your voice my world

Chapter 6

Qiao Ze walked up to Lu Miao, wrapped his arms around her waist naturally, and embraced her affectionately, and took the tray in her hand with the other hand.

"Didn't it be fine if I came, why are you running around again?"

He said in a low voice, which sounded like reprimand, but his tone was helpless and doting, which made Lu Miao startled for a while.

She turned her head to look at him blankly, and then saw him rubbing her hair helplessly, pressing her head and leaning against his arms, then glanced at the three of them who looked at them in surprise, with a warm voice Ask Lu Miao: "Who are these people?"

Lu Miao was already confused by him, and when he asked about the identities of Chen Qi and Xu Jiaqian, she didn't know how to introduce them all at once. She was thinking about it, but unexpectedly, Qiao Ze said indifferently: "And How many times have you said, don't deal with dubious people casually."

Lu Miao: "..."

Before she could react, Qiao Ze had already carried her to the VIP area, leaving behind Chen Qi who blushed, Xu Jiaqian who looked back at him in surprise, and Xu Yang who remained silent.

"I haven't seen you for a few years, but this little girl is getting more and more arrogant." Chen Qi scolded in a low voice, "It's a good thing that she didn't stay at home back then, so she won't be a white-eyed wolf now?"

Xu Jiaqian's attention was all on Qiao Ze. She was in her early 20s, young and inexperienced, so she was easily attracted by the mature and stable Qiao Ze.

"Is that my sister's boyfriend?" Xu Jiaqian asked curiously, but Chen Qi reprimanded him as soon as he finished speaking: "What sister, where did you get your sister from?"

Xu Jiaqian was so reprimanded that she didn't dare to speak anymore. She and Lu Miao didn't know each other, and she was even afraid of Lu Miao, but because of Xu Jiayan's relationship, she knew of Lu Miao's existence, and also knew that Xu Jiayan had been secretly funding Lu Miao.

Seeing her appearance, Chen Qi immediately lost her temper, but seeing the scars at the corners of her eyes, she couldn't hold back anymore.

Xu Jiaqian has completely inherited her beauty, with extremely beautiful facial features, a standard oval face, big eyes, high nose bridge and diamond-shaped lips. She is also young, a typical beauty embryo.

The only fly in the ointment is that there is a shallow scar at the corner of the right eye that is as long as the index finger.

The scar was like a thorn, which made her feel uncomfortable, and the words she uttered were a little bitter: "Raising her with good food and good food for several years, it seems that our family owes her."

Seeing that Xu Jiaqian was still looking at Qiao Ze, she suddenly became angry again: "What are you looking at, what kind of good is the man who hangs out with her?"

She didn't deliberately lower her voice, as if she was deliberately speaking to Lu Miao, and Lu Miao did listen to her words verbatim, feeling a little uncomfortable.Except for the time when Lu Xiaocheng had an accident, she and Chen Qi never met again.

She didn't understand why Chen Qi was so hostile to her.

During that meeting, she just woke up from a coma, she was still confused, and didn't understand why she was in the hospital. Chen Qi suddenly had a sullen face, rushed in angrily, and slapped her right away.At that time, she was beaten completely blindfolded, her head was buzzing, and beside her ears were Chen Qi's sharper scolding voices, she couldn't hear what she was scolding, and Chen Qi was also rushed by Xu Yang and Xu Jiayan took it away.

Since then, she has never seen Chen Qi again.

Now more than five years have passed, and I have never encountered a place as big as Ancheng. Instead, I encountered it unexpectedly in the small gambling city of Macau.

Chen Qi's dislike for her continued unabated.

She couldn't figure out why.

Staring at the direction where the Xu family left, Lu Miao was lost in thought for a while, until he tapped on the table a few times, then he came back to his senses, and his eyes followed the palm that fell in front of him step by step, and finally landed on Joze's face.

He was looking at her with deep and quiet black eyes, which looked like probing and thinking, exactly the same as when he woke up in the morning.

This look made Lu Miao feel uncomfortable, and instinctively rolled his eyes away.

Wu Manman saw all the scene of Qiao Ze helping her out, and said with a smile: "Mr. Qiao has a deep love for Miao Miao."

Lu Miao was a little embarrassed to hear it, but fortunately Qiao Ze couldn't hear it.

She was a little surprised by Qiao Ze's rescue. She thought it would be good if he didn't reprimand her for being unprofessional for a person like him who only had work and principles in his eyes.

She is grateful to him.

But this kind of gratitude cannot be seen by Shang Qi and Wu Manman, so she just returned Wu Manman with a shy smile, neither admitting nor denying it.

Wu Manman only thought that she was shy, and even teased her a few words, the atmosphere of the scene was a little more harmonious because of her teasing.

The few people sat like this for more than an hour. When they were about to leave, Xu Jiaqian, who had already left, ran over in a ghostly way. They didn't dare to approach, but just separated a distance, and called Lu Miao embarrassingly, "Sister!" ".

Lu Miao felt uncomfortable when she called her "sister". Although she liked the chubby Xu Jiaqian very much when she was a child, she hadn't seen him for almost 20 years, and her impression of Xu Jiaqian was only in Xu Jiaqian's Along the occasional photos sent to her.

Now Xu Jiaqian suddenly ran over to call her sister, she was not used to hearing it, and licked the corner of her lips in embarrassment, which was a response.

Wu Manman was a little surprised: "This is your sister?"

Lu Miao hesitated for a while, thinking about what Qiao Ze said that there is no need to have a false identity, so she nodded: "It's okay."

Xu Jiaqian is a smart person who also knows how to read people's eyes. He quickly turned to Wu Manman and sweetly called her "sister".

She was already sweet, with a sweet mouth, coaxing Wu Manman into a faint smile.

"The little girl has a sweet mouth."

Embarrassed by the praise, Xu Jiaqian scratched his head and smiled, with crooked eyebrows, looking particularly pleasing.

Wu Manman fell in love with this little girl immediately: "Little girl, what's your name, why did you sneak out by yourself?"

"My name is Xu Jiaqian." Xu Jiaqian stuck out her tongue embarrassingly, "Sneaked out while my parents were not paying attention."

She asked Wu Manman again: "Where are you going to play today, can you take me with you?"

Wu Manman readily agreed immediately: "Play golf, can the little girl know how to play?"

"Of course." Xu Jiaqian patted his chest proudly, "Golf is my strong point."

