Chapter 56
A wave of anger burned in Cheng Xi's heart, and he opened his eyes with a frown. But when he saw the scene in front of him, he suddenly felt panicky and an unknown fear spread throughout his limbs.
In the room, which was estimated to be about 30 square meters, iron racks divided the space into several spaces of equal size. One space was filled with a black, rusty iron cage, in which were locked one or two children of about his age.
The walls of the room were pitch black, the floor was covered with a thick layer of dust, a corner was occupied by a spider, and in the center of the room, on the ceiling, a dim, old-fashioned yellow lamp was hung with a coil of blue, red, and yellow wires.
The only place where light can shine in is a small window on the wall close to the ceiling. The window is covered with newspapers, and people outside can't see what's going on inside at all. The door in and out of the room is locked from the outside, so people inside can't go out, and people outside don't want to come in unless there is new "goods" coming in.
The room was poorly ventilated, and the turbid air was mixed with the stench of sweat, a disgusting smell.
The others had obviously already adapted to the air here, and there was nothing unusual on their faces. Only Cheng Xi covered his mouth and nose tightly, his face flushed red, and he looked at everything in front of him in shock.
But in a cage, he found Cai Qianxun unconscious. Cheng Xi's eyes lit up for a moment, and he called his friend's name unscrupulously.
"Cai Qianxun! Cai Qianxun! Ah Xun!"
But the other party remained indifferent, and heard others hurriedly trying to dissuade him.
"Don't shout at him! Do you want to kill him? He has a fever and is unconscious. He can't hear what you are saying. Don't waste your energy."
Seeing Cai Qianxun unconscious, Cheng Xi anxiously approached, lay on the iron cage net, grabbed the iron cage with both hands, and shook the iron cage vigorously, making a harsh sound.
"Cai Qianxun! Wake up! You can't sleep at this time!"
But the other party still did not respond, Cheng Xi asked others anxiously,
"Why don't you send him to the hospital? He'll die if he continues like this."
"They're not that kind. If they die, they'll just throw them away. If they're alive, they'll just sell them away. Two or three have died in the past few days, all from illness."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Xi's heart instantly turned cold. He slumped down and sat down with red eyes. He scanned the scene in the room and saw many people huddled in a corner of an iron cage, their bodies trembling.
On the other side, in the center of the stage, the third child walked out, and the magic show of the day came to an end.
Like everyone else, Shen Qingru took "Cheng Xi" home contentedly. The "Cheng Xi" in front of her entered the house, stood at the door, and looked around the room.
"Why are you standing there like an idiot? Come in. How can you forget what your home looks like after going out?"
Shen Qingru teased.
"Cheng Xi" answered in the original owner's tone,
"How could that be, Ms. Shen Qingru? I'm just going out for a while. I still feel that home is the best place. Don't worry, I will study hard in the future and won't let you worry."
"As long as you don't get into trouble at school, I'll be satisfied."
Tasting the teasing and flattering meaning in the words, Shen Qingru walked up to "Cheng Xi", stretched out her hand and touched his forehead, and the relieved smile on her face froze.
"Why is your forehead so cold? How can you catch a cold on such a sunny day?"
Cheng Xi was stunned for a moment, but quickly covered it up with a smile. He brushed Shen Qingru's hand away and began to explain.
"The air conditioning in the troupe is turned down very low, so it's a bit chilly. I'm not like you, who yelled along with everyone else the whole time and didn't feel the cold air at all."
Shen Qingru recalled the scene in the audience and felt very embarrassed. She couldn't help but shout along with others, having no image at all. At this moment, she looked embarrassed.
"Alright, alright, drink some hot water to warm yourself up. It would be bad if you really catch a cold. Don't forget, there's a school test tomorrow. Don't let me see you at the bottom of the class again."
"Don't worry, Mother! I will definitely help you get a good ranking tomorrow."
After saying that, seeing that Shen Qingru didn't find any flaws, he turned and went into the kitchen. "Cheng Xi" finally breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced at Shen Qingru for a moment and began to walk around the room.
After roughly understanding the structure of the house and the family situation, "Cheng Xi" retreated from the inner bedroom. When he was closing the door, he keenly heard the movement behind him. He turned around instantly, caught the fist that was swung at him, and held the other party's wrist tightly. He looked at the person with a vigilant face.
"Hiss—you scratched me and it hurt! Cheng Xiaoxi, do you want to die? Why did you sneak into my room again? I told you not to sleep in my room, but you didn't listen, did you?"
Seeing the face of the person in front of him clearly, "Cheng Xi" compared this face with the person in the family photo, confirmed the other person's identity, and immediately put away the defensive look on his face, replaced by a playful smile.
"I'm not sleeping. I was just about to do my homework and I found my pen was missing. I came to your room to borrow one."
As he spoke, "Cheng Xi" took out a pen from his pocket and placed it in front of Cheng Yanchu.
