Love Apartment: Yifei is my junior aunt

Chapter 246 The Truth

A gentle breeze blows, and birds soar.

Nanfeng leaned against the balcony railing, stretching out his slender and long left hand as if trying to grasp the moon in the sky.

Under the illumination of the balcony ceiling light, following the south wind's gaze, one can clearly see the extremely fine and dense scars on this fair and delicate left hand.

He has been applying scar-removing ointment every night before bed for years, and perhaps after some time, the last trace of the injury on his hand will disappear without a trace.

At that time, from the outside, it may seem as if nothing ever happened.

But what bothers me is never these external wounds.

"Are you trying to... catch the moon?"

A familiar voice reached my ears.

Nanfeng sighed, then looked helplessly at Lü Ziqiao, who was trying to climb over the balcony and break into room 3603.

"My front door isn't locked, so why do you keep climbing over the balcony?"

"Now is not the time to talk about this. Come and help me out first."

Reeking of alcohol, Zi Qiao was carrying a glass of water in each hand and was walking unsteadily.

Not to mention that his legs were so badly injured from his morning run that he couldn't even move. Trying to climb over the balcony in that situation would be suicidal.

But Ziqiao had already stepped one foot over the railing, so Nanfeng could only hurry over as well.

Nanfeng gripped Ziqiao tightly with her right hand, stretched out her left arm, first took the two glass water cups from his hands and placed them on the back table of the swing chair on the balcony, and then took the legless Lü Ziqiao from her.

Before Ziqiao's legs even touched the ground, he was already muttering to himself, "Ouch... my legs are basically useless now. They're already like this, and when I wake up tomorrow, they'll be in so much pain."

"If you're afraid of the pain, just keep going for morning runs tomorrow. If you stick with it for two or three days, I guarantee you'll be full of energy and have a great appetite," Nanfeng said.

Ziqiao refused without hesitation: "No way, tomorrow is my turn, I won't waste my time on this kind of thing."

Ziqiao's answer was clearly within Nanfeng's expectations. Nanfeng simply smiled and said, "Then you'd better be prepared to be sore for at least a week."

"A week is a long time for ordinary people like you. For me, as long as there's plenty of good wine and beautiful women, I can become energetic anytime."

Ziqiao looked up triumphantly, then held up the two glass water glasses that had been brought to him and asked, "Let's put that aside for now, choose one of the two."

"Is there even a need to choose?"

Nanfeng looked at the two glass cups that Ziqiao brought over. One cup was filled with a clear but slightly cloudy transparent liquid, while the other cup contained a cloudy yellow liquid with some clarity.

Nanfeng took the glass filled with clear liquid and took a big gulp.

He then raised an eyebrow and said, "The acidity of this lemonade is just right. Did you mix it?"

Ziqiao shrugged: "Do you think I'm the kind of person who would do something like that?"

He picked up another glass, took a big gulp of wine, and then continued, "This was mixed by Yu Mo. But since the three of us put on this show, she probably won't be too embarrassed to come and say hello to you these next few days."

Nanfeng just smiled silently upon hearing this.

Besides being too shy to greet her, it's probably also because she and Yifei were too busy cleaning today.

That's right. Although our Miss Qin tried her best to hide her slovenly nature, how could such a thing possibly escape Nanfeng's ears?

However, Nanfeng pretended not to know, while Yumo buryed her head in the sand, thinking that Nanfeng didn't know.

Nanfeng thought to herself, glancing at Ziqiao's exhausted face.

He grunted a few times, but couldn't help reminding me, "Didn't I say your experience for today was already over? Why are you coming to find me again?"

"Instead of climbing over the balcony, you might as well go back and catch up on your sleep. After all, you've only slept for a little over two hours today. Be careful not to die suddenly, Young Master Lü."

Ziqiao stretched and let out a series of long, drunken burps: "What's this? My previous record was dating eight different girls in seventy-two hours straight. If I were going to die from overwork, I would have done it a long time ago."

Ziqiao yawned as he spoke: "Besides, I just had a huge fight with Meijia, and I even drank most of a bottle of red wine that she was going to give to Guangu for their date. That's why I came here to avoid the storm."

Looking at Ziqiao's feigned relaxed expression, Nanfeng knew that he was already exhausted and sleepy.

Although Ziqiao had taken a nap while eating breakfast, he then engaged in several hours of painstaking mediation work, leaving him completely exhausted.

Not to mention that Ziqiao and Meijia had just had a fierce fight in the bar. If we were to go into detail about that fight, it would be enough for Nanfeng to give another commentary on a super, super, super free fighting tournament with no race, no gender, and no restrictions.

The fight ended with both men suffering heavy losses, neither gaining any advantage over the other.

