The walls of the old buildings in the neighborhood bear various marks left by wind and rain. The dense greenery obscures the view, and the paths are shadowy in the greenery. Wanqiu skillfully navigates the paths with his small cart and thick plastic bags, reaching each garbage collection point in the shortest distance.
In these predominantly tenant-dominated communities, it's easy to find empty bottles, discarded cardboard boxes from express deliveries, and if you're lucky, you can even collect books, old clothes, or even things that are still usable.
However, in such places, there are also many elderly people waiting near the trash cans for their trash to be collected. Wanqiu only comes when there are fewer people and when the elderly are not waiting by the trash cans.
He knew the location of every trash can by heart, and carried a rather unreliable long tongs to easily find what he wanted to take.
But today was a little different from usual. Behind Wan Qiu, two people were following at a distance.
They just followed him around without saying a word, and Wan Qiu didn't care much, as long as they weren't after his cardboard boxes and bottles.
The two men were following them so openly and brazenly. If it were an ordinary person, they would probably have already started thinking about how to call the police or escape.
When Wanqiu sat down to rest on a bench by the roadside, the blond man who had been following her came to her side. Wanqiu looked up at the two men, who were so tall that they seemed to block out all the sunlight from her.
A faint aroma of food wafted to Wan Qiu's nose. He saw a roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) in the blond man's hand and handed it to him: "Here you go."
Wan Qiu took it; the roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) must have been bought from a street vendor he had just passed by, as it was still warm to the touch.
After saying thank you, Wan Qiu opened the bottle and started eating. At the same time, the blond man opened a bottle of cola for him and placed it next to him.
As the rich juices were poured into his mouth, Wan Qiu clearly enjoyed the roujiamo (Chinese hamburger). He chewed slowly with each bite, fully savoring the wonderful flavor of the meat juices and the bread intertwined.
"Is it good?" The blond man sat down next to Wan Qiu and saw how happily Wan Qiu was eating. He thought that this child was lovable no matter how he ate.
"It's delicious, thank you, Uncle Huang Hu," Wan Qiu said.
The blond man, Huang Hu, raised an eyebrow: "You remember my name?"
Watching Wan Qiu lick the meat juices off the plastic bag, Huang Hu asked, "Don't you usually get to eat this kind of thing? What do you usually eat?"
Wan Qiu didn't answer, but instead took a bite of the roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), his cheeks bulging out.
Huang Hu asked, "Do you want to be able to eat whatever you want in the future?"
Wan Qiu looked up, chewing his food as he looked at Huang Hu. His beautiful big eyes were empty, but at first glance, they seemed to be gazing at the desolate starry sky.
“Someone will come looking for you today and take you home. Just go with them,” Huang Hu said to Wan Qiu. “If you go back with them, you won’t have to pick up trash anymore, and you can eat good food every day.”
Wan Qiu swallowed the last bite of the plain white pancake without any meat filling, and drank several mouthfuls of the cola that Huang Hu handed him.
"Did you hear that, kid?" Huang Hu asked.
Wan Qiu shook his head.
"Why? Don't you want to?" Huang Hu asked, somewhat puzzled.
“I’m at home, and I eat delicious food every day.” Wan Qiu’s voice was a little stiff, but if you listened carefully, there was no sign of strain.
"If you eat well every day, you can be this happy just by eating a bread and roujiamo?" Huang Hu clearly didn't believe it.
"The roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) is also delicious," Wan Qiu said.
Huang Hu and the other man hesitated when they saw that Wan Qiu was not being hypocritical. Could it be that although the Ning family couple seemed outrageous, they were actually treating the child well?
The man tentatively asked, "What do you usually eat?"
"Rice, porridge, cabbage, celery..." Wan Qiu honestly rattled off a whole bunch of dishes.
"...Where's the meat?" Huang Hu asked.
"Rice soaked in meat broth, fried rice with eggs, chicken, fish..." Wan Qiu counted on his fingers.
Huang Hu and his companion exchanged a glance. Was the food actually quite good? Had their assessment of the situation been flawed?
“When my mom comes back from working at the restaurant, she brings me a lot of leftover food from the customers.” Wan Qiu’s lips curled into a small smile, clearly showing his happiness. “It’s delicious.”
Huang Hu twitched his lips, feeling disgusted at the thought that the couple might actually treat the child well for a moment.
Looking at Wan Qiu, I noticed that Wan Qiu was genuinely satisfied.
Huang Hu suddenly wondered if he was living too comfortably. He should be content with eating leftovers.
Wan Qiu, holding the Coke bottle, stood up from the bench. However, he staggered slightly as he stood up, but quickly regained his balance.
But this stumble did not escape the eyes of the two men.
"Hey, kid." The man stepped in front of Wan Qiu. "Are you feeling unwell?"
