Lingxin watched him. After finally being able to leave the house, she could at least summon some patience for Jiahao. She squinted her eyes, and repeated the gesture to him, though certainly more practiced. Home?
She couldn’t stop the joy from earlier from leaving her. Home? Why? Her eyes flickered red as her hand drifted to her chest, where her heart would be. She didn’t want to go to Jiahao’s place, she wanted to find the man who killed her and have her revenge!
But she couldn’t. She had no choice. Lingxin tried to contain the rage smoldering in her. Not for the first time, she was struck by how unfair everything was. She did not respond, instead looking down.
As she followed behind Jiahao, she managed to calm herself. Everything felt so different now that she was out of that house. As she looked around at the street, the houses, the trees, it occurred to her that she had no way of knowing where Feng Qiang was. And what would she do when she found him? Even if it was unfair, Jiahao was her best bet for navigating and executing her desires.
Jiahao wasn't sure what to do next, but he wanted to go home. He's pretty sure that he needed to lay on the couch or the floor to process everything. What even is he supposed to do next? All he could remember, or think of really, was how Lingxin said she wanted someone dead. Not just her parents, but a man too. He wanted to ask her about it. Does she have a plan? How is he supposed to fit into all of this?
His home wasn't that far from Lingxin's parents' home. If he had started from there, it'd be much quicker than walking all the way from the bike repair shop. It's a small two story house with a black roof and an off white exterior. Jiahao was gifted it from an old friend of Uncle Da's. While it still needs a few renovations, it's perfect to him. It's quiet, comfy, and looks nice too. He desperately needed to be under a different roof from his parents. They both tend to come over pretty often but at the end of the day, it was just him all by himself. But now, it'll be just him and Lingxin, he guessed.
As he approached his front door, he swiftly unlocked it. Jiahao turned to face Lingxin after swinging the door wide open. Home, he tried to sign again then telling her to go in. He sat down on the doorstep to take off his sneakers then hopped right in, locking the door behind him.
Inside was comfy and cozy. It was clean but to be frank, it was a bit empty. He did furnish it and all yet it lacked decoration; he just never had time to despite being a goal of his. Dropping his backpack onto the floor, Jiahao pulled out the notebook and pen again. He flipped to a fresh new page then wrote, "Welcome home!", with a little smiley face. With a smile of his own on his face, he turned the notebook around to show Lingxin.
