After walking out, Yi Pin twitched the corner of his mouth into a bitter smile.
The cold wind blew sharply. Dark clouds covered the sky, hiding the stars.
Yi Pin let out a breath. He felt a bit dazed, his heart throbbing. Still, he managed a smile.
"Brother Yi Pin!"
A gentle voice came from behind.
Yi Pin turned around and saw a small figure huddled in a big overcoat.
"Come here!" Yi Pin said with a smile, waving his hand.
He rubbed Zi Qi's hands and wrapped the scarf around her neck.
The two of them walked out smiling, as tiny snowflakes began to fall from the sky.
Yi Pin smiled and took Zi Qi to buy firecrackers.
Excitedly, they brought the firecrackers to a garden. They built a snowman, which was really cute.
Yi Pin's mouth curved into a smile.
"Zi Qi, go stand there. I'll take a picture of you!"
So he took a nice picture of the snowman and Zi Qi. Then they set off fireworks and he captured the dazzling display. Yi Pin was smiling.
He thought he should be in the picture too, so he put his arm around Zi Qi and took another photo.
Yi Pin selected all the photos and opened Shen Yu's WeChat chat. But after much hesitation, he failed to send them.
Finally, he went to his Moments and posted those pictures.
He typed the caption: "Cute kid, white snowman, dazzling fireworks, handsome Brother Yi. Happy New Year!"
He clicked send and smiled.
He and Zi Qi played back and forth for a long time, setting off all the fireworks and firecrackers. But there was a tinge of disappointment in his heart as the cold wind blew.
Yi Pin looked at his phone, opened WeChat, and saw the red notification. He couldn't wait to click on it.
He saw Wang Xiangyang and Lin Yangcong's comments: "Damn, your kid is so big already. You're really quick!"
Then Meng Ran commented: "Happy New Year!"
...
One comment after another, but even after scrolling to the bottom, Yi Pin didn't see a message from Shen Yu. Disappointment welled up in his heart.
He took Zi Qi back home. As soon as they entered, he saw a familiar figure. Yi Feng was sitting in the living - room.
"Yi Feng, you... Why are you back?" Yi Pin frowned and forced a smile.
"I just came back for the New Year. Happy New Year, Pinzi!"
Yi Feng came over with a smile, hugged Yi Pin, and ruffled Zi Qi's hair: "Is this the new member of the family? So cute!"
Zi Qi politely said, "Hello, Uncle!"
Then she hid behind Yi Pin.
Yi Pin stood there, stunned, not knowing what to do. His heart was filled with unease.
He never expected to see Yi Feng on New Year's Eve. He thought Yi Feng would never come back.
But seeing Yi Feng in front of him, he felt a twinge of guilt and didn't know what to do.
Why was it like this? Guilt welled up in his heart. Every time he saw Yi Feng, he thought of Luo Luoluo.
He even felt that he couldn't look Yi Feng in the eye.
"Yi Pin, what's wrong with you?"
Yi Feng stepped forward and waved his hand with a smile.
"Nothing... I'm fine!"
Just as they had sat down and started chatting for a while, they heard a noisy siren.
Yi Pin frowned, feeling a bit uneasy. He guessed that it might be the police patrolling because they were worried about the residents setting off fireworks during these days.
But the sound kept echoing in their ears and getting closer and closer.
Yi Pin felt something was wrong. He saw that Yi Feng in front of him seemed very nervous. He kept looking around restlessly, as if looking for an exit to run away.
Yi Pin felt a growing sense of unease. Sure enough, the police car arrived. Yi Pin frowned and heard the impatient knocking on the door.
He looked at Yi Feng, feeling confused. Then the door was opened by Mama Liu.
The scene was in great chaos.
Yi Feng was taken away by the police.
Seeing Qi Mingyang walking over, Yi Pin was shocked. Qi Mingyang had just sent a message saying that he was on a mission to catch a big drug lord.
Yi Pin frowned and walked over anxiously, saying coldly, "What's going on? What happened?"
"Yi Pin, who is he to you?"
Qi Mingyang asked with a bit of confusion.
"He's my little uncle!" Yi Pin frowned.
"He... is suspected of a very serious drug - trafficking case and a murder case from a few years ago!"
Qi Mingyang frowned and patted Yi Pin on the shoulder.
"What do you mean?" Yi Pin was struck like by thunder. The words kept echoing in his ears.
Yi Pin felt extremely confused. He was even taken away by the police, as they were afraid that he might be colluding with the suspect.
Yi Pin naturally felt annoyed, but he had no choice but to go to the police station with them.
Yi Pin felt a lingering sense of fear. After some inquiries, he realized that he had been blaming Shen Yu all along. It turned out that Yi Feng had always been a drug lord involved in drug - trafficking. Luo Luoluo found out about his deeds and that's why she was killed.
It turned out that the phone call and all the evidence pointing to Shen Yu were deliberately planted by Yi Feng.
Yi Pin suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart. All these years, he had been kept in the dark, always thinking that Shen Yu was the murderer.
He thought Yi Feng went abroad because he was heart - broken, but in fact, it was just to escape the law because he had a guilty conscience.
Sitting in the police station, Yi Pin frowned.
The whole night felt like the sky was about to fall.
It turned out that the little uncle he had always cared about was such a person. All this was just a trap.
Yi Pin frowned and was finally released.
The snow was still falling. Yi Pin was exposed to the cold wind, feeling cold.
It wasn't just his body; the coldness was coming from deep within.
Yi Pin trudged through the snow, his eyes glistening with tears. He remembered all the sarcasm he had thrown at Shen Yu during this period.
His heart was filled with restlessness.
He looked at his phone. It was a street view photo sent by Shen Yu. It was really beautiful, with the afterglow of the setting sun and Shen Yu's figure standing under it.
"Taken yesterday!"
Looking at the message, Yi Pin frowned. His heart ached, but at the same time, he felt a bit relieved. Maybe it was because he felt deceived, or perhaps it was guilt, or maybe his heart was just congested.
He didn't know how to reply to Shen Yu's message.
He really wanted to ask why Shen Yu had been silent all these years while being wrongly accused, why he hadn't said anything earlier, and why he had endured it alone.
But he put the phone down, feeling sad and thinking he didn't deserve it.
Yi Pin frowned, a wave of irritation welling up in his heart.
He punched the tree hard, and blood oozed out.
The look of confusion on his lips, along with the regret in his eyes, was chilled by the cold wind.