Chapter 26: You Must Really Like Me

Chapter 26: You Must Really Like Me

Shen Juanjuan entered the room carrying a bag and a water bottle, panting as he looked at Chu Ya, grinning foolishly. "Shen Miaomiao, hehe, Shen Miaomiao."

Chu Ya responded softly, "I'm here."

Shen Juanjuan reached out to touch his forehead.

The small hand that extended toward him was covered in dirt and looked quite dirty, but Chu Ya only slightly turned his head before allowing it to rest on his forehead.

"Not hot, you don't have a fever anymore, but you're still very cold." Shen Juanjuan chuckled again and began to take off his cotton coat. Chu Ya immediately stopped him. "Don't take off your clothes."

"But I'm so hot," Shen Juanjuan said, sticking out his tongue like a puppy.

"Even if you're hot, don't take them off now; you'll catch a chill. Wait a bit, and you won't feel so hot anymore."

Shen Juanjuan did not attempt to remove his coat again. He glanced outside, then ran out to bring Chu Ya's jacket and pants back inside.

"Thank you." Chu Ya took the clothes and saw Shen Juanjuan squatting in front of him again. He asked softly, "Can you help me with something?"

"What kind of help?"

"Go find something for me."

Shen Juanjuan finally got what he wanted, happily climbing up and down the garbage mountain. Not only did he pick up treasures and stuff them into his bag, but he also remembered Chu Ya's instructions to find four sturdy long pieces and some rope.

Chu Ya checked his injuries alone in the tin shack.

He had decided to pull himself together, just as Yun Tuo had said, to live no matter what, putting everything else aside and focusing on how to deal with their current predicament.

Using the first-aid knowledge he learned in military school, he knew his right leg was fine, but his left leg was slightly dislocated. To move, he needed to realign and immobilize the broken leg.

Chu Ya bit the corner of the blanket in his mouth, wedged his left foot into the gap of the cart to fix it, and then repositioned the blanket in his mouth, gripping his left thigh tightly. Sweat poured down his face, his temples bulging with veins, his teeth sinking deep into the blanket, his expression contorted from the intense pain. An ordinary person would have fainted, but he endured the pain, snapping the bone back into place.

Exhausted, Chu Ya collapsed, his body trembling uncontrollably. Hearing Shen Juanjuan's voice approaching, he didn't bother to cover himself with the blanket.

"I found them, I found the long pieces and the rope..."

Shen Juanjuan rushed back into the room. "Shen Miaomiao."

Chu Ya replied hoarsely with his eyes closed, "I heard you. You're amazing."

"What's wrong? Are you having a fever again?"

"No, I'm just a bit hot, trying to cool down."

"That won't do; you'll catch a chill. Wait a bit, I'll cover you up."

After catching his breath, Chu Ya opened his eyes and saw Shen Juanjuan had brought back four long hard plastic boards, perfect for immobilizing his leg.

Seeing Chu Ya looking at the plastic boards, Shen Juanjuan hurriedly handed them over. "Here, you said to tie them around your leg, go ahead and tie them."

"Thanks, but can you..." Chu Ya made a wiping gesture, "can you clean them a bit more?"

"They're already clean." Shen Juanjuan seemed puzzled but, seeing Chu Ya silently watching him, quickly added, "Sure, I'll go clean them."

After a flurry of activity, Chu Ya placed the plastic boards against his leg and started wrapping the rope to secure them.

Shen Juanjuan watched curiously, then exclaimed loudly, "Oh, we forgot the ointment!"

Chu Ya knew the ointment wouldn't help his bone injury, so he said, "Let's skip it then."

"No, you must apply it if your foot is twisted, otherwise, how will it heal?" Shen Juanjuan looked anxious, rummaging through the medicine bag to find a patch and biting open the edge with his teeth. "I'll put it on for you."

Chu Ya had already wrapped his thigh and pointed to his calf. "Put it there."

"There...?"

"It's the same, it's all part of the leg."

"Okay."

Chu Ya immobilized both broken bones, making movement less painful. After drinking warm water and eating a sweet potato offered by Shen Juanjuan, he closed his eyes, exhausted. Shen Juanjuan remained silent, moving the cardboard boxes outside.

Chu Ya slept deeply, dreaming endlessly. When he woke up, he was momentarily disoriented, unsure where he was.

Checking his watch, he saw it was already three in the afternoon. Shen Juanjuan was sleeping soundly beside him, his cheeks flushed, with two beads of sweat on his nose.

