The memory of his "mother" is actually not very clear, and the boy doesn't even remember what she looks like.

What I remember most is that she was lying on the bed and kept making sounds like a blower leaking air. She always cried out in pain but never said exactly where it hurt.

There was no communication between the two of them. The boy didn't understand what she was thinking, and the "mother" didn't know what the boy was thinking either.

Sometimes they didn't say a word to each other for several days.

But they are indeed like a family, at least they eat together every day.

Although the "mother" was not rich, since the boy became her "son", he had a tin house to live in and food to eat, even though the "mother" herself did not have much food stored.

They each have their own thoughts, but they maintain a wonderful family.

When the boy discovered that something was wrong with his "mother", she was already dying.

During that time, she looked no different from usual until she was about to die.

The "mother" left her will with difficulty, leaving her few possessions - a tin house and a few potatoes - to the boy.

The boy just asked her calmly who had made her like this.

The "mother" did not say anything, and the boy did not know what she was thinking. Perhaps she felt that it was useless to say anything, or perhaps she was worried that the child would go for revenge and would definitely die at the hands of that person, so she kept her mouth shut, and only shed a single luxurious tear before closing her eyes.

The boy was willing to believe that the "mother" didn't tell him because of the latter.

He felt a little secret maternal love in it.

But it is not difficult to find out about this matter. The slums lack everything except prostitutes and male prostitutes. The information among them is fluid and transparent. Although the boy has never seen Zhao Lei, after these years, he may be the person in the world who knows Zhao Lei best.

The woman was frightened by the boy's eyes. There was no shortage of people who would kill, or people who wanted to kill, but without exception, when they talked about these things, they were either excited, or scared, or showed off with an attitude of "I'm not afraid of anything".

But the boy's expression and even his tone did not change.

The scariest thing is that when he said this, he looked relaxed.

The woman thought the child was crazy. She didn't understand, so she said, "You are now living in the inner city. That man seems to be very good to you. As long as you are obedient, you will definitely be different from us in the future. You don't have to be a thug or a male prostitute. You may become a big shot."

"You killed Zhao Lei, then what?" The woman felt that her mind had never been as clear as it was now. She stood up and sat in front of the boy, hoping to make him give up this idea. "Zhao Lei's people will definitely find out that it was you who did it. There are no secrets here. What will you do then?"

"You can live a good life now!" said the woman. "Even if your mother knew all this, she would definitely not want you to seek revenge."

The boy looked up at her and asked calmly, "How did you know?"

The woman was stunned: "What?"

Boy: "How do you know what she thinks?"

"If it were me, I would hope someone would avenge me."

The woman was speechless. She looked at the boy and whispered in fear, "I won't help you."

"I have worked so hard to live my current life. If you don't cherish it, I do."

She had suffered a lot and would rather forget all her experiences and hatred than lose her current life.

The boy just said: "I didn't ask you to help me, I just want to know when Zhao Lei will come next time? Who might he look for?"

"I know what you want."

"As long as you provide me with information, I can let you move out of here." The boy looked at her with his eyes that were clearly black and white, and as calm as the sea, "You can have a house in the inner city."

The woman who had just rejected him sternly was moved.

The boy stood up at this time and said: "If you can give me this news, others can too."

The woman was afraid that the boy would really look for someone else, so she immediately agreed: "I'll give it to you!"

"I'll have someone tell you."

"How should I inform you?"

The boy finally showed a bit of a stingy smile: "I will stay in the supermarket during this time. As for how to notify me without being discovered, you should have a way."

After he said that, he did not stay here any longer. He took out the remaining sandwiches from his bag and left them all to the woman, then left again with his bag on his back.

The woman stared at the closed wooden door in a daze. After the boy left, she realized that she was clearly talking to a child, but she never treated him as a real child from the beginning.

He even knows how to influence other people's thoughts better than adults.

He saw immediately what she wanted.

