Chapter 156
At first, Lu Qi hadn’t seen the appeal of being human.
But after meeting Xing Nuo, he had experienced human emotions for the first time, a subtle warmth spreading through his being, making him realize what it meant to feel.
He watched Xing Nuo, his face pale and translucent in the dappled sunlight, and quietly stayed in the shadows, not wanting to intrude.
After all, Xing Nuo still saw him as just a strange little monster struggling to survive.
Just as Lu Qi was about to leave, Xing Nuo ran over.
He took Lu Qi’s hand, his eyes sparkling in the golden light of the setting sun.
“Lu Qi, I explained to An Zimuo. You no sad!”
Lu Qi smiled, a genuine, heartfelt smile, warmer than any he had managed before.
“Thank you, Xing Nuo.”
Whenever he felt abandoned and alone, Xing Nuo would always come to him.
Xing Nuo smiled, his eyes crinkling.
“You helped me too! It’s late. I go home now. Daddy and Big Brother will wowwy.”
He waved at An Zimuo.
“An Zimuo, you go home…do homework!”
An Zimuo, who had been about to run off to play, stopped, sighed, and reluctantly went home.
Xing Nuo, back home, his forehead slightly sweaty from the heat, quickly drank a large glass of water before even wiping his face.
Shen Baizhou sometimes thought Xing Nuo needed more water than he did, a sea creature.
After drinking his water, Xing Nuo, full of energy, sat down at his desk and started working on his internship essay.
He wrote:
[I learned many things at the company this week. I stawted as a widdle assistant, then became Little Vice Pwesident. And I gave company many good suggestions…]
He used pinyin for the characters he didn’t know how to write, filling a page and a half.
After finishing his essay, he took out his locked diary, entered the password, and flipped through the pages.
His earlier entries were mostly in pinyin, like a secret code.
He turned to a blank page and carefully wrote down his recent experiences:
[Finished intewnship today~ But I think Big Brother’s company is stwange. And my family too.]
[But it’s okay. I wuv them.]
[Many things I don’t understand. But time will give me answews.]
He closed his diary, locked it, put it away in his drawer, and went to bed.
The summer night was quiet, a few stars twinkling in the dark sky. Rongcheng, like most cities, was peaceful.
Xing Nuo was sleeping soundly when he was woken by a knock on the door.
“Xing Nuo! It’s me!” An Zimuo’s voice called out.
Xing Nuo, rubbing his eyes, not hearing his daddies or brother, assuming they had gone out to buy breakfast, put on his slippers and opened the door.
An Zimuo, his face beaming with excitement, seeing Xing Nuo’s sleepy face, his messy hair, his blue dolphin pajamas, and the faint red marks from his pillow, chuckled sheepishly and scratched his head.
“I came too early. Xing Nuo, go wash your face.”
Xing Nuo yawned, went to the bathroom, changed into his favorite sunflower overalls, and returned with a plate of biscuits and a glass of water.
“Zimuo, eat. You came so early. What’s wrong?”
An Zimuo, who hadn’t had breakfast yet, grabbed a handful of biscuits and munched on them happily.
“Xing Nuo, I know what to do for my internship!”
His mouth full, he stood up, his face flushed with excitement.
“I’m going to sell things! Make lots and lots of money!”
Xing Nuo gasped and clapped his hands, impressed.
“Yay!”
Then, tilting his head, he asked:
“Sell things? What you sell?”
An Zimuo, still too excited to think clearly, paced back and forth, then, looking at the biscuits, clapped his hands.
“We sell biscuits!”
Xing Nuo’s eyes widened, and he nodded eagerly.
“Okay! Okay! Biscuits yummy!”
An Zimuo, feeling like he was about to become a billionaire, building a business empire with Xing Nuo by his side, declared:
“When I’m wich…I buy all the toy cars in the world!”
He loved collecting toy cars. Xing Nuo had even given him a limited edition one for his birthday.
Xing Nuo nodded, then asked:
“But I no know how to make biscuits. Zimuo, you know?”
An Zimuo’s smile faltered, and he shook his head slowly.
“I…I don’t know either.”
Xing Nuo, his little hands open, shrugged. “Then what we do?”
An Zimuo, after thinking for a moment, smacked his hand.
“I know! We don’t have to make biscuits! I have lots at home! Mommy always buys them! We just sell those!”