Chu Ya knew he hadn't slept well last night, so he let him be, lying quietly. Faint noises came from nearby, making him initially doubt his hearing, but remembering Shen Juanjuan's words, he realized they were likely students from the orphanage scavenging for trash.

Not wanting others to discover him, Chu Ya relaxed when the students didn't come near, clearly uninterested in the row of tin shacks. He closed his eyes again.

Cloud Peak.

A convoy left the Morna government forces' headquarters, circling up the ramp to the third level of the road, heading towards White Castle.

Gu Lin leaned back against the rear seat, the passing lights intermittently illuminating his face.

"Meng Heguang, that old fox, was clearly dodging the issue earlier. The Morning Star Club's leadership has already unanimously appointed you as the interim president, needing only the Morna government forces' approval. But this military chief actually said he couldn't give his consent without Chu Chengyu's approval. This reason is absurd; isn't the need for an interim president precisely because there is no president? Then he pulled out the joint charter drafted by the three armies, with Chu Chengyu's handwritten letter stating that if anything happened to the Morning Star Club, the person he designated should serve as the temporary president. And that person is Yun Tuo."

Jin Gao, sitting next to Gu Lin, spoke angrily, clenching a paper cup tightly in his hand.

Gu Lin remained silent, and Jin Gao continued, "Meng Heguang is nothing, but the Morna government forces are just a shell, yet they dare to be so arrogant."

"Though he is nothing, we do need his approval, which gives him leverage over us. Besides, I am responsible for White Castle, so I am also part of the government forces." Gu Lin kept his eyes closed, speaking calmly.

"What about that joint charter? I've never heard anyone mention it before. When Meng Heguang brought it out, everyone present was stunned."

Gu Lin paused for a long time before saying, "I heard about it for the first time too. The date of the joint charter's drafting is six months ago. It seems my uncle was already wary of me then."

"The acting president is Yun Tuo... Yun Tuo has never been found. Do you think Meng Heguang might have hidden him?"

Gu Lin opened his eyes: "His relationship with Uncle isn't that good. It's because the Morning Star Club is too strong, which isn't good for the Morna government forces. If there's internal turmoil in the Morning Star Club and its strength is weakened, it could maintain a balance of power with the Sunburn Club, allowing the government forces to consolidate their position. So he would only create some obstacles and delay things, but wouldn't deeply involve himself in the internal strife of the Morning Star Club, let alone hide Yun Tuo."

"Uncle had already taken precautions six months ago, so he drafted a joint charter and entrusted it to Meng Heguang for safekeeping. He knew human nature too well and was clear about how Meng Heguang would react." Gu Lin looked out the car window, his expression inscrutable: "Uncle's depth is truly unfathomable... if not for that incident, the seven or eight high-ranking members of the Morning Star Club wouldn't have had to join forces with me, and we really wouldn't have been able to do anything about him."

"Yun Tuo disappeared somewhere, and he took Chu Ya with him." Jin Gao frowned, "But the last person who saw Yun Tuo said he only had two subordinates with him and didn't see Chu Ya. Could they have been mistaken?"

"If you were Yun Tuo, what would you do in that situation?" Gu Lin asked, but before Jin Gao could answer, he continued: "If I were Yun Tuo, I would try to send him away. Or perhaps find a place along the way to hide him temporarily until it's safe to retrieve him."

"Try to send him away... yes, they passed through Luyu and Hongfeng's aircraft landing fields, stopping briefly at both places. During that time, five long-distance aircraft took off from Luyu, heading to Slione Port and Rai District. Six civilian aircraft took off from Hongfeng, none of which traveled far; they just distributed pesticides or transported supplies to the depths."

"Slione Port and Rai District... focus on investigating these two routes. But also check the civilian aircraft from Hongfeng's landing field, just in case."

"Yes."

"Especially Chu Ya. Capturing my little cousin can force Yun Tuo to show up. Most importantly, only he can help us get what we need." Gu Lin tapped lightly on the car window, his eyes revealing a cold glint.

"Understood."

In the tin shack at the garbage dump in the abyss, Chu Ya turned his head to look at the small patch of empty ground beside him, watching as the light gradually dimmed with the passage of time. The students from the welfare home who scavenged for garbage had left the dump, and the noise faded away, leaving only the soft snoring of Shen Juanjuan in the silence.

