Chapter 30 Part 2: The Weight of a Secret (2)

The two children cheered and climbed onto the bicycle amidst the envious stares of the other kids.

Song Wenbin waved to his two boys, pushed off with his foot, and with a stomp on the pedal, the bike smoothly sped away. The remaining children, just like before, chased after the bicycle.

Once only Xiang Chen and Xu Hengzhou were left, Xiang Chen rubbed his little bottom with a pained expression. Sitting on that bar earlier had really hurt!

Xu Hengzhou suppressed a laugh, pretending ignorance as he ruffled Xiang Chen’s hair. “Why aren’t you playing anymore? Don’t you like bicycles?”

A blush spread across Xiang Chen’s little dumpling face. He stammered, “N-not that I don’t like them. I’ll ride a bicycle myself next time…”

‘If I ride it myself, maybe my bottom won’t ache,’ he thought.

Xu Hengzhou cleared his throat, forcefully suppressing the laughter that had reached his throat. ‘Can’t laugh,’ he thought. ‘If I laugh, my little dumpling will explode.’

Song Wenbin took the children who were watching the excitement for several more rounds, and then told them to play more with his two boys.

He was like a doting old father; his younger son was fine with his two playmates, but his eldest nephew was like an adult, never going out to play with other children.

So, when Song Wenbin rode back, a group of children surrounded Xu Hengzhou and Xiang Chen, all wanting to play with them. They weren’t just from their building but also from the neighboring one.

Xiang Chen was a little surprised and a little shy, while Xu Hengzhou was purely annoyed. However, he knew Song Wenbin meant well and wouldn’t complain about it.

He pushed away the children crowding around him, then pulled Xiang Chen and Song Wenbin to go home first.

Once home, he first told Song Wenbin about the Chen family incident that morning, giving him a heads-up. Then he mentioned he wanted to go out for a stroll.

Xu Hengzhou’s “experience” was different from Xiang Chen’s; he had “been a street child for several years,” possessing an independent character. Song Wenbin had never really restricted him.

After hearing his request, Song Wenbin gave him some money and a few grain coupons, telling him to be careful and return early, without saying much else.

Upon hearing his brother was going out, Xiang Chen immediately pattered off to grab his small backpack. He put it on and then took Xu Hengzhou’s hand.

Xu Hengzhou stroked his head, softening his voice. “Chenchen, how about you play with Xiaohuzi and Liangliang? Gege will be back soon.”

Xiang Chen was momentarily stunned, then said blankly, “Gege, aren’t you taking me…?”

Xu Hengzhou paused. His weekend outing plan had been made long ago. He needed to find a legitimate channel to take out the supplies from his spatial storage.

The method was already decided. Taking Xiang Chen was impossible, not only because he had to conceal his spatial ability but also because the task he needed to do would be highly impractical with a child in tow.

But now, seeing the child looking so pitiful and abandoned, Xu Hengzhou couldn’t help but feel a pang of softness.

“How about Gege brings you back some delicious treats?” Xu Hengzhou crouched in front of Xiang Chen, stroking his cheek, coaxing him softly.

Xiang Chen lowered his head, fiddling with his backpack strap. In this timeline, his brother was the closest person to him. Since they had acknowledged each other, they had hardly been apart, except during school hours.

Even then, he knew his brother was in the same building, and once school was out, his brother would come to pick him up.

He had thought his brother would take him everywhere, but now he realized it wasn’t like that. They were separate individuals; his brother wasn’t obligated to constantly watch over him.

He wanted to be an inseparable shadow, but his brother might not want that; he had his own things to do. At this moment, he couldn’t even cry and throw a tantrum like a real child.

“Okay,” Xiang Chen said, head still lowered, obediently. “Gege, come back early. I’ll wait for you.” ‘I can’t be disobedient, or he might dislike me…’ he thought.

Xu Hengzhou felt a little pang of sadness. He was only going out for a short while, he’d be back soon, yet it felt as if he had done something wrong to his little dumpling.

Xu Hengzhou hesitated. ‘Maybe I should just take him out to play today, and deal with the supplies later,’ he considered.

Seeing that he hadn’t left, Xiang Chen looked up, flashing an obedient smile. “Gege, you go. I’ll go play with Xiaohuzi.”

Xu Hengzhou considered it. This had to happen at some point. He stood up and took out all the small wooden toys Song Wenbin had made for Xiang Chen. “Alright, then Gege is leaving.”

“Be careful,” Song Wenbin reminded him again.

Xu Hengzhou acknowledged him and left with his bag.

