Chapter 2: Ru Ru, wearing a dress, looks cold and indifferent, just like...

The second time Song Yu met Zhou Ci was at Zhou Shen’s first birthday party, nearly two years after their first meeting.

Zhou Shen is Zhou Ting'an's second wife. After obtaining legal status, she gave birth to his second child, a son who was born with the earnest expectations of two lovers and is deeply loved by his parents.

The first birthday party was held in the new home that Zhou Ting'an bought for his ex-wife. There were sixty tables and it was extremely grand. Zhou Ting'an was eager to introduce his beloved wife and young son to everyone. He invited everyone in the wealthy circle of City B, whether they should be invited or not.

That day, Song Yu and Shen Zhiyan represented the school in a mathematics competition, so they arrived late. When the driver picked her up from the competition venue, the banquet had already been going on for a while.

She had just gotten out of the car and casually raised her head when she saw Zhou Ci upstairs.

He was standing alone in front of the railing on the third floor, looking down at the endless stream of guests on the lawn on the first floor. He looked so cold and indifferent, as if he was watching someone else's play.

The wind blew away the soft hair on his forehead, revealing his pair of ruthless and moody eyes. He was taller and thinner than two years ago, his face had grown a little, and his facial features looked more three-dimensional and sharp.

When Song Yu first saw him, he knew he was a good-looking kid.

At that time, she thought that when he grew up a little, he would be very popular with girls and many girls would write love letters to him.

Song Yu was very happy to see him today. She had not stayed in City B during the Spring Festival in the past two years. She always rushed back from abroad when school was about to start. When the Song and Zhou families visited relatives during the Spring Festival, she was not in the country and they did not meet, so she had never seen Zhou Ci again.

She had also asked her parents about Zhou Ci's recent situation. When they heard his name, they shook their heads and said it was a pity. He said he used to be a cute little boy, soft, cute, and polite, but now he has become more and more taciturn, not willing to appear in public or communicate with others. He speaks less and less, and rarely responds to three questions.

The Zhou Ci described by Song's father and mother was very abstract. No matter how much Song Yu thought about it, he could not imagine what the expression of Zhou Ci, who was as soft and sticky as a bun back then, would be like with a cold face.

Now that she saw how he resisted everyone getting close to him, she couldn't say what she felt. She wasn't heartbroken or sad, but she felt that Uncle Zhou was quite a jerk. Not only was he a scumbag, but he was also an irresponsible scumbag father who only cared about giving birth but not raising the children. He had a new wife and a new son, but he was so cruel to treat his eldest son born to his deceased wife like this.

No wonder when her grandmother was alive, she often said that she would rather have a beggar mother than a government official father. Now Zhou Ci has changed so much, and he is almost the same as her grandmother when she was a child, a poor child without a mother to love and a father to care for him.

Song Yu had heard from his parents that Zhou Ting'an used to value Zhou Ci very much and would often take him out to play when he had time, and that the father-son relationship was quite good. He didn't know why things had changed this way now. Was it Uncle Zhou's nature, or was it because his second-married wife was so attractive that with a stepmother, there was also a stepfather.

She couldn't understand what was going on in the mind of a man who would abandon his wife and children for a woman.

Song Yu thought to herself and found the table where Song's parents were sitting at the banquet. She greeted them and received high praise from the uncles and aunts at the table. She also listened to her parents' instructions, greeted Zhou Ting'an and his current wife, and took the opportunity to slip out to see Zhou Ci.

Today, she and Shen Zhiyan went to the B City Cultural Center to participate in the competition. While waiting for the driver, the two were very hungry. They ordered a spicy hot pot at the shopping mall near the cultural center, and they didn't feel hungry at this time.

Song Yu had not originally planned to come, but Zhou Ting'an, relying on the fact that he and Song Yu's father grew up together and were old classmates, specifically asked Song Yu to come and join in the fun and to improve her relationship with Zhou Nian. Song Yu could not refuse, so she had to come.

After Song Yu greeted the elders and went back outside to the third floor of Zhou Ci's house, Zhou Ci was no longer there.

Song Yu felt that this kid liked to run around a bit, and she had only seen him twice today, and both times she had to look for him everywhere.

Fortunately, after she went downstairs, she ran into Zhou Nian outside the door. Song Yu was too lazy to look for him herself, so she asked directly, "Niannian, do you know where Zhou Ci lives?"

