章節 23: Breaking Hearts
Even against her will, Chuan Nayi left her room and went outside to the commercial district. She had her hands down and was holding the hand of the ghost child. Like before, the others could see a cheerful cute kid.
However, the dark atmosphere written all over the prospect mother's face was different. It was as if she was holding the hands of an object of her disdain.
"Mama..." Guangru called out as he stopped in front of a store. It was the same toy store where Liu Xiaodan bought the black horse for him. "Mama, let's go inside!"
Without a word, Chuan Nayi entered the store. She had no smile on her face unlike what she was used to; there was nothing but loathing. She let the child choose from the toys in the aisle, but Guangru seemed to be looking for a specific kind.
"Mama, can you ask if they still have a small black horse?" The child hummed as he looked around. "Baba gifted me with one, but they ripped him apart. I don't want him to get mad if he finds out..."
"Why can't you just ask them yourself? You even went through the trouble of making yourself visible..." Chuan Nayi only glared at him in return. She was biting her lip in frustration from all the gazes she was getting, but it was clear to her what that thing was.
She could not bear the idea of acting compassionate with a mogui filled with nothing but malice.
Guangru only stared at her with his curious face, but his eyes spelled something else budding inside him.
"I-Is there a problem?" An attendant came to their side. "Is something wrong?" She had her phone behind her.
The child kept his silence. He waited for Chuan Nayi to answer.
"He's looking for a black horse. Do you have any black horse?" The mother did not even look at the attendant. Her gaze was fixed on those round dark spheres staring back at her.
"Ah, I think we still have those in stock." The attendant pocketed her phone and bent down to tap the child's shoulder. "Would you like to follow Big Sister? I'll take you to the horses." She then reached out to hold the child's shoulders to usher him.
Chuan Nayi caught the action. Her eyes widened in fear of having the lady cursed if she managed to touch the child longer. She plunged herself forward and grabbed the child's shoulders before the attendant could touch him.
The mother pushed the child to start walking forward. "Just tell me where it is."
The attendant strode to get before them. "Please follow me."
The mother huffed as the sudden surge of adrenaline made her move forward. She felt like she was about to get hit by a running vehicle.
The college girl lifted one of her hands from the child's shoulders and pressed it against her chest to calm her breathing. Her other arm trembled in fright, but she kept on walking the child. Her gaze wandered to the child, but he only kept his silence.
The horses were there, but Liu Heima's make was not there anymore. Guangru only looked around for other black horses. His hands moved around like trying to pick one, but his arms died down. He only stared at nothing in particular.
The attendant leaned down next to him, only to gasp softly upon seeing the kid's face. She kneeled down and fixed her hands on the child's arms. Chuan Nayi twitched at her action, but she was frozen by the attendant's gaze at her. The other lady was glaring at Chuan Nayi.
"Miss?"
A voice came from behind the college girl. She turned and saw a female security guard behind her. 'What? Why am I the villain right now? That kid is... that kid is...'
"Can you come with us for a moment?" The guard smiled at her, trying not to cause panic to the store.
"I, uhh, I..."
Before Chuan Nayi could say anything much, Guangru escaped the grasps of the attendant. He grabbed the mother's hand and dragged her away from the scene. The guard reported the situation and made the guards at the entrance aware of the 'escaping' mother and son.
However, it was so weird that the mother started screaming as she was taken away by the kid. She was even pulling herself back, but the child was strong enough to drag her without effort.
They reached the entrance, and Chuan Nayi could see the guards trying to control the situation. Her eyes finally gave up and cried as she was being dragged by a child. She would say 'help me,' but the child continued running towards the guards.
Before they knew it, Guangru made a sharp turn and hurled the mother towards the guards.
A scream echoed in the entrance of the big store as she felt her body fly towards the glass walls of the entrance. She knew she should have hit someone, but she just passed through everyone. Her back hit the glass walls and shattered the whole front with the outward force.
Chuan Nayi continued to cry, but her throat was cut off by shock. She was not hurt, but for a moment, she felt her body against a solid wall.
The only thing that hurt her was falling from the height the throw had given her. It was a good meter, and falling on her knees and face were painful enough to wake up her frozen body.
The commotion had torn the focus of the guards. They attended to the college girl and the people hit by the shattered glass. The child was nowhere to be found as if he melted into the incoming crowd of onlookers and helping hands.
…
As if he could feel Chuan Nayi's pain, Liu Xiaodan twitched as he remembered what was supposed to happen. He got up again with the help of his brothers. He could only scream in frustration before breaking from their hold. "I'm sorry, guys! I need to find Nayi! She's in danger!"