He began to dress, pausing when the pain became too much. By the time he finished dressing, the lights in the garbage dump had come on.

The bright light dispelled the darkness, and the automatic forklifts started working, buzzing as they moved out of the factory to transport garbage. Shen Juanjuan finally opened his eyes and, upon seeing Chu Ya, smiled drowsily, reaching out to touch his face, his voice still thick with sleep: "Shen Miaomiao..."

Chu Ya softly asked, "It's already dark outside. Are you going to keep sleeping?"

Shen Juanjuan was momentarily confused, then quickly got up, shuffling to the door in his slippers.

"How did it get dark? What's going on?"

"Because we slept until evening," Chu Ya said.

"It's evening, this is evening." Shen Juanjuan had never experienced sleeping through an entire day before. After a moment of surprise, he patted his empty stomach: "But I haven't gone back to the welfare home for dinner yet. We'll be hungry all night."

Chu Ya was about to say he wasn't hungry and ask if Shen Juanjuan wanted to go back to the welfare home for food, but Shen Juanjuan flashed him a mischievous smile: "Shen Miaomiao, scared you, right? I'm just teasing you. I have something delicious here."

Chu Ya paused: "Then put your coat on first."

Shen Juanjuan put on his coat and pulled out half a bag of bread he had found earlier, proudly holding it up for Chu Ya to see.

"Look! Have you eaten this before? This is called bread, and it's as delicious as sweet potatoes! Bread! You'll see once you taste it."

Chu Ya watched Shen Juanjuan introduce the bread to him with a sense of treasure, a complex look passing over his face.

He recognized the simple packaging of the bread. He had eaten it before while accompanying his father during factory tours. Made from bran, it was cheap, rough, but filling—common fare for workers in the factories of Cloud Peak.

Each loaf was as big as a plate, and now less than half remained. Shen Juanjuan tried hard to break it in half but couldn't manage it.

"It's so hard. Let me find something to smash it with." Shen Juanjuan was about to go outside to look for a stone when Chu Ya stopped him and took the bread, easily breaking it in two.

Shen Juanjuan leaned in, sniffing and swallowing, "Do you smell it? That's the aroma of bread. It smells so good."

This half-loaf of bread was no longer fresh, with a few spots of mold on the surface. Chu Ya initially wanted to throw it away, but seeing Shen Juanjuan's eagerness, he hesitated for a few seconds, then carefully removed the moldy parts and the bitten edges, handing the fresher piece to Shen Juanjuan.

Shen Juanjuan took the bread, first taking a small, cherished bite, chewing slowly with his front teeth, but soon couldn't resist taking a large bite and devouring it hungrily.

"You should eat, it's good, taste it, taste it." Chu Ya didn't move, so Shen Juanjuan urged him with a mouthful of bread, lifting Chu Ya's hand with the bread, "Eat it."

Chu Ya's gaze fell on the bread.

Though he was very hungry, the dry, coarse bread from the garbage pile made him lose his appetite, and the thought of where it came from made him feel nauseous.

"This is really delicious, believe me, it's really good." Seeing Chu Ya hesitate, Shen Juanjuan took another bite, chewing loudly to show him, "Look at me, it's so good! Eat it!"

Chu Ya finally took a small bite, pausing several times as he chewed, trying to suppress the urge to vomit, and finally swallowed with difficulty.

"Is it good? Is it really good?" Shen Juanjuan asked, full of anticipation.

Chu Ya looked down at him and softly agreed.

"Keep eating, like me." Shen Juanjuan took another big bite, tearing into it like a small animal, then grinned at Chu Ya with a mouthful of bread.

Chu Ya took a fierce bite, chewing forcefully, veins standing out on his neck.

"Is it good?"

"Yes."

"You should open your mouth wider, like me, like this... hmm, hmm..."

"What's wrong?"

"Hmm..." Shen Juanjuan clutched his throat.

"Drink some water... swallow slowly, don't rush."

Chu Ya chewed the bread, watching Shen Juanjuan devour it, remembering the dirty child who stood shivering in the welfare home courtyard, staring at him while singing. Suddenly, he felt a sense of disorientation.

At that time, he never imagined that this runny-nosed, dirty child would have so many intersections with him, saving him when he was injured, providing him with food and shelter.

"Why are you staring at me?" Shen Juanjuan finally caught his breath, smacking his lips. Before Chu Ya could answer, he laughed, "You must really like me, that's why you keep looking at me."

