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Don’t ask me where I come from.
My hometown is far away.
Why wander?
Wander far away.
Wander!
…
At a dessert shop on the street, an old song from over forty years ago, “Olive Tree,” played softly.
The lyrics touched Zhuang Zi’ang, reminding him that he had become a homeless wanderer.
If that place could still be called “home.”
He had over six thousand yuan in his bank account.
This was the accumulation of years of lucky money from relatives, plus some of his own savings.
It would be enough to live in this third-tier city for three months without problems.
When Zhuang Zi’ang told Zhuang Wen Zhao that he wanted to live in the school dormitory, he wasn’t actually planning to do so.
A terminally ill patient isn’t suitable for living amongst crowds.
He intended to rent a small single room and quietly walk the last leg of his life’s journey.
But tonight, he needed to find a place to stay.
“Son, I’ve run away from home. Can you let me stay for one night?” Zhuang Zi’ang said into his phone.
“Of course, I’ll come down to get you,” Li Huang Xuan replied readily.
Zhuang Zi’ang smiled and hung up the phone. He hadn’t raised his son in vain.
If he were to leave this world, Li Huang Xuan would probably be the saddest.
Zhuang Zi’ang chose to stay at Li Huang Xuan’s house instead of a hotel.
In his current state of mind, the pure white sheets and pillowcases of a hotel room might prevent him from sleeping.
For many, white sheets are synonymous with the end of life.
“What happened to you?”
At the bottom of the apartment building, Li Huang Xuan saw the slap marks on Zhuang Zi’ang’s face and looked at him with concern and worry.
“My dad hit me,” Zhuang Zi’ang answered calmly.
“Your dad is really something! You are such a good son, yet he doesn’t know how to cherish you,” Li Huang Xuan said, feeling indignant on Zhuang Zi’ang’s behalf.
A child without a mother truly feels like a blade of grass.
Li Huang Xuan’s home was a place Zhuang Zi’ang had visited many times before, each time filled with envy.
His parents were affectionate, and the family exuded warmth, always filled with laughter and joy.
Unlike his own home…
“Mom, Zhuang Zi’ang is sleeping over tonight. He hasn’t had dinner yet,” Li Huang Xuan called out to his mother, Fan Ling, as soon as he walked in.
“Still haven’t eaten at this late hour? I’ll make you a bowl of noodles,” Fan Ling replied, coming out in her pajamas.
“Thank you, Auntie.” As soon as Zhuang Zi’ang saw Fan Ling’s warm smile, his nose felt a bit sore.
After the age of five, he had never seen his mother, Xu Hui, again.
How wonderful it would be if he had such a gentle mother!
Li Huang Xuan’s father, Li Tian Yun, came out as well. Upon seeing the slap marks on Zhuang Zi’ang’s face, he could guess part of the story.
He didn’t ask many questions but instead took out a first-aid kit and called to Zhuang Zi’ang, “Come here, I’ll put some ointment on that. It should be down by tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Uncle,” Zhuang Zi’ang said, bowing slightly.
As Li Tian Yun applied the ointment, he couldn’t help but sigh, “How could someone lay a hand on such an obedient and sensible child?”
Earlier, in the face of his violent father and indifferent stepmother, Zhuang Zi’ang hadn’t shed a single tear.
At that moment, in the presence of Li Huang Xuan’s kind parents, he could no longer hold back. Tears streamed down his face, and his body trembled uncontrollably.
Li Tian Yun pulled him into a warm embrace: “Good boy, don’t cry.”
As he lay in his uncle’s comforting arms, Zhuang Zi’ang struggled to suppress his emotions.
He repeated to himself over and over, “A man’s tears are not easily shed.”
I can’t cry, I can’t cry…
“Zhuang Zi’ang, come over and have some noodles!” Fan Ling said softly.
A steaming bowl of noodles topped with two fried eggs awaited him.
To avoid making Zhuang Zi’ang sad, they were very considerate and didn’t bring up the slap marks again. Instead, they engaged him in light conversation, asking about trivial matters at school.
“Our Huang Xuan is lucky to have you as a friend,”
“Yeah, how come you’re so amazing? You always get first place!”
