boys?

Coming out like this had caught him off guard. The desktop computer that Father Lu had used for many years was broken, so he used his son’s computer and found related search records. 

The couple were hesitant, and tried to comfort themselves that their child was just curious about this aspect. But in the face of their probing inquiries, Lu Qi was silent at first, then simply nodded.

But his mom said she would rather he had lied. 

However, Lu Qi would not lie about this matter. He couldn’t keep this lie going for a lifetime. In the future, he would have someone he liked, and he hoped to introduce this person to his parents openly.

So that summer, the originally proud and happy couple fell silent, especially his mom.

She blamed herself, and felt that she had not raised her child well. No matter how Lu Qi explained to her that sexual orientation was innate, she would not believe it.

But later, she pointed the finger at Lu Qi’s grandpa.

Lu Qi grew up beside his grandpa during primary school, and his grandpa was the school principal. After his grandma passed away, his grandpa never remarried. He always carried a pocket watch next to his heart that held a photo of his dead wife. He told Lu Qi that for some people, meeting one person in a lifetime was enough. Even if that encounter was brief, it was enough to comfort them for the rest of their lives.

Grandma was this light that flashed through Grandpa’s eyes, and this light shone in his eyes all his life until his death.

His mother originally respected his grandpa. She admired the old man’s loyalty and taught this loyalty to her husband. During the last six months of his grandpa’s illness, she and Father Lu took care of him together without a single complaint. She was even more attentive than Father Lu, letting the old man pass away cleanly and decently.

But it was unknown what happened that day. She suddenly remembered that his grandpa had a friend who was also an old teacher. On the day of condolences, this old grandfather also cried very sadly.

Therefore, all the abnormalities in Lu Qi became “traceable.”

Father Lu was also angry, but he couldn’t blame his wife, who was exhausted both emotionally and physically. He could only ask if Lu Qi could change.

After he had said so much, they still asked if he could change.

So Lu Qi asked them, how can I change?

“Can’t you ‘mend your ways’ and find a girl to have children with?”

He saw the light of hope in his parents’ eyes, and his heart became completely cold.

When he left his luggage, his mom said, “Lu Qi, after you leave this door, don’t come back.”

She said that during his four years of university, she would give him living expenses every month. Lu Qi did not refuse, but he didn’t use it, and saved the money bit by bit. When he was a freshman, he used the money left to him by his grandpa. Later, he started making money and would transfer funds to his parents every birthday.

It seemed as if because this slight connection remained, the familial relationship would not be severed.

Now he was standing at the front door once again, but the hand raised to knock on the door would not go down. Taking a deep breath, he took out his mobile phone and found Mu Nanqiao on WeChat.

[I’m going back to my hometown to do some errands. Please take care of Xiao Sanhua for a while. I left the key to 501 in the community guard’s room]

The message was sent and no reply was received, but Lu Qi seemed to have gained strength from the message and knocked on the door briefly.

Two knock knocks.

Before he could knock again, the door was pushed open and a woman with her hair in a bun appeared behind it, looking blankly at Lu Qi.

She was already quite old when she was pregnant with Lu Qi, so the child’s name was Qi, “to pray.” This was the baby sent to her by the gods after hearing her prayers. 

She had retired home this year, but due to her previous professional habit as a nurse, she still wore her hair in a bun. It still made her look capable and sharp, although her temples were already frosty.

Lu Qi’s eyes reddened, and his lips moved first. He whispered: “Mom…..”

Lu Fangshu looked him up and down for a long moment and finally said in a shaking voice: “Come in quickly. I thought you wouldn’t come until tomorrow morning, and the food hasn’t been prepared yet. Have you eaten? Are you hungry?”

Hearing the commotion, Lin Chunhe also came out of the house, leaning on crutches with one foot in a cast. When he saw Lu Qi, the chubby middle-aged man instantly burst into tears. “Son! Xiao Qi! After four years, I’ve almost forgotten what my son looks like…..”

Thus, the tears that could no longer be held back blurred his vision.

Lu Qi wiped his eyes and supported Lin Chunhe before entering the house. “Dad, how did you hurt your leg?”

“Hey, it’s nothing serious.” Lin Chunhe grabbed Lu Qi’s hand and refused to let go, hiding from Lu Changshu in the kitchen, who was cutting fruit with pursed lips. “But your mother thinks this is a step, and maybe you can just follow it down!”

He laughed happily and held onto Lu Qi’s hand. “If I had known you would come back, I would have fallen down a long time ago!”

Lu Qi was speechless, and had to help his dad to the sofa first.

The four-year hiatus left the father and son not knowing what to say for a while. Lu Qi glanced around and found that the furnishings in the room were nearly the same as when he had left.

His father had opened a large supermarket, and the business was good. This two-bedroom house was famously expensive at first. For the same money, they could buy a larger three-bedroom apartment elsewhere, but because of the school district, they chose this apartment in the end. 

Now that he had seen the world outside, he realized that this apartment was really small, but Lu Qi had grown up step by step in this little house.

He wanted to speak, but Lin Chunhe was one step ahead of him and whispered: “Son, I’m sorry.”

Up to this moment, Lu Qi still thought his dad was apologizing to him for what happened back then.