Chapter 3: A Night in the Demolished Buildings

As Hao Yang reflected on the little girl’s past, these painful experiences now felt like her own, for she was the current inhabitant of this body. A suffocating wave of grief washed over her, a dark emotion that made her yearn to burst into tears at any moment.

Suddenly, Hao Yang felt a sticky sensation on her face. She touched it, realizing her current body had already been weeping.

Wiping away her tears, Hao Yang mounted the bicycle and began riding towards the county town.

A significant problem suddenly occurred to her. How could this little girl be unregistered, lacking even a household registration, let alone an identification card? This was incredibly troublesome.

As the saying went, an ID card was fundamental to one’s existence, yet this girl possessed no household registration. Seeking police assistance would prove futile.

Precisely because the girl was unregistered, the police were powerless to help. They had simply handed her previous self over to an orphanage. However, the orphanage, citing her unregistered status, had sent her away, effectively abandoning her to fend for herself.

After an indeterminate amount of time, her legs aching from the continuous pedaling, Hao Yang finally arrived at the county town.

Upon reaching the town, Hao Yang felt utterly lost, unsure of what to do. Her only desire was to return home, to her own parents.

She knew her original body might be in a vegetative state due to her soul’s departure, and her parents must be consumed with worry. If she could only find them, she was confident she could convince them she was their son. The real challenge, however, lay in whether she could locate them at all.

Hao Yang had no idea where this small county town was located. Perhaps it was even close to the city where she originally lived.

It was then that Hao Yang suddenly realized just how incredibly short she was. The pedestrians around her appeared as “giants,” and these “giants” all cast strange looks in her direction.

Hao Yang found it rather odd; why were these people staring at her so intently?

As she passed a shop, Hao Yang casually glanced aside, then froze. The glass display window reflected her current appearance: she was clad in a ragged cotton coat, the fabric filthy and riddled with countless holes.

Her hair was a tangled mess, and her face was streaked with dirt and dust. She looked utterly disheveled and incredibly ugly.

Hao Yang suddenly understood why those people had been staring. Her current state was truly unsightly; no wonder they had looked at her that way.

Hao Yang wanted to wash her face, but where could she possibly do so?

‘Forget it,’ she thought. ‘For now, I need to find somewhere to stay.’

Hao Yang had no idea where she would spend the night. At the very least, she needed to find a place where she wouldn’t freeze to death.

Suddenly, a piece of information surfaced from the little girl’s memories. Nearby, there were some residential buildings slated for demolition, where Tang Xiao had once scavenged for scraps.

The houses there were decent and quite warm. Some rooms hadn’t been completely dismantled, even retaining beds. Staying there for a night should pose no significant issue.

Following the memory, Hao Yang arrived before the condemned residential buildings. The sky was already darkening, and night would fall completely within a few hours.

Hao Yang stashed her bicycle in a small grove of trees, then cautiously ascended the stairs, her backpack slung over her shoulders.

The stair railings had all been removed, meaning a single misstep could easily prove fatal. Hao Yang treaded with extreme caution.

Most of the doors to the rooms stood open, their locks either broken or rendered unusable.

Hao Yang randomly entered one of the rooms. On the living room floor lay a photo frame containing what appeared to be an old family portrait.

The photograph itself looked incredibly warm and inviting, yet finding such an image amidst these dilapidated ruins filled Hao Yang with a strange sense of unease.

“There are no ghosts in this world, only in people’s hearts,” Hao Yang murmured to herself, patting her cheek. “Don’t scare yourself.”

Hao Yang searched the surroundings for anything useful. Inside a broken wardrobe, she discovered a remarkably large down jacket. It appeared quite new, perhaps left behind by accident during a move.

Hao Yang took the jacket, intending for it to serve as her blanket for the night.

She then left that room; its door faced the stairwell, giving her an unsettling feeling of insecurity. Ultimately, she chose the innermost house.

Inside, some furniture remained undiscarded. The winter sun was setting rapidly, already nearing the horizon. Hao Yang decided she would rest here for the night.

Hao Yang entered a room that seemed relatively well-preserved. A few pieces of furniture, including several cabinets, still remained.

Initially, she had planned to sleep on the floor. However, as darkness fell, the temperature plummeted, and a frigid wind seeped in through the broken windows, steadily siphoning away her body heat.

To avoid freezing to death, she needed to find another way to stay warm. Spotting a large cabinet that was part of a dressing table, Hao Yang opened it.

The space inside was larger than she had anticipated, just big enough to accommodate her. She spread the down jacket inside, then, clutching her backpack, she crawled in.

By this time, it was almost completely dark. With no light source, the encroaching shadows quickly swallowed everything.

If she were to venture out now, she wouldn’t be able to see anything clearly. Wandering aimlessly in this condemned building would likely lead to an accident.

Thus, she resolved not to leave the large cabinet until daylight returned the following morning.

Hao Yang curled her body, trying to cover every part with the down jacket. The cabinet, surprisingly, offered decent warmth; at least her body began to feel less cold.

*Grrrrowl—*

Hao Yang’s stomach suddenly rumbled. In such profound silence, the sound startled her, filling her with an inexplicable fear.

She remembered there was some food in her bag. Fumbling in the dark, she quickly found it. It was hard and dry, not particularly tasty, but it would suffice to fill her stomach.

Hao Yang nibbled on the dry rations, making very little noise. Just then, footsteps suddenly echoed from the corridor outside.