A Sand Sculpture in the Red Dust - Chapter 17 PT1

Chapter 17 PT1 – Li Xiangfu Knows the Truth

　　Li Shasha turned the Rubik’s Cube in the wrong direction, but quickly turned it back expressionlessly, determined to find the shortest route.

　　As the Rubik’s Cube turned, he asked, “What reasons did you use to explain it afterwards?”

　　Li Xiangfu: “Nudity Phobia.”

　　After a pause, he added: “But this is more of a psychological illness. I haven’t figured out how to explain it when asked.”

　　After twisting it back and forth three times, the Rubik’s Cube was successfully restored. Li Shasha glanced at the admission application form on the table that others had enthusiastically filled out, and stared at his hands. “Dad, don’t take it too seriously. Who doesn’t have a childhood that needs a lifetime to heal?”

　　“…”

　　The call ended without any warning, as Li Shasha took the initiative to hang up the phone.

　　In recent calls, he seems to be the one who gets hung up. Li Xiangfu shook his head helplessly, and his mind was soon moved by the surrounding scenery. To be fair, the architecture of the ancient village is very worthy of appreciation. Previously, he was busy completing his work and was immersed in the more primitive scenery outside, but he neglected the cultural customs of the village.

　　Next to a residential building, he unexpectedly saw Mo Yijing, who was already painting her fourth piece of work and seemed to be preparing to select the best one.

　　Li Xiangfu greeted him, and Mo Yijing smiled back: “Did you finish your painting?”

　　Li Xiangfu nodded.

　　Seeing him standing in the middle of the path, Mo Yijing’s smile dried up a little: “Please make way.”

　　The long-haired beauty passed by the dirty wall covered with graffiti, and the picture was particularly impactful. Mo Yijing couldn’t help but say, “If it wasn’t a bit strange to let the contestants be in the painting, I would definitely ask you to be my model.”

　　At this point she had no idea that someone had fast-forwarded to find a sponsor to be a mannequin.

　　As he continued walking back, Li Xiangfu heard the person behind him muttering to himself: “It’s a pity that there are too many lightning rods here, which destroys the overall harmony.”

　　Li Xiangfu had noticed this when he came here, and the village chief had also mentioned that there were many thunderstorms here. He glanced at the patterns on the wall, and didn’t know what he was thinking, so he hurried back.

　　The house where Li Xiangfu was staying had three floors. When he was about to reach the door, Fang, the judge, came from the other direction. He was lowering his head to stuff his clothes into his pants. When he saw Li Xiangfu, he forced a smile on his greasy face: “Have you had dinner?”

　　Too lazy to waste words with such a person, Li Xiangfu pointed to his throat and wrote “throat discomfort” on the paper with a pen.

　　Hint: Stop talking nonsense.

　　After doing so many dirty things, Judge Fang wasn’t willing to easily give in and said in a suggestive tone: “I have said before that you are good but lack spiritual energy. You may not be able to defeat Zhou Panbai.”

　　The word ‘not necessarily’ is deliberately emphasized.

　　He changed the subject but still refused to give up: “I value talent.”

　　Li Xiangfu smiled slightly.

　　Judge Fang thought this meant agreement, and his heart skipped a beat.

　　Just as he was about to reach out to take advantage, he heard a snap and Li Xiangfu broke a pen in front of him, while his eyes swept across his lower body.

　　Judge Fang subconsciously squeezed his legs together.

　　Throwing the broken piece, Li Xiangfu sneered and walked straight into the door.

　　The tip of the pen rolled to the front of the leather shoes, and Judge Fang’s face twitched twice. He glared at the place where Li Xiangfu disappeared and said harshly: “Just wait for me!”

　　•|•

　　It’s just past seven o’clock now, and there is still more than an hour before submitting the work.

　　In order to prevent himself from becoming a victim to despicable means, Li Xiangfu always kept his drawing board with him. The sunset in the ancient village was beautiful, and the afterglow from the window shone in. He couldn’t help but admire the painting again.

　　In the painting, Qin Jin is standing slightly sideways, with a red mole on his shoulder particularly eye-catching. His naked upper body is leaning against the rough bark surface beside him, blending into a rare wild beauty.

　　”Pretty.”

　　When Li Xiangfu narrowed his eyes, the fragmented afterglow of the setting sun entered his eyes, but he was not aware of the beauty at all.

