Chapter 2

The truck at the gate of the yard drove away. Song Youran lowered the curtains, straightened her clothes, and opened the door.

You could hear a pin drop in the corridor, and the villa returned to peace.

Song Youran walked into the dining room and asked the chef to prepare dinner. It was all because the Wen family members were so late that he couldn't eat on time.

Her stomach was cramping with pain, and Song Youran leaned back in the chair with her eyes closed.

There was a touch on the cheek, and the culprit bent over, his eyelashes almost touching the tip of his nose.

Song Youran squeezed against the back of the chair: "What are you doing!"

"Your stomach is growling."

Wen Chu took out a palm-sized package from his pocket and handed it to him: "Eat it."

"Eat your mother..." Song Youran took a deep breath and quickly glanced towards the kitchen. The door was closed and the sound of pots and pans colliding could be heard faintly.

"Get the hell out of my way!"

"But your stomach is growling."

Bang! The snack flew far away, hit the wall, and fell to the ground.

Wen Chu touched the back of his hand that was slapped red, his eyes full of resentment: "Uncle?"

Song Youran tried to hold it back, but couldn't help it and growled in a low voice, "Get out!"

Before she could continue cursing, the kitchen door opened and the chef came out with a tray. The anger on Song Youran's face receded like the tide.

The chef helped set the table for dinner and Song Youran thanked him politely.

Although they sat at the same table, they always ate separately.

The aroma of food filled Wen Chu's two plates: one was grilled eel, the other was stir-fried pork with kale, and the small bowl also had more rice than his;

If Wen Chu ate like a commoner, then he ate like a beggar. No wonder Wen Chu tried every possible way to give him alms.

I should have gotten used to it by now, but why does the food in my mouth start to taste sour while I'm eating...

It’s not fair! It’s not fair!

Why treat him like this?

Why can't we treat everyone equally?

Those who have raised opinions have had their opinions rejected, and those who have resisted have only been met with even harsher repression. There seems to be no other way but to endure.

What else could he do? He didn't know what else to do.

After taking a shower and lying in bed, I felt hungry. I had already eaten dinner, but I was still hungry.

I am hungry every day. I am hungry when I wake up in the morning, I am hungry after breakfast, I am hungry during class, I am even hungrier after class, I am hungry when I cry, and I am hungry when I laugh...

He buried his face in the pillow and cried silently: I am so hungry, so hungry, so hungry, so hungry, so hungry, so hungry!

Who will save him...

But no one could hear his crying except himself.

It was pitch black outside the window. He walked barefoot on the floor and gently turned the door lock. There was a night light on in the corridor. The green glow was like the eyes of a zombie, staring lifelessly at the sneaking humans.

He hasn't been a thief for a long time, not because he has turned over a new leaf, but because it is too difficult to pick a lock.

All the servants in the house were Xie Xueruo's spies. Whenever they found him stealing food from the refrigerator, they would report him. After firing two servants, the servants learned their lesson and only put raw food in the refrigerator. Later, they found out that he even stole lettuce and carrots, so they replaced the refrigerator with a locked one.

But food storage is diverse, and grains, oils, rice, and noodles don't need to be put in the refrigerator. No one would have thought that just to have a bite to eat, he had to teach himself how to cook rice and noodles in the middle of the night, cooking for himself. After the incident was exposed, the kitchen door lock was replaced with a state-of-the-art iris combination lock.

Reality forced him to quit his old ways, and now reality is forcing him to return to his old ways.

In fact, there was a place with food in the house, but he would rather starve to death than knock on that door.

He didn't need to turn on the light; he trusted his instincts. After all, he had been the one to stir-fry rice in the dark, and knowing where to go in the dark was basic. Besides, when he had violently knocked the snacks over, it wasn't just to vent his frustration, it was also intentional. Rich kids wouldn't pick up fallen food, but he was different.

Food that you pick up through your own efforts is not considered charity.

I remember I deliberately threw the snacks into the corner, it should be here... why isn't it here?

Could it be that his ability to locate objects by sound has deteriorated?

Song Youran didn't give up. She knelt on the ground and felt the floor inch by inch with her fingers.

Ah, I touched it!

My heart was pounding, a smile appeared on the corner of my mouth, I paused and touched, whose stinky feet are these!

The light shone down from above his head, and he sat down on the ground, thinking he was discovered. He closed his eyes and waited for the judgment to come.

Last time I cheated on my friends and was punished by not having dinner for a week. What will happen this time?

"uncle."

He blinked and looked around. Except for the small area where he was sitting, the rest of the place was still in a hazy darkness.

Behind the dazzling light of the mobile phone, Wen Chu's face was slumped with a blurred outline.

The ghost is still there!

I didn't get the snacks, but I got the annoying ghost's feet.

This guy is absolutely crazy! Is he trying to scare people by walking barefoot like a ghost?

Song Youran stood up, pushed Wen Chu away with her shoulder, and went to the cubicle to wash her hands.

Wen Chu stood there for two seconds, then quickly caught up with Song Youran, holding up his phone.

The dim light from the cell phone illuminated Song Youran's way to the cubicle and then his way back to the room.

Song Youran said nothing, went back to her room, closed the door, climbed onto the bed and fell asleep.

I was so hungry that I felt dizzy and my limbs felt heavy. I felt like I had fallen into an abyss and was falling non-stop...

It felt like I had slept for a long time. I glanced at the clock on the bedside table and it was only five o'clock.

