Wan Qiu stood at the entrance of the barbecue restaurant, biting into a piece of bread. The restaurant owner knew what he was up to just by looking at him.
Wanqiu didn't go into the shop; he waited outside, eating his bread in big bites, chewing carefully and thoroughly, clearly enjoying himself.
"Hey, kid."
There was a voice nearby, but Wan Qiu didn't think it was calling her. She took another bite of bread, her cheeks bulging out, and stared longingly at the barbecue restaurant.
"Kid." Suddenly, a blond man blocked Wan Qiu's path. Wan Qiu was forced to look at the man, and his chewing of bread slowed down. The man said, "Do you remember me?"
Wan Qiu nodded, remembering the kind person who took him to the hospital.
"Aren't you thirsty eating bread?" the blond man asked.
Wan Qiu nodded again, feeling a little thirsty, but he could get water when he got back.
"Here, this is for you." The blond man held a bottle of milk tea in his hand.
Wan Qiu took the milk tea with a puzzled look. The milk tea was warm, and holding it in his hand felt as if it had taken away some of the cool summer night breeze.
The blond man opened the bottle cap with Wan Qiu's hand: "Drink."
Wan Qiu glanced at the blond man, then picked up his milk tea and started drinking it. The smooth, sweet taste filled his mouth, and Wan Qiu felt as if he had discovered a new world.
The blond man twitched his lips: "You really are..." completely without any guard up, drinking whatever you're given.
The blond man almost suspected that the child was a human trafficker who had come along on his own.
Glug, glug, glug...
The blond man stared at Wan Qiu with surprise, wondering why he hadn't stopped eating. Was he that thirsty?
However, when he saw that Wan Qiu had almost downed half the bottle, the blond man couldn't help but say, "Stop, stop, stop! It's not like we're not giving you any more. Do you really have to drink it all in one go?"
Wan Qiu, holding the bottle, let out a burp.
The blond man looked up and saw his companion standing not far away.
"Are you hungry?" the blond man asked.
Wan Qiu hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.
"If you're hungry, Uncle will take you inside to eat." The blond man pointed to a shop behind him. "Want to eat?"
However, Wanqiu still shook his head.
"Are you full?" The blond man looked down at the bread bag in Wan Qiu's hand, which was almost empty.
This time, Wan Qiu nodded.
"That's all?" The blond man was speechless. Was this the amount of food a boy in his growth period would eat?
Wan Qiu opened his mouth and let out a burp: "I'm full."
"Who are you? What are you doing surrounding that kid?" The barbecue shop owner looked at them suspiciously, carrying a bag of barbecue.
“Friend,” the blond man said.
The barbecue restaurant owner frowned and asked Wan Qiu in a low voice, "Do you know him?"
Wan Qiu hesitated for two seconds, then nodded.
"Your dad's friend?" The barbecue shop owner didn't ask any more questions after hearing that they knew each other. If he had paused for two more seconds, he would have realized that Wan Qiu hadn't admitted it this time. He simply shoved the barbecue into Wan Qiu's hands and said, "Go back quickly, or your dad will beat you again if you're late."
The blond man's face twisted briefly for a moment, but he eventually managed a strange, forced smile: "I'll take you back."
"Thank you," Wan Qiu said.
The blond man looked at it for a while, then suddenly laughed: "Well, you're quite good at accepting help from others."
Although the blond man joked, he still pulled Wanqiu's little cart, and even asked for a rope to connect it because he was a bit short.
Wan Qiu followed the two tall men back the way they came. Although they had only met today, Wan Qiu's attitude towards them was neither that of a stranger nor a friend. He was as quiet as if he had been by their side from the very beginning.
Wanqiu finished the last few bites of bread and drank the milk tea, then carefully hugged the milk tea bottle.
The blond man wanted to buy Wanqiu some food, but the child said he was full and didn't seem to be lying. He was afraid that if he bought it, Ninghai would benefit from it in the end.
"Kid, you'll be enjoying your life soon," the blond man chatted with Wan Qiu. "Say goodbye to this shitty existence."
