Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

The three adults stood there, trembling all over.

Sweetie's mother, Li Xiufang, could no longer stand. She leaned against her husband, tears streaming down her face, and covered her mouth tightly with her hand to stop herself from crying out loud.

Xiao Bao's mother, Zhang Xiaoyan, clenched her fists, her nails digging into her flesh, her eyes fixed on the small figure walking towards her.

Sweetie and Xiaobao stood in front of the three adults.

They looked up at the strangers, their eyes devoid of any particular emotion. To them, these were merely strangers called their parents.

Li Xiufang finally couldn't hold back anymore. She rushed forward, hugged Tiantian tightly, squatted down, buried her face in the child's shoulder, and burst into tears.

"Sweetie...my sweetie...Mommy has finally found you..."

Wang Jianguo rushed up and hugged his wife and daughter. The big man was crying so hard that he was trembling all over, his face covered in tears and snot.

Zhang Xiaoyan held Xiaobao in her arms, crying so hard she couldn't speak. She just held the child tightly and kissed his hair over and over again.

Sweetie was a little out of breath from being hugged so tightly.

She didn't recognize the woman, and she didn't know why she was crying.

She didn't know how she should feel.

He just stood there, letting the woman hug him, his face expressionless.

but--

Among the children watching, some had tears in their eyes.

DouDou's tears fell first.

Then came the stones.

And then...

One after another, tears fell like beads from a broken string.

I don't know who started crying first.

Suddenly, all thirty-odd children burst into tears.

Sweetie and Xiaobao heard the noise.

They turned to look at their companions.

Those companions who stayed in the dark room with me, those companions who were beaten and scolded with me, those companions who went down the slide together, swung on the swing together, and splashed around in the ball pit together.

Everyone was watching them cry.

Sweetie suddenly felt a tightness in her chest, and something welled up in her eyes.

She blinked, and the substance fell down, trickling down her cheek.

Xiao Bao's mouth twitched, and he began to sob.

The two children began to struggle, trying to break free from their parents' embrace and run back to their companion.

Their parents were terrified, hugged them tighter, and cried even louder.

"Sweetie! Sweetie, don't go! Mommy finally found you!"

"Little Bao! Little Bao, it's Mommy!"

But all the two children knew was that their friends were crying.

They need to go back...

……

In the distance, on the slope beside the playground, Yueyue, Guoguo, Xiaoguang, and Duoduo stood in a row, watching this scene from afar.

Yueyue suddenly spoke up: "Senior brother."

Cheng Mo looked down at her.

Yueyue's eyes were still fixed on the large playground: "Will we leave like this someday?"

Cheng Mo paused for two seconds, then rubbed Yueyue's head: "Yes, I will."

Yueyue didn't say anything.

Guoguo didn't say anything.

Xiao Guang didn't say anything.

Duoduo didn't say anything either.

The four children stood there, looking at their companions in the distance, their eyes a little red.

……

Over on the playground, the children's cries grew louder and louder.

Liao Zhong stood to the side, his eyes red-rimmed, and secretly wiped the corner of his eye with his sleeve.

Old Meng pulled him back: "Old Liao, we need to let them go."

Liao Zhong sniffed, then waved his hand dismissively: "Let's go!"

Three adults carrying a child walked toward the car.

The children immediately surrounded the car, completely blocking its view.

"Don't go!"

"Sweetie, don't go!"

"Xiao Bao!"

Sweetie and Xiaobao struggled even more fiercely in their parents' arms, kicking their little arms and legs wildly, and their cries became distorted.

Liao Zhong hardened his heart: "Stop them!"

The employees of Nadutong went forward and hugged each of the children.

"Don't cry, they'll come back."

"Let me go! I want sweets!"

"Let me through! Let me through!"

The children struggled, cried, and called out the names of their companions.

The employees held the children, letting them struggle and cry, but they wouldn't let go.

The car finally started and slowly drove forward.

The children could only watch helplessly as the car drove further and further away.

Sweetie and Xiaobao were pressed against the car window, their faces against the glass, patting the window, and shouting something...

The employees let go, and the children immediately ran in the direction the car had disappeared, calling out the two names as they ran.

"Sweetie!"

"Xiao Bao!"

DouDou ran in front, her face covered in tears.

Little Swallow ran away too, until her hair was all disheveled.

