The Kid Who Ran Away… Because He Thought No One Wanted Him

He Lin had only just found out.

He had taken Miaomiao to the hospital and didn’t get back until after one.
On the way back, it even rained.
The director had completely given up on the idea of continuing to film.

The guests were all staying in their own rooms.

After lunch, Tang Haohao had kept his head down and eaten.
Then he told Tang He’an he was going to find He Miao to play.

“Go ahead,”
Tang He’an didn’t think much of it.
He just reminded him,
“Don’t cause trouble for Uncle He, and don’t bully the little girl.”

The director had arranged for all the guests on the same floor of the hotel this time.
He Lin’s room was right next to theirs.
The kids often visited each other’s rooms to play.
During the day when everyone was around, no one closed their doors.
The corridor was still full of staff.

Tang He’an watched Tang Haohao walk into He Lin’s room and then stopped paying attention.
Who knew that as soon as he turned his head, Tang Haohao would run back out of He Lin’s room.
He mixed in with the staff, dodging behind the filming equipment in the corridor.
Finally, when no one was paying attention, he ran to the elevator, went down with a group of people, and left the hotel.

He had always been the most rambunctious kid on this parenting show.
He often hid on the set to scare the staff.
Everyone thought he was just playing another prank.

Actually, the assistant director spotted him on the elevator and even called out to him.
But Tang Haohao just ran faster.
The assistant director chased after him but missed the elevator.

He also thought the kid was just messing with them again.

But he didn’t dare take it lightly.
He took a few staff members and caught the next elevator down to look for Tang Haohao immediately.
They searched the entire hotel but couldn’t find him.
He finally realized how serious this was and panickedly notified the director and Tang He’an.

Tang He’an had a vague feeling something was wrong.
He Miao was sick.
Why would Tang Haohao run off to find her?
She had just gotten back from the hospital.
Shouldn’t she be sleeping?

When the director called him, he had already reached He Lin’s room to look for He Miao.
But He Miao shook her head in confusion.

“Little brother didn’t come to find me.”

She had been sleeping.
He Lin was in the bathroom washing her clothes.
Tang Haohao had only wanted to trick Tang He-an in the first place.
He had just lingered at the door for a moment.
No one noticed him.

Tang He-an quickly went to check the security footage.
Only then did he discover Tang Haohao had left the hotel.
For a moment, his mind went blank.

His hands were shaking as he tried to track Tang Haohao’s smartwatch.
But the location signal had disappeared for some reason.
The last known location was the hotel entrance.

“Everyone go help look for him!”
the director frantically told the staff.

After watching the footage, Ning Shixue first went to Tang He-an and the others’ room.
Tang He-an was a rough guy.
His and Tang Haohao’s room was always messy.
But Yan Ting seemed to have severe OCD.
The position of everything rarely changed.

Xie Yaoyao had come over to play in the morning.
Ning Shixue had glanced at it then.
Compared to now, some things were missing.

Tang Haohao’s backpack was gone.
The map the director had given them was gone.
His little wallet, his smartwatch charger, and the raincoat hanging on the door were all gone.

Ning Shixue turned and left.
On the bus that morning, Tang Haohao had been sitting next to them.
He hadn’t deliberately looked, but this kind of memory was instinct for him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he seemed to catch Tang Haohao circling two spots on the map: the top left and bottom right corners.

He found the map the program team had given them.
It was a simplified version, only marking the famous local attractions and restaurants.

Comparing roughly, Tang Haohao had probably gone to the area near the underwater world or the water park.

And these two attractions both had many restaurants nearby.

Xie Yaoyao rubbed his eyes.
He hugged Ning Shixue’s leg, his chubby little face full of confusion.

“Kid,”
Ning Shixue thought for a moment, then crouched down and said to him,
“Send Tang Haohao a voice message.”

Xie Yaoyao tilted his head in Ning Shixue’s arms, raised his children’s smartwatch, and started calling out in his milky voice,

“Tiga Tiga! I just ate piggy dinner!”

Tang Haohao held out for a few minutes, but in the end, he couldn’t help it.
It wasn’t even dark yet, what dinner?

And what the hell was piggy dinner?

“You dreaming again,”
Tang Haohao sighed, then replied to him.
“I going eat big dinner later. Fish even the Sea God never seen.”

He was still cautious.
If Xie Yaoyao asked him where he was, he would definitely think Tang He-an and the others were looking for him and turn off his smartwatch.

