Disabled Childhood Sweetheart: A Humble Puppy Begs for the Young Lady's Pity

Winter, 2006, Lin-Shen City.

"Wenxi!" Zhou Jingchen suddenly sat up in shock from his hospital bed, his body covered in a thin layer of sweat.

The ward door was pushed open, and Lu Yuanyuan walked in, her face elegant but unable to hide her worry:

"Jingchen, your leg just had brace surgery and hasn't fully recovered yet. The doctor told us to be extra careful for the next two years. What were you doing in that chaotic urban village? And then you took such a nasty fall..."

She handed him a glass of warm water and sighed softly, "Thank goodness there's nothing seriously wrong, otherwise the surgery would have been a waste."

Zhou Jingchen took the water glass, drank a couple of sips, turned to look at her, and said calmly, "Mom, I'm fine."

After spending the night in the hospital, the doctor pointed to the X-ray and said, "The recovery is going well. The bones are in the right place and the alignment is good. The pain is normal; it means that the bone is still growing inside."

He glanced at Lu Yuanyuan, whose face was full of anxiety, and added, "Actually, a fall won't cause any major problems. The titanium alloy support embedded in the bone is very stable."

Lu Yuanyuan finally breathed a sigh of relief. When she left, she told Zhou Jingchen to take the family car home.

He made an excuse that he was busy with company matters and drove away.

The snow on the road had been cleared away. Zhou Jingchen parked his car on the side of the road, dialed Lin Xujie's number, and his voice trembled:

"I...found her, but I don't know her exact address. Could you help me find her address?"

There was a pause on the other end of the phone, followed by a quick question: "Where are you?"

"Jingwei District, last night... I saw her on the overpass in that urban village."

"Urban villages are full of shared rental housing, with a large number of migrant workers, many of whom do not have residence permits, making them difficult to check and requiring some time."

"Yes, troublesome, as soon as possible." His voice was low, and he emphasized each word.

Zhou Jingchen closed his phone and slumped helplessly onto the steering wheel. The image of watching Wenxi disappear from his sight last night flashed through his mind, and he angrily slammed his hand on the steering wheel.

The car blared its horn, drawing the attention of passersby.

After calming down, Zhou Jingchen headed to the urban village area again.

For the next month, he waited on that overpass every day, but he never saw Wenxi again.

He searched all the nearby stalls but found nothing.

Zhou Jingchen's heart ached terribly, so much so that he couldn't breathe. It felt as if some raging fire was burning him all over.

From their brief meeting last time, he was certain that Wenxi was not doing well.

A sense of panic silently spread through him, his heart clenching tightly. He dared not speculate wildly; he only wanted to find her as soon as possible.

Zhou Jingchen slumped over the steering wheel, his eyes red-rimmed, his tall figure hunched in the shadows inside the car, his back slightly arched, filled with loneliness and helplessness.

But Wenxi, where have you gone?

-

To avoid being harassed by loan sharks, Wenxi changed his phone card again.

She sent Song Xianglin a text message, informing him of her new number so she could contact him more easily.

Before Christmas, Wenxi found a part-time job—wearing a snowman costume and handing out flyers near the Central Mall.

She previously worked part-time at the convention center distributing flyers, earning 60 yuan a day. This time, the job at the mall pays 80 yuan a day, and she has to stand from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. for three days.

Wenxi was very satisfied with this part-time job, since no one would recognize her when she was wearing a mascot costume.

In recent years, Wenxi has never looked for a formal job. Formal employment requires signing contracts, completing procedures, and purchasing insurance, and the real-name registration system makes it easy for loan sharks to find him.

To avoid debt, she worked odd jobs, doing part-time work during the day and setting up a street stall at night.

Once she had saved up a sum of money, she would transfer a small amount to the loan shark's account. Although it was a meager sum, she was slowly paying it back. However, day after day, the interest compounded, and the debt continued to weigh heavily on her.

The last day of my part-time job was Christmas Eve. Around 8 or 9 p.m., the square in front of the mall was packed with people.

A four- or five-meter-tall Christmas tree stood in the center of the square, adorned with colorful gift boxes, stars, and bells. Spectacular lights wrapped around it from bottom to top, and the cheerful melody of "Merry Christmas" echoed throughout, creating a strong festive atmosphere.

Tomorrow is Grandpa Zhou's birthday... Wenxi thought to herself.

"Hello, would you like to know about the mall's Christmas promotions?"

"Hello, could you please check out the mall's Christmas promotions?"

Wenxi handed flyers to passersby, her sweet voice coming through the hood, which aroused the curiosity of many people who wanted to lift up her round hood to find out what was inside.

Many young couples strolled along the street, holding hands or with the boy's arm around the girl's shoulder, chatting and laughing; some children stood under the Christmas tree, making peace signs with their hands, while adults took photos; not far away, in the shadows of the trees, a young couple was kissing passionately, the boy's large hand cupping the girl's nape, the two kissing so tenderly they couldn't bear to part.

The mascot costume was heavy, and Wenxi was covered in sweat, secretly regretting that she had worn a coat.

