Wen Ye: “By the way, Gu Sheng, could you help me write a note tomorrow?”
Gu Sheng: “What kind of note?”
Wen Ye: “That medicine I had you take before, I originally wanted to buy it at a pharmacy, but the doctor said I was just a kid and couldn’t buy medicine. I panicked and just snatched it. I feel like this medicine saved you, so we should return the money to the doctor. Just write: Thank you, divine doctor, here is the money for the medicine.”
Wen Ye scratched her cheek, looking a bit sheepish, and said: “Also, last time you asked me if I would still want to steal if given the chance, I’ve thought it over. I don’t want to be a thief.”
Hearing this, Gu Sheng’s eyes grew moist. She hugged Wen Ye tightly: “Yeah! You are not a thief.”
At that moment, the sound of firecrackers drifted in from outside the window. Wen Ye wondered if the New Year was about to arrive.
She quickly said to Gu Sheng: “Give me your hand and close your eyes.”
Although confused, Gu Sheng complied: “What is it?”
Wen Ye pulled out something she had prepared and placed it in Gu Sheng’s palm: “Gu Sheng, happy New Year.”
Gu Sheng opened her eyes, brought her hand up to her face, and by the flashing light of the fireworks outside the window, she saw a safety amulet resting in her palm.
Gu Sheng started crying.
Wen Ye couldn’t bear seeing Gu Sheng shed tears. She hurriedly raised her hand to wipe them away and asked anxiously: “Gu Sheng, do you not like it? If you don’t like it, you don’t have to keep it. Please don’t cry.”
As Wen Ye spoke, she reached out to take back the item in Gu Sheng’s palm, but Gu Sheng quickly clutched it tight and pressed it against her heart.
Gu Sheng: “I want it.”
Wen Ye was puzzled: “Then why are you crying?”
Gu Sheng used the back of her hand to wipe away her tears: “Because I thought there wouldn’t be any New Year gifts this year. In the past, my mom and dad would always prepare gifts for me during the New Year.”
Wen Ye: “It’s fine. From now on, I will prepare gifts for you.”
Gu Sheng fumbled around inside her clothes and said to Wen Ye: “Give me your hand too.”
Wen Ye’s eyes lit up instantly. Once they lit up, she voluntarily closed them and handed her hand over to Gu Sheng.
She felt something warm dangling and swaying back and forth against her wrist: “Gu Sheng, what is this?”
Gu Sheng: “Alright, open your eyes.”
Wen Ye saw that a bracelet had been added to her wrist. Suspended from the silver chain was a little rabbit, though one of the rabbit’s ears was broken off.
Gu Sheng apologized: “I might have bumped this rabbit’s ear against something.”
Wen Ye didn’t mind at all, gently petting the bracelet like a precious treasure: “Thank you, Gu Sheng. This is the first time I have ever received a gift.”
After treating it like a treasure for a moment, Wen Ye still took it off.
Gu Sheng: “What is wrong? Do you not like it?”
Wen Ye shook her head: “I like it, but I’m afraid someone else will see it and take it away from me. I’m going to hide it first.”
Gu Sheng nodded and tucked her safety amulet away safely as well.
Gu Sheng fell asleep very quickly. Wen Ye couldn’t sleep, so she took the bracelet back out and held it carefully in her hands to look at it. She had never seen anything so exquisite before.
The bracelet must be very expensive. That safety amulet of hers was bought at a small stall for two yuan earlier today while Iron Brother was the only one watching her.
It was a small square of red fabric, with peace embroidered in gold thread on both sides.
She used to not believe in these things, but when she gave it to Gu Sheng, she genuinely hoped it would keep her safe.
Wen Ye put the bracelet away properly and looked at Gu Sheng’s profile in the moonlight. Gu Sheng was truly pretty and came from a wealthy family; if she hadn’t been abducted, she would definitely be living the life of a princess.
Thinking about it made her nose sting with soreness. She felt heartbroken for Gu Sheng.
Amidst these bittersweet feelings, Wen Ye crossed over from 2006 into 2007.
The days of 2007 passed without a single ripple, so there is no need to dwell on them.
Time moved on to 2008.
This year left a deep impression on everyone, and on Wen Ye as well.
However, Wen Ye’s memorable point wasn’t the Olympic Games, but rather that she and Gu Sheng welcomed a massive upheaval during this year.