But since Xie Yaoyao was talking about piggy dinner, he let his guard down again.

Ning Shixue looked at the map.
It was an island, after all.
There were grilled fish restaurants and seafood places everywhere.
It was impossible to pinpoint.

But the fact that Tang Haohao could reply meant he was safe.

The guests all went out to help search.
Only Grandpa He, whose legs were bad, stayed at the hotel to watch the kids.

Ning Shixue sent Xie Yaoyao there too, then messaged Xie Zhaozhou and left the hotel.

It had just rained.
The ground was muddy everywhere.
The footprints were all trampled and messy.

Ning Shixue lowered his head and looked.
In the chaos of footprints, he found the pattern from the bottom of Tang Haohao’s shoes.

He followed the street.

He stopped at a bus stop.
There was a small puddle of water there.

The footprints by the puddle were clear.
Judging by the size, they were a child’s.
And they were heading towards the bus stop.

There were only three bus lines here.
One of them went to the underwater world.

Ning Shixue hailed a taxi and went there.

He was sure Tang Haohao was at the underwater world.

He didn’t think much about how he knew.

He was too familiar with finding little kids.
Especially the places little kids liked to hide.

He could probably guess them all.

There were only a few places, really.

He had been through a nightmare-level instance once.
It was called Hide and Seek.

The orphanage was full of tragically dead children.
Players had to play hide and seek with them.

If you didn’t find them within the time limit, you died the same way they did.

He had been in that instance for seven days.
He was basically sick of finding kids by the end.
He never wanted to see little brats again.

When Ning Shixue found Tang Haohao, he was in an arcade next to the underwater world.

He had a few game tokens clutched in his hand and was gloomily pounding away at a monster game.

The arcade was full of kids.

And he was taller than other kids his age.
The owner thought he was an elementary school student.

Anyway, their place wasn’t exactly legitimate.
Without even looking up, he let Tang Haohao in.

Ning Shixue first sent Tang He-an a message saying he had found the kid.
Then he sat down next to Tang Haohao.

Tang Haohao was startled.

He had thought about being found, but not this quickly.

And it was Ning Shixue who found him first.

His plan wasn’t even finished yet.
He stood up to run.

But Ning Shixue grabbed his backpack strap.

Tang Haohao’s face turned red as he struggled and kicked.

He was the strongest in his kindergarten.

He couldn’t even break free.

Ning Shixue’s arm didn’t move an inch.

He just held him down.

Tang Haohao gloomily sat back down.

Ning Shixue didn’t say anything.

He started a game on the machine next to him.

He had never played before, but he picked it up quickly.

In a few minutes, fireworks exploded on the screen.

Tang Haohao, on the other hand, couldn’t help it.

He spoke up first.

“Little Ning Gege, why aren’t you asking me?”

“Then why did you run away from home?”
Ning Shixue turned his head.

He was wearing ripped jeans and a white T-shirt.

His shoulder-length hair was tied back.

There was a black earring in his right earlobe.

He looked very nonchalant.

But his peach blossom eyes were too cold and beautiful.

Somehow, no one came over to their side.

Tang Haohao always felt that Little Ning Gege was different from usual.

But he couldn’t explain it.

He hemmed and hawed.

Finally, imitating Xie Yaoyao, he propped his chubby face in his hands and sighed.

He just suddenly couldn’t stand it anymore.

Even though Tang He-an hadn’t told him about the divorce, he could still feel it.

Yan Ting probably didn’t want him or his big dad anymore.

He didn’t do well in school.

His parents were always being called in by the kindergarten teachers.

He wasn’t very obedient either.

He often heard people say his little sister was much more obedient than he was when she was little, and better looking too.

He had always wanted a little sister.

Even before she was born, he had already planned to take her to buy the coolest Ultraman, to take her to the cinema to see Black Soil Wolf.

If she didn’t like that, he could take her to the little princess amusement park.

The little princess amusement park near their house had lots of pretty dresses.

But then his little sister suddenly got sick.

She was in poor health, just like Little Ning Gege.

Her eyes were even damaged.

She couldn’t even walk.

She couldn’t go buy Ultraman with him.

Maybe she would never even get to see what Tiga looked like.

Tang Haohao thought there was nothing more painful than this.

But even that was okay.

Even if she was a fragile flower, he was willing to protect her forever.

Even if she never got to see what Tiga looked like in her whole life, he could be her Tiga.

He also wanted to go abroad with his little sister for treatment.

But Yan Ting refused to take him.

