Chapter 205

"Wait for me a moment, I just happen to want to buy something." Xia Yan said casually, ignoring the girl's opinion and heading straight for the roadside stall. "?" Hua Xin, who had already taken two steps, bit her lip, her eyes filled with regret. How could he have seen this? Does Xia Yan have some kind of special ability? How come he can always sense what she wants? Xia Yan, carrying bags and bags, had already walked quite a distance. Without her keys, she couldn't just throw a tantrum and walk home on her own. No, she meant to go to Xia Yan's house. Gritting her teeth, Hua Xin finally followed Xia Yan. "What are you doing?" "I already told you to hurry home, I have to make dumplings tonight, there's not enough time to cook..." "What do you want?" Xia Yan said to the girl very seriously, his gaze meeting hers, making Hua Xin hesitate to say the rest of her urging words, and she had to swallow them back. "I don't want anything, why are you doing this?" the girl urged impatiently, but a feeling she had never experienced before welled up inside her. For over a decade, no one had cared about what she liked or needed. All she had ever liked and hoped for was to have enough to eat and warm clothes; nothing else mattered. She had no means or reason to ask for anything. But now, something was very strange... Why did the urge to cry well up inside her again, making her nose sting? Her hands, holding the plastic bag, couldn't be used to wipe away her tears, forcing her to suppress the emotion. Perhaps some people would think, what's the big deal? It's just asking what you want to buy; why make such a fuss and get so emotional? Xia Yan's words, in a sense, weren't the reason. It was the moment he asked and resolutely turned away. Hua Xin was lonely. From a young age until now, she had always been alone in that Little Black, entertaining herself and living a strong, independent life. The girl didn't know what it felt like to make friends, nor did she know what the outside world held besides violence and ridicule, and she certainly didn't know what the meaning of her life was besides that promise. Perhaps if it weren't for Auntie Li, she would probably be rotting and stinking in some corner by now, how could she possibly still be alive when she transformed because of this strange supernatural power? Xia Yan cared about her. He cared so much that he could read her thoughts even through her gaze. What else could Hua Xin say? This care was something she could never make up for or repay Xia Yan for in her entire life. "If you don't want to talk, I'm going to buy everything on this stall." "The extra money could buy a lot of ribs." Xia Yan showed no impatience, still patiently standing by the side waiting for the somewhat dazed girl to answer, while also quietly saying "sorry" to the stall owner. Ah... always so polite in the details, yet impossible to dislike. Hua Xin silently cursed the man standing in the winter sun in her heart, even though she didn't want to admit it, he was still very handsome and sunny. The girl turned her head slightly, and that fiery red color filled her vision once more. The word "Mom" hadn't appeared in her memory or vocabulary for a long time. Who should she call Mom? Who else could she call Mom? Tears welled up in Hua Xin's eyes, a memory she didn't want to recall, like a sharp thorn piercing her heart again across the river of time. That was the last day she saw her mother. The woman who had always been beautiful and stylish, as if time hadn't left a mark on her, a woman who could remain beautiful forever. That day, Hua Xin, as usual, was forced out of the small house by her arguing parents and had to go to the park or the lawn. She remembered that Auntie Liu gave her an apple she would never forget; it was a beautiful, bright red, and incredibly sweet—she had never tasted such a sweet apple since. That one apple filled her small body with her entire day's worth of food. "It's getting dark, time to go home." Because it was a Sunday holiday in winter, it got dark early, and she was spared the bullying at elementary school, instead able to comfortably hide in the park watching happy people come and go. Often, only her father or mother was home at night, or neither of them was home, so she could find some leftovers from the kitchen to fill her stomach. Perhaps it was because they were afraid of starving, but didn't want to bother with her or talk to her, that they would come back so often. It wasn't like this before. They would affectionately call her "Hua Hua." But now it was someone else. On her way back from the park, not far from home, Hua Xin saw "Mom." She walked to a pretty door, opened it, and lovingly hugged a child a few years younger than her, talking to him intimately. Because of the distance, the girl couldn't hear what she was saying. But the bright red scarf around the child's neck, held by his mother, shone brightly in the twilight. And then, she never came back. Xia Yan seemed to realize something, and walked nervously to the girl's side, but for a moment he didn't know what had happened to Hua Xin. He stood in front of the girl, shielding Hua Xin from the strange gazes around them, and looked at the people who wanted to gossip and watch the couple's quarrel with a cold gaze. Seeing this, the passersby could only leave reluctantly. It was hard to imagine that Xia Yan, who had always given the impression of being sunny and warm, would show such a cold and aloof expression. "Scarf..." Hua Xin lowered her head and reached out to tug at Xia Yan's clothes, the plastic bag making a faint sound, making her voice sound very low and not very noticeable. But even without listening carefully, one could hear the sob in her voice. "Wait for me a moment." Xia Yan said simply and gently, then turned around and walked to the stall, his back to the girl, and bought the red scarf from the owner with an urgent and distressed expression. The ground was dirty. But Hua Xin was more important. He didn't hesitate or make any pretense, like saying that his hands were full of food, the ground was dirty, and even several layers of plastic bags wouldn't be good for the New Year, or that it was bad luck. At this moment, Xia Yan's eyes were only on Hua Xin. After putting everything on the ground, Xia Yan gently brushed a strand of hair from the girl's cheek with one hand, then wrapped the red scarf around Hua Xin's neck with his other hand until the pretty scarf fell to the girl's chest. After picking up everything and the things in the girl's hands with one hand, even though it was troublesome to carry so many things with one hand, Xia Yan still held Hua Xin's hand. He wanted to reassure her. Hua Xin took the first step, silently pulling Xia Yan towards a small corner by the roadside. The distance wasn't long, and they soon reached a place where no one paid attention to them. The plastic bags made a soft rustling and slipping sound. Hua Xin, with her hands free, hugged Xia Yan tightly, buried her head in his chest, and began to cry in a suppressed voice.