Yan Heqing has made many wishes.
But even the simplest wish—that his mother appear in his dreams—never came true.
Later, he stopped making wishes.
Yan Heqing's lips curled up slightly. "I don't need it."
"How will you know if you don't try?" Lu Lin seemed to read his mind, placing the pen in his hand, their warm, dry palms briefly touching. "Perhaps this time it will work."
As her fingertips touched the pen, Xiao Rong tugged at Yan Heqing's sleeve, her smile innocent and pure, " Brother Yan, let's make a wish together!"
Yan Heqing lowered his head, gazing at the lampshade bathed in the pale orange light of the candle. He picked up his pen and carefully wrote a few words.
[I saw the Sunrise on March 4th, 20XX.]
He didn't cover himself, and Lu Lin saw it.
Two years later in 20XX.
Yan Heqing's wish is to see the Sunrise two years from now.
Something flickered in Lu Lin's eyes. He gazed intently at Yan Heqing, focusing on releasing the sky lantern.
Ten minutes ago.
Lu Lin encountered Auntie Zhang on the way, accompanied by a long-time employee of the welfare home.
When the long-time employees learned that Lu Lin was the sponsor of this employee benefit, they were amazed by his expensive suit and realized he must be a super-rich boss!
Recognizing Yan Heqing at the restaurant brought back memories. "Oh my, are you the big boss who wanted to adopt Yan Heqing back then? You don't seem like it, you're not that old..."
Lu Lin stopped in his tracks.
The veteran employees exclaimed repeatedly, " Yan Heqing is so handsome! He was handsome as a child, and he's still so handsome now. I've never seen such a good-looking child. Even after more than ten years, I can recognize him at a glance!"
"Unfortunately, he was very unlucky. His parents died in a fire, and his entire home was burned down. He and his younger brother ended up in an orphanage..."
"A very wealthy, kind-hearted boss, just like you, wanted to adopt him. He owned a huge company, but he ran away and disappeared! In the end, he took his younger brother instead. Sigh, people's fates are just different..."
The emotion in his dark eyes deepened.
Yan Heqing suddenly turned his face, reached into his pocket, took out something that had been sitting in the pocket all day, and held it up in front of Lu Lin.
"Look."
Lu Lin then shifted his gaze.
The light fell on Yan Heqing's fingertips, revealing a gleaming silver one-yuan coin.
It was boiled in hot water for a long time, and it had a faint taste of cooled boiled water.
Before Lu Lin could make a move, Yan Heqing grabbed his right hand with her other hand.
The warm coin fell into his palm.
The boy's voice was drowned out by the cheers around him, but every word clearly struck Lu Lin's heart.
"This is the lucky coin I found."
At the same time, his eyes curved into crescents, reflecting the sky lanterns filling the sky behind him. " Auntie Zhang said it represents good luck in the new year."
"Now, I'm giving it to you."
Chapter 60
"The coins have been boiled at high temperatures," Yan Heqing added. "They're very clean."
Lu Lin suddenly chuckled, a sound that seemed to well up from the depths of his throat, like the last note of a cello at the end—low, deep, and penetrating to the bone.
The elegant, slender fingers slowly closed.
He turned his gaze back, slightly raised his chin, and stared at Yan Heqing's sky lantern rising into the deep sky. "Your gifts are always unique."
"Will it?" Yan Heqing also looked up at the night sky.
One sky lantern after another slowly floated into the sky, surrounded by gasps of amazement, yet it didn't feel noisy.
He thought he should make another wish.
Besides the Sunrise that day, he also wanted to visit the amusement park one more time.
"Yes." Lu Lin withdrew his gaze, but involuntarily looked at Yan Heqing again. The boy suddenly closed his eyes, raised his hands, clasped them together in front of his chest, and his long eyelashes fluttered gently in the flickering candlelight.
"Making a wish?" Lu Lin asked.
"Hmm." Yan Heqing didn't open his eyes, his expression devout. "With so many sky lanterns, perhaps one was missed and no wish was written on it, then I can make up for my wish."
Lu Lin chuckled silently. "I didn't write mine down, but your wish can still be fulfilled."
"You have no wishes?"
"We didn't have one before, but now we do."
"Then you've lost out." Yan Heqing released his grip, lifted his eyelids, but didn't look at Lu Lin, still gazing at the sky lantern. "Give me your wish; I've already made mys."
"It's alright." Lu Lin put his hand in his pocket, then released it, and the coin gently fell into his pocket. "The coin you gave me will bring me good luck."
The sky lantern event was nearing its end, and most of the lanterns had already risen high into the sky, becoming tiny. Yan Heqing turned away and said, "I passed my driving test (Part 1) yesterday. When are you free? I'd like to brush up on my driving test (Parts 2 and 3) hours."
Lu Lin took out his phone and opened his schedule. "Tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, Saturday."
"School starts the day after tomorrow." Yan Heqing knew Lu Lin wouldn't mind letting him practice in the car, but even if he could drive, he wasn't so comfortable using a car worth millions to accumulate practice hours. So he offered, "Where's the practice spot you mentioned? I'll drive my car there tomorrow morning."
Lu Lin remained calm. "Hiring a designated driver is too much trouble. I'll pick you up at eight tomorrow morning. It's been too long since you've been to the suburbs for some fresh air; a drive there would be nice."
The air quality in the capital is not very good, but it's not much better in the suburbs.
Yan Heqing was unsure of Lu Muchi's situation, so just in case, he said, "I need to go to school tomorrow morning. Wait for me at the school gate?"
Lu Lin replied, "Okay."
Xiao Rong had been listening to their conversation, but she didn't understand much. After Lu Lin left, she asked Yan Heqing curiously, " Brother Yan, are you and Uncle very close? You said so much!"
Yan Heqing was very quiet and rarely spoke, except when reading stories to them.
There would be a large group of people returning home soon, so while the crowd was still reluctant to leave and watch the flying lanterns disappear, Yan Heqing Xiao Rong towards the parking area first.
The crowd had not yet surged in; there were only a few scattered people on the road.
That cheerful pirate song is still playing on repeat.
Yan Heqing didn't answer, but simply pulled up Xiao Rong's hood and put it on her head.
In late February, the evening breeze was still cool.
--
After taking the children back to the orphanage, it was almost 11 o'clock when Yan Heqing got home. He stood against the wall for 15 minutes, didn't read anymore, took a shower, and went to bed to rest.