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As it turned out, there were no children around.
Li Hetai had already gone far away.
Holding something in my hand, I'm in a dilemma...
Actually, he wanted to eat it himself. He ate one and a half last time. Maybe it was because he was hungry at the time, so everything tasted delicious. When he took the first bite of hawthorn, he thought it was a delicacy. Even now, he can still remember the sweet and sour crispness tantalizing his taste buds.
Gu Xinglan tried to tear the packaging with her teeth, but after a long time, she couldn't get it off.
Instead, saliva stuck to it.
But the child not far away was almost out of his sight.
Helpless, I could only hurry up and catch up with the child.
*
Again, one after the other, the sidewalk was free of fallen leaves, only a young couple walking in the opposite direction.
Until the corner intersection.
The figure in front stopped.
The neon lights blurred Li Hetai's face, revealing only that he had his hands in his pockets.
"What's wrong?" Gu Xinglan stepped forward.
There seemed to be a traffic accident ahead; two brightly colored convertibles were smashed to pieces.
"Let's take another route." He turned his head to look across the street, then turned back.
A hand appeared in front of him.
The light couldn't illuminate Li Hetai's intentions.
Gu Xinglan lifted the shopping bag in her right hand: "Just obediently find your way back, you don't need this shopping bag."
Little did he know that Li Hetai would glance at him.
He then realized that the person was staring at the candied hawthorn in his left hand.
I guess they're hungry.
The two walked several kilometers back and forth. He had a small appetite, but the child was growing and had a large appetite, so he got hungry easily.
"Eat up first, have something to eat, I'll steam two more eggs for you when we get back." Gu Xinglan glanced longingly at the golden sugar coating before handing the food over.
He was about to say that the packaging should be opened from the bottom, but Li Hetai started opening it from the top, tearing at the transparent packaging bag with two fingertips.
He hesitated to speak about what was stuck to it, so he kept his mouth shut.
The next second, the packaged item was handed over, right up to his chin.
"I'll help you with this, but there are conditions." Li Hetai put one hand in his pocket and raised his right hand in mid-air. His words were plain and simple, but to his ears, they were things he had never heard before!
Gu Xinglan glanced at the person strangely, then slowly turned her gaze to the candied hawthorn.
He was about to lower his head and stay there.
But his mouth didn't touch anything; the thing seemed to have been moved away...
Thinking it was just her imagination, Gu Xinglan paused for a moment, then bent down and leaned closer. The next second, the skewer was moved away again.
Are you making a fool of him?
"I'm not eating anymore, you're doing this on purpose, you little rascal."
He raised his eyelids with a resentful look, only to be met with those extremely deep eyes.
"Hold it in your hand."
In an instant, my face flushed.
...he thought the child wanted to feed him.
How could he have had such an idea? He made a huge fool of himself.
Feeling utterly ashamed, Gu Xinglan quickly avoided eye contact and awkwardly took the skewer.
These candied hawthorns taste terribly sour. They're nothing like the delicious ones I had in Fusong.
*
The two of them took a detour.
The further east you go, the darker it gets.
If you listen closely, you can hear strange rustling sounds. The autumn leaves are piling up, and some of them make a dull thud when you step on them, which is obviously from rotting leaves.
"Li Hetai, slow down."
Gu Xinglan followed behind carrying the things and called out to the front.
Even after the community sign appeared, the child showed no sign of slowing down.
It's still early.
The moment he stepped inside, the noise around him suddenly stopped.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see an elderly man with faltering steps running away with a cane.
They avoid him like the King of Hell.
"Oh my gosh—I've finally found you."
He's the assistant director.
Ms. Wang was covered in sweat: "Why didn't you finish texting the photographer before you left?"
"It's nothing, I'm just going out to buy some daily necessities." Gu Xinglan lifted the things in her hand.
"Remember to send it next time."
Seeing that Sister Wang looked pale, he asked, "What's wrong?"
"Never mind that, someone got hit by an ashtray and ended up in the hospital. The filming schedule for the show is now significantly delayed. Time is tight, so I came to check on the situation."
"..." No wonder Li Taihe told him to just go through the motions; it turns out he'd let others handle all the drama.
Gu Xinglan wiped away a bead of cold sweat.
"The photographer won't be here until tomorrow. Have you done your solo interview for today?"
He nodded.
After everything was explained, he saw the assistant director hurriedly answer a phone call and run out, which gave him time to get going.
The person walking ahead had long since disappeared from sight.
The main problem was that when Li Hetai went in, he didn't hear the dogs barking.
Gu Xinglan stared intently at the dog lying on the ground in the distance.
The streetlights in the neighborhood short-circuited due to the last typhoon and no one has repaired them, making the surroundings dark and only visible by moonlight.
He also bought a bag of ham sausages.
I was just thinking of rewarding Big Black when I found my feet were sticky.
Gu Xinglan raised her foot in a daze, a faint, strange smell wafting from her nose.
"Big black?"
He called out, and the dog, which should have come running over eagerly, didn't even budge. He then took out his phone and shone it on the dog.
Under the light, its black fur was disheveled, covered in dust and filth, and its limbs were stretched out in an extremely unnatural posture, its body and legs separate, its claws unable to bend.
It was a dog foaming at the mouth.
The strange smell in my nose was also clearly audible; it was the stench of rotting blood.
My stomach churned instantly.
The sour taste of hawthorn kept assaulting her throat, and Gu Xinglan wanted to cover her mouth with a "whoosh".
Spasms, my stomach was spasming incessantly, and I vomited uncontrollably all over the floor.
The filth was immediately devoured by a pack of wild dogs.
It made him want to vomit again.
Li Hetai...killed Dahei?
Big Black is a clever dog in this area. It helps watch people, cars, and gates, and has almost become the guardian of the community. Everyone in this area knows it.
It survived on the kindness of many families and became a stray dog that wasn't considered wild.
Even the original owner's phone contained photos of Dahei fawning over and begging for food.
"You poisoned the dog."
The sudden sound startled him.
Gu Xinglan quickly turned her head away.
It was a strange child standing behind him, his face flushed, and he flinched when he turned around.
"You...you killed the black dog." The child said firmly, taking a few steps back as if in fear.
After recognizing the child's face, I realized it was the same child who usually plays with animals.
He was about to explain, but before he could even open his mouth, the child suddenly took off running.
...The dead Big Black was eventually buried in the soil of the grove.
"This is the place you often marked. Rest in peace."
After burying the last shovelful of soil, it was already pitch black around us.
Gu Xinglan lowered her eyes, her mind a jumbled mess, staring blankly at the protruding mound of earth.
*
Back to the rental house.
The passageway was pitch black, while the person outside the door was the only distinguishable figure, dressed in pure white, with even the buttons on their clothes reflecting a golden light.
It is Li Hetai.
Is this place really so unbearable for Le Hoa Thai?
If it were him being forced by his father to go to a desolate and impoverished place, having to interact with other people, even go to school... and spend several months with people he disliked.
He'll probably get irritable too.
What conditions does Li Hetai want to propose to him?
There was no concrete evidence yet that the stray dog had died, but as soon as Li and Tai arrived at the neighborhood, they already had murderous intent toward the black dog. If they hadn't been keeping an eye on the man's situation, the black dog would probably have been killed long ago.
"I'm sorry to keep you waiting..." He realized with fear as soon as he said it. Gu Xinglan kept touching his pocket, but his hands were sweaty and the key slipped from his palm twice.