Dabao looked at Liu Yusheng sitting beside him guiltily, "Nannan, it's not that we don't play with him, it's him who doesn't play with us. We've been to Luofu Mountain a few times these days, and every time we run into him, he doesn't even greet us, he just sits on a boulder and stares at the entrance to our village like a dork.
Oh, right, he asked me something like, "Shengsheng?" What do I know about Shengsheng, I don't even know him. So, then we ignored him, am I to blame?"
Lu Zhixia whacked Dabao on the back of his head, "Stupid, you don't know Shengsheng, our sister's name is Liu Yusheng!"
Dabao, "…" He forgot.
The three fooled around while Liu Yusheng's face was wrinkled into a small frown.
Axiu asked about her? He sits on a boulder every day looking at the village entrance?
He wouldn't be waiting for her, right?
Oops! She'd forgotten she'd made an appointment with him to play with him next time. Since there's no specific time, he waits every day?
People with symptoms of paranoia exhibit a certain restlessness, and she felt that there was more to Axiu's condition than just restlessness; he dislikes interacting with people or playing with them, and his temperament tends to be withdrawn.
If not treated properly, it could have a huge impact on his future.
These days, her mind has been wrapped around the home and has put him behind her.
Looking at the darkening sky, Liu Yusheng bit her lip. It was impossible to go to him now, but tomorrow, she must go.
At the foot of Loufan Mountain opposite the village entrance, sat a small figure on a boulder. The sunset rays have blurred his image, rendering the back of the figure thin and desolate.
"Xiu'er, it's time to go home." The woman, carrying a basket, came to the little boy's side, her tone soft and sympathy in her eyes.
"Mother," he withdrew his gaze at the village entrance and turned around with dark eyes empty, "She has forgotten me again."
The woman forced a smile feeling as if her heart was inexplicably scratched, "She is still too young, perhaps her family does not feel at ease about her coming out."
"Really?"
"Hmm."
The backs of the two slowly walked back into their cabin in the distance, against the last moments of the sunset.
Early the next morning, the family either went to work or to tidy the vegetable patch or to pulp and wash the clothes. Liu Yusheng followed Grandma Liu with eager eyes all the way like a small tail.
"What's wrong Nannan, have you been wronged?" Grandma Liu nimbly put the kitchen in order and teased the little one.
"Grandma, when you're done, take Nannan to the foot of Luofu Mountain, okay?"
"The foot of Loufu Mountain?" Grandma Liu stopped the work in her hand and wondered, "What is Nannan going to do there? Both your brothers went to school, and there are no little children there to play with you at this time of the day."
"I want to go to the cabin to visit Brother Axiu and Pretty Aunt. Grandpa and Papa saved them on the roadside last year." After a pause, Liu Yusheng turned on bamboozling mode, "I promised to play with Brother Axiu a few days ago. Grandma taught Nannan to keep her word, and shouldn't break promises."
The brewing rejection in Grandma Liu's throat was stuck. After a moment, she sighed and nodded, "Alright, I'll take you there when Grandma's done with her work!"
"Thank you Grandma!"
"...."
Why does it feel like she'd been hoodwinked by a baby? Impossible, how old is Nannan?
Three years old.
It must be her illusion.
The cabin in Loufu Mountain is nestled deep in the foothills, in the middle of the dense woods.
The courtyard walls have collapsed having been abandoned long ago. It was deserted and the condition of the cabin can be seen at a glance.
It's a small, old and dilapidated hut. It's cramped with only a living room and two bedrooms, plus a stove attached to one side.
When Liu Yusheng arrived, what she saw was two figures, one adult and one child, drying something with a bamboo sieve on a wooden shelf in front of the hut.
"Aunt! Brother Axiu!"
The little boy instantly looked up to the door and stared closely at the little toddler there, his dark eyes rippling under his messy hair.
Watching her run up to him with a bright smile.
"Nannan, you came!" The woman laughed the moment she saw Liu Yusheng.
"This little girl has been pestering me to take her and visit you early this morning, I hope we didn't bother you." Grandma Liu followed behind, carrying a vegetable basket in her hand, containing a large cabbage and green celery picked from her own vegetable patch, "We're just farmers so we didn't bring anything of value, just some vegetables, I hope my younger sister doesn't mind it."
"This…Auntie, thank you." The woman was suddenly restrained, somewhat finding difficulty in dealing with this situation.
"It's all homegrown, no need to thank me."
"Auntie, Brother Axiu, this is my grandma!" Liu Yusheng introduced with a bright smile.
"Aunt, come in and sit down." With Liu Yusheng's interruption, the woman's restraint was dispersed and she welcomed them into the house. "Xiu'er, play 0 with Nannan."
Liu Yusheng looked askance at Grandma Liu.
Grandma Liu laughed, "Go-go, Grandma will wait for you here and chat with your aunt."
"Thanks Grandma!"
Off to the side, the corners of the little boy's tightly pursed lips relaxed immediately.
After the two adults walked away, Liu Yusheng tilted her head to look at the little boy, "Brother Axiu, I've been a bit busy at home these past few days, so I didn't come out, sorry. Don't be mad at Nannan, okay?"
"…Not angry." Just sad.
"Really?" The girl's head was slightly crooked and her eyes were wide open, extremely cute.
The little boy repeatedly clutched and loosened his hands against the legs of his trousers, and finally reached out tentatively and gently took her little hand.
His palm that had fallen empty that day after she'd jerked his hand away was filled with warmth again, evoking a flashing light at the bottom of his eyes.
"Yes."
The girl's round eyes immediately curved into a crescent moon, the waves of her eyes sparkling like a starry lake, "So, are you going to play with me?"
"Yes." He responded quickly, "What do you want to play?"
"What do you usually play?"
"Me, I practice martial arts every day, practice writing, and help my mother pick herbs." The more he spoke, the lower his voice got, realizing that beyond those, he doesn't know anything at all.
He's not like other kids who go crazy playing every day.
She must find him boring.
"Wow! Brother Axiu, you can do martial arts? You can write characters? And pick herbs? You're amazing!" The little girl's soft voice was full of awe.
When Axiu looked up, he saw the glowing face of the girl and her eyes filled with worship.
"Hmm! I can do it all!" He nodded heavily, the corners of his mouth involuntarily stretching.
"Is it that kind of martial arts where you can fight others and fly up to the roof in one swish? Do you go to school too? Can you write a lot of words? Did you learn about herbs from Aunt? Nannan wants to learn too! Brother Axiu, teach Nannan too!…." Chirping bugs resonated all around, like the morning-singing orioles in the forest, dispelling the dense empty silence of the crumbling yard and blending into the shallow warmth.
"Shengsheng, I'll teach you everything you want to learn." He looked at her and even his dark eyes were brimming with laughter.