At first, this year didn’t feel all that different to Wen Ye. It was still the same routine every day of working, eating, working, and sleeping.
However, she noticed that Gu Sheng had changed a lot. Gu Sheng had grown taller and was now almost about to surpass her.
The first thing Wen Ye did every morning was to compare heights with Gu Sheng, and every time they finished comparing, she would pout for ages.
Finding her cute, Gu Sheng pinched her puffed-up cheeks: “I told you that you’re younger than me, so call me older sister.”
Wen Ye slapped Gu Sheng’s hand away and huffed in a temper: “Gu Sheng, Gu Sheng, Gu Sheng.”
Of course, Gu Sheng had noticed her own changes too.
Not only had she grown taller, but certain parts of her body were also becoming fuller. However, she wasn’t happy about it. In an environment like this, these changes were far from a good thing.
It was a day in April with mild and pleasant sunshine.
Wen Ye and Gu Sheng were sitting on a small set of stone steps in a park, looking for targets.
Gu Sheng: “Wen Ye, my stomach hurts.”
Wen Ye: “Huh? Did you eat something bad? Then you should go to the restroom. I’ll tell Iron Brother.”
Gu Sheng shook her head: “I don’t need to go to the restroom.”
Wen Ye: “Then what is wrong?”
Gu Sheng wasn’t quite sure either. She only felt a heavy, pulling pain in her lower abdomen, a sensation she had never felt before.
Seeing her clutching her stomach and saying nothing, Wen Ye went to find Iron Brother to see if she could get some water for Gu Sheng to drink.
Ever since Wen Ye began offering him tokens of respect every few days, Iron Brother had become quite generous. Not only did he give water, but he also gave a bottle of icy cold mineral water.
Wen Ye came back with the water, opened it, and handed it to Gu Sheng. The moment Gu Sheng touched the icy bottle body, she pulled her hand back. For some reason, she instinctively did not want to drink anything cold.
Wen Ye: “What is wrong, Gu Sheng? Do you not want to drink it?”
Gu Sheng: “It is too cold.”
Wen Ye blamed herself for being careless. If it was a stomachache, she definitely shouldn’t drink ice water. She put the cap back on and placed the bottle under the sun to warm up.
After a while, Iron Brother announced it was time to change locations. There weren’t many targets here, so they wouldn’t waste time.
Wen Ye helped Gu Sheng up. Bending down to pick up the water, she noticed a small red patch on the spot where Gu Sheng had just been sitting, which looked like blood.
Anxiously, Wen Ye pulled Gu Sheng over to check on her: “Where are you injured?”
Gu Sheng was startled for a moment before it dawned on her. Her mother had told her that girls generally start having their menstrual periods around the age of ten to fourteen, where blood would flow from below and the stomach would feel uncomfortable, but not to feel embarrassed because it was a physiological period every girl experiences. When it starts, tell your mother, and she will tell you what to do.
Since Gu Sheng had no way of telling her mother right now, she could only turn to comfort Wen Ye first: “It is fine, I am not injured. It is just my period.”
Wen Ye understood even less, but how could bleeding not mean being injured? It looked like quite a lot of blood, too.
Gu Sheng pulled her along, following Iron Brother to change locations first, otherwise, they would get scolded.
Along the way, Wen Ye kept her brows tightly furrowed, glancing at Gu Sheng every so often.
All the way into the evening, Wen Ye was still mulling over that question: What on earth was a period? Was it some kind of illness? Was there medicine to cure it? Should she go find a pharmacy and ask?
Wen Ye had kept that bottle of water tucked inside her pocket all day, and it was now warm and cozy.
She opened it and handed it to Gu Sheng: “It is lukewarm now. Drink some.”
Gu Sheng took it and took a couple of sips.
Wen Ye: “Does your stomach still hurt? Are you still bleeding?”
Gu Sheng: “It does not hurt much anymore. There is still a little bit of bleeding.”
Although her mother said there was no need to be embarrassed, the place where she was bleeding was too private, and she was afraid that the overly enthusiastic Wen Ye might insist on taking a look at where the bleeding was coming from shortly.
Sure enough, Wen Ye immediately said: “Where on earth is it bleeding? Let me take a look so I can bandage it up.”
Gu Sheng’s face flushed bright red instantly: “No, it is not an injury, it does not need a bandage. I need to use a sanitary pad.”
What was a sanitary pad? To pad? Where? Wen Ye felt so frustrated that she understood so little.