Now that she has money and a job, her most urgent need is to move out of here.

The woman rubbed her face with a wry smile.

Since she can't refuse, she might as well take a gamble. If she wins, she can really change her appearance. Maybe in the future she can adopt an orphan and someone will take care of her when she is old.

The boy walked through the slums, taking everything around him for granted, even bypassing the men who were acting like beasts on the street.

There was no emotion in his eyes, and even when he occasionally looked over, it was like he was looking at a wild animal.

Because of the way he was dressed, no one dared to stop him or talk to him.

The boy walked out of the chaotic slums, and after walking for a while he took out a flashlight from his backpack and illuminated the way back.

The inner city is peaceful and harmonious. Compared with the slums, the inner city is like another world.

All the filth and dirt stayed in the ghetto.

The boy had a mocking smile on his face as he walked past a mother with her child.

But he quickly calmed down and walked up the steps of the building.

·

"Why are you back so late?" Ye Zhou immediately sat up from his chair in the restaurant when he heard the door open. It was already past nine o'clock in the evening and he almost went out to look for someone.

Ye Zhou strode towards the boy, but he couldn't bear to hit him or scold him, so he could only hold his anger and hurt himself internally.

He took a deep breath and tried to make himself look normal. He even reached out and picked up the boy covered in yellow sand. As he walked inside, he said, "You are not alone now. You have to consider my feelings as well."

"Go take a shower and change your clothes. Have you had dinner?" Ye Zhou asked with his head down.

The boy lowered his head, and Ye Zhou could only see the whorl of hair on top of his head.

In this warm embrace, the boy buried his head in Ye Zhou's arms. He didn't know why Ye Zhou was so good to him, but he had long gotten over his initial panic, got used to such kindness, and didn't want to lose it.

"No." The boy said sullenly.

Ye Zhou patted his head: "I knew it, go take a shower, I'll get you your bath towel."

"I changed your bed sheets and quilt covers too. I did it without letting Cao'er and the others do it."

"We'll talk about this after you've showered and eaten."

The boy has lived in such a complicated environment since he was young, and Ye Zhou doesn't know how to educate him. He can only communicate with him as if he were an adult. As for whether it is effective or not - Ye Zhou feels that it seems to have no effect, but he can't think of any other way. After all, he is not an education expert, and has never taken care of a child.

While the boy was taking a bath, Ye Zhou prepared dinner for him.

It was a bowl of beef noodles, and the beef sauce was made by Aunt Li, so Ye Zhou hardly needed to add any seasoning and it tasted great.

After the boy came out and had dinner, Ye Zhou asked him to go to the living room and sit opposite him with a serious face.

"How old are you?" Ye Zhou asked.

The boy thought for a long time. He had never celebrated his birthday, and they didn't celebrate the New Year here either. Time, like life, was chaotic.

So he could only give an approximate age: "Ten? Or eleven."

Ye Zhou: "You also know that you are not eighteen, let alone twenty. Before you do anything, you should think about the most dangerous situation you may encounter, and then consider whether you can handle it."

"If you go out in the future, you must come back before eight o'clock." Ye Zhou asked, "Can you promise?"

The boy didn't hesitate. He nodded and said, "Got it."

Ye Zhou finally smiled: "What did you do today?"

The boy did not lie to Ye Zhou, but he did not tell everything either. He just said that he "bought" a person.

"Very good." Ye Zhou felt relieved.

Ye Zhou thought it was a good thing that the boy was willing to help others.

Besides, he had no shortage of bottles of water and sandwiches.

"Are you going out tomorrow?" Ye Zhou asked.

The boy shook his head: "Not going out anymore."

Ye Zhou was even more relieved that the child had grown up. He took the boy back to the room and watched him climb onto the bed and cover himself with the quilt. When he was about to leave, the boy suddenly said to him while sitting on the bed: "I'm scared."

Ye Zhou stopped, walked over, sat down beside the bed, and said gently, "I will stay here until you can be independent."

