Chapter 44

Chapter 44

In Shen Juanjuan's understanding, as long as he didn't mention Chu Ya or the things Chu Ya had instructed him to do, there would be no problem.

For example, this bag that Chu Ya had taken from the hospital.

"It's from the hospital," Shen Juanjuan replied after swallowing a bite of his bun.

Director Liu smiled and said, "This sterile bag is very clean. You know to use it to store food; that's good."

"Mm, good," Shen Juanjuan nodded.

Director Liu continued, "You're quite capable, able to leave the orphanage on your own to wander around Mixin Town and find these things."

Shen Juanjuan immediately perked up: "I'm very capable. I can find things everywhere. I've found many treasures, so many."

Manager Chen's expression changed several times, but Director Liu continued talking to Shen Juanjuan as if nothing was amiss.

"Even though you're in the little class, you're not inferior to those in the big class. Tell me, what treasures have you found?"

Shen Juanjuan stuffed the last bite of his bun into his mouth, chewed, swallowed, and eagerly replied: "I found biscuits, marbles, bread, canned food..."

Director Liu listened attentively, nodding frequently and occasionally exclaiming in surprise. These reactions made Shen Juanjuan more and more excited until he stood up: "...and a steel ball car, better than the ones the big class students have. It's mine, I made it myself. I also have a raincoat, foot raincoat—"

"A foot raincoat?" Director Liu asked with interest.

Shen Juanjuan then took out the raincoat Chu Ya had made for him from his shoulder bag and proudly displayed it: "Look, these are mine."

Director Liu took the raincoat, examining the neat stitching, his expression becoming increasingly serious, but his tone remained light: "Did you make this yourself too?"

Since Chu Ya had instructed him about the foot raincoat, Shen Juanjuan knew how to respond.

"The big class students helped me make it." He stood up, looked at the playground, and pointed at a few big class students. "That one, that one, and that one, they helped me make it."

Shen Juanjuan really wanted to boast that Shen Miaomiao made it for him, that Shen Miaomiao made it for his favorite younger brother, but he had to hold back.

Director Liu looked at the raincoat in deep thought, while Manager Chen remained silent. The room fell quiet. Shen Juanjuan finally sensed something was wrong, looking from one person to the other, his expression gradually becoming uneasy.

"I'm leaving," he whispered, reaching out to grab his raincoat from Director Liu's hands, slowly pulling it back.

Director Liu snapped out of his thoughts and released the raincoat, watching Shen Juanjuan stuff it haphazardly into his shoulder bag before turning to leave.

"Hold on," Director Liu called out, then looked at the plate on the coffee table, which still had six or seven buns left.

"Give them all to him," he told Manager Chen.

"Okay."

Shen Juanjuan watched as Manager Chen took his bag and filled it with all the buns, surprised for a moment before reacting: "All for me? These buns are all for me?"

"Yes, all these buns are for you."

Manager Chen placed the bag of buns into Shen Juanjuan's shoulder bag, saw that Director Liu had nothing else to say, and patted his head: "Go ahead."

Shen Juanjuan left the room in a daze, constantly checking his shoulder bag and squeezing it. Going down the stairs, he was careful not to fall and crush the buns. In the playground, he cautiously avoided being noticed by the big class students, hugging his shoulder bag tightly as he made his way to the back of the orphanage.

Director Liu and Manager Chen watched from the balcony until the small figure disappeared around the corner of the hallway. Then Manager Chen tentatively asked, "Director?"

Director Liu's face was solemn as he said, "Don't investigate how he leaves the orphanage for now, and don't ask any questions. Pretend it never happened."

"Understood," Manager Chen replied.

Director Liu continued to gaze in the direction Shen Juanjuan had disappeared, and Manager Chen added, "That person must be..."

"Most likely," Director Liu sighed.

Manager Chen expressed concern: "What if it's not him? What if the child encounters someone else, like an escaped convict?"

"That's why we need to keep observing and pay attention to any unusual behavior in the child."

"Understood," Manager Chen nodded. "Actually, it's basically confirmed to be that person. Ordinary convicts wouldn't escape to this area."

