Upon stepping into the confinement room, Sun Changkong suddenly regretted it.
She paused in her steps, her gaze slipping beneath the brim of her cap, quietly staring at the backs of Ji Minghuan and Kong Youling.
As if she had seen something incredibly dazzling, she leaned her head back, gaping, her small canine teeth glinting coldly in the light.
For a long time, she realized that neither of them had noticed her.
Only then did Sun Changkong slowly close her mouth, the surprise in her eyes gradually fading away.
She felt neither disappointed nor unhappy, just silently pouting as she watched Kong Youling and Ji Minghuan’s close-knit backs.
Only after a long while did Sun Changkong belatedly come to a realization, a faint stir in her heart; she suddenly realized something very important.
To her, Ji Minghuan was the first and only friend she had made;
But to Ji Minghuan... she was merely one among many friends, and they had known each other for only a few days—no, no, they hadn’t even spent half an hour together.
Of course... that was okay, she could become good friends with them later.
But even if she went over now, what could she talk to them about?
Online games? Movies? Or cartoons?
Sun Changkong knew nothing about any of these things, right... she knew nothing and had nothing.
That’s why other kids called her a "wild child."
She had always been a wanderer, roaming the mountains and the village. She didn’t even know how to use a mobile phone, let alone a computer; even televisions seemed distant from her.
The only time she’d seen a television was when she was tired from playing in the mountains. She had sneaked into someone else’s yard, peeking curiously through a crack in the door, seeing kids gathered around a television, chatting and laughing about the show.
The sunset was red then, slanting sunlight falling on Sun Changkong’s face.
She watched their backs expressionlessly, unsure if what she felt was melancholy or unwillingness, just that...
All of a sudden, she envied them so much.
She envied them having TVs to watch and families to look after them, while all she could do was run around the mountains, seemingly so free, as if the whole mountain was hers. But if there was no one to share it with, no matter how much she possessed, it was only self-deception.
Sun Changkong still remembered the cartoon those kids were watching; it was about a robot cat and a little yellow boy, and later she learned from her mentor that the cartoon was called "Doraemon."
She also learned the cartoon’s theme song from her mentor and hummed it every day, closing her eyes, imagining if she had clean clothes to wear back then, if she had parents to protect her, she could have walked in boldly...
Would they have welcomed her then? Just the thought made Sun Changkong feel very happy.
But now... staring at Ji Minghuan and Kong Youling gathered around the TV, talking and laughing, Sun Changkong suddenly felt like she was back in that moment.
She seemed to have turned back into that dirty wild child, her heart chilling bit by bit.
Yes, a wild child is only fit to sneak a peek at others’ lives from outside the door and then run away without looking back.
But actually, no one knew she didn’t want to be a wild child.
If she had a choice, who would want to be a wild child?
If she could, Sun Changkong would also like to have a home.
She wanted to sit with siblings in front of the TV instead of hiding outside, watching their backs, and then being chased away with a broom, curling up in an alley corner, drawing circles on the ground with her fingers, murmuring softly:
"Hmph, they’re not free at all, always being looked after by their parents... I can play alone in the mountains until very late, and nobody scolds me or drags me home for a scolding. I’m... much better than them!"
But even with such freedom, with so much, she still couldn’t make friends. Adults told their children not to play with her, saying she was dirty and naughty, possibly carrying some disease.
Later on, after much difficulty, someone kind-hearted adopted her, she finally had a place of her own, finally no longer called a "wild child," but those people all ended up dead because of her.
Later still, she opened her eyes to find herself in this cold, icy place.
Every day, strange people who seemed like robots would come and ask her questions, performing all sorts of examinations.
But Sun Changkong knew she had nothing left, so she didn’t make a fuss or grieve; she just stayed quietly like a corpse, numbly waiting every day, eating and sleeping, waiting for death.
The monotonous life... seemed to stretch on endlessly.
But half a month ago, when her mentor told her, "Soon you’ll make friends,"
Sun Changkong was stunned for a while, then her eyes brightened, suddenly feeling as if life had hope.
Every day she looked forward to when she could meet this friend, sometimes too excited to sleep, always thinking about how to present herself in front of that person.
Making friends... she had never made any. But she also worried if she’d be disliked. Would that person dislike her? Would they throw stones at her and call her a wild child like the village kids did?
Before meeting this new friend, she even asked her mentor for a baseball cap, hoping to appear fashionable, less like a bumpkin in front of the new friend.