"When you get home later, give him a call," Gu Qili comforted the child while hailing a taxi.
"Okay, but I don’t know his number, I only know he lives in what mountain district."
"What mountain? That’s going to be difficult, there are too many districts with ’mountain’ in their names in Aus City," Gu Qili patted her small head. "Don’t worry, he might have something come up, you see even the teacher isn’t worried."
Tongtong thought about it and felt that Gu Qili made a lot of sense. She then brushed aside her worries and climbed onto her lap with a smile, "Auntie Qili, can I stay over at your place tonight?"
"We need your parents’ permission for that."
"They are too busy showing off their love, they don’t have time for me," Tongtong pouted. "I’m just their third wheel."
Show off their love? Third wheel?
Gu Qili laughed at her words, wondering where this child learned these terms.
Tongtong lay on Gu Qili’s shoulder, chattering happily, then suddenly, she sat up and pointed out of the window shouting loudly, "It’s Niannian, Niannian is there alone.
Upon hearing the words "Niannian," Gu Qili quickly told the driver, "Stop the car."
After the driver pulled over, Gu Qili hastily paid the fare and got out of the car holding Tongtong, looking around she asked, "Where’s Niannian?"
"Over there," Tongtong pointed with her small hand.
Across the street was a small park where the child she pointed at was sitting on a white bench, beside him was a large school bag and a tub of trotter rice with only soybeans and greens left.
Few dry yellow leaves floated on the bench, and two fell on his shoulders; he looked lonely and quite pitiful.
"Niannian," Tongtong called out from a distance.
The little boy on the bench lifted his head; he wore only a black cashmere coat that seemed a bit thin. His large dark eyes faintly glanced over.
He first looked at Chen Zitong, then cast his glance towards Gu Qili, the two locked eyes, and suddenly, Gu Qili felt like she couldn’t move a step further. Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by novel⟡fire.net
He looked... so familiar.
But Mu Qinian quickly averted his gaze, biting on a lollipop while swinging his short legs boredly and kicking the chair with his small leather shoes.
Gu Qili put down Tongtong, who immediately raced over and climbed onto the bench. Sitting politely next to Mu Qinian’s left hand, she opened her small mouth enthusiastically, flashing her eight shiny white teeth, "Niannian, why didn’t you come to school today?"
Mu Qinian shifted his buttocks to the side, increasing the distance between him and Tongtong, his tone indifferent, "I ran away from home."
"What?" Tongtong’s mouth dropped open in surprise, her eyes wide: "Your dad will be worried."
"He won’t worry about me, he only cares about my grades," Mu Qinian pursed his lips and after looking down to see his shoelaces undone, he thought for a moment then lowered his voice to Chen Zitong, "Do you know how to tie shoelaces?"
Tongtong shook her head vigorously; tying shoelaces was hard, it’s always either her mom or the housekeeper who did it for her.
Mu Qinian seemed annoyed, about to shake his loosely tied shoe, when suddenly a faint scent wafted into his nose followed by the sight of a pair of delicate and fair hands with nails that were immaculately manicured, bare without any polish, faintly revealing the white crescents on them.
These hands carefully and slowly tied his shoelaces, even crafting them into a six-petal flower pattern.
Gu Qili then reached out to untie the shoelaces on his other shoe, tying them into the same six-petal flower.
She lifted her face, her eyes curving like the moon above: "All done."
Mu Qinian’s dark eyes stared straight at her, unresponsive for a moment, wondering why her presence felt so familiar, with an urge to be embraced by her.
Just as Gu Qili was about to get up, her wrist was suddenly grasped by a chubby little hand, and she looked down to see Mu Qinian’s somewhat fluttering but pitiful gaze.
He lowered his head, coughing awkwardly, clearly speaking to her, yet his eyes were fixated on a bush in the park.
"Can you take me in for now?" Although Dad said not to go home with strangers as they might be bad people, someone as beautiful as you who can tie shoelaces must be a good person.
Gu Qili was startled, crouching down again to look him in the eye, concernedly asking: "Where do you live? Can I take you home?"
Mu Qinian kept his mouth closed, not answering, just looking at her persistently.
"How about we call your family? They must be terribly worried with you leaving home without a word."
Mu Qinian still didn’t speak, blinking intensely.
Gu Qili felt somewhat frustrated, unsure how to refuse such a request. Taking a strange little boy home, is this really okay?
"If you don’t agree, forget it." Mu Qinian’s little temper flared up, and he suddenly jumped off the chair and turned to leave.
He had only taken a few steps when his small hand was tightly held; Gu Qili thought she must be crazy.
Gu Qili had just finished cooking seafood rice and put it into two plates; in the living room, a little one sat in each corner of the sofa.
Tongtong watched the TV, laughing gleefully, while Mu Qinian gazed ahead, not knowing what he was watching.
"Niannian, why aren’t you watching TV? Don’t you like Xiong Da and Xiong Er?" Tongtong tilted her head to look at him.
Mu Qinian huffed, spitting out two words: "Childish."
Gu Qili, who had just heard this, placed the fried rice in front of the two little ones and casually asked him, "Then what do you like to watch?"
"I am going to be the King of the Pirates," Mu Qinian declared, then stared at the fried rice on the coffee table and swallowed, blinking his big eyes, "Is this for me?"
"Hmm." Gu Qili passed him the spoon, "You must be starving."
Mu Qinian was indeed very hungry, having only eaten a portion of pig’s trotter rice that day, but he stared at the white porcelain spoon as if he was having an internal struggle.
"Auntie Qili, Niannian never uses public bowls and utensils, he always has his own special bowl at kindergarten," Tongtong, who was shoveling rice into her mouth, suddenly spoke.
Gu Qili abruptly paused, suddenly recalling a man with the same habit.