Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Shen Juanjuan planted the golden "wheat ear" against the wall in the void. Here, there were no tornadoes or meteorites, and the black aura on the "wheat ear" had been cleared away, making it look more vibrant than before.

"You just grow well here, I'll come to see you every day..."

As Shen Juanjuan was talking to it, he suddenly sensed something. He turned around and looked behind him. This space originally only contained meteorites and tornadoes, but one of the floating meteorites now had a completely black beast on it.

Mutant!!

The first thought that came to Shen Juanjuan's mind was this, but when the beast looked at him, he immediately noticed something was off.

This beast was different from the mutants he had seen before. Although it also had a furry face, it didn't have protruding fangs or drooling saliva; its appearance was quite neat and handsome.

He took a closer look and exclaimed in surprise, "Big Black Dog!"

It was a majestic and handsome large black dog standing between several tornadoes, looking at Shen Juanjuan with beautiful green eyes.

Shen Juanjuan was initially a bit nervous, but the big black dog only glanced at him once before turning its gaze away indifferently.

Shen Juanjuan quickly flew over and saw the big black dog suddenly tense up, lifting its head, with its sleek fur fluttering in the wind. Suddenly, several transparent lines sprouted from the black wall far away, passing through the tornadoes and extending forward until they attached to the body of the big black dog.

Shen Juanjuan slowed down, approaching cautiously while watching curiously.

A stronger hurricane swirled around the big black dog, yet it stood steadily in the wind, maintaining its head-lifting posture. The transparent lines gradually turned black, as if thick ink was flowing inside them, moving from the direction of the high wall into its body.

"Big Black Dog, what are you doing?" Shen Juanjuan approached carefully, "You look so good, how did you get here? What's your name?"

The big black dog ignored him, but Shen Juanjuan didn't mind, happily circling around it.

"What are these lines on you? Let me see, did you pull them out from the wall?"

As the thick black liquid entered the Black Wolf's body, the color of the mental domain's outer wall slightly faded, as if part of the dense blackness had been absorbed by it.

This process lasted only a minute or two, and the lines connecting it to the mental domain's outer wall gradually disappeared. A beam of light appeared behind it, like a heavy curtain being torn open, allowing light to seep through.

The Black Wolf turned and pounced towards the gap of light. Shen Juanjuan called out anxiously, "Big Black Dog!" and hurriedly followed.

He rushed through the gap but lost sight of the big black dog, finding himself hovering in the air above his small courtyard, with a large dark shadow lying on the roof of his house.

Ah! The table ghost is here—no, Shen Miaomiao's quantum beast!

Shen Juanjuan immediately wanted to leave, but he noticed the quantum beast convulsing and whimpering in pain, looking very uncomfortable. Though he didn't like it, he still asked, "What's wrong with you? Hey, what's wrong with you?"

Suspecting it might be sick with a fever, he wanted to touch its forehead. As soon as he had this thought, his mental tendrils extended like invisible threads.

"Don't bite me, don't bite me."

Shen Juanjuan approached cautiously, seeing that the Black Wolf showed no signs of resistance, he grew bolder and touched its forehead.

As his mental tendrils made contact, the Black Wolf slowly stopped convulsing, and its tense body relaxed, as if the intense pain had been alleviated.

"I'm checking if you have a fever, let me check... What's this? I can't see clearly, is this fur? Is this hair or fur? You have too much hair, your forehead is all covered, let me brush it aside... Not to mention, you have so much fur on your face, have you ever thought about getting a haircut?"

Shen Juanjuan muttered while feeling the Black Wolf's head, finally confirming it wasn't running a fever, and prepared to step back. But as his mental tendrils withdrew, the Black Wolf moved forward, pressing its head against the mental tendril, growling softly in dissatisfaction.

"Okay, okay, I'll pet you again, three times, one, two, three... Don't do that, I'll pet you again, one, two, three..."

When the Black Wolf finally calmed down, its eyes closed wearily, lying on the ground as if asleep. Shen Juanjuan then carefully stepped back, retracting his mental tendrils.

But his gaze fell on himself, and he suddenly noticed something was wrong.

Why am I so black? Ah? Why am I so black?

Shen Juanjuan panicked, spinning rapidly in the air before quickly retreating into his mental domain.

