Сhарtеr 25
In his namelеss mеmоriеs, hе had oncе hеard the ‘vоice’ оf thе wоrld.
Until оnе dаy, thе оld bеggаr who raisеd him was beaten tо dеath. Не bit оff thе еar оf thе lеader, аnd оf cоurse, he himself wаs beаten half to dеath.
Frоm then оn, hе could nо longer heаr thе vоiсe.
At first, hе wаs раnicked, but thе daуs filled with slaughtеr in the undergrоund Beаst Arena gаvе him nо time tо еscapе. Hе wаs forcеd to quicklу adарt tо fighting ‘without hеaring’ the vоice.
Оnlу in thе dead of night, curled up in the livestосk pen, would he rесall the toоthlеss old beggar holding him, counting the money saved from selling scraps, telling him over and over: “This is money for you to marry a wife. You can’t touch it. Our boy is handsome, you’ll marry a beautiful wife in the future.”
He was still young then, putting on a serious little face to ask the old beggar: “What’s a wife? Is it tasty?”
The old beggar said: “A wife is someone who will take care of you, help you bathe, cook delicious meals for you, stay with you for a lifetime, and treat you well.”
The boy, whose face seemed out of place in the garbage dump, looked up at the person as dry as old tree bark: “Grandpa is my wife.”
The old beggar was amused into hearty laughter: “That won’t do, hahaha! Grandpa is a man, a wife is a woman.”
Perhaps because he recalled it too many times, even as the scene faded, he still clearly remembered every word the old beggar had said.
“Fine, fine, if you insist on an old wife, then an old wife it is. You can even honestly call me grandma.”
Xu Nuo was speechless. Although she knew the boy’s eyes were so swollen he might not have clearly seen her appearance earlier, he couldn’t be so blind as to call her an old wife.
“So you can speak.”
She suddenly realized, though it sounded strange, being able to communicate was still good.
“Come here, let me see your hand.”
Xu Nuo beckoned to him, but there was still no reaction. By now, she had considered that perhaps the child had some intellectual issues. She simply stepped forward and took the initiative to grasp the bloodied hand.
When she first touched him, he struggled violently, as if by reflex, but prolonged hunger combined with excessive blood loss meant he was no match for Xu Nuo, an adult woman’s strength.
No matter how much he struggled, she still managed to hold him firmly.
The hand holding his was very soft, white like a cloud—this kind of touch was unfamiliar to him.
But the boy said nothing, only straining to glare at her with swollen, red eyes, vigilant like a wolf cub with its fur bristling, his whole body tense.
Xu Nuo didn’t hold onto him for long either. After rummaging through boxes and cabinets to find the first aid kit, she simply treated his wound. She wasn’t a professional, her movements were clumsy but gentle.
“You really didn’t treat your hand as your own flesh when you cut it… Hiss, now I feel like eating pork chops…”
Imagining the smell of blood as handling pork chops, Xu Nuo instantly felt much better.
After she finished treating the wound, the boy suddenly withdrew his hand, standing in the corner, motionless as he watched her.
To be honest, that gaze was quite frightening. An ordinary person would probably have their hairs standing on end, but Xu Nuo was somewhat used to it.
She simply ignored him again, found a rag on her own, and wiped up the pool of blood on the floor, tidying up the messy house in the process.
“I’m exhausted… Why is this more tiring than being Gu Nongxuan’s nanny?”
Rubbing her aching back, Xu Nuo finally remembered there was still an employer in the room.She hardly needed to search; a quick glance around revealed the boy crouched in the corner, bound from head to toe like a zongzi.
The clothes he had been wearing earlier were now soaking in a basin. What he had on now was… the set Xu Nuo had found in the closet and placed by his bedside.
At least he knew how to dress himself—not too foolish after all.
“What’s your name?”
Xu Nuo, tired from her work, went to the hallway and took out some oranges she had received as a gift for rescuing someone. She casually picked two, one for herself and the other placed in front of her employer.
She then sat cross-legged opposite him, eating her orange and striking up a conversation.
The employer glanced at the orange placed before him, then shifted his gaze away, continuing to stare intently at the person in front of him.
Seeing he wasn’t eating, Xu Nuo reached over and tapped beside the orange. “Eat it.”
He still showed no reaction.
Xu Nuo hesitated for a moment before suddenly realizing something. She took out her phone, played a song at maximum volume, and held it close to her employer’s ear.
Upon seeing the sudden appearance of the phone, his eyes followed it briefly. Deeming it harmless, he turned his head back, clearly more interested in the face that had suddenly drawn near than the glowing object.
Even though he couldn’t see the face behind it, he stared earnestly at the pig mask, though his gaze was fierce, as if ready to fight at any moment.
Listening to the ear-splitting music, Xu Nuo watched her unmoved employer and retrieved her phone.
“He can’t hear…”
No wonder he hadn’t responded to her words. Besides, she was wearing a mask, so he couldn’t even see her lips moving. That explained his wariness toward her actions.
Somehow, she suddenly thought of Feng Huan Chao.
As Feng Huan Chao’s fiancée, even if she didn’t want to know, she had been forced to learn about him. She had heard that Feng Huan Chao grew up abroad, received an elite education, and only returned to the country as an adult. The boy in front of her, with a face swollen like hers and covered in signs of abuse, couldn’t possibly be Feng Huan Chao.
During her time as a volunteer, she had learned a bit of sign language from a senior.
After a moment’s thought, she made a “hello” gesture to her employer.
Palm facing up, index finger pointing at him (you), then retracting it and giving a thumbs-up (good).
Still, he showed no reaction.
Given his pitiful state, it was unlikely he could read.
But Xu Nuo decided to try anyway. After searching for a while, she finally found paper and a pen in the house. It was clear this was a temporary residence—when she had looked for clothes earlier, the closet was filled with new items, tags still attached.
By the time she returned, the orange on the floor was gone. He had stuffed the whole thing into his mouth, staring fixedly and fiercely at Xu Nuo, especially after she turned her gaze toward him, speeding up his eating even more.
Who knew what he had been through… so protective of his food, yet pitiable in a way.
Pretending not to notice, Xu Nuo crouched down and began writing on the paper.
“Hello, I’m here to take care of you.”
She placed the paper in front of him and tapped it with her finger.
To her surprise, he reacted. Instead of staring intently at Xu Nuo, he looked at the paper for a long time.
Xu Nuo was somewhat surprised and quickly picked up the pen to add another line: What’s your name?
But he only glanced at it before looking away.
She suspected this kid might actually know how to read.
Oh well. Her task here was to be a caretaker, not a teacher.Thinking this, Xu Nuo reached out to pull back that piece of paper.
Who would have thought that as she stretched her hand, the person in front suddenly lunged, grabbing her arm. Xu Nuo’s head hit the floor with a thud, caught completely off guard.
Suddenly, light flooded her vision, and her breathing eased. After hearing something collide with the floor, Xu Nuo finally realized—
The mask on her face had been violently torn off by the boy on top of her.