Zhou Nian was not happy today. She had her own concerns and her tone was not very good: "Why did Sister Song Yu look for that liar?"

Song Yu casually found an excuse: "Just asking."

Zhou Nian pointed at the small building Song Yu had just walked out of: "He lives on the second floor." She didn't forget to flatter Song Yu: "Ever since he pushed my mom down the stairs and refused to admit it, Dad has not allowed him to come near us and made him live here alone. Sister Song Yu, Zhou Ci is a liar and doesn't listen to Mom and Dad. He is very mean. He did bad things and refused to admit them. He caused my mom to stay in the hospital for more than a month before she could save Zhou Shen in her belly."

Song Yu was a little skeptical: "Did Zhou Ci push your mother and make her fall down the stairs?" She felt that it was Zhou Nian's mother who was taking the blame. Aunt Li spoke softly, but the knife in her words was not gentle at all.

Zhou Nian nodded heavily. She took Song Yu's hand and said coquettishly, "Yes! Sister Song Yu, Zhou Ci is very bad. He can hit people. When he gets mad, he even hits mom. Dad says he is a bastard. You should ignore him in the future."

Song Yu still didn't believe it, but she didn't say much to Zhou Nian. She just perfunctorily said, "I see. Thank you, Nian Nian. I want to visit your garden. Can you go find other children to play with first? I'll come find you later when I have time."

After successfully persuading Zhou Nian to leave, Song Yu walked back into the small building at the back. On the second floor that Zhou Nian mentioned, he found Zhou Ci who was alone.

Zhou Ci sat with his back to her, facing the wall. Song Yu patted him gently from behind and greeted him with a smile: "Little boy, what are you doing here alone?"

Zhou Cibie said he turned around without even moving the corner of his clothes. He was like a wooden man, just sitting there straight.

Song Yu didn't mind. She and Zhou Ci were not very familiar with each other. They had only met once two years ago. Zhou Ci was very young at that time, so it was normal that he didn't remember her.

Like Zhou Ci, she sat down on the floor next to him and tried to get close to him with a smile: "Little boy, I'm very unhappy today. Can you talk to me?"

But when Song Yu saw clearly the things placed in front of Zhou Ci, she could no longer laugh.

A Western-style knife that I had taken from who knows where, it looked quite sharp; a bottle of medicine of unknown origin; and a piece of packaging rope that was strong enough to strangle an adult...

Thinking of his previous behavior when he was standing in front of the railing on the third floor, Song Yu didn't pay attention at that time. He just felt that he seemed to be uninterested in everything around him, very cold and indifferent. Only then did he realize that Zhou Ci clearly had no attachment to this world.

The things in front of us are probably all the ways of suicide that a child in elementary school can imagine.

Song Yu pointed at these things, his hands shaking a little, and it took him a long time to utter a complete sentence: "What are these?"

This kid is so scary. He is so young and hasn't grown up yet. Why would he be so desperate to do stupid things? What is he thinking?

Zhou Ci lowered his head and said in a cold tone: "What does it have to do with you? Go away! Leave me alone!"

"I'm going to take care of it! You actually want to commit suicide?" He was fierce, and Song Yu was even more fierce. He kicked away the messy things in front of him.

Zhou Ci was furious. He raised his head suddenly and reached out to push Song Yu, but when he saw Song Yu's appearance clearly, his outstretched hand suddenly froze, and a ray of light barely struggled out of his dead eyes.

He looked at Song Yu for a long time. Nearly two years had passed since their first meeting. The appearance and voice of the sister in his memory had changed. He was younger at the time and was not very sure that the person in front of him was the kind sister from that year, so he looked very carefully. He couldn't believe that the sister would suddenly appear in front of him like a fairy. He wondered if he was dreaming.

Zhou Ci really looked at her for a long, long time. He didn't say anything, but just kept looking at her with his eyes open. Song Yu felt a little unsure of herself. She couldn't help but touch her face and asked in a low voice: "Is there something dirty on your face?"

Could it be that she didn't wipe off the oil on her mouth when she was eating the spicy hot pot?

Even more impossible, is it that she has eye boogers and doesn't know it?

Even more impossible...

Song Yu's face changed drastically. She didn't dare let her thoughts wander any further, and quickly took out a small mirror from her schoolbag pocket to examine herself.

No matter what, she is a little beauty who is praised by everyone. Whether the oil on her mouth is not wiped clean, there is poop in the corner of her eye, or other indecent things, these are things that she, as a little beauty now and a big beauty in the future, absolutely cannot accept.

