Time Is Slow

“You can draw?” Chi Can stared at Qiao Zhao. His eyes were narrowed and slightly raised, and even with the trace of mockery that was flowing from him, the radiance of his face was still in full effect; “And then what? Do you want to draw a picture for me?”

Standing behind Qiao Zhao, Yang Er coughed lightly, trying to hint at the little girl not to say anything anymore.

Zhu Wu warmly chimed in; “Anyone who has learned painting can draw and paint ducks, but this is different.”

Qiao Zhao bent her lips and said; “Brother Zhu, I understand.”

After she finished speaking, she looked back at Chi Can and her tone was calm but full of sincerity; “I will draw a ‘duck show’ for Brother Chi as a thank you for helping me.”

Chi Can was upset at first, but Qiao Zhao’s sincerity had calmed him down a little.

He stared at her closely, then smiled at her and said in a cold tone; “Okay then, you can draw it.”

He paused, thought a little, then continued; “If it turns out to be a sloppy job, then you can get off the ship when it docks next.”

“Xi Xi” Zhu Wu patted him lightly; “Isn’t that a bit…”

“Unreasonable?” Chi Can had finished his sentence.

Zhu Wu did not reply to him, rather, he looked down at his shoes.

The three of them have been friends since they were young, so he understood his friend’s temper.

The incident between the princess and her late husband changed Chi Can’s temperament a lot, but, it had not been so extreme initially. As Chi Can got older, his temperament got worse and more troubles arose.

He still clearly remembered how Chi Can had once rescued a girl who was being molested. She had later on hanged herself and left him a message that her ghost would haunt him for the rest of his life for what he had done.

Good news is rarely heard of, but bad news can spread thousands of miles. This matter spread all over the streets and alleys of the capital in an instant. Afterwards, whoever thought of Chi Can saving lives, also remembered what had happened after he rescued the girl.

Chi Can was only thirteen years old when this had happened. His mother, Princess Changrong, had whipped him tirelessly and gave him scars all over his body.

Since then, Chi Can’s temperament had only gotten worse and worse.

To be honest, Zhu Wu was surprised that Li San had not been rejected when she had asked his friend for help that day.

Zhu Wu sighed lightly.

‘Forget it, if Miss Li is really driven off the boat, at worst he will take care of her secretly so that the little girl will be able to get home.’ He said to himself.

“Don’t get mad, she asked for this.” Chi Can said coldly.

Qiao Zhao blinked.

This person was not who she had imagined him to be.

At that time, she had thought he was just thick-skinned, so she had not noticed how mean and stingy he was.

“It turns out that Big Brother Chi doesn’t want to be repaid for his kindness.” Qiao Zhao said.

Chi Can narrowed his eyes and looked a little puzzled for a moment.

Zhu Wu was a bystander and he understood, after a little thought, and couldn’t help but chuckle.

Yang Er pulled Zhu Wu and asked in a low voice; “What charade are you playing?”

Zhu Wu shook his head and remained silent.

Chi Can glanced at the two, then at Qiao Zhao, who had a calm expression, and suddenly understood what she meant.

The little girl meant that he had promised to take her back to Beijing, but now he wants to kick her off the boat because she wanted to show her gratitude, so that means he doesn’t want her to repay him.

So, it was a mockery of his mean nature.

Chi Can couldn’t help but glare at the little girl.

‘Is this girl really thirteen years old?’ He wondered.

Qiao Zhao felt that she was wronged. She was just telling the truth. Why did he roll his eyes at her again?

Chi Can turned his eyes away and said with a sneer; “Well it’s too late now. I’m waiting to see your drawing.”

Qiao Zhao suppressed her displeasure and said; “My grandfather has passed away long ago.”

Chi Can was startled, then furious. He pointed at Qiao Zhao; “You…”

Chi Can was even angrier than before when he heard her say this.

She asked calmly; “Are there any pens, inks or paints on board?”

“It’s all here, I’ll take you.” Zhu Wu knew that the atmosphere had become too tense. So he took this opportunity to lead Qiao Zhao into the cabin.

This passenger ship could have carried more than a dozen passengers, but the three of them were rich and powerful, so they paid for the whole ship and turned one of the guest rooms into a study.

Qiao Zhao followed Zhu Wu into the room and took a look around. Although the layout of the room was simple, there were quite a lot of desks, low couches, etc. that were inside, making it a perfect area.

“You can use the pens, inks, papers and ink stones as you like.” Zhu Wu led her inside and said; “Just don’t flip through these books or you will make Xi Xi angry again.”

“Thank you, Big Brother Zhu, I understand.” Qiao Zhao expressed her gratitude.

“Then I’ll go out first.”

Painters generally didn’t like to be disturbed by others. And besides, it was not appropriate to be alone in a room with the little girl.

Qiao Zhao nodded slightly; “Brother Zhu, please do what you want.”

Seeing that the girl was already sitting in front of the desk, he nodded and began to walk out of the room. Zhu Wu then paused at the door, turned around and said to Qiao Zhao; “Don’t worry. Xi Xi is really just a hard-spoken but soft-hearted man.”

Qiao Zhao raised her head and looked at Zhu Wu, a little astonished, and smiled at him; “Thank you, Brother Zhu, I’m not worried anymore.”

Chi Can being a hard-spoken and soft-hearted man was false but what was true was that Brother Zhu was the soft-hearted one.

She had nothing to worry about. After repaying the favor she owed, she planned not to have any form of interaction with any them in the future.

Qiao Zhao’s tone and expression were too calm as she answered him. This made Zhu Wu feel embarrassed for a moment. Nodding to her as a reply, he left.

Hearing his footsteps, Chi Can turned to him and said with a grin; “Why did you leave the room?”

Zhu Wu walked to his side, raised his hand and gave him a light pat and asked; “What are you talking about?”

Chi Can smiled as he stared at the river.

Spring was already looking very beautiful and the weeping willows on both sides of the river were being reflected on the river surface, showing their softness and gracefulness, but the ripples caused by the passing of the boat destroyed this tranquility.

“It’s nothing. I was just afraid that you might have caused us some unnecessary trouble.” Chi Can said softly.

Zhu Wu was startled at first, then, he began laugh; “Xi Xi, you are over thinking it.”

The little girl’s image flashed across his mind, making his smile deepen the more.

****

The boat moved slowly, gradually slanting westward.

Yang Er looked frequently at the cabin.

“The little girl has been in there for most of the day. She didn’t even come out to eat lunch. Could it be that she really can’t draw and is afraid of being driven off the boat by Xi Xi?”

Chi Can and Zhu Wu looked at each other.

It did seem like a possibility.

“Let me go and have a look.” Zhu Wu said softly.

Chi Can stopped him and said with a sneer; “I’ll go.”

After he had said this, the three of them heard footsteps. Turning simultaneously to stare at the direction, they saw Qiao Zhao approaching.

Chi Can looking down, saw that her hands were empty. Raising his eyebrows, he said; “Where is the drawing? And why didn’t you come out to eat?”