Not only that, the two of them were also persuaded by the entire staff of the bar to perform a show together.

Ziqiao was in charge of playing the drums, while Meijia was in charge of singing and dancing.

As for the show's success...

One is a useless drummer who just randomly takes pictures and does nothing but flirt with the pretty girls around him and show off his chest muscles.

One is an idol girl who can't keep up with the rhythm in singing and dancing.

When these two perform a show together, the effect of the show is self-evident.

Anyway, Nanfeng is sure that this is the most cringe-worthy and outrageous performance he has ever seen in his life.

It wasn't until many years later, when Nanfeng watched the Spring Festival Gala become increasingly outrageous, that he silently retracted his promise.

In short, after going through all that commotion from morning till night, Ziqiao's current mental state is definitely not good.

Nanfeng thought for a moment, then took the lemonade in her hand and went back to where she was looking at the moon.

"You can avoid the limelight however you want, but if Mika comes after you, I won't stop her for you."

"If you're really tired, you can go to the guest room and sleep for the night."

Ziqiao didn't want to rest so early, so he leaned closer and said, "Nanfeng, there are less than five hours left until the end of the day."

"If you really let these five hours pass like this, it'll be my turn tomorrow."

"I know," Nanfeng nodded.

Although he and Meijia did complete a program, based on Ziqiao's instrumental performance just now, Nanfeng could have asked him to do it again and again until he reached a certain standard.

However, that would seem like bullying.

forget it.

Being soft-hearted is a big no-no.

Ziqiao chuckled and said, "Brothers are brothers, but I won't hold back tomorrow."

"I know."

Nanfeng seemed not to have heard what Ziqiao was saying; he just nodded to himself.

"So... do you want me to admit defeat?" Ziqiao looked at Nanfeng with a mischievous grin. "If you call me 'godfather,' maybe I'll admit defeat."

Nanfeng laughed and cursed, "I don't believe you for a second. You think you'd admit defeat?"

Why not?

Unexpectedly, Ziqiao changed his usual frivolous manner and continued, "Nanfeng, I'm serious."

"If you really don't want to lose, I can admit defeat right now."

Upon hearing this, Nanfeng finally turned to look at Ziqiao and asked again and again, "Are you willing to admit defeat?"

"That's right." Ziqiao drank his wine without paying attention to himself.

Although Ziqiao usually appears to be flexible and pragmatic, when it comes to challenges, Ziqiao's competitive spirit is no less than Yifei's.

In the ultimate name competition with his senior brother, even when facing Yi Fei's fierce and adventurous bravery and a huge score difference of three to one, Zi Qiao never thought of admitting defeat or giving up.

But now he tells himself that as long as he doesn't want to lose, he can admit defeat at any time.

Nanfeng's tone turned somber: "You didn't choose to give up when you were so sleepy today but still had to concentrate fully on dubbing that bizarre novel."

"When you were so tired and sleepy that you couldn't even run anymore, you never thought of giving up."

"You never thought of giving up when you were dealing with those bizarre resident disputes and your throat was dry."

"Even when you were performing in a bar, you never thought of giving up."

Nanfeng gritted her teeth and let out a sound that was hard to tell whether she was angry or amused.

"After all you persevered through, you're now standing beside me telling me you're ready to give up at any moment?"

"That's right," Ziqiao replied matter-of-factly.

Even though Nanfeng had a vague suspicion in his heart, a strong impulse still drove him to ask the question in his heart: "Lu Ziqiao, what exactly do you, or rather, what do the three of you want to do?"

"You guys did all this mess, didn't you? Just to mess with me, right?"

"Bullshit!"

Ziqiao was probably really drunk, and he spoke extremely rudely.

"Think carefully back to today, who was the one playing tricks on whom?"

"That's not important."

Nanfeng narrowed his eyes into crescent shapes, making it impossible for anyone to discern any emotion in them.

"The important question is, what exactly do you want to do?"

Nanfeng asked again in a deep voice.

Ziqiao didn't answer immediately, but instead asked Nanfeng, "Nanfeng, what do you think is the first step to helping someone let go of their inner conflicts?"

Nanfeng remained silent, seemingly unwilling to answer the question.

However, he chose to remain silent, and Ziqiao, even more leisurely, did not utter a single word.

So Nanfeng finally sighed and said, "The first step to helping someone let go of their inner conflict is, of course, to help that person face it head-on."

A knot in one's heart is never a scar, but a piece of rotting flesh that will continue to fester and spread.

The more you avoid it and deny it, the more it will grow in your mind.

Recognizing your own emotions and understanding that you have unresolved issues is always the first step in solving a problem.

No matter how painful it may be to face it head-on.

Nanfeng understands all these principles, but the greatest distance in the world is between knowing and doing.

