Her slender little fingers hooked onto Chu Yigui's hand. The two boys, the same age, had their hands clasped together, one big and one small, creating a unique and striking contrast.
This time, however, the fingers that Wan Qiu was using to hook Chu Yigui's were warm.
Wan Qiu was completely unaware of the subtle rhetoric Chu Yigui employed against him.
He believed his friend's words without reservation.
Wan Qiu took off his clothes, and his emaciated body was now more clearly exposed to Chu Yigui's gaze.
On that frail body, every wound seemed to be deep enough to expose the bone, yet these scars were so vivid in an age when recovery is so easy.
Wan Qiu had many bruises of varying degrees on his body, indicating that they were not left at the same time.
The sound of the medicine box being opened rang out, and Chu Yigui began to apply the medicine for him.
They didn't know what kind of medicine it was. At first, it felt cool, but as Chu Yigui rubbed the medicated oil in, a warm feeling rose from the wound, and the fragrance of the medicine gradually enveloped the two of them.
"How did this happen?" Chu Yigui asked, placing his hand on the most severe bruises on Wan Qiu's abdomen.
However, Wan Qiu did not answer; he did not know whether he could answer.
"I'll keep it a secret, and nothing will happen that could harm you." Chu Yigui said casually, as if they were just chatting and didn't seem to care much.
"Dad kicked it. I kicked over a beer bottle while I was cleaning my room last night, which woke him up." Wan Qiu seemed to trust Chu Yigui about sharing secrets and even had a secret enthusiasm for it. After receiving Chu Yigui's assurance, she no longer had any reservations.
Chu Yigui pointed to Wan Qiu's leg, where there were bruises that appeared to have been inflicted around the same time: "What about here?"
"This is where Dad kicked it that day too."
Chu Yigui nodded, placing her fingers on Wan Qiu's shoulder. There were obvious signs of a serious injury, with crudely stitched sutures and a gruesome wound. "And here?"
“When Grandma went crazy, she pushed me into the chicken coop. There was a sharp wire next to me, and I got cut. The village doctor helped sew me up,” Wan Qiu said.
"Were they seriously injured?" Judging from the severity, one could almost foresee the chaotic scene at the time.
Wan Qiu nodded obediently: "Yes, I had a fever for a while and couldn't move in bed. Grandma kept giving me medicine."
"And here?" Chu Yigui asked about the strange mark on Wan Qiu's thigh. It looked like a teeth mark, an irregular oval shape. Although it had healed, it left a mark that was different from the surrounding skin.
"I was bitten by a dog. My dad stole a dog to eat dog meat, but the dog's leash broke, and my dad ran away, but I couldn't escape."
Chu Yigui paused, no longer looking up, pretending to carefully tend to the wound, then pointed to Wan Qiu's waist: "And here?"
"I don't remember." Wan Qiu blinked blankly, seemingly unaware that there was an injury there.
Wanqiu's body is covered with all sorts of scars, none of which have been properly treated, and each wound carries a story behind it.
“You have more scars on your back than on your front,” Chu Yigui said slowly.
Wan Qiu recalled: "When I was being hit, they kept hitting my stomach and chest, which hurt more, so I curled up."
Chu Yigui's expression was complicated: "Is it experience?"
Wan Qiu tilted his head; he did it instinctively.
Chu Yigui applied medicine to all the bruises, re-bandaged Wan Qiu's wrist, picked up her phone, her gaze fixed on the bright light of the screen, and asked Wan Qiu, "Does it hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt," Wan Qiu said, referring to the bruises on his abdomen and legs, then added, "It doesn't hurt much."
Chu Yigui said calmly, "Do you hate your grandmother and parents?"
This should be a positive answer.
Chu Yigui wanted to hear a positive answer.
Chu Yigui slowly raised his eyes from his phone, a dark aura brewing within them.
However, no negative color could be found in Wan Qiu's bright and clear eyes.
Wanqiu gazed intently at Chu Yigui.
Wan Qiu did not comply with Chu Yigui's wishes and instead asked, "Why?"
"They treated you like that, don't you hate them?" Chu Yigui asked again.
This time, Wan Qiu didn't even give a reply.
It's not that I'm refusing to answer.
Chu Yigui saw confusion in Wan Qiu's expression.
If Wanqiu doesn't understand, he can't answer.
Chu Yigui paused, lowered his eyes, and concealed his emotions, making it impossible for Wan Qiu, who wanted to observe him closely, to understand him.
"Are you scared?" Chu Yigui pressed.
However, this time Wan Qiu thought for a moment and said, "Sometimes."
"Aren't you afraid or hateful?"
This time, Chu Yigui still did not receive a reply from Wan Qiu. It was as if 'hate' was a word that had nothing to do with Wan Qiu.
"If you were given the chance, would you leave them?"
Wan Qiu shook her head vigorously and said firmly, "I want to stay with my mom and dad."
Wanqiu's expression was completely genuine, and his eyes were bright.
Chu Yigui opened her mouth, but swallowed the words that were about to come out, and instead asked the completely opposite question: "Are you very happy now?"
Wan Qiu nodded firmly, without any hesitation.
The boy's excessively thin body was curled up on the sofa, so fragile that he seemed like he could disappear into thin air at any moment, but when he nodded, an intense sense of happiness almost filled his beautiful eyes.
Chu Yigui seemed to see a boy sitting on a pile of garbage, his dirty face filled with a happy smile, as fake as an oil painting mocking reality.
Wan Qiu believes that everyone he encounters now is warm-hearted.
Deep within Wanqiu's memories lies a recollection that feels like a dream.
The dark, cramped space was filled with a pungent, foul odor of fish and blood.
Swollen joints, a bizarre body, and excruciating pain from broken bones.
The pain is constant throughout my body.
Insults, yelling, beatings, tearing, harassment, shrieking...
Under a boundless starry sky, an irresistible cold relentlessly invades the body.
That's what unhappiness is.
Even now, Wanqiu doesn't understand how those terrible feelings suddenly disappeared.
It was like having a dream that was exactly the same as reality; when he woke up, he was in his warm bed.
Compared to that overly realistic dream, he now has sunshine, a bed, books, delicious food, the scent of grass and trees, and the freedom to run...
Wanqiu is truly blessed.
Chu Yigui looked at his phone screen, while Wan Qiu put his pajamas back on.
Chu Yigui sent a considerable number of photos and a long audio recording.
After turning off her phone, Chu Yigui looked up and smiled, "It's too late, let's go to sleep."
Wan Qiu nodded: "Good night."
"good evening."
Under the bright lights, Chu Yigui stood up and went to his small bedroom. He turned off the light, and his tall figure instantly disappeared into the darkness.
Wan Qiu lay down on the sofa, which was as big as a wide bed.
Turning to the side, Wanqiu didn't understand.
His friend seemed unhappy again, even more unhappy than before.
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