"Before I turned ten, I always felt like the happiest child in the world. Even though I couldn't see my dad often, I knew he was always thinking of me." Yan Heng's fingertips trembled. "But all of this happiness was shattered on my tenth birthday."
Zhu Yaya bit her lower lip tightly; she knew about this turning point. A wave of sorrow swept over her.
"My dad was reported by a spy. Our whole family was captured by a family-run criminal syndicate. I watched helplessly as they tortured my mom and dad."
"Over a dozen people subjected him to brutal torture. They pierced his collarbones with iron wires and hooks, hung him from a tree, and beat him mercilessly. They poured chili water into his eyes, burned his body with cigarette butts, and washed his wounds with chili water. The entire beating lasted for six hours. And right in front of him, they... forced themselves on my mom, the woman he swore to protect for his entire life." Yan Heng's voice trembled.
Zhu Yaya felt a stinging in her nose. With a blink, a tear rolled down her cheek.
Yan Heng only spoke of what his parents went through. But what about him?
Those drug dealers had lost all humanity; how could they have simply let Yan Heng go? Just how much torment did a ten-year-old Yan Heng have to endure?
"There was blood everywhere," Yan Heng murmured. "Later, reinforcements arrived. But my dad had lost too much blood and couldn't be saved. Almost all of his ribs were broken, his limbs had varying degrees of fractures, his lumbar and cervical vertebrae were snapped, and his internal organs were severely damaged. My mom... went mad."
Zhu Yaya couldn't hold it in anymore. She threw her arms around Yan Heng, burying her face in his chest as her tears fell like rain, soaking his white shirt.
She sobbed, "You still have me!"
"I know." Yan Heng set down the joss paper in his hand and hugged Zhu Yaya back. "Yaya, I have to become a police officer. When that time comes, I will be surrounded by all sorts of dangers. The closer you are to me, the more danger you'll be in. I know I should push you far away..."
"I'm not afraid! Aunt Cheng knew too, but didn't she have no regrets about being with Uncle Yan?" Zhu Yaya wept uncontrollably, holding onto Yan Heng tightly. "I go for a morning run every day except for Saturdays and Sundays. I have the ability to protect myself!"
She finally understood why Yan Heng had brought her here and told her all this.
He wanted to make her back down in the face of difficulties and cut ties with her!
Zhu Yaya declared fiercely, taking the opportunity to wipe her runny nose on Yan Heng's white shirt, "Didn't you promise to protect me? If you dare to run away, Yan Heng, I won't let you off even if I become a ghost!"
Yan Heng stroked Zhu Yaya's hair and sighed. "Alright. I won't let go. Be good and listen to the rest of what I have to say."
"Okay." Zhu Yaya's sobbing didn't stop.
"Soon, I'll be entering my senior year of high school. I'll apply to the police academy for my college entrance exams. However, I have another very important thing to do. I have to go incognito for a few years. During these years, you won't be able to see me, and you won't receive any news about me. Are you willing to wait for me? Are you willing to waste the best years of your youth waiting for me?"
Zhu Yaya pulled back from Yan Heng's embrace, wiped her tears with the back of her hand, and looked resolutely into his eyes. "I am willing. As long as you return safely."
Yan Heng's heart trembled. He reached out to brush away the strands of hair stuck to the girl's face, the corners of his lips curling up. "Thank you."
After coming out of the cemetery, Zhu Yaya finally noticed Yan Heng's messy, wrinkled white shirt. Thinking about how his clothes were covered in her tears and snot, Zhu Yaya felt deeply embarrassed.
"I'm sorry! I ruined your perfectly good shirt like this." Zhu Yaya's nose was still red.
Yan Heng looked down at his clothes, chuckled softly, and made a move to hug Zhu Yaya, but she dodged him just in time.
Zhu Yaya made a face at him. "Thinking about getting it on me? No way!"
Yan Heng's expression no longer held its previous coldness. He smiled gently, the tenderness in his eyes looking as if it were about to overflow. "Yaya, I'm sorry for making you cry for me again."
Zhu Yaya's face flushed red, and she hummed softly in denial. "I wasn't crying for you!"
"Right, right, whatever Yaya says is right."
Zhu Yaya felt like she had punched a ball of cotton, and she puffed out her cheeks.
It was already four in the afternoon when they left the cemetery. They took another bus ride. On the bus, Zhu Yaya looked through the window and saw her disheveled self. Her previously neat bun now looked like a bird's nest.
"It looks so ugly!" Zhu Yaya said, her ears turning red. She took down her bun and used her fingers as a comb to smooth out her long hair.
The bus ride took another hour, but they didn't get off in the South District.
"Yaya, come with me to a few more places."
After getting off the bus, Yan Heng took Zhu Yaya's hand again.
"Okay."
Next, Yan Heng led Zhu Yaya through several streets and alleys, visiting the homes of quite a few people. Zhu Yaya recognized that the people who opened their doors were all those who had previously donated money for Yan's mother's medical treatment.
Yan Heng took out cash and an IOU from his backpack and handed them over.
Zhu Yaya understood; Yan Heng was repaying his debts.
"Sigh, Uncle doesn't lack this little bit of money. Keep it for yourself!" someone refused.
But Yan Heng still insisted on pressing the money into the person's hands.
Zhu Yaya looked at Yan Heng, her heart swelling with pride. This was the boy she liked, a boy with unyielding integrity.
Except for the 240,000 RMB he had borrowed from Zhu Yaya, Yan Heng had fully repaid all the other money he owed.
"Thanks for taking the trouble to accompany me."
By the time Yan Heng had returned all the money, the sky had grown dark. The dim yellow streetlights flickered on, and he held Zhu Yaya's hand as they walked past one streetlight after another.
Zhu Yaya wanted to reasonably say, "It was no trouble," but was interrupted by the rumbling of her stomach—"Grumble."
Zhu Yaya: !!!
So embarrassing!
Yan Heng cast his eyes down and caught sight of Zhu Yaya looking like she wanted to sink into the ground. He chuckled softly, "You must be hungry! Let me take you to a place to eat!"
"You're the one who's hungry!" Zhu Yaya retorted.
"Alright, Yaya, I'm hungry. Can you accompany me to get something to eat?"
Zhu Yaya hummed, "Permission granted!"
Yan Heng first took Zhu Yaya back to the West District.
"I grew up in the West District. Although there are many dangerous people here, there are also many kind-hearted people. In my hardest days, they were the ones who gave me warmth. The landlady of the Tian Tian Breakfast Shop is one, and the boss of this place is another."
Yan Heng led Zhu Yaya through a long alleyway. Deep inside the alley was a noodle stand. Inside the stand, there was warm, slightly yellow lighting, swirling steam, and two kindly, white-haired elders.
"We're here." Yan Heng stopped and turned to look at Zhu Yaya. "When I was little, my mom loved to bring me to this place to eat noodles. You could say the grandpa and grandma of this shop watched me grow up. It's just that, after I grew older, I haven't been back."
By the moonlight and the glow of the lamps, Zhu Yaya saw the light and an unprecedented clarity in Yan Heng's eyes.