When playing golf in the afternoon, Xu Jiaqian really went with him, instead of pestering Lu Miao, he pestered Wu Manman to compete with her.

Qiao Ze held the club and Lu Miao looked at the two of them, but did not go over.

Ever since Xu Jiaqian appeared, Lu Miao felt somewhat marginalized.

She herself was not in a good condition, and she didn't really want to go forward, so she just watched Xu Jiaqian and Wu Manman get along with each other.

"Your sister is better at dealing with interpersonal relationships than you." Qiao Ze said suddenly.

Lu Miao looked up at him unconsciously, he was staring at Xu Jiaqian who was not far away, and he didn't know whether he was evaluating or praising.

She was already in a bad mood, and Qiao Ze's words sounded like comparisons. She was also abandoned because of Xu Jiaqian back then. Now that Xu Jiaqian just appeared, even Qiao Ze began to dislike her for being inferior. His mood fell inexplicably, he pursed his lips and said nothing.

Qiao Ze didn't wait for her to respond for a long time. He turned his head to look at her, but saw her turn her head away with her lips pursed.

"I'll go and sit there for a while." Throwing down a low sentence, Lu Miao turned around and walked towards the rest area, her slender back was drawn a little bleak by the sunset in late autumn.

Joze stared at her back for a while, but didn't pass by.

Xu Jiaqian, who had been secretly observing the two of them, asked Wu Manman in a low voice: "Sister Man, what happened to my sister and her boyfriend? Did they quarrel?"

Wu Manman looked up at Lu Miao who was not far away, and then at Qiao Ze.

She could clearly see Lu Miao's depression, and Qiao Ze's indifference.

Cold man.

She sighed in her heart, feeling a little worthless for Lu, and her voice faded: "That's not your sister's boyfriend."

Xu Jiaqian looked at her in surprise: "Really?"

Wu Manman: "If a man really loves a woman, how can he be willing to let her be wronged... They are the relationship between the boss and the subordinate."

Xu Jiaqian suddenly felt relieved, and secretly looked back at Qiao Ze. The setting sun highlighted his indifference to the fullest.His appearance, his status, and his attitude towards Lu Miao perfectly fit her imagination of Xiaoyan's heroine who has lived among thousands of flowers and never touched her body, which made her feel like a heroine for no reason. In this kind of beautified imagination, her heartbeat is speeding up little by little.

Wu Manman patted her: "Little girl, don't dream, is that kind of man you can imagine?"

Xu Jiaqian stuck out her tongue embarrassingly: "Anyway, he doesn't have a girlfriend, my family is right with him, maybe he can fall in love with me."

Wu Manman was amused by her innocence: "Don't imagine that a man will stay for you alone after passing through thousands of flowers. This is impossible. Even if you temporarily stop for three to five years, when you are old, He is still staring at the young and beautiful girl."

Xu Jiaqian pursed her lips and didn't answer. After all, she was not convinced by Wu Manman's preaching. Taking a break, she took a bottle of water and hurriedly went to Qiao Ze.

"Brother Joe, can you unscrew the bottle cap for me?"

Qiao Ze looked down at the little girl who looked at him pitifully with big eyes. Although her eyes were innocent, her movement of holding the bottle had completely revealed her motives.

He thought that Qiao Shi was already stupid enough, but he didn't expect someone even stupider than her to come, who didn't even know his motives.

"Use one-third of your strength to swing the pole, not to mention twisting the bottle cap, carrying a bucket of water is no problem."

After finishing speaking quietly, Qiao Ze turned around and walked towards Lu Miao, leaving behind Xu Jiaqian who was stunned on the spot.

Lu Miao was far away and couldn't hear what the two were talking about, but he could probably guess some.

Xu Jiaqian's purpose is too straightforward, a normal man might like her, but she probably didn't realize that she didn't even have a crush on a man.

Lu Miao sat alone for a while, and her mood had adjusted. Seeing Qiao Ze sitting down opposite her, he took the initiative to talk to him: "Did you say something humiliating? I think she is about to cry."

Qiao Ze glanced at her: "A little over 1.6 meters tall, holding a bottle of water and telling me that she can't twist it, am I humiliating her, or is she humiliating herself?"

Lu Miao: "..."

Qiao Ze crossed his hands in front of his chest habitually, and turned his head to look at her: "Presenting the facts and reasoning, is this called humiliation?"

Lu Miao shook her head sincerely: "No."

"But..." She paused, "No wonder you can't find a wife."

Joze: "..."

He glanced at her twice: "My wife is never in my consideration."

Lu Miao nodded: "So you are right to save all sentient beings."

Qiao Ze suddenly felt itchy, grabbed her arm, pulled her into his arms, lowered his head and asked her, "Do you know why you woke up in my arms this morning?"

Lu Miao was taken aback: "Why?"

"To save you as an adult."

"..." Lu Miao was stunned again, she didn't keep up with his thinking rhythm.

"I was originally human."

Qiao Ze pressed his forehead against her: "Adult?"

"..." Lu Miao, who realized it, blushed immediately, hot and embarrassed, tried to push him away, but was dragged back into his arms by him.

"Don't move." He said suddenly.

As soon as his voice was serious, Lu Miao knew that he was in working condition, she stopped struggling and looked at him with questioning eyes.

He can always switch between true and false, and she can't keep up with his rhythm.

Qiao Ze was also looking at her, resting the back of her head with his palm, touching her forehead intimately, then suddenly lowered his head to her side, and a light kiss was printed on her cheek.

Lu Miao froze.

Wu Manman's laughing voice came from behind him: "Mr. Qiao is very interested, and he is not afraid that we will be shy."

Lu Miao secretly tugged at the corner of Qiao Ze's clothes to remind him.

He pushed Lu Miao to sit up slightly, and looked back at Wu Manman: "Miss Wu tired from playing?"

Lu Miao was still in his arms, her face had already turned red from the kiss just now, and she greeted Wu Manman in embarrassment.

Xu Jiaqian was also there, and her face was also flushed. Seeing Lu Miao looking over, she seemed to shrink back, carefully took a small step behind Wu Manman, and called Lu Miao "sister" in a nonchalant manner.

Wu Manman smiled: "Little girl, why are you afraid that your sister will become like this, and that she will not succeed if she eats you."

Xu Jiaqian pursed her lips in embarrassment, not daring to look at Lu Miao.

