Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Shen Juanjuan suspected it was a dead body, and his whole body broke out in goosebumps. He stared at the hand with sheer terror, afraid that it might suddenly sprout long nails.

He no longer cared about competing with the forklifts for treasures. Shaking, he stood up, picked up his bag, and stumbled forward.

"… You sleep, you sleep, don't mind me, I won't disturb you, you sleep…"

But before he had taken two steps, there was a sudden loud crash behind him, and the ground beneath his feet gave way. He fell to the ground with a thud.

His first thought was that a ghost had grabbed his foot, so he turned his head while screaming. But there was no ghost; only the collapsed mountain of garbage behind him, and the dead body had disappeared.

The three forklifts had reached the cliff and were scooping up garbage.

Shen Juanjuan stopped crying, got up, and despite his fear, he couldn't help but tremble as he approached the edge of the cliff.

Where is the dead body? Was it taken away by the forklift?

Shen Juanjuan lay down at the edge of the garbage mountain and slowly peered down.

"AAAHHH!!!" He let out a terrified scream.

The dead body lay face-to-face below on a small slope. The hat covering his face had slipped off, exposing his entire face to the bright light, even revealing every lash under his eyelids.

"Ah…"

Shen Juanjuan's screams gradually diminished until they stopped, leaving him staring blankly at the face.

Why does this dead body look like my brother? How could it resemble the Cloud Peak brother who gave me the black ball and the scarf?

Shen Juanjuan turned around to face the same direction as the person below.

No, still can't tell.

He stepped back a few paces and then lay down again, tilting his head upward. He saw the high nose bridge, the reserved lips, and the perfectly shaped chin.

It was exactly the same as when he looked up at him on the welfare home playground!

A thunderous boom exploded in Shen Juanjuan's heart, drowning out the noise of the forklifts, ringing deafeningly in his ears.

This wasn't a dead body or a ghost; it was his brother!

Brother, Brother came from Cloud Peak…

Shen Juanjuan didn't have time to feel excited. He reached out to pull the person, but Chu Ya's body suddenly sank further, moving farther away.

He saw a forklift digging into the garbage beneath Chu Ya. If it happened a few more times, Chu Ya would be scooped up and taken to the houses, dumped into a large pool and crushed.

"Wake up quickly! You can't be garbage!" Shen Juanjuan shouted desperately at Chu Ya.

Chu Ya showed no response and continued sinking. Shen Juanjuan looked between the forklift and Chu Ya, then slid down on his belly, bracing himself against the garbage.

"Ouch!"

Shen Juanjuan landed beside Chu Ya, ignoring the pain in his chest, and quickly got up, dragging Chu Ya by the shoulders to the left.

Chu Ya weighed over a hundred pounds, and Shen Juanjuan's feet dug into the garbage, creating two small pits, but he couldn't move Chu Ya an inch.

Seeing the forklift raise its big fork again, Shen Juanjuan felt both fear and urgency, and couldn't help but burst into tears, still gripping Chu Ya's shoulders tightly.

"Wake up, wake up… oh no… wah… hey… uh…"

Boom!

As the forklift pulled out its loaded fork, Shen Juanjuan's body sank sharply, causing him to stumble and roll twice.

He quickly got up, pushed the brim of his cap up, and turned his head to find Chu Ya. He saw Chu Ya had been jolted to a new position, lying on a slope to the left, closer to the ground and just one story away from the forklift's big fork.

"Who can help me… wah…" Shen Juanjuan cried helplessly, tears blurring his vision as he scanned the surroundings, but there was no one else in the landfill besides him and Chu Ya.

Seeing the forklift about to start again, Shen Juanjuan realized that if he pushed Chu Ya down the left slope, he could get farther away from the forklift.

He immediately stopped crying and reached out to push Chu Ya.

"Push hard! Tug of war! Class Two students, push hard… uh? Class Two."

Shen Juanjuan kicked his legs, arched his back, and closed his eyes, shouting encouragement to himself as he pushed Chu Ya with all his might. His mind was filled with tension and anxiety, but he managed to hold back his cries, and a thought flashed through his mind—

I am indeed a student in Class Two; I should tell Liu Sijin later.

"Push hard! Tug of war! Class Two students, push hard."

Chu Ya, lying on the slope, finally started to slide slowly, along with the loosened garbage, as Shen Juanjuan chanted.

Shen Juanjuan followed Chu Ya down the slope, losing his balance due to the shift in center of gravity, and tumbled into a pile of old curtains at the base of the garbage mountain.

Shen Juanjuan lay motionless, his head buzzing from the fall. Just as he was about to cry, he remembered Chu Ya and held back his tears, lifting his head to look for him.

Chu Ya lay not far away, also on a pile of rags. Shen Juanjuan hurriedly got up to check on him, pushing him gently.

He saw the three forklifts full of garbage returning to the factory, but he knew they would be back soon after dumping the garbage.

"We need to leave here, but I can't carry you. Wake up, I can't carry you."

