Half an hour later, the taxi stopped under the overpass where Xu Gui usually set up her fortune-telling stall.
It was already past ten o'clock at night, and there were hardly any people under the overpass. Only the occasional passerby could be seen. The atmosphere was desolate and quiet, extremely deserted, a stark contrast to the bustling scene during the day when there were many stalls.
After getting out of the taxi, Xu Gui walked over, step by step, until she reached a small, thin figure sitting on the ground, hugging her knees. She slowly squatted down.
The small girl hugged her knees, her face buried in her arms. As if sensing someone in front of her, she raised her head, revealing a pair of red and swollen eyes.
"...Sister, did you already know that Da Huang wasn't lost, but that my parents killed it and made it into dog meat hot pot?" the girl said, and as she spoke, tears streamed down her face like a broken string of pearls.
She said, "I even ate that dog meat hotpot."
Xu Gui pursed her lips and asked, "How did you know?"
The girl said haltingly, "I ran into my younger brother on my way home this afternoon."
She was in a bad mood because of the dog incident. Her brother asked her to play with his ball, but she refused, leading to a conflict. Then, her brother angrily yelled at her, "...You've been looking for your dog all day! Your dog died a long time ago! Didn't you enjoy the dog meat hotpot last month?"
Only then did the girl realize that her beloved dog, Dahuang, was dead.
At this point, the little girl was sobbing uncontrollably, gagging and feeling extremely uncomfortable, her face flushed red.
Xu Gui patted her back, and the girl's small body nestled in her arms. She looked up, revealing a wet face, tears and sweat mingling on her skin.
She said, "Sister, I feel like throwing up." But she had already vomited many times, and now nothing came out.
Xu Gui didn't offer any words of comfort. Instead, she reached out and scooped her up, taking her back to the hotel.
Once back at the hotel, she filled the bathtub with water and let the girl take a good soak.
Standing outside the bathroom door, Xu Gui said, "When I used to be in a bad mood, I liked to soak in the water. After a while, I felt much better."
She loved the feeling of being enveloped by water, especially the ocean back then, which was much bigger than a bathtub.
The girl sat in the bathtub, hugging her legs, and couldn't help but ask, "Sister, do you ever feel down?"
Xu Gui smiled slightly and said, "Of course, everyone has times when they feel down. So when we're feeling down, we need to learn to regulate our emotions, because feeling bad only hurts ourselves. We need to learn to cherish ourselves."
The girl: "...I don't understand."
Xu Gui smiled again and said, "You take a bath first, I'll go find someone to make something to eat. You probably haven't had dinner yet, have you?"
While the child was soaking in the bath, Xu Gui ran downstairs to find the kitchen lady for help. Knowing that she had brought back a girl, the kitchen lady couldn't help but glance at her and ask a question: "Did you tell the child's family?"
Under the kitchen lady's stern gaze, Xu Gui seemed to shrink considerably.
"That child seems to have run away from home," she whispered. "I met her on the street, and I haven't had a chance to notify her parents yet… and I feel that she might not really want to go back."
The old woman sighed and said, "I know you mean well, but we can't do this. What if the child's parents come looking for her and accuse you of child abduction?"
Xu Gui asked, "Then what do we do now? The child is in my room right now; I can't just kick her out, can I?"
The old woman frowned and said, "We have to call the police and have them notify her parents."
She glanced at Xu Gui and said, "Forget it, leave this to me. You take the food to the child first, don't keep her waiting upstairs. By the way, does the child have any clean clothes?" Xu
Gui shook his head.
The old woman sighed again and said, "Then I'll think of something. How old is she? What size clothes does she wear?"
Xu Gui: "Thirteen... I don't know what size clothes she wears, but she's this tall and very thin."
The old woman: "I understand, you can go upstairs now."
Xu Gui nodded, but while carrying the food tray, she first reached out and hugged the old woman, saying, "Thank you, Auntie, you're so kind!" Then, she grabbed the food tray next to her and ran off.
The old woman kept a straight face, but after a few seconds, she finally couldn't help but laugh.
"This girl..." she said with a smile.
Xu Gui carried the food back to the room and saw that the girl who had been taking a bath had already come out, wrapped in a large bathrobe, revealing her fluffy head.
Xu Gui put down the food and invited her to eat.
Because it was late, the old woman didn't take anything too complicated or greasy, but chose something light and easy to digest. Xu Gui had already eaten, so she idly slumped onto the sofa chair by the bed and started playing on her phone.
Anyway, she didn't pay much attention to the girl, going about her own business.
This attitude made the girl feel much more at ease, and her tense body gradually relaxed. She started eating slowly, even though she didn't have much of an appetite. However, these were all specially prepared for her by her sister, so she tried to eat as much as possible.
