Chapter 53 is about this blue color! He'd seen it in the alley! ...

“Everyone else donates things to the welfare home, but our family is different. Not only did we not donate anything, but we also ate and took things.”

"What can we do? It's just that your son is uncontrollable," Fang's mother said helplessly.

“That’s true, how about we donate some things too?” Mr. Fang was also very troubled by his son. He was so shameless that he didn’t know who he got his skin from, and he was also very good at talking. Every time he was so angry that he couldn’t bring himself to hit him.

“What should we donate? The children in the welfare home have plenty of food and clothing, and they don’t seem to lack toys or books either. We donate money, but we don’t have much money at home.”

Today was Mr. Fang's first time visiting a welfare home. He imagined it to be a place filled with disabled children crying and screaming, with staff frantically running around among them. He thought the children should at least have the order of group living, like in school, when they eat, sleep, or play...

However, what he saw today was more like an ordinary family, a family that was very lively and warm because of the many children. Mr. Fang said uncertainly, "I saw some people online saying that they often volunteer at welfare homes. Why don't we ask Xingchen Welfare Home if they need volunteers?"

“That’s good. I see they’re still farming, so they must have a lot of work to do. I added Dean Wen on WeChat before, I’ll ask her about it tomorrow.”

...

Although An Fusheng was very interested in Grandma Bear, he still didn't plan to tell him the story. Grandma Bear was like a horror story; no one in Fushan Village hadn't been scared by her. If he made An Shisi cry this time, Lou Mama would probably beat him up.

"Grandma Bear's story is too long, let's tell another story first?"

"What story?" An Shisi asked curiously.

The people of Fushan Village believed in witchcraft and spirits, and the stories passed down orally were all tinged with terror. An Fusheng had very few positive stories in his mind, so he cleared his throat and began to make them up:

"There is a village in a faraway place, and there is a big maple tree at the entrance of the village."

"Big brother, what kind of tree is a big maple tree?"

"It is a very tall and large tree. Its leaves are like open palms. The leaves are originally green, but they turn yellow or red after the first frost in autumn."

An Shisi's eyes were full of curiosity. "Then it must be very beautiful."

“Yes.” An Fusheng continued, “There is a big rock under the maple tree. It’s very comfortable to sit on the rock in the summer to cool off. Everyone in the village likes to play under the maple tree.”

"Wow, I want to play under the big maple tree too." An Shisi's eyes were full of longing.

"Yes, there's a little boy in the village, about your age, who also loves to play under the big maple tree. Not only can he cool off there, but all sorts of people pass by, and some kind people even give him snacks."

"Wow!" An Shisi exclaimed with envy.

“The little boy goes to play under the big maple tree every day, and his grandmother tells him every day: Don’t eat anything given to you by strangers.”

Why?

An Fusheng didn't answer An Shisi's question and continued telling the story, "One day, a stranger passed by under the big maple tree. He saw a little boy playing alone and asked him if he liked candy. The little boy said yes. The stranger took a piece of candy out of his pocket and gave it to the little boy, telling him that the candy was sweet and delicious. The little boy couldn't resist the temptation and ate the candy immediately. The candy was indeed sweet and delicious. However, as soon as he finished eating it, his stomach started to hurt..."

"Huh?" An Shisi frowned, clearly not expecting such a consequence.

"The little boy ran home and told his grandma that his stomach hurt. His grandma asked him if he had eaten something unclean. The little boy said no, he had only eaten a piece of candy that a kind person had given him as a passerby."

“Yes!” An Shisi hurriedly testified for the little boy.

Without saying a word, Grandma ran out the door. A little while later, she came back with someone in her arms. The little boy was shocked to see that it was the kind person who had given him candy. The little boy asked Grandma why she had caught the kind person. Grandma didn't answer, but said very seriously to the person: "If you don't get the thing out of my grandson's belly, I'll chop you up with a knife!"

"Huh?" The plot twist left An Shisi confused.

"The man was frightened by the grandmother and quickly patted the little boy's back while muttering something. After a while, the little boy felt nauseous and vomited up the candy. The man reached out to catch it, but what fell into his hand was not the candy at all, but a big, shiny black worm."

"Ah! How terrifying!" An Shisi couldn't help but squeeze closer to the center, clutching Wen Xinglan's fluffy dragon pajamas tightly with both hands. "Why would a little boy have a big black worm in his stomach?"

“That’s a Gu worm. The person who gave the little boy the candy turned the original Gu worm into candy and tricked the little boy into eating it. After the little boy ate it, the Gu worm bit his stomach, which is why the little boy had a stomachache.” An Fusheng concluded, “So children should listen to adults and not eat things given by strangers.”

"How scary, I don't want to eat food from strangers."

“Yes.” An Fusheng tucked the blanket around An Shisi. “Alright, the story is over. Go to sleep.”

Ten minutes later.

"Big brother, big brother, big brother..."

An Fusheng was just about to fall asleep when he was woken up. "Hmm?"

Will that person come to our house?

An Fusheng, fighting off sleep, said, "No, it's too far from us. He wouldn't be able to find his way."

"What if he finds it?"

"Then you just shouldn't eat his food."

"Okay, I won't eat his food."