The horseman wobbled again as he ran away. He could feel his legs regaining their life as if blood started pumping along his arteries once more. His muscles had become softer than they were, making him run at a suitable speed.
However, in his desire to find his girl, he started ghost-running again. He had no destination in mind, but his heart was leading him to a place. It was as if he knew where she should be.
However, it was not Chuan Nayi that was waiting for him. He could feel himself slowing down as he seemed to hear a cry coming from somewhere. He soon appeared out of nowhere, finding himself in the streets of the city.
It seemed to be a good place since there was no one around. The nearest few were busy inside the shops they were in. Liu Xiaodan took a deep breath and rubbed the cold out of his body. He took more steps along the streetside... until he heard another cry.
"Guangru?" He twitched as he turned at an alley. He soon turned at another, where the child sat on the ground. "Guangru!"
He ran to him and held his shoulders. "Guangru, what's wrong!?"
The child kept on crying so loud with both of his wrists continuously wiping his eyes. He did not stop at the sound of his father's voice, but he did respond to his question. "You lied to me! Baba, you lied to me!"
"L-Lied to you? What do you mean? Guangru, please! Talk to me!"
"Liar! Liar! Guangru hates liars!" He continued to cry. "Guangru believed you..."
The child started to make his cries into sobbing instead. He sniffed aloud and tried to wipe his tears off his face. He even let his father clear them away, leaving a reddened area around his big eyes. "Baba..."
"I, uhh—what lie did I say?" Liu Xiaodan managed to make the ghost stop. He just continued to rub his small back while drying the child's eyes.
Liu Guangru brought his gaze at the father's face. His innocent face was now strung with sadness and sulking. "I... I like Baba a lot. I want to keep Baba by my side. I protect Baba from scary monsters."
He sniffed. "But Baba lied to me. Baba is very kind and is taking care of me. Baba loves me... but Mama doesn't..."
His bone-chilling gaze came out again as if he was about to kill again. "Mama is a bad person. You said she's nice and lovely, but Mama hates Guangru. Even after saving Mama..."
"Guangru, she..." The father could only grind his teeth as the child left without letting him finish. "Oh, no. This is not good." He got up and looked around. "Nayi... I need to find Nayi..."
Without his phone, wallet, and shoes; Liu Xiaodan loitered on the streetside. He was hoping to find anything that could give him a sign where Chuan Nayi was. He wandered around until he ran into the tree by the park.
It was the same one from where he felt a rather ominous feeling. He went closer and looked up the branches to see if someone was there. Since it was early afternoon, there was barely anyone around.
When he passed it by as he walked forward, he saw a pair of legs dangling from the shadowed part. It seemed to belong to a woman, but he dared not start the conversation. He took his gaze away from it before getting surprised by another person in front of him.
It was a woman in a white dress. He stepped back as his body felt cold once more.
"Ah, so you can really see me..." She smiled at him.
"..." Liu Xiaodan tried to avoid her, but her arm reached out to block his movement.
"I saw you with him once. I can't let you leave."
"Saw me with who?" The man had no choice but to step back again and entertain her question. It was the only time he realized that her eyes were not moving as if she was blind. However, her eyes did move as if they had to bulge out first before turning to the side where he was. He just had to gasp.
"Him. The child."
"So what?"
"Do you have a death wish? Do you have any idea what you are dealing with?"
"He's just a mogui. Can I pass now?" Liu Xiaodan felt wronged as he was questioned for his decision to stick with Guangru. Before, it was just about protecting his friends. However, their relationship seemed to have deepened more than he could ever imagine.
"Just a mogui." She chuckled and vanished. However, her voice remained. "Suit yourself then. Good luck with that... mogui..."
The father took the chance to make a move away from the tree. It was suspicious to have a ghost ask him about the child... more when she sounded like she was warning him. However, Liu Xiaodan had to find someone. He walked further from the tree before he heard her again.
"I saw him with a pretty girl. He took her in that direction." It was good that the father looked to see her point her finger across the street. "Hurry... before the girl gets killed..."
Liu Xiaodan glared at the ghost's tree before walking to the crossing. He had to wait for the red light to cross. Three more seconds, and it would have changed… but an ambulance passed by to beat the red light.
For some reason, the man's eyes were hooked by the vehicle. It was a passing gateway to the realm of the dead, but it had been silent when it passed by.
It was as if something else was in there with the patient. Something... they feared.
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