Xu Gui seemed to know what she was thinking and said without looking up, "If you really don't want to eat, just eat a few bites to fill your stomach."
The girl's eyes widened. She glanced cautiously at Xu Gui, seeing that she was playing on her phone and not looking at her, she pursed her lips and continued eating.
When she was halfway through her meal, the doorbell rang. The girl subconsciously turned to look at Xu Gui.
Xu Gui guessed that it was probably her aunt bringing clothes. She got up to open the door and said to the girl, "You continue eating."
When she opened the door, it was indeed her aunt outside. She had someone buy the girl several sets of clothes.
"I bought these according to the height you mentioned before. Since I didn't know her exact size, I bought several sets. Let her try them on, and whichever one fits her best," the older woman said as she entered. She looked up and saw the girl eating at the table.
The girl quickly stood up and politely greeted her, "Hello, Auntie."
Auntie?
The older woman twitched her lips and said, "At my age, I'm old enough to be your grandmother. Just call me Grandma Jian."
At that moment, a head popped up from the side. Xu Gui asked curiously, "Auntie, is your surname Jian?"
The older woman glanced at her and said irritably, "You've known me for so long, and you still don't know my surname?"
Xu Gui said, "You didn't tell me either." She had called her "Auntie" the first time they met, and the older woman hadn't objected, so she hadn't asked her actual surname.
"Surname Jian…that's a really nice surname!" Xu Gui exclaimed.
The older woman asked, "What's so nice about it?"
Xu Gui: "…It's just nice."
The older woman chuckled.
Xu Gui smiled, pretending she hadn't heard anything.
The girl went to the bathroom to change her clothes. The old woman said, "I've already called the police. They'll be here soon... It's best if the police take this child home. Her parents are probably very worried."
Xu Gui nodded in agreement, having no objection. The reason she brought the child along was because it wasn't good to leave a child alone outside. People outside weren't as kind as her; what if she encountered bad people?
When the girl came out after changing, Xu Gui looked at her and immediately showered her with compliments, praising her cuteness, beauty, and saying she was a walking clothes hanger. How could the little girl withstand such praise? Her face flushed red, and her eyes instantly filled with trust and affection.
If the paparazzi saw this scene, they would definitely be thinking: Is Teacher Xu some kind of succubus? She's completely captivated everyone, from the elderly to the young.
However, right now, there were only two people here, an old woman and a young girl, who had already been captivated by Xu Gui, so no one complained about her. Instead, they all looked at her with affection.
Xu Gui looked at the blushing little girl, squatted down, and said to her, "I've already called the police. A police officer might come to take you home soon..."
But before she could finish, the girl cried out excitedly, "I don't want to go home! I don't want to go back!"
She looked at Xu Gui with a nervous and pitiful expression, pleading, "Sister, I don't want to go back. Please don't take me back."
Xu Gui looked at the old woman.
The old woman said coldly, "Your sister can't take you in. You ran away from home; that's considered running away from home. If your sister takes you in, she'll be asking for trouble. Any smart person wouldn't do something so self-destructive."
Xu Gui, seemingly implied, thought: QAQ.
The old woman continued, "I don't know what conflict you had with your parents, but no matter how big the conflict, you shouldn't have run away from home. Your parents must be worried sick right now."
The girl, with tears in her eyes, said, "They're not worried at all! They don't like me at all, they don't care about me, and they even cooked my dog, Da Huang... Waaah!"
As she spoke, she seemed to think of her dead dog, and suddenly overwhelmed with grief, she burst into tears.
The old woman
was speechless. She looked at Xu Gui for help, but Xu Gui's gaze shifted, and she hesitated before turning her head away, pretending not to see her—she was also afraid of crying children, so, old woman, there was nothing she could do to help.
Just then, there was another knock on Xu Gui's door. Instantly, both the old woman and Xu Gui looked relieved and rushed to open the door.
Two police officers arrived, but upon seeing them, the girl's face showed extreme resistance. She didn't make a fuss, just cried, large tears streaming down her face, a quiet sight that evoked pity.
Xu Gui briefly explained the child's situation to the police, whispering, "Her parents cooked her favorite dog and made it into a dog meat hot pot for her. She only found out about it today..."
She didn't know the girl's name, only what she had calculated that afternoon and the information the child herself had revealed.
Those present, hearing Xu Gui's words, couldn't help but be moved—no wonder the girl wanted to run away from home; if it were them, they would have run away too.
The two police officers went forward to talk to the girl. Looking at them, she didn't make a fuss, but pleaded, "Police uncles, I don't want to go home, please don't send me home..."