Lu Miao didn't know why Xu Jiaqian was afraid of her, she and Xu Jiaqian didn't even know each other.

Shang Qi also came over at this moment, unscrewed the cap of the bottle and took a big sip of water, and said with a smile, "Mr. Qiao is so lonely."

Qiao Ze smiled back at him, and stood up with his arms around Lu Miao: "It's rare to come out and relax, don't you just want to have a good time?"

Shang Qi smiled and nodded again and again, and glanced at Lu Miao with a smile: "Mr. Qiao is not easy to serve at night, my sister has worked hard."

The topic was a bit off topic, Xu Jiaqian on the side blushed.

Wu Manman patted him with a smile: "What nonsense are you talking about, didn't you see that there are still children here?"

Shang Qi knew that she liked Xu Jiaqian, so he stopped talking pornographically, looked at his watch, and said with a smile, "Let's have a meal together."

Qiao Ze nodded and took the car with Lu Miao.

Xu Jiaqian wanted to follow Qiao Ze's car, but Qiao Ze glanced at Wu Manman: "Miss Wu, don't let children see too much things that are not suitable for children."

Wu Manman immediately understood that he was going to continue unfinished business with Lu Miao in the car, and immediately dragged Xu Jiaqian into her car.

Back in the car, Lu Miao's face was still a little hot, and she was also a little confused: "Which one did you play just now?"

Qiao Ze's face has returned to his usual indifference: "What do you think?" He turned his head and glanced at her, "Didn't you dig this hole yourself? I am your benefactor, your boss, you are a fifth escort lady, and the benefactor Losing your temper, is it reasonable?"

Lu Miao: "..."

"Those who play money laundering are all human beings." Qiao Ze's voice has returned to calm, "You showed your hole cards to others, and you just play with the little girlfriend who sleeps with you. My little girlfriend lost her temper. My big gold The Lord naturally has to condescend to coax people, otherwise you would hang your face and I would hang your face, this is not a transaction, it is a relationship, and it obviously does not match the persona you made up."

Lu Miao nodded in resignation, and reflected seriously.

The car quickly stopped at the restaurant Shang Qi reserved.

Qiao Ze took Lu Miao out of the car.

This is a Cantonese restaurant.

Shang Qi booked a box early, and just as they sat down, Xu Jiaqian's phone rang, and it was Chen Qi calling.

Xu Jiaqian is Chen Qi's darling, and she gets anxious when she turns around and sees no one.

Xu Jiaqian was also used to Chen Qi's way of judging people, so she reported the address to her in a whisper, and then hung up the phone.

Unexpectedly, after hanging up the phone for a while, Chen Qi came to find her directly. When she entered the box and saw her, she couldn't help scolding: "You child, how many times have I told you that going abroad is no better than being at home, don't be alone Running around, you never listen, what if something happens?"

Xu Jiaqian seemed to be a little afraid of her, so she called her weakly, stood up, pulled her over, and introduced to everyone: "This is my mother. I'm sorry, she usually likes to worry about it, and when she meets me There is no sense in the relevant matters, you don't mind."

Then he pointed to everyone on the table to introduce Chen Qi.

When Chen Qi saw Lu Miao and Qiao Ze, his face became gloomy, but when he saw Shang Qi, his gloomy face eased a little.

She knew Shang Qi, and Xu Yanghai had investment contacts with Shang Qi's Qixun Venture Capital.Although Xu Yang Haiyun has no longer been in charge of her in the past few years, she still understands the company's operating conditions to some extent, so she greeted him with a smile: "When did Mr. Shang come to Macau, if I knew you were here, I should Let's have dinner with you early."

Shang Qi smiled: "I also arrived in two days."

He politely invited her to sit down and have a meal together.

Chen Qi was not a polite person, so she pulled up a chair and sat down, just opposite Lu Miao.

Lu Miao suddenly lost her appetite. It may be that the incident of being abandoned when she was a child cast a big shadow on her. She couldn't face Chen Qi with a normal heart.

She was adopted by Chen Qi when she was two months old.Her family had four daughters in a row, but they were too poor to support them, and wanted to have another son, so they decided to give her away.At that time, Chen Qi came to a distant relative's house in the same village to pay New Year's greetings. At that time, she was injured because of giving birth to Xu Jiayan, and it was unlikely that she would get pregnant again. She never got pregnant again in those years, so she always wanted to adopt a baby girl. Daughter, I heard that Lu Miao's family had a child who wanted to give it away, so I went over to have a look, but I didn't expect to see it right, and I liked it so much, I discussed it with my husband and took her back.

Probably because she is far from being clever and cute on the outside, but the more she is raised, the more stupid she becomes. Apart from looking at people in a daze all day long, she doesn't dodge, avoid or cry when she is beaten. Chen Qi is always unhappy in her heart, and always feels that she has been adopted. A mentally handicapped child, always wanted to send her back.It just so happened that Chen Qi was pregnant at that time, and after giving birth to Xu Jiaqian, all her thoughts were devoted to her daughter, and her desire to send Lu Miao away became more and more intense. In addition, Lu Miao later accidentally injured Xu Jiaqian , Chen Qi sent her back without hesitation.

Lu Miao still clearly remembered what hurt Xu Jiaqian, and she always felt somewhat guilty about Xu Jiaqian.

She was young at the time, stupid, and her limbs were inflexible, but she never thought of hurting Xu Jiaqian, she just wanted to get close to her, play with her, and pick up a ball for her, but Chen Qi suddenly made a sound It scared her, and she was used to being beaten and scolded since she was a child. She had an instinctive sense of fear of Chen Qi's harsh voice, and she thought about it hastily, but she didn't expect to overturn the baby carriage.

Lu Miao knew that she was not smart since she was a child, but not crying after being beaten was not because she couldn't cry, but because she didn't dare to cry.As long as she can remember, she has been taught to be good and obedient. If something is wrong, Chen Qi will slap her hard and call her stupid and disobedient.She was afraid of pain, and also afraid of making Chen Qi unhappy.She knew when she was very young that if she cried, Chen Qi would be even more unhappy and beat her harder, so she didn't dare to cry, and she always thought that she was good if she didn't cry, and she was good, mother will like her.