"You don't have to be afraid of anything."

Just as Ye Zhou reached out to pat the boy on the back, the boy opened his arms and snuggled into Ye Zhou's arms.

If this was the adult Zou Ming, Ye Zhou would have pushed him away before he came closer. However, this was not the adult Zou Ming, but a child who seemed weak and helpless to Ye Zhou. So he hugged the boy, resting his chin on the top of the boy's head, and whispered, "Go to sleep. I'll stay here with you until you fall asleep before I leave."

Ye Zhou did as he said and waited until the boy fell asleep before leaving the room.

But he closed the door too quickly and didn't see the eyes of the boy lying on his side, which had already opened.

There was no sleepiness in it.

·

In addition to "taking care of the children", Ye Zhou still has to work. Even though he refused repeatedly, he still had to accept Zhao Qing's two invitations to party.

Zhao Qing has already moved into the RV, and the temporary reservoir will be built soon.

But after so long, Zhao Qing still didn't give the promised "money" to Ye Zhou.

He is still dragging his feet on paying the deposit, but the parties are being held extraordinarily frequently. He doesn't pay for the water, but is willing to pay for the food and wine at the parties.

Ye Zhou was speechless to him.

But Ye Zhou was not in a hurry. After all, the water was in his hands. When Zhao Qing pulled the water, he would follow suit.

Anyway, as long as Zhao Qing is not anxious, he will never be anxious.

"He held another party?" Chen Shu was speechless. If Ye Zhou went, she had to go too. After all, he was his bodyguard.

Ye Zhou was also helpless, but fortunately, resources were insufficient and Zhao Qing’s party did not require a dress code, otherwise he would have to wear a suit?

The sun had just set when the two of them went out. Ye Zhou looked at his watch and before leaving, he reminded the boy to stay home well tonight.

The boy obediently sent Ye Zhou to the door, and nodded seriously when Ye Zhou gave him instructions.

Ye Zhou, who was exhausted, finally felt a little better.

"Brother Zou looks pretty well behaved now." Chen Shu found it a little funny.

She had already taken a lot of photos of the boy and was waiting to show them to Zou Ming when he came back.

Ye Zhou thought so too, but he still coughed lightly: "Just keep the photos for yourself, and don't show them to Zou Ming later, or he'll beat you up."

Chen Shu and Ye Zhou walked into the tall building, and she smiled and said, "If you can't beat me, won't you just run away?"

She felt that she still had the ability to escape, but she would never give up the possibility of "ridiculing" Zou Ming.

The two of them walked up to the top floor laughing.

Zhao Qing moved, but the RV was only so big, so the party was still held on the top floor.

In fact, living on the top floor is not comfortable, especially in such weather, but Zhao Qing has never moved, not only because he has ice, but more importantly, living on the top floor allows him to overlook the entire base.

For Zhao Qing, this is more of a symbol of status than a place to live. Apart from him, there will be no other owner of the top floor. Even though he moved to an RV, he would still often return to live on the top floor.

The thugs were guarding the top floor door.

Only after seeing Ye Zhou and Chen Shu did he make way and open the door for Ye Zhou.

Even with an ice basin, Ye Zhou almost fainted from the heat and suffocation when he entered. Most of the people attending the party were men, and the top floor was not very big, and the people here did not have the resources to take a shower. Not only was it hot, but there was also an indescribable smell.

It's like a mixture of body odor and foot odor, enough to make people vomit.

The moment he entered, Ye Zhou regretted it and wished he could grow a pair of wings and fly away immediately.

Chen Shu's expression was also complicated. Both of them felt that if this was a test of courage, then they had already succeeded.

But if you go any further inside it won't be a test of courage, but suicide.

Ye Zhou looked at Chen Shu, and Chen Shu also looked at Ye Zhou. At this moment, the two knew what the other was thinking without thinking, so they took a step back together.

