Chapter 120 (First Release)...
Ning Wanwan was taken aback.
It was perfectly normal to see white flecks in the corner of her eye, since there was snow everywhere outside, but Ning Wanwan always felt that those flecks of white were different.
She hesitated for a moment, followed her intuition, stopped, and then turned and slowly moved closer to that direction.
Behind the snowdrift, she saw a child with unusual white hair and silver-gray eyes.
Ning Wanwan: "...Xiao Zhou"
She hadn't expected to suddenly see this child, whom she had always felt some fear in her heart, but then she thought, since they were in the same village, it wasn't strange to run into him.
Xiao Zhou was still dressed in tattered, gray clothes. Her delicate and cute face was expressionless, and her snow-white hair looked even cleaner and more flawless against the backdrop of the snow behind her.
But... "How long have you been standing here?"
Ning Wanwan couldn't figure out when he had quietly appeared there. Perhaps it was because the child was small that Ning Wanwan hadn't noticed him.
Xiao Zhou looked up, gazing at her quietly. His silver-gray eyes were like a mirror, clearly reflecting the girl's figure.
Instead of answering, he asked Ning Wanwan by name: "Ning Wanwan, how did you get into this village?"
"Given your qualifications, the village chief and the others would never agree to let you in."
Ning Wanwan: "..."
Xiao Zhou's words were so sharp and direct, without any attempt to hide anything, that Ning Wanwan couldn't help but choke.
If it were someone else, they might have thought that Xiao Zhou was deliberately mocking them and would have felt resentful. However, Ning Wanwan had a gentle personality and knew that what the other party said was true, so she was not angry.
She simply pursed her lips and answered softly, "It's because of... Ansel that I was able to come in."
"Ansel, your companion?"
Ning Wanwan couldn't help but curve her lips into a smile: "You don't remember his name? But how do you remember mine? I must have called him that many times in front of you last time."
Xiao Zhou: "Hmm, I only remember your name."
Despite saying such cute things, Xiao Zhou's tone remained completely flat, like a machine devoid of emotion.
However, Ning Wanwan vaguely sensed something else beneath his outward appearance.
Previously, Ning Wanwan was unconsciously afraid of this child, but perhaps because she had experienced some ups and downs, or witnessed the two sides of other people, Ning Wanwan is not so afraid of Xiaozhou now.
She noticed the snow and mud on Xiaozhou's face and body, and her gaze paused slightly.
Needless to say, it must have been those village kids bullying him again.
After hesitating for a moment, Ning Wanwan reached out to brush the snow and mud off his clothes and head.
Xiao Zhou blinked gently, staring at her approaching hand, a hint of doubt appearing in her silver-gray eyes.
It was as if she didn't know whether she was going to reach out and hit or scold him like others did.
It looks a bit like a clueless, slightly dazed stray cat.
But he remained standing still, staring as her hand landed on his head.
Then help him remove the snow and mud from his body.
Xiao Zhou's eyes widened slightly, seemingly surprised that the girl who had previously been avoiding him was now willing to help him clean the dirt off his body.
The white-haired, gray-eyed child stood motionless, maintaining the same posture, letting the girl manipulate him.
Ning Wanwan didn't ask Xiaozhou why things turned out this way, and to make her unsure whether to breathe a sigh of relief or a sigh of relief, Xiaozhou didn't bring it up either.
This child is too...
Ning Wanwan collected her thoughts and focused on helping him tidy up his body.
Snow is easy to clear, but dark mud stains stick to the dusty clothes and just won't come off.
Ning Wanwan couldn't help but frown: "...Wait here for me for a moment, okay?"
Xiao Zhou didn't speak, but nodded quietly, his silver-gray eyes fixed on her.
Ning Wanwan turned around and went back into the house to get a cloth dampened with water, which she could use to wipe off most of the dirt on her body.
She wasn't really a busybody, but perhaps out of guilt for not being able or having the energy to save a child, or perhaps because she wasn't so afraid of Xiaozhou anymore, she felt a little compelled to do something small.
Actually, I'm being hypocritical. If I were Xiaozhou, helping to clean myself up wouldn't matter at all. In comparison, the most important and practical thing is to find someone who can rescue me from being bullied.
Thinking of this, Ning Wanwan paused in her steps, which were about to step out of the house.
If the other party doesn't actually need such a small favor, then it's best not to do it...
She slowly withdrew her steps from the house and looked out the window again.
Xiao Zhou remained obediently standing in place, his face expressionless and his lifeless silver-gray eyes staring straight in the direction of the window.
It was as if he knew she was watching him too.
Ning Wanwan's heart skipped a beat.
—It was precisely because of Xiao Zhou's appearance, his overly direct and inhuman nature, that Ning Wanwan could never help but be afraid of him.
Ning Wanwan slowly exhaled, suppressing the rising fear and urge to retreat, and walked out.
"I'm sorry, Xiaozhou, for making you wait outside for so long."
Xiao Zhou: "It's alright, Ning Wanwan."
