Chapter 221 Scene 8 (Inverted V) Don’t cry, don’t cry…
"A brief account."
"Um?"
"The sun is shining brightly today."
"Yeah. I'm in a good mood too."
"Um?"
"Xiaozhe, I, I really never thought that I would meet a friend like you who is willing to treat me wholeheartedly."
"Why? You're such a nice person, everyone wants to be your friend!"
"But……"
"Okay, Xiaoshu, there's nothing to worry about. Today is our first day out of the orphanage, and it's the beginning of a brand new life. Cheer up, because from now on, we'll have to rely on our own hands to make a living."
"Well, okay. But, Xiaozhe, did the dean really do something bad like that?"
"...Of course! Don't you know that the dean is always scolding everyone and withholding their food and daily necessities? She, she deserves to be punished!"
"Oh, I see."
"Of course. By the way, Xiaoshu, you know, if we want to survive here, we have to work. You're weak, and I don't want you to go to a dangerous place, so we may be apart for a long time. You have to take care of yourself, okay?"
"Can't I go with you, Xiaozhe?"
"Of course, you can if you want."
"Why."
"Indeed, we can go out to work together first, learn some new skills, and then go back to our small vegetable garden and live our lives slowly."
“…”
"This way, I can feel more at ease. I don't have to worry about our Xiao Shu being bullied by others and not fighting back."
"...Xiaozhe."
"Yeah, I'm here."
"Xiaozhe, you have to stay safe and sound, okay?"
"Of course, I promise."
"Um……"
"Xiao Shu, if you miss me, just take out the little bear I gave you. As long as it's fine and you're fine, nothing will happen to me."
"Okay... then, will you come back to see me?"
"Of course, Xiao Shu, you are my best friend. Even if I were to die and only a drop of blood was left in my body, I would crawl back to find you."
"Xiaozhe, don't say these things, it's not good."
"Haha, alright, alright, this is just an analogy. How can I really die?"
"Then you'll become an old man."
"Yes, we will all grow old, but even when we are old, we will always be together, Xiao Shu, do you believe me?"
"I……"
"I trust you!"
"Teach us a lesson?! Are you crazy? This is an orphanage. No, how did you get in?! Don't you know that an orphanage—"
"Shut up!!"
"Xiaozhe, I believe in you. I have always believed in you! So, I will become strong, protect myself, and not let you worry. Maybe one day, I can protect you!"
“Bang!!!!”
"You dare to hit me?!"
"Before, I thought you were like dark clouds, always hanging over me, raining down tiresome rain non-stop. But you're actually just a bunch of little kids! Since simple words don't work, I'll just take action!"
"Okay, then I believe in you too, Xiao Shu. I'll be waiting for the day when you become strong enough to protect yourself."
And now, this day may have finally arrived.
He Yuezhe looked at the trembling girl under the eaves, retracted his hand that had slapped the leading boy in the face, then picked up the dirty little girl and ran away.
He Yuezhe smiled helplessly: "You talk big, but you still ran away in the end."
"Hey, why are you running?!" The leading boy covered his swollen face from being slapped twice, pointed at the girl and shouted.
The girl just kept running without replying.
"Okay, Boss, don't bother with her. Without this one, we can just find someone else, right? Don't get angry, it's not good for your health."
"Since Xiao Shu can't bear to do it, let me do it."
"Yeah, yes, yeah, you're right..."
"Ugh! Boss! What's going on?! What is this—"
"solve."
He Yuezhe clapped his hands in satisfaction, looked at the children who had fainted on the ground, took out a dagger from the body of Nut on his back, and cut their bodies apart neatly.
"Hey, nuts."
"Um, sister...?" Nut on his back slowly opened his eyes, then stared blankly at the corpses on the ground, "Ah..."
"You're a plant, right? What do you think of eating these things? Do you like them?" He Yuezhe pointed at them and asked, "I used to use these to fertilize Xiaoshu's vegetables, and the effect seemed pretty good."
"ah……"
"These people are just a bunch of scum. You don't have to feel bad about eating them... Oh, yes, the scum might not taste very good. Can you accept that?"
"Well, sister, this isn't something you can accept or not..."
"What's that?"
"I'm a vegetarian. I never eat meat, let alone human flesh!"
"So, you, eat your own kind?"
“…”
“…”
"Huh? No, no, I only eat artificial food, like canned food, mock meat, and so on."
"Oh, I see."
"Yeah! I'm a good kid!"
"oh oh."
"Um!"
"Uh-huh."
"Sister, what are you doing?"
"That's right, Little Nut. Think about it, this is an orphanage with a lot of children. If they saw these things, they would be very scared, so..."
"so?"
"So please clean up here."
“Ah? Ah?!”
"Come on! I believe in you!"
“…”
"I'm serious, come on, I believe in you!"
"You, know, me?"
"Well, well... well, I do know you."
"But, here, without the dean's consent, you can't come in. How did you do that?"
"Now is not the time to talk about this. Why are you all so curious about this?" The girl reached out and gently tucked the messy hair on both sides of the girl's cheeks behind her ears. "Your hair is so messy."
"I don't know how to comb my hair." There was some paint on the girl's face. The girl wiped it for a long time, making the girl's cheeks red, but she didn't wipe it off.