He owned his own mental domain, and the first time he stepped into it after falling asleep, he instinctively knew it was his safe haven, and that his little raccoon was here.

It was a lush green field, the vibrant green spreading across the entire view, so rich it seemed to spill into the sky. A golden circle hung low in the sky, as if within reach, suspended in the air, emitting a warm, gentle light.

In the center of this field stood an oval-shaped cocoon, the translucent milky-white shell revealing a faint shadow inside.

Shen Juanjuan ran to the large cocoon, touching the shell and trying to pry open the cracks with his fingers. After several attempts, just like before, he couldn't break it open, so he leaned close to the crack to look and pressed his ear against it to listen.

"Raccoon, raccoon, are you sleeping? Are you sleeping?" Shen Juanjuan knocked on the shell as if knocking on a door, scratching it with his fingers, the sound of his nails scraping against the slightly textured shell creating a rustling noise.

"Raccoon, why am I so black? So black, can you wash me? Can I crawl in and see?"

The silver thread circled the large cocoon a few times and then probed through the crack in the shell. Soon, a rustling sound came from inside, similar to the sound of rubbing clothes.

"I can't see you clearly, you're just a round lump. No, two lumps, the top one is your head, the bottom one is your belly, hahaha, but I know you must look good... You're scrubbing my belly so hard, be gentler... Oh, you're rolling me into a ball, be gentler, do you need to scrub my feet too... Little raccoon, Shen Miaomiao will definitely like you, but we shouldn't play with Shen Miaomiao's quantum beast, it's very unpleasant, even blacker than me now, very ugly, with a big butt, like a table ghost... I'm already white, no need to scrub anymore... Stop scrubbing, you've scrubbed me several times... Don't wring me like a towel... Ah!!!"

When Chu Ya woke up the next day, Shen Juanjuan was still asleep. He looked at the black line on his wrist, noticing it hadn't grown any further, remaining in its previous state. He got up quietly, using his cane to walk, and found that his leg injury had almost fully recovered.

Everything seemed to indicate that things were improving, which lifted his spirits. After washing up, he looked at himself in the mirror, realizing he hadn't taken care of his appearance recently, and his hair had grown long. He found a rubber band and tied it back.

Shen Juanjuan didn't need to go to the orphanage today and slept until he naturally woke up. He didn't make a sound, sitting on the bed playing with a teddy bear, occasionally glancing at the bedroom door, feeling reassured as long as he could see Chu Ya in the main house.

"Hey! You put your hair in a ponytail?" When Chu Ya passed by the door again, Shen Juanjuan poked his head out in surprise.

"Awake? If you're awake, get up and wash up, I'll heat up some buns for you."

"Why did you put your hair in a ponytail?"

"Quickly get dressed and put on your shoes, don't catch a cold."

Shen Juanjuan hurriedly dressed and ran to Chu Ya, staring at him intently, "Shen Miaomiao, you, you look different."

Chu Ya's hair was combed back, revealing a full forehead and attractive features. Although his face still had a youthful charm, it gave him a sharper look than usual.

"How is it different?" Chu Ya asked.

"Anyway, it's just different." Shen Juanjuan couldn't describe the feeling in his heart and sincerely said, "They all look good, how can they all look so good."

Chu Ya laughed, and Shen Juanjuan's heart bloomed even more as he jumped up and down, saying, "I want to tie my hair in braids too, I want to, I want to, they look so good."

"Alright, alright, I'll do it for you."

But Shen Juanjuan's hair wasn't long enough, so Chu Ya discussed with him, "Your hair is a bit short, it can't be tied together right now."

"No, I want to tie it too."

"Then how about I cut it a little shorter?"

"No!"

"See, the back is too short. How about we trim it a bit?"

"I won't cut it! If you're going to cut, cut it all off like Lice King!"

Chu Ya had no choice and ended up gathering his hair into two small buns on either side of his head.

"This is better, it has one more than yours." Shen Juanjuan happily looked at himself in the mirror, admiring his reflection with a contented smile.

The child had a well-formed skull, a round head, snow-white skin, and pitch-black eyes. With two small buns, he looked very cute. Chu Ya let him enjoy his reflection while he went to prepare breakfast.

