Chapter 52
Having become a doll, Xing Nuo’s ugly little face was filled with confusion.
He listened to the green-haired doll explain how to turn back into a human, his head spinning.
“Little Gween, I don’t understand.”
Little Green, having explained for a long time, seeing Xing Nuo’s still-confused expression, his ugly little face adorned with a red heart stitched with colorful thread, sighed in exasperation.
“Ugh, you’re so ugly. Fine, I’ll make it simple for you.”
“We’re wish-granting dolls now. If someone buys us and we fulfill their wish, receiving their sincere gratitude, we can turn back into humans!”
“That’s the only way! Compared to those who fail other dungeons and get eaten by monsters, at least we have hope!”
The green-haired doll was quite good at comforting himself, a hopeful smile on his face.
Xing Nuo, understanding some of it, touched his rough, cloth face and nodded.
“Okay. But…what if I can’t fulfill someone’s wish?”
He was just a small doll. Even moving was difficult. How could he possibly fulfill someone’s wish?
Little Green’s optimism deflated.
“Can’t you think positive?! What if we succeed?!”
He put his little hands on his hips, his already comical appearance even more ridiculous.
Xing Nuo, ever good-natured, hummed and patted Little Green’s tummy.
“Little Gween no angry.”
Little Green, speechless, brushed Xing Nuo’s hand away and retreated to a corner of the display case, refusing to speak.
Xing Nuo shuffled closer to Little Green, his little cloth face wrinkling, and presented the little heart on his face.
“Little Gween, no sad. Give you heart.”
Little Green looked up at the stitched heart on Xing Nuo’s face and grimaced.
“Go away! I don’t want to look at your ugly face!”
He had been looking at it for so long, he was about to be sick!
Xing Nuo, scolded, mumbled “Oh” and retreated to another corner, staying still.
Little Green, seeing the little clown doll motionless, felt a pang of guilt.
“Um, Xing Nuo, was it? What did you do before?”
He made small talk, looking out the display window, pointedly not looking at Xing Nuo.
Xing Nuo, drifting off to sleep, then waking up again, mumbled, seeing he was still an ugly doll in the display case, and sighed.
Zaizai not dreaming.
In his rough, scratchy voice, he said:
“I went kindygarten. Woke up early…go to school evewy day.”
Little Green was puzzled.
“Kindergarten? What’s that?”
Having been a doll for so long, his memories were fading, his human life a distant blur.
The word “kindergarten” sounded unfamiliar.
Xing Nuo, not mocking him for not having gone to kindergarten, patiently explained:
“Place to learn…has teacher…lots of children…slide…swing…”
As he spoke, he felt a pang of longing for kindergarten.
Little Green, seeing Xing Nuo’s growing sadness, interrupted him.
“Okay, okay, I don’t want to know.”
Xing Nuo stopped, his ugly little face pressed against the glass, looking at the bright, golden sky outside.
“Little Gween, why no people outside?”
The display case, similar to a claw machine, was located at the corner of a small alley.
Behind it was a dilapidated, nameless shop.
According to Little Green, this shop belonged to the shopkeeper, who collected dolls and displayed them in the window for customers to choose from.
Almost all the dolls had been bought, leaving only the two ugliest ones: Little Green and the little clown doll.
Little Green rolled his eyes at Xing Nuo.
“Are you stupid? It’s the middle of the day! Of course there are no people!”
Xing Nuo mumbled “Oh,” his sleepiness gone, his mind slightly clearer, and pressed his face against the glass.
As Little Green’s snores filled the small space, Xing Nuo sat motionless, staring outside.
The bright, golden sunlight gradually faded, the inside of the display case no longer as brightly lit.
Xing Nuo looked at the sky, the dilapidated street, the occasional passerby, his little mind working.
Little Green woke up, yawned, and, seeing Xing Nuo’s serious expression, his little cloth face scrunched up in thought, chuckled.
“What are you thinking about? No one’s coming to buy us. Do you think you can escape?”
Xing Nuo turned his head, his messy hair making him look even more like a factory reject.
