Chapter 3.

Chapter 3.

"Done crying?" Feng Chen asked.

Yan Bubu sniffled, his voice hoarse, "Yes, I'm done crying."

Feng Chen patted the stone beside him, gesturing for him to sit. He took out a bottle of water from his backpack, unscrewed the cap, and handed it to him.

After he finished drinking, Feng Chen took out the only two pieces of military rations left and handed one to Yan Bubu.

Yan Bubu bit into it, feeling like he was biting into wood. It was hard and lacked the sweetness of a biscuit.

He suspected the biscuit was spoiled, but seeing Feng Chen eating, he didn't dare to speak up.

Feng Chen always ate gracefully. Even sitting in disarray next to the ruins eating dry rations, he managed to give off the air of dining in a fine restaurant. He chewed leisurely, showing no sign of difficulty swallowing the food.

Yan Bubu, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. Holding the biscuit with both hands, he alternated between using his front and back teeth, laboriously biting and grinding away.

After finishing his ration, Feng Chen turned to see that Yan Bubu had barely made a dent in his, struggling to swallow.

"Don't roll your eyes."

"Hmm... It's not intentional, just a bit hard to swallow."

Yan Bubu turned his head and continued to bite the biscuit with his back teeth. Feng Chen watched him for a moment and asked, "Is the ration really that hard to bite?"

Although military rations are dehydrated and compressed, making their texture less appealing, they shouldn't be too hard to bite into.

Yan Bubu glanced at him, not mentioning that two of his front teeth were loose, and bit down hard.

Crunch!

"Ah!" Yan Bubu opened his mouth wide, looking bewilderedly at Feng Chen.

Suddenly, Chen Feng noticed a dark void where one of his front teeth used to be, which momentarily startled him before realizing it had been knocked out.

"Hold still, let me check."

Yan Bubu's mouth hung open as Feng Chen removed the dislodged tooth from his mouth, then furrowed his brows to examine his gums closely. It was too dark to see clearly, so Feng Chen took out a flashlight and shone it into his mouth.

Yan Bubu sniffled, his voice slightly nasal, "Young Master, do I also need to...?"

Feng Chen glanced at him, "It's okay, you won't die, it's just teeth changing."

"Teeth changing?"

"Everyone changes teeth. You're six now; it's time for you to change yours."

Yan Bubu stared blankly for a moment, probing the gap with his tongue. Feng Chen took out a small jar of caviar from his bag and scooped a full spoon with the spoon inside the lid.

This caviar was just found in the kitchen at home. He took away Yan Bubu's dry food, spread the caviar on it, carefully avoiding the part moistened by Yan Bubu's saliva.

"Young Master, if Vice-Captain Chen went to pick you up, where is he?" asked Yan Bubu.

Feng Chen paused slightly, his eyes downcast, "The plane crashed, Vice-Captain Chen is gone."

Yan Bubu rubbed his eyes and asked, "What about Sir and Madam?"

"Don't know."

"Huh?" Yan Bubu stared at him, puzzled.

"Communication is cut off; we can't contact them. So now, it's just the two of us." Feng Chen handed him a biscuit, "Eat up, we'll leave after you're done."

As they left, Yan Bubu looked back towards the villa on the hillside. Feng Chen didn't rush him, just quietly waited.

"Young Master, will mom be cold sleeping there?"

After a moment of silence, Feng Chen said, "No, she's not there anymore. She's gone to heaven."

Yan Bubu took a deep breath, wiped his eyes on his shoulder, nodded and said, "Yeah, mom went to heaven. There are lots of fun things there, and dad too. She definitely won't be cold."

He turned and naturally reached for Feng Chen's left hand.

Feng Chen, who hadn't minded it during their escape, now felt uneasy with this intimate gesture. He instinctively pulled back his left hand, leaving Yan Bubu grasping at air.

But Yan Bubu continued to reach out, grabbing the hem of his garment, looking up to ask, "Young Master, shall we go?"

Feng Chen glanced briefly at his hem and looked away, saying, "Let's go."

