Les Secrets du Paradis, Saison 4

Chapitre 14

Feng Nian'en opened the door and tossed the two pieces of clothing aside without even glancing at them. After putting the chicken blood in the refrigerator, he lay down on the bed.

Time passed slowly, and he quietly watched the patch of light projected onto the curtains. His resistance to light was weakening; even through the curtains, he could feel the power of the sunlight. But he still stared intently at the brightness until the wall clock struck four times, at which point he seemed to suddenly wake up and sit up.

He stared blankly at the wall, as if he had suddenly forgotten everything. It wasn't until he turned his gaze and saw the two pieces of clothing lying on the ground.

He sighed, picked up the clothes, looked at them, and a bitter smile appeared on his lips. Did Si Wen think he'd wear such rebellious youth clothing in public? Even if he had the courage to wear a cartoon-patterned T-shirt, he never imagined wearing two skulls on his body.

As he was thinking this, he heard several rude knocks on the door. He stood up and, unsurprisingly, saw the girl next door.

"Damn! Where are the clothes I gave you?" Seeing that he was still dressed in ordinary clothes, the girl exhaled the cigarette from her mouth.

Feng Nian'en frowned: "I won't wear those kinds of clothes."

"Just wear it, don't be so picky!"

"You should take it," he said, tossing the clothes over.

"Take it? You think I'll just take it because you tell me to?" She grabbed his collar. "If you fucking want to keep up with those brats, you'd better put this outfit on!"

“I don’t see any connection between these things,” he said, waving her hand away.

"It's okay?" the girl sneered. "If it's okay, why did you wear Doraemon the day before yesterday and Crayon Shin-chan yesterday?"

"But is this the kind of clothing kids would like? That's something thugs would wear!"

"Yes, it's a hooligan's outfit. This clothes were taken off a hooligan. As for whether we like it or not, we'll find out after we try it on."

"You can leave now." Feng Nian'en turned her face away. "I don't want to try."

Si Wen narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth, saying, "Fine! You've got guts! You fucking have guts!"

As she spoke, she turned and left, kicking the door as she passed it. The iron door immediately emitted a buzzing echo.

Chapter Ten

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Feng Nian'en buried his head in his hands and stood up after a long while. He washed his face and patted it with his palms to make himself look less pale.

Almost with a sense of trepidation at returning home, he slowly made his way to the garden. There were noticeably fewer children in the garden than yesterday, especially the girls. He stood there dumbfounded, not daring to take another step forward.

"The madman is here!"

It's unclear which child noticed him first. With that shout, every child dropped their toys and began to yell. The cries and shouts were mixed with a command uttered with forced composure.

Just as Feng Nian'en was at a loss and about to leave, a person wandered into the garden.

"Hey kid." Siwen approached the boy who was shouting for his companions to gather around him. "Looks like you're not doing so well. Your men aren't listening to you."

"Who, who said that?" the boy asked defiantly.

"Oh? What's going on? Why aren't they coming to your side?"

"They didn't hear me!" the boy shouted with all his might, "All of you—come—to—me!"

A sharp scream drowned out the chaotic cries. The children froze for a moment, and a girl ran over first: "Xiao Kong, Xiao Kong... the madman is here..."

"I know, don't be afraid." The boy pulled the girl along with a heroic air.

The other children gradually ran to his side. The boy looked up at Siwen with a defiant and smug expression.

The girl clapped her hands: "Not bad, not bad, not bad, just like a general."

"I want to be a policeman when I grow up!" the boy declared loudly, puffing out his chest as if taking an oath.

"Oh, policeman, what a noble ambition!"

The boy laughed triumphantly.

“Alright then, future police officer, may I know why you’re afraid of that person?” she said, pointing at Feng Nian’en.

"We're not afraid of him at all!"

"Yes, we're not afraid of him at all!"

"We're not afraid of lunatics!"

Several boys chimed in agreement.

"Oh, you're not afraid? Really not afraid?"

"I'm not afraid!"

"Then if I call him over, you won't run away anymore?"

Xiao Kong hesitated for a moment, but seeing the girl looking at him with a half-smile, he nodded stiffly: "I won't run!"

"Come here, you idiot!"

The girl reached out her hand and casually beckoned.

Feng Nian'en was stunned for a moment. Although she didn't know what was going on, she knew that this was an opportunity, so she quickly walked over.

Seeing him approach, the children visibly took a step back, looking at him warily, but thankfully they didn't run away.

"So brave! You've got the makings of a police officer." The girl clapped her hands and praised.

