Chapter 94

“My surname is Qiao, Qiao Xinyi.” 

“What does Xinyi mean?” The boy looked curious. 

“It’s a kind of flower. In some places, it’s also called magnolia.” Qiao Xinyi thought for a moment. “In some mountainous areas, wild Xinyi flowers grow everywhere, spreading freely across the hills. In early spring, they bloom very vibrantly—there are no leaves on the branches, only flowers.” 

The boy looked up and stared at Qiao Xinyi for a long time, then suddenly asked, “Who gave you that name?” 

“Someone you could never know.” Qiao Xinyi took a few gulps from her water bottle, then after thinking for a moment, reached out her hand. “Share half a bun with me. I’m starving after chasing you.” 

The boy looked at Qiao Xinyi in shock. “How can there be people like you in this world? You give something away and then ask for it back?” 

“There are. Haven’t you met one now?” Qiao Xinyi felt no shame at all. Seeing the boy hesitate, she moved closer and took some buns herself. Not to mention, anything from the system’s store is top quality. These buns were nicely risen, fragrant and even a bit sweet when bitten into. 

The happier Qiao Xinyi ate, the more speechless the boy’s expression became. 

“By the way, how old were you when you were trafficked? Do you still remember where your home is? Do you have any memories about your parents?” Qiao Xinyi asked. “I have a friend who’s a very dedicated police officer. Want me to take you to him? Maybe he can help you find your family?” 

“I was sold when I was four or five. I was sold three times in total. It’s no wonder I can’t remember.” 

The boy kicked a nearby stone, not knowing why it annoyed him. The stone rolled twice and disappeared into the grass. He stared at the grass for a few seconds, then continued, “There’s nothing to look for. I was sold because my family didn’t want me. What good would it do to find them again? Would they just despise me? Or sell me again?” 

“They already sold me and didn’t want me. What’s the point in looking for them? I didn’t die after leaving them, did I? I’m still alive now, right?” 

Qiao Xinyi took a deep breath. Hearing that the boy had been sold multiple times and that his own family had willingly sold him, she didn’t know what words could comfort him. From his tone, she couldn’t tell if he really remembered nothing or if he just didn’t want to remember because he didn’t want to go back. 

A sixteen- or seventeen-year-old half-grown boy who’s lived like this for so many years probably didn’t need her empty, meaningless consolation. What he needed most was a way out of his current difficulties. 

“You’re this big already. No one would want to buy a boy this old.” Qiao Xinyi sighed. “Not to mention whether you can avoid police crackdowns on drifters and stay in the provincial city. It’s summer now, and you can live in the underpass, but what about winter? Or during the rainy season?” 

There was a flood control sign just a hundred meters away. When the rains come, the underpass would definitely flood. To find a place to live, you need a household registration (hukou). All his problems boil down to this hukou issue. But this big villain is currently undocumented, let alone having any referral letter that would let him stay in the city. 

Qiao Xinyi was worried about where the boy would live and how he’d survive when suddenly the boy snorted at her. 

He lifted his pant legs and moved his legs a little closer to her. 

“As long as you have hands and feet to work the land, to help their family reproduce sons, why wouldn’t they want you?” 

“During the day, I work in the fields like a beast of burden. When the sun sets, they chain my legs up with iron chains as thick as my arm. I can’t escape. The last time I was sold was two years ago. They bought me and are waiting for their dumb daughter to grow up so they can breed me with her.” 

Qiao Xinyi was stunned. Her gaze fell on the boy’s dry, skinny feet. Around his ankles was a ring of skin darker than the rest — likely the result of repeated injuries to the same area, leaving scar tissue and some pigmentation. 

Hearing something is never as shocking as seeing it with your own eyes.

She had never heard of such a thing before, and if she hadn’t heard it from the big villain himself, she wouldn’t even have imagined it. Qiao Xinyi had always thought that trafficked boys generally fared better than girls, but she didn’t expect there to be exceptions. 

“How about you listen to my story? Maybe after you hear it, you’ll feel a bit better.” Qiao Xinyi took off her sunhat, bent down, and showed the boy the injury on her forehead, telling him about how someone had arranged a ghost marriage for her with five hundred yuan. Sometimes, a sense of happiness comes from comparing who has it worse. 

The boy’s eyes widened as he stared at the stitches already removed from her forehead, clearly surprised. “Then how did you get back to the provincial city?” 

“I reported it to the police later, and they helped me find my biological parents,” Qiao Xinyi said. “Then I came back.” 

The boy pointed to the sunhat in her hand, signaling her to put it back on before continuing, “After you came back, did your family treat you well?” 

“My mom, my sister, and my brother were all very good to me.” Qiao Xinyi put the hat back on her head and shrugged, “Other than them, everyone else isn’t really family to me—they’re just scum who deserve a beating.” 

The system gave very little information about this big villain beside her—not even his name or age. After he was caught, his mouth was as tight as a clam’s shell; he wouldn’t say anything. On the contrary, the sixteen- or seventeen-year-old now was more talkative. 

Right now, sitting beside her, the fierceness from when he was stealing food had faded from his eyes. His messy hair hid a youthful face, now numb and indifferent to everything. He rolled up his pant legs and pulled his feet back in. 

“I’m not like you. I have no home.” 

“I have no home” was short but carried an endless bitterness. 

“Where did you come from to the provincial city? You have no hukou, no money. How did you get here?” Qiao Xinyi asked. 

“By hitching rides. If it’s a bus, I hitch rides on buses. If it’s a train, I hitch rides on trains. When I’m hungry, I rummage through trash cans. Sometimes kind people give me a bun or a flatbread. If I can’t find or beg for anything, I have to steal.” 

“At first, I ran slowly and got caught. I’d kneel and beg for mercy. If the person was kind, they’d just curse at me and let me go. If not, I’d get beaten. Running all the time, I got faster. Once I got experienced, no one could catch me.” 

Maybe because he knew Qiao Xinyi had suffered too—somewhat a fellow sufferer—the boy’s guard dropped a lot. But not completely. His muscles were still tense, as if ready to run at any moment. 

Qiao Xinyi listened carefully and understood how the half-old scars on his arms and legs had come about. 

“I want to help you, but I honestly don’t know how to really help.” 

After all, this was a serial killer from the future. Qiao Xinyi sympathized with his situation, but she could never fully trust this big villain now, so there was no way she would take him back to her little villa. After all, that villa was her private residence. She couldn’t let the Qiao family know, couldn’t let Li Jun who had helped her know, and certainly couldn’t leave any unpredictable troubles for Fu Qingshan. 

There was one more thing Qiao Xinyi wasn’t sure about. According to policies at this time, if a child was sold by their biological parents, would the police, before finding the biological parents, send the child back to their foster parents? 

If they really sent him back, it would be like sending him right back to the wolf’s den.