"I want to tie more braids, one, two, three, one, two, three."

Chu Ya listened to his words, pondering in his mind. Shen Juanjuan couldn't keep repeating one, two, three, one, two, three every day; he needed to learn some characters. At six years old, he should at least be able to read and write numbers from one to one hundred.

After breakfast, Chu Ya took out an old, yellowed notebook and wrote the numbers one to ten on a blank page. He then called Shen Juanjuan into the room and asked him to copy them.

Although Shen Juanjuan was reluctant, he still sat down at the table. Seeing that the chair was too low, Chu Ya found a cushion from the wardrobe and placed it under his bottom.

"Look at the numbers I've written. Write a row of each number after mine," Chu Ya pointed to the notebook.

"Okay," Shen Juanjuan replied, looking unhappy and lowering his eyes.

Chu Ya sat next to him, sharpening a pencil and occasionally glancing over.

Shen Juanjuan frowned, gripping the pencil tightly and drawing a slanted line on the notebook.

"What's this?" Chu Ya asked.

"One."

"Why is it so long? Make it shorter," Chu Ya said.

"Okay."

"…I told you to make it shorter, not to just dot a small black point. Look at how long my one is."

Shen Juanjuan glanced at the first 'one' and drew another line, which snapped with a click, sending the lead flying.

"Ah!"

Chu Ya calmly replaced it with a freshly sharpened pencil: "Continue writing, press lightly when you start."

"Okay." Shen Juanjuan then lightly drew a line on the notebook and turned to look at Chu Ya.

"A bit heavier, this one is too light."

Shen Juanjuan's breathing grew heavier, but he wrote another 'one.'

"A bit longer, see how this one takes up three spaces… One is a short straight line, don't let it slant outside the grid… Look at the first one, see, it's a straight horizontal line… Try again."

Shen Juanjuan wrote several 'ones' in a row, but Chu Ya still wasn't satisfied. He threw down the pencil and glared at the notebook with a sullen face.

"Come, let's write another one," Chu Ya pointed to the blank horizontal line below.

Shen Juanjuan suddenly jumped off the chair and punched the back of the sofa, then stood in front of it, breathing heavily.

Chu Ya spoke calmly, "If your handwriting isn't good, practice more. Getting angry won't help."

"Ah!!" Shen Juanjuan punched the back of the sofa again and then turned around, shouting, "Sometimes it's too long, sometimes it's too short, sometimes it's too light, sometimes it's too heavy."

Chu Ya showed him the notebook, "Tell me, do these ones look like the ones you've seen? Do you recognize them? Especially this one, it looks like a wavy line, like a worm. Call its name, call it 'one,' see if it recognizes you."

"They, they—"

"And when did I say it was too salty?"

"They, they, they…" Shen Juanjuan, flustered, couldn't speak, only panting heavily and turning red as he reached for a teddy bear on the sofa. Just as he lifted it over his head, Chu Ya softly commanded, "Put it down."

His voice was not loud, and his expression was not severe, but Shen Juanjuan, under the gaze of those dark eyes, didn't dare to throw it and just held the teddy bear still.

Chu Ya extended his hand and said calmly, "Give it to me."

Shen Juanjuan slowly lowered his hand, holding the teddy bear and walking step by step to Chu Ya, pouting as he handed it over.

Chu Ya placed the teddy bear on the table, facing Shen Juanjuan, "Keep writing, don't rush. I and the teddy bear will stay with you."

Shen Juanjuan continued writing. As he wrote, his whole body tensed, his dangling feet twisted together, his left hand clenched into a fist, and he stared intently at the notebook, his mouth moving.

Chu Ya brought over a small stool for him to rest his feet on and gently pried open his left hand, wiping away the sweat that had seeped into his palm with a tissue.

"Relax a bit, don't use so much force," Chu Ya said.

Shen Juanjuan mumbled, "I hate writing, I hate writing the most, I hate writing…" Then he looked at the teddy bear in front of him, turned it around, and faced its back to himself.

Chu Ya said nothing, only nodded slightly after writing another character and pointed to it: "This one is written beautifully."

"Ah?" Shen Juanjuan stared at the character he pointed to, then suddenly turned to look at him, his eyes lighting up instantly.

