Chu Yigui, holding the external wound medicine, patted the sofa next to him, inviting Wan Qiu to sit down.
"I came back very early today," Chu Yigui said.
"I got a lot of money and food today." This is a rare instance of exceeding the daily task requirement, so I can go home with peace of mind.
"What happened?" Chu Yigui asked.
"I met my biological parents," Wan Qiu said without any hesitation.
"Are you happy?" Chu Yigui asked calmly, as if she didn't care about the matter at all.
"Why are you happy?" Wan Qiu asked.
Chu Yigui said, "If you stay with your biological parents, you will eat more delicious food in the future, and you can live in a bigger house."
However, Wan Qiu quickly retorted, "Why?"
For a moment, Chu Yigui couldn't tell whether Wan Qiu meant 'why following your parents means you'll have good food and a bigger house' or 'why having good food and a bigger house makes you happy'.
Chu Yigui asked, "Perhaps your biological parents could have given you a better life."
Wan Qiu consciously looked at the quiet rented room, her eyes filled with a subtle, unfeeling satisfaction devoid of any desire: "I'm doing very well now."
"Don't you want more love?" Chu Yigui said.
“I have a lot of love now. My parents love me very much, and I love them too.”
Wan Qiu's tone was full of certainty; he firmly believed that his present moment was the happiest time of his life.
Chu Yigui seemed to see a narrow, enclosed box.
Wan Qiu lived peacefully inside the box, showing no interest or curiosity about the world outside.
In the narrow, empty box, anything Ning Qiaozhen and Ning Hai put in was his most precious possession.
He took everything he was given—garbage, pain, or indifference—as love.
So, would Wanqiu consider anything anyone puts in the box as love?
Wanqiu's eyes are always clear and bright, but deep within them lies a narrow space that can only hold one person or one thing at a time.
Does this mean that the first person he notices is the most special?
With a hidden, unspoken thought in mind, Chu Yigui finally spoke.
"We're friends, and I'm your first friend, right?"
Wan Qiu nodded.
“Not just anyone can be a friend.” Chu Yigui hooked her hand around Wan Qiu’s finger, their fingers intertwined. “I am your only friend.”
Wan Qiu stared intently at Chu Yigui, as if he had been seduced, and nodded.
Chu Yigui smiled gently and affectionately: "We are the best, the only friends. Friends can't betray each other, and we will always give each other the best, you know?"
Wan Qiu didn't know, but Chu Yigui told him, so he found out.
Wan Qiu had already done so, and Chu Yigui accepted it calmly, implying that Wan Qiu should continue to do so.
This is something that shouldn't be done.
However, in clean, transparent, and clear water, no ink droplet will resist it; instead, it will gradually spread all the murky colors throughout the water, becoming inextricably intertwined.
Chu Yigui abandoned self-control and, in front of everyone, silently dyed the boy who was about to become a treasure to several people.
Chu Yigui saw her own reflection in those beautiful, bright eyes.
The clarity reflected out the filth that had nowhere to hide.
Chu Yigui looked away, as if she were embarrassed and trying to avoid seeing herself in those eyes.
——
Ning Qiaozhen and Ning Hai haven't been home for the past few days. Wan Qiu went out with Chu Yigui during the day, but Chu Yigui's whereabouts are unknown.
In the evenings, Chu Yigui would wait at Wanqiu's doorstep, and they would spend the night together.
Chu Yigui would talk to him, and say a lot of things.
Speak slowly and wait for him to understand before continuing.
Within just a few days, Wan Qiu had become completely familiar with Chu Yigui.
No one had ever spoken to Chu Yigui as frequently as he had ever spoken to him; Ning Qiaozhen didn't, and Ning Hai certainly wouldn't.
Chu Yigui's voice is very beautiful; it's the gentlest voice Wanqiu has ever heard.
Wan Qiu felt that Chu Yigui was probably a very magical person.
A magical person became his friend, and Wanqiu himself seemed to become magical as well.
Wanqiu's days are even more magical.
Although Chu Yigui disappears during the day, Yang Xiaoyu always appears during the day.