"This is the first step for a normal person, but you've never been normal."

Ziqiao finally put down his wine glass, stared intently at Nanfeng, and answered earnestly.

Before helping you confront and face your inner conflicts...

"We first need to get you to cooperate with our treatment and accept our help."

Nanfeng lowered his eyes and remained silent. Only his heavy breathing and rapidly beating heartbeat proved that his heart was not as calm and silent as it appeared.

"Of course, a greedy person like me would want to accomplish both steps at the same time with one plan, which is why I have this challenge today."

"However, if I absolutely have to make a choice, I will of course choose to get you to accept our help first."

Ziqiao put his arm around Nanfeng's shoulder, punched him in the chest, and continued, "In all the years I've traveled all over the country, I've never seen anyone as awkward and difficult as you."

"You are always caring about others and taking care of others, but you never think about letting others care about you and take care of you."

"Even someone as thick-skinned as me feels embarrassed by your constant care and attention, let alone everyone else."

"Nanfeng, do you remember what you taught me after the four major factions besieged Love Apartment?"

"Today I will teach you exactly what you taught me."

Ziqiao looked up at the moon and murmured, "Helping each other, and causing each other trouble—that's what friends are all about."

At this moment, Nanfeng felt a surge of emotions welling up inside her, and this overwhelming wave was sweeping through her entire body along with her pounding heart.

He suddenly had a thousand words he wanted to say, but no matter how many times Nanfeng opened his mouth, he, who was capable of producing heavenly sounds, could only remain silent.

While Nanfeng remained silent, Ziqiao kept his arm tightly around his shoulder.

Finally, the south wind let out a long breath.

"You came into my bedroom the night the braised pork knuckle went missing."

"Um."

"You went through my things."

"I was looking for my dog."

"...So you know about my cerebral hemorrhage."

"certainly."

Ziqiao answered without hesitation.

If he hadn't known the truth, how could he have been so proactive and hardworking in Nanfeng's affairs, never even thinking about compensation?

Just as Ziqiao had thought before.

For someone like him who lives in the underworld, conscience and kindness are extremely limited and precious resources; once used, they are gone.

Therefore, Ziqiao only intends to use his conscience and kindness on the people he cares about, and only when they truly need his help.

So what friend in this world needs my help more, or deserves my help more, than Nanfeng?

I'm afraid not.

Because Lu Ziqiao has many friends, but only this one true confidant.

Nanfeng paused for a moment, then continued, "So you and Yifei should both understand that what you've been doing might be in vain."

Yes, these things may be futile.

Even though Xiao Hei has a preliminary treatment plan, he can't guarantee when this treatment will solve his problem.

Not to mention that you have to wait at least eight months before the equipment is assembled, and no one knows what will happen during those eight months.

"I don't care."

Faced with Nanfeng's dejected words, Ziqiao said rather firmly, "Since I can't help you with matters of life and death, I will absolutely do my duty to help you with anything I can."

"I believe Yifei thinks so too... If Yumo knew the truth, she would definitely think the same way as the two of us."

Ziqiao continued, "Actually, when I proposed this plan, both Yumo and Yifei wanted to take my place in the challenge."

"But their identities are both rather awkward; Yifei is more like your family."

"As for Yu Mo, you know how she feels about you."

"So this is something only I can do."

Ziqiao released his arm from Nanfeng's shoulder and walked up to him.

"Nanfeng, the three of us want to prove something to you."

"In the entire sixth floor of the apartment building, among all your friends, even the most unreliable, shameless, despicable, and scumbag Lu Ziqiao would do many foolish and stupid things for you, Nanfeng."

"Just like what I didn't finish saying during my run today, winning or losing this challenge isn't important."

"We can design a time-consuming, laborious, and thankless plan for you, just to help you face your inner conflicts and confront them directly."

"I can also be crazy with you, make a fuss with you, and tolerate your petty revenge."

"It's even more reassuring that we've persevered this far, and then we tell you that we can choose to give up at any time if you're unwilling, and then think of another way."

Ziqiao reached out his hand to Nanfeng.

"So, considering all the silly and stupid things we've done, could you join us in being silly just once?"

Try to trust us, try to seek our help, try...

"Go and rely on us."

Here it comes!

This is roughly the basic logic of the pigeon in this chapter.

Actually, I really wanted to say this in advance, but this passage is more powerful when it comes to the time period after Zi Qiao has suffered greatly, before Nan Feng has been pranked.

The three-person team represents three identities, but in the end, it was decided that Zi Qiao, who is in the friend's position, would be the leader.

There's actually a lot more I want to say, but I'll save that for when this chapter ends.

Thank you all for your support, Sweet Potato Pigeon is extremely grateful.

(End of this chapter)