Chapter 04

The child’s chest surged with an indescribable joy, as if swept up by crashing waves.

After having that nightmare, he had already given up hope on his mother. He had come to believe what the adults said—that he had been abandoned. But just when he was completely filled with despair, his mother suddenly appeared.

Why would Mom come?

Was she here to take him home, to see him, or had she just happened to pass by?

Did some other child already call her “Mom”?

The moment Shu Yuan saw the child’s gaze land on her, it was as if her entire face was illuminated by light. Yet the brightness flashed for only a second, and the child’s face returned to its former dimness.

Her gaze focused on Xiao Man, only to see him calmly turn his head, grasp the arm of the girl in front of him, and pull her toward the house.

The girl was slow to sense things and had no idea there was someone in the tree beside the yard, but Xiao Man had already exchanged a silent glance with her.

Stepping up the threshold and nearing the house, in less than a minute, Xiao Man came out alone. He immediately looked toward Shu Yuan’s direction. Seeing that Shu Yuan was still in the tree, he suddenly felt a weight lifted from his heart. Pressing his lips together, he ran straight toward the gate.

Shu Yuan noticed something unusual about Xiao Man’s right leg. That leg seemed like a loose part hanging off his body, clanking as he moved, not quite obeying his command.

As he limped toward her, Shu Yuan felt that Xiao Man resembled a little zombie, unable to control his body, moving stiffly.

Shu Yuan’s breath caught in her throat. The comparison was inappropriate, yet painfully fitting.

Could she have come too late? Was he already hurt?

She jumped down from the tree. Xiao Man had already stumbled his way to her side.

“Who are you?” Shu Yuan spoke, squatting down so that her gaze was level with Xiao Man’s.

Earlier on the road, she had worried she wouldn’t be able to recognize him, but now she was one hundred percent certain this boy was Xiao Man.

“I’m Xiao Man.” So the little boy’s voice was soft and babyish too.

Xiao Man’s tiny heart pounded wildly, making his chest rise and fall noticeably. He forced his dark eyes wide open to look at Shu Yuan, nervous and cautious, afraid that if he blinked, the dream would vanish and his mother would disappear.

Mom wouldn’t fail to recognize him, would she?

No, his mom would definitely recognize her own son.

Shu Yuan lifted her face into a gentle smile. “Who am I?”

The child’s lips moved, trembling for quite a while before he finally uttered the word he had called out in his heart a thousand times, yet still felt unfamiliar on his tongue. “Mom.”

In his blurry memories, his mother always came and went in a hurry, never even sparing him a glance, let alone looking at him with such tenderness or speaking to him in such a soft tone.

Xiao Man was overwhelmed by the surge of happiness, completely at a loss for what to do.

Shu Yuan also found the word unfamiliar. She reached out and held Xiao Man’s cold little hands, trying to adjust to the role of a mother and to establish a close bond between them.

“What’s going on with your leg? Xiao Man, are you hurt?” Shu Yuan lowered her head to look at his right leg.

His pants were patched, the single layer clearly too short, exposing his thin ankle, which was darkened and chapped.

Xiao Man lowered his head, his thick eyelashes casting a shadow over his eyes, his expression dim.

Was he now disabled? Would Mom find him repulsive?

The child spoke with difficulty. “It just suddenly became like this yesterday.”

If it weren’t for his leg, he might have run away yesterday.

Shu Yuan fixed her gaze once more on Xiao Man’s face. This wasn’t the place to talk. It was almost lunchtime, and the Zhang family would surely be cooking and eating soon. Things were quiet now, but in a moment they could all come back.

She spoke in the gentlest voice she could manage. “Xiao Man, come with me. I’ll take you back to Lucheng. From now on, I’ll raise you.”

The gloom on Xiao Man’s face immediately began to lift. He raised his little head at once, his face filled with surprise and joy. He even doubted whether he had heard her correctly, doubted whether the woman in front of him was just a figment of his imagination brought on by the danger.