From the moment she knew it, that was her home, and they were her parents.No matter how much they beat her and scolded her, it was still her parents.She simply felt that she was not good enough, obedient enough, or smart enough, so she was always careful not to make mistakes. They didn't dare to cry when they came to pick her up. They were bullied by Xu Jiayan and didn't dare to cry. They were locked in a dark room and were too scared to open their eyes or cry. She was afraid that she would cry. Mom and Dad And brother will dislike her even more.

At that time, she simply thought that when she was very obedient and obedient, they would like her.

So when Chen Qi hugged her and gently told her to take her out to play, she was delighted.

She thought they were finally starting to like her.

When they were about to throw her in that strange place and drive away, she was really terrified. It was the first time she resisted so hard. She didn't want to be obedient anymore. She wanted to go home. Xu Jia along the arm, begging him to take her home.

Chen Qi pulled her away, but she was too frightened to care about anything, only the car remained in her eyes.She came here in that car, and she thought that as long as she climbed into that car, she could go back, so she grabbed the seat with hands and feet and tried to climb up, the more Chen Qi pulled her down, the more she Afraid, more and more anxious to climb up.

Many times, she climbed into the car with most of her body, and she could follow them back when she saw her, but every time she was about to get in, she would be hugged down, time and time again.

Many years later, when Lu Miao recalled this scene, she felt that it was a kind of despair, and it was the first time she felt the taste of despair.

That is her parents, her brother, how could they suddenly abandon her?
They treated her well when they went out in the morning, fed her patiently, helped her dress up beautifully, and said they would take her to play, why did they suddenly abandon her?
Perhaps the sense of despair of being suddenly abandoned at the beginning was too strong, and it was too deep in the bone marrow. Even after nearly 20 years, when she saw Chen Qi again, she still couldn't let it go.

Now Chen Qi is sitting opposite her, chatting casually with Shang Qi, while carefully serving food for Xu Jiaqian, her love for Xu Jiaqian overflows the table.

Lu Miao remembers that she started to eat by herself when she was very young, and she couldn't even hold the chopsticks firmly. If she was not careful, she would drop the green vegetables on the table, and Chen Qi's palm would immediately greet her back: "Why are you so clumsy?" , I can’t even hold a dish stably.” Drop it once, hit it once, and in the end, she was afraid when she saw eating, and instead became more cautious and prone to mistakes.

Memories are like tides, coming in waves as Chen Qi sits down.

Lu Miao was sitting on pins and needles, and the food was tasteless, but she couldn't put down her chopsticks and leave because of her work, so she lowered her head and gnawed the rice bit by bit, as if counting the grains of rice. When she was halfway through the gnawing, Qiao Ze's arm suddenly turned sideways. , holding a piece of fish in the chopsticks.

Lu Miao looked up at him in surprise.

Qiao Ze was also looking at her, with the same thoughtful and probing eyes in the morning. His eyes were dark and deep, and very quiet. His entire eyes were fixed on her face, thoughtful.

Lu Miao stared at him for less than a second before lowering her eyes in embarrassment.

"Thank you." The words of thanks blurted out.

Wu Manman on the side looked at her with a smile: "Miao Miao, why are you and Mr. Qiao becoming more polite?"

Lu Miao was shocked in her heart, but covered it up with a shy expression on her face.

"He was so considerate all of a sudden, I couldn't get used to it all at once."

She silently picked up the piece of fish, put it in her mouth, frowned as she chewed, tried to chew again, and suddenly put down her chopsticks.

"Sorry, I'm going to the bathroom." After apologizing to everyone, Lu Miao got up and walked out of the box.

Her small movements did not escape Qiao Ze's eyes.

He turned his head to look at her back, and after pondering for a moment, he stood up.

"Feel sorry."

After Lu Miao came out of the box, he grabbed a waiter: "Hello, where is the bathroom?"

The waiter pointed to the right: "Go straight, just turn left."

"Thank you." Lu Miao looked up at the direction of the waiter's finger, and asked, "Isn't that the kitchen?"

"No, the kitchen is a little to the side."

Lu Miao thanked her, followed the direction she was pointing to, turned a corner and saw the kitchen.

All she was looking for was the kitchen.

The kitchen door was closed, and there was a huge sign "Non-kitchen staff not allowed to enter" written on the door.

Lu Miao walked over and carefully opened the kitchen door. When she was looking in, the staff inside found her and walked towards her.

"Miss, I'm sorry, but you can't enter the kitchen casually."

"I'm sorry." She smiled at him apologetically, "I accidentally spilled some wine on my clothes, can I go in and wash them?"

"Turn left ahead and there's a restroom and dryer, you can go there and clean up."

"Okay... okay."

Lu Miao turned around to go to the bathroom with some disappointment. Just as she walked to the washbasins in separate toilets for men and women, Qiao Ze's low voice suddenly rang in her ears: "Who are you looking for?"

Lu Miao turned around in shock and saw Qiao Ze standing behind her.

He was looking at her with a calm face and calm eyes.

Lu Miao suppressed his heartbeat that was startled by him: "I didn't find anyone."

Qiao Ze looked at her motionless: "You have something to hide from me."

Lu Miao: "It's really fine."

Joze stared at her for a while, then turned away.

"Go back first."

Lu Miao was a little surprised: "Not going back? Shang Qi and Sister Man are still waiting for us."

But Qiao Ze took out his mobile phone and called Shang Qi: "Mr. Shang, I'm really sorry. Lu Miao has an acute gastroenteritis attack. I have to send her to the hospital first, and I'll treat you to dinner later."

He didn't know if there was a reply, so he hung up the phone, threw the phone into his pocket, and someone grabbed her arm: "Go back first."

Along the way, Qiao Ze just kept his face blank, didn't speak, and looked a little expressionless.

After returning to the room, he let her go, put his back on the table, leaned against the corner of the table, and looked at her: "Chen Qi is your adoptive mother?"

Lu Miao pursed her lips: "Is there anything else you don't know about me?"

"Too much." Qiao Ze retracted his arms, and habitually crossed them around his chest again, "For example, why do you have to do this? Why did you react so wrongly when facing Chen Qi?"

Lu Miao pursed her lips and didn't want to say anything. After a long silence, she whispered, "I'm sorry, I won't let my personal emotions affect my work."

"..." Qiao Ze let out a long breath, glanced at her, and turned around to go about his own business.

Her brain circuit and his brain circuit are not on the same channel at all. She is dumb, but her mouth is tight, and he can't pry a word at all.