After a while...

An Fusheng had almost fallen asleep, while An Shisi started whimpering again, "Big brother, the Gu worms are so scary!"

An Fusheng: "Mm."

"Brother, the more I think about it, the more scared I get." An Shisi's voice was trembling with tears.

Helpless, An Fusheng got up and switched the sleeping Wen Xinglan with An Shisi, letting An Shisi sleep in the middle. "Don't be afraid, your big brother will protect you."

An Shisi nestled in An Fusheng's arms, "Big brother, can you fight Gu worms?"

"meeting."

"Big brother, kill the Gu worm."

"good."

Before long, An Shisi snuggled into An Fusheng's arms and fell asleep.

An Fusheng carefully removed An Shisi's hearing aid and put it away.

I never expected that such an ordinary little story could scare An Shisi. Luckily, I didn't tell him about Grandma Bear.

...

Since attending the lecture and having an expert assess Wen Xingrui's chances of recovery, and receiving a very optimistic assessment, Lou's mother has been wholeheartedly training Wen Xingrui to speak and walk. She even takes videos to show the experts from time to time, though she doesn't know if they have time to review them.

Wen Xingrui was provoked by An Fusheng last time and hurriedly called out "Gege" a few times, but now she can't say it anymore. However, she learned to take steps before and is now taking them better and better.

"Looks like you're not competitive enough," An Fusheng commented, then used the same tactic to provoke Wen Xingrui, "If you don't say anything, you'll be the younger brother."

Wen Xingrui glanced calmly at An Fusheng and continued playing with his spicy chicken.

The plan failed.

…………

An Fusheng had been thinking about fixing the hot water faucet at Grandma Ao's house that "didn't produce water for a long time after being turned on, but when it did, the water flow was very strong." He had forgotten about it last time he visited Grandma Ao because he was too excited. This time, he specially bought a new faucet and took the tools from the welfare home to fix it.

Lou's mother was busy training Wen Xingrui, so An Fusheng had to bring Wen Xinglan along.

After helping Grandma Ao fix the faucet at her house, I played for a while and then leisurely strolled home.

Last time, Grandma Ao pointed out a shortcut to An Fusheng that would take less than twenty minutes to walk. Since it was still early and there was no rush to go home and cook, An Fusheng put Wen Xinglan down and let him walk by himself.

We were still using the bike lane.

"Squeak—"

A familiar voice.

An Fusheng brought up Wen Xinglan without even thinking before looking at the car that had braked suddenly.

Hmm? This car looks familiar.

The car door opened, and the person was someone I knew.

"It's you!"

It was the girl who had helped him before. For a moment, An Fusheng wondered if time had reversed, except that the girl was wearing different clothes today than yesterday.

"Someone's following you again." The girl lowered her voice, glancing back as she spoke.

"Huh?" An Fusheng turned his head to look behind him, but there was no suspicious person in his line of sight. "Where are they?"

"They're gone. A middle-aged woman was following you suspiciously the whole time."

An Fusheng has hidden his phone very well today; thieves, don't even think about it.

"She kept following you, but didn't get close. She didn't seem like a thief; she seemed to have some other motive."

If he wasn't a thief, then why were you following him?

An Fusheng glanced at Wen Xinglan in his hand, "Could she be a human trafficker?"

"Human traffickers?" The girl glanced at Wen Xinglan. "It's not impossible."

An Fusheng visibly tensed up. "Did you get a good look at what she looked like?"

"I didn't see clearly. I followed her for a little while before she spotted me, but I took a picture." The girl showed An Fusheng the photos on her phone.

An Fusheng leaned closer to look. The photo showed the back of the person, which was a bit far away and not very clear. When he zoomed in, it became blurry again. "Why does it look so familiar?"

"That's right, I saw it before, in the alley!" An Fusheng exclaimed in surprise.

It's this blue color! He'd seen it in the alley!

Grandma Ao suddenly appeared, carrying a blue bag, and he thought it was Grandma Ao. Now that he thinks about it, the blue fabric had a slight sheen, while Grandma Ao was carrying a non-woven eco-friendly bag, which couldn't possibly have that texture. The person in the photo was wearing a jacket made of a slightly sheen blue fabric!

He's a man, and quite tall, and she, a woman, dared to follow him, which proves she has a gang!

An Fusheng was shocked. He glanced at the road and saw no pedestrians, only a few cars speeding by.

They wouldn't just drive up and snatch the child away, would they?

"Could you please take us home? It's very close. I can pay you." An Fusheng asked.

"Oh, it's nothing, get in the car." The girl opened the door behind the driver's seat.

An Fusheng folded the stroller, and the girl helped him put it into the trunk.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"You helped me before, and I haven't thanked you yet. Thank you."

"Hey! What's the big deal? It's just helping out when you see injustice on the road."

"But you're a girl, so you need to be careful about your safety."

"Hmph! I practice Taekwondo, I'm a national second-level athlete. Anyone who dares to mess with me, I'll smash them with one punch!"

An Fusheng stared wide-eyed in disbelief, "You look so thin..."

Not only was she thin, but she was also fair-skinned and delicate, unlike any athlete An Fusheng had in mind.

"Really? Hehe!"