Seeing the blankness in his expression, Shu Yuan repeated, “Xiao Man, come with Mom.”

Calling herself “Mom” made her feel uneasy. A sense of responsibility welled up in her heart.

Xiao Man’s expression lit up for a moment, and his voice was soft. “Okay, Mom.”

In that instant when he agreed, Shu Yuan briefly felt the child’s trust in her. She hadn’t expected Xiao Man to so readily agree to go with her.

Shu Yuan straightened up, her words coming faster. “I’m worried the Zhang family won’t let you leave. We’ll head out right away, quietly. Don’t draw attention, and it’s best if no one sees us.”

Xiao Man nodded gently. He must be a kind and responsible child. Even in such an urgent moment, he still returned to the yard to put out the fire that had already reached the stove.

Shu Yuan followed the little fellow’s movements. She wasn’t sure that, if it were her in his place, she would have gone back to put out the fire.

When he came back out of the yard again, Shu Yuan bent down and slipped her hands under his armpits, lifting him up into her arms. In a soft voice, she said, “Let’s go, Xiao Man.”

The child was very light, very thin. Through the single-layer pants and thin jacket, Shu Yuan could clearly feel the sharp bones jutting from his body.

Instinctively, Shu Yuan walked toward the west, where there were no houses. As she walked, she asked, “Xiao Man, do you know which path has fewer people? Is there a way out of the village where we won’t run into many others?”

Xiao Man immediately gave the route. “I do. Head north up the mountain. There aren’t many people there. We can keep going west, then head south to reach the county town.”

This was the escape route he had mapped out for himself. He had planned to use it one day to leave the Xiaohe Production Team and go find his mother. He hadn’t expected that now he would be fleeing with her.

Shu Yuan had already stepped onto the canal path, her voice warm and light. “Alright, then let’s go up the mountain. Xiao Man, you lead the way.”

“Okay, Mom.” His soft, childlike voice was full of cheer.

Xiao Man gently nestled against Shu Yuan, his heart filled with a swirl of emotions—nervousness, excitement, joy. He still couldn’t believe that he was being carried away from the Xiaohe Production Team in his mother’s arms.

After crossing the canal, they came upon a large patch of hawthorn trees. They weaved their way through the woods until they reached a narrow path. Shu Yuan looked around cautiously; there were indeed no workers nearby. As expected, this was the best route for leaving the village quietly.

They soon entered another grove, this one full of apple trees. It was very quiet around them, the only sound was the crunch of dry branches and fallen leaves underfoot. Shu Yuan asked softly, “Is anyone home at the Zhangs’ right now?”

Xiao Man replied, “Aside from Baoni, there’s also Grandma. Her legs aren’t very good.”

Shu Yuan thought that once the Zhang family returned home and found Xiao Man missing, would they go searching everywhere? Would they come up the mountain? With that thought, she lowered her gaze to the ground, looking for something. She spotted a sturdy-looking branch, squatted down to pick it up, then quickened her pace.

Noticing the child’s gaze resting on the branch, Shu Yuan tried to ease his nerves and asked, “Xiao Man, are you cold?”

The Zhang family had truly been harsh to the child. In this kind of weather, he was only wearing thin pants and a light jacket. Xiao Man’s little hands were ice-cold—it was clear he wasn’t dressed warmly enough.

Xiao Man replied softly, “I’m not cold when I’m close to Mom.”

Being able to lean against his mother and draw warmth from her body felt especially comforting.

Bending low as they moved through the branches, Shu Yuan spotted a wooden stick ahead. She tossed aside the branch in her hand, stopped, bent down, and held Xiao Man’s hand as she asked, “Can I take a look at your right leg?”

Xiao Man lowered his head, his eyes dimming in an instant. Was he crippled now? Disabled? Would his mother abandon him? Would she change her mind and leave him behind?

His heartbeat was as fast and dense as falling rain. He was incredibly nervous.