As Chen Shu stepped back, he heard a loud roar.

"Who brought this woman?!" the man's rough voice exploded like thunder.

Chen Shu and Ye Zhou looked back together, and Chen Shu realized that he had stepped on the man's toes when he stepped back.

After all, she was in the wrong. Chen Shu retracted her legs, turned around, bowed her head and apologized to the man: "Sorry, I didn't see it. Does it still hurt?"

But the man was obviously not satisfied with Chen Shu's apology, and he looked at Ye Zhou.

Ye Zhou also looked at the man.

This was the first man Ye Zhou had to look up at. Ye Zhou himself was over 1.80 meters tall, which was not short by any means. When he looked up, he could only see the man's nostrils - this man was at least two meters tall.

The man's hands and feet looked larger than those of ordinary people, and his whole body was tangled with muscles, like an enlarged version of a muscular giant.

In front of him, Chen Shu and Ye Zhou both looked "petite".

But Ye Zhou could see that the man's muscles were not natural. He didn't know how many drugs he had injected, but they were so big that it was disgusting.

Once the size of muscles exceeds the limits of natural human training, it will become disgusting.

After feeling nauseous, Ye Zhou lost himself in thought again. In this place where water resources are scarce, these people can actually buy hormone drugs and some even produce them. It really makes people speechless.

The man looked at Ye Zhou and found that Ye Zhou had not expressed his opinion yet, so he said in a bad tone: "The woman you brought stepped on me."

The man looked down at Ye Zhou, probably because he noticed that Ye Zhou was dressed differently from the others, so even though his tone was unfriendly, it was not yet to the point of fighting.

Ye Zhou finally took his gaze away from the man's nostrils and tried to look into the man's eyes. He smiled at the man and was about to speak.

Zhao Qing had already squeezed out of the crowd.

He acted very surprised when he saw the man, but in Ye Zhou's eyes, it was more of a shock than a surprise, as if he had been certain that this man would never show up.

"Why...you're back so early!" Zhao Qing smiled and stood on tiptoe to hug the man.

The man also laughed, hugged Zhao Qing and patted his back twice before letting go.

After being patted twice, Zhao Qing's expression was ferocious for a moment, and then he smiled again. He introduced the man, "This is Mr. Ye. He can sell us water and improved soil. Don't be disrespectful to Mr. Ye, or Mr. Ye will stop selling these, and you can't compensate me."

The man then looked Ye Zhou up and down, and then he stretched out his hand to Ye Zhou cheerfully: "Forget what happened just now, my last name is Zhao, Zhao Lei, the second in command here."

When he mentioned the second-in-command, Zhao Qing's expression didn't change.

Zhao Lei felt very much like the protagonist, and he took Ye Zhou's wrist with great enthusiasm and walked into the house.

Ye Zhou, who was originally planning to find a chance to slip away, was forced to bear the unbearable weight of his nose.

"Zhao Lei wasn't in the base before, so you haven't seen him." Zhao Qing handed a glass of wine to Ye Zhou and Zhao Lei respectively.

He handed another cup to Chen Shu, who waved his hand and said with a smile, "I'm working."

Zhao Qing also knew that Chen Shu was Ye Zhou's bodyguard. He asked curiously, "I remember now. Miss Chen is a bodyguard? I wonder who is better, you or Zhao Lei."

Ye Zhou, who originally had a smile on his face, instantly stopped smiling.

Zhao Lei laughed and said, "She's a woman. Although she's in good shape, she can beat those bamboo poles. But she still has no chance of winning against me."

Zhao Qing: "How will you know if you don't try?"

"After all, Mr. Ye has men under his command, but he chose a woman as his personal bodyguard. There must be a reason. Maybe no one here can match her."

Ye Zhou interrupted Zhao Qing and said calmly, "I'm sorry, Chen Shu is my bodyguard. She won't do anything unless someone wants to do something to me."