In the profound silence, every sound was distinct: footsteps and a muffled thumping. That was Yan Bubu's canvas bag, its strap too long, continually hitting his knees.

Feng Chen stopped, took the bag from Yan Bubu's head, adjusted the buckle, and shortened the strap to its minimum length.

It was a grocery bag from the kitchen, made of dark blue fabric and marked with the words "Daily Supermarket," quite spacious.

Yan Bubu slung the bag again, now hanging just at the level of his thigh, barely fitting.

"Ha!" He looked at Feng Chen, revealing a face of surprise.

It was his first smile of the day. Despite the dirt on his face, swollen eyelids, and the blackness of his eyes shining in the phone's light, his teeth were startlingly white.

The most noticeable part was the dark gap where his front tooth had been.

Seeing Feng Chen's gaze on his missing tooth, Yan Bubu reined in his smile and closed his mouth.

After more than half an hour, they finally reached the main street.

Several ruins blazed fiercely, casting intermittent light around. The familiar streets were unrecognizable, with most of the buildings on either side collapsed, large chunks of debris strewn across.

Military helicopters roared overhead, their bright beams piercing the night. Shrill alarms sounded in the distance, unclear whether from fire trucks or ambulances.

A strong sense of unreality surged in Feng Chen, leaving him momentarily dazed and motionless.

Other survivors they encountered on the road showed no joy of escape; their faces bore sorrow or numbness. Some might have watched loved ones buried under rubble, others had lost contact with family, unsure of life or death, and some had just been talking on the phone with a loved one who suddenly went silent.

The streets were uneven and hazardous, not just with the risk of tripping but also with exposed rebar from broken concrete. Yan Bubu clutched at Feng Chen's clothes, trying hard to keep up.

He knew he couldn't be a burden; he had to keep pace with Feng Chen. So, even if he stumbled, he would quickly get up, grab Feng Chen's hem, and continue walking as if nothing had happened.

Feng Chen wasn't moving quickly. Noticing Yan Bubu's falter, he grabbed the back of his collar and lifted him over the mound of dirt underfoot.

"Thank you," Yan Bubu whispered his gratitude after regaining his footing and reached again for Feng Chen's hem.

This time, Feng Chen didn't let him hold the hem but instead took his hand.

The child's hand in his palm was small and soft, without any clammy stickiness, which Feng Chen found tolerable.

After walking a while, they approached a crowd gathered in an alley, accompanied by the sound of flowing water. Feng Chen led Yan Bubu towards them.

The crowd surrounded a well, with candles placed around it. Some squatted to wash their faces, others stripped down to their underwear to thoroughly cleanse themselves. The city's major pipelines had ruptured, and though the well water was somewhat murky, it was still usable for washing as long as it wasn't consumed directly.

Feng Chen had Yan Bubu stand aside while he picked up an unused bucket and joined the queue at the well.

"It's good that the earthquake didn't trigger a tsunami, or we'd all be finished."

"What do you mean no tsunami? The coastal areas of Yun District are flooded. It's just that our Haoyun City, being surrounded by sea on three sides and having a higher central elevation, is safe unless faced with several hundred meters high waves."

"So, there wasn't a particularly big tsunami then."

……

The queue for water was comprised solely of men. Feng Chen, not quite reaching one meter seventy, appeared somewhat slight among them, but his upright posture and distinctive back stood out from the rest.

Yan Bubu stood aside, his face dirty but his delicate and pretty features discernible. A woman sitting nearby with her daughter couldn't help but ask, "Little boy, who are you with?"

Yan Bubu turned to look at her and saw the girl, about his age.

Not wanting the little girl to see his missing tooth, he remained silent.

"Is that man queuing for water your brother?" the woman asked again.

Hearing this, Yan Bubu glanced nervously at Feng Chen, and seeing that he hadn't heard, turned back and whispered softly, "No, he isn't."

"What?" The woman didn't catch his words.

"He is the young master," Yan Bubu slowed his speech.

"What? He is what?"

Yan Bubu didn't respond again, instead turning back to watch Feng Chen's retreating figure, his lips pressed tightly together.

