Heart Stealer

In the early morning of Platycodon Town, the sun shines through the clouds onto the roof of the Xiao family's old house, and the golden tiles sparkle in the reflection of the morning sun.

The flowers and plants in the courtyard sway gently in the morning breeze, emitting a faint fragrance, as if telling the story of the years.

Xiao Tuobang's red car drove into the town, slowly moved along the familiar streets, and finally stopped in front of the iconic three-story villa.

After he got off the car, he took a deep breath, as if to absorb the tranquility and freshness into his heart.

Pushing open the heavy iron gate, Xiao Tuobang walked into the yard. He looked back and saw that his parents had already gotten out of the car and were busy moving the luggage. A warm feeling surged in his heart.

He walked up, greeted his parents, and started helping with the luggage.

Although there wasn't much luggage, Xiao Tuobang was still sweating profusely from exhaustion.

He put down the last piece of luggage, feeling a sense of relief. He looked up at the stairs, then slowly walked up the stairs towards his bedroom.

Xiao Tuobang pushed open the door and a familiar breath hit him.

The layout of the room remains the same, but with some signs of time.

Xiao Tuobang walked to the window and opened the curtains. The sunlight poured into the room, illuminating the entire space.

He slowly glanced around the bedroom and saw wedding photos of him and Qiu Xue hanging all over the walls and tables.

Each photo records their past happy moments, but now has become the most heartbreaking existence.

The furnishings in the bedroom were all arranged by Qiuxue. In order to make Xiao Tuobang remember her at all times, Qiuxue carefully selected a wedding photo, put it in a small frame, and placed it on the dressing table.

Looking at these photos, all the memories of the past came flooding back to Xiao Tuobang's mind. His eyes became hot and tears almost fell.

Xiao Tuobang tried hard to calm down and began to pack his luggage silently. Xiao Tuobang didn't have much luggage, so he hung a few sets of clothes on hangers in the closet.

There was a thick photo album at the bottom of the bag, and every photo in the album recorded the sweet past between him and Qiu Xue.

Xiao Tuobang picked up the photo album and his fingers gently stroked the cover, as if he could feel the warmth left by those beautiful times.

Xiao Tuobang sighed softly. He was unwilling to be abandoned by Qiu Xue like this.

He put down the photo album, took out his cell phone and called Qiu Xue's overseas number again and again, but all he heard was a busy tone on the other end of the line.

Xiao Tuobang closed his eyes in pain. He longed that when he opened his eyes again, Qiu Xue would appear beside him as usual, gently caressing his face.

Xiao Tuobang was exhausted both physically and mentally, and fell asleep unknowingly.

When he woke up, he was still facing the cold wall. He could no longer feel Qiu Xue's love. Thinking of this, Xiao Tuobang became very depressed.

Seeing her son's decadent appearance, Xiao's mother was very worried. She stayed with him and did not dare to leave the house.

Fortunately, her son had a normal diet, so Xiao's mother asked his father, who was a good cook, to cook delicious meals for her son every day to nourish his body.

Until the morning of the third day, the breeze was gentle and the sun shone through the clouds, enveloping the entire town in warmth.

The family had just finished lunch and was sitting at the dining table chatting.

Xiao Tuobang finished his last bite of food, put down his bowl and chopsticks, and a smile that had not been seen for a long time appeared on his face.

He turned to his parents and said, "Dad, Mom, the weather is nice today. I want to go for a walk on the beach."

Xiao's mother and father were very relieved to see their son finally willing to go out. They looked at Xiao Tuobang with a smile, their eyes full of love and concern.

Xiao's mother quickly responded, "Tuobang, then you go quickly, but be sure to come back early." Xiao's father also smiled and nodded in agreement.

Xiao Tuobang nodded slightly, then turned around and slowly walked out of the house.

As Xiao Tuobang stepped out of the house, his mother suddenly stood up from her seat and was about to follow him.

Seeing this, Xiao's father quickly grabbed his wife's arm and pulled her back to her seat.

Xiao's mother was caught off guard and almost fell to the ground. After she steadied herself, she glared at her husband with her eyes wide open.

Mother Xiao yelled angrily, "Don't pull me! Your son has become like this, locking himself up at home all day, depressed, and you can still be so calm? Are you the child's father?"

Faced with his wife's accusations, Xiao's father felt sad.

He knew that his wife was worried about their son, but he also understood that excessive care would sometimes bring more pressure to their son.

Father Xiao sighed and said, "Tuobang is an adult. He has his own ideas and lifestyle. If we interfere too much with him, it will only make him feel disgusted and annoyed."

Mother Xiao had nothing to say, she could only sit back on the sofa helplessly.

Xiao's mother knew that what her husband said made sense, but she still couldn't help but worry about her son's condition.

The two of them sat in the living room in silence for a long time.

Finally, Xiao's mother broke the silence: "Forget it, let's go cook." She stood up and prepared to go to the kitchen to cook.

Looking at his wife's back, Father Xiao couldn't help feeling guilty.

He knew that his wife cared about their son more than he did and was more worried about his condition.

He followed his wife silently into the kitchen.

The kitchen was filled with the aroma of food. Xiao's mother was busy cooking at the stove, while Xiao's father was helping her.

Although the two did not speak, their tacit understanding and concern for each other made them feel warm.

They prepared the meal together and then sat at the dining table quietly waiting for their son to come back.

However, a long time passed after dinner time, but Xiao Tuobang still did not show up.

Xiao's mother couldn't help but stand up and walk to the window, looking at the street in the distance, hoping to see her son.

Father Xiao also noticed his wife's abnormality. He walked over to her and patted her shoulder gently: "Don't worry, Tuobang will be fine. He just needs some time to adjust himself."

After hearing what her husband said, Xiao's mother felt a little more at ease.

"Old Xiao, is anyone home?"

At this moment, a familiar shout came from the yard. It turned out that the old captain had arrived.

When Xiao's mother heard the voice, she hurried to the door to greet him and welcomed the old captain into the house.

As the old captain walked into the house, he complained, "You didn't even say hello to me when you came back from the city. When I passed by your door just now, I saw the gate was wide open and thought a thief had come in."

After hearing this, Father Xiao quickly apologized, "Oh, Lao Zhang, I'm so sorry! I was actually planning to visit you later, but I didn't expect you to come so soon."