bayedsolid Chapter 374 Ugly Crying Face
Chapter 374 Ugly Crying Face
"Yes, I heard from Ziheng that you were looking for me, so I came out to find you."
The words fell.
Chi Ruxia turned her head slightly to the side, but the smile on her lips deepened.
Seeing the little girl's gentle smile, Lin Lezhi smiled back. Although it was a lie, Lin Lezhi didn't want to upset a little girl who had believed it and come looking for her.
She muttered under her breath, feeling indignant for Lin Lezhi, "That friend of yours is really something. Your shoulder injury hasn't even healed yet, and he still let you come out alone and wouldn't tell me where you went."
“I told him not to say it. I had been lying in bed for two days straight, and my body was stiff from lying down, so after I woke up, I wanted to go out for a walk by myself to clear my head.”
"In that case, I was the one who misunderstood him."
Lin Lezhi smiled.
Seeing Lin Lezhi's smiling face, Chi Ruxia was momentarily stunned. Her eyes flickered slightly, revealing a hint of sadness, perhaps mixed with a touch of resentment.
Upon noticing Lin Lezhi staring at her, her expression suddenly became flustered. She looked away, her words filled with admiration as she said, "When I came out to find my senior brother, I heard many people praising you along the way, saying that you actually managed to solve this eleven-year-old injustice. The title of 'Master Detective' is truly well-deserved. Senior brother, you are really amazing. You truly deserve to be the senior brother of our Heaven and Earth Pavilion."
"So, you're not here to investigate the Huaifeng Village case?"
Lin Lezhi asked this question so casually and unexpectedly that Chi Ruxia's enthusiasm was immediately doused with cold water, and she froze on the spot.
"I... I'm here to investigate the Huaifeng Village case, but... Senior Brother, you're more capable. I was framed by thieves, but you solved the case before me."
Chi Ruxia's eyes darted away even more, not daring to look Lin Lezhi in the eye.
Lin Lezhi stopped dealing with Chi Ruxia. Chi Ruxia avoided his gaze and turned her head away, so he leaned forward slightly to meet her gaze. His eyes revealed a shrewdness like a fox, and he pointed out, "You snuck out, didn't you?"
Chi Ruxia's eyes widened in disbelief. "Senior Brother, how could you..." she exclaimed.
She only realized what she was saying halfway through her sentence and quickly covered her mouth. But at the same time, she realized that she had been exposed and that it would be useless to explain herself now.
Chi Ruxia removed her hand from her mouth, her face guilty, and lowered her head like a child about to be scolded, asking in a barely audible voice, "How did you figure that out?"
Lin Lezhi sat back down and said with a smile, "It's obvious that Pavilion Master Chi would never allow his daughter to come out with the Mountain Token. Unless you are not Pavilion Master Chi's daughter, Chi Ruxia."
"Of course I'm Father's daughter, I..."
As she spoke, she seemed to suddenly realize something, her eyes narrowing sharply, as if she were even more certain of something. Her gaze wavered as she said, "Senior Brother, I've missed you terribly ever since you left a year and a half ago. Not just me, everyone misses you, including Father. The Huaifeng Village case alarmed the capital, and I thought you might come here too. So, I stole Father's token and ran away. I never expected to encounter that thief impersonating Senior Brother Luo."
She said fiercely, "If I ever run into that guy again, I'll make sure he doesn't get away with it!"
Although Chi Ruxia's words seemed agitated, her emotions remained low. She glanced at Lin Lezhi, unwilling to accept it, picking at her fingers, her eyes misty with tears, her voice choked with sobs, "Senior Brother, so you really have amnesia. I thought... I thought you had some difficulties and were deliberately lying to me."
She had thought that her senior brother was reluctant to acknowledge her in front of outsiders, and she still held a sliver of hope in her heart. With this tiny bit of hope, she tried her best to wait for her senior brother to wake up, and then she would ask him the truth.
Even though only the two of them were left around, the senior brother still acted as if he didn't remember him.
Unable to suppress her grief any longer and unwilling to accept this reality, she burst into tears like a dam breaking, and the crying was unstoppable.
The thought that her senior brother was ignorant of martial arts and had become like this must have been a victim of trickery and bullying. She felt even more distressed and cried louder.
Seeing Chi Ruxia crying, Lin Lezhi panicked instantly, not because he was afraid of being discovered, but because he didn't know how to comfort this girl who missed her senior brother.
Although he did initially doubt her identity and that the story might be fabricated, one's emotions cannot be hidden.
When she looked at Jiang Lian'an, the intensity and sincerity in her eyes, along with the anticipation, were even greater than the shimmering lake.
Regardless of her identity, seeing her cry made Lin Lezhi feel extremely uncomfortable.
Could the throbbing pain spreading through my heart at this moment be Jiang Lian'an's sadness?
If it were Jiang Lian'an, how would she coax this girl?