The police felt a pang of sadness, but they couldn't really listen to the girl's pleas.
"What's your name?" the police asked.
The girl sobbed, "My name is Zhao Di..."
Zhao Di?
Hearing this name, the two police officers couldn't help but exchange a glance.
Nowadays, such a name is practically unheard of. Whether due to social pressure or other reasons, most parents wouldn't name their child that.
Xu Gui thought of the girl's words, "They don't like me at all," and her eyes dimmed slightly.
"Okay, Zhao Di, where are you from?" the police officers asked, their voices hoarse, asking softly, "Where do you live? Do you know your parents' names? Do you remember their phone number? Would you like to go home, officers?"
No matter what the police asked, Zhao Di's lips remained tightly shut, like a clam shell, refusing to say a word and completely uncooperative. It was clear she really didn't want to go home. Left with
no other option, the police officers had to communicate with Xu Gui and agree to let the child stay with her temporarily.
"If we have any news, we'll notify you immediately," the officer said.
Xu Gui nodded, "Okay."
The police left, and the old woman left after sitting for a while, leaving only Xu Gui and Zhao Di in the room. Zhao Di looked a little embarrassed. Suddenly, she sat on the bed, looking at Xu Gui expectantly, and asked,
"Sister, have I caused you any trouble?"
"No, I don't think you're a problem." Xu Gui helped her lie down, covered her with the blanket, and the two lay down to sleep.
Lying on the bed, Zhao Di looked up at the ceiling and whispered, "Sister, I'll tell you a secret, I'm not Mom and Dad's child. They found me, that's why they don't like me at all."
Xu Gui: "How do you know?" Her voice was very calm.
"I heard it from others," Zhao Di said in a mature tone. "They thought I didn't understand, but I know everything… My parents took me in only so that I could bring my mother a son, that's why I'm called Zhao Di."
Zhao Di continued, "Actually, they were very good to me at first, but after my brother was born, they became unkind."
Zhao Di was already old enough to remember when her brother was born, and her life was divided into two phases: before her brother's birth and after his birth. Before her brother was born, her parents were very good to her, but after he was born, they treated her with disdain. Even if she ate an extra bowl of rice, she would be criticized.
Xu Gui knew why. From what she understood, some people without sons would adopt other children because there was a saying in this world that if a childless person adopted a child, that child would bring them another child.
Xu Gui knew this because there was a child like that in their orphanage. He had been adopted by a couple, but after they had their own child, they sent him back.
Xu Gui thought: Humans are truly a kind of life that is both warm and incredibly cruel.
"Only Da Huang loves me the most at home," Zhao Di said softly.
For a dog, the little girl who took it in is the most important person. In its heart and eyes, there is only Zhao Di, and only it wholeheartedly loves that girl who was rejected by her parents and had nothing.
And Zhao Di, the only thing she had in that home that truly belonged to her was Da Huang, but now Da Huang is gone too.
Zhao Di cried again.
Xu Gui heard her soft sobs, but she didn't say anything, just let the little girl cry.
"Sister, what kind of people are my biological parents?" the girl asked, sobbing. "Why did they abandon me? Did they not like me? Is Zhao Di pregnant? Is that why everyone hates me?"
Xu Gui patted her head and said, "No, they didn't dislike you or hate you. It's just that the timing was wrong; they weren't able to raise you then."
"Is that so?" Zhao Di sniffed and said, "Okay, then I'll forgive them for abandoning me."
Xu Gui smiled and reached out to pat her head, thinking to herself: Human children are so fluffy, warm, and fun to play with. They're so cute, much more fun than those motionless little cubs of the Xuan Turtle clan.
Mainly, Zhao Di is very well-behaved. When Xu Gui patted her, she let him, even offering her her head so Xu Gui could pat her more easily and comfortably.
Gently rubbing Zhao Di's head, Xu Gui casually asked, "Do you want to find your biological parents?"
Zhao Di, still somewhat drowsy, jolted awake at the question.
She thought for a long time, finally managing to stammer, "I...I don't know..." This matter was far too complicated for a child like her, whose daily life consisted only of going to and from school; she had never considered it before.
"Sister, will you help me find my biological parents?" Zhao Di asked softly.
Xu Gui smiled and said gently, "I'm just asking." She would ask first.
Zhao Di turned over, rubbing her cheek against the pillow, and mumbled, "Okay."
Her voice was filled with sleepiness. After saying this, her breathing became even and quiet, and she fell completely asleep. In the darkness, Xu Gui gazed at the silhouette of Zhao Di's thin body.
At that moment, Zhao Di's fate unfolded before her eyes; she saw the humble and silent life this frail girl would lead.
Xu Gui closed her eyes.