After a moment of silence, Director Liu said, "If we know nothing, once he's discovered, the higher-ups won't blame the orphanage."

He said no more, turned towards the room, stepped inside, and then turned back: "Every day, give Shen Juanjuan extra food."

"Okay, I understand."

Shen Juanjuan hurried along the road, occasionally opening his shoulder bag to check the buns inside.

Streams of water began flowing in the ditches on both sides of the road, and a gray curtain of rain hung over the horizon. Shen Juanjuan knew it was raining again, so he sat down by the roadside, carefully putting on his raincoat and rain boots, making sure his shoulder bag wouldn't get wet before stepping into the rain curtain.

On the other side of the rain curtain was a torrential downpour, and the ground was muddy. Shen Juanjuan took two steps and then stopped, listening intently.

"...Shen Juanjuan."

He suddenly looked to the left and exclaimed joyfully, "Shen Miaomiao!"

"Slow down! Don't run! Slow down!"

Chu Ya pushed his wheelchair quickly towards him.

Shen Juanjuan rushed into Chu Ya's arms, tightly hugging his neck, pressing his face against Chu Ya's cold raincoat.

Chu Ya gently pushed him away: "Don't get too close; the water is dripping into your collar."

Shen Juanjuan pulled his rain hat down to cover his entire face and hugged Chu Ya again.

"Now it won't drip in."

Chu Ya could sense the child's happiness and thus said no more, remaining still. Shen Juanjuan would occasionally look up at him with a smile before hugging him again.

"Shen Miaomiao, you really like me, don't you?" Shen Juanjuan nuzzled his chest, his voice filled with joy and a hint of coyness. "You waited for me here; you really like me, don't you?"

After a moment, Chu Ya gently patted his back. "Can we go back now?"

"Mm, let's go home."

"Then let go of me first."

"Just carry me back like this."

Chu Ya then let him sit in front of him as usual and pushed him back to Mixin Town.

Shen Juanjuan noticed some wild grasses stuck on the wheelchair armrests, bent from the rain, and curiously reached out to touch them, asking, "Do you like these? I can pick a lot for you."

Chu Ya didn't say whether he liked them or not but simply replied, "These are wheat ears."

That morning, while wandering through the wilderness, he had found a few sparse wild wheat plants among the weeds, their heads dry and shriveled. He knew that this wilderness was once vast farmland, but changes in the soil structure had made the crops inedible.

While Chu Ya was looking at those few wild wheat plants, Shen Juanjuan's excited calls brought him back to reality.

"Ouch, we went over a bump, it jolted my butt."

The wheelchair moved slowly and bumpy over the water-filled potholes in the wilderness. Chu Ya had initially wanted to ask Shen Juanjuan if he wanted to walk, but seeing how excited he was, he kept quiet.

Suddenly, Shen Juanjuan exclaimed, "Do you know what we're having for dinner today?"

He tried to act casual, but his eyes were full of excitement, and he couldn't hide his grin.

Chu Ya knew the food should be good today but played along, guessing, "Bean cakes?"

"Guess something better."

"Yams?"

"Guess something even better than yams." Shen Juanjuan was both excited and mysterious, his eyes sparkling.

Chu Ya played along, frowning in thought. "Better than yams? How much better? I can't think of anything."

Shen Juanjuan grinned and suddenly shouted, "Baozi!"

"What? Baozi!"

"Yes, we're having baozi today, delicious baozi. Hahaha, you didn't guess it, did you?"

Chu Ya said, "Baozi is too good, I didn't dare to guess that."

"Hahaha, I brought some for you, you can have baozi. Hurry up, hurry up, let's go back and eat baozi."

Once Shen Juanjuan calmed down, Chu Ya asked, "This morning, Morna soldiers came to your orphanage. Do you know why they were there?"

While waiting for Shen Juanjuan in the wilderness, he had seen a military vehicle.

"Morna..."

"The officers driving the vehicle."

"Oh, them. They were selecting people," Shen Juanjuan replied.

