“Mn, our Qiqi have grown up, and grandma won’t be able to hold him anymore.”

Qiqi coquettishly nestled in Grandma Qi’s arms.

“Haven’t grown up yet, I’m still grandma’s little baby.”

…

When the scene turned, it was a cramped brick house with a leaking roof.

“Find someone to fix it quickly.”

“Who can I ask for repairs at night? This is not like in the city.” The man looked at the beams covered with spider webs, and even the webs were woven under the stools and tables. He kicked down the stools irritably.

“Go and clean it up. What are you doing here?”

“You’re the one going back to that rundown house in the village, why do I have to clean it? Blame it on this troublemaker.”

“You cheeky brat, speak up. Quit pretending to be mute.”

Qiqi shrinks against the door, silent. “I told you to speak.”

“Scared, huh?” The woman glances at him and resignedly goes to clean the room.

“This rundown house only has two rooms. How can anyone live in what’s supposed to be a storage room?”

“Just let him sleep there.”

…

“Remember, you are not a young master, you are a trash that no one wants.”

“From now on, call me Dad and call her Mom. This is your home. Your parents don’t want you anymore. It’s us who picked you up.”

“You’re talking nonsense.” Qiqi stood up, frowning tightly, “My father’s name is Qi Huai, my mother’s name is Lu Nianchu, my family lives in City A…”

There was a snap.

The man slapped Qiqi.

“I said that I am your father, and those people don’t want you anymore.”

“You are not.”

——Another slap in the face.

“Your father’s name is Xu Donghui, and your mother’s name is Wu Yue. Your family lives at No. 219 Shangzhai, Xujia Village, Shiba Town, B City. Say it!”

“My father’s name is Qi Huai, my mother’s name is Lu Nian…”

Another slap fell.

“I’ll beat you until you obey today.”

“Okay, keep your voice down. Don’t attract the neighbors.” Wu Yue felt upset for a while, “What a broken house this is.”

“What are you afraid of? Each house is far away from each other. No matter how loud he screams, no one can hear him.”

Xu Donghui looked at the swollen slap marks on the child’s face, as if he found some fun.

“You’ve done enough, go get some food. I’m starving.” Wu Yue gave him a stern look. “What’s the point of arguing with a kid?”

Xu Donghui cooked a pot of noodles and glanced at the child. “Serve yourself.”

Qiqi stayed in the corner, ignoring him.

“Don’t care about him, he’ll eat after being hungry for a few days.” Wu Yue said nonchalantly, “Watch him carefully at night, don’t let him escape.”

“Don’t worry, the main gate is locked. Let’s see where he could run on these mountain roads. If he dares to try.”

“Are we really going to hide here?”

“We’ll stay hidden for a few months. I’ll inquire about the situation in a couple of days. That jerk seems to have been sent in.”

…

At night, the sound of insects outside the house was so noisy that people couldn’t sleep.

Qiqi opened the window, carefully moved a chair to stand on the window, and jumped down.

But he didn’t know the road. The mountain village was not as brightly lit as the city at night. It was dark, and he couldn’t see anything, not even street lights.

He ran out in the dark under the moonlight. Before he could open the courtyard door, he was grabbed by the collar.

“Little brat, where do you want to run?”

Xu Donghui pulled Qiqi’s hair and dragged him into the house. The lights in the hall came on and he was still on the ground.

“You really tried to escape…”

Before Xu Donghui could get closer, a stool was thrown at him. He didn’t have time to hide, so he could only block it with his hands, “F##k! If I don’t beat you to death today, my surname is not Xu.”

After throwing the chair, Qiqi immediately rushed into the utility room and closed the door with his backhand. Xu Donghui stretched one hand in and blocked the door.

“Haha, are you hiding? I see you… Ah!”

“You brat, let go!”

Qiqi bit Xu Donghui’s arm, and Xu Donghui pinched his chin, “Let me go.”

Xu Donghui kicked him, and Qiqi rolled on the ground, then crawled under the bed full of debris.

There were spiderwebs under the bed, frightening him. Xu Donghui’s hand reached in.

Qiqi found a hammer from under the bed and hit Xu Donghui on the back of his hand without hesitation.

“Ah!”

“Why are you screaming this late at night?” Wu Yue looked sleepy. When she walked in, she saw Xu Donghui his butt sticking out and his hand reaching under the bed.

“Don’t you think it’s dirty…”

“That little brat hid under the bed, bit me, and… Damn it.” Xu Donghui pulled back his hand. “The back of my hand is bleeding.”

“Deal with that first, we’ll settle the score with him later.” Wu Yue turned and left. Unable to catch Qiqi, Xu Donghui had no choice but to tend to his wound first.

As soon as the two left the utility room, Qiqi quickly crawled out from under the bed, slammed the door shut, and locked it.

He crawled to the window and locked it as well.

After completing all this, he crouched down, hugging himself. The place was dirty, and there were two bad people outside. Why hadn’t Mom and Dad come to find him yet?

As he cried, Qiqi noticed an itching sensation on his body. Red rashes appeared on his arms.

Outside, Xu Donghui’s grumbling voice could be heard, “Just hide in there. Dare to come out, and I’ll beat you to death.”

“Enough, go to sleep. Once we catch him, we lock him in the room. No need to get yourself all injured.”

As Qiqi shed tears, he couldn’t resist scratching the red rash on his arm. He had experienced this before, and the doctor said it was an allergy. He didn’t know why he was allergic, but it made his body uncomfortable, and his heart uneasy.

He missed home a lot.

Qiqi couldn’t remember how long he had been locked in the room. He only knew it had been a long time since he ate or drank anything. His head was spinning, and then it seemed like he fell asleep.

