Chapter 694: My Life Here
I really wanted to cry back then.
But Sister Siwei kept comforting me, which made me feel a lot better.
She said I was a true "hero," that I had saved everyone.
I held her hand the whole time. All the adults scared me, but Sister Siwei didn't seem to.
"Sister, do we have to go with them?" I pointed at the aunties and uncles ahead.
Ever since they stepped onto the street, the smell coming off them had been complicated. It was like they were thinking about a lot of things.
"Little hero, even though I don't like them either, this creepy place is too strange." She frowned as she looked around at the rundown city. "No matter what, there's strength in numbers. If we wander off on our own, it might be even more dangerous."
"Huh...?"
That was hard for me to understand. The uncle leading the group was clearly giving off a "killing intent" smell. Couldn't Sister smell it? Or did she smell it and still think he was safe?
At the time, I didn't think too deeply about what she said. I didn't know that I was the only one who could smell those strange odors. Looking back now, I think that might have been the most painful decision of my life.
After walking a few hundred meters, the leading uncle seemed to think of something and turned back to stare at Sister.
Sister looked a little scared, but she still tried to hide me behind her.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
The leading uncle grinned, standing right in front of us.
"Little girl," he called out. "What's your name?"
"Li Siwei."
"Good name." The uncle nodded. "I could tell you were smart from the start. How about we work together?"
"Work together?"
"Yeah." The uncle was all smiles, but his smell wasn't pleasant. "Siwei, I'm pretty big-time out there, you know. I like working with smart people—makes me feel powerful. So, how about joining us?"
He pulled a small cloth pouch from his pocket and opened it, revealing a pile of small emerald-green stones inside.
"That dragon-head guy said we need to collect tens of thousands of these little stones. The more people we have, the faster we'll finish," the uncle said. "Do you know the most important thing when you're trying to accomplish something big?"
"Surviving," Sister said.
"No, it's building an unbreakable team." The uncle laughed. "I've built countless teams. I know how to make the most of everyone's strengths. You're sharp, girl, so I'm inviting you to join me. Together, we'll succeed."
I hid behind Sister, not daring to speak, just smelling that heavy odor coming off the uncle.
Sister hesitated for a moment, her brow furrowing. "What should I call you, sir?"
"My surname is Wan. Wan Cai," the uncle replied. "And don't call me 'sir'—I'm only forty."
This uncle was really strange. The heavy smell on him only lessened when he talked about his name and age.
"Brother Wan," Sister changed her address. "I've met some big shots before, but none of them talked like you. Have you really built many teams?"
"Oh?" Uncle Wan's look at Sister shifted, and his smell diminished a little more. "Seems like little Li is young but well-traveled. I have indeed built many excellent teams and led them all. You don't have to believe me now, but you'll see my abilities as we work together. I also hope you'll shine and contribute to our big family."
"Big family...?" Sister asked, puzzled.
"I've already talked to them." Uncle Wan pointed at the aunties a little ways off and smiled. "From now on, we'll treat each other as 'family.' It'll make us more united and give us more drive. Everyone will be family in one big household. What do you think?"
The smell of "doubt" on Sister grew stronger.
"Brother Wan... if I join your so-called 'big family,' what do I have to do?"
"Nothing much," Uncle Wan replied. "The only requirement is that we discuss everything together. Our family will be fair and just. It's only ten days anyway. Let's give it our all and gather these stones together."
That day, after much thought, Sister still agreed to Uncle Wan's request.
From that day on, our lives changed completely.
The first few days were nothing special. Uncle Wan really acted like a family patriarch. He divided everyone into groups, arranged for them to participate in some games, and sent the few aunties who weren't suited for games to find food.
But whether it was because the aunties really couldn't find food, or because this place simply had none, they came back empty-handed for two days straight. It wasn't until the third day that they brought back some awful-tasting canned food and bottled water.
The smell coming off Uncle Wan was angry, but he still put on a smiling face. He kept saying "we're all family," but the nasty smell on him couldn't be hidden.
I often saw Uncle Wan's eyes turn icy cold late at night. He didn't like sleeping. He just stared at the others in the darkness, and his smell grew more and more terrifying.
Since Dad often came home drunk, I never dared to sleep too deeply. Every night, at the slightest sound, I would jolt awake. That's how I noticed everything Uncle Wan did at night.
Whenever someone turned over, I'd wake up. And every time I woke up, I'd instinctively glance at Uncle Wan. He never slept.
Oh, right—maybe that's my "special talent"?
I mean... being able to wake up faster than others—maybe that's my "special talent"?
Why am I only thinking about this now...?
Before, our teacher asked us to write down our "special talents." I thought for a long time and could only write "none." The kids who had talents were praised by the teacher. She made us clap for them, and I clapped harder than anyone.
I don't know why I clapped so hard, but I just kept clapping. I really wanted to have a "special talent."
But it's okay now. If the teacher ever asks us to write down our "special talents" again, I can write "I wake up faster than others." The teacher will praise me, right?
Will the other kids clap for me?
Will I... ever see them again? Will I ever see Xu Jiahua...?
I still really want to cry.
Even though I don't miss my parents or my teacher, I really want to cry.
Every night, I lean on Sister's shoulder to sleep. I don't like those adults. I only like Sister.
But Sister has been looking really tired lately. Today, she even cut her palm.
She keeps telling me "it's nothing," but I feel like something's wrong. Her smell is starting to get murky.
Uncle Wan hasn't given me any work either. He just makes me stay in the room all the time.
At least I can tidy up. Every day, I clean the room and wait for everyone to come back.
But the atmosphere among the adults grows more tense by the day. They start arguing more and more. Finally, on the sixth day, something happened.