The heavy headgear made my neck ache, and even a slight turn was difficult. I was afraid of twisting my neck if I made any bigger movements.

A woman walked by with a little boy in her hand, and Wenxi handed her a flyer.

The little boy jumped up excitedly: "Mommy, a snowman! A snowman!" The woman stood to the side with her bag slung over her shoulder, watching her son with a smile.

The little boy circled around Wenxi, patting her bottom and tugging at her red scarf, saying, "Why aren't you saying anything? Snowman, say something!"

Wenxi felt a little annoyed, rolled her eyes, but still patiently patted the little boy's shoulder gently:

"Little one, let Mommy take you to the mall, there's a special event today!"

"Mommy! It's a female snowman!" The little boy got even more excited, and suddenly raised his hand and punched her headgear with a "Duang!" "What do you look like? Take it off and let me see!"

The headgear suddenly tilted to the right. Wenxi was startled and quickly steadied it, gently advising, "Little friend, you can't touch my head."

"Why?" The little boy tugged at her scarf again and punched her a few times. "I just want to touch you!"

A passerby, unable to bear the sight, remarked, "Her headgear is very heavy; it's dangerous for her to bump her head."

The woman ignored her, still smiling as she looked at her son, finding him utterly adorable.

Helpless, Wenxi took the flyer and walked to the other side, trying to avoid the brat. But the little boy followed closely behind and continued to harass her.

"Snowman, why is your head so big?"

He slapped Wenxi on the head, causing the large hood to lose its balance and tilt to one side, twisting Wenxi's neck. Wenxi staggered a few times and almost fell.

She immediately stopped her, her tone becoming more serious: "Don't touch my head! You'll fall."

Upon hearing this, the woman strode forward and shoved Wenxi aside, her tone harsh: "Why are you being so fierce? You're just a lowly flyer distributor, how dare you yell at my son!"

The flyers in Wenxi's hand scattered all over the ground with a "whoosh".

"It was your son who kept touching me," Wenxi retorted, suppressing her grievances. "The hood is really heavy; I can't touch it."

The woman suddenly raised her hand to slap her face, but as soon as her arm was raised, it was firmly grasped by another large hand with distinct knuckles, and she was then gently pushed away.

"Pick up the flyers." The man's voice was deep and clear as he stood in front of Wenxi.

"Who are you? Mind your own business!" The woman frowned and pulled her son to her side.

"She clearly stated that the hood was heavy and shouldn't be touched, and you still want to hit her? If something goes wrong, can you take responsibility?"

The man gave the little boy a cold look, and after a long pause, he managed to utter three words: "You brat!"

His tone was harsh, clearly indicating he wasn't good at swearing.

The woman glared at him, muttered "You're crazy," and hurriedly left with her son.

The man squatted down, picked up the scattered flyers one by one, arranged them neatly, and handed them to Wenxi: "Your flyers."

Through the gap in the hood, Wenxi's gaze traveled upwards along the smooth, dark gray overcoat—

His hands were fair and bony, with a corner of a silver watch peeking out from the cuff. His coat was open, revealing a high-necked black sweater underneath. His broad shoulders made the coat stand out, its lines smooth, giving him an air of refined elegance and aloofness.

A well-defined jawline, thin lips slightly pursed, and a high, straight nose as prominent as a mountain peak.

His eyes are deep and narrow, like they hold a starry sea; his eyebrows are bold and elegant; his short hair is neat and tidy; and his whole face is full of three-dimensionality.

"Thump, thump, thump..." Wenxi's heart suddenly raced, and she held her breath.

Sometimes that's just how it is; what you fear most is what happens most often.

Luckily, she was wearing a mascot costume.

Zhou Jingchen handed her the flyer, his tone friendly and gentle as if he were speaking to a stranger: "Are you alright?"

"Um..." Wenxi managed to squeeze out a syllable, stiffly raising her arm to take the flyer.

Before he could even utter a word of thanks, a young girl, as swift as the wind, rushed over and took his arm, her voice both sweet and reproachful:

"Zhou Jingchen, what are you doing here?"

Zhou Jingchen glanced at the snowman doll in front of him and felt an inexplicable urge to take off the headgear—he wanted to see what the person inside looked like.

He slowly raised his hand, and Wenxi froze instantly, her beautiful face hidden inside the hood, staring at him without blinking.

The surroundings suddenly became very quiet, so quiet that Wenxi could only hear her own heartbeat, "thump, thump, thump..." again and again, beating very fast.

Finally, the large hand stopped two or three centimeters away from her.

Zhou Jingchen chuckled self-deprecatingly. What was wrong with him? Was he going crazy thinking about her?

He lowered his hand and said to the girl beside him, "It's okay." Then, the two left together.

Wenxi looked at their backs. The girl was very young and was talking to him happily. Occasionally, he would lean down slightly to listen, a gentlemanly gesture.

girlfriend?

Fits well.

She looked away and continued handing out flyers: "Hello, would you like to know about the mall's Christmas promotions?"

A biting wind swept past and crept into the mascot costume. Wenxi shivered involuntarily, her nose stung, and her eyes welled up with tears.

"I must have a rhinitis attack," she thought.