"The police aren't afraid of lunatics!" Xiao Kong shouted, his face held high.

"Well, future police officer, what's your name?"

“Zhou Kong!” the boy answered loudly.

"Zhou Kong?" Si Wen narrowed his eyes, as if he had just thought of something, and asked, "What is your relationship with Zhou Renkuan?"

"He's my dad!" the boy said, his voice filled with pride.

The girl swore.

"What did you say?"

“I said your father is a hero,” she said with a sneer, but the boy clearly didn’t understand.

"My dad is a policeman, and I want to be a policeman too, just like my dad!" he shouted as if making a vow.

"I hope you're not like your father," the girl murmured, then added, "Alright, I know you're all very brave now, but I wonder if you could be even braver."

"We were the bravest!"

"We are all brave!"

"No one cried except Xiaoyan."

"Nonsense! You're the one who's crying!"

"I have never cried!"

"I saw you; you cried when you got your shot last time..."

...

The children were chattering away.

“Yes, I already know none of you have cried.” The girl clapped her hands, stopping the children’s squabble. “But now there’s something that might scare you all to tears.”

"Nonsense! We would never do that!" came another noisy declaration of self-affirmation.

The girl asked with feigned disdain, "Really not?"

"Won't!"

"Alright then, do you dare to play with him?" She pointed at Feng Nian'en.

The children hesitated.

"I told you you wouldn't dare, sigh... looks like a bunch of cowards."

“You’re the coward! Who says we wouldn’t dare?” Zhou Kong shouted, taking a big step forward as if to prove it.

"So, you're going to play with him?"

"Play, play if you want! But he's crazy, what can he possibly play?"

Si Wen smiled and asked, "What were you guys playing just now?"

"Beat the madman!" Zhou Kong said, glancing at Feng Nian'en.

"Oh, you're going to beat up a madman, huh?" The girl barely managed to suppress a laugh. "Then why don't you guys go all out this time? Let him act like a madman, and you can be the police, how about that?"

The children looked at each other, hesitated, and then nodded.

"Hey, you idiot. Do your best, this is your only chance."

The girl patted Feng Nian'en on the shoulder, stepped back into a chair, lit a cigarette, and looked at the man standing dumbfounded among the children: "What an idiot..."

Although initially somewhat afraid, after a few cautious attempts, all the children realized that this person was not only crazy but also stupid, and wouldn't fight back no matter how much they were hit. Overcoming their fear, the children immediately swarmed him, some grabbing his arms, others hugging and pushing him. Although Feng Nian'en could easily shake off these little hands, he dared not move rashly at this moment. Moreover, at the opportune moment, he would feign falling down, letting the little devils ride on him while shouting something like, "Surrender and you won't be killed!"

Meanwhile, Si Wen, who seemed to thrive on chaos, kept giving instructions from the sidelines: "Yes, yes, yes, one person grabs the left leg, one person grabs the right leg, pull! Pull them to both sides, they're falling over, aren't they! Haha! Hehe..."

...

After making a ruckus for over half an hour, the children were no longer afraid of this crazy guy; in fact, they practically thought he was the easiest person in the world to bully. They were having so much fun that they were still reluctant to leave when their parents came to call them for dinner.

At 5:30, the setting sun, as if in a final burst of light, shone brightly, its fiery glow casting a surreal glow upon the earth that gave one a sense of time flowing backward. The last child was then taken home. Feng Nian'en approached Si Wen and whispered, "Thank you."

The girl turned her face away, looked at the red and yellow colors on the horizon, and slowly exhaled smoke.

"Um, and... I'm sorry." He lowered his head, like a primary school student being punished for being late to class.

Si Wen continued to smoke in silence.

"I...I..." Feng Nian'en opened her mouth helplessly, but in the end she could only sigh and stand blankly in front of the bench.

Finally, Siwen finished his cigarette and glanced at him.

“Tell me honestly, what do you need these kids to help you with that you'd go to such lengths to humble yourself like this?”

Feng Nian'en looked at her own shadow, remained silent for a moment, and shook her head: "I'm sorry, I can't say."

"Ugh..." the girl muttered a curse casually, "That's all you've got!"

"sorry."

"There's nothing to apologize for. What you do is none of my business. But... you're not actually planning to kidnap any child, are you?"

“No, absolutely not.” He raised his face and said firmly.

"That's good, so you won't have an excuse not to pay back the money if you get executed in the future." She said, jumping up from the chair. "Let's go."