Seeing that he was ignoring her, Lu Miao didn't dare to disturb him. She sat silently by herself and studied Qixun Venture Capital. She took a shower when she was about to rest. After washing, she hugged the quilt silently. He curled up in the other corner of the bed and fell asleep.

When Qiao Ze finished her work, she was already sound asleep, in the same curled-up position as last night, sleeping peacefully, not as if she would have a nightmare.

He also went to bed to rest after taking a shower, but he didn't feel very sleepy, and his eyes always unconsciously glanced at Lu Miao who shrank aside.

This is not in line with his work and rest habits. Because of the special work, he can usually quickly force himself to sleep, let himself rest as much as possible, and can quickly enter the vigilant state when there is any abnormality.

But tonight he couldn't sleep.

He looked at the little girl huddled in a ball at the corner of the bed, suffering from insomnia, he was worried that she would have a nightmare, or rather, he was trying to judge whether she would have a nightmare, was it accidental last night, or has it always been like this?
At two o'clock in the morning, she still didn't move, and it was indeed just a coincidence.

Qiao Ze breathed a sigh of relief suddenly, pulled up the quilt, turned his back, and was about to force himself to fall asleep, when he was in a daze, there was a strange noise on the side of the bed.

He opened his eyes abruptly, turned on the bedside lamp, and turned to look at Lu Miao to the side.

She seemed to be trapped in a nightmare again, but she didn't cry all the time last night, she just curled up, with her palms curled up tightly against her mouth, her teeth were biting her palms desperately, biting the whole palm of her hand There were faint bloodstains, as if trying to suppress something, and there were small crackling sounds from his mouth.

Joze couldn't hear clearly.

He tried to pull her hand down, but she couldn't. She was still unconsciously making almost masochistic movements. On her quiet face, the expression was depressed and painful, even helpless, like an abandoned animal. .

He pursed his lips, stared at her for a long time, stretched out his long arms, and took her into his arms, clasped her back with his palms, and pressed her against his chest.

Qiao Ze woke up first the next day.

His biological clock was always on time, and with someone in his arms, he did not sleep more soundly than usual.

When he opened his eyes, Lu Miao was still awake, curled up quietly under his arms like a kitten, with a peaceful and serene face.

This was the first time that Qiao Ze observed her closely and observed her facial features.

It was also the first time that her face was clearly outlined in his mind.

All along, his perception of women has always been based on the distinction between smart and non-smart, and his perception of their character and ability is stronger than their appearance.

Therefore, although he has known Lu Miao for a while, he has always been vague about her appearance.

What he knew of her was that she was a dazed little girl, neither shrewd nor dazzling, somewhat resilient, somewhat stupid, stubborn and unable to turn.A person who is not very noticeable in the crowd, even if there is a bonus for appearance, but such a temperament is indeed not enough for people to remember.

She was born with a look that I felt pitiful for. She looked weak and weak, and needed a man's protection and care.His first impression of her was directly behind Qiao Shi.

He doesn't need a woman who lives by him.

Qiao Shi was brought out by him. He was a bit stupid, but at least he was independent.

But after getting along during this period of time, Lu Miao really just has a face that is easy to deceive.

She looks stupid, but her mind is better than Qiao Shi's. She is also careful and courageous. She knows how to use her protective color so well that she not only fooled other people, but also him.

She never thought about being attached to anyone.

She is on guard against anyone.

The face in front of me is quiet and well-behaved, and the collagen that is unique to this age can still be seen on the cheeks. It is youthful and young, and it does not look like a person with worries. Her eyes have never revealed the slightest sadness or hardship. , at any time, although she looked silly and quiet, she was full of vigor and drive.

It really wasn't faked.A person with a dark mind or stuck in the past cannot have such clear eyes and smiles.

But why would a person have such frequent nightmares if he wasn't stuck in some unknown past?
Looking at the face in front of him, Qiao Ze realized that he really couldn't understand her.

But in her peaceful sleeping face, there always seemed to be an indescribable sense of fragility, which made his arms tighten around her unconsciously.

This seems to be an instinctive body movement, or it may be caused by a man's natural desire for protection. With the tightened arms, his head unconsciously approached her, wanting to hug her tightly, wanting to... kiss her.

His lips were indeed approaching her forehead instinctively, but before touching her, Lu Miao woke up suddenly and pushed him away.

Qiao Ze reckoned that this was probably the fastest reaction in her life, and Gu Lu immediately sat up with a dazed look on her face.

Lu Miao didn't know what was wrong with her. When she was sleeping in a daze, she felt that she was rubbing against something. When she opened her eyes, she saw a man's chest. The memories of yesterday morning flooded in like a flood, and she jumped up in fright. .

"That... that... I..." After hesitating for a long time, Lu Miao couldn't say a word, she didn't know why she ran into Qiao Ze's arms again.

But in her self-awareness and understanding of Qiao Ze, she instinctively attributed the reason to herself.

Such a man who is extremely strict, doesn't talk about feelings, doesn't understand human nature, and only talks about principles, would be fine if he didn't kick her out of bed, how could he even touch her while she was asleep.

Lu Miao suspected that she unconsciously used him as a pillow when she fell asleep.

This made her very embarrassed. She glanced at him for a long time without daring to look at him. Finally, she silently pointed to the sofa beside her: "I'm sorry...I'll sleep on the sofa tonight."

"..." Qiao Ze glanced at her restrainedly. Her sudden awakening also woke him up from the obsession just now, and he has regained his composure.

"I sleep on the sofa." He replied lightly, and he had already got off the bed.

Lu Miao peeked at his back, and was even more certain that she had done something inhumane to him while she was asleep.

He was the same as yesterday morning, clear and cold, with a sense of alienation.

Feeling offended, Lu Miao offered to pour a glass of milk for Qiao Ze during breakfast, and apologized softly: "I'm sorry, I may not be honest when I sleep at night, you... don't mind."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Qiao Ze gave her a strange look, then took the milk she handed over, drank it in one gulp, and then looked at her: "Did you sleep well at night?"

Lu Miao nodded: "I slept well."

Qiao Ze: "Didn't you have a nightmare?"

"..." Lu Miao hesitated for a second, "Did I disturb you because of my nightmare again last night?"

Qiao Ze didn't respond, and suddenly pulled her right hand, and turned the tooth marks on the back of her hand to her: "Do you have many injuries like this?"

