newbobooks 31. New Illustrations
31. New Illustrations
"Silent type...disgraceful..."
A childish voice drifted in faintly.
"Xu Mufeng, with your quiet nature, you'll definitely embarrass yourself if you go on TV!" The tall boy stood with his hands on his hips, his face still showing signs of fat.
“You can’t even speak properly normally, you’re not even as good as my dog.” The skinny kid standing to the side was holding Big Yellow. Big Yellow sniffed around and smelled the sour smell on Xu Mufeng. Its teeth popped out and it grunted.
"Just wait and you'll be pointed at and talked about just like your mother!" Several children formed a circle, so tight that it was almost impenetrable, with dog hair flying around them when the wind blew.
When the mother was mentioned, the previously silent child suddenly became very active, struggling among the other children, and the people around him also got excited and started talking about her.
Gu Xinglan was exhausted and fell asleep in the low plastic house without realizing it. Now, with all this noise, her scalp was throbbing with pain.
Just as my consciousness began to return, I heard, "Did your mother sell you?"
Children express their liking directly and enthusiastically, and the same applies to expressing their dislike.
He was just about to go out.
Unexpectedly, when I sat up, the barking of the dogs outside suddenly became shrill, screaming wildly.
Several children turned around at the sound of the dog and saw two shoes sticking out of the plastic door frame of the low house. They were so frightened that they screamed.
They had been playing around in this area for a long time. This low house was usually used by the elderly people in the neighborhood to dump their garbage, but today, suddenly someone was lying inside.
It's hard not to think of the people who were brutally murdered on television.
The children's faces showed varying degrees of fear as they scattered in all directions, kicking up dust as they ran.
This left Gu Xinglan stuck inside the low plastic house, unsure whether to go out or not.
System: [Host, based on the time you spent online last night, the total is 67 hours. Please note the time.]
The temperature was a bit low, and the morning rush hour was over. There weren't many young people on the streets, only a few elderly people and children.
Gu Xinglan appears to be an oddball.
He slept inside, dressed in rags, looking like a beggar who had no choice but to rest in a garbage dump because he couldn't get food.
At least that's the look in the eyes of the unfamiliar child when they looked inside.
With caution and inexplicable hostility, she blinked at him, her eyebrows lowered, and a hint of aggression could be sensed.
Gu Xinglan cleared her throat and slid out of the plastic house through another exit down the slide.
The child was so thin he was skin and bones.
He nimbly climbed the rusty stairs from the ground to the inside of the house, lifting a half-person-high sack with both hands, making a creaking sound.
It seems they mistook him for a homeless man who stole plastic bottles...
Gu Xinglan had just fallen asleep without warning, and now both sides of her face were covered in dust and looked dirty.
He stepped behind the child, wanting to help, but before he could say anything, he did.
As a result, the child turned his head and, with practiced ease, grabbed a handful of sand and, without any hesitation, as if he had practiced countless times, threw it straight at his face.
"Cough cough..." Brown sand carrying dust flew all over the sky. Tears welled up in Gu Xinglan's eyes. She coughed so hard that she bent over. Her nostrils were filled with the bitter smell of dust and the stench of dogs.
System: [Different environments nurture different children; congratulations on collecting another new illustration.]
The system's teasing words didn't reach Gu Xinglan's ears. He ran to the wild tap and poured hot water on his face.
The old faucet sputtered and splashed water, which splattered on her face, mixing with the sand and dust on her cheeks. Several murky streams flowed down her face and seeped into the cracks between the bricks under her feet. Gu Xinglan closed her eyes tightly, her brows furrowed, and cupped the water that kept flowing down her face with her hands.
The amount of milk from the baby these past few days has been too high; it's almost given him a nervous breakdown.
After washing my face, water was still dripping from my chin.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a piece of white paper. Without thinking, Gu Xinglan thanked her and took the paper to wipe her face.
"No need to turn off the tap." The man next to me had a bag on his back, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and he was all muscle.
Gu Xinglan gave up her seat and carefully wiped her chin with a tissue.
It was past breakfast time, and he still had to go back to receive the people sent by Meng Guanhe.
The tap was running continuously.
Gu Xinglan shook off the water droplets on her body. Her slightly drooping eyelashes were still wet with water, like a dewdrop on a lotus leaf, attracting people's attention. Below that were her two bright red lips, which inexplicably made people want to savor them. Not to mention the marks on her cheeks from rubbing them hard.
The people around were hesitant to use the water, letting it wastefully overflow the red brick floor, and the air was deathly still at that moment.
Gu Xinglan: "?"