A Story and a Departure

After changing out of the clothes that made him feel utterly uncomfortable, Qin An didn’t return to the classroom as he had hoped. Instead, Tongtong pulled him to a patch of grass next to the playground. They sat quietly under the shade of a tree, neither of them speaking. Tongtong sat in Qin An’s arms, leaning against his chest, playing with his hands, turning them over and over.

“Are they pretty?”

“An, your hands are so beautiful. Your nails are beautiful too.”

“Not as beautiful as Tongtong! Tongtong is the prettiest!” Qin An said, rubbing Tongtong’s slightly chubby cheeks.

“Heehee~” Tongtong beamed with a heartfelt smile after receiving Qin An’s compliment.

“An, I’m sleepy.”

“Go home and sleep. Your mom should be nearby, right?”

“No! I want to sleep by your side!”

Hearing Qin An trying to send her away, Tongtong angrily stood up, walked to his right, and lay down on his lap. Her little face puffed up in anger, and she said nothing.

“Tongtong?”

“Hmph…”

“Tongtong?”

“An, I’m very, very angry right now! The consequences will be severe.”

“How about I tell you a story?”

“Okay! Okay! Tongtong loves stories the most.” Only then did Tongtong turn her head to look directly at Qin An. But feeling that wasn’t enough, she grabbed both his hands—placing one on her head and holding the other herself.

“Once upon a time, there was a very, very powerful person who had killed many, many people. One time, he was ambushed by a large group, fell from a great height, and crashed through the roof of a church.”

“And then? Did that person die?”

“His body was extremely tough; he was completely fine. Before him appeared a girl in a pink dress with chestnut curly hair. She smiled beautifully and purely, like the cleanest thing in the world, very similar to someone he had once loved deeply. This powerful man was instantly stunned, but the girl scolded him.”

Tongtong opened her big eyes and asked, “Why? Because he broke the church roof?”

“No, because he crushed the girl’s flowers. It turned out the church was abandoned, and the girl grew flowers there. She lived in the slums with a bedridden younger sister, though it seemed she had never even met her sister. Every day, early in the morning, she rollerbladed to the square to sell flowers. But she didn’t know that someone was watching her every day.”

“Was it that person? Did he like that girl very much?”

“Yes, he liked her very much. He tried desperately to learn everything about her—what she liked to eat, what she did. Every day, he watched over her from the shadows. If anyone tried to make a move on her or had bad intentions toward her, they wouldn’t live to see the next morning. Later, one day, the girl finally found out what he was doing. She was very angry and told him to stop meddling in her affairs.”

“Did that person give up?”

“No, he didn’t. He acted like a rogue and ended up refusing to leave the church. The girl asked him, ‘What exactly do you want?’ He said, ‘I want to help you.’ The girl instantly smiled. Later, she asked him to help build a flower cart so she could sell many, many flowers at once!”

“Did they finish the flower cart?”

“Yes, they did. But someone told him that the girl was a bad person and that she was only approaching him to deceive him. He didn’t believe it. Unexpectedly, later the girl admitted it herself.”

Tongtong’s curiosity was piqued. “What happened next?”

“That person killed the girl with his own hands. Blood splattered all over the flower cart. Only afterward did he find out that the girl had done it for his own good.”

“An, you’re crying. That’s ugly.” Tongtong got up and wiped away the tears at the corners of Qin An’s eyes, but no matter how much she wiped, they wouldn’t stop. Finally, she did what her mother always did when she cried.

Tongtong gently kissed away Qin An’s tears, patted his head, and comforted him, “An, be good, don’t cry, don’t cry.”

Hearing Tongtong’s words, Qin An couldn’t help but laugh through his tears. What was wrong with him today? He lifted his head at a forty-five-degree angle and gazed at the azure sky, wondering if she was still alive. Had she started selling flowers for her sister?

“Tongtong, no matter what happens in the future, you must always believe that you are right, because only you won’t deceive yourself.” Qin An stroked Tongtong’s hair and smiled.

Tongtong nodded, not fully understanding but looking serious.

Tongtong rubbed her eyes, her gaze growing drowsy. She was truly sleepy now. She returned to her previous spot, pulled Qin An’s hands, and made the same gestures as before, as if only this could bring her peace of mind, only this could let her hold onto someone.

Soon, Tongtong fell asleep, breathing evenly. Now Qin An couldn’t leave even more.

After waiting for a long time, Tong Tong finally appeared before Qin An.

“So, Young Pioneer, do you like my gift?” She plopped down beside Qin An. Instinctively, he wanted to move away, but with Tongtong as deadweight, he couldn’t budge a millimeter.

“No.”

Ignoring Qin An’s words, Tong Tong said to herself, “I’m leaving.”

“Where are you going?”

“I plan to go to England, to learn from the schools there, and see if I can change the current state of education.”

Qin An pressed, “Just because of that?”

Tong Tong shook her head. Gently stroking the sleeping Tongtong, she said, “I plan to take this child to England to relax. Nan’an City is too oppressive—full of bad memories everywhere. Also, the psychologists there are more reputable. I hope Tongtong can speak more and communicate with others.”

Her eyes were full of tenderness as she looked at Tongtong.

“By the way, there’s something I need your help with.”

“What is it?” Tong Tong asked in surprise, never expecting that this incredibly capable elementary school student would ask her for a favor.

Qin An took out a memory card from his pocket and said solemnly, “This contains evidence of disgusting things done by a beastly teacher at our school. I hope you can handle him discreetly.”

“Is it Ren Yin? I’ve heard of him for a long time, but there was never any evidence. Plus, his wife is the second-in-command in the Education Bureau. But since you have evidence, and I’m leaving anyway, I might as well send them a luxurious farewell gift.”

“I’ll leave this to you. If there’s nothing else, I’ll go now.”

“Don’t you want to stay until Tongtong wakes up to see her? This child really enjoys being with you.” For some reason, Tong Tong wanted to keep him, whether for Tongtong or for herself.

“No need. As long as Tongtong can grow up happily on the other side of the ocean.”

Watching Qin An’s gradually receding figure, Tong Tong felt something inexplicable growing and spreading inside her like a virus.