His mother would appear before him every day dressed in different, beautiful outfits, stunning Wanqiu every time.
Yang Xiaoyu would spend 100 yuan every day to buy Wan Qiu's time picking up trash.
The money Wanqiu could earn from picking up trash each day was far less than one hundred yuan. All the time Wanqiu spent picking up trash should have been Yang Xiaoyu's.
Yang Xiaoyu also noticed this. From appearing at a certain time every day, Wan Qiu now simply waits at the door every day, as if he were going to work every day.
But Yang Xiaoyu didn't care.
This is the perfect opportunity to cultivate her relationship with Wanqiu.
"Wanqiu, can we hold hands?" Yang Xiaoyu stood in front of Wanqiu and extended her hand to him.
"Okay." Wan Qiu obediently placed his hand in Yang Xiaoyu's hand.
Yang Xiaoyu grasped Wan Qiu's hand. Wan Qiu's hand was even smaller than hers. Holding Wan Qiu's soft little hand in her palm, Yang Xiaoyu finally felt a sense of security.
Yang Xiaoyu has a strong personality, but she is unusually cautious and patient when facing Wan Qiu.
Chu Jianshu also repeatedly tried to reassure her, telling her not to be too rash, as they didn't understand the thoughts of Wan Qiu, who was not an ordinary person.
Yang Xiaoyu was enduring it.
She couldn't immediately take Wanqiu to buy nice clothes, nor could she let Wanqiu go to see the latest animation screening room she had prepared, nor could she go with her Wanqiu to eat high-end meals in unfamiliar places, and it was even inappropriate to take Wanqiu directly to travel to more distant places.
Wanqiu is still connected to Ning Qiaozhen and Ning Hai.
But Yang Xiaoyu was still very happy.
Even if everything couldn't be too extravagant, the fact that Wanqiu was by her side was enough to make her happy.
The fourteen-year-old boy no longer holds his mother's hand.
Whether it's Chu Zhang, Yang Ze, or Chu Yigui who is only fourteen years old now.
Fourteen-year-old boys often have more of their own ideas and are in a sensitive stage between adulthood and adolescence.
But Wanqiu is different.
Yang Xiaoyu held Wanqiu's hand, and Wanqiu obediently let her lead him, as well-behaved as a child of only a few years old, following her step by step.
Yang Xiaoyu has a document in her possession.
The documents were handed over by Lu Qinghe and Huang Hu, who had been tracking Wanqiu. The documents detailed things that Wanqiu might be interested in.
The reason I say I'm interested is because as a normal person, I can't understand Wanqiu's thoughts and preferences, and can only guess indirectly.
This information is what the people tracking Wan Qiu found 'suspicious'.
Yang Xiaoyu looked up at the supermarket in front of her, seemingly checking something on her phone to confirm that she was there.
Wan Qiu looked up and saw the familiar supermarket. Yang Xiaoyu pulled him inside by the hand.
Yang Xiaoyu was watching a video on her phone.
Wanqiu's gaze lingered on the entrance of this supermarket for a long time, while people came and went around him, but Wanqiu stood there for a long time.
This might be a place that Wanqiu likes.
This is a department store supermarket that sells everything from snacks to daily necessities and even pots and pans.
It was crowded, cramped, and dimly lit, a place Yang Xiaoyu would never normally set foot in.
Yang Xiaoyu wasn't interested in what was being sold or how the place was decorated; her gaze remained fixed on Wan Qiu.
Yang Xiaoyu didn't know what Wan Qiu liked, so she could only rely on observation.
However, everything Wanqiu's gaze lingered on was very...homey.
Kitchen supplies include scouring pads, dish soap, degreaser, disinfectant, mops, and sinks.
These things were enough for Yang Xiaoyu to know what Wan Qiu was thinking.
Sooner or later, Wanqiu will go home with her, and Yang Xiaoyu will never let her son do housework every day again.
But now...
"Do you want dish soap or degreaser?" Yang Xiaoyu forced a very hard smile.
Now is the time to build a good relationship. If buying these things will make Wanqiu happy, she doesn't mind buying them.
