Chapter 4: Facing Reality, Finding Shelter

Bai An grasped her wrist, feeling a bit troubled. The familiar silver chain was no longer there. She didn’t know if she could still enter the space now.

Bai An closed her eyes, not daring to open them. She was afraid the result wouldn’t be what she wanted. It wasn’t until she heard the familiar sound of flowing water that she felt a sense of relief.

“It worked!”

Bai An looked at the pile of items in front of her and felt excited. In this unfamiliar place, these items were her greatest sense of security.

Feeling hungry, Bai An hastily found something to fill her stomach. But she was also worried that the boy would return and not find her, so she didn’t have time to check the mirror to see how she looked now. She hurriedly left the space.

After exiting the space, Bai An wiped the stains off her mouth and placed the steamed buns back on the stove.

However, looking at the simple house, Bai An instinctively felt uncomfortable. Using her small body, she began tidying up the house casually.

When Lu Jin’an returned, he saw Bai An wiping the chair with a cloth.

“You don’t need to do any work right now,” Lu Jin’an said, taking the cloth from her hand and placing it on the table. He then noticed the steamed buns on the stove.

Lu Jin’an paused for a moment. She really didn’t like eating these.

Carefully pulling out a warm egg from his pocket, Lu Jin’an remained expressionless as he said to Bai An, “I’ll cook you some eggs.”

“No need, I’m not hungry.”

Lu Jin’an didn’t believe Bai An wasn’t hungry. “How can you not eat?”

Bai An watched as he skillfully cracked the eggs, added water, lit the stove, and placed the bowl inside.

When Lu Jin’an brought over the egg custard, Bai An wasn’t sure if she should eat it.

After all, in such a household, this egg custard might be a rare delicacy.

“This is much better than the steamed buns,” Lu Jin’an said coldly, but his eyes were filled with some expectation as he looked at Bai An.

“I’ll pass,” Bai An started to refuse, but before she could finish speaking, Lu Jin’an scooped a spoonful of the egg custard and fed it to her mouth.

The steaming egg custard burned her mouth, and Bai An cried out, “Hot, hot, hot!”

“Spit it out.” Lu Jin’an quickly extended his hand in front of Bai An, and the custard she spat out burned his hand, making him shiver a little.

Lu Jin’an furrowed his brows, his youthful face looking somewhat mature. He gently touched Bai An’s chin and said, “Let me check if there’s anything wrong with your mouth.”

Bai An, gritting her teeth from the pain, opened her mouth at Lu Jin’an’s words.

Lu Jin’an looked inside and saw only slight redness, no blisters, so it shouldn’t be a big problem.

Lu Jin’an scooped another spoonful of egg custard, carefully blew on it, and said, “Eat this, it won’t be hot this time.”

Bai An, teary-eyed, ate a few bites but then stopped. Lu Jin’an reached out and gently patted her small belly, which was now a bit full.

Looking at the remaining egg custard in the bowl, Lu Jin’an placed it on the table.

“What’s your name?”

“Bai An.”

Just as Bai An was about to ask him his name, a soft voice came from outside the door.

“Jin’an, I’m back.”

Bai An turned toward the voice and immediately saw a woman standing at the door. Her jet-black, shiny hair was neatly tied behind her, and her eyes smiled. The corners of her lips were slightly curved. Despite wearing a simple coarse cloth dress, her appearance reminded Bai An of the celebrities from the Republic of China era she had seen online.

Wanqing opened the door and saw Bai An sitting obediently on the chair, wearing Jin’an’s new clothes. With a pleasant smile, she walked over in surprise.

“You’re awake. It looks like Jin’an really likes you. He even gave you his favorite clothes. Later, I’ll take you to find your parents.”

Bai An froze. She had never had parents, so how could she find them?

“No, I can go home by myself.”

Lu Jin’an, who had been standing aside, furrowed his brows.

Wanqing pinched Bai An’s little face. “Then where is your home?”

Bai An didn’t answer that question. Instead, she asked, “Where is this place?”

“Xinghua Village. Your home should be in this village as well.”

Xinghua Village? Bai An shook her head.

“It’s okay, we’ll find it eventually.”

Wanqing waved at Lu Jin’an. “Jin’an, come over here.”

“This is your big brother. He’s already 8 years old this year. How old are you now?”

Bai An thought for a moment, held up four fingers, then waved her hand, showing five fingers but waved it off again, then went back to showing four.

Seeing Bai An’s troubled expression, Wanqing gently held her hand and spoke softly, “You probably can’t do math yet, let me show you.”

Wanqing pointed to Lu Jin’an. “Brother was born in 1960, and now it’s 1968. If you subtract the 0 from the 8, that means he’s 8 years old this year.”

A thunderclap seemed to go off in Bai An’s head.

When Lu Demin heard Wanqing, he was a bit amused and exasperated. “Why are you using this as a math problem for her? It might be a bit difficult for her.”

“Ah, she still doesn’t understand math?” Wanqing chuckled. “It’s alright, you’re still young. You’ll understand when you grow up.”

“1968?” Bai An stretched out her little hand. “Is it really 1968 now?”

“What’s the matter?” Wanqing patted Bai An’s head. “Why are you so surprised?”

Bending down, Wanqing picked Bai An up and asked Lu Jin’an, “Would you like to go out together?”

“I’ll stay home,” Lu Jin’an tugged at his mother’s clothes. “Will she come play at our house again?”

“You really like this little sister, huh? Once we know where she lives, Jin’an can go visit her.”

Lu Jin’an’s eyes lit up. “Okay!”

The muddy dirt road, the small brick houses, the desolate atmosphere.

Bai An curled up in the warmth of the woman’s embrace, pondering her current situation.

1968, in this cold winter, and still so small. If she didn’t find a family, she might have to stay in the space for months.

But once winter passed, how would she manage?

“Village Chief, we found a lost child last night. Can you see if anyone has lost their child?”

The Village Chief squinted his eyes, carefully examining Bai An. “Such a pretty little girl. She’s not from our village.”

“What’s your name?”

“Bai An?”

“She’s not from our village. We don’t have anyone with the last name Bai here.”

Wanqing became anxious when the Village Chief denied it. “How can that be? Village Chief, please take another look.”

Sighing, the Village Chief slowly shook his head. He pulled out a cloth bundle from his pocket, unwrapping it layer by layer to reveal a few worn-out cloth tickets.

“Every household is so poor now. Looking at this child, she must be from a bad background, someone who couldn’t afford to raise her and just abandoned her.” The Village Chief picked up a cloth ticket. “You take care of her for a few days, and if you can’t manage later, just leave her back where you found her.”

“Village Chief really said that?” Lu Demin furrowed his brows, looking at Bai An in Wanqing’s arms. “If you leave her, won’t that be like leaving her to die?”

Bai An pouted, raising her hands and clutching Wanqing’s neck, her delicate little face rubbing against Wanqing’s, her movements soft and hesitant. “I don’t want to go home.”

“Why?” Wanqing, feeling Bai An’s dependence, felt a stir in her heart. “Why don’t you want to go home?”

To stay, Bai An had no choice but to make up a story.

“I’m sorry.”

“My family doesn’t like me, they all bully me. They don’t give me food or clothes, they say I’m a bad omen. They just abandoned me because they didn’t want to raise me anymore.”

Bai An choked up as she spoke of the unfairness she had faced, and even shed a few tears for effect.

The wind howled around them, and the only sound was the silence that followed.

“Deming!”

“Deming!”