Chapter 22
The autumn sunset, like a weary orange, slowly sank behind the tall chimneys of the factory, painting the sky with a sorrowful orange hue. In the residential compound of Huaxing Machinery Factory, time seemed to stand still, with only the old locust tree still standing alone, its canopy rustling in the wind, scattering a carpet of fine, withered leaves.
After school, he walked her home, and they sat side by side on the exposed, gnarled roots of the old locust tree. For a long time, neither of them spoke, only the mournful sound of the autumn wind could be heard.
"She... she's really mean to me." Xu Chen's voice trembled slightly, not from fear, but more like a release for long-suppressed emotions. "From the day she entered the house, she's never given me a kind look. I do almost all the housework. When I come home from school, I have to cook, wash the dishes, mop the floor... If I'm even a little slow, or if I do something that doesn't please her, she'll yell at me, saying really hurtful things..." Xu Chen's voice was very soft, almost drowned out by the wind. He lowered his head, unconsciously and fiercely scraping the soil under his feet with a dry twig, leaving messy, deep marks.
Li Muxue turned her head to look at the thin boy beside her. His profile looked tired and sad in the light and shadow of the setting sun, and his Adam's apple bobbed almost imperceptibly.
Li Muxue remembered that when Aunt Wang was alive, Xu Chen's eyes were bright, like they were sprinkled with stars. But now, they were always shrouded in a layer of gray mist.
“My dad was just reading the newspaper next to me.” Xu Chen’s lips curled into an almost mocking smile, a smile filled with a bitterness incongruous with his age. “He didn’t even lift his head.”
He paused for a moment, as if gathering his courage, his voice becoming lower and hoarse: "My mother never used to do this. She would only say, 'Xiao Chen, what do you want to eat tonight? How about sweet and sour fish?'" There was a certain fragility in his voice when he mentioned the word "mother." He stopped abruptly, took a deep breath, and then buried his head even deeper.
At that moment, Li Muxue felt a sudden, inexplicable sadness welling up inside her. She saw his wrists peeking out from under his school uniform sleeves, so thin they were almost bony. She remembered the sharp, piercing pain in her lower abdomen a few days ago, the unbearable, unspoken grievance she had endured with gritted teeth. Xu Chen, on the other hand, was suffering a different kind of pain, a longer, more hopeless, lingering ache, seeping into every seemingly ordinary day. Her brief, cyclical pain seemed insignificant compared to Xu Chen's heavy, inescapable oppression.
Before this, Li Muxue knew about Luo Mei's harshness and even abuse of Xu Chen; the long kneeling on that snowy night was a typical example. But now, Xu Chen told her personally that his life hadn't changed after moving to the new dormitory, a complex mix of emotions surged within her. There was heartache, like fine needles pricking her. There was anger, a silent condemnation of her harsh stepmother and indifferent father. And there was a deep, almost suffocating resonance. She understood the silence that must be maintained in the face of pain, the fear that if vulnerability were revealed, the world would collapse. They were both like small animals hiding in hard shells, licking their wounds alone.
But what she felt most was regret. She regretted her indifference, rejection, and hurt towards him over the past few years. She should have realized long ago that his life was no happier than hers, and was even more miserable. She felt that she had been a fool blinded by hatred!
She wanted to say something to comfort him, like "It'll be alright," or "Don't be sad." But these words sounded so pale and powerless, like soap bubbles floating in the sunlight, ready to burst at the slightest touch. Any lighthearted comfort would be a desecration of his heavy reality.
In the end, she said nothing. She simply and quietly placed the glass bottle of Hachioji soda she had just bought on the back of Xu Chen's hand that was holding the tree branch.
Xu Chen shuddered, as if startled by the sudden chill, or perhaps touched by the silent care. He looked up, a flicker of disbelief in his eyes.
At that moment, Li Muxue clearly saw the barely suppressed, trembling tears welling up in his reddened eyes. Those eyes held all the bewilderment, grievances, and the softness beneath a tough facade of a young man who had lost his protection.
Xu Chen quickly turned his face away, rubbed his eyes hard with the back of his hand, and when he turned back, his face was stiff with feigned ease. His voice was hoarse: "It's okay, I'm used to it."
As night deepened, the dim streetlights lit up the small street. Li Muxue suddenly remembered something: "Brother Chen, it's too late, you should go back to your new dormitory!"
This was the first time in several years that Li Muxue had revived the long-lost title of "Brother Chen".
Xu Chen was taken aback for a moment, then cautiously probed, wondering if he had misheard: "Mu Xue, what did you just call me?!"
"Alright, alright, let's go home now! See you at school tomorrow!"
After saying that, Li Muxue quickly turned around and walked towards the red brick building, a hint of girlish shyness on her face. Xu Chen was left standing there dumbfounded, grinning foolishly…
(To be continued)
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