Lu Miao stared at the tooth marks in a daze: "Occasionally there will be."

Qiao Ze: "Do you know how it came here?"

"I bit or knocked myself when I was having nightmares." Lu Miao withdrew her hand, "My roommate mentioned this problem to me when I was in college."

"Does this happen often?"

Lu Miao shook her head: "No, occasionally."

Not wanting to keep talking about herself, Lu Miao poured him another glass of milk and asked him, "Do we have any plans for the evening?"

Qiao Ze: "No arrangement, just eat, drink, play and gamble, and get acquainted with Shang Qi and Wu Manman."

Lu Miao nodded, and asked Wu Manman to have a beauty treatment at night, which is an event that men don't have the patience to accompany them.

Neither Qiao Ze nor Shang Qi was with him.

Lu Miao and Wu Manman spent two hours in the beauty salon, and they ended up playing after nine o'clock.

Lu Miao left first with the excuse of picking up friends, and didn't come back with Wu Manman.

When Wu Manman returned to the hotel, Qiao Ze just came out. Qiao Ze didn't see Lu Miao, and looked at the elevator behind Wu Manman.

"Miss Wu, what about her?"

"A friend of hers came to Macau, let her pick it up." Wu Manman joked with a smile, "Mr. Qiao, it's been a while since we saw each other, so I miss you?"

He smiled politely and didn't respond, said goodbye and went back to the room first, calling Lu Miao.

Lu Miao didn't answer, and he didn't know if he was afraid that he would pretend not to see it, or if he really didn't notice.

After Qiao Ze called twice and she didn't answer, he also went out and took a taxi to the Cantonese restaurant where he had dinner last night.

Lu Miao is at this Cantonese restaurant.

She came here after she and Wu Manman separated, and ordered a dish, which was the sweet and sour fish that was on the table last night.

After eating less than half of it, she dropped the chopsticks with a snap, and looked at the waiter who heard the sound with a cold face: "Who cooked the dishes? Call your chefs over."

As soon as the guest approached the chef with a cold face, the waiter became anxious: "Miss, is there something wrong with this dish?"

"What's mixed in here?" Lu Miao stirred the fish with chopsticks a few times, pulling out a few short hairs.

The waiter's complexion changed slightly, and he apologized repeatedly.

Lu Miao had a tough attitude: "Call your chefs over."

The waiter didn't dare to delay, and after discussing with the manager, he went into the kitchen to call someone.

After a while, a tall and thin figure followed the waiter, his expression changed when he saw Lu Miao, he turned around and walked towards the kitchen.

Lu Miao also returned to normal after a moment of surprise, and turned to look at the manager: "Is this the service attitude of your store? Who is he? What's his name?"

The manager kept apologizing with his head bowed and kept emphasizing that he would give her a free order, but he still refused to disclose the name of the chef.

Lu Miao didn't quarrel with him either. She put her hair in it on purpose. The purpose was to meet the chef, so when she left, she paid the bill honestly, but she didn't really leave, but went directly to the back of the building. , there is the back door of the restaurant kitchen. The kitchen staff usually go in and out directly from there when they go to get off work. When they are not busy at night, they will move a small stool to sit outside to enjoy the cool.

There is a small dessert shop opposite the back door, Lu Miao sat down there, ordered a dessert, and found a seat where he could see the back door opposite at a glance.

When leaving get off work at 10:30 in the evening, chefs and kitchen workers came out of the house one after another. When the tall and thin figure came into view, Lu Miao paused holding the plastic spoon and watched the man slowly go away. Get up and follow.

The man's name is Zhang Qi, and his whereabouts have been unknown since five years ago.

Lu Miao didn't expect him to hide here.

She followed him all the way, watching him walk slowly from the bustling street to the dark and narrow alleys. Most of the people living on this side were migrant workers or illegal workers who came to Australia from the mainland.In order to save rent, more than a dozen people shared a small room of [-] to [-] square meters. The house was old, the alleys were narrow and broken, and the alleys were full of clothes to be dried.

There is a canteen at the end of the alley. In the open space in front of the door, striped cloth is used to prop up a small half of the place, and two billiard tables and card tables are set up. It is the world of young migrant workers.

Zhang Qi looked very familiar with the proprietress, so he bought a can of drinks on credit when he entered.

While nagging, the proprietress took out a small book to keep accounts for him.

Zhang lifted the bottle cap, took a big gulp, took the billiard cue stick from one side, and played billiards.

Lu Miao secretly took a few photos, watched him and those people call him brothers, and then went back to the dilapidated small building next door with his shoulders crossed. After a while, his thick voice came down from the third floor, cursing.

Lu Miao went to the canteen to buy a bottle of water and a bunch of snacks. When paying the bill, she turned her head to look at the lively card table outside, and chatted with the proprietress.

"Auntie, your business here seems to be doing well, isn't it not easy to look after the store by yourself?"

She spoke Cantonese, which made the proprietress feel a lot closer. She shook her head and took the words: "Is there any way, it costs money to eat, drink, and sleep."

Lu Miao nodded: "Yes, it's not easy."

The proprietress looked her around: "You look pretty cool, you just moved here?"

Lu Miao didn't deny it: "That's right... I haven't been here for long, and I'm not very familiar with this place yet." She smiled at the proprietress embarrassedly, "I feel that there are a lot of young men, and they all seem to be quite aggressive. Living here Wouldn't it be...not safe?"

"Don't make trouble, you'll be fine if you go home early." The proprietress told her, "There are a lot of rotten boys and drunkards here, and there is one less person hanging out at the girl's house at night."

The proprietress asked her again: "Are you alone or with your boyfriend?"

"With my boyfriend, but I had a quarrel a few days ago, and I don't know where he went." Lu Miao took out her mobile phone, found Lu Xiaocheng's photo, and showed it to the proprietress, "Here, it's him, like a child, He loses his temper and runs away from home."

The proprietress glanced at the phone: "There are too many men like this, and they have to be coaxed by their girlfriends at every turn."

Lu Miao nodded with deep sympathy: "That's right." Then he asked her hesitantly, "Auntie, have you seen him? Has he ever been to your place?"

The proprietress shook her head: "I haven't seen it."

"Never?"

"No." The proprietress pointed to her head, "The brain is working well, I will remember it when I see it."