He wouldn’t even take Tang He-an.

Although his little dad called him every night, his voice sounded tired.

And several times, while he was still talking, Yan Ting’s voice suddenly stopped.

His big dad often yelled at him and sometimes even spanked him.

He was already 1.9 meters tall, and when he got angry, it was really scary.

But he wasn’t actually that afraid of his big dad.

Anyway, Tang He-an wore his emotions on his face.

He could easily tell what Tang He-an was thinking.

But he didn’t know if Yan Ting still loved him.

Would he like his little sister more?

There was a kid in his kindergarten whose parents got divorced.

Neither of them wanted him.

Several times during naptime, Tang Haohao heard him crying nearby, calling his mom and dad on his smartwatch.

But no one answered.

It wasn’t until he got into a fight at kindergarten and the teachers called his parents that they both showed up.

He couldn’t help wondering if Yan Ting didn’t want him either, wanted to divorce his big dad.

If he got into a fight at kindergarten, would Yan Ting come?

He had also deliberately gained weight.

Because Yan Ting strictly controlled his diet.

He was naturally prone to gaining weight.

If he didn’t control it, he would instantly gain several sizes.

Even though Tang He-an tried to stop him, he would hide and eat secretly.

He had also broken things at home and argued with the director uncle on the show.

Yan Ting finally came, but he still ignored Tang He-an.

It really seemed like they might get divorced.

He didn’t know what he was supposed to do anymore.

Should he be obedient, or should he not?

He even thought about hating his little sister.

When his little sister wasn’t around, Yan Ting always spent time with him.

He would go to Yan City University to listen to Yan Ting’s lectures.

They would eat dinner together at the faculty cafeteria.

Yan Ting would occasionally smile at him.

But he didn’t hate his little sister at all.

Just like he didn’t want to play with Mu Na, but he still braided her hair.

Tang Haohao hadn’t even finished talking before his voice started to choke up.

His eyes were red.

He raised his hand and rubbed them hard.

Ning Shixue hit the game machine a few more times.

Tang Haohao had run away from home.

Tang He-an and Yan Ting both looked very worried.

Yan Ting’s face was pale in the monitoring room.

He thought Yan Ting probably didn’t only love his little sister.

Yan Ting had taken care of him in the hospital before.
Probably because it reminded him that his own child was also sick.

So he felt sorry for other people getting sick too.

But he wasn’t close to Yan Ting.
And it was impossible for him to coax a kid.
He would never hold someone and comfort them in this lifetime.

He couldn’t say any comforting words either.

Making him do that would be like killing him.

“Everything you just told me,”
Ning Shixue asked Tang Haohao,
“Can I send it to your big dad?”

Tang Haohao was conflicted.
He actually really wanted to ask, but he couldn’t say it in front of Tang He-an and Yan Ting.

He wiped his tears and nodded.

Ning Shixue typed it out and sent it to Tang He-an.

Tang Haohao lay beside him, squirming uncomfortably, twisting his whole little body like a pretzel.

“Since you’re already here,”
Ning Shixue put away his phone and raised an eyebrow.
“Want to play for a bit before going back?”

Huh? Huh?

Tang Haohao was stunned for a moment, then instantly got excited.

He hadn’t wanted to go back in the first place.
He was feeling upset and didn’t want to film the show.

He had planned to play at the underwater world all afternoon and go back after eating grilled fish that night.

Ning Shixue took him to play the basketball game in the arcade.

He had never actually played basketball, but somehow his shots were really accurate.

Tang Haohao even forgot about crying.

Ning Shixue could ride a motorcycle, play basketball, and was better at games than he was.

Now he felt that besides a little sister, he also needed a brother.

Why couldn’t his big dad and little dad give him a brother?

Was his big dad not capable or something?

* * * *

Tang He-an finally breathed a sigh of relief when he got Ning Shixue’s message.

His legs were weak.

He said in the program team’s group chat that the kid was found, then went to find Yan Ting.

When Ning Shixue sent it to him, he had also tracked Tang Haohao’s location to the bus stop.

But he had no idea which bus Tang Haohao had taken, or if he had even gotten on one.

Calling the police and checking the surveillance would take time.

He was pacing anxiously in the monitoring room when he received Ning Shixue’s message.

The underwater world was quite far from here.

It was almost an hour by bus.

He had no idea how the little brat had gotten there, or how Ning Shixue had found him.

Grandpa He was also relieved.

“It’s good that he’s found.”

