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

The two of them spent the night in silence, neither speaking nor sleeping.

One wants to grow up quickly, achieve academic success, and become a capable adult; the other wants to turn back time to childhood, a time of carefree joy and no separation.

The next day, Wenxi went out early in the morning. She went to Jiang Xiaoya's house, which was her usual way of avoiding things: leaving, not seeing, not listening.

She knew that Zhou Jingchen's parents would stay here for a few more days and wouldn't be leaving for the time being.

The two girls were flipping through a magazine together on the bed. After hearing Wenxi's words, Jiang Xiaoya almost jumped up: "Oh? So Zhou Jingchen has parents!"

"That's great. We all thought he didn't have parents. You should be happy for him, Wenxi."

"Besides, you won't have to share your bedroom with him anymore. Aren't you happy sleeping in such a big room all by yourself? I can come and stay at your place from now on."

Not a single word hit the mark.

Wenxi became increasingly agitated as she listened to her story; her eyebrows drooped, and she looked very unhappy.

Jiang Xiaoya saw Wenxi off. The two girls stood at the corner of the alley, the wind gently lifting their skirts.

"Wenxi, are you unhappy?"

"Is there?"

"You haven't said much today."

Jiang Xiaoya asked tentatively, "Wenxi, you...you don't actually like Zhou Jingchen, do you? Is that why you're so reluctant to part with him?"

"How could that be?" Wenxi looked up at her. "Our relationship isn't like that."

Wenxi said frankly, "We grew up together and did everything together. Even if you've raised a dog for a long time, it's normal to feel reluctant to part with it." Besides, the other person is a person.

Although it wasn't a very pleasant way to put it, that was roughly what Wenxi meant. She couldn't accept the fact that Zhou Jingchen was suddenly leaving.

She and Zhou Jingchen had been inseparable since childhood. They used to bathe in the same tub, she even played with his toy sparrow. She knew where his mole was, and he knew what she liked and disliked. They were so close they shared everything, even sleeping in the same bed.

If he leaves, who will make my bed? Who will take care of me? Who will pick out the scallions for me? Who will help me put on my socks and shoes? Who will wash my underwear?

Who can she vent her frustrations to? Also, her mother plans to take her to the countryside during summer vacation, but what if she's too scared to go to the bathroom alone at night?

Thinking of this, Wenxi's eyes welled up with tears.

She felt that Jiang Xiaoya's words had tainted her relationship with Zhou Jingchen. In her heart, her relationship with Zhou Jingchen was a hundred or a thousand times better than that of ordinary siblings.

He knew all her embarrassing moments; they had seen each other completely; they knew each other's secrets and innermost thoughts. This feeling was deeper than kinship, surpassing all other emotions.

"You really don't like Zhou Jingchen?" Jiang Xiaoya seemed not to believe her and asked again.

"I don't like him! I don't like him! I don't like him!" Wenxi was quick-tempered and spoke loudly. "How could I possibly like him? We grew up together, we have a very deep bond. It's not what you think. He's my younger brother! Would you like your older brother?"

"Okay," Jiang Xiaoya patted her back and said, "I understand you, Wenxi. To be honest, I wasn't used to it at first when my brother left home to go to university."

Not far from the two, at the corner of the alley, the boy standing under the shadow of the wall tightened his lips, his whole body felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, his mind was blank, he wanted to leave, but his limbs felt as if they were rooted to the ground, and he could not move an inch.

He leaned weakly against the wall, supporting himself with his cane, lowered his eyes, and looked down in disappointment.

Facing the truth always leaves one feeling utterly hopeless.

-

The house was bustling with activity. When Wenxi pushed open the gate to enter, she found that Zhou Jingchen's parents had already arrived.

They bought Wenxi a huge, fluffy doll, a dress, and many other gifts.

Zhou Jingchen's parents seem to be very wealthy. Wenxi learned from snippets of conversation among the adults that one of his parents was in politics and the other in business.

The woman named Lu Yuanyuan had gentle eyes and brows. She held Zhou Jingchen's hand with her left hand and Xiang Qin's hand with her right hand, and kept expressing her gratitude.

Xiang Qin took out a photo album and showed her photos of Zhou Jingchen when he was a child. The woman cried again as she looked at them.

Zhou Jingchen's father and Wen Zhiting stood by the window smoking, chatting casually.

Upon seeing Wenxi return, the woman went up and hugged her again, cupping her face and saying, "Thank you for taking care of Zeyi for me all these years."

Zeyi was Zhou Jingchen's original name. His parents both had the surname Lu, and they named him Lu Zeyi before he was even born.

Wenxi thought the name was not nice and that his father's name, Jingchen, sounded better.

She clutched the corner of her yellow dress, glanced at Zhou Jingchen, but this time, he kept his head down and didn't look at her.

-

Two days later, Zhou Jingchen's parents planned to return home.

Zhou Jingchen's grandmother was in poor health. When she heard that her grandson had been found, she became so emotional that she was hospitalized.

Fearing something might happen to the elderly woman, her family quickly asked the couple to take Zhou Jingchen back to let the old lady see her grandson.