Wan Qiu looked at the man in front of her, but did not speak.
Ning Qiaozhen once said that if others knew he had been beaten, he would not be able to go to school.
Wan Qiu shifted her gaze to the left: "It doesn't hurt."
As soon as the man heard the words "it doesn't hurt," he was certain that Wanqiu had been beaten.
"Take off your clothes and let me see them," Huang Hu suddenly said sternly.
Wanqiu, trying to escape Huang Hu's interrogation, turned to walk away.
"You! Take off your clothes!" Huang Hu felt that Wan Qiu's taciturn nature was making him anxious.
"Hey, keep your voice down, are you planning to get taken away by the police?" the man couldn't help but warn his companion.
While the two were arguing, the thin and frail Wanqiu had already run away on her two skinny legs.
"He dares to run away!" Huang Hu felt so angry that his veins were throbbing, and he raised his leg to chase after him.
“Just keep up. The boss said his wife will be here as soon as she gets off the plane today.” The man immediately pulled Huang Hu back, signaling him not to act rashly. “Let’s not worry about the rest for now.”
——
Passengers who had just disembarked from the plane were walking orderly through the spacious airport terminal when suddenly the sound of high heels clicking on the floor could be heard around them.
Someone turned around curiously and saw a tall, beautiful woman with brown curly hair. She hurried through the orderly crowd, her pace so fast that everyone could feel her urgency.
Yang Xiaoyu was unusually without makeup. Even without elaborate and striking makeup, she was still so beautiful that it was impossible to tell her age. Although her expression was serious, she walked briskly, as if she wanted to shorten the road to the airport and rush outside.
Those nearby could see from afar that a beautiful, mature woman was running towards a tall, handsome, and refined middle-aged man.
As Yang Xiaoyu approached Chu Jianshu, she suddenly grabbed him by the collar with both hands: "Where's my son? Why didn't you bring him with you?!"
"Xiaoyu, calm down." Chu Jianshu held Yang Xiaoyu's hand helplessly, understanding his wife's anxiety. "You should have seen the information I sent you, right?"
"I've seen it, I've seen it, I've memorized it all! What does that have to do with me seeing my son now?!" Yang Xiaoyu's voice was somewhat sharp, lacking her usual arrogance and composure.
“Wanqiu’s situation is a bit complicated, as you know.” Chu Jianshu patted Yang Xiaoyu’s arm. “I’ve asked Yigui to wait outside. This will make Yigui feel uneasy.”
Mentioning Chu Yigui, Yang Xiaoyu calmed down a bit, then frowned: "Why did you bring Yigui here?"
“It was Yi Gui’s own request,” Chu Jianshu said.
Yang Xiaoyu pursed her lips. Although she had calmed down a bit, she still couldn't wait to grab Chu Jianshu's hand and leave the airport: "Go find my son."
There were four people in the car. As Chu Jianshu's driver, he had been with Chu Jianshu for a long time and had seen Chu Jianshu in a bad mood because of work, and he had also seen Yang Xiaoyu in a bad mood, but he had never felt such a depressed atmosphere before.
The driver was also well aware that they were heading in the direction the child, who had supposedly been missing for nearly ten years, had been found.
The driver didn't even dare to look at Chu Yigui's expression in the passenger seat. This child, whom the entire Chu family loved and respected, was someone whose true feelings were unclear to everyone.
Occasionally, when the driver glanced at the rearview mirror, he could catch a glimpse of Chu Yigui's expression. He seemed no different from usual, still young yet composed, an object of unconscious respect.
"Yi Gui." Yang Xiaoyu called out Chu Yi Gui's name, but didn't say anything more.
Chu Yigui understood what Yang Xiaoyu wanted to say, and simply smiled and said, "Mom, don't worry, I'm so glad my brother is back."
Yang Xiaoyu looked at Chu Yigui in the rearview mirror and was very suspicious of the child's behavior.
No matter what, she shouldn't be so nonchalant.
However, Chu Yigui continued, "Is Mom going to see Brother like this?"
"What?" Yang Xiaoyu didn't react for a moment.
"Mom isn't wearing makeup today, and her clothes are a bit wrinkled."
Chu Yigui's reminder instantly woke Yang Xiaoyu up from her dream. That evening, she received a message from Wan Qiu and booked the earliest flight back. She didn't bother with makeup and casually wore a fitted work suit, her hair even disheveled.
This was the first time she had seen Wan Qiu in many years.
Yang Xiaoyu, who has always prided herself on being a perfectionist, suddenly realized that she might not look perfect now. After so long, she wanted to give Wan Qiu the best impression.
Yang Xiaoyu immediately stopped the driver and asked him to drive to the nearest shopping mall.
She wanted to wear the most perfect makeup and the most beautiful clothes.
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