Chapter 51

051

This was the first time Su Ximu had heard crying from anyone other than himself since arriving in this world.

He sniffled, trying hard to act like a big kid as he reached out with his little hand to wipe the tears from the little brother’s face in front of him.

While wiping, he hiccupped and cooed, “No, hic, don’t cry. Once you apply the medicine, hic, it won’t hurt anymore.”

With that, he aimed the nozzle of the small medicine bottle at the wound on the little brother’s arm and pressed it several times.

The brownish medicine brought a cooling sensation the moment it touched the wound, instantly easing much of the burning pain on his arm.

Though the lingering pain was still a bit nagging, for 243, who was already almost used to this kind of hurt, he probably thought his injury had healed. He sniffled too, gradually stopping his crying.

After applying medicine to his brothers, the little guy shook the bottle. There was still a tiny bit left—not enough for another full application.

He thought for a moment and looked toward the neighbor’s place, remembering the old man who lived alone next door. So he picked up the small medicine bottle again and headed over.

Not long after, the little guy who had gone next door returned home. The moment he came back, he met the little brother’s gaze.

Ever since he had passed through the wall and vanished, 243 had been staring blankly at the spot on the wall where he disappeared.

The one with the smallest reaction was 241, who already looked like a teenager. He merely touched his other arm from time to time; one could barely discern a hint of confusion from his body language.

After a busy morning, during naptime right after lunch, Su Ximu didn’t keep his big eyes open staring at the ceiling anymore. He curled up in his brother’s arms and fell asleep in no time.

Before drifting off, he even muttered to himself, “Tomorrow, tomorrow we have to go out. Go, go get more medicine.”

243 turned his head.

This time, he slept very close, close enough to hear the breathing brushing against his ear.

From that day on, some kind of change quietly took place in 243.

He had already grown to an age where he could run and jump, yet he seemed to develop a bit of curiosity about the world around him for the first time.

He still spaced out like his brothers, but he no longer stared only at the walls or the ceiling. His gaze always followed his little brother as he ran around the house.

Su Ximu couldn’t stay cooped up in the house all day. Besides going to the wall to get medicine, whenever he felt bored, he still wandered around outside.

Each time he went out, he discovered something new.

This time, for example, he found a white little stone outside. He could write or draw with it on the ground, and wipe it clean afterward.

He treasured it like a gem, happily pocketed the little stone, and brought it home.

The moment he got back, he eagerly looked for open space in the house to use it.

In his search, Su Ximu realized the house was full of empty spots.

Just as the little guy was scribbling on the floor with the stone, he heard the clinking of chains. He turned his head and sure enough, saw the little brother squatting right beside him.

Little brother wants to play with me~

That was the little guy’s first thought.

He drew a circle on the ground as a demonstration, then handed the stone to the little brother. When the little brother reached out with his right hand and drew a circle too, he immediately burst into a happy grin.

Little brother really wants to play with me~

Su Ximu generously declared the stone a gift for the little brother. Then he dashed out the door and picked up another stone to bring back.

For the entire afternoon, the two little bros squatted side by side in identical poses, each holding a little stone, drawing a whole row of circles on the ground.

Until the little brother had drawn circles far away, Su Ximu wiped them all clean to free up space and taught him to draw triangles.

“Triangle.” The little guy pointed at the triangle on the ground, teaching the squatting little brother how to say it.

At first, he thought people here just didn’t like talking. But after seeing the little brother only whimper and cry in pain that day, he had a new idea.

Maybe everyone wasn’t unwilling to talk—they just didn’t know how.

So, since the little brother was willing to play with him now, he figured he could teach him to talk too.

At that moment, little Su Ximu was brimming with confidence, certain he could teach the little brother.

243 didn’t get it at first. Only after the little teacher repeated it several times and even touched his mouth, gently prying his lips open, did he catch on.

After that, the little teacher pointed at the shape on the ground and enunciated clearly, “Triangle~”

Finally, 243 seemed to half-understand. He opened his mouth, imitating.

“Ah…”

“Woo… pff…”

At first, his tongue was totally uncooperative, clashing around in his mouth with his teeth whenever he made a sound.

Luckily, the teacher, Su Ximu, was a very patient little educator.

After saying a word, he would open his mouth wide, letting his earnest but somewhat clumsy student see how his tongue was positioned.

Though 243’s language development was almost nonexistent, his physical growth was fine. With persistent tries, he finally produced his first relatively clear syllable: “Tha.”

It sounded a bit like “three.” The little teacher, who believed in positive reinforcement, immediately clapped enthusiastically. “So awesome!”

With that, he rummaged in his pocket again, pulled out a yellow little flower he had picked up that day, and handed it over. “Little brother, for you.”