Lin Lezhi started a brainstorming session, racking her brains to think of what to do, but the more anxious she became, the more her mind went blank.
Lin Lezhi glanced at the rippling lake surface with a sense of helplessness, then suddenly thought of something.
After hesitating for a while, Lin Lezhi gently raised her hand and stroked Chi Ruxia's head. The moment she touched her head, it was as if she had cast a spell, and Chi Ruxia stopped crying after a moment of surprise.
Lin Lezhi said gently, "Don't cry, your senior brother will show you something."
After saying that, Lin Lezhi got up and squatted down by the lake.
Upon hearing the word "senior brother," a ripple appeared in Chi Ruxia's tear-reddened eyes, and the setting sun reflected in her pupils, creating a shimmering effect.
"……what?"
Her voice was still slightly choked up, and her speech was noticeably nasal, but her eyes also showed curiosity about what Lin Lezhi was saying.
"This is something fun, come on, I'll show you."
"Could it be dead fish or rotten shrimp from the lake?"
"will not."
Having received Lin Lezhi's assurance, and unable to suppress her curiosity, she hesitated for a moment, half believing and half doubting, before finally getting up and going to the lakeside, where she squatted down beside Lin Lezhi.
Lin Lezhi pointed to the land by the lake and asked, "What do you see?"
"Soil, and grass."
"Look more closely, there are other things too."
Following Lin Lezhi's advice, she looked again carefully, but there was nothing by the lake except soil and grass, not even dead fish or rotten shrimp.
"Senior brother, you're lying to me."
"I'm not lying to you, there really are other things here. Look, I'll find them and show them to you."
I saw.
Lin Lezhi took out a small knife from his sleeve and made a few simple, shallow cuts on the ground. Two of the cuts were made with more force, while the other was made with very little force.
When something went wrong, a crying face appeared on the ground.
As if making a great discovery, he laughed and said, "Look, isn't there another crying face here, exactly like yours?"
Chi Ruxia stared at the crying face for a moment, then her face flushed red. She said angrily, "Senior Brother, you are indeed making fun of me. This crying face is so ugly. How am I any different from it?"
Lin Lezhi compared the two and said with certainty, "I think they look quite similar."
"Big Brother!"
Chi Ruxia glared angrily at Lin Lezhi, her eyes commanding him to stop talking.
Lin Lezhi said with a smile, "Okay, I won't say anymore. I really won't lie to you this time. How about I perform a magic trick for you?"
"Senior Brother, you can do magic tricks now?"
"of course."
Seeing Lin Lezhi's confident assertion, coupled with what had just happened, it was hard to believe. With doubt in her eyes, she clearly felt it was unreliable and said, "Then show me."
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because this magic trick requires your hands, it takes two people to complete."
"Lend me...your hand?"
"Yes, listen to me. Do exactly what I say. Trust me."
The more confidently Lin Lezhi spoke, the less she believed him and the more suspicious she felt. But because it came from her senior brother, she chose to believe him and did as Lin Lezhi did.
Lin Lezhi scooped up a handful of water from the lake with both hands, and she scooped up some too.
Lin Lezhi splashed the water in her hand, and she splashed it too.
then.
Lin Lezhi said, "Okay."
"What's better?"
Lin Lezhi said with a serious and certain expression, "The magic trick is over."
Chi Ruxia's eyes widened. Nothing had changed, and her hands were still wet. She pouted and said in a tone that showed she no longer believed Lin Lezhi, "Senior Brother, you're lying. You call this magic?"
Lin Lezhi peeked out to observe Chi Ruxia's expression, but Chi Ruxia quickly turned her head away to avoid letting Lin Lezhi see her expression.
Seeing this, Lin Lezhi stopped chasing, sat back down, and said, "I'm not lying, look down."
Although she no longer believed what Lin Lezhi said, she couldn't help but turn her head back and glance at the ground out of the corner of her eye. In that instant, her eyes widened in shock.
The ugly, crying face from before had disappeared.
The water that was just splashed on the soil washed away the crying face and turned it into a smiling face.
Lin Lezhi said with a smile, "See? I didn't lie to you. Senior Brother really can do magic tricks and make the water take away your crying face."
"That's not my crying face."
Chi Ruxia emphasized again, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up, and the gloom in her eyes was also swept away a lot, as if the gloom from before had been washed away with the water along with her crying face.
She wiped away her tears, her gaze returning to Lin Lezhi. Her expression was reluctant, but she couldn't hide her happiness as she said, "However, Senior Brother's magic tricks are quite interesting."
Seeing Chi Ruxia's smiling face, Lin Lezhi finally felt a little relieved and revealed a gentle smile.
He didn't know how to coax the girl, but he had seen videos on his phone before of the ocean washing away unhappiness. However, the tidal phenomenon of the lake was not enough to complete this technique, so he could only give it a try. When drawing the mouth, he used the least amount of force.
Although the trick was clumsy, it worked.
Chi Ruxia, you've really stopped crying.