Chu Ya smiled faintly, but as he looked away, a scene flashed through his mind:

He stood by the window in the welfare home reception room, watching two children follow an officer out the door and climb into a military vehicle...

He had seen those two children later, the ones locked in the White Castle prison. At the time, he only recognized them vaguely, but now, thinking of the welfare home, everything came flooding back.

Chu Ya froze and asked Shen Juanjuan again, "Do you know where the children who were taken away went?"

"Of course, to Cloud Peak," Shen Juanjuan replied without hesitation.

"To which part of Cloud Peak?"

Shen Juanjuan's eyes sparkled with longing. "To enjoy life at Cloud Peak, eat delicious food, and sleep on big cotton beds."

"Have any of the children who were taken away come back?"

"I... I don't know."

Chu Ya knew he wouldn't get much more information from him, so he stopped asking questions, but his doubts grew deeper.

What was Gu Lin doing by keeping those two children in White Castle? And what about the other children who were taken away before—were they all kept in White Castle too?

He knew something was wrong, but couldn't figure out why. He had to bury these doubts for now and lowered his head to eat his bread.

After finishing their bread, they drank all the water from their water bottles. Shen Juanjuan still wanted more and tilted his empty bottle up, catching the last few drops in his mouth.

Chu Ya reached out to take the empty bottle and asked, "Did you go to Mixin Town last night to find water?"

"Yes, I went to find water. I even encountered a ghost."

"Can you still go fetch water now?"

Shen Juanjuan became hesitant. "Well, um, that is, um..."

Chu Ya said, "I'll go with you."

"Great, let's go together. I can fetch water." Shen Juanjuan jumped up joyfully.

The iron wheels creaked, leaving deep tracks on the dusty concrete road. Shen Juanjuan pushed the cart while Chu Ya sat in it, using two iron rods to propel himself along, coordinating with Shen Juanjuan's steps as if rowing a boat.

The light did not reach the dark corners, and the town remained eerily silent. But because Chu Ya was there, Shen Juanjuan was no longer afraid and dared to glare into the darkness, raising his eyebrows with a fierce look that seemed to see through everything.

He was trying to deceive the ghosts, making them think he could see everything, so they wouldn't suddenly jump out.

"What are you hiding there for? Do you think I can't see you? You shameless thing!"

Shen Juanjuan shouted at an open door. When Chu Ya turned to look, Shen Juanjuan leaned close and whispered, "Scaring them." Then he suddenly turned to the right, pointing and warning, "I can see you too, you shameless thing. I can see you."

Chu Ya silently turned back and continued to examine the houses on both sides.

The street was lined with shops, many with wide-open doors and empty interiors. But when he passed a large store, he saw that its thick glass walls were still intact, and although some shelves had fallen, it looked better than the others, with some scattered items remaining.

Chu Ya immediately asked Shen Juanjuan to stop and pushed himself to the front of the store.

The bright lights of the junkyard illuminated the wall, revealing the words "Chunlan Supermarket" faintly visible.

Chu Ya lifted the chain lock on the glass door and asked Shen Juanjuan to bring a nearby concrete brick. He had been trained since childhood and held himself to high standards, so opening this simple civilian lock wasn't difficult.

Shen Juanjuan didn't want to leave Chu Ya's side but still obeyed and went to fetch the brick. He shuffled forward, constantly looking back and shouting at a dark corner, "I can see you, behave! Or I'll hit you!"

The brick wasn't large, and Shen Juanjuan picked it up and ran back. Chu Ya immediately told him to slow down and be careful of the wire inside. Shen Juanjuan then walked briskly instead.

Chu Ya pulled out the wire from the concrete brick and smashed it on the ground, knocking off the bits of brick stuck to it, then inserted it into the lock.

He carefully felt the subtle sensations as he moved his fingers, listening intently to the sounds inside the lock. Shen Juanjuan also leaned in to listen, his eyes alert, watching the surrounding darkness.

"What are we doing?" Shen Juanjuan whispered.

Chu Ya whispered back, "Picking the lock."

"What do we do after picking the lock?"

"Find things."

"What are we looking for?"

Chu Ya heard a click in the lock and replied, "Things you like."

"Is it a ball-bearing cart?"

"A ball-bearing cart?"

Shen Juanjuan: "Something better than a hoop, something I really like now."

Chu Ya discarded the wire. "Not a ball-bearing cart, but something we need right now."

Shen Juanjuan was slightly disappointed. "Oh."