"Aheng, you go home first. Si'er can't see you right now." Her mother glanced at her, but pushed her out the door again.
Ah Heng stood quietly in the corridor, watching the people tormented by illness come and go, their empty eyes reflected in hers.
Going home...?
Where is her home...?
Who built a labyrinth of loneliness for her, leaving her unable to find her way home for so long?
She walked for a long time, and the snow that had stopped began to fall again, lingering in her hair, until she stood again in front of the Wen family's door.
But this is not her home.
Ah Heng stood there for a long time, but couldn't muster the courage to open that door.
She smiled and sat down on the steps in front of the white building.
Right now, I wish someone could take her away.
Ah Heng thought quietly, then sniffed.
She couldn't answer the questions others asked her because she herself was a huge problem.
It was a snowy day like this, and it was so cold...
The little match girl struck a match and saw everything she wanted, including her beloved grandmother. So, what did she see when she struck the match?
Ah Heng held onto a stubborn idea, unable to suppress the clamoring hope in her heart. Touching her empty pockets, she realized that she had no tools for happiness.
Matches, okay, socialist society doesn't have the evils of capitalism. Matches are very rare now, hard to buy even if you have money. Pretending to be the little match girl is unrealistic.
And what about the Little Mermaid? Oh, she doesn't have a fishtail.
So, Rapunzel? Uh, what is lettuce?
So, Snow White? Okay, she became a stepmother and fed Wen Siwan a poisoned apple...
As Ah Heng pondered this, she chuckled to herself, her mood inexplicably brightening. She was quiet and seemed very honest, but she always secretly harbored a wicked side to herself.
Only someone like that could reign supreme in the martial arts world for generations, right?
"What are you laughing at?" A curious voice asked, wearing a pink mask.
Ah Heng looked up and saw Yan hope again.
He was dressed entirely in pink: a pink hat, a pink coat, pink pants, pink shoes, and a pink face mask. He was also carrying a large pink bag.
Her pink dress was light and elegant, her face serene and beautiful, a blend of warm and vibrant colors.
“Yan hope.” She looked at him, her eyes warm.
"Mmm," he responded, his delicate nose peeking out from under his mask.
"You've come again, to save me?" She smiled, her eyes slightly moist.
He calmly shook his head.
He then narrowed his large, dark, bright eyes and asked her, "Do you still stand by what you said that day?"
"What?" Ah Heng asked, puzzled.
"Let me take you out to play." The boy casually said, his slender, delicate fingers slipping into his pocket.
"You want to take me with you?" Ah Heng asked him cautiously, barely daring to breathe.
The boy nodded, a strand of black hair peeking out from his pink beanie.
Ah Heng was deeply moved, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the boy.
"Help me with my luggage." The boy took the pink backpack off his shoulder, slung it over Aheng's shoulder, rubbed his arm, shook his head, and said softly, "I'm exhausted."
Ah Heng said "Oh," her heart full of emotion turning into a face full of black lines.
.
Chapter 12
Chapter 12
It wasn't until Ah Heng held the train ticket in her hand that she felt a sense of reality.
She's about to leave.
Ah Heng smiled, relieved, and wanted to sing happily, but wouldn't it be silly to sing the national anthem?
"Arise, ye who refuse to be slaves..."
She hummed softly, while the pink-clad boy beside her rested his chin on his hand, staring at her as if she were a monster.
Ah Heng blushed.
"You're off-key." The boy in pink smiled calmly, took a deep breath, gathered his strength, and exhaled—"Arise! Ye who refuse to be slaves!!! That's right."
You... you're the one who's off-key...
Ah Heng remained silent, sniffing, but dared not refute. She remembered Si Wan mentioning Yan hope's bad temper countless times.
My train ticket is for 10 PM, and I still have half an hour to go.
It was during the Spring Festival travel rush, and the waiting room was incredibly crowded. Yan hope was afraid of being stepped on, so she and A Heng squatted in a corner and waited quietly for their tickets to be checked.
"Are we going to S City?" Ah Heng asked the boy in a low voice.
The boy squatted there, blinking his big eyes, and nodded.
"Why?" Ah Heng was secretly delighted. Suzhou was very close to Wushui Town, only a two-hour drive away.
"I had a dream last night about S City," the boy said softly, his voice languid.