The clouds were low that day, and the flowers and plants on the windowsill looked gloomy and faded. The earth was a grayish-brown, as if it were about to rain.

Wenxi stared at the enormous doll in the corner, feeling an urge to throw it away. She didn't want it. She didn't care.

The car outside the gate had already started, emitting a deep roar. Xiang Qin called into the house, "Wenxi, Wenxi, aren't you going to see Jingchen off?"

Wenxi didn't respond. She lay on the bed, her head buried in the pillow, a bitter, acidic feeling rising in her chest, choking her throat.

Jiang Xiaoya said she cried when her brother went away to university for the first time. Wenxi also felt like crying at this moment; her pet dog had become someone else's and was going to go with someone else.

"Wenxi."

The bedroom door was pushed open, and Zhou Jingchen stood there, wearing brand-new clothes his parents had bought for him, leaning on a cane under his arm.

The boy was tall and straight, wearing a white shirt, light-colored jeans, and Nike sneakers that looked quite expensive. His outfit made him appear both noble and refined.

He limped forward, opened his palm, and handed her a wooden carving he had carved himself.

They were two children, a chubby girl with a round face and a thin boy, sitting hand in hand on a stool.

It was carved based on a childhood photo on the living room wall. It's so lifelike and the expression is so exquisite that it looks exactly like the real person.

"This is for you."

The boy looked down at her. The girl had soft hair, a delicate and gentle profile, and slightly red eyes, like a little rabbit.

Seeing that she didn't intend to take it, Zhou Jingchen gently placed the wooden carving beside her pillow, leaned down slightly, and spoke in a soft, fragmented voice:

"I'll call you, okay?"

Wenxi turned her back to the wall, her throat feeling choked as if a piece of wood was stuck there, making it impossible for her to speak.

The roar of cars outside grew louder, and the voices of adults urging them on could be heard.

Zhou Jingchen watched the girl's stubborn back, sighed, and walked towards the door with his cane. Before he could go out, there was a sudden "crack" sound. The wooden carving fell at his feet and rolled several times.

Zhou Jingchen paused, his lips pressed tightly together, feeling a sharp pain and distress in his heart.

If it were porcelain, it would probably have shattered long ago.

"I don't care, Zhou Jingchen. I don't care about you, and I don't care about your things." Wenxi's voice was a little hoarse and choked with emotion, and there was a hint of stubbornness in it.

She said, "Zhou Jingchen, I don't care about you, nor do I care about your things."

The young man bit his lower lip, his eyes instantly welling up with tears, his heart drowning in that deep pool along with those words. He gripped his cane tightly and swallowed hard.

He bent down, picked up the small wooden carving, and placed it on the chest of drawers by the door.

He took one last look at the girl on the bed, walked out, and closed the bedroom door.

After a while, the sound of a car driving away could be heard, followed by the sound of Wen Zhiting and Xiang Qin talking in the yard, and nothing else.

The girl lying on the bed suddenly began to tremble, and soft sobs filled the room.

She pursed her lips, tears streaming down her face like broken beads, burying her head in the pillow, feeling incredibly wronged and distressed.

Wenxi swore that she would never speak to Zhou Jingchen again, that she would never answer his calls, and that she would never speak to him again.

He's an ingrate, the most heartless dog ever. Even the big yellow dog at the alley entrance is better than him.

It's better to treat Da Huang well than to treat him well. Every day when she leaves home for school, Da Huang would come over and lick her trouser legs. But he just leaves without a second thought. When his rich parents come, he gets into their car and leaves without a second thought. He's so decisive, cold, and heartless.

Xiang Qin quietly opened the door a crack and saw the small figure huddled on the bed trembling. She gently closed the door again, turned around, and mouthed to her husband, "She's crying."

Wen Zhiting sighed softly, "These two children have grown up together since they were little, inseparable for so many years, like siblings. How could they not cry?"

-

Before leaving, Zhou Jingchen went to his grandfather's grave to say goodbye and solemnly kowtowed three times.

The car drove onto the provincial highway. The trees along the road had stood for many years. It was hard to tell whether they were poplars or towering poplars. All that was known was that the trunks were taut and the branches stretched towards the gray sky.

Inside the car, his hand was held by the woman beside him, whose eyes were filled with joy as she looked at her son, whom she had lost and found again.

The boy sat upright with his back straight, looking rather uncomfortable, his eyes fixed on the scenery rushing past the car window. His mind was a jumble of images, all of which were of the same person.

Happy, aggrieved, crying, pouting, unreasonable, willful, and those cunning yet white little tiger teeth.

"Puppy, help me put on my socks!"

"Good boy, call me sister."

"It itches so much, scratch my back!"

"Zhou Jingchen, I'm cutting all ties with you!"

"Zhou Jingchen, give me your allowance!"

"Want some ice cream? Let me try yours."

"Do you want to make up with me?"

.......

The scenery outside the car window became increasingly unfamiliar: unfamiliar car, unfamiliar people, unfamiliar smells...

Zhou Jingchen's resolute face was clearly visible on the car window, his eyes lonely and cold like a still pool.

Before long, a thick, damp fog rose above the pool, blurring the view.