Wan Qiu stood outside the barbecue shop, biting into the bread in his hand. All he had to do was stand there and the owner already knew what he was there for.
Wan Qiu did not enter the shop. He waited outside, taking big bites of bread and chewing each mouthful carefully, thoroughly enjoying it.
"Hey, kid."
A voice sounded very close by. Wan Qiu did not think it was speaking to him. He took another bite of bread, his cheeks puffing out as he stared eagerly toward the barbecue shop.
"Kid." Suddenly, a yellow-haired man stepped directly in front of Wan Qiu. Forced to look at him, Wan Qiu's chewing slowed. The man asked, "Remember me?"
Wan Qiu nodded. He remembered. This was one of the kind people who had taken him to the hospital.
"Doesn't eating bread make you thirsty?" the yellow-haired man asked.
Wan Qiu nodded again. He was a little thirsty, but he could drink water once he got home.
"Here." The yellow-haired man held out a bottled milk tea.
Wan Qiu took it in confusion. The milk tea was warm in his hands, as though it drove away a little of the cool breeze in the summer night.
The yellow-haired man opened the cap while Wan Qiu held the bottle. "Drink."
Wan Qiu glanced at the man, then hugged the bottle to himself and began drinking. The smooth, sweet richness filled his mouth. Wan Qiu looked as though he had discovered an entirely new world.
The corner of the yellow-haired man's mouth twitched. "You really are…" He had no sense of caution at all. Give him something and he would drink it.
The yellow-haired man was starting to suspect that if human traffickers showed up, this child might voluntarily follow them away.
Gulp, gulp, gulp…
The yellow-haired man watched helplessly as Wan Qiu kept drinking without pause. He was startled. Was the kid that thirsty?
When Wan Qiu had nearly downed half the bottle in one go, the yellow-haired man finally could not bear it. "Stop. Stop, stop, stop! It's not like I'm taking it away from you. Do you really have to finish it all in one breath?"
Wan Qiu hugged the bottle and burped.
The yellow-haired man looked up and saw his companion standing not far away.
"Hungry?" the yellow-haired man asked.
Wan Qiu hesitated, then shook his head.
"If you're hungry, Uncle can take you inside and buy you something to eat." The yellow-haired man pointed toward the shop behind him. "Want some?"
Wan Qiu still shook his head.
"You're full?" The yellow-haired man looked down at the bread bag in Wan Qiu's hand. There was almost nothing left.
This time Wan Qiu nodded.
"From just that little bit?" The yellow-haired man was speechless. Was that really the appetite of a growing boy?
Wan Qiu opened his mouth and let out a full burp. "I'm full."
"Who are you two? Why are you surrounding someone else's kid?" The barbecue shop owner came over carrying a bag of food and looked at them suspiciously.
"Friends," the yellow-haired man said.
The shop owner frowned instead and lowered his head to ask Wan Qiu, "You know them?"
Wan Qiu hesitated for two seconds, then nodded.
"Friends of your dad?" Once he heard they knew each other, the shop owner stopped asking. If he had waited two more seconds, he would have noticed that Wan Qiu had not actually confirmed that part. He shoved the barbecue into Wan Qiu's hands. "Go home quickly. If you get back late, your dad will hit you again."
The yellow-haired man's face twisted briefly. In the end, he forced on a very strange-looking smile. "I'll take you back."
"Thank you," Wan Qiu said.
The yellow-haired man stared at him, then suddenly laughed. "All right. You're pretty good at accepting help from people, aren't you?"
Though he teased him verbally, the yellow-haired man still took hold of Wan Qiu's small cart. Because the handle was too low, he even found another length of rope to extend it so he could pull comfortably.
Wan Qiu retraced his route beside the two tall men. They had only met today, yet Wan Qiu's attitude toward them was neither strange nor familiar. He was quiet, as though he had simply always been walking beside them.
Wan Qiu finished the last few bites of bread and drank the rest of the milk tea, then hugged the empty bottle to himself as though it were precious.
The yellow-haired man wanted to buy him more food, but the child had said he was full and did not seem to be lying. If he bought more, he worried it would only end up benefiting Ning Hai.
