Chapter 34 Prelude (1/2)

Chapter 34 Prelude

Xiaoying thought about it for a moment. “He went to a faraway place.”

I paused. “A faraway place…”

“It’s a very far away place. My mom said that it’s somewhere I can never go.”

So he passed away. I ran my hand through my hair. Trying to communicate with a child this age was actually quite difficult.

“Then when did Uncle Wang join your family?”

Xiaoying tilted her head thoughtfully. “Not that long ago.”

“Not long ago?”

“Uncle Wang used to live here, my mom and I moved in afterward.”

“Then this room of yours…” I hesitated, looking at the fine decorations around the small room.

“Uncle Wang helped me decorate it.” Xiaoying smiled.

“Oh, I see… Uncle Wang seems to treat you really well.” I said, somewhat surprised.

“Yeah!”

I chatted with Xiaoying a little while longer about inconsequential things before we left this strange house. Xiaoying’s mother still stared at us coldly, giving us goosebumps. We hurriedly said goodbye and left.

Not long after we left the house, Bai piped up with a comment, still sitting on my shoulder, “You’re pretty good at handling kids.”

“Ah. I’m alright.” I scratched my head. “It’s because there used to be a lot of young children where I used to live. Once you’ve interacted with them for a while, you learn how to talk with them.”

“Speaking of which, where is your home, Gu Yu? I’ve never heard you mention it.” Bai asked, suddenly interested.

“Ah… It’s in Bei Ning.”

“Hm, Bei Ning.” Bai scrunched up his face, trying to recall the location. “Oh, oh, that place. It’s a city in the north right? It’s a pretty big city as well, I think. You’re so lucky to be born in a big city.”

“It’s not that great….”

“If your home is in such a great place like Bei Ning, why did you come to study in Yan City?” Bai asked, baffled.

“Oh. That’s… I just wanted to study in a place a little further away from home.”

“How could you want to study in a place further away from home?” Bai stared at me, uncomprehendingly. “Don’t humans value family over everything else?”

Bai’s words went straight through my heart. That feeling of discomfort and pressure returned, pressing against my chest. I really didn’t want to lose my composure in front of Shi Yitong and Bai, but if the conversation continued like this, then I didn’t know what would happen.

“Ah — That, speaking of which!” Shi Yitong took this opportunity to loudly interrupt Bai. He scratched his head, staring upwards at the sky. “I’m so hungry! Look at that cloud, doesn’t it look like a really massive hamburger?”

“What? Where? Where?” Bai immediately perked up, jumping onto Shi Yitong’s shoulder.

“That one. Look!.”

The topic change couldn’t be more forced. Only someone like Bai would fall for it hook, line and sinker. I let out a quiet sigh of relief and looked at Shi Yitong gratefully. He returned it with a subtle thumbs up.