Seeing that Wen Ye had stopped talking, Gu Sheng pondered for a moment, leaned close to her ear, and explained in a muffled whisper.
Soon, Wen Ye’s face turned red as well. Her eyes darted toward Gu Sheng’s lower body before quickly looking away.
The next day.
Wen Ye woke up bright and early and secretly gave Iron Brother a signal.
The two of them walked over to the stairwell. Iron Brother looked up and down to make sure no one was around, then asked Xiao Wu: “Speak up, what kind of trick are you pulling?”
Wen Ye: “Iron Brother, do you know where they sell sanitary pads?”
Iron Brother choked on his own saliva: “Cough, cough, what do you need that stuff for?”
He sized Xiao Wu up. She was still just a little kid, surely not yet, right?
Not mentioning Gu Sheng because she was afraid of bringing trouble to her, Wen Ye lied: “I am going to use them.”
With a complicated look on his face, Iron Brother still told her: “Any random supermarket has them. Huang Mao is watching with me today, so pay attention and don’t let him see.”
Wen Ye nodded in agreement.
They pickpocketed for half the morning. At noon, Huang Mao went off to eat, leaving Iron Brother to watch them eat.
Wen Ye just went through the motions of eating a few bites, then told Gu Sheng: “I have something to take care of. You keep eating here.”
Refusing to stay behind, Gu Sheng grabbed Wen Ye: “Where are you going? I am going too.”
Wen Ye looked at Iron Brother. Iron Brother shook his head. With Huang Mao away, if both of them left his sight, he wouldn’t be able to bear the responsibility if something went wrong. Besides, with little Xiao Shi here with him, Wen Ye had no way of running off for good anyway.
Wen Ye had no choice but to lean close to Gu Sheng’s ear: “I am going to buy sanitary pads. You wait here. Once Huang Mao comes back later, I won’t be able to go.”
Gu Sheng’s ears turned red. Although shy, she still looked at Wen Ye and nodded: “Then hurry back.”
Wen Ye smiled at her, gave Iron Brother a sign, and ran off toward the small supermarket across the street.
Entering the small shop with money tucked inside her pocket, Wen Ye asked with full confidence: “Where are the sanitary pads?”
The uncle behind the counter kept his eyes glued to the television: “Go all the way to the back, last aisle.”
Wen Ye walked to the last aisle.
Which one is it?
Looking at the packaging in various colors, Wen Ye picked up a pack at random and squeezed it. It felt soft inside, and the packaging had a picture of a white thing with a pair of little wings on it.
Is this right? It should be, it feels pretty much like the real deal.
Wen Ye looked at the price tag at the bottom, 10 yuan, then looked at the one beside it for 8 yuan, and looking further, there was one for 15 yuan.
Wen Ye put the one in her hand back and began checking them one by one. She wanted to buy the most expensive one for Gu Sheng; the expensive ones must definitely be better.
Gu Sheng had already finished her steamed bun, but Wen Ye still hadn’t returned. She started to grow anxious. Nothing bad should happen, right?
Not only was Gu Sheng anxious, but Iron Brother was anxious too. Why did buying something take so long? When Huang Mao came back in a bit, he wouldn’t have a good explanation.
Sure enough, in the distance, Huang Mao came out of the diner and was walking right this way. Iron Brother looked around, and no one else was in sight.
Iron Brother: “I am going to call Xiao Wu back. You stay right here. If you dare run off, I will break Xiao Wu’s legs.”
Gu Sheng nodded: “I am not running.”
Where else could she even run to? Huang Mao was already walking this way, she couldn’t run far, and besides, Wen Ye was still in their hands.
Just as Iron Brother walked up to the supermarket entrance, he heard Huang Mao shouting loudly from afar: “Damn it! Someone is snatching people!”
He quickly turned his head. A van was parked right by the roadside where he had just been standing, and two masked, burly men were dragging Gu Sheng into the vehicle.
Damn it! Things went south! He turned around and sprinted back at full speed.
Before he could even reach them, the van’s door slammed shut, and with a stomp on the gas pedal, it shot forward like a catapult. Not daring not to chase, Iron Brother hurriedly jumped into the minivan, started the engine, and bolted out in pursuit.
Hearing the commotion outside, Wen Ye thought: What happened? Did Huang Mao come back? Holding two packs of the 20-yuan ones, she tossed a 50-yuan bill onto the cashier counter and ran straight outside.