But his words surprised Little Green.
“Why not? Little Gween, if we wun away…can find Big Brother and Daddy.”
Staying in the display case, they might have to wait for a day, a week, a month?
If they were lucky, a passerby might stop and buy them.
But if they were unlucky, they might have to wait forever.
Xing Nuo, despite his young age, didn’t like waiting passively. He had an adventurous spirit, always wanting to take control of his own fate.
He huffed at Little Green’s mockery and lifted his ugly little face.
“We dolls…but can move. If Zaizai keep walking…will find Daddy!”
Little Green’s lips twitched.
“And what will you do if you find him? I’ve forgotten who I am, and I don’t even remember if I have a family. Even if you remember, can you be sure your daddy and brother will recognize you?”
His voice was cold and mocking.
“You’re just an ugly little clown doll now!”
No one would recognize him!
Xing Nuo, undeterred, nodded firmly.
“Daddy and Big Brother will know me. Daddy said…Zaizai one of a kind!”
Even if he was ugly and strange, he was still Zaizai!
Daddy would definitely love him!
Seeing Xing Nuo’s unwavering conviction, Little Green didn’t bother arguing.
He crossed his legs and leaned against the glass, his voice lazy.
“If you’re so capable, figure out how to get out of this display case first.”
He then remembered something and added:
“Oh, and the shopkeeper comes to check every night before closing. If he finds out you’re trying to escape, you’re dead.”
Xing Nuo nodded.
“Okay. Zaizai wait till night…after Shopkeeper Uncle checks…then go.”
Little Green felt sleepy again. He was always sleepy as a doll, sometimes sleeping for two or three days straight.
“Fine. I’m going to sleep. Don’t wake me up when you leave.”
He yawned and lay down, motionless.
Xing Nuo sat by the glass, watching the fiery sunset, counting the fading clouds.
Finally, darkness fell.
The shopkeeper, his plump body waddling, arrived with an old gas lamp and looked inside the display case.
Seeing the two remaining ugly dolls still there, he snorted.
“Useless things! Can’t even attract a single customer!”
He looked at the little clown doll, its black button eyes staring at him, and clicked his tongue.
“So ugly. No wonder no one wants you.”
Xing Nuo shook his head.
“I not ugly. And…even if ugly…someone will like.”
The shopkeeper laughed, his voice cruel.
“Like? No one will ever like a freak like you!”
Xing Nuo huffed, lifted his chin, and pointed at his face with his little round hand.
“Uncle, look! Zaizai has little heart…vewy pwetty!”
Not all dolls had one!
Zaizai truly one of a kind!
The shopkeeper looked at the crudely stitched heart and, his lips twitching, remained speechless for a moment.
“Alright, Clown Doll, be quiet. Stay in the display case tomorrow and try to attract some customers. Hopefully someone will buy you and Greenie.”
“So I don’t lose money.”
He grumbled, turning to leave, his heavy body waddling, complaining softly:
“I don’t know what I was thinking, picking up these two ugly dolls. No one wants them.”
Xing Nuo, unfazed by the insults, leaned against the glass, poking the little heart on his face.
It’s pretty, he thought, nodding firmly.
Although the doll’s face was strange, with loose threads here and there, its eyes like small black dots, and its outfit a hideous neon orange,
it was unique.
Xing Nuo, having experienced so much lately, was no longer the crybaby he used to be.
He was young, but his determination was stronger than most.
He would escape and find his daddy and brother!
He sat patiently, waiting for nightfall.
The darkness deepened, the street outside empty and silent, only a few old streetlights flickering.
Xing Nuo peeked inside the shop, confirmed the shopkeeper wasn’t coming back, and turned, ready to escape.
There was a small window on the front of the display case that could be opened, and another exit at the bottom.
If a customer wanted a doll, they would insert a coin, choose a doll, and a claw would grab it and drop it into a chute.
The doll would slide down the chute and land outside.
Xing Nuo, having been to the mall with his dad and seen children playing claw machines, knew this was his way out.
He climbed to the chute opening, stood on the edge, and jumped.