Chu Ya asked, "Did they select anyone today?"

"No, many people were crying. They didn't select anyone today. Wang Zhusheng was even rolling on the ground..."

Shen Juanjuan continued talking, and Chu Ya looked at his profile, calling out seriously, "Shen Juanjuan."

"Huh?"

"If you see those two officers at the orphanage next time, hide."

"Why?" Shen Juanjuan looked puzzled.

"Whenever they make you gather, don't go. Hide somewhere." Chu Ya's voice sounded stern.

Shen Juanjuan was silent for a moment. Chu Ya thought he was unwilling and threatened, "If you don't hide, I'll punish you. I'll use the iron hanger from the window to hit you." He paused and added, "Even if you cry or roll on the ground, it won't work."

Shen Juanjuan remained silent for a moment before turning to look at him and softly said, "I know, I need to hide."

"You know?"

"If I get selected, what will happen to you? Who will take care of you? If I leave to live a good life, eating baozi every day, you'll starve at home." Shen Juanjuan touched Chu Ya's hand through the raincoat and said quietly but firmly, "Don't worry, I won't let them select me."

After a while, Chu Ya responded, "Remember that, don't let me starve."

"Don't worry, if they select me, I'll roll on the ground—"

Chu Ya interrupted, somewhat anxious, "They can't select you, you must hide."

"Okay, okay, I'll hide, I'll hide." Shen Juanjuan gave him a look that said, "What am I going to do with you?"

In the White Castle, Chu Ya had seen two children from the orphanage being selected, though he didn't know why. He thought there were two possibilities: either the orphanage was unaware, or the White Castle was collaborating with the orphanage. Since he didn't know the orphanage's stance, he couldn't warn or stop them outright; he could only temporarily advise Shen Juanjuan to avoid being selected.

Under the heavy rain, the wilderness was filled with puddles, and the sparse wild grass was flattened by the rain, covered in dirty black mud. Shen Juanjuan, however, was in high spirits, exclaiming "Ouch!" exaggeratedly every time the wheelchair went over a small pit, followed by excited laughter.

Chu Ya also got into the spirit of things, deliberately seeking out the bumps to make Shen Juanjuan shout "Ouch!" repeatedly.

As they played and walked back to the courtyard in Mixin Town, Chu Ya took off their raincoats and hung them in the bathroom. Upon returning to the room, he saw the pile of baozi on the table, feeling surprised.

"One, two, three, one, two, three..." Shen Juanjuan lay on the table, counting the baozi with his fingers.

Chu Ya asked, "Can we get so many buns today?"

"Hmm, the manager gave them to me," Shen Juanjuan said happily.

"Did they give you this many?"

"Yeah, there were a lot of leftover buns in that tray, so they all went to me." Shen Juanjuan, already anxious, pushed Chu Ya's wheelchair urgently. "Come and eat quickly, come on! They have pickles inside, and meat too!"

Chu Ya was initially puzzled but didn't think much about it upon hearing they were leftovers. The welfare home probably wanted to avoid waste, so they distributed the uneaten buns to the children.

He didn't ask further, only patting Shen Juanjuan's hand that held the buns. "Go wash your hands."

"My hands are clean," Shen Juanjuan touched his own hand.

"You need to wash your hands before eating, remember?" Chu Ya took the tray of buns. "The buns are cold; I'll warm them up for us to eat."

When Shen Juanjuan returned from washing his hands, Chu Ya broke open a warmed bun and handed half to him, leaving the other half on the plate for him to take after finishing the first piece.

"I've already eaten one," Shen Juanjuan licked his lips.

The welfare home's buns were large and solid. When Chu Ya was six or seven years old, he could barely finish one, but he knew Shen Juanjuan's appetite well: "Eat some more; you're not full yet."

Shen Juanjuan glanced at the bun. "Okay, I'll force myself to eat a little more."

He claimed he had already eaten one, but still gobbled down the food, stuffing his mouth with bite after bite.

"Eat slowly, be careful not to choke... swallow before taking another bite... slow down..."