Wan Qiu didn't answer, seemingly trying to understand what the blond man was saying. The blond man, on the other hand, was punched on the shoulder by his companion, who told him to keep quiet.
“My life isn’t shit.” But Wan Qiu suddenly said, “I’m living a very good life.”
"Have you never experienced a good life before?" The blond man was punched again by his companion, but then he felt a strange unease as he thought about what he had just said...
"I'm living a good life," Wan Qiu said stubbornly.
Does this child really think he's living a good life? The blond man scratched his head, then scratched his head again, feeling extremely uncomfortable.
The blond man took out a business card from his pocket and handed it to Wan Qiu: "My phone number is on this. Call me if you need anything."
Wan Qiu looked at the simple business card and said, "I don't have a phone number."
"Then you can keep it," the blond man said.
"Oh." Wan Qiu put the business card in his pocket.
The man frowned as he watched this scene, feeling that Wan Qiu... seemed to be the type who was very easy to obey?
When Wan Qiu got downstairs, he rolled up his sleeves to carry the beer, revealing the snow-white gauze that had just been bandaged that day, but was immediately stopped by two people.
"Alright, fourth floor, right?" the man said.
After the three cases of beer were carried to the fourth-floor entrance, the two men turned to leave, but the blond man was suddenly grabbed by the clothes.
The small amount of force wasn't enough to stop the blond man's actions, but it did bring him to a halt.
Wan Qiu released her grip on the man's sleeve and looked up, saying, "Thank you."
When he finally got back into the car, the blond man was still a little dazed. Heaven knows that at the moment he was thanked, he actually thought that silly kid was quite cute.
"He doesn't have the money to pay us, and you still gave him your business card?" the man said to his companion with a smile.
“He’ll be the son of a big boss in the future, this little bit of money is nothing to him,” the blond man said stubbornly, but then he leaned against the window and yawned. “I just felt that we should keep an eye on things, that’s all.”
In the middle of the night, the group of men went home. Ning Qiaozhen and Ning Hai, who were drunk, fell into a deep sleep after all the commotion. Wan Qiu came out of the room again, closed the door to his parents' bedroom, and began to tidy up the mess on the table.
If I don't tidy it up, Mom will be in a bad mood when she wakes up tomorrow morning and sees a messy room.
There were still many leftovers on the table, and Wanqiu would try to leave some, because even the soup would taste good with rice.
Seeing the remaining food, Wan Qiu crushed some minced meat with his fingers and put it in his mouth.
tasty.
The food still tasted great even though it had cooled down.
Keep them all; I can't bear to throw them away.
I think it's because I ate bread and drank milk tea today, which replenished my energy and made me feel more comfortable than usual. When I stood up, I used too much force and accidentally kicked a bottle next to me. Several bottles fell onto the tiled floor, making a crisp clattering sound.
Wanqiu froze in place.
Heavy, hurried footsteps came from her parents' room. The bedroom door opened, and Wanqiu's breath caught in her throat.
"What the hell are you doing so late at night!" Ning Hai was a light sleeper and was still smelling of alcohol. He saw Wan Qiu standing in a pile of things with the lights on.
Wan Qiu's voice wasn't loud, but it betrayed a hint of timidity in the quiet night: "I'm packing."
"Clean up my ass!" Ning Hai was more irritable than usual after drinking, and his voice rose. Wan Qiu knew what this meant. "If you dare to make a sound and disturb my sleep again, I'll make you regret it."
There was a whooshing sound of wind, and Wanqiu instinctively curled up.
The stinging pain spread like blooming water droplets, rippling outwards in layers.
Wanqiu lay prostrate on the ground, and stars twinkled before his eyes, some black and some white.
Wan Qiu suppressed his breathing, carefully listening to the sound of Ning Hai returning to his room and lying down.
From soft rustling to the sound of snoring.
Wan Qiu got up and continued tidying up the messy living room, his movements subtle and meticulous, as if he himself had ceased to exist.
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