　　After watching it over and over again, he suddenly felt a sense of satisfaction in his heart. Art finally defeated his nudity phobia.

　　It turns out that only lofty pursuits can save oneself.

　　After putting away the painting, he gazed at the sunset and suddenly thought of Qin Jin… the biggest contributor to this painting.

　　The other party was willing to provide support, so he should return the favor. But before that, there was one thing that needed to be confirmed. Li Xiangfu set up the drawing board and began to compose the picture. His hands kept moving, but he was thinking about a sentence Qin Jin said not long ago-

　　”I’ve been here a few times before, and it’s been the same for years, with almost no changes.”

　　Qin Jin is very purposeful in doing things.

　　He previously thought that the purpose was to pursue him, but when he thought about it, Qin Jin agreed to be just friends with just one sentence on the train, and there was no entanglement afterwards. But when he went to visit the old house, he mentioned that he wanted to participate in the folk song collection activity, and Qin Jin immediately became the sponsor of the activity and added a bonus.

　　If one is willing to go through such a roundabout way to pursue someone, how can the obsession be easily dispelled in an instant?

　　While he was thinking, a simple sketch was already completed.

　　Li Xiangfu stood up and prepared to go out, but suddenly sat back and started drawing the second picture.

　　Everything was ready, and he took the finished product around the ancient village, found the village chief who was picking vegetables at the door, and took the initiative to talk to him. After a few casual words, he took out Qin Jin’s sketch and asked, “Did this person who came with us come here often before?”

　　The village chief couldn’t help but look at him with a strange look as he asked about someone for no reason.

　　Li Xiangfu didn’t explain and generously handed over a stack of money.

　　The village chief counted and found that there were exactly one thousand, no more, no less. He immediately stopped caring about the hidden secrets and nodded and said, “He came here a few times, staying for two or three days each time. But he basically didn’t stay in the village, but went hiking nearby.”

　　Li Xiangfu took out another painting. Different from the previous one, this one was colored, and the protagonist was a Shamate, Li Xiangfu before the accident.

(T/N) : Shamate is a subculture popular in Asia where youngsters dye their hair in bright uncommon colours with spikes and use heavy eye and lips makeup. Somewhat similar to the emo look.

　　After staring at it for a few seconds, the village chief recalled and said, “About four or five years ago, he passed by here… He seemed to be going to the snowy mountains. I even advised him not to go, saying that he might encounter the Thunder God’s Wrath since it was a season for it.”

　　Li Xiangfu hid the doubt in his eyes and said, “It’s been so long, you still remember it?”

　　”I can’t remember what he exactly looks like, but I recognize that look.”

　　Glancing at the colorful hair and the heavy bangs covering the eyes, the village chief couldn’t help but click his tongue twice.

　　Li Xiangfu quickly pointed at Qin Jin’s portrait and asked, “Was this person there at the time?”

　　The village chief shook his head: “No, he was with another boy.”

　　Unexpected information came crashing down on him, and Li Xiangfu felt his body temperature rising slightly with his heartbeat. He suppressed his confused thoughts and continued to inquire, but unfortunately the village chief could not tell him more.

　　He straightened his long hair that was messed up by the wind and asked in a deep voice, “What is Thunder God’s Wrath?”

　　The village chief explained: “This is what we locals call it. Every few years, there will be thunder over the snowy mountains. It happens at night and is particularly terrifying. Half of the sky is bright that day. The clouds in the sky are so low that they seem to be right above your head.”

　　His description contained few fancy words, but Li Xiangfu could already sense a sense of magnificence.

　　”It’s a pity that the young man didn’t listen to my advice and said he came here just to appreciate this wonderful sight.” The village chief shrugged: “Not long after, I saw a helicopter flying towards the snowy mountain. It must be a rescue team.”

　　Every once in a while, there are so-called hikers trapped in the mountains, and the village chief is no longer surprised by this.

　　Li Xiangfu didn’t remember when he finished talking with the village chief. He instinctively stood up and walked back. When he came to his senses, he was already standing under a residential building. He leaned against the wall behind him. The coolness through his shirt stimulated his nerves and helped calm his mood.

　　After a pause, Li Xiangfu began to sort out the timeline. He came here to explore with his friends a few years ago, and Qin Jin has frequently come here in recent years.

　　Publicity, development, tourism… Putting aside all the possibilities, the only reason that attracted Qin Jin here is people. Based on this, the scope can be extended to lovers and family, or even a precious memory.

