Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Chu Ya's mind was foggy and his consciousness blurred, yet he could hear the sound of wheels rolling and feel as if he were lying on a bed being pushed forward. He struggled to open his eyes, only to see a blinding white light and indistinct human shapes.

"… This kid is pretty heavy… He has already entered the differentiation period, but it should still be some time before he breaks through… He seems to be waking up… Take him to Room 12 first…"

Chu Ya's sluggish brain couldn't process these voices; he only slowly turned his head to the left.

As his vision gradually cleared, he saw several people in gray clothes sitting in an empty room, watching him through a full glass wall with numb expressions and no emotion in their eyes. Two children rushed over, pounding on the glass wall and crying out something toward him.

Where am I… Why am I here…

Just as this thought surfaced in Chu Ya's mind, another wave of dizziness washed over him, plunging him back into darkness.

Clang clang clang…

"Wake up, wake up! Hurry to the washroom, oh, you guys in this dormitory, stop sleeping."

At seven o'clock in the morning, the welfare home was awakened by the familiar sound of the brass bell, followed by hurried footsteps rushing to the toilet and the clinking of toothbrush cups in small basins.

"Shen Juanjuan, wake up, hurry up." Lin Duozhi shook the small lump on the bed, "I'm going to the washroom to wash my face. If you don't get up now, no one will help you get dressed later."

Shen Juanjuan, half-asleep, climbed up and put his T-shirt over his head, then sat there motionless, his head slowly drooping under the fabric.

Lin Duozhi pulled down his T-shirt, revealing his fluffy head, and shook his shoulders again: "Don't sleep, I've helped you get dressed, now you need to help me tie my shoelaces, hurry up and get up."

"Shen Juanjuan, do I have to carry you to the playground to freeze you awake?" the supervisor shouted from the doorway.

Shen Juanjuan finally opened his eyes, lazily putting on his cotton coat and shoes. Lin Duozhi circled around him, constantly extending his feet: "And mine too."

The other children in the dormitory had finished getting ready and were holding their basins, preparing to leave. Lin Duozhi walked last, taking the time to squat beside his bed and deeply inhale.

Shen Juanjuan was now fully awake and, seeing Lin Duozhi's actions, also opened his coat pocket to smell the chocolate, closing his eyes in bliss: "So fragrant!"

The children from Dormitory 16 arrived at the washroom and, seeing the crowded sink area, went to the corner to squeeze in with the younger students.

Shen Juanjuan filled a small basin with water and squatted down, stretching out one finger to touch it while looking around. He planned to pretend he had washed if the supervisor wasn't paying attention, then dump the water and slip away.

"It's hot water!" exclaimed a younger student nearby.

"We had hot water for our bath last night."

"Does that mean it's always hot now?"

"Yes."

...

Seeing the supervisor scolding an older student at the door, Shen Juanjuan quickly poured the water into the sink when he noticed no one was watching.

Not having washed his face during this time made him feel much more relaxed. Even with hot water, he didn't want to wash.

Shen Juanjuan returned to the dormitory with his empty basin, passing by the supervisor who was staring at him. He quickly touched his face: "It's hot water, washing doesn't feel cold at all, I wouldn't secretly pour it out."

The supervisor's voice was icy: "Go wash your eye crust and the saliva marks around your mouth. Stand there if you don't clean them properly."

Under the supervisor's watchful gaze, Shen Juanjuan washed his face. By the time he returned with his basin, the other children had already gone back. As he walked down the corridor, he heard Lin Duozhi's loud crying coming from their dormitory.

Entering the room, Shen Juanjuan saw Lin Duozhi crouched beside his bed, sobbing uncontrollably. The other children stood around him, looking at each other in confusion.

"Were you fighting?" Shen Juanjuan asked.

The children shook their heads in unison: "No. He suddenly started crying, and no one hit him."

"Was he attacked by an older student's mental power?"

"I don't know, but I didn't hear him say anything about mental defense."

Squatting beside Lin Duozhi, Shen Juanjuan stared at him for two seconds: "Why are you crying? Were you attacked by an older student's mental power?"

Lin Duozhi, with his eyes closed, tears streaming down his face: "The black… black balls… are gone."

"What!"

"They're all gone… waaah… I haven't even eaten one, they're all gone…"

Shen Juanjuan asked the children standing nearby: "Did you take his black balls?"

"What black balls?"

"The food."

"Tasty? What does it taste like? What does it look like?"

Schen Juanjuan opened his pocket: "Look." All the children leaned in, but before they could see anything, he closed it again: "It looks like this."

"I didn't see anything."

"Me neither."

This time, Shen Juanjuan kept his pocket open longer, and several heads leaned in, looking and sniffing.

"It smells good, very tasty."

"I saw it, a black round ball."

"So fragrant."

Schen Juanjuan closed his pocket: "Did you take his?"

Chen Hongliang squeezed forward: "Let me see it again. I didn't see clearly. I don't know if I took any."

The other children chirped: "Is it salty or sweet?"

"It smells so good."

Lin Duozhi cried: "It wasn't them; they came back with me. I checked the black balls when I left, but they were gone when we returned."

Tang Yuanyuan asked: "Where could they have gone?"

Chen Hongliang: "It, it must have flown away."

