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

The car drove smoothly on the highway, but the air pressure inside the car was so low it felt oppressive.

Zhou Jingchen's gaze was fixed on the road ahead, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, and the frown between his brows remained unresolved.

Half an hour later, the vehicle slowly drove into Wanxingyuan residential area.

This is an old community without even access control; it's pitch black at night, and the streetlights have long since disappeared. The residents are a mixed bag—butchers, thieves, prostitutes, and all sorts of people mingle among them.

Not long ago, he and Lin Xujie had thoroughly searched this area, so he was quite familiar with the environment. However, at that time, they had not found any trace of her.

"Which building?" he asked.

Looking to the side, her long, dark hair fell over her shoulders. Her expression was aloof, her lips were slightly pursed, and she was as silent and indifferent as an ice queen.

"Building 3." The voice was also clear and cold, like snowmelt from the top of a snow-capped mountain.

Building 3 was in the first row, and the road was fairly wide. Zhou Jingchen parked the car steadily in front of the building and turned off the engine.

Wenxi's fingertips curled slightly, and she uttered a stiff "Thank you." Then she picked up her coat from her lap, preparing to open the door and get out of the car.

I tugged twice, but the car door didn't budge.

She turned her head, her brows furrowed: "Open the door!"

Zhou Jingchen also looked at her. His eyes were as deep as a cold pool, with a storm churning within them.

A torrent of questions and grievances threatened to burst from his chest, but fearing she wouldn't answer properly, he could only suppress his surging emotions and carefully and patiently ask her questions one by one:

"Why did you run away when you saw me last time?"

"If the urban management officers chase me, how can I not run?"

"What exactly happened seven years ago?" He forced himself to remain calm and tried to make his voice sound steady.

Wenxi pulled the doorknob a few more times, but seeing that she really couldn't open it, she simply put on a sullen face, crossed her arms, and sat back down in her seat.

His tone was full of impatience: "The factory closed down, and my parents lost their jobs."

Zhou Jingchen later learned about the factory's closure. However, since Uncle Wen had worked for Aunt Wen for so many years and his family was quite well-off, it was unlikely that they would suddenly be reduced to the point where she had to set up a stall.

"Where did you go after that?"

"Qianzhou," she casually picked a city name.

"What are you going there for?"

"My dad's in business," she said casually, continuing to make things up.

Where are Uncle Wen and Aunt Xiang now?

"Still in Qianzhou."

Are they doing well?

"very good."

Zhou Jingchen stared intently at her with his dark eyes, gave a helpless, mocking laugh, and said in a choked voice, "Wenxi, do you think I'm that easy to fool?"

Wenxi paused slightly.

"Are you doing well?" He suppressed the tears welling up in his eyes.

"Why...are you setting up a stall on the overpass? What happened at home?"

His voice was strained and trembling.

Only a dim yellow overhead light was on inside the carriage, while outside it was pitch black, and the howling cold wind rushed to squeeze into the gaps between the carriages.

Wenxi unconsciously tightened her grip on the clothes draped over his lap, and gave a nonchalant hum:

"They've fallen on hard times, can't you tell? Their business failed, they're in debt, and the three of them are struggling to make ends meet. They're working in Qianzhou, and I'm in Linshen. There are more opportunities here, suitable for young people to work hard and earn more money."

She gently bit her lip, looked up at him, her gaze cool: "Any other questions? I'm going back to sleep."

A few words, light and casual, were enough for Zhou Jingchen to imagine countless scenes of her struggling to make a living.

His heart ached unbearably; he clenched his fists, closed his eyes in pain for a moment, and when he opened them again, his eyes were wet with tears.

"Why haven't you contacted me?"

"I've been back to Pingjiang many times, but I haven't heard from you at all. I went to my maternal grandmother's house in the countryside, but they've moved away. I asked all my former neighbors and friends, but no one knows anything about you. Even if... even if you don't contact them, you should at least have told me, right? Do you know how worried I am? Aren't we... family?"

Zhou Jingchen genuinely believed that the family of three had gone on a trip to relax. He went abroad to study and made countless phone calls and sent countless letters home, but they all disappeared without a trace.

A year later, upon returning to China, his first stop was Pingjiang, where the courtyard remained locked. He spent two months of his summer vacation searching the world for news of them, but to no avail.

He was disheartened and desperate.

Because he had to attend a new course program at a school in the United States, he had to return home after two months. During this time, he asked his friends in China to search for his family.

Seven years, a full seven years, without a single word.

The reunion he imagined was not like this at all.

He wanted to have a good talk with her, at least a heart-to-heart talk, and she would tell him all about the things that had happened over the years.

But now, her attitude is indifferent, her expression is cold, as if he were just a complete stranger.

Zhou Jingchen's knuckles were clenched so tightly they turned white, his voice low and hoarse, filled with pain:

"We're family, right? Hmm? Sister... you should at least tell me about your situation, let me know... how are you and your aunt and uncle?"

