The property manager knew he shouldn’t go in for now and stopped at the door. Pei Yi was pierced by the sight of Qiqi blankly chasing in and calling Dad into the air.
“Sorry.” Pei Yi reached out and stopped the property manager.
The owner of the house had been out of contact for over half a year. Now the brother had brought the owner’s son back. The property manager guessed something might have happened to Pei Ye. Pei Yi didn’t plan to hide it. He had come back this time to handle his brother’s affairs.
“My brother had a car accident just after the New Year this year…”
The property manager was also shocked, then felt regret.
“Mr. Pei was still so young, and Qiqi is so small.”
Pei Yi’s heart ached, as if a piece had been dug out. But no matter how painful, he had to face it. Doctor Du said Qiqi needed the next course of treatment. To make him accept that Pei Ye was gone, some appropriate stimulation was needed. After a while, Pei Yi composed himself and turned back to ask.
“Have you seen Qiqi’s mother? Has she ever been here?”
The property manager thought for about a minute or two. In his memory, this house had always been lived in by Pei Ye and his son.
“When Mr. Pei bought this house, he registered it under Qiqi’s name. Our sales colleagues thought it was strange. For such a big purchase, Mr. Pei came alone from beginning to end.”
Moreover, when doing the decoration design, the other party completely ignored his wife’s opinion.
When the designer asked him, Pei Ye just said lightly: “She doesn’t come back to P City much. This house is only for my son and me.”
As Pei Ye’s community manager, the property manager had followed the whole process from buying to decorating to moving in. So the property manager had a good relationship with Pei Ye. Pei Ye often invited him to dinner at home.
Pei Yi affirmed: “So Fang Qin didn’t know my brother bought this house.”
If she had known, she would have sold it after his brother died. According to the property manager’s recollection of Pei Ye, Fang Qin seemed to have left P City long ago. Pei Yi let the property manager in. He walked behind and sent Shen Minyan a message, asking for a favor. Shen Minyan replied quickly, asking what was wrong. Pei Yi quickly told Shen Minyan the situation. The other immediately sent him a lawyer’s business card. Before Pei Yi could click the card and add the lawyer on WeChat, Shen Minyan called. His first words had Chairman Shen’s decisive style.
“Rest assured, she can’t take this house. Pei Ye’s gift fully complies with the law.”
Shen Minyan’s voice was deep and reliable. Pei Yi smiled. “Brother Shen, you even know marriage law?”
Shen Minyan paused on the other end. “A little.”
After a couple of words, Pei Yi heard a milky voice from the phone.
“Dad, who are you calling?”
Shen Minyan’s voice moved further away, his tone much gentler. “I’m on the phone with Uncle Pei.”
“Tap tap tap” footsteps came, and the milky voice became clear.
“Uncle Pei, hello.”
Pei Yi smiled, turned on speaker, and put the phone on the counter. “Hello, Youyou. Did you miss Uncle?”
“A little bit. Uncle Pei, when are you bringing Brother Qiqi back?”
The kitchen’s atmosphere was low. Pei Qiqi stood on his little stool, reaching out to touch the counter. Hua Zhao and the property manager stood beside him, worried. Qiqi like this reminded Hua Zhao of the Qiqi she saw when she first returned to China. So withdrawn, it was frightening. Even his closest ones didn’t dare approach, afraid their every move would trigger him.
Suddenly, from the living room came Pei Yi’s deliberately high-pitched voice, with a bit of laughter. Then, a milky voice came through the receiver. The childish voice, with a slight electronic current, made the little boy on the stool’s pupils flicker.
“Youyou?” Pei Qiqi came back to himself.
Hua Zhao stepped forward and put her arm around his shoulder. “Mm, it’s Youyou’s call. Do you want to talk to your little brother?”
Pei Qiqi thought, then nodded. “Yes.”
Hua Zhao was overjoyed, but didn’t dare show it too much. She carefully lifted the child off the stool and led him to the living room. She exchanged a look with Pei Yi in the living room. The other quickly came over, picked the child up, and sat him on a stool. A phone with the speaker on was placed in front of him.
“Youyou, Brother Qiqi is here. Talk to Brother Qiqi.” Pei Yi lowered his head and said to the phone.
Pei Qiqi put his hands on his lap, eyes fixed on the phone.
“Brother Qiqi, hello, it’s me.”
Su Youli, held by his dad, was also a bit excited. The other end was silent for a few seconds. The little guy wasn’t very patient. He said “hello” into the screen several times. Pei Qiqi’s heart pounded. He had just seen his dad and hadn’t reacted yet. He knew Dad was gone. He shouldn’t have seen Dad. But, but he did see Dad. He was in a daze.
On the phone, Youyou kept urging him. Pei Qiqi pressed his lips and stretched his neck slightly. “Youyou.”
Hearing Brother Qiqi’s voice, the little guy was overjoyed. “Brother Qiqi, when are you coming back?”
Pei Qiqi shook his head. “I don’t know.”
The little guy on the other end said, “Ah,” in disappointment, then quickly recovered. He happily told him that Teacher Apple taught them a song today, so nice.
The little guy who learned a new nursery rhyme always wanted to show his little friend. Su Youli cleared his throat. “Brother Qiqi, do you want to hear me sing?”
Pei Qiqi nodded, his head almost hitting the table. The little guy sat in his dad’s arms, wiggled his bottom, and began to sing:
“Yesterday I passed by your door,
You were carrying a bucket of water to pour out,
It splashed on my leather shoes,
The passersby laughed hee hee hee…”
The crisp singing came. The little guy had a good memory. He remembered where Teacher Apple taught them to pause and draw out. Pei Qiqi listened and couldn’t help but smile.
Listening to the song, he seemed to see Youyou on the other end, eyes sparkling, cute as a doll when smiling, little feet swinging uncontrollably.
“You didn’t say anything to me,
You just squinted at me…”
The cheerful song was like a warm beam of sunlight, slowly piercing through the dark clouds above Pei Xu’s head.
“Brother Qiqi, is it nice?”
After singing, the little guy was fed water by his dad and couldn’t wait for Brother Qiqi’s praise. Qiqi’s mind seemed to still swirl with the song, each note like a jumping elf.
“You sing really well.” Then, feeling the praise wasn’t strong enough, Pei Qiqi added: “If you performed on stage, you’d definitely get first place.”
“Really?”
The little guy on the other end bubbled with joy. Brother Qiqi said he sang well and could perform on stage. He was so amazing, simply Class 5’s little singer!
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Relux the Relux On AYM Chapter 65