Xing Nuo, about to say something, then realizing it wasn’t a bad idea, scratched his cheek and nodded.
“That…okay.”
An Zimuo, always acting on impulse, ran out the door, yelling:
“Xing Nuo, wait for me at the gate! I’ll bring the biscuits!”
Xing Nuo, watching him go, grabbed a spare bedsheet from the linen closet.
He had seen the aunties at the market use cloths to display their goods.
Before he could leave, Shen Wen returned with breakfast.
“Where are you going?” he asked, seeing Xing Nuo with the bedsheet.
Xing Nuo hugged the bedsheet and said earnestly:
“An Zimuo said…he sell biscuits. I go help him.”
Shen Wen chuckled, gave Xing Nuo a bun, and poured him a glass of milk.
“Eat first, then go. No one outside so early. No need to rush.”
Xing Nuo, too excited to eat, put the bun down and ran out the door.
“No need! I come back soon…after selling!”
Under the scorching morning sun, he ran to the complex gate with the bedsheet, waiting for An Zimuo.
He chose a shady spot with good visibility and spread the bedsheet on the ground, carefully smoothing out the corners.
Before he could finish, Lu Qi arrived and helped him.
“Xing Nuo, what are you doing?”
Xing Nuo, wiping the sweat from his forehead, said, panting:
“An Zimuo selling biscuits. I helping him. Lu Qi, you want help too?”
Lu Qi didn’t like An Zimuo, but he wanted to be with Xing Nuo, so he hesitated, then nodded.
“Okay. But I help Xing Nuo…not him.”
Xing Nuo giggled, finding Lu Qi’s serious demeanor and blunt words amusing.
“Okay.”
Just then, An Zimuo, running from the neighboring complex, his arms filled with a box of biscuits, arrived, panting.
He didn’t even bother asking why Lu Qi was there, just placed the box on the ground, his hands on his hips, catching his breath.
“So tired! I brought all the biscuits from home! This should be enough!”
Lu Qi, his eyes flickering with blue light, then quickly suppressing it, remembering something, looked at An Zimuo.
“Your own biscuits?”
An Zimuo, proud of his brilliant plan, nodded, grinning.
“See? My plan is awesome, right?”
Before Lu Qi could say anything, An Zimuo had already emptied the box, the biscuits arranged neatly on the bedsheet.
“Okay! Let’s sell some biscuits!”
He crouched down behind their makeshift stall and yelled:
“Biscuits for sale!”
Xing Nuo also chimed in:
“Biscuits~ Sweet biscuits~”
They both turned to Lu Qi, their eyes expectant.
Lu Qi, his metallic head aching, his face stiff, forced himself to say:
“Biscuits.”
His voice was flat and monotonous, devoid of any enthusiasm.
The three little ones sat there, calling out to passersby.
A woman, hurrying to work, seeing the three children, their little stall with its cartoon-printed bedsheet, chuckled and walked over.
“Selling biscuits? Where are your parents?”
Xing Nuo nodded, pointing at the biscuits.
“Vewy yummy. Big sister, you want one?”
An Zimuo added, “Only one yuan!”
He wasn’t sure how much to charge, but since Xing Nuo’s daily allowance was only one yuan, he thought one yuan was a lot.
The woman, seeing Xing Nuo’s sweet face, smiled and pinched his cheek.
“Sure, you’re so cute. I’ll buy one.”
Having a yuan coin for the bus, she handed it to An Zimuo and took a biscuit.
Xing Nuo, excited that they had made their first sale, his cheeks flushed, clenched his fists, thinking this business venture had potential.
“Yay! We sold one! We’ll sell them all soon!”
An Zimuo, putting the yuan in the box, nodded eagerly.
As the two celebrated their first sale, Lu Qi, having quickly calculated their costs and profit margin, frowned and sighed.
They were losing 3.7 yuan per biscuit.
An Zimuo’s mom always bought expensive, high-quality biscuits, and now they were being sold for one yuan each.
The three children, an unusual sight, attracted the attention of passersby, who stopped to look.
Seeing Xing Nuo, his face flushed from the heat, his curls plastered to his forehead, sweat dripping down his face, their hearts melted.
“Such a cute little boy. Curly hair?”
“I know him. He lives in our complex. He was even on TV! The director wanted him on their show!”
“I’ll buy one. Poor little kid, trying to make a living.”