Lu Miao frowned: "Didn't you come here with Picky and the others? They are co-workers, and they used to drink and play ball together."

Picking up is the name the proprietress scolded Zhang Qi just now.

The proprietress curled her lips: "He brought a lot of good friends, but I have never seen such a handsome boy."

Lu Miao nodded thoughtfully, said goodbye to the proprietress, and left first.

As soon as he walked out of the alley, a tall figure approached under the pressure of the light, so startled that Lu Miao instinctively raised his head, and was stunned when he saw Qiao Ze's handsome face.

Qiao Ze was looking at her, with his arms crossed and his head turned to her condescendingly.

Lu Miao has long since grown accustomed to his elusive way of appearing from being frightened, but he always has an embarrassing feeling of being caught.

She pursed her lips, avoiding his eyes.

"My work for today is done, now it's my private time." She whispered.

"That's my time too." Qiao Ze looked at her without moving his eyebrows. "During a business trip, I have to be responsible for your safety."

Lu Miao's voice lowered: "I'm fine..."

"What if something happens?"

"I have the ability to protect myself."

The corner of Qiao Ze's mouth curled up slightly, and his arm suddenly hit her.Lu Miao was subdued by him with one move, his arm was cut behind his back, and he pressed against the wall.

He stood close to her behind her, with his other hand clasped on her shoulder, encircling her between his arms and the wall in an extremely ambiguous posture that she couldn't resist.

"This is self-protection?" His voice was very weak, and his palm slipped from her shoulder along her arm, and lightly pressed against her lower abdomen, "If I want to do whatever I want to you, you won't even have a chance to resist."

"You're not a normal person." Lu Miao's low and soft voice was full of disbelief, "No one can beat you."

"You can do a normal person, how about a group?" Qiao Ze let go of her.

Lu Miao rubbed his sore arm: "In this case, what should the other policemen do? Don't they handle the case because they are afraid of danger?"

"They don't have such a bad reaction ability as you."

Lu Miao pursed her lips and stopped talking.

Qiao Ze grabbed her arm: "Go back first."

Lu Miao was almost pushed into the car by him, and then pushed into the house.

Lu Miao staggered a few steps after being pushed, and vaguely felt Qiao Ze's coldness, she didn't dare to say anything, rubbed her arms silently, and lowered her head first: "I'm sorry, I was wrong."

"Don't apologize to me." Joze turned to look at her, "The reason."

She still pursed her lips and refused to speak.

Qiao Ze's tone was a bit serious: "The reason!"

Lu Miao finally gave in first: "That person and I... used to have a little grudge."

Qiao Ze raised his eyebrows slightly: "That's it?"

Lu Miao bit her lips lightly, not wanting to say anything. After Qiao Ze's long and silent questioning, she looked up at him with begging eyes, and her eyes were slightly red: "Can you... stop asking? I just did it because of an accident. I found his trace, just want to confirm with the past. I will not let these things affect my work, I have a measure. "

Qiao Ze stared at her for a long time, finally nodded and didn't press any more questions.

The next day, he sent Zhang Qi's photo to Xiao Zhan and asked him to check this person.

The photo was taken while he was following Lu Miao.

Lu Miao didn't dare to go out alone again.

Probably because of what happened last night, she was a little afraid of him, and she was a little listless, not daring to take the initiative to talk to him.

She still had nightmares last night, and they were worse than the previous two days.

This time, she had an impression. She was woken up by Joze once in the middle of the night. He clasped her wrist and nailed it to the bed, looking at her deeply.

She guessed that he had disturbed his rest for the past few days, which made her very depressed.

It was rare for her to have such nightmares, and now she was living with Qiao Ze, and it happened every night. She was under a lot of psychological pressure, and when she woke up in the morning, her whole body was lower than before.

The more she was trapped in her own emotions, the more she looked dumbfounded.

Joze called her several times during breakfast, and she only reacted slowly.

In Qiao Ze's view, it was impossible for her to perform any tasks like this.

"You can go shopping wherever you want today, and go back tomorrow." Qiao Ze said suddenly.

Lu Miao glanced at him in surprise, opened her mouth, and finally just nodded obediently: "Okay."

Joze went out after breakfast without taking her.

Lu Miao went back to the hotel alone, feeling a little uncomfortable.

It's not the discomfort of not being recognized by Qiao Ze, but the deep self-loathing - still can't handle my emotions well, or haven't made any progress.

Not long ago, she swore to him that she would not let her emotions affect her work, and she slapped herself in the face not long ago.

He had given her many chances.

She thought that she still cared about Qiao Ze's opinion to some extent. Only when she cared would she feel pressured, and thus she could not control her emotions well.

Lu Miao spent the whole morning adjusting her mentality. She was used to finding problems from herself, and then desperately tried to change.

At noon, she invited Wu Manman to have dinner, and she put away the depression of the past two days and returned to the brightness of the first day.

Wu Manman could see the change in her at a glance: "I look in a good mood today."

"I saw that you were not in the right mood two days ago, and it has something to do with Mr. Qiao?"

Lu Miao's heart skipped a beat, thinking of what Qiao Ze said, these people are all human spirits, but they all hide it.

She showed hesitation, and followed Wu Manman's words: "A little bit." Then she looked at her hesitantly, "Look at the way he looks at Xu Jiaqian and his attitude towards me these two days..."

She lowered her eyes, with a look of disappointment: "I feel quite useless, and worry about gain and loss for a man."

As soon as the words fell, Wu Manman patted on the forehead: "Have you returned everything I taught you that day?"

Lu Miao covered the place she had photographed, and looked at her reproachfully: "Sister Man, you are laughing at me."

Wu Manman couldn't help poking her because of that dependent appearance: "You, you just like to think wildly. I think Qiao always pays more attention to you than other women. You don't know, men love you the most." It’s just like you, a little white rabbit.”

"Really?" Lu Miao asked in surprise, sweeping away the loneliness just now.

Wu Manman couldn't help shaking her head and laughing at her innocent appearance, she took a sip from her glass and looked at her: "When do you and Joe plan to go back?"

"I have to go back tomorrow morning." Lu Miao fell down again, "I don't know when we will have a chance to see Sister Man again."

Wu Manman smiled: "What time is it? It's not convenient to meet each other, and aren't you also in Ancheng? There will be opportunities in the future." She said and handed over a business card, "This is my personal phone number. Have dinner together when you have time, I am also from Ancheng."