Cheng Yanchu narrowed his eyes, apparently dispelling his doubts, but then he slapped "Cheng Xi" in the face again and roared,
"This is my most expensive one! You really know how to choose! Here you go."
He snatched the pen back and walked into the room. After a while, he threw out a black ballpoint pen with a cold tone.
"Only this, nothing else."
After saying that, he closed the door with a bang.
"Cheng Xi" had a trace of confusion on his face, but the moment the door closed, his expression returned to calm, and his whole body exuded a faint aura of "keep away from strangers".
Everything in the house went on as usual, and time moved on at its own pace.
As night approaches, in the deathly silent room, the people in the iron cages are drowsy. Without food, they can only rely on sleep to numb their nerves in an attempt to deceive their survival instinct.
"Mom, Mom, I'm so cold."
While he was dozing off, a faint sound was heard in the room, which vaguely fell into Cheng Xi's ears and woke him up instantly.
Clinging to the iron cage door, Cheng Xi looked towards the source of the sound. The voice was anxiously calling the man's name, trying to wake him up.
"Cai Qianxun! Cai Qianxun!"
The new kid was locked up with Cai Qianxun. Seeing Cheng Xi so anxious, although he was afraid in his heart, he still dared to approach Cai Qianxun and pushed his face with his hand. He obviously found something wrong and shouted in panic,
"His face is so hot! Is he really in trouble?"
As soon as the words came out, the child withdrew his hand as if he had seen some horrific scene, his face horrified.
Feeling that the situation was not good, Cheng Xi grabbed the iron cage door with both hands, shook it violently, and shouted hoarsely towards the door,
"Is there anyone here? Someone come and save him! Someone is dying here! Do you have any humanity left? What if he gets an infectious disease and kills us all? How are you going to make money? Someone come quickly!"
The empty iron cage above him shook, and the child below him was shaken awake and couldn't help crying, the sound seemed to be about to lift the ceiling off.
Suddenly, the deathly silent room was filled with cries of crying, and the sleeping children were woken up by the noise. They had been hungry all day, and their emotions exploded in an instant.
Suddenly, there was a loud "bang" outside the door, which instantly stopped the crying in the room. Many children were frightened and stopped crying in an instant.
Then, the narrow door was opened and a tall man squeezed in. There was a dark snake tattoo on his right arm. He was holding a short whip with a diameter of two centimeters. He looked around the room fiercely and finally fixed his eyes on Cheng Xi.
Cheng Xi couldn't help but feel his throat move slightly, his scalp tingling, and beads of sweat oozing from his temples. He looked at the man and spoke with a stiff upper lip.
"The man lying there is dying. Aren't you going to save him? Are you trying to get us all killed?"
The man narrowed his eyes slightly, approached Cheng Xi, and whipped Cheng Xi without saying anything. His voice was low and full of anger.
"A troublemaker? No wonder your parents sent you here. You jerk who needs discipline. Be quiet!"
At this moment, Cheng Xi truly realized the benefits of the iron cage. At least it could share half of the beatings for him. However, the short whip still came through the gaps in the rusty frame and lashed Cheng Xi again and again.
The relatively clean short-sleeved shirt was soon covered with dirty whip marks, and the uncovered arms were covered with red marks, like fire snakes as thick as thumbs wrapped around them, burning the fair and tender skin, making it appear red like congested blood.
Cheng Xi clenched his teeth, trying to bite back the cries of pain in his throat, but the more he did so, the harder the man hit him. It was not until he heard Cheng Xi's moan that a look of pleasure crossed his face.
"Hammer, that's enough. You're going to beat him to death. This kid is so good-looking, he's sure to fetch a good price."
A clear voice came from outside the door. Looking in the direction of the voice, a woman wearing a red wig was standing at the door, stopping the man's actions in time.
Cheng Xi had a chance to breathe, and glanced at the woman. He sat up with difficulty in the iron cage, with pleading eyes and flattering words.
"Sister, you are so beautiful and generous, you will definitely save us. Take the dying person to see a doctor. If it is really an infectious disease, all of us in the house will die. How can I help you make money then? If I don't make money, how can I buy you cosmetics, beautiful clothes, jewelry and bags?"
The wigged woman's eyes showed a hint of pleasure, and she looked at him with a lively expression, her expression showing admiration, and she leaned lazily against the door.
"Little guy, you're so sweet. I suddenly feel reluctant to sell you off. You're so good at talking, it's not bad to keep you around. You want to save him? What do you have to offer in exchange? I won't do business at a loss."
Cheng Xi was stunned. He was penniless now and could not afford the medical expenses at all. His face showed embarrassment and he was unable to answer.
The woman in the wig looked at Cheng Xi in the cage with a playful look, her eyes were red and wet with anxiety, and her lips were slightly pursed. She was obviously in danger herself, but she was still thinking about protecting others.
Thinking of this, the wig woman's lips curled slightly, and her tone was light.
"Okay, Tiechui, bring the person out. I'll be a good person for once and show some kindness. Little guy, you have to thank me."
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