Stone, Lele, Dazhuang... all the children were chasing that car.

The employees did not pursue the matter.

They stood there, watching the children run further and further away, slower and slower, until finally they stopped and stood at the end of the road, gazing into the distance.

Then the employees slowly walked over to the children, stayed with them, and looked at the empty road.

……

Inside the car, the three adults calmed down more quickly.

Li Xiufang held Tiantian in her arms and gently patted her back.

Wang Jianguo sat beside his wife, holding her hand, looking out the window.

Xiao Bao's mother held him, gently patted his back, and murmured, "It's okay, it's okay," and "Mommy will be with you every day from now on."

The two children were still sobbing, their little bodies were still trembling, and tears were still on their faces, but they had stopped struggling.

The two children were still sobbing, their little bodies were still trembling, and tears were still on their faces, but they had stopped struggling.

They nestled in the arms of a stranger, their gaze fixed on an unseen direction, on their companions who were no longer visible.

After driving for more than an hour, we arrived at an airport.

The three adults had completely calmed down, and Tian Tian and Xiao Bao had stopped crying.

But he still didn't say anything.

They just follow along, going wherever they're told to go.

Liao Zhong got out of the car and escorted them to the entrance of the waiting hall.

"Gentlemen, there's something I'd like to ask you."

The three people were looking at him.

Liao Zhong pointed to the two children: "I hope you can film Tian Tian and Xiao Bao's daily life. We will arrange for someone to pick it up and show it to the other children."

He paused for a moment: "As you just saw, the children have a very good relationship. I hope that in the short term, your presence will give those children strength and let them know that their companions are going to a warm home, not disappearing."

Li Xiufang nodded vigorously: "Comrade, don't worry, we will definitely film, we will film every day."

Wang Jianguo also said, "We'll buy a video camera when we get back, and we'll record every day."

Holding Xiaobao in her arms, Zhang Xiaoyan promised with tears in her eyes, "I will make sure Xiaobao is happy every day, and let those children see that Xiaobao is doing well."

Liao Zhong smiled and nodded: "Then I'll leave it to you."

He squatted down, looking directly at Tian Tian and Xiao Bao: "Tian Tian, ​​Xiao Bao."

The two children looked at him.

Liao Zhong smiled and said, "When you go back, live a good life, study hard, and listen to your parents, okay?"

The two children didn't speak, they just nodded blankly.

Liao Zhong smiled and patted the two children's heads before getting up to see them into the airport.

The three adults, with the child, went through security and disappeared into the crowd.

Liao Zhong stood there, gazing in that direction for a long time.

Then he turned around and strode out.

……

Over at the large playground.

The children are back.

DouDou squatted on the ground and buried her face in her knees.

Little Swallow sat beside her, staring blankly at the sky.

The stone leaned against the slide, saying nothing.

In the distance, Yueyue and the others watched their companions from the edge of the playground.

They didn't cry as hard as the other children.

They had senior brothers and Sister Xia He to keep them company.

They are not very good at understanding the emotional changes of their peers.

Actually, Cheng Mo didn't quite understand either.

He looked at the children, thinking about his own childhood.

In his past life, when his parents went out to work, he would watch them get on the bus and leave, and he would cry.

But once the car was out of sight, the tears had already stopped, and my attention was quickly drawn to other things.

In this lifetime, I have never felt so reluctant to leave my master and go down the mountain that I shed tears.

It's just parting.

It's very common.

There's no need to be too sad about it.

Just then, someone patted me on the back.

Cheng Mo turned his head and saw Xia He standing next to him, her eyes red and tears welling up in them.

"Little Taoist priest," Xia He sniffed, "I feel like crying."

Cheng Mo was taken aback.

Is this girl so easily moved?

He looked at her for two seconds, then looked away: "Let's go, back to practice."

Xia He took a deep breath: "Let's go, let's go, we can't stand this atmosphere, we need to do something fun."

She pulled Cheng Mo toward the small playground, and the four children followed.

Happy things.

Yes, it's a happy thing.

Parting is often bittersweet, but for the children, it means completely escaping the hardships of the previous four or five years and starting a new chapter in their lives.

Perhaps, in their new families, they still won't have many choices.

But at least they knew that in a faraway place, they had their companions.

When they grow up, they can choose their own lives.

At least, unlike that girl named Chen Duo, she won't have to choose death.

That's enough.