“Hello! I’m Luo Chenxuan, I just transferred here!” Young Luo Chenxuan stepped forward and extended his hand to the unkempt child in front of him.
The child’s hair hung so low it covered the eyes. She only gave Luo Chenxuan a quick glance without responding.
“Don’t bother talking to her,” said a passing classmate indifferently. “She doesn’t talk to anyone.”
“We’ve never seen her speak. We think she might be mute.”
Luo Chenxuan stared at the child before him, the words of the other classmates only making him more curious about her.
He had always liked helping those in trouble. It often brought him a lot of trouble, but his mother always told him that kindness could be passed on, and that if everyone helped one another, the world would be a much happier place.
As a young boy, Luo Chenxuan believed that if he just worked hard enough, he could make everyone happy.
He had a deep obsession with this so-called happiness.
Because someone very important to him once said—he wanted happiness.
So, facing this messy child, Luo Chenxuan didn’t want to leave her be. He continued trying to talk to her.
“Um… what’s your name?”
That feeling… he’d been through this before. It reminded him of how he’d met Leng Yueli—so similar.
He shook his head, trying to push that memory out of his mind.
The child remained indifferent, sitting silently in her seat.
The bell rang, and Luo Chenxuan returned to his own seat. Still, he glanced over at her now and then.
Her clothes were filthy. Her fluffy hair hung so low it covered her face, making it impossible to make out her features, even her gender.
But since she wore the boys’ school uniform, Luo Chenxuan naturally assumed she was a boy.
So, every break, Luo Chenxuan would try to talk to her. But all he ever got in return was silence—or an eye roll.
Until school ended.
He left the classroom with his head down, clearly discouraged. Kicking at pebbles along the road, he headed home.
On the way back, he saw her again. She was hunched over a trash bin, seemingly rummaging for something.
He walked up to her and tilted his head. “Um… did you lose something?”
The moment she heard his voice, her body tensed—but only for a second. Then she went right back to digging through the garbage.
“Let me help you!” Luo Chenxuan patted his chest with enthusiasm, trying to show he wanted to help.
No response.
The air was stiff and awkward. He scratched his head, then stepped forward to help, only to see her pull out half a moldy, dirty piece of bread from the trash.
Without hesitation, she raised it to her mouth.
Startled, Luo Chenxuan grabbed her hand. “W-Wait! That’s filthy!”
But he didn’t expect her to be so strong. She flung her arm with force, and Luo Chenxuan was thrown back, falling hard on the ground.
“Ouch… that hurts…”
She seemed to realize she had gone too far. Instinctively, she extended a hand—but barely—and then quickly withdrew it.
Luo Chenxuan looked at her, then at the piece of dirty bread she clutched tightly.
Realizing something, he stood up and patted the dust off his clothes. “Wait here.”
His voice left no room for refusal. The source of this chapter is g.com.
He sprinted off to the convenience store and bought a fresh loaf of bread. Then, just as quickly, he rushed back out, afraid she’d be gone.
Among the brightly dressed crowd, she looked like a complete outsider. And the people around her didn’t show sympathy—only disgust.
Luo Chenxuan ran up, snatched the filthy bread from her hand, and shoved the fresh one into her arms.
“Don’t eat that stuff anymore. You’ll get sick.”
He didn’t give her a chance to object and dashed off with the dirty bread in hand.
She stared at the boy running away, then looked down at the perfectly wrapped bread in her hands. Without realizing it, a faint smile curled her lips.
Luo Chenxuan threw the dirty bread into the garbage bin by his door, afraid she might somehow dig it back up.
But then he paused. What difference could one loaf of bread make?
He was just a child. In his heart, he thought what he did was enough. But that was just a childish thought—a naive understanding of the world.
…
Cold.
Hunger.
Those were the only feelings that ever surrounded me.
It was as if my very birth was a mistake.
I had my corner, that so-called corner in the house.
What is a home? Just a box that blocks the cold.
But then why did I still feel so cold?
Ah… he’s drunk again. He beat my mother. I’m just sitting here, watching.
Her lip was bleeding. She staggered toward me. I knew. After she got beaten, it would be my turn.
Why do I still go to school? Maybe just because it gives me a good excuse to escape the house?
That person called a teacher seemed to know about my family situation, but he was powerless to do anything.
Yeah, they called my father a beast—a raging animal no one could stop.
Everyone feared that madman. No one wanted to get involved.
Back then, in Xiayu City’s Rainfall Town, there was no such thing as order.
It was lawless. Those with strength ruled.
Even the school was under the “protection” of some gang that charged so-called protection fees.
But in reality, there was only one gang—the strongest one in Xiayu City—that truly protected the hospital and school for free.
Then one day, a new student showed up. In a place this disgusting, how could someone new transfer in?
He looked clean and proper. I envied him.
He tried talking to me. But we weren’t from the same world. I lived in hell.
He bought me bread. He stopped me from eating trash.
It was fresh. Sealed. Untouched.
I’ve seen so many people. No one ever wanted to help me. No one ever looked at me with kindness.
So why did he?
I didn’t want to open it. I took it home, still in the wrapper.
Ah… that familiar scene played out again.
She came at me. But this time, it was different. I clutched the bread tightly. Even when she kicked me, I refused to let go.
Why did I protect it? Because it wasn’t just bread. It was a spark. A sliver of hope.
It was late at night. My body hurt. I held that piece of bread—it was just ordinary convenience store bread, yet it felt so warm.
Why did he help me? Did he help every kid like me?
If so, then… he really is a kind person. Always helping those in trouble. So gentle.
No…
That’s not it.
He’s my hope.
I hate seeing him help others.
I hate seeing others approach him.
I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth.
In my little corner, I curled up and wrote his name.
“Luo Chenxuan.”
That corner no longer belonged to just me. He was here too.
I touched the name… and quietly fell asleep.
…
The next morning.
Luo Chenxuan was walking along the road, thinking about how to divide the lunch money his mom had given him today. He still wanted to help that kid.
As he walked, a familiar figure entered his sight.
It was her. She was still filthy, but somehow… her aura felt a bit different. Maybe he was imagining it.
Luo Chenxuan stepped forward and gently tapped her shoulder. She froze for a few seconds, then turned around and saw him.
“Um… good morning!”
Luo Chenxuan smiled and greeted her, not expecting any kind of reply.
But to his surprise, the corners of her lips lifted ever so slightly. The wind swept away the hair covering her face, revealing a delicate face and a pair of light-red eyes.
“Please… don’t call me ‘that kid’… I have a name… my name is…”