Chapter 112 - 104: That Summer Vacation
A dirty shoe flew out, heading straight towards Li Yu's direction. Li Yu reacted swiftly, sidestepping as the shoe brushed past his face. That pair of sneakers had been worn down to the point where the heels were flattened like slippers.
Slap!
Director Zhang, who was behind, wasn't as quick to react. The shoe slapped squarely onto his face.
The shoe fell to the ground, leaving a faint imprint on his face.
Director Zhang's face showed a stunned expression, while a burst of snickering emanated from the side.
It seemed to spare Director Zhang's dignity, the laughter was somewhat restrained—but the more it was suppressed, the more evident it became.
Director Zhang's face darkened immediately, especially when he heard the low snickers nearby, his anger intensified.
Disgrace! A dignified director, now the leader of this power, yet smacked in the face with a shoe!
"Who was it?" Director Zhang cursed loudly.
Just as he was about to explode with rage, he turned his head and saw Li Yu looking at him with a mocking smile.
There seemed to be a hint of a threat in his eyes.
Director Zhang's anger cooled as if doused with cold water—after all, Li Yu was not someone who blinked an eye when killing. Just now at the entrance, he killed four people in one breath as easily as slaughtering chickens.
He had been following behind, listening to the conversation of the crowd, and knew that the scruffy girl and Li Yu were acquainted. If he got angry now, Li Yu would surely take the scruffy girl's side. There was no use in getting angry; he couldn't beat him!
So, a forced smile stretched across his face, although it was quite ugly, only to hear him say: "Ah, haha, I'm really unlucky. But shoes shouldn't be thrown around like that!"
Li Yu gave him a deep look, then was about to enter the house, but before he could, someone came out from inside.
A person about 175 centimeters tall stepped out the door, slender and graceful as a startled swan.
Her hair was a mess, like a bird's nest, tangled and knotted in places.
Her face was dirty, at first glance it was hard to make out her features, but just looking at the shape of her face, the smooth jawline appeared remarkably harmonious.
Her exceptionally long legs made regular sweatpants seem insufficient, as if they had been turned into capris against their will, revealing a glimpse of her fair, lower calves.
White! Very white!
At the moment, she was dragging a worn backpack with the zipper half open, stuffed with some food like sausages, plus a couple of lighters and other supplies.
Li Yu looked at her, not quite recognizing her at first; after all, in his memory, although the scruffy girl was called "the scruffy girl," she wasn't as scruffy as now. But in the post-apocalypse, being scruffy might also be a form of camouflage.
...
Looking at the scruffy girl, Li Yu fell into a memory:
When he was young and visiting Grandma, he often saw this scruffy girl.
Every time he saw her, she was alone on the street picking through trash, hence everyone called her the scruffy girl.
But Li Yu didn't find out until later that the scruffy girl's parents had died when she was very young, and she grew up with her grandparents. Her grandpa was always collecting scrap, and the scruffy girl helped him gather trash.
Grandma mentioned her story:
As a child, many kids despised the scruffy girl for always picking up trash and said she smelled bad, which she never paid mind to.
Later, a boy said her house smelled bad. The scruffy girl, young as she was, pinned the boy down and hit his face until it bled.
The boy's parents were not good people either. They brought their child and berated the scruffy girl's family.
They also demanded compensation for medical expenses. The scruffy girl's grandparents were elderly and had always struggled to make a living collecting scrap, saving up earnestly to afford her schooling.
After causing a commotion in the scruffy girl's house without finding any money to take, the boy's parents wreaked havoc, breaking things.
At that time, Uncle and Grandpa were around, hearing the noise and rushing over to the scruffy girl's house.
Since Uncle was a member of the Armed Police force, he was off duty but still in uniform. As he arrived, his commanding presence alone quelled the troublemaking parents.
After all, that boy was left with a long scar on his face.
Later, it was Li Yu's Uncle who took out some money, considering it a resolution of the incident.
Since then, the relationship between the two families improved. On normal days, Li Yu's Grandpa's family would often lend support to the disheveled girl and her family.
But after that incident, the disheveled girl became isolated in the neighborhood.
Many adults warned not to play with her, not to associate with that lunatic girl, so local children avoided her like the plague, often steering clear of her.
Every time Li Yu visited his Grandpa's house, he often saw the disheveled girl alone.
Either picking up trash by the roadside or often behind the big road near home, where there was a large palm tree.
Beneath the palm tree, she would often sit there alone.
A tiny figure.
Wearing tattered clothes, her hair in a mess, staring blankly at a bustling playground where people were playing games.
From a young age, she had been very sensible. She said she didn't like to wear skirts, didn't like hair clips, and didn't like pink.
She liked picking up trash.
Every time Li Yu's Grandpa, Uncle and others wanted to offer more support, they were restrained as the family was not very willing to accept it, believing they could earn money by picking up trash.
...
Later, Li Yu, Li Hang, and Li Yuan, every time they visited Grandpa's house, would seek out the disheveled girl to play.
Li Hang was an eccentric person, and thus he insisted on dragging Li Yu to join the disheveled girl in picking trash.
During that summer vacation, Li Yu, Li Hang, Li Yuan, and the disheveled girl picked trash the entire time.
That year, the four children ran through the streets, played and frolicked by the roadside, picked trash in the alleys, and in the scorching heat, they put their heads under the tap, letting the water douse their hair.
Then they took sticks and split into two teams to see who could cut more lotus leaves;
Splashed and played in the shallow stream;
Bought spicy strips for 5 mao a pack from the snack stall and shared them among the four;
Played hide and seek in Grandpa's house until they had to search for Li Hang, who wasn't found until the depths of the night.
In the end, adults were close to calling the police until the Uncle hurriedly returned, only to find Li Hang foolishly descending from the small loft in the firewood room.
Arrogantly asserting he was the best at hiding.
What exactly happened to Li Hang that day, it's hard to remember clearly.
But after that, Li Hang never played hide and seek again.
Then later, the summer vacation ended.
Li Yu and the others went back home, and Li Yuan gifted her a pink hair clip;
Li Hang gave nothing, because on the day he got beaten, the disheveled girl laughed the loudest;
Li Yu gave her his favorite pencil sharpener.
The disheveled girl gave them three beautiful and smooth river stones, with no idea how long she searched for them by the river, but these stones were extraordinarily glossy and full.
Li Yu cherished them a lot and even now keeps them in his room as decorations.
That day, the disheveled girl told them she was very happy.
Later, in the setting sun, Li Yu and the others left Grandpa's house by car, and until they left, the disheveled girl was still standing by the roadside.
Tiny, sloppy, facing the wind, her hair blowing in the breeze.
...