“He hasn’t come out for two days.”

“It means he’s not hungry enough. Let him hide and see how long he can last.”

Listening to the voices outside the room, it felt like there was a barrier, making it hard to hear clearly. His head grew heavier, and Qiqi felt very hot, his throat also hurting.

The last time he had a fever, it was this uncomfortable.

Qiqi wanted to go home even more.

He wanted Mom to hold him, Dad to comfort him, and to hear Grandpa and Grandma calling him a good baby.

Qiqi knew he was sick, and he should take medicine. Every time he had to take medicine before, he would throw a tantrum. It took the whole family coaxing him before he would take it.

His brother was right.

He is too squeamish.

He will change.

And he will take medicine obediently.

He wouldn’t be naughty or make trouble anymore.

Could someone come and take him home?

He was so scared all alone.

In a hazy state of consciousness, he woke up again to the sound of a drizzling rain outside. Lu Zeqing was having difficulty distinguishing between reality and dreams.

He felt like that child trapped in the utility room, unable to escape. A heavy stone seemed to press down on his heart, making Lu Zeqing feel extremely uncomfortable.

His mind was filled with jumbled fragments, and then he suddenly heard a voice.

“Who is Qiqi?”

“It’s Qingqing,” A sweet, childlike voice replied, “Not Qiqi.”

Lu Zeqing, half in a dream and half awake, didn’t know if he was still in a dream or had already woken up. He seemed to see the prayer lantern in the temple, and the name written under the lantern base was—

Qiqi.

It’s Qiqi… And it’s also Qingqing.

In the darkness, Lu Zeqing lifted his heavy eyelids. This dream was so immersive that he almost forgot who he was.

The moment he woke up, he even felt like he was the child in the dream.

“Where do we live?”

“Building 21, Unit 1-1, Wan Yue Mansion, 117 Qingyuan Road, Linchi District, City A.”

Lu Zeqing suddenly sat up from the bed. The curtains blocked the scene outside. The room was dark. His hair was wet with cold sweat. He held his forehead, trying to relieve the sudden pain.

After a while.

He picked up the remote control and opened the curtains.

It was dawn, and Lu Zeqing was no longer sleepy, so he lifted up the quilt and entered the shower room.

Fifteen minutes later.

He put on a towel, walked out of the bathroom, put on a loose and comfortable T-shirt, picked up the hair dryer, and blew his hair in front of the mirror.

Building 21, Unit 1-1, Wan Yue Mansion, 117 Qingyuan Road, Linchi District, City A.

This address came to mind again.

The place where the dinner was held last night was the Qi family’s mansion specially used for holding banquets. Before that, Lu Zeqing didn’t even know where they lived.

He didn’t know why.

But he suddenly wanted to go there and take a look.

He wanted to go back home for the him in the dream… No.

He wanted to return home once for the original owner.

Once this thought arose, it intensified rapidly. With little hesitation, Lu Zeqing grabbed his phone and left the room.

Descending in the elevator, the desire to return home grew stronger and stronger. His steps quickened, and before he knew it, he was already outside the gate of the community.

The sky had unconsciously brightened, free from the shroud of the night.

It took Lu Zeqing quite a while to realize that he should take a taxi.

*

“Mom, why did you get up so early again? It was close to midnight when we got home last night.”

“I can’t sleep.” Grandma Qi stood in the garden. “I didn’t dare to sleep last night. I was afraid that when I woke up, I would find that it was all just a dream.”

Grandma Qi couldn’t sleep at night, and she would touch this necklace. She couldn’t bear to take it off even when she was lying in bed. Only by touching the necklace would she feel at ease.

“Mom, I’m sorry. Qi Huai and I didn’t mean to hide it from you…”

“I know.” Grandma Qi pursed her lips and smiled. “At least I waited for him.”

“Qiqi will be willing to come back.”

“Give him some more time, don’t rush.”

“When Qiqi was in kindergarten, I used to take him to the door every morning until Qi Huai’s car drove away.”

“In the evening, I would wait for him in the yard, sitting on this rocking chair. Every time Qiqi comes back from school, he would sit here with me for a while.”

Grandma Qi pulled Lu Nianchu to sit in the rocking chair.

“Every time I sit here, I feel like I’ll be able to wait for Qiqi to come back soon.”

“He liked to eat sweets at that time, and the first thing he asked me every time he came in was: Grandma, can I have sweets today?”

“…Grandma.”

Lu Nianchu and Grandma Qi paused, and stood up at the same time the next second.

Outside the yard, Lu Zeqing faced the rising sun, and the golden halo fell on his shoulders.

Lu Zeqing stood in front of them without any warning.

After a while, Lu Nianchu recovered from the surprise. She opened the courtyard door, feeling surprised and happy.

Lu Nianchu wanted to ask him why he came back so suddenly, and also wanted to ask him if he still remembered his home address. She also wanted to ask if his presence here meant that he was willing to try to accept them.

In the end, she didn’t ask a single question in her mind.

“Do you want to come in?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Lu Nianchu fell into self-reproach. What was she asking? At this moment, she should have taken the initiative to invite Qingqing inside.

“I mean, do you want to have breakfast here?”

“I can make a variety of breakfasts – sandwiches, egg noodles, hand-grabbed pancakes…” Lu Nianchu became more incoherent as she grew anxious.

But Lu Zeqing didn’t interrupt her.

Realizing this, Lu Nianchu felt a bit relieved. She cautiously asked another question.

“Do you have something you want to eat?”

After a few seconds of silence, Lu Nianchu heard him say:

“Mom, I want to eat egg noodles.”

---

Pao: How could they be so cruel to a child… Poor baby Qiqi ╥╥