Lu Miao's face changed into a surprised smile again: "Really? That's great, sister Man, please don't get annoyed by me." Then he also left a call for Wu Manman.

After dinner, Lu Miao asked Wu Manman if he knew a psychologist.

"What's wrong?" Wu Manman looked at her worriedly.

Lu Miao: "I've been under a lot of pressure recently, and I keep having nightmares. I want to go and see."

Wu Manman understood that she had a wide network of contacts, and quickly introduced a local to Lu Miao, who was from Macau, and even accompanied Lu Miao there in person.

Lu Miao reckoned that she would have to continue to get in touch in the future. Shang Qi and Chen Qi had a friendship. If she didn't confess her relationship with the Xu family earlier, her identity would become an explosive point in the future. Therefore, at the psychiatrist's place, Lu Miao deliberately In front of Wu Manman, he mentioned that he was abandoned by the Xu family when he was a child, and that he met the Xu family again.

The diagnosis given by the psychiatrist is that she subconsciously still cares about the incident of being abandoned in the past, and it is inevitable that she will have a subconscious reaction when she meets the person after many years. In addition, she has been under too much pressure and thinking recently, which is normal.

Wu Manman thought it was Xu Jiaqian's attempt to rob Qiao Ze that triggered her psychological shadow, and advised her to relax, if it really didn't work, find a man to stab Qiao Ze.

Just when Su Ming came to pick her up, Wu Manman pointed at Su Ming and joked, "Our Su Ming is also good, do you want to think about it?"

Lu Miao and Su Ming met once in KTV, and she still remembered what Qiao Ze said to let her establish a normal relationship with Su Ming, so she took the opportunity to talk: "Sister Man, don't bury Mr. Su. Who am I, Su Ming?" Always someone."

Having said that, she still took out her mobile phone and asked for Su Ming's WeChat ID.

Wu Manman laughed at her duplicity, but she still joked to Su Ming when she got into the car: "I'm a pretty good girl, you have to hurry up."

Su Ming just smiled politely, greeted Lu Miao, and took Wu Manman away first.

Lu Miao watched the two leave, her smile gradually disappeared, and she went back to another psychological clinic.

The consultation was still about her own nightmares. The doctor's diagnosis was similar to the previous one. She still felt that she was under too much psychological pressure, which might be related to some past experiences, so she prescribed some tranquilizers to persuade her to relax.

Lu Miao asked the doctor to give her a certificate stating that she can work and live normally.

When I came out of the clinic, it was still early.

Qiao Ze didn't know where he went, and he didn't call her, and Lu Miao didn't dare to call him, thinking that he would go back tomorrow, and thinking of Zhang Qi, she still went to the Cantonese restaurant to wait He is off work.

At 09:30 in the evening, she finally waited for Zhang Qi.

As soon as Zhang Qi pushed open the back door of the kitchen, he saw Lu Miao who was guarding the door. He panicked, turned and left.

Lu Miao didn't know what he was panicking about, he seemed very afraid of seeing her.

She followed, just behind him, without saying a word.

His footsteps were fast and slow, and Lu Miao followed suit.

Zhang Qi was finally driven into a hurry, stopped, turned to look at her: "What do you want to do?"

Lu Miao saw that he didn't speak, and took a step forward. He suddenly took a step back, with his hand stretched out in front of him: "I tell you, don't come here, this is my territory."

Xu Jiaqian happened to come over for dinner with her parents, and was on the phone with her brother Xu Jiayan, when she saw Lu Miao and Zhang Qi at the entrance of the alley, she called out in surprise, "Sister?"

From her position, she couldn't see Zhang Qi's face, only Lu Miao.

Her "sister" made Xu Jiayan on the other end of the phone frown: "Sister?"

"It's Lu Miao." Xu Jiaqian said, "She is also in Macau these two days."

Both Lu Miao and Zhang Qi turned to look at her because of her "sister". When Xu Jiaqian saw Zhang Qi, he was so shocked that he almost dropped his phone: "Zhang... Zhang Qi?"

Lu Miao glanced at her in surprise, a little surprised that she knew Zhang Qi.

But Zhang Qi ran towards Xu Jiaqian as if seeing a life-saving straw, and hid behind her: "Hurry up and get this woman away, she is haunting me, why are you pestering me?"

Chen Qi saw that he was a dirty little cook with a serious heart, pulled Xu Jiaqian over, and said to him coldly, "What do you want to do?"

Xu Jiayan frowned at the other end, and explained to Xu Jiaqian: "Ask Zhang Qi for a phone call." Then he told her, "Give the phone to Lu Miao."

"Oh..." Xu Jiaqian timidly handed the phone to Lu Miao.

Lu Miao didn't answer, just looked at Zhang Qi who was hiding behind her: "Where's Lu Xiaocheng? What happened that night?"

"Who the hell knows if he's dead or alive."

Xu Jiayan frowned, and told Xu Jiaqian: "Turn on the speakerphone."

Xu Jiaqian turned on the speakerphone.

Xu Jiayan's voice came through the microphone: "Miao Miao, you go back first."

As soon as Chen Qi heard Xu Jiayan's name, she immediately exploded: "You all contact her without telling me, don't you?"

"Mom, don't talk yet." Xu Jiayan snorted softly, and then turned to Lu Miao in a warm voice: "Miao Miao, be obedient, you go back first and leave him to me to deal with."

Lu Miao didn't answer, took out his mobile phone without saying a word, and called the local police: "Hello, are you the police? I will report illegal workers."

Zhang Qi's face twisted immediately: "You..."

Lu Miao watched him not moving, and continued to talk to the phone: "His real name is Zhang Qi, from Ancheng, he came here illegally to work illegally, and now he lives..."

Lu Miao reported Zhang Qi's address and his work place.

Zhang Qi turned around and wanted to run, but Lu Miao grabbed him.

The police arrived soon, and Zhang Qi was taken back to the police station for investigation.If the smuggling situation is true, Zhang Qi will not only face administrative punishment, but also be sent back to his hometown.

Both Chen Qi and Xu Jiaqian were startled by Lu Miao's move, and looked at her in surprise.

Xu Jiayan on the other end of the phone didn't expect that she would use this method to send Zhang Qi back to Ancheng. He was silent on the phone for a long time, and finally hung up the phone without saying a word.

(End of this chapter)