"The length, weight, and straightness are all just right; it's written beautifully." Chu Ya continued to praise, adding, "I didn't write as well as you when I was six."

Shen Juanjuan looked at the character with delight, and Chu Ya said, "This is the capital 'one.' Now write a row of lowercase '1's and see how beautiful you can make them."

"Alright, since you like my handwriting so much, I'll write a few more." Shen Juanjuan's tone was reluctant, but his actions were eager, "I can even write a series of one, two, three."

Shen Juanjuan wrote enthusiastically, looking at Chu Ya after each character, pausing to wait for his reaction.

After praising him several times, Chu Ya said, "Finish writing all the characters before showing me, and I'll grade your work."

"You're going to grade it?"

"Yes, you need to finish all the characters, and each one must be well-written."

"I, I will definitely write every one well. I'm really good at writing, I—"

"Read out loud while you write."

"Okay!"

Shen Juanjuan began writing seriously, reading each character aloud as he wrote. Chu Ya took apart the cotton quilt and occasionally corrected his pronunciation.

"Three, three, three, 3, 3, 3..." Shen Juanjuan quietly extended his left hand, turning the small bear that faced away from him back around, and smiled at it.

After writing for a while, he got stuck on the lowercase '6.'

"A '6' should have a small head, not just a circle."

"But I did give it a head, look."

"This head isn't prominent enough; it needs a long, curved neck, not just a tiny bump."

"It, it doesn't have a neck."

"Write it again... No, this part needs to be longer. Keep writing, I'll be back in a moment."

Chu Ya, leaning on his cane, had just reached the door when he heard a thud behind him. He turned around to see Shen Juanjuan standing in front of the sofa, which now bore a short, fat footprint.

"What happened?" Chu Ya asked.

Shen Juanjuan, unhappy, said, "Why can't the '6' have no neck? Why does it have to have a long neck? It doesn't have a neck, that's just how it is."

"A '6' without a neck is a '0'; it wouldn't be itself anymore. It would look like someone else. Would you want to be someone else? Would you want to look exactly like Fangfang, Yuanyuan, or Duozhi? If someone called 'Shen Juanjuan,' would you want three people to answer?"

Shen Juanjuan fell silent. Chu Ya said, "Go get a towel and wipe the footprint off the sofa."

Shen Juanjuan stood there for a few seconds, then suddenly squatted down and wiped the footprint with his sleeve.

He cleaned the footprint and said with a sullen face, "I won't use a towel, I won't, I'll use my sleeve, and I'll even lick it with my tongue."

"Try licking it with your tongue?" Chu Ya's expression turned serious.

Shen Juanjuan stretched out his tongue toward the sofa, bending his head halfway, but his eyes were on Chu Ya. He didn't actually lick it, just held the position.

They stood there in silence for a moment, then Chu Ya suddenly went to put on the raincoat hanging behind the door.

"Where are you going?" Shen Juanjuan stood up abruptly, his voice rough and panicked.

"You stay here, I'll be back soon."

"No way!" Shen Juanjuan shouted.

"Why not?"

Shen Juanjuan frowned deeply, "You, you, want to run away?"

Chu Ya: "..."

"Look at yourself, go look in the mirror." Chu Ya was both angry and amused, "I'm going to find some materials for a punching bag. You stay here and do your homework; I'll be back soon."

Shen Juanjuan was in the differentiation phase, and it was normal for him to struggle with controlling his temper. Even during his own differentiation phase, despite taking suppressants, he sometimes became irritable. Shen Juanjuan hadn't taken any medication, so it was already quite good that he could behave like this.

"Then I'll also go find a punching bag." Shen Juanjuan hurriedly ran to the door, "I want to go with you."

Chu Ya agreed, "Alright, go put on your raincoat, we'll go together."

The sky was dark, and heavy rain enveloped the entire Mixin Town. The wheelchair carrying the two boys moved slowly along the street, the raindrops hitting the plastic cover with a pattering sound.

"What's a punching bag?"

"It's something you hit."

"Ah? Like in a fight?"

"Not for fighting."

"Then what kind of hitting? Ah? What kind of hitting? What... Why aren't you answering? Are you trying to make me angry?"

"...Alright, it's for fighting."