Chapter 4

Since July 24, 2011, Qin Yue finally had her own music textbooks. Her sister Liu Xing brought her two teaching aids, "Introduction to Classical Music" and "Elementary Harp Education." These two large books quickly became Qin Yue's treasures, and she even held them while sleeping. This made Fei Yue feel quite inadequate, as he thought he was less important to his sister than those two books.

Regardless, Qin Yue's harp skills were getting better and better. Fei Yue didn't really notice at first, since his sister played the harp for him every day. But one day, after the New Year, Qin Yue suddenly played "Für Elise" on the harp, a piece originally for the piano. Qin Yue felt that the song's atmosphere was very beautiful, peaceful like lying on the water with closed eyes. At that moment, Fei Yue truly felt a sense of relaxation, as if he were lying on the water. Only then did he realize that his sister's harp music could actually influence others' moods.

Fei Yue, who was musically clueless, didn't know what this meant. Liu Xing, who had a vague understanding, didn't want to say anything, as she feared a group of desperate musicians would come and try to take Qin Yue away. Yes, Liu Xing was already deeply immersed in the joy of nurturing and couldn't pull herself out.

2011 was a rather peaceful year, at least in China. Salaries were paid, housing prices rose, the National People's Congress continued to speak, and the lower levels continued to do nothing. In short, it was a peaceful era, one that would be rare in the future.

When the clock on the Hongfa Securities building near the Sun City struck twelve, 2012 finally arrived. Fei Yue and Qin Yue didn't know what would happen in this year, as it had nothing to do with them. They were just a brother and sister who relied on each other, and the task of saving the world from the end of days was left to Superman.

But some things did happen. Some people faded out of the lives of the two siblings, perhaps never to be seen again, or perhaps just temporarily. Who could know?

=================== The Line of Departure ==================

This was February 18th, the day junior high school was supposed to start.

At this moment, in the back of the park's recycling station, a figure who should have been in class was hugging two smaller figures tightly.

It was Liu Xing saying goodbye to her brother and sister, Chu Fei Yue and Chu Qin Yue. According to Liu Xing, she was about to return to her hometown in Hunan to attend high school. Yes, junior high school in Hunan was three years, while in Hanoi it was four. Liu Xing's parents thought she was wasting time here and wanted her to go back to Hunan to attend high school. In other words, she had to leave.

"Liu Xing sister, Qin Yue understands that you can't stay. But can you write me a letter every so often?" Qin Yue, with a tear-streaked face, pleaded.

"Of course, I'll write you a letter every week." Liu Xing rubbed Qin Yue's face, turning her into a big flower cat, and then smiled, "Sister hasn't finished teaching you the harp yet, how could I cut off contact?"

"Really?" Qin Yue's eyes lit up, and she extended her little pinky. "Then, let's make a pinky promise."

"Sure," Liu Xing extended her fair hand and playfully flicked Fei Yue, who was standing by, "Silly, let's make a pinky promise."

Fei Yue, rubbing his forehead, laughed foolishly and hesitantly extended his slightly dark hand, which Liu Xing quickly grabbed by the pinky. Liu Xing held both of their pinkies, sealing the promise with the siblings.

"Pinky promise, no breaking for a hundred years. Whoever breaks it is a little dog, a little dog."

After making the promise, Qin Yue's mood visibly improved, and she stopped crying. However, she didn't let go of Liu Xing's sleeve until the very last moment of their farewell.

Farewells are always the most painful, but time doesn't change according to people's will, and it finally came.

Qin Yue, who had been sensible since childhood, couldn't bear the atmosphere of parting. She cried and kissed her sister Liu Xing fiercely before running into their secret base, refusing to come out. In the end, Fei Yue had to see Liu Xing off. He accompanied her to the park's entrance but refused to leave.

Liu Xing couldn't bear to see Fei Yue's pained expression, trying hard to hold back tears, acting like a tough man. She gently hugged him and patted his back. "Fei Yue, sister is leaving. I know you've taken good care of your sister these years, and it's been hard. But the orphanage isn't a good environment for growing up. Sister hopes you can find a family willing to adopt both of you soon. It will be good for your growth."

"But no one wants to adopt two children. I and Qin Yue will never separate," the young Fei Yue said with a determination that didn't match his age.

