Deadly Trap.

Chapter 63. The Agreement
The night in Minhang was half bright and half dark, illuminated by the moonlight.

The white gauze curtains hung lifelessly, and in the cold light and shadow of the French windows, a small hand, as if afraid that he would suddenly disappear, tightly gripped the hem of his moving clothes.

"Brother, what happened to Mom? Why won't she come home?"

His busy packing figure froze for a moment. As if suddenly tired, he sat down on the cool floor.

"Do you remember? Every night before we went to bed, Mom would tell us stories."

"Mom is putting her feather coat back on now, going back to the sky, and turning back into a little bird."

"Really?" The eyes in the darkness blinked in disbelief. "Then, brother, will we turn back into birds with Mom?"

This question left him, in his naivety, unsure how to answer.

He would only shake his head:
"No. Mom said that little children can't become little birds. They can only become birds when they grow up and get old. Little children can't."

"Well, Fanfan really wants to grow up quickly."

Beside her, a small, round face nestled closer, pouting in dissatisfaction. She kicked the milky-white floor with her tiny toes inside her brown bear socks.

She lowered her head: "Then, will Mom fly back to see us in the future?"

He thought about it quietly for a moment.

As if amidst a commotion, flocks of white seagulls swept low overhead, right before their eyes as they picnicked on the beach.

The silk scarf loosely tied around her chin suddenly came undone, and her light blue sun hat was lifted by the wind, detaching from the tip of her long hair. It fluttered and danced in front of them.

The three of them stood up, laughing and running, trying to catch up with it as they stepped on the warm white sand and the cool waves.

Finally, the light blue hat fell onto the shimmering golden sea, like a beautiful little boat, and slowly drifted away.

Their trouser legs and skirt hems were soaked, and their feet were covered in glistening mud and sand. They were panting, but laughing loudly.

Immediately afterward, he quickly wiped away the silent tears streaming down his face with his sleeve, then shook his head:

"No, it won't happen again. Mom flew away and will never come back."

"Then, will Grandpa and Grandma, and that strange-looking, dark-skinned uncle," the child tried to gesture with his small hand to depict the uncle's appearance, "come to see us again?"

He thought for a moment, then buried his head in his knees and said nothing more.

Finally, he thought about it, and then silently shook his head.

"After that..." The small voice seemed unwilling to give up, determined to pester him for an explanation, "Brother!"

“We, I think,”

His voice was very soft, and though he didn't quite understand either, he forced himself to speak quickly:

“Someone will take us to live in a big house. There are many other children there.”

"Several times, Mom took me to play with those little children. Mom also brought them gifts. Mom said..."

Only after a long while did he shrink into a ball in fear.

With his eyes tightly closed, he finished speaking sadly: "Now, we're all the same."

Surprised, the little round face opened its bright black eyes wide: "Their mothers have all turned back into birds too?"

"……Um."

"Brother, is that place like a kindergarten?"

She simply didn't understand:

“Fanfan isn’t afraid of kindergarten. Fanfan won’t cry, she’ll sleep, eat, and play with her toys obediently, and she’ll listen to the aunties. Fanfan will wait until we get home.” Hesitating, unsure how to explain to her little girl, he stammered, “No. It’s not like that. It’s nothing like kindergarten.”

"That……"

The little round face was almost on the verge of tears. From behind, her two chubby hands tossed aside her mother's old rabbit doll and suddenly hugged him tightly, holding him close to his thin frame.

Will Fanfan still be with her brother...?

"..."

He shook his head countless times, until his little head was almost dizzy and tired from shaking.

He gazed out the window at the familiar coastline, half-lit and half-shadowed, where dark waves crashed against the sand. He remembered overhearing the adults in black at the hospital discussing:
"The young lady isn't married. As for those two children, the Gu family said they were just adopted by the young lady for fun, weren't they?"

"The Gu family said they'd sell all the furniture. As for the kids, they'd take them apart and return them to where they came from."

Feeling cold and completely drained, he sat up weakly and could only murmur softly, "...Brother really doesn't know."

"No, I don't want to be separated from my brother!"

A loud wail pressed against his back, hot and heavy. His clothes began to soak in large, hot patches: "Fanfan, no! No!"

Okay. We don't want it.

This time, he was determined, and answered with great conviction. His hands skillfully closed his mother's violin case. At ten years old, he had so few memories to carry with him.

"Xiao Fan, be a good boy, listen to your brother. We should go now, okay?"

"Leaving home?" She was still sobbing, large tears streaming down her face.

Tonight, the summer moon could not be more desolate and aloof.

"Xiao Fan and her brother together make home."

He picked up the old toy rabbit that his mother had played with when she was a child, gently dusted it off, and put it into his sister's empty hands.

His shoulders were still very small. Under the merciless moonlight, he stubbornly and clumsily shouldered his schoolbag and violin case, moving shakily, little by little.

He bent over and cried out in pain. A ruby ​​ring dangled from his collar. His small hands struggled to support the bottom of his schoolbag.

Finally, he managed to stand up, leaning against the wall.

He stretched out his small, soft hand and held tightly his other hand, which was waiting for him: "Brother will never leave you. Never."

With tears streaming down her face, her small arms awkwardly cradled a little rabbit and a bag, and she still pouted unhappily.
"But my brother will grow up before me!"

"Brother must promise Fanfan: Even if brother becomes an adult first, he cannot turn back into a bird and fly away like mother!"

“Yes,” he replied heavily, “Brother won’t. Brother promises.”

He pushed open the door. Young, innocent figures, one holding the other's hand. In the darkness, they quietly walked away, their figures varying in height and shape.

They were intertwined until they merged into the night.

"Afei, take good care of Xiaofan, act like a good older brother."

“No one will ever turn into a bird again,” he said.

>>>>>
Next chapter: Self-Destruction
[Author's Note | Chapter Sixty-Three]

The author of this chapter has nothing to say.

Let the little bird linger in the silent moonlight.

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(End of this chapter)