"I don't even know what it tastes like... sob... I didn't get to eat any."

Lin Duozhi cried his heart out. Shen Juanjuan empathized and felt a sharp pain in his heart, unable to continue thinking about it.

He felt for his chocolate through his pocket, touching the three hard spheres. After an internal struggle, he finally pulled one out and handed it to Lin Duozhi: "Here."

Lin Duozhi took the chocolate while crying. Shen Juanjuan added: "Eat it quickly. Don't keep it around; it might disappear again."

"Sob..."

The other children fell silent, staring at the chocolate. The room was quiet, and the sound of swallowing saliva was particularly clear.

Shen Juanjuan's right hand reached into his pocket again. The children's eyes shifted from Lin Duozhi to Shen Juanjuan's pocket, watching his hand closely.

Shen Juanjuan's hand hesitated, feeling heavy as if weighed down by a thousand pounds, before reluctantly pulling out another piece of chocolate.

"Here—"

As soon as he spoke, Tang Yuanyuan snatched the chocolate. The other children panicked and reached out to grab it.

"Don't fight over it. Let's each take a bite, okay? Everyone can have some." Tang Yuanyuan said urgently.

The children agreed and stopped fighting. Tang Yuanyuan bit into the chocolate under their watchful eyes.

"Don't take too big a bite. You're taking too much." The children shouted repeatedly.

Everyone took turns biting into the chocolate, savoring its sweetness: "So sweet, so delicious. Shen Juanjuan, where did you get your black balls?"

"My brother gave them to me." Shen Juanjuan replied loudly, pulling out the tie: "Look, this scarf too—don't touch it, just look."

Lin Duozhi had stopped crying and was squatting nearby, eating the chocolate. He wanted to answer but heard Shen Juanjuan say his brother gave them, so he remained silent, tilting his head in confusion.

Chen Hongliang licked his fingers: "You have a brother? I didn't know you had a brother."

"Yes, but he's in Cloud Peak now, so you can't see him."

"Ah! Your brother is from Cloud Peak!"

"Yes, my scarf and black balls are from him."

The children envied him: "Your brother must really love you."

Shen Juanjuan's voice was bright: "My brother loves me very much."

Thinking of his brother, Shen Juanjuan felt warm inside and slightly lightheaded. He took out the last piece of chocolate and handed it to them generously: "Eat it. My brother will give me more next time."

As soon as he offered the chocolate, he began to regret it, and his head cooled quickly. He wanted to take it back, but the children had already gathered around, and he couldn't squeeze in.

Shen Juanjuan peeked in and saw Chen Hongliang put the last small piece into his mouth.

He opened his mouth but only managed to say: "Eat slowly, taste it properly. You won't be able to taste it this way."

The supervisor in the hallway urged everyone to the dining hall. The children from Room 16 tidied up and left the room.

Tang Yuanyuan walked ahead and kept looking back. She then told the others: "I saw Wang Zhusheng eating black balls."

Shen Juanjuan was taken aback and quickly said: "He doesn't have any. Only Lin Duozhi and I do."

"He was eating something and had half a piece in his hand." Tang Yuanyuan pointed to Wang Zhusheng walking in the opposite direction. "He just passed us. Didn't you see him?"

"No."

As soon as Shen Juanjuan answered, Lin Duozhi darted out.

Lin Duozhi ran to Wang Zhusheng and saw him chewing something with dark chocolate stains on his lips. Wang Zhusheng immediately hid his right hand behind his back, but Lin Duozhi had already seen the half piece of chocolate.

"You stole my black balls!" Lin Duozhi shouted, blocking his path.

Wang Zhusheng's expression flashed with panic, and he denied it immediately: "What are you talking about? Who stole anything?"

"You stole my black balls, the ones you're eating."

Wang Zhusheng pushed him with one hand: "Get out of the way. I'm not eating any black balls. You have six fingers; all six-fingered people are thieves."

Shen Juanjuan and the others rushed over to steady Lin Duozhi. Tang Yuanyuan circled around to Wang Zhusheng's back, looked around to make sure her brother wasn't there, and then suddenly pulled his hand out: "Look! Here, he has the black balls!"

"Thief, thief!" Chen Hongliang exclaimed, attracting the attention of the entire corridor.

Wang Zhusheng defended himself: "I didn't. This is something I found in the hallway."

Shen Juanjuan noticed a colorful corner sticking out of his pocket and quietly approached, grabbing it and pulling it out.

"This is what my brother gave us. This is the original wrapping paper." Shen Juanjuan held up the half bag of chocolate, glaring at Wang Zhusheng. "You're a thief."

Wang Zhusheng's face turned red, and he suddenly burst into tears, shouting for his brother.

Shen Juanjuan froze, and the other children fell silent.

A tall and sturdy figure emerged from the dormitory area: "What are you howling about again?"

Wang Zhusheng sobbed as he spoke: "Bro! A pack of black lumps I found, they snatched it from me."

"What black lumps?"

"Food... I only had one... wah..."

"Who took it?"

Shen Juanjuan still held half a bag of chocolate, looking at Wang Zhusheng's finger pointing at him in horror: "Him!"

Shen Juanjuan slowly moved to the side, and Wang Zhusheng's finger followed, turning bit by bit: "It's him! Shen Juanjuan!"