　　Qin Jin had no family, so there was no need to hide people in a small mountain village. Li Xiangfu’s eyelashes trembled, and he lowered his head and murmured, “Family.”

　　— “My brother went to the same high school as you.”

　　— “He ran away from home.”

　　Thinking back to the conversation between the two, Li Xiangfu couldn’t help but feel a little cold. When Liu Yu accompanied him to buy the guqin, he was repeatedly worried about meeting Qin Jin. There was also Luo An’s circle of friends saying “Evildoers will be punished by heaven”. All these things were connected together, and there was a faint direction—

　　The one who really had a grudge against Qin Jin was not his family, but himself.

　　”Qin Jiayu.” No matter how many times he repeated this name, apart from a slight feeling of dizziness, he had no memory of it at all.

　　’Running away from home’ meant that Qin Jiayu had not returned yet.

　　The attitude of his family was also strange…it seemed as if they were afraid that Qin Jin would vent his anger on him.

　　This reason is not enough.

　　His mobile phone was taken away by the judges for unified safekeeping. The only thing he could recite by heart was the Li family’s landline number, so he dialed it back again.

　　Li Shasha: “Dad, please be calm when you are away from home and don’t call me all the time.”

　　”Who’s home now?”

　　”Your elder brother.”

　　This answer was beyond Li Xiangfu’s expectations.

　　”It seems like he came back to get some documents.” Li Shasha explained.

　　Li Xiangfu originally wanted to ask him to ask Li Huaichen to answer the phone, but when the words came to his lips, he changed his mind and told the system about Qin Jin first.

　　After hearing this, Li Shasha pondered: “The other party has always used a gentle way to approach you, so it’s not a secret crush, but a mixture of love and hate?”

　　Li Xiangfu closed his eyes, and when he opened them again he said, “…I hope that the nine years of compulsory education will save your love-brain.”

　　Hearing the sound of people coming down the stairs, Li Shasha turned around and looked at Li Huaichen, who was in a hurry to return to the company, and said calmly: “Dad asked why you hid Qin Jiayu’s matter from him.”

　　Li Huaichen stopped suddenly.

　　A few seconds later, he took the phone’s receiver from Li Shasha: “You know everything?”

　　Li Xiangfu explained his reasoning.

　　Li Huaichen put down the document and rubbed his brows. He finally understood why the old man always said that what he was most afraid of in his life was Li Xiangfu’s occasional cleverness.

　　For about a minute, neither side said a word. Finally, Li Huaichen sighed and briefly explained the situation: “When the rescue team arrived, Qin Jiayu’s whereabouts were unknown, and there was a small amount of his blood at the scene. In addition, you had been trapped for several days with no food. What will others think?”

　　Even if there is enough food, if a person suddenly disappears in the snow, anyone with a little divergent ability will associate it with the dark side.

　　”You had a head injury at the time and couldn’t stand the stimulation, so Dad chose to suppress the matter as much as possible. During that time, Qin Jin came to the hospital once, but we stopped him.”

　　Li Xiangfu seemed to be thinking: “So it’s not a coincidence that the location of the field trip was chosen here. Maybe Qin Jin is trying to help me regain my memory?”

　　Li Huaichen did not deny this view.

　　Li Xiangfu was silent for a moment: “If I hadn’t discovered it, how long would you have kept it a secret?”

　　”Your sister has already called An Qing over to discuss everything.”

　　Li Xiangfu fell silent again.

　　Li Huaichen: “Now that you know everything, keep your distance from Qin Jin and call us once a day to let us know you’re safe.”

　　”Good.”

　　After putting down the receiver, Li Huaichen was suddenly met with a pair of wet eyes. Unfortunately, Li Shasha had a paralyzed face and could not make more advanced facial expressions.

　　Li Huaichen is not good at dealing with children: “…What’s the matter?”

　　Li Shasha said seriously: “I am worried about my father. I want to go see him.”

　　Hearing this, Li Huaichen’s expression relaxed, and he stroked his little head and said softly, “Don’t think too much, he will call you every day.”

　　After coaxing him for a few words, Li Huaichen stood up and prepared to go to the company.

　　Li Shasha grabbed the corner of his clothes and asked the most crucial question: “I am really upset now. Can I wait for two days before going to school?”

　　“…”