243 held the flower, staring blankly. He seemed unsure how to handle such a fragile little bloom, so he just kept holding it up in his hand.

Even when sleeping that night, he lay flat with both hands on his chest, clutching the little yellow flower.

His eyes never left the “little teacher.”

242, who had been quiet all day, watched the scene. Once everyone in the house was asleep, he walked over to his brother 243, reached out, and turned 243’s head in another direction.

Only then did he return to his spot, lie down, pick up the little guy again, and hold him face-in.

The chain noises nearly woke 243 during this.

On the sixth day after the gathering activity ended, something else happened in the residential area.

Su Ximu peeked through the door crack and saw the neighbor grandpa being picked up by a huge, strangely shaped big truck.

He noticed there were many people in the truck. The one at the very front of the compartment looked familiar—he thought it was an auntie from the house three doors down.

The neighbor grandpa and that auntie were taken away together by the big truck.

Where was the neighbor grandpa being taken?

Compared to his brothers, little brother, and big brother, the neighbor grandpa was a little bit weird.

The neighbor grandpa seemed able to hear him talking with his brothers at home. Yesterday, when he visited next door, the neighbor grandpa had even shown him his drawing of a triangle.

At home, besides the little brother, big brother and brother hadn’t learned to draw with him.

He had chatted with the neighbor grandpa the past couple of days too. Every time he smiled, the grandpa smiled; when he didn’t, the grandpa didn’t seem to smile either.

Limited by his vocabulary, Su Ximu could only say the grandpa was a bit weird.

But now the grandpa seemed to be leaving this place, and he still felt a little reluctant.

In the truck compartment that hadn’t been sealed yet, the old man with his hair and beard all white and looking somewhat fierce sensed that gaze—completely harmless, just a bit reluctant.

He looked up toward it and cracked a grin, a stiff smile that was somewhat eerie.

It was the first expression related to emotion that he had imitated from the child who applied medicine to him.

Su Ximu inside the door realized the grandpa was smiling at him. He temporarily set aside his reluctance and smiled back at the grandpa.

The little kid’s smile curved his eyes, revealing a sweet little dimple.

It was a very pretty smile.

He thought, the grandpa was probably moving.

Maybe to live with his family.

The grandpa’s house was still here, so they might have a chance to meet again later.

In the eyes of the little child, the massive steel beast of a war vehicle stayed in the residential area for a total of two hours.

After taking the last resident, the overseer who was driving climbed aboard. The huge, ear-piercing engine roared to life, kicking up sand and belching thick black smoke as it howled away from the spot.

Su Ximu lay flat against the door crack, and 243, who was a bit taller than him, mimicked him by lying against the door crack too.

Both watched the clouds of sand the vehicle stirred up as it left. Su Ximu blinked his eyes, afraid sand would get in and hurt them. But in 243’s eyes, at one instant, a flash of dark golden light passed.

After the overseer left, the residential area returned to a stretch of calm days.

Su Ximu and 243, the little bros, played better and better. Even two months later, one day when Su Ximu prepared to head out for some air again, 243 expressed his desire to go out together for the first time.

He was chained to his brothers, so if he wanted to go out, he had to bring the two of them along.

243 was insistent about it, strong as a little calf, charging stubbornly outward.

In the end, he overcame his big brother’s lack of initiative and his second brother’s lack of resistance. The chains clinked loudly as he dragged them out the door together.

There were no cameras in the residential area, and no one else out at that time.

This was the first time Su Ximu went out accompanied by his brothers. Like a cheerful little bird full of energy, his eyes sparkled the whole way as he shared all the fun, novel spots he had discovered lately.

“Brother, look, that’s the playground slide.” The little guy pointed at a naturally formed little sand dune and called it the playground slide.

Then he walked to the top of the sand dune himself and demonstrated to his brothers how to play on the slide.

243 took the lead. The moment his little brother slid down, he had already dragged his brothers up to the dune.

He plopped down on his butt and, without hesitation, used his legs and rear to accelerate, shooting down the “playground slide” at top speed.

His two brothers, who hadn’t reacted in time, tumbled down with him, covered in dirt.

After sliding down the dune, 243 spotted some little yellow flowers growing on a nearby cactus-like plant.

He pointed excitedly at the plant. “Mm!”

Su Ximu saw that brother and big brother weren’t hurt, so he followed the little brother’s pointing finger.

The cactus wasn’t far. He toddled over beneath the plant, picked up a fallen flower with practiced ease, and turned to hand it to the still-excited little brother.

He deliberately picked three, wanting to give one to each brother.

But before he could hand out the other two, 242 looked at the flower, then at his brother, then at the little guy he had been holding while sleeping for over two months.

Suddenly, he stomped lightly on a pebble underfoot—not too loudly.