My body feels weak and I have no strength, and most importantly, I’m hungry again - gurgling gurgling!

Ah! It's so noisy!

He flipped the pancake over and over, not knowing if it was cooked or not, but his mind was completely clear. He got up, washed, and changed his clothes. After getting dressed, he opened the door, and the snacks piled at the door buried his shoes like a landslide.

Except for him and Wen Chu, everyone else in this house is a servant, and the servants would not pile snacks at his door.

Song Youran's forehead throbbed with a vein. She pushed hard with her shoe, and the inflated snack bag deflated with a pop. It was easier to step on than an inflated balloon, and the cookies crumbled into crumbs inside. After Song Youran had stepped on it all, she kicked it, sending the crumbs spilling from the seal, leaving a mess on the floor.

Song Youran told the chef that the milk should be consumed at home.

The chef put the heated milk on the dining table. He held the cup with both hands, lowered his head and took small sips. The warm liquid slid into his stomach, warming his body. He felt like he was coming back to life, and he squinted his eyes comfortably.

Today is Monday. Wen Chu is wearing a school uniform. She wears a light-colored short-sleeved shirt on the upper body and dark-colored trousers on the lower body. The hem of the shirt is tucked into the narrow waistband. She wears a pair of white sneakers on her feet. She looks pure and well-behaved.

He stopped at the door of the restaurant and saw Song Youran sitting at the table drinking milk. He was afraid of disturbing her again like yesterday, so he cleared his throat and waited for Song Youran to give him an unfriendly look before he walked inside.

"Uncle, good morning." The voice was hoarse in the early morning.

Song Youran didn't notice the fawning look in Wen Chu's eyes. Every time Wen Chu called him uncle, he wanted to lose his temper. Fingers clenched around the cup, Song Youran snorted coldly, "Okay," so perfunctory that he even omitted the word "morning."

The chef put the sandwich into a paper bag and handed it to Song Youran, then put a bottle of milk, half a corn, and two large meat packs into another paper bag and handed it to Wen Chu.

Song Youran watched all this happen with an expressionless face. She was powerless to stop it and could only grit her teeth and accept it.

Acceptance requires a process, a long one, extending from his childhood to his adolescence; it is also a tortuous process: sometimes he accepts his fate, sometimes he rises up, sometimes he rises up in the process of accepting his fate, and sometimes he rises up in the process of accepting his fate.

Just like him now, with a gloomy look on his face, carrying a light paper bag, he opened the car door and sat in the back seat. Turning around, he saw his nephew, who was a year older than him, coming up from the other side, carrying a heavy paper bag. He twisted his body to fasten his seat belt, not forgetting to remind him to fasten it as well. He smiled, but in his heart he wanted to slap him, to slap that childish face, to see if it would turn red and whether he could still remain calm as usual.

It's just thinking about it, it's impossible for him to really do it. It's not that he is cowardly, but he knows himself well. The underlying tone of life is to admit defeat, and blindly rising up will only bring about a devastating disaster.

Why bother?

Uncle Zhong parked his car in front of the school gate. It was not yet seven o'clock and the gate was deserted.

Song Youran opened the car door, and Wen Chu called out to him from behind, "Uncle, is the sandwich delicious?"

Song Youran had one foot on the ground and half of her body in the car. She turned her head to look in the direction of the driver's cab. There were people around, so she couldn't be too arrogant.

"Everyone has different tastes. Whether it's delicious or not is not up to me."

Inwardly, he criticized Wen Chu for being greedy, bringing so many delicious foods and still coveting his sandwich. He smiled and said, "If you really want to know, ask the chef to make it for you tomorrow."

I was so angry that I didn't remember saying goodbye to Uncle Zhong until I passed the school guard room. I kept muttering, "Damn Wen Chu, you ruined my image!"

The security guard opened the window and said, "Good morning, classmate. You're the first one here today."

How could he not be the first? He arrives almost an hour early every day.

No one can understand the bitterness in the smile: "Good morning, uncle."

There was no one in the classroom, only rows of empty seats. Song Youran put down her schoolbag, stretched out her hands and lay on the desk.

Wen Chu was a grade higher than him, and their school was next door, just another 500 meters south along the street. They had to attend morning self-study classes and had to arrive at class at 6:50 every morning without fail. In order to accommodate Wen Chu's school schedule, Song Youran got up early every day, even though the first class in their school started at 7:40.

The sandwich was hidden in the desk drawer for two classes. When the bell rang and the female teacher walked out of the classroom, Song Youran bent down and took out the paper bag. She quickly opened the outer box and stuffed the bread into her mouth in big mouthfuls.

Yang Xu was afraid that he would choke, so he filled the water and placed it on the desk, blocking the camera with his body. "Your family is not short of money, so why are you living such a miserable life?"

Song Youran stared at the ground, elbows resting on knees, back bent, like an old man ravaged by time. She sighed sadly, "You don't understand."

After saying that, he stuffed the rest of the sandwich into his mouth, puffed up his cheeks and chewed hard. When he couldn't swallow it anymore, he picked up the water glass and took a gulp. The food piled up in his throat, neither moving up nor down, and his face turned green with choking.

Yang Xu was watching with fear from the side. After Song Youran regained her composure, he gently stroked her chest and said, "I'll bring you two eggs tomorrow. I'll do it secretly so no one else knows."

Song Youran blinked: "Yeah."