After she finished looking in the mirror and didn't find those scary things on her face, she put the mirror back into her schoolbag with satisfaction. She patted her chest and said to herself in relief: "I was scared to death!"

As soon as I looked up, I saw a faint smile on Zhou Ci's face. He looked so cute when he smiled. Such a cute child should smile more and be happy every day. He always had a cold face and looked disgusted with the world. He didn't look like a child at all.

Seeing Zhou Ci relax and no longer prickling people like a little hedgehog, Song Yu knew that Zhou Ci recognized her. She was also very happy: "Little friend, do you still remember your sister?"

Zhou Ci clenched his right hand slightly, hiding it behind his back. He said nervously, "I've never forgotten my sister, but it's been a long time since I last saw her. I thought she had forgotten me."

"How could I forget such a lovely child like you?" Song Yu said quickly, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I've spent the past two years of Spring Festival abroad. My grandpa wasn't feeling well and missed me terribly, so every winter and summer vacation, I would go abroad to be with him. I couldn't go anywhere else."

"Well, my sister has a grandfather, but I don't. I have never seen my grandfather." Zhou Ci was extremely envious.

Song Yu gave him a kind smile, without saying anything like "you too" against her will. She simply pointed at the mess on the floor where she had kicked it and asked him seriously, "Little boy, what do you want to do?"

"I want to choose a less painful way to die." Zhou Ci gave her a bleak smile, not lying. "Sister, can you help me choose one? This world is meaningless, and this family is meaningless. I want to turn into a star and find my mother."

"How can it be boring? You are still so young. When you grow up, everything will be fine. You will find this world so interesting." Song Yu comforted him.

"This is so boring." Zhou Ci shook his head. "I wanted to jump directly from the third floor today, but I was afraid that blood would splatter everywhere. If Zhou Ting'an saw it, he would be even more unhappy. Then his wife would complain about this and that. I don't want to hear Zhou Ting'an scolding my mother for not raising me well, so I prepared a few other ways to die. I'm going to pick any of them and die quietly here so that I won't bother anyone."

The more Song Yu listened, the angrier she became. Her eyes bulged into two cute almond-shaped shapes. "Are you stupid? Who do you think would be grateful for your peaceful death? Are you stupid? For something like this that makes your loved ones sad and your enemies happy, your enemies will only applaud and cheer, and even in their sleep they will praise your death as a good and wonderful one."

Zhou Ci hung his head and said nothing, letting Song Yu lecture him.

Song Yu only saw a large wet patch on the floor in front of him. He was such a crybaby, so fond of crying. He cried every time he saw him. But he was just a child, so young. He had been wronged, and there was no mother to comfort him. All he had was his father's unfair and endless scolding. What else could he do except hide and cry secretly? Who would pity him?

Song Yu even felt that, given his personality, crying in front of him was probably his most willful and outrageous act.

For a moment, Song Yu could no longer utter any words of blame.

After a while, I heard his suppressed nasal voice: "It doesn't matter. No one cares anyway."

Song Yu felt a pain in her heart that she couldn't describe. She touched his head and said softly but firmly, "But I care about you. I care about you." She comforted him, "Little friend, when you grow up, you will have many unhappy things. This is the price of growing up. For example, I am actually very unhappy today."

Zhou Ci really looked up: "Why is sister unhappy?"

"It's all because of Shen Zhiyan." Song Yu said as a matter of course, "If he had listened to me today, we could have gotten a higher score in the competition, but Shen Zhiyan is a stubborn guy. No matter what I say, he won't listen. It makes me so angry."

Zhou Ci looked up at her and asked seriously, "Who is Shen Zhiyan?"

"Chen Zhiyan is my sister's classmate, and his house is right next door to my sister's. He's arrogant, stubborn, cunning, and never willing to suffer any loss. Although he has flaws all over his body, since he was a child, he has always taken the blame for my sister and always protected her face. How about introducing you to each other next time? He is a very good person and protects his own people."

Zhou Ci was not interested in getting to know Shen Zhiyan. He just wanted to stay with his sister. He looked at Song Yu and said eagerly, "Can I see my sister more often in the future?"

Song Yu promised generously: "Of course, I'll write down my phone number for you. Next time you want to see me, just call me directly, okay?" She took out a piece of cardboard and a marker from her schoolbag, wrote her phone number on it, and handed it to Zhou Ci.