After he finished speaking, he added after a while, "It didn't take long."
Ning Wanwan knelt down and wiped the dirt off his cheeks, then couldn't help but laugh: "Xiao Zhou, why do you always call me by my name?"
"Aren't you calling my name too?" Xiao Zhou paused for a moment, as if somewhat puzzled.
Ning Wanwan was somewhat surprised: "So you're copying me?"
Xiao Zhou: "Hmm, is that not the right way to call me?"
"It's not that it's wrong, it's just that it feels a little strange to hear a child like you call me by my full name like that." Ning Wanwan thought for a moment and said honestly, "But it's quite novel."
After all, Ansel, who spent the most time with her, called her by her name from the very beginning, "Wanwan," and continued to call her "Wanwan" afterward.
"If you call me a few more times, I should get used to it," Ning Wanwan said to Xiaozhou.
Xiao Zhou: "Oh, I understand."
Ning Wanwan blinked: "What do you understand?"
Xiao Zhou answered matter-of-factly, "I will call you more often, as that is with your permission."
Ning Wanwan: "Pfft."
Xiao Zhou looked at the girl who was laughing and asked, "...Did I say something wrong again?"
Ning Wanwan suppressed a laugh, watching the child stand obediently in front of her and let her do as she pleased. So she unconsciously softened her voice and coaxed, "That's right, that's right, I allow it."
Upon hearing the girl say "I give my permission," Xiao Zhou said nothing more, a hint of satisfaction inexplicably surfacing in her calm, silver-gray eyes.
Looking at him, Ning Wanwan realized that her previous fear of the child was nothing but an illusion.
—He's clearly just a quiet, aloof, and blunt child, but very well-behaved and adorable!
After wiping the mud off Xiao Zhou's face and hair, Ning Wanwan began cleaning the mud off his clothes.
Simply wiping with a damp cloth is unlikely to clean the child completely. All Ning Wanwan can do is make the child look less disheveled.
Ning Wanwan couldn't help but sigh softly.
She was just an ordinary person with average abilities and personality, incapable of being a savior for others, only wanting to protect herself.
"Alright." Ning Wanwan wiped away most of the mud off the hem of his clothes; that was all she could do with a cloth. She exhaled, looked up, and met Xiao Zhou's eyes.
Its silvery-gray, inorganic pupils had been silently watching her, and she didn't know how long they had been watching.
Ning Wanwan was stunned for a moment, and felt that fear again in those cold eyes.
She couldn't help but instinctively take two steps back.
The wiping cloth he was holding also fell to the ground.
Until Xiaozhou lowered her eyelashes, her snow-white eyelashes calmly and steadily blocking her vision, like pure white, thin snowflakes.
Ning Wanwan then snapped out of her daze from that metallic silver-gray.
Xiao Zhou: "Are you afraid of me?"
"No, no." Ning Wanwan denied instinctively without thinking.
"..."
Xiao Zhou didn't speak, staring at her toes that had clearly retreated.
After Ning Wanwan came to her senses, she almost bit her tongue. She finally realized how unconvincing her words were and how easily they could cause people to overthink.
Or rather, it's not really about overthinking.
But that's not right. Xiao Zhou didn't actually do anything. He was just acting on his own intuition and instinct.
It was an intuition that even she herself couldn't explain.
This must be a terrible thing to do for a child who is already being bullied and oppressed.
Ning Wanwan hesitated for a moment. To prove that she was not afraid of Xiaozhou, she slowly raised her arm and finally placed her palm on Xiaozhou's head.
Then, I gently rubbed the top of his head.
Because the rubbing motion was slow, Ning Wanwan could clearly feel Xiaozhou's snow-white hair passing through her fingers, cold and devoid of any warmth.
This made her fingers, which had just touched his hair, tremble slightly.
But soon she discovered that the coldness was only for the first moment when she touched him. Soon those pure white hairs were warmed by her temperature, and Ning Wanwan realized that his hair was soft and very easy to touch.
This made Ning Wanwan rub his head a couple more times.
Xiao Zhou tilted his head slightly, with her palm resting on his head, obediently watching her without moving.
Ning Wanwan realized she had been touching him for a while, so she quickly took her hand off. Seeing Xiao Zhou's slightly upturned hair, she felt too embarrassed to help him fix it anymore.
However, with a little bit of hair sticking up, Xiaozhou looks more like an ordinary child with a lively personality, rather than a cold, lifeless object.
"Do you like to touch my head?" Xiao Zhou asked suddenly, as if she had sensed something.
Ning Wanwan paused for a moment, somewhat bewildered: "...It's alright, and your hair is quite unique."
The reason Ning Wanwan was able to notice him so quickly several times was largely because of his snow-white hair, which was spotless and sparkling.
It does feel better to the touch than I imagined.
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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 08:16:22 on March 14, 2024 and 17:37:28 on March 15, 2024!
Thank you to the little angel who watered with nutrient solution: Qiuqiu, the cutie, for 7 bottles;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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