"Kid, before long you're going to be living the good life," the yellow-haired man chatted with him. "Say goodbye to this shitty life."
Wan Qiu did not answer, as though he were trying to understand the man's words. The yellow-haired man was thumped on the shoulder by his companion, warning him to talk less.
"My life isn't shit," Wan Qiu suddenly said. "My life is very good."
"Have you just never lived a good life before?" The yellow-haired man was jabbed again by his companion, but thinking about what he himself had just said gave him a strange feeling…
"I live a good life," Wan Qiu insisted stubbornly.
Did the child genuinely think the life he was living now was good? The yellow-haired man scratched his hair, then scratched it again. It made him feel awful in a way he could not describe.
The yellow-haired man pulled a business card from his pocket and handed it to Wan Qiu. "My phone number's on here. If you need anything, call me."
Wan Qiu looked at the simple card and said, "I don't have a phone."
"Then keep it anyway," the yellow-haired man said.
"Oh." Wan Qiu put the card into his pocket.
The other man watched this and frowned. Wan Qiu… seemed like the sort who obeyed people very easily?
When they reached the building, Wan Qiu rolled up his sleeves and prepared to carry the beer, exposing the fresh white gauze wrapped around his arm. Both men immediately stopped him.
"Enough. Fourth floor, right?" the man said.
After the three cases of beer had been carried to the fourth-floor door, the two men turned to leave. The yellow-haired man, however, suddenly felt someone tug on his clothes.
The small amount of force was nowhere near enough to stop him from moving, but it made him pause.
Wan Qiu released the man's sleeve and looked up. "Thank you."
Even after they returned to the car, the yellow-haired man remained somewhat dazed. Heaven knew why, at the instant he was thanked, he had suddenly thought that foolish child was actually adorable.
"He can't afford to pay us. Why'd you leave him your card?" the other man asked with a laugh.
"He's going to be the son of some big boss soon. What's a little money then?" The yellow-haired man spoke stubbornly, but leaned against the window and yawned. "I just felt like someone had to look out for him. Doesn't mean anything else."
By midnight, the group of men had all gone home. After drinking themselves senseless, Ning Qiaozhen and Ning Hai finally collapsed asleep. Wan Qiu came out of his room again, closed the door to his parents' bedroom, and began cleaning up the chaotic mess on the table.
If he did not clean it properly, Mom would wake up tomorrow morning, see the room in a mess, and be in a bad mood.
There were still many leftovers on the table. Wan Qiu would save as much as he could. Even rice mixed with leftover sauce would taste very good.
Seeing some bits of food remaining, Wan Qiu picked up a little minced meat with his fingertips and put it into his mouth.
Delicious.
Even cold, the food still tasted wonderful.
He should keep all of this. It would be such a waste to throw it away.
Perhaps because he had eaten bread and drunk milk tea today, his body had more energy and felt more comfortable than usual. When he stood, he used too much force and accidentally kicked a bottle beside him. Several bottles toppled one after another onto the tiled floor with a clear series of clattering impacts.
Wan Qiu froze in place.
Heavy, impatient footsteps came from his parents' room. The bedroom door opened, and in that instant Wan Qiu's breath caught.
"What the fuck are you doing in the middle of the night?!" Ning Hai was a light sleeper. The alcohol had not yet worn off, and he saw Wan Qiu standing under the light amid the pile of things.
Wan Qiu's voice was quiet, and in the stillness of the night a trace of fear leaked through. "I'm cleaning up."
"Cleaning up, my ass!" Ning Hai became more irritable than usual after drinking. His voice rose, and Wan Qiu knew what that meant. "If you make another fucking sound and disturb my sleep, I'll make you regret it."
Something cut through the air with a rush of wind. Wan Qiu curled inward instinctively.
Sharp pain bloomed like a splash of water, ripples spreading outward layer after layer.
Wan Qiu lay sprawled on the floor, black and white stars flashing before his eyes.
He suppressed even the sound of his breathing and listened carefully as Ning Hai returned to the room and lay down.
First came faint rustling, then the sound of snoring.
Wan Qiu climbed back up and continued cleaning the messy living room, moving so softly and carefully it was as though even his actions themselves did not exist.
