Three or Two Things about Rebirth

"You!" Chen Xingchen had a charming appearance and a slim figure, but her height and calves were short. Qiu Luming's words hit her weakness and she shouted angrily, "You have no manners!"

Qiu Luming looked at Sister Wan and spread his hands. "I told her that I didn't like what I said, and asked her not to be offended. Look at her! Why is she still angry?"

Sister Wan couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth, "Well, I have to pick up the kids!" After that, she quickly got on her bike and rode away. Even when she was more than ten meters away, Qiu Luming could still hear her giggling.

"You're such a jerk! You deserve your arms and legs to be torn into pieces! You're lucky you didn't drown..." Chen Xingchen started to speak ill of him out of shame.

Under the setting sun, a long-legged man was riding a bicycle and slowly coming from the direction of the Public Security Bureau. Qiu Luming squinted his eyes, realized that the man was not his second brother, and turned his head away regretfully.

"Shut up!" She suddenly turned back. It was Xie Zhi!

Xie Zhi rode up to Qiu Luming and recognized her. He propped his right foot on the side of the road and looked at her legs. "Wait for your second brother. They have a case and are going to the countryside to handle the scene this afternoon. Didn't they call you?"

Qiu Luming shook his head and asked with a smile, "Hey, which department are you in?"

"I'm in the patrol team, it's just been established." Xie Zhi shook his head back and said with a smile, "Get in the car, my brother's savior, I'll take you home."

Qiu Luming liked his sense of humor very much. He happily sat on the back seat of Xie Zhi's bicycle and said, "Okay! Drive!"

Xie Zhi pushed his long legs and the car moved forward steadily.

"What a show-off!" Qiu Luming turned around and saw Chen Xingchen had already ridden away in the opposite direction.

She was in a good mood. The warm breeze of the summer evening mixed with the smell of soap on Xie Zhi's body was intoxicating.

She had ridden her three brothers' bicycles countless times, but it was the first time she realized that sitting quietly behind someone could be such a happy thing.

Xie Zhi was focused on riding his bike and didn't say anything. She suddenly didn't know what to say. She tried several topics but none of them sounded right. She had to hold the crossbar of the bicycle's rear seat tightly with her right hand, secretly hating that her workplace was not far enough from home.

When they arrived at the main street, there were more people leaving get off work on the road. Xie Zhi did not ride fast. Someone familiar with him greeted him and said, "Dazhi looks so cool in his police uniform!"

"Xiao Xie went to the police station?"

Two young men of the same age as Xie Zhi chased after him from behind, "Xie Er, are you going out on a date with your partner? Do you want to go eat skewers? Take us with you!"

Xie Zhi turned his head to look at the two men and cursed, "Are you blind? This is Mo's sister!"

The two of them exclaimed, "That's not a big deal, isn't this Little Deer Ming'er? I was wrong! Don't be angry!"

How could Qiu Luming be angry? She was happy about their misunderstanding, but she felt uncomfortable with Xie Zhi's quick denial.

The three of them rode side by side, chatting idly and bursting into hearty laughter from time to time.

Not long after the car passed the stadium, it arrived at the Grain Bureau Hotel. A girl with long hair and big eyes ran out of the gate, and Qiu Luming's heart suddenly sank.

The girl was stunned when she saw someone behind the seat, "You..."

Xie Zhi didn't stop the car, but slowed down the speed, pointed his right thumb back at Qiu Luming, "I'll take her home first, you wait here!"

The girl also recognized Qiu Luming, smiled at her, and shouted from behind the bicycle, "Then hurry up, I'll wait for you!"

The two young men shouted in surprise, "Hurry up, I'm waiting for you! Hey, who is this Dazhi?"

"My boyfriend!"

"Hey? Isn't she the one from the liberal arts class, the one called Huang Yali? Since when have you two been dating?"

"When do you care about me?"

"Hey, I suspect that even in high school, this kid couldn't pass the exam just by reviewing. Maybe he spent all his time dating and had no time to study! Hahaha!"

Qiu Luming's face turned pale, as if she was sitting on pins and needles. She didn't want to hear anything about Huang Yali anymore. "It's not far from my home. I can walk back by myself."

"No!" Xie Zhi firmly disagreed, "Since it's delivered, it must be delivered to the home!"

The two young men turned west in front of the department store, and Xie Zhi and Qiu Luming continued north.

"You actually have a girlfriend, but my third brother didn't even tell her about it."

"Why would he tell a kid like you this?" Xie Zhi smiled and turned half his head back, "Do you know if your third brother has a girlfriend?"

Qiu Luming no longer had the energy to ask more questions. She lowered her head in frustration. She only hated herself for being late.

She didn't say anything, and Xie Zhi also stopped talking and pedaled faster. Qiu Luming only had time to adjust his mood halfway before the bicycle arrived at the gate of the Qiu family.

She stood on the steps of her house with a look of disappointment, watching Xie Zhi riding away quickly. He was heading for Huang Yali. Qiu Luming put his right hand on his left breast, which seemed to be throbbing with discomfort.

After a while, she pushed the door into the yard and saw her father standing next to the bicycle, as if he was about to go out. When he saw her come in, he first checked Qiu Luming's wound, then opened the second door to let her in.

"Huh? You're back so soon?" He Manshu, who was cooking, asked curiously.

"I didn't even push the bike out. Yoyo was brought back by Xie Zhi."

"Xie Zhi? Lao San's classmate? The guy who saved Youyou? Hey, I noticed him on New Year's Day. He's handsome and a nice guy! I heard that he was specially recruited by the Public Security Bureau?"

"That's him. He just got transferred back from the army. His girlfriend works at the Grain Bureau's hotel."

He Manshu immediately stopped talking, looked at her husband, then looked at her daughter, "Come on, eat!"

***

Qiu Luming couldn't sleep. All she could see in front of her eyes was Huang Yali's smiling face and Xie Zhi's back as he rode away on his bike without looking back. She rolled from the head of the kang to the edge, and then from the edge back to the head, and finally fell asleep.

She heard a faint conversation in her daze, rubbed her ears irritably, covered herself with the blanket, turned over and fell asleep. The next second she keenly caught Xie Zhi's name, and immediately widened her eyes in wakefulness.

When did the second brother come back? He seemed to be talking to his parents about Xie Zhi.

Qiu Luming sat up wrapped in a blanket, leaning against the wall and listening.

He Manshu tried her best to lower her voice, "Then I'll find time to call the third brother tomorrow and ask him."

"No need to ask, she already has a partner, why ask?"

"Tsk! Why are you still washing? Don't wake Yoyo up!" He Mansu pulled Qiu Jiashu into the living room and closed the door.

"I've been running around outside all day. How can I sleep without taking a shower?"

"Here, take a towel and pour some water on it to wipe it!"

"Mom!" Qiu Jiashu was helpless. "Let's talk about it tomorrow. It's so late. Go to bed."

"I have to be able to sleep too. Yoyo obviously likes that boy now. I can't just watch her become the third party!"

Qiu Luming subconsciously touched his face. Is it so obvious? All his family members have seen it? But why does that person still look like he knows nothing?

"Mom, Yoyo is already 20 years old. It's normal for her to like someone. Don't be so nervous. She has a partner and may get married next year. By then, Yoyo will have let it go."

"I don't think so." Qiu Jiye came out of the bedroom and whispered, "I saw him once at the stadium and again this evening. Yoyo is very concerned. It's not the time to write a love letter to a little boy in the first grade of junior high school."