Chu Ya remained with his eyes tightly shut. Shen Juanjuan looked around helplessly, his gaze falling on a nearby wheelbarrow.

It was a rusty iron wheelbarrow with four small wheels supporting a narrow rectangular board, and two handles taller than him. He had seen older students use it to transport collected garbage to the wire fence.

Shen Juanjuan jumped up and ran over, pulling and pushing the wheelbarrow out from between some broken concrete bricks.

He pushed the cart hurriedly back, and three forklifts also emerged from the factory one after another. The sound of machines starting up roared from the row of houses.

Shen Juanjuan quickened his pace to catch up with Chu Ya, trying to drag him onto the cart by holding his shoulders, but he failed several times.

Shen Juanjuan's cotton cap had long slipped off, hanging around his neck by the earflaps, resting on his back like a raised turtle shell. Watching the approaching forklifts, he broke into a sweat, steam rising in white puffs under the lights.

He circled Chu Ya twice, noticing that the cart was very low, its metal plate almost touching the ground, while Chu Ya's lying position barely exceeded the height of the cart.

Shen Juanjuan gave up on the idea of lifting Chu Ya onto the cart and instead rolled him over and pushed him out.

"Ah ya ya... ah ya ya... use your strength! Tug of war! Class Two, use your strength!"

As the forklifts approached the garbage mountain, Shen Juanjuan managed to push Chu Ya down onto the metal plate, fitting perfectly in length. He didn't dare to linger, gripping the cart's handle to leave as quickly as possible.

With Chu Ya on the cart, it became very heavy. Unable to push it, he used his shoulder to push and his back to support, shouting slogans and straining his legs until the small wheels finally started to turn.

He panted heavily, his slender neck stretched long, sweat stinging his eyes, but unable to rub them, he blinked repeatedly.

When Shen Juanjuan finally pushed the cart away from the garbage mountain, he completely relaxed, wanting to collapse. But the ground was wet, so he staggered to the side of the cart, sat down, removed the cotton cap hanging around his neck, and slowly lay down beside Chu Ya in the remaining space.

Shen Juanjuan breathed heavily, turning his head to look at Chu Ya's face. When he noticed his breath making Chu Ya's eyelashes flutter, he couldn't help but chuckle softly.

He looked up at the garbage mountain, seeing only an empty space where the forklifts were now returning to the processing plant loaded with garbage. The factory gates were wide open, and the loud rumble of machinery indicated that the processing pool was active.

Under the bright lights of the garbage dump, Chu Ya, who had shown no reaction, suddenly frowned, creases appearing clearly on his forehead. But the expression quickly vanished, and he returned to his peaceful sleeping state.

Shen Juanjuan sat up abruptly, reaching out to nudge him, asking excitedly and nervously, "Are you awake?"

Chu Ya seemed to slip back into deep sleep, showing no further response. Shen Juanjuan felt slightly disappointed but mostly joyful.

He examined Chu Ya carefully, looking at his eyebrows, eyes, and nose, feeling dizzy with unexpected joy, his heart pounding uncontrollably.

The treasure in the garbage mountain belongs to whoever finds it. My brother became a garbage person, and I found him, so he's mine now.

Shen Juanjuan never imagined he would have such good luck, finding such a valuable treasure. None of the children in the welfare home were as lucky as he was, not even those who found steel balls.

No, many of those who found steel balls combined weren't as lucky as he was.

Shen Juanjuan continued staring at Chu Ya, whispering, "You almost got mixed up by them. I saved you; I pushed you here. Otherwise, you would have become a garbage person, thrown into the pool."

Shen Juanjuan gently touched Chu Ya's hand, calling him softly, "Brother," then repeating in disbelief, "I found you; you're mine. Yes, you're mine."

A cold wind blew, and Shen Juanjuan's body heat dissipated, causing him to shiver. He realized they couldn't stay there any longer; Chu Ya would get cold. So he stood up, lifted the cart with both hands, and headed towards the office.

After taking a few steps, he removed his cotton cap and placed it on Chu Ya's head.

"My hat is very warm; you can wear it first. I'm good at tying strings; I tie Lin Duozhi's shoelaces."

The cotton cap was too small for Chu Ya, the earflaps too short to cover his ears or be tied under his chin. After several attempts, Shen Juanjuan settled for leaving the cap on his head.

Shen Juanjuan pushed the cart with all his might, his eyes fixed on Chu Ya, panting heavily and smiling uncontrollably.

"How did I find you? Let me think. When I saw you, I said, 'Hey, hey,' ha ha... I said, 'Hey, hey'... ha ha, I didn't know it was you."

Shen Juanjuan was still in a daze, constantly wanting to stop and touch Chu Ya's face, feeling every detail to confirm he was real. But a sliver of rationality warned him about the harsh weather, urging him to return indoors to touch him later.

Shen Juanjuan quickened his pace, occasionally letting go of the handle to punch and kick the air behind him, yelling loudly to release some of his overwhelming excitement.

After venting some of his excitement, he resumed pushing the cart forward.