Just thinking that buying these things would only make Wanqiu do housework for those irresponsible adoptive parents made Yang Xiaoyu so angry she felt like she was going to vomit blood.
Wan Qiu looked at Yang Xiaoyu, but in the end he just shook his head.
"What's wrong? Why don't you want it?" Yang Xiaoyu asked.
“I collected a lot of leftovers at home,” Wan Qiu said.
Yang Xiaoyu had secretly gripped the hem of her skirt tightly with her fingers to barely suppress her anger.
But she also realized that Wan Qiu wanted it, but it wasn't necessary.
"Want a new one?" Yang Xiaoyu asked.
Wan Qiu glanced at Yang Xiaoyu tentatively, and after confirming that she could answer the question safely, she nodded.
“If we have a whole bottle, we can use more,” Wan Qiu pursed her lips. “We only need to use a little bit each time.”
Yang Xiaoyu's fingertips were aching.
People tend to have higher expectations for things they are used to.
She wears high heels frequently, so she needs more beautiful high heels.
She needed beautiful dresses, so she had countless dresses custom-made.
What you want is sometimes similar to what you live for, and the things Wanqiu wanted, the precious things he couldn't bear to use, were actually dish soap and degreaser!
"Buy it." Yang Xiaoyu heard herself grit her teeth as she tried her best to use her acting skills, which she was very good at. "Take one bottle. What kind do you like? Mom will buy it for you."
Although Yang Xiaoyu was saying this, she was secretly plotting when she could make Wan Qiu forget what dish soap and degreaser were.
Wanqiu is looking at her.
Yang Xiaoyu's face stiffened.
Wanqiu's beautiful eyes stared straight at her, as if she were encased within a beautiful glass bead.
"I won't buy it." Wan Qiu then lowered his head and shook it.
Yang Xiaoyu hadn't expected Wan Qiu to refuse. This was clearly a very straightforward child. She asked, "Why? It's very cheap, it's practically nothing."
Wan Qiu replied bluntly, "Mom is not happy."
Yang Xiaoyu was suddenly stunned.
Gradually, Yang Xiaoyu became shocked.
She was seen through!
Why?
A former Best Actress, once a top-notch actress, was actually seen through by a child like this.
Suddenly, some information that Yang Xiaoyu remembered surfaced in her mind.
Wanqiu is very sensitive to her adoptive mother's emotions and will act in accordance with her expressions.
Wan Qiu is good at avoiding trouble. Although she's not popular at school, she's not bullied too badly.
'That child is very good at apologizing, and the timing of his apologies is also excellent.'
These fragmented pieces of information were pieced together in Yang Xiaoyu's mind.
Wan Qiu's ability to observe emotions is a talent that comes from his intellectual disability, or a skill he has learned through years of hardship.
“If I’m not happy, you won’t buy it? Don’t you like it?” Yang Xiaoyu didn’t think it was a talent.
"I don't like it." Suddenly, Wan Qiu clearly expressed his disgust.
"Why?" Yang Xiaoyu asked again.
"I don't like things that make other people unhappy." Wan Qiu truthfully told Yang Xiaoyu his feelings.
Yang Xiaoyu's mood sank.
This child has no self; he is empty inside.
It seems to be a pre-programmed machine.
This isn't talent or skill, it's...
Survive.
Yang Xiaoyu held Wan Qiu's hand tightly, but then loosened her grip slightly, afraid of hurting him.
They didn't buy anything. As they were leaving, Yang Xiaoyu noticed that Wan Qiu's gaze lingered on one spot, and he kept turning his head as they moved.
What attracted him were the cardboard boxes next to the shop that he hadn't had time to collect yet.
Yang Xiaoyu gets annoyed when she sees cardboard boxes and discarded beverage bottles.
If she wanted, she could even open a garbage dump for Wanqiu.
If it were just for survival, she would wish these things would disappear from Wanqiu's world forever.
However, she couldn't force Wanqiu to change her dependence on cardboard boxes and beverage bottles now, so she could only try to avoid them as much as possible.
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