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

At the reunion dinner, everyone was toasting and laughing, creating a lively scene.

Lin Xujie and Zhou Jingchen sat side by side, their fingertips lightly touching the rim of their glasses. After drinking it all in one gulp, Zhou Jingchen lowered his voice and asked, "How's the investigation going?"

"We've been checking hospitals one by one these past few days," Lin Xujie replied, then paused and raised an eyebrow, "How are things going with you and your childhood sweetheart?"

Mentioning this matter made Zhou Jingchen feel choked up, and fragmented images suddenly flashed through his mind, causing a sharp pain to flash in his eyes.

He raised his hand and rubbed his face, his eyebrows and eyes drooping listlessly: "Not good."

The round table was piled high with cold and hot dishes. Some people clinked their beer glasses and sipped their drinks, while others chatted about their families and children, and still others reminisced about embarrassing moments from their university days. The sounds of their conversations lingered around the table.

During the meal, everyone took turns standing up to toast Professor Qi.

When it was Zhou Jingchen's turn, Professor Qi looked at him with a smile and said gently:

"Jingchen, you should be 27 this year. With such an outstanding career, it's time to seriously consider your personal life."

Someone chimed in, "That's right, it seems like Zhou Jingchen is the only one here who isn't married yet."

"Lin Xujie isn't married yet either."

"Xu Jie is already engaged, and his happy day is just around the corner, but Jing Chen is still undecided."

Zhou Jingchen's lips curved slightly, and he said in a gentle tone, "No rush."

Lin Xujie leaned closer and said in a cheeky tone, "What do you know? He's been secretly in love with his childhood sweetheart for years."

The crowd immediately erupted in commotion: "Oh my, is that so?"

"Tell me quickly, what's their background?"

"Any photos? Let us see!"

Lin Xujie chuckled and reached into Zhou Jingchen's pocket. Zhou Jingchen quickly bent down to cover himself, but he was too slow, and Lin Xujie snatched the money away.

It was a short black wallet with a laminated photo inside. In the photo, Zhou Jingchen was using a cane, and the girl next to him had sweet eyes and a youthful innocence, both of them looking like they were eighteen or nineteen years old.

Lin Xujie pulled out the photo and waved it in front of everyone: "See that? She's incredibly beautiful."

"Don't be ridiculous." Zhou Jingchen kicked his leg lightly and reached out to take back the photos, but the classmates next to him quickly took them and passed them around to each other.

"Wow, you've been hiding your talent! This little green plum is so beautiful!"

"Standing next to you, we look so well-matched!"

"Teacher, look, this is the girl Jingchen likes." A female student handed the photo to Professor Qi.

Professor Qi adjusted his glasses, took the photo and examined it closely, then suddenly said, "I've seen her before."

Zhou Jingchen's expression suddenly froze. He subconsciously looked up at his teacher and asked in surprise, "You just returned to Linshen from England yesterday. When did you see her?"

"It was before I went to England. I remember it very clearly. It was 2001. That autumn was quite cold. I saw this girl in the security room at the school gate. The security guard said she came to see you."

As soon as Professor Qi finished speaking, Zhou Jingchen's blood froze, and his voice tightened: "You mean, she came to the school to find me in 2001?"

"Yes, it was freezing cold, and that girl wasn't wearing a coat. She was so thin, she looked really frail, much thinner than she appears in the photo."

"I told her you went abroad to study, and she stood there stunned for a long time. In the end, she left alone."

The class reunion ended close to 10 p.m., with everyone shaking hands, hugging, exchanging pleasantries, and waving goodbye.

As night fell, only the convenience store along the street shone with warm yellow lights. Zhou Jingchen was in a daze, so he called a designated driver and rushed anxiously towards Wanxingyuan Community.

The crisp sound of leather shoes tapping on the hallway floor tiles woke up the motion-sensor lights, which lit up one after another.

Professor Qi's words echoed repeatedly in his mind, stirring up a storm of emotions within him.

Did she come to the school to look for herself in 2001?

I was studying abroad at the time and didn't know about this.

Why has she never mentioned it?

She was probably hiding from debt collectors with Aunt Xiang and Uncle Wen at the time.

She actually came looking for me?!

Damn it, I wasn't even here!

He couldn't help but want to ask her immediately why she had come to him back then, and why she had stopped looking for him later. Why had she never mentioned this matter after they had been together for so long?