He used to chase after Feng Chen, calling him 'brother', but Feng Chen never responded, instead asking coldly, "Who is your brother?"

"Brother, you are my brother," Yan Bubu would say with a smile, his eyes curving.

But Feng Chen would never return his smile, only turning away with a stern face.

Yan Bubu gradually understood that Feng Chen didn't like being called 'brother' nor did he appreciate being followed. So he only addressed him as 'young master', and when Feng Chen returned home from school, he no longer rushed to greet him but hid behind the fence, watching secretly.

Feng Chen had finished fetching water and called out, "Yan Bubu, come here."

Yan Bubu immediately trotted over.

Feng Chen took out a towel from his backpack, dampened it, wrung it out, and handed it to Yan Bubu, "Wash your face."

Yan Bubu placed the cool towel on his face, the swelling from his tears easing. The towel carried a pleasant scent. He inhaled deeply, tilting his head back, remaining motionless.

"Don't you know how to wash your face?" Feng Chen's voice sounded.

Although it was a simple question, Yan Bubu still jerked in response, quickly replying, "I can wash."

Yan Bubu began scrubbing his face, as if to prove himself to Feng Chen. He rubbed vigorously, the towel distorting his nose and mouth in its wake.

Feeling he had washed enough, Yan Bubu looked up at Feng Chen, who was silently watching him. He was about to continue scrubbing when Feng Chen spoke, "That's enough, don't wash anymore. Give me the towel."

Feng Chen took the towel, rinsed it in the water, and said, "Come here."

He began to wash Yan Bubu's neck and behind his ears, whispering, "Don't tell anyone about our background or names, understand?"

Yan Bubu glanced at him, "Understood."

After washing his face, Feng Chen applied a cold compress to Yan Bubu's swollen eyelids, then began to dry his hair.

Yan Bubu, tousled by the rubbing, noticed people bathing nearby and whispered while steadying himself, "Young master, they are bathing."

Although it was only April, the temperature felt like June, and even at night, it wasn't cold in the city. Many people took the opportunity to bathe here.

Feng Chen didn't stop his movements, saying, "Children shouldn't bathe, you can get clean this way."

After drying, Yan Bubu's hair was slightly damp, making the curls more pronounced and messy atop his head.

Feng Chen began to pat the dust off his body. Each slap on his leg caused Yan Bubu to stagger.

Feng Chen pulled him back, lightened his touch, and after a while said, "Go stand aside and wait."

Yan Bubu moved aside, and the woman who had been watching him said to someone nearby, "This boy is really handsome with his face all cleaned up."

"Yes, but he's without an adult, just a big kid looking after a little one, sigh."

"The adults are probably gone, poor brothers."

Yan Bubu turned his back, pretending not to hear.

Feng Chen fetched another bucket of water and submerged his entire head in it.

Since leaving the villa area, he had felt feverish again, with a heavy, dizzy head.

The earthquake had damaged Haoyun City's airport and roads, leaving him unable to leave. Uncertain of what to do next, he was filled with anxiety and indecision.

Besides, he wasn't alone now; he had six-year-old Yan Bubu with him.

The icy water submerged up to his neck, the chill sharpening his senses, gradually easing his agitation.

His father's Eastern Alliance army had already evacuated Haoyun City, and important documents were stored in a password-protected box. Right after the earthquake, he realized the home's security system would fail, and the Western Alliance army would surely seize the opportunity to steal the box.

All he needed to do now was to keep his identity hidden, secure the password box, and wait for his father to find him.

As for Yan Bubu, he would keep him along as much as possible, or if it became untenable, hand him over to a rescue organization, fulfilling his responsibility.

Yan Bubu, noticing Feng Chen's head submerged in the bucket for a while, approached worriedly and gently pushed him, "Young master."

Feng Chen remained motionless, prompting a more anxious Yan Bubu to start shaking him.

Suddenly, Feng Chen jerked his head out of the water, his eyes reddened, gasping for air.

Turning to a panicked Yan Bubu, he said in a hoarse voice, "I'm fine."