"Why didn't you call me or come to see me?"

Wenxi lowered her eyes, remaining silent for a long time, her nails digging deeply into her palms. "When you're down on your luck, you naturally don't want others to know. Why would I come to you? To borrow money?"

"Am I someone else?" His voice suddenly tightened.

"However much money you owe, I'll pay it off for you!"

"My uncle and aunt treat me like their own parents. No matter how much they owe me, I will pay it back. There's no need to mention the word 'borrow'."

"Even if I didn't have the ability at the time, my parents and my grandmother would never have stood idly by..."

Wenxi glanced at him and coldly interrupted, "No need! Zhou Jingchen, we won't take a single penny from you. Besides, we've almost paid off our debts. My parents took care of you before because they were kind-hearted and saw that it wasn't easy for a disabled child like you, so they helped out. They never expected anything in return. They didn't need anything before, and they certainly don't need anything now."

She looked away, gazing at the dark front window, her voice indifferent:

"Also, don't come looking for me anymore. We haven't seen each other for so many years, there's really no affection left. We're all adults now, with our own lives, let's not bother each other."

"I will pass on your kindness to my parents."

She had finished speaking, and that was all she could say.

Every word was like a sharp knife stabbing into Zhou Jingchen's heart.

Wenxi was exhausted. The air inside the car was thin, and she felt incredibly suffocated. All she wanted to do was escape as soon as possible.

"Could you please open the car door for me? I need to go back and rest; I have work to do tomorrow."

"I want to see my uncle and aunt." He didn't open the car door, his reddened eyes fixed on her, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "Wenxi, I don't believe a single word you said today."

Forget about having no feelings for each other and not bothering each other. How could he possibly stand idly by and do nothing about her situation?

"I'll find you a job. Also, don't live here anymore. I have an empty apartment; you can move there. This area is all old neighborhoods, densely populated and chaotic, it's not safe."

As soon as he finished speaking, a cold sneer rang in his ears.

"No, who do you think you are, Zhou Jingchen? What gives you the right to tell me what to do? Do you think you're so powerful now that you can dictate my life?"

"I just want to help you."

She looked exhausted: "If you open the car door now and let me go back and get some rest, that would really be helping me. I'm so tired today."

"My parents are hiding from debt collectors and keep changing their contact information, so I don't know their exact whereabouts. I'll wait for them to contact me."

Zhou Jingchen looked at her quietly. The two remained silent for a moment in the dim light of the car's roof lamp.

Finally, he reluctantly unlocked the car door, saying, "I'll take you upstairs."

"Need not."

Wenxi opened the car door on her own, and he immediately followed her out with his long legs, grabbing her wrist.

"You're not allowed to follow me!"

Wenxi shook off his hand, turned around and glared angrily, her eyes filled with coldness.

"Why did you do this to me?" His chest ached as if stabbed with needles, his voice tight. "Weren't we... best friends? Friends, but more than that, we were family."

"How did you become like this, Wenxi..." Her voice trembled, breaking into despair in the cold wind.

Wenxi paused, swallowed the lump in her throat, and forcefully suppressed the tears welling up in her eyes:

"We've all grown up, Zhou Jingchen. No feelings last forever. I've changed; I'm not the Wenxi I used to be, and we're no longer best friends."

Her words were cold and resolute, each one distinct:

"It can never be like that again in this lifetime."

As soon as she finished speaking, she turned and stepped onto the stairs, her back showing no sign of lingering.

The "tap-tap" of footsteps echoed in the empty stairwell.

The old motion-sensor lights had long since broken and no one had repaired them. The hallway was dim and gloomy.

He leaned weakly against the car, his tall figure standing in the winter night, his long eyelashes drooping, casting a deep, impenetrable shadow beneath his eyes, looking as forlorn as if abandoned by the whole world.

A few minutes later, a window on the top floor lit up.

He straightened up and looked up.

Wenxi took off her coat, walked to the window, and looked down at him.

The two gazed at each other from a distance of several dozen meters, yet their eyes seemed to pierce through the thick darkness, looking straight into each other's eyes.

The winter night wind, carrying shards of snow, rattled the windows on the top floor.

Zhou Jingchen wasn't wearing a coat; his slender, elegant figure stood out against the snowy night.

The cold wind tousled his tousled hair, scraping his cheeks like razor blades, but he simply held his head high, gazing at her intently, his dark eyes as deep as ink.

The two gazed at each other for a long, quiet time, as if the air around them had frozen.

Scenes from the past flashed through Wenxi's mind...

Her eyelashes trembled, her fingertips curled slightly, and she abruptly pulled the curtains shut.

The curtains were drawn, the heavy fabric blocking the view from outside. A sharp pain suddenly exploded from my heart, spreading to every part of my body.

She turned around, as if she had lost all her strength, and slowly squatted down, curling up in the corner and burying her face in her knees.

Unable to contain herself any longer, she burst into trembling sobs.