The girl stammered, silently pulling out a very old-looking comb from her pocket. "Um, sister, this is what my sister left for me. Can I use this to comb my hair?"
"Ah," the girl looked at the comb, took it, and smiled gently, "Yes, let me comb your hair."
"Thank you, thank you..."
"You're welcome."
The girl's hair was a little frizzy and tangled. The girl combed it skillfully and carefully with a comb, and took out a bottle of softener from her pocket and gently rubbed it on the girl's hair.
"What a nice smell..." The girl stood there obediently. The sunlight shone through the big tree on her body in spots, and then was combed out by the comb, turning into strands of lines.
"Child, are you often bullied?" The girl lowered her eyes.
The girl was silent for a moment, then replied in a low voice: "They didn't bully me."
"...Children, if you're being bullied, you need to speak up. If no one listens, then you need to learn how to protect yourself while finding ways to fight back."
The girl's voice was very gentle, filled with sunshine, and floated into the girl's ears warmly, making her ears turn a little red.
Beautifully braided pigtails, a turtleneck sweater, and the scent of flowers that he hadn't smelled for a long time filled his nostrils. Chen Shuo looked at his scarred hands, and then at the girl's thin but straight back.
"But, if that happens, they will hate me and won't be friends with me." The girl said weakly.
"Then just don't be friends with them," Chen Shu said. "They're not the only ones here. You can still be friends with others."
"What's more, you can be friends with yourself."
"Well, I don't quite understand..."
"It's ready, let's take a look."
"...Okay, okay, look."
“…”
"Really, good, look, thank you!"
Looking at the girl's bright smile, Chen Shuo touched her head. The soft hair tickled the wound, making it itchy, as if it was healing her wound.
“…”
"Thank you for protecting me today."
"You're welcome, you're welcome, kid. It's your duty to protect yourself."
"Oh, well, but, still, thank you."
"Besides that, don't you have anything else to tell me?"
“…”
"You don't want to be friends with me..."
"I, I want to!"
“…”
“…”
"Why are you crying? Don't cry..."
"I'm excited. I don't have any friends. I want friends. I don't want to be alone again. I'm sad and unhappy. I want friends!"
"I want friends! I want friends! I want friends! I want friends! I want friends! I want friends! I want friends!"
“No matter how scary or bad this world is, as long as we have friends, we won’t be afraid or lonely, and we will be happy!”
"Don't cry, don't cry."
Chen Shuo held the girl in his arms and patted her trembling back again and again. Her bony back looked thin and pitiful, but as it rose and fell, it gradually turned into mountains and waves, deep and broad.
“…”
"Hello."
“…”
"Human, Idol..." the girl sobbed. Upon hearing this, she saw He Yuezhe standing on the ground waving at her and asked curiously.
"Well, I'm the puppet who's here to perform for you today." He Yuezhe nodded.
“…” Chen Shuo let go of the girl.
"Then, why are you here...?"
"I'm here to find a little friend."
"I……?"
"Yes, it's you." He Yuezhe climbed up a nearby tree and said, "Little friend, why are you here alone? Why don't you go to see the show?"
"I, I, will go right away."
"Then, before you go, you need to cooperate with me to complete a task, and then I can take you to see the show."
"All right……"
"Please close your eyes. In the next ten seconds, I will hide in a corner of this tree. Your mission is to find me."
"Oh, oh, this sister, can you also come with me...?"
"She could only watch."
"ten."
"Okay, I'll close my eyes."
"Nine."
"eight."
"seven."
"six."
"five."
"Four."
"three."
"two."
"one."
"Are you hiding well? I'm coming to find you..."
"surprise!"
"Ah, yes, yes, a wreath! It's beautiful. Thank you, thank you!"
"Hehe, my craftsmanship is pretty good, right?" He Yuezhe jumped down from the tree, motioned the girl to lower her head, and put the wreath on her head. "This is a surprise for you. How about it? Do you like it?"
"I like it! I like it very much! I like it very much!" The girl's hand gently touched the lupine on the wreath. "This is the flower from my hometown that I like very much. Thank you, little doll."
"Since you like this surprise so much, then, in exchange, can you agree to a request of mine?"
"you say."
"Protect yourself. If someone bullies you, fight back. Even if you get bloody, you have to fight back. Let them know that you are not someone to be bullied. Can you do that?"
"I……"
"I can be your friend, listen to your sadness, and share happy things with you, but I hope that my friend can be strong enough to protect himself and not let me worry."
"Really?"
"Chen Shuo! Chen Shuo?! Where have you been?! The show is about to start!!"
"Really, I wouldn't lie to my friends."
"Okay, I promise you, I will protect myself and you will be my friend!"
"It's a deal."
"It's a deal!"
"Chen Shuo! Why are you here? Come on, let's go..."
"Mother Jiang, look at my flower ring. Isn't it very nice?"
The girl smiled happily, showing off the extremely beautiful wreath on her braided hair and on her head.
"..." Jiang Ruoshan was stunned for a moment, then squatted down, smiled, and nodded, "It's very beautiful."
"Well, my pretty little friend, would you like to go to a show with me and everyone else?"
"willing!"
"Then let's go."
"good!"
After waving goodbye to the girl, He Yuezhe took a few steps back and poked the figure that had been silent for a long time.
"Hey, Xiaoshu, long time no see?"
“…”
"Well, yes, long time no see, Xiaozhe."
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