Zhou Ci didn't answer. He looked up at her and asked carefully, "Sister, you won't disappear again like last time, right? After you left last time, I looked for you for a long time, but no one would tell me your name or where you lived. I couldn't find you at all."

"No, no!" Song Yu waved her hands quickly. She raised the paper in her hand and emphasized again: "You have my phone number. As long as you can call me, you will definitely be able to find me in the future. I promise!"

"What's your name, sister?"

"Ah? I didn't tell you?" Song Yu was stunned for a moment. She smiled a little embarrassedly and apologized quickly: "I'm sorry, I forgot. My name is Song Yu, the Song Yu in 'Who is the best poet in Song Dynasty? I admire the plum blossom saint Yu.'"

Song Yu!

Zhou Ci recited the name silently in his mind, then reached out to take the phone number from Song Yu's hand. He had not learned the poem in Song Yu's name, but that did not prevent him from remembering it firmly in his heart.

He clutched the phone number tightly in his palm, afraid to lose it, yet also afraid to wrinkle it. He smoothed it out gently with his fingers and carefully placed it in his trouser pocket. He said to Song Yu briskly, "My name is Zhou Ci. My mother said that when she was pregnant with me, 'I bid farewell to the people of Zhou in the morning and stayed with the people of Zheng in the evening.' So she named me 'Ci', which means I will stay in Lingnan forever."

"I know, I know!" Song Yu followed his brainless words and praised him: "Zhou Ci, you are amazing. You are so great. You know so many ancient poems at such a young age."

Zhou Ci smiled shyly at her praise. He asked cautiously and with some uncertainty: "Sister, you like Ah Ci very much, right?"

"Yes, yes, I like little Aci the most." Song Yu touched his little head soothingly again.

Zhou Ci smiled as Song Yu touched him, acting as obediently as a pup having its fur stroked. He rested his head affectionately on Song Yu's arm, his beautiful round eyes sparkling, his pupils as clear as glass. "Sister, will you always like Ah Ci?"

Song Yu thought about it responsibly before replying seriously, "Probably."

"Then I will only like my sister from now on." Zhou Ci said carefully, "No one is good to Aci, only my sister is good to Aci."

"It's okay, it's okay. I'll love you from now on." Song Yu patted his little shoulder. "You'll listen to me from now on, right?"

"Okay, I will only listen to my sister from now on." Zhou Ci nodded seriously.

Seeing that he had calmed down a lot, Song Yu pointed at those things and said to him, "Then you have to promise me that you will never have such unreasonable thoughts again, otherwise I will be angry, very angry!"

Zhou Ci took a look at those things. Although he still felt that this world was boring, he had his sister in this world. His sister was so good to him, and he didn't want her to be angry. He also promised to only listen to his sister in the future.

He secretly held Song Yu's sleeve and whispered, "Don't be angry, sister. I promise you that I will never be upset again."

As long as his sister always loves him and never leaves him, he will never think about going to heaven to find his mother after he dies.

I heard that it is very painful when people die, and he is actually very afraid of pain. But after his mother died, no one could comfort him no matter how much pain he felt.

But he is not afraid now. He will have his sister to love him.

"Little boy, a female celebrity I really like once said: If a person isn't afraid of death, then he or she shouldn't be afraid of living. When someone dies, only those who care about you will cry for you, while those who hate you will only applaud. You should live well and live like a human being. Only when you live well can you make those who hate you feel bad. Think about it, what kind of person do those who hate you least want you to be? If you work hard towards that goal, you will definitely not go wrong."

Zhou Ci blinked his eyes. He was a smart kid and understood everything immediately: "Sister, I think I understand a little bit."

Song Yu gave him an exaggerated thumbs-up encouragingly, "You are a great kid."

She pulled a strawberry-flavored lollipop from her pocket and handed it to Zhou Ci. "I love sweets, but I can't eat too much for fear of cavities. Today, I represented the school in a competition and won first place, so I gave myself a lollipop as a reward. Now, I'm giving it to you. My lollipops are only given to brave and smart children. Other children don't get any. Try it, it's very sweet."

Zhou Ci reached out to take the lollipop and thanked him obediently: "Thank you, sister!"

He didn't tear open the candy wrapper to eat it, but quietly grabbed the lollipop in his hand, holding it tightly, as if trying to grasp the only kindness and beauty left in the world for him.

That year, Song Yu was 10 years old and Zhou Ci was 7 years old.