“If you were our son, we would be so proud!”
…
Zhuang Zi’ang lifted his head and asked, “Auntie, are you serious? You wish you had a son like me?”
“Of course! Having a son like you would be a parent’s pride,” Fan Ling replied without hesitation.
“Cough, cough…” Li Tian Yun cleared his throat, giving his wife a knowing look.
Only then did Fan Ling realize her mistake, having touched on Zhuang Zi’ang’s painful feelings.
Such an outstanding son, yet he was discarded like an old shoe by his parents.
After finishing the noodles, Li Huang Xuan took Zhuang Zi’ang to wash up before heading back to his bedroom to sleep.
Once the door was closed, Li Huang Xuan asked, “Son, where did you run off today? Did the teacher make you stand outside, and you just disappeared?”
“I jumped over the wall to skip class,” Zhuang Zi’ang replied honestly.
“What? You, with those thick eyebrows and big eyes, actually skipped class?” Li Huang Xuan couldn’t believe it.
“Yeah, I wanted to see the outside world,” Zhuang Zi’ang said with a meaningful tone.
He continued, “I met a girl while climbing over the wall, and she was even prettier than Lin Mu Shi. We played together all day.”
“You’re dreaming! What girl in our school could be prettier than Lin Mu Shi?” Li Huang Xuan said, disbelief written all over his face.
When Zhuang Zi’ang heard Li Huang Xuan’s skepticism, he was momentarily taken aback.
Right, Lin Mu Shi was the school’s beauty. If there was a girl named Su Yudie who was even more beautiful than Lin Mu Shi, he certainly would have heard of her.
Could the name be made up too?
Or maybe she wasn’t from their school?
Seeing that Zhuang Zi’ang remained silent for a long time, Li Huang Xuan asked, “Which class is that girl in?”
Zhuang Zi’ang stammered, “She said she’s in class 23.”
“You’re really making things up,” Li Huang Xuan shook his head, convinced that Zhuang Zi’ang was delusional.
He took out his phone and waved it. “It’s still early. Want to play a game?”
Zhuang Zi’ang frowned. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll cheat you?”
“You just play support. Watch me carry the team,” Li Huang Xuan said confidently.
“My only support hero is Fish.”
As a model student, Zhuang Zi’ang rarely played games and was therefore quite unskilled.
But since he’d even dared to skip class today, playing a game wasn’t a big deal.
“TIMI!”
The two of them opened Honor of Kings together.
Li Huang Xuan was Diamond III, and Zhuang Zi’ang was Platinum IV, so they could barely duo queue.
“Fish” is a nickname for the support hero, Zhuang Zhou.
As one of the famously “lazy” heroes, he’s perfect for novices to farm points with.
“A bunch of people fighting in someone’s dream. Is that even fun?”
Li Huang Xuan and Zhuang Zi’ang embarked on a fun duo queue journey.
“Hey, why does your Zhuang Zhou have Purify?”
“For crowd control, isn’t that okay?”
“Big, use your ultimate! Use it when Lu Bu jumps!”
“Sorry, I forgot about you guys. I had Purify.”
First match: a narrow defeat.
Second match: a heartbreaking loss.
Third match: a complete defeat.
…
Until Li Huang Xuan dropped to Diamond IV and Zhuang Zi’ang dropped to Gold I, making it impossible for them to duo queue anymore.
“Your Zhuang Zhou is really good. Don’t play him next time,” Li Huang Xuan threw his phone down.
“Oh!” Zhuang Zi’ang thought he was being praised.
It wasn’t early; time for bed!
The real world is too harsh; dreaming is better. You can have anything in your dreams.
A wonderful sleep, worth a song! La la la la la…
Note:
Li Huang Xuan is sarcastically telling Zhuang Zi’ang not to play Zhuang Zhou because he played so poorly. While phrased as a compliment (“Your Zhuang Zhou is really good”), the context—losing multiple games in a row due to Zhuang Zi’ang’s unusual and ineffective use of the character—clearly indicates it’s the opposite. It’s a humorous way of saying his Zhuang Zhou gameplay was detrimental to the team.