Ye Zhou glanced at Zhao Qing and said with a fake smile: "You can't just give her one salary and let her do two jobs, right?"

Chen Shu didn't say anything.

She also felt that there was something wrong with what Zhao Qing said, but she couldn't tell exactly what was wrong.

Zhao Qing was about to say something, but Ye Zhou said, "Are we just drinking tonight? Nothing else?"

The program Ye Zhou was talking about was asking Zhao Qing whether he wanted to make a speech, but Zhao Qing obviously misunderstood.

He put on a "we all get it" smile and clapped his hands.

The surging crowd immediately quieted down, and people naturally made way for them. Zhao Qing turned his back to the crowd and smiled at Ye Zhou, "We don't have anything good here. Whatever I can buy, you must have."

"This is just a small token of my appreciation."

The crowd cheered and someone whistled. Accompanied by strange, deafening music, Ye Zhou saw a man and a woman walking out of the passage.

——This is the gift Zhao Qing gave him.

The man and woman were only wearing a piece of cloth. Their skin was different from the people here. It was not rough and could even be considered fair. They were like puppets without souls. They walked towards Ye Zhou numbly with stiff smiles on their faces.

Their facial features are very similar, and you can tell at first glance that they are related and are most likely twins.

Someone in the crowd shouted, "Boss Zhao is so generous!"

“That’s generous enough!”

There was no expression on Ye Zhou's face. He couldn't tell what he felt at the moment, but a huge anger rose up and he wanted to get up and leave right away.

But he held back.

But before Ye Zhou could say anything, Zhao Lei couldn't help it. He frowned and questioned Zhao Qing in front of so many people: "Boss, what do you mean?"

Amid the cheers of the crowd, Zhao Qing advised: "Mr. Ye just got here, I have to show my appreciation. Don't be angry, I'll give you a good one next time I catch one."

Zhao Lei obviously didn't think so. He sneered and said, "I had already decided on the person before I left. As soon as I came back, you're going to give my person away?"

His voice grew louder and louder, and the crowd fell silent again.

Everyone looked at Zhao Lei, who sneered, "Okay, go ahead and pretend I never said anything."

Zhao Qing's expression finally turned bad. The smile on his face faded, and he said with a stern face: "Zhao Lei, look at the current situation."

Zhao Lei suddenly kicked down the wine rack next to him, and the wine bottles shattered to the ground, and the wine spilled all over the floor.

"I'm out here fighting for my life, and you want me to consider the situation?" Zhao Lei raised his hand and pointed at Zhao Qing's nose. "Don't f*cking think I have to listen to you. How long have you not been out of the base? Let us do the risky work, and you hide here and enjoy yourself?"

Zhao Qing had no expression on his face: "What do you want to do?"

"Zhao Lei!" Zhao Qing shouted.

Zhao Lei didn't say anything else. He looked at Ye Zhou with resentment, who was standing next to him without saying a word. Then he pushed the person behind him away and strode out.

Zhao Qing shouted, "Where are you going?"

Zhao Lei: "Go to the slums!"

Zhao Qing looked at his back and sneered.

"He's just like that." Zhao Qing turned around and smiled at Ye Zhou, "He's good at fighting, but he has a bad temper. He's like that all the time."

Ye Zhou followed Zhao Qing's words and said: "This kind of temper is also good in the right place."

Zhao Qing smiled and said, "But this kind of temper can easily lead to enemies."

"But no one should be able to touch him."

Ye Zhou had already seen that Zhao Lei was not convinced by Zhao Qing, and Zhao Qing also wanted to kill Zhao Lei. Zhao Qing had just proposed that Chen Shu and Zhao Lei fight in order to destroy Zhao Lei's dignity in public. A person who gained status through violence would immediately lose everything he had if he was defeated by violence.

Ye Zhou glanced at Chen Shu.

Chen Shu nodded towards Ye Zhou.

Zhao Qing wanted them to be used as knives.

Don't even consider whether you deserve it.