Now everyone was at Tang He-an’s place.

Xie Yaoyao looked confused.

He was playing with Tang Haohao’s Ultraman.

He didn’t know why, but the Ultraman’s arm came loose and suddenly fell to the floor with a plop.

The baby wasn’t there.

Xie Yaoyao clutched the Ultraman in his chubby little hand, unable to help feeling nervous.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,”
Tang He-an said, looking down to comfort him.

Yan Ting picked up the Ultraman.

Only then did he notice something seemed to be stuffed inside it.

He reached in and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper.

When he unfolded it, his eyes widened.

It was the drawing the director had first asked the kids to make.

The paper they were given that day all had dates on them.

Tang Haohao had drawn their family holding hands.

Then he had crossed out his little sister.

Then he had crossed himself out.

Then he had drawn his little sister again, this time as a little flower.

But in the end, he hadn’t given this to Tang He-an.

He had hidden it and drawn another one, Ultraman fighting the little monster.

Yan Ting’s breath caught.

His parents were also professors.

They had been very strict with him since he was little.

There were even very few hugs.

When he was little, every time he answered a video call, the screen would show his parents’ stern faces.

He knew he had character flaws.

He was very cold and didn’t know how to love.

He had never thought about dating anyone.

That impulsive acceptance of Tang He-an’s proposal back then…

But before they got married, he had made it very clear to Tang He-an that he would regret marrying him.

Tang He-an, however, insisted on being with him.

When his parents found out he was involved with a man, they strongly objected.

Especially since the other person was in the entertainment industry.

They thought that circle was too chaotic.

And Tang He-an was just a stunt double at the time.

Even later, when Tang He-an won the Best Actor award, they still didn’t agree.

This was the first time in his life that Yan Ting had gone against his parents’ wishes.

He had taken it upon himself to accept Tang He-an’s proposal.

His parents, who had been gentle and refined their whole lives, were furious with him.

He thought he could do it.

But he still couldn’t bring himself to answer Tang He-an’s video calls.

He found it very hard to say to Tang Haohao, “Actually, I love you very much.”

It was always Tang He-an taking care of him.

Even Tang Haohao took care of him.

Tang He-an loved acting.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to endure being a stunt double for so many years.

But after marrying him, especially in recent years, he took on fewer and fewer roles.

When their daughter got sick and had surgery, Tang He-an was still on set.

He rushed back, stayed with her after the surgery, then went back to filming.

Sometimes he would drive back to Yan City late at night to be with them, stay up all night, and then go back to the set.

Finally, exhausted, he fell and broke his arm while on wires.

He had only just recovered and was already talking about going abroad with him.

Yan Ting also suddenly realized that his parents had finally accepted Tang He-an.

It wasn’t the result of him arguing with them at home.

It was because Tang He-an had privately gone to beg them back then.

Even after his little sister got sick, Tang Haohao was comforting him.

Telling him not to be afraid, that he would always take care of his little dad and little sister.

That he would become more powerful than Tiga.

It was too painful.

He couldn’t give them the love they seemed to want.

But they had given him so much.

This time going abroad, just taking his daughter for treatment, he was already so tired he would fall asleep in the middle of talking to Tang Haohao on the phone at night.

He couldn’t imagine how tired Tang He-an must be.

He thought he and Tang He-an should just end it here.

Tang Haohao was already grown up.

It wouldn’t be too hard to take care of him.

He had wanted to let Tang He-an take Tang Haohao when they divorced, and he would take care of their daughter.

But Tang He-an didn’t agree.

The show was about to end.

This was what he and Tang He-an had been arguing about.

He thought Tang Haohao would love Tang He-an more and would rather go with him.

After all, Tang He-an could always respond to him.

Yan Ting held that drawing paper, his eyes red.

When he lowered his head, tears fell.

* * * *

Ning Shixue took Tang Haohao out to play all afternoon.

It wasn’t until evening that Tang Haohao was finally willing to go back.

Now he was starting to get scared, afraid Tang He-an would hit him.

He dawdled, refusing to leave, and even hid behind Ning Shixue’s leg.

“Boss, you will protect me, right?”

“….”

Ning Shixue didn’t know when he had acquired a little brother.

He asked Tang Haohao,

“Aren’t you Tiga?”

Tang Haohao, of course, hadn’t forgotten what he had said before.

But now, being Tiga wasn’t as important as his butt.

If his butt got spanked, what kind of humiliated Tiga would that be?