Shen Juanjuan nodded while eating, but suddenly stopped chewing, staring straight ahead. He then stood up and started pacing around the room, his face flushed red and panic-stricken as he turned to look at Chu Ya.

Chu Ya immediately understood and put down his chopsticks. "Come here!"

Once Shen Juanjuan stood over, Chu Ya forcefully pressed on his chest and abdomen. After he finally caught his breath, Chu Ya brought over a cup of water for him to drink.

Shen Juanjuan gulped down the water, panting and guiltily looking at Chu Ya, tears still lingering on his face from choking.

Chu Ya had intended to scold him, but seeing his teary eyes, his heart softened. He took the remaining half of the bun, broke it into small pieces, and fed him bit by bit with chopsticks.

After eating a few pieces, Shen Juanjuan grumbled unsatisfiedly, "Buns should be eaten in big bites. This way, they don't even taste like buns."

"Do you want to choke while eating to make it more exciting? Open your mouth!"

Shen Juanjuan dared not say anything more and reluctantly opened his mouth, taking small bites of the bun.

In the afternoon, Chu Ya began making a padded jacket for Shen Juanjuan. Although Shen Juanjuan's cotton coat had been modified to be quite thick, winter was approaching, and it would be better to add an inner jacket for extra warmth.

One of the two quilts he had carried earlier had become a quilt, and the cotton from the other had been used up. He planned to go to Chunlan Supermarket to get another one.

Seeing Chu Ya was about to leave, Shen Juanjuan hurried to fetch his raincoat. But Chu Ya, noticing the heavy rain, called him back and told him to stay home.

"How long will you be gone?"

"Very soon."

"How soon is very soon?"

"At most ten minutes."

"What if you're not back in ten minutes? Then I'll come find you."

"Mm."

Reluctantly, Shen Juanjuan stayed behind, watching Chu Ya disappear into the passageway leading to the front yard. He rode his little bike under the eaves, circling back and forth.

"Child, life is like this. Instead of being unhappy, sing and bask in the sun with Grandpa... Grandpa's little car goes vroom vroom, zoom zoom, vroom vroom..."

After each verse, he would turn to look at the passageway, pedal around once more, and start singing again.

"Has it been ten minutes? Has it really been ten minutes?" After a few rounds, he muttered to himself, "It must be ten minutes. Okay, I'll go find him."

Shen Juanjuan ran quickly towards the bathroom to fetch his raincoat, but after just two steps, a large black shape suddenly appeared in his field of vision.

The object was on the wall to the left, obscured by mist or something else, making it hard to see clearly. It looked like a large table placed on the wall, with an oval tabletop and four legs.

This thing appeared out of nowhere, startling Shen Juanjuan. He couldn't recall any table on the wall, so he rubbed his eyes to see more clearly.

But the table suddenly flickered, like a TV with poor reception, and quickly vanished from the wall.

Shen Juanjuan stood there, mouth agape, looking around in confusion. Suddenly, his expression turned tense.

Black Wolf had been standing on the wall for a while, watching Shen Juanjuan circle under the eaves. Its eyes were fixed on the child, assessing whether he posed a threat to Chu Ya. Glancing at the thin neck, it thought not. But remembering that Chu Ya's first fight with it was because of him, its gaze turned resentful and angry.

It wanted to pounce, tear the child apart with its sharp claws, and snap that fragile neck. But it knew the consequences would not be what it wanted, so it suppressed the urge, struggling to look away.

It hesitated, watching the child rush towards the bathroom, then stop midway, staring in its direction.

Black Wolf felt its gaze meet the child's and froze, realizing the child could see it. It narrowed its eyes and crouched, ready to attack.

But the child quickly looked away, glancing around aimlessly, indicating it was just a fleeting illusion.

Shen Juanjuan watched the black shape resembling a table vanish, and a bedtime story from the welfare home floated into his mind:

"One night, a ghost appeared in our welfare home's backyard. He hid under those tables, planning to steal bean cakes from the cafeteria and maybe eat a couple of kids..."

Could there be a ghost here, carrying a table and hiding on the wall, now hidden away?