Shu Yuan lowered her head and reached out to roll up the wide leg of Xiao Man’s pants, lifting it higher and higher. There were no fresh injuries, but the old scars were likely from beatings. At the top of his thigh, she saw an oval-shaped white birthmark.

It wasn’t caused by injury. Shu Yuan suspected the cause might be more complex and felt a twinge of unease, but she didn’t dwell on it. She let the pant leg fall back down, picked Xiao Man up again, and said, “We’ll go to the hospital for a checkup once we reach the county. Come on, let’s keep moving.”

Shu Yuan would definitely not let the Zhang family off for selling Xiao Man and colluding with traffickers. But for now, she wouldn’t get entangled with them. Getting Xiao Man out safely was the most important thing.

As his body was lifted off the ground, Xiao Man felt a wave of relief wash over him. His leg didn’t work properly, but Mom didn’t dislike him. Mom wasn’t even the slightest bit impatient.

They had already reached the mountain. The two of them moved through the underbrush, trees, and rocks, heading westward. After that, they would turn south. Walking for two to three hours would take them to the county town.

The farther they got from the Xiaohe Production Team, the safer they would be. The farther they went, the less likely Zhang Laocai’s family would be able to find them.

The child was very light, but Shu Yuan had a shoulder bag slung across her body, a wooden stick in hand, and she wasn’t used to carrying a child. After holding him for a while, her arms began to ache, so she hitched Xiao Man up a bit higher and quickened her pace.

Sensing her movement, Xiao Man quickly said, “Mom, I can walk. I can do it.”

Shu Yuan responded in a cheerful tone, “Xiao Man’s leg is sick, of course I have to carry you.”

There was no way she would let him walk. Limping along would only make his condition worse, not to mention they were on a mountain path full of rocks and thorny bushes.

Mom didn’t even want him to walk. Xiao Man pressed his lips together. Happiness had come so suddenly—he just hoped none of this was a dream.

What they didn’t know was that everything remained calm at Xiaohe Production Team and the Zhang household, but the trafficker who had come to buy Xiao Man had still shown up. Based on the clues provided, the public security officers from the township substation had staked out the area and were closing in to make the arrest. The trafficker, too, had fled up the mountain, and now the two sides were on a direct collision course there.

Xiao Man had sharp ears. He whispered, “Mom, someone’s shouting.”

The child had suffered so much that he always expected the worst. Afraid something might go wrong and they wouldn’t make it out, he was extremely alert, his small body tensing up at once.

Shu Yuan stopped walking and focused her hearing. The noise was coming closer, growing louder.

“Catch the trafficker!”

“They must have run deep into the mountains. If they get into the thick forest, it’ll be even harder to catch them!”

The mountain forest was quiet, and voices carried far.

Had they run into the traffickers?

The sound of footsteps was loud and chaotic, clearly heading in their direction.

Shu Yuan’s heart suddenly leapt, but she didn’t panic. She never believed she could take Xiao Man away without encountering any obstacles. Running into trouble was to be expected.

The more dangerous the situation, the calmer she became. She quickly weighed their options—should they both hide, or confront the situation head-on? There was no time to hesitate. Glancing quickly around, Shu Yuan spotted a tall chestnut tree nearby. She lifted Xiao Man up and motioned for him to climb.

Xiao Man moved like a little cat, quietly and lightly scrambling upward. Once nestled among the branches, he peeked down, thinking Shu Yuan would also climb up. He stretched out a small hand, ready to help her up, only to see Shu Yuan hiding behind a bush, gripping the wooden stick in her hand, ready to leap out and strike at any moment.

He held his breath, his heart pounding wildly. Clutching the tree trunk tightly, he was filled with worry for Shu Yuan’s safety and terrified that he might make a sound and hold her back.

This was a narrow path worn smooth by frequent footsteps—much easier for escaping than pushing through thorny underbrush. From the sound of it, the footsteps were indeed coming this way. Shu Yuan listened intently, preparing to lie in wait and deliver a heavy blow the moment the trafficker appeared.