"There will be a way, there will be," Liu Xing let go of Fei Yue, took a step back, and smiled at him. "Sister has left you two gifts, but I can't give them to you now. You will receive them soon."

"?"

Liu Xing shook her head, bent down, and gently kissed Fei Yue on the cheek before covering her face and walking away, never looking back.

Fei Yue stood there, dazed, watching Liu Xing's white dress disappear behind the bus at the street corner. Perhaps even he didn't realize that he had imprinted that white figure in his mind, along with the gentle kiss, as an eternal memory.

On a distant hill, Qin Yue also shed tears, saying a final goodbye to her sister Liu Xing. She didn't like the chatter of farewells, as it would break her heart. But she couldn't not see Liu Xing off, so she chose to bid farewell with her eyes.

On this day, February 18, 2012, the two Chu siblings bid farewell to their big sister Liu Xing and returned to their world of just the two of them.

In a corner where no one could see, Liu Xing, who was supposed to meet her parents, flashed a mischievous smile and disappeared, as if she had never been there.

================= The Line of Noise ==================

Time flew by, and four and a half months passed. It was already summer vacation for elementary school. On a morning in early June, the two siblings, who had just started third grade, sneaked out of the orphanage as usual.

The street already had a somewhat desolate atmosphere. Fei Yue and Qin Yue knew it was due to the demolition. The houses in this area were nearly 35 years old, 3-4 story buildings, and their dilapidated state was affecting the city's appearance. Demolition was already on the agenda, and some families had already moved out.

But there were also holdouts, and the orphanage was one of the leaders. This wasn't because the grandmother was greedy, but because the demolition team couldn't find a place to relocate the orphans. Without a place for the children to stay, the old grandmother wouldn't move. This area, with the orphanage being the largest, had become a symbol for the holdouts and a thorn in the side of the developers.

Fei Yue clearly remembered that it was a cloudy, sweltering day. When he and his sister Qin Yue returned to the orphanage from the park at noon, the entrance was already surrounded, and the sound of arguments could be heard.

Fei Yue, taking advantage of his small size, pulled his sister through the crowd and finally saw a bald, muscular man with a dragon tattoo on his back push the grandmother to the ground, spit on her, and shout, "Old thing, did you hear me? Pay last year's heating fee quickly, or get out of here! Did you hear me, huh!" He then waved his hand and walked away, followed by a few similarly dressed young men, one of whom, with purple hair and a nose ring, secretly pushed the grandmother, who was trying to get up, back to the ground.

The grandmother never got up. Her head hit the corner of a restaurant sign and she fainted on the spot. Fei Yue, realizing the grandmother was in trouble, borrowed the restaurant owner's phone to call 112, promising not to blame the incident on her. The grandmother was taken to the hospital but couldn't be saved. When the results of her physical examination came out, Fei Yue and the others learned that the grandmother had already been suffering from stomach cancer, which was in its late stages. Even if she hadn't died this time, she wouldn't have lived for more than half a year.

The grandmother's memorial was held in the orphanage's hall, a place where she had spent her entire life. The children believed that the orphanage should be the end of her life's journey.

Mourning was a collective effort of the orphans. Even the most mischievous children sat quietly on the benches in the hall. The girls were secretly crying, and the boys were tightly clenching their fists. At that moment, everyone seemed to have grown up.

But there was one exception, Jiao Jindi. He only appeared on the night the memorial was set up and then disappeared. His room was open, and the entire wall was covered with the words "pay the debt."

A few days later, a vicious murder occurred in a nearby bar. The natural gas was intentionally ignited, setting the entire bar on fire. Many people ran out, but two people died, not from the explosion but from being hacked to death, each with at least 100 knife wounds. The forensic doctor found traces of drugs in their charred stomachs, and the knives were in their own hands. The fire covered up the fingerprints, and the case was ultimately unresolved.

Jiao Jindi never showed up again. Later, when sorting through the grandmother's belongings, Fei Yue and the others learned that Jiao Jindi had been rescued by the grandmother from a burning house 10 years ago. The grandmother's deafness was a result of the explosion during that rescue. Jiao Jindi had even recognized the grandmother as his godmother. In her diary, the grandmother expressed her pain over Jiao Jindi's misbehavior but understood that he wasn't suited for academic studies. She let him go, hoping he would fly farther and higher without her interference.

The entire month of June passed in this sorrowful atmosphere.

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