"You've been to S City?" Aheng asked him.
"No." The boy shook his head.
"Then, what, you dreamed about it?" Aheng asked, wide-eyed.
"In my dream, someone told me that there are many beautiful women as pretty as me, lots of delicious food, and lots of fun things to do there." The boy's mask was half off, and he smiled sweetly, his lips as red as if they had been coated with honey.
Ah Heng chuckled.
"Attention passengers of train 313, attention passengers of train 313..." a sweet female voice announced.
"Ticket checking has begun." The boy stood up, patted the dust off his backpack with thick gloves, and slung it over his shoulder.
Ah Heng had lifted that backpack before; he didn't know what was inside, but it was very heavy.
She followed behind the boy, looking around with a sense of wonder. The only mode of transportation she had ever ridden was a car, and a train was—for the first time, like a young woman getting into a bridal sedan chair.
"Don't look around, there are child abductors." The boy's voice sounded lazy, hidden behind his mask.
Aheng withdrew her gaze and looked at Yan hope, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
She... is not a child.
Staff members in uniforms and white gloves stood at the ticket gate, and Ah Heng thought of the door gods in New Year paintings.
The girl happily handed the two tickets to the staff member.
The staff member checked the tickets with a smile and said to Yan hope with a kind heart, "Is this your first time traveling so far? As the older sister, you must take good care of your younger sister!"
Yan Xilu's face darkened on the other half, hidden behind her mask. She took the ticket, remained silent, and strode towards the platform.
Ah Heng smiled apologetically at the staff as she stumbled along behind Yan hope.
No wonder, Yan hope is so beautiful, and she was wearing a pink dress, so people who don't know her would probably mistake her for a girl.
But clearly, Yan hope was not happy.
Later, Ah Heng learned that Yan hope was not just unhappy, he was furious. From childhood to adulthood, what bothered him most was being mistaken for a girl.
As she exited the ticket gate, Ah Heng broke out in a cold sweat. She had never seen so many people in her entire life.
The platform was bustling with all sorts of people, almost overwhelming her.
I finally managed to squeeze onto the train through the crowd. But there were so many people that I couldn't find a seat right away. Most of us were stuck at the entrance of the carriage, waiting for others to find seats so that it wouldn't be so crowded before we could move.
As a result, everyone felt the same way, and the more they tried to block the road, the more people joined in, creating complete chaos.
Meanwhile, Ah Heng's tears were about to fall.
The tall, burly man next to her stepped on her foot without even noticing. She tried calling out a few times, but the carriage was too noisy for him to hear her.
Yan hope leaned against the window, where there was some space between them. Seeing that Aheng was being squeezed so tightly that tears were about to come out, he shouted, "Hey, you uncle, aren't your feet hurting?"
The boy had a loud voice, and the tall, fat man heard it but didn't react, staring blankly at the boy's big, dark eyes.
"Damn it!" Yan Xi cursed angrily, grabbed Aheng's arm, and pulled her to his chest with all his might. He held onto the sides of the window with both hands, bent down slightly, and left Aheng a gap so that she could stay in his arms.
Ah Heng suddenly relaxed, and in the blink of an eye, she was standing in front of the window.
Upon closer inspection, a clear leather shoe print was indeed visible on the cotton shoes.
Looking up, one sees the boy's fair and sculpted chin.
The train swayed and rocked, and all Aheng could see was pink stuff moving around, making her a little dizzy. Sometimes the pink coat would gently brush against her nose, carrying a faint, clean, and cool milky scent.
Her face flushed red, and she felt a little embarrassed.
About ten minutes later, the travelers gradually dispersed, and Ah Heng breathed a sigh of relief.
Siwan glanced at her indifferently and began to look for her seat according to the number on her ticket.
23, 24...
Aheng tugged at Yanxi's sleeve and pointed to the two seats on the left.
She sensed that Yan hope was visibly relieved.
The boy put his backpack away and sat down in a window seat.
Ah Heng sat down next to Yan hope, raised her wristwatch, and saw that the hour hand was just one notch away from midnight. The carriage gradually became quiet.
The train clattered along, its rhythmic sound lulling people to sleep.
Listening to the whistling wind, Ah Heng felt very tired. When she opened her eyes again, she was already sitting outside the Yun family's house.