Zhou Jingchen had too many questions weighing on his mind, and he couldn't hold them in any longer. He wanted to find her and get to the bottom of things now.

Reaching the top floor, he knocked on the door for a long time, but there was no answer. Zhou Jingchen's heart sank, and he took out his spare key and unlocked the door.

The moment I pushed open the door, a chill hit me.

The room was pitch black, eerily empty, and eerily silent; there wasn't a trace of human presence.

They ran away again.

Zhou Jingchen felt his blood rush to his head, a strong sense of suffocation rising in his throat. He loosened his tie and slumped dejectedly onto the sofa.

His expression remained frozen for a long time before he slowly and tremblingly took out his phone and dialed her number.

A cold, mechanical voice repeatedly came from the other end of the receiver:

"Hello, the number you dialed is temporarily unavailable..."

"Hello, the number you dialed is temporarily unavailable..."

They ran away again.

How long will this run take? A few months? A few years? More than a decade?

His long, slender fingers trembled uncontrollably, and tears fell one by one onto the unanswered phone screen.

A chill ran down his spine. A vast, cold darkness of fear imprisoned him. His throat felt like it was being choked, and he couldn't make a sound. Only a sob of discomfort stuck in his throat.

He called again and again, but no one answered, so he started sending text messages like crazy.

First came the emotional breakdown, the accusations, and the roaring.

Where are you? Where did you run off to again?

[Are you addicted to disappearing all the time?]

[You're such a scumbag! You're an extremely irresponsible scumbag!]

[You slept with me, then cursed at me; after cursing me, you ran away. You're really something, Wenxi!]

At least other people have a transition period after a breakup, but I didn't even have that. You unilaterally sentenced me to death.

How could you be so capable? Why didn't you just stab me to death before you left?!

Do you think I can do whatever I want with you? Do you think I can't live without you?

Wenxi, you're not only a womanizer, you're wicked! I've never seen such a bad girl! Taking advantage of my love for you, you trample on my heart at the drop of a hat.

Your heart is harder than steel! It's more rotten than tofu dregs!

The dim light from the living room fell on his slumped back and reflected on the top of his dark hair.

In the large room, this usually calm and dignified man had red eyes and was crying like a lost child. His shoulders were trembling, and even his hands were shaking as he typed.

I shouldn't have kept Qiao Yue's matter from you. I'm so sorry, so sorry, so sorry.

[If you want to be with Song Xianglin, then be with him. I didn't say I wouldn't allow it. But you unilaterally dumped me. What's the meaning of that?]

You said you were tired of what I was doing, and that I could learn new ways to please you, but why did you sentence me to death without giving me even the slightest chance?

[I don't care how many people you've been with before. I just want to be with you, by your side, is that okay? Sister, I'll be good.]

Several text messages sank without a trace, receiving no response and causing no ripples.

Zhou Jingchen was terrified and panicked, as if his heart had been ripped out. In his empty chest cavity, cold wind kept penetrating, making him shiver all over.

Tears streamed down his face, and he cried his heart out, his shoulders trembling violently, yet his fingers continued to fly across the phone screen.

You don't want me anymore, do you?

You don't want me anymore, do you?

Sister, are you really not going to get rid of the puppy?

"Do you really not want me anymore?"

......

After making countless phone calls and sending countless text messages, Zhou Jingchen was finally exhausted.

He curled up on the small sofa, holding one of her clothes close to his chest, smelling its light, sweet fragrance, and closed his eyes wearily.

Nine in the morning.

A sudden ringing of a cell phone woke Zhou Jingchen from his dream. Half-asleep, he subconsciously thought it was her calling and was about to answer when he heard his mother Lu Yuanyuan's voice on the other end of the line.

"Jingchen, could you come home for a while when you have time?"

He propped himself up from the sofa, his muscles aching all over, his head throbbing, and his voice hoarse: "Mom, even you're trying to persuade me to go to Grandma..."

"No," Lu Yuanyuan interrupted him, her tone anxious. "Xiaobao suddenly developed a high fever after coming home yesterday, and it didn't go down all night. When she woke up this morning, she cried and asked me to call you and ask you to come back and see her, saying she had something to tell you."

Zhou Jingchen propped himself up on the sofa, rubbed his head, and replied in a deep voice, "Okay, I'll be right back."