Better not be one at all.

He stammered,

“I can let you be Tiga instead.”

Ning Shixue: “…”

He didn’t want to become light, thank you very much.

That evening, a bonfire was lit by the sea.

The sea breeze blew in their faces.

Even though Tang Haohao didn’t want to, Ning Shixue took him back.

The guests were all very worried and came out with the director to meet them.

Tang Haohao shrank his neck and walked over.

But to his surprise, Tang He-an didn’t hit him.

Tang He-an was sarcastic.

“You came pretty well equipped.”

He even remembered to bring a charger, an umbrella, and learned to create a diversion.

Like he was afraid he wouldn’t piss him off enough.

It was completely dark now.

Xie Zhaozhou was also outside waiting for someone.

But he was waiting for Ning Shixue.

Xie Zhaozhou was leaning against the hood of the car.

It was very dark under the trees at night.

If he hadn’t lit a cigarette, a spark glowing by his lips, Ning Shixue might not have noticed him.

When Ning Shixue walked over, Xie Zhaozhou put out the cigarette.

“It’s fine,”
Ning Shixue stopped him.
“I don’t mind. I smoke sometimes too.”

Xie Zhaozhou still crushed the cigarette butt.

His usual cold rose perfume scent mixed with the smell of tobacco.

He held Ning Shixue’s cold hand and warmed it.

“When did you learn to smoke?”

Ning Shixue pressed his lips together and didn’t answer.

Wasn’t it normal for him to learn bad habits?

It would be weird if he didn’t smoke or fight at all.

He didn’t dare tell Xie Zhaozhou that he actually knew how to drive, and he knew how to ride a motorcycle too.

But no one had taught him.

He had just learned by crashing.

Either he crashed and died, or he learned.

He seemed to have been pretty lucky.

Yan Ting was holding Tang Haohao and crying.

Ning Shixue suddenly felt a bit sad too.

Not all misunderstandings could be resolved.

Liao Yanwan really didn’t love Xie Zhaozhou.

She had even hired someone to try and run him over with a car.

The light reflected in Xie Zhaozhou’s narrow, deep eyes.

Like a silent deep sea that couldn’t be penetrated.

Ning Shixue couldn’t help grabbing his hand.

“What’s wrong?”
Xie Zhaozhou looked down and asked.

Ning Shixue’s face was full of conflict.

He had realized a very serious problem.

He was much colder than Yan Ting.

He couldn’t help overthinking, and he didn’t want to tell Xie Zhaozhou.

If someone knew what he was thinking, he felt very unsafe.

Xie Zhaozhou teased him all the time.

But he could feel that Xie Zhaozhou seemed to really like him.

If he didn’t say anything, would Xie Zhaozhou think he didn’t like him?

Now… he didn’t want to divorce Xie Zhaozhou.

Xie Zhaozhou put his arm around his waist and pulled him closer.

Ning Shixue’s eyes were full of struggle.

He didn’t say anything, but the tips of his ears gradually reddened.

And the way he looked at him was inexplicably full of sympathy.

Actually, Xie Zhaozhou had just been sitting on the hood waiting for him and smoking a cigarette.

He wasn’t so sensitive that he thought about everyone he saw.

He didn’t think about Liao Yanwan that easily either.

He couldn’t know what Ning Shixue was thinking.

But it was too cute.

Xie Zhaozhou couldn’t help teasing him.

He looked up, his eyes dark, like a turbulent, shadowy deep current.

Ning Shixue fell for it.

He thought Xie Zhaozhou was genuinely in a bad mood.

Finally, his ears red, he took out two movie tickets.

“Teacher Xie, want to go see a movie later?”

It was the movie Xie Zhaozhou had bought tickets for last time.

It hadn’t finished its run yet.

It wasn’t the same cinema, but he had bought seats in the exact same row and numbers.

When he passed the cinema with Tang Haohao, he had picked up the tickets.

Xie Zhaozhou’s eyes widened in surprise.

His tongue ran over his teeth.

He couldn’t help pushing further, a knowing smile on his face.

“What made Teacher Xiao Ning suddenly think of seeing this movie with me?”

Ning Shixue hesitated for a few seconds without speaking.

Xie Zhaozhou thought he had gone too far, that Ning Shixue was genuinely angry.

He lowered his head, wanting to coax him.

But before he could speak, Ning Shixue had already looked up, his face bright red.

He gathered all the courage in his life and whispered to him,

“To go on a date, gege.”