“Chenchen, are you going to play downstairs, or bring friends home?” Song Wenbin asked, seeing Xiang Chen’s dejected expression, trying to cheer him up by changing the subject.

Xiang Chen was silent for a moment. He didn’t want to play right now, but he couldn’t let his uncle worry. So he told Song Wenbin, “Downstairs.”

‘If I stay downstairs, Gege will see me sooner when he comes back,’ he thought.

Song Wenbin took Xiang Chen down to the first floor. Because of the bicycle, Song family’s two children were practically celebrities among the kids.

Especially Xiang Chen, who, besides the two brothers, was the only one of their friends who had ridden Song Wenbin’s bike.

The moment Xiang Chen went downstairs, he was surrounded by a group of enthusiastic children, all wanting to play with him, almost coming to blows, which left Xiang Chen exasperated.

Unable to cope, Xiang Chen had to mediate, suggesting they all play together and promising that next time there was a chance to ride the bike, it would be everyone’s turn, one by one.

Because there were so many children, and mostly boys, they decided to play ‘Beat the Japanese Devils,’ which was similar to ‘Cops and Robbers.’

Nobody wanted to be the ‘devil,’ so they decided to play rock-paper-scissors. Xiang Chen, as the favored one, received the benefit of not having to compete and directly became a ‘Little Red Army soldier’…

***

At this time, people generally didn’t light lamps much at night, sleeping early and waking early.

When Xu Hengzhou left, it was just past nine. After exiting the machinery factory, he boarded a bus following the directions from the guard booth uncle.

Throughout the morning, Xu Hengzhou constantly changed routes, observing the city’s various sights from the bus window and committing them to memory.

As noon approached, Xu Hengzhou checked the time, realizing it was almost right. He took a return bus back to the machinery factory.

After getting off the bus, he first found a secluded spot and pulled out a burlap sack containing half a bag of items.

The items in his spatial storage could be automatically organized with just a thought.

The burlap sack was something he had prepared beforehand. Inside, half a bag of items, with a can of milk powder at the bottom. The outer coating had peeled off, leaving just a bare iron can.

This was for Xiang Chen; how could a child not drink milk? Just eating milk candy wasn’t enough.

Above the milk powder, Xu Hengzhou placed a few apples and oranges, common fruits that wouldn’t easily arouse suspicion, to provide Xiang Chen with vitamins.

Tucked among the apples was a small bottle of liquor, a very small one, for Song Wenbin. Song Wenbin was a man of integrity, with no bad habits; he didn’t smoke, but he did enjoy a drink.

He had told Xu Hengzhou many stories from the past. Apparently, during a mission, he once went to a very cold place where his breath would freeze.

They couldn’t start a fire, so a comrade brought some liquor, and they each took a sip, relying on it for warmth. That’s when Song Wenbin developed a fondness for drinking.

However, due to caring for two children and the high cost of liquor, Song Wenbin hadn’t exchanged other coupons for liquor coupons in a long time. He hadn’t had a drink in ages.

Xu Hengzhou remembered this and specifically got him a bottle of liquor. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to give more, but giving too much would be suspicious. There would be plenty of time in the future for other opportunities.

These items combined filled about half the burlap sack. At the very top, Xu Hengzhou scattered some small potatoes, and he also tucked some at the bottom to prevent the milk powder can from protruding.

Many children liked potatoes; he wasn’t sure if his child would. Even if Xiang Chen didn’t like them, they were good as food.

Xu Hengzhou opened the mouth of the burlap sack and checked his prepared items. Good, only potatoes were visible on top.

After tidying up, he dragged the burlap sack towards home.

Returning now was just in time for lunch. His little dumpling hadn’t had a snack today, so it would be perfect to make him a cup of milk…

***

Xiang Chen was distracted all morning. In the game, he was the worst ‘Little Red Army soldier,’ not catching a single ‘devil.’ Every now and then, he would peek out to see if his brother had returned.

He waited all morning but saw no one. At lunchtime, Song Wenbin came downstairs to call Xiang Chen back for a meal.

Xiang Chen looked towards the intersection. His brother still hadn’t returned.

He followed Song Wenbin home. Song Wenbin had steamed two large pots of corn buns that morning, and they were still hot from the pot. He first gave Xiang Chen a bun in a bowl.

Xiang Chen held the bowl, taking hesitant bites. Seeing this, Song Wenbin asked, “Don’t like this? Uncle will steam an egg for you.”

“No, no, no need, I like it,” Xiang Chen quickly refused, picking up the corn bun and taking several large bites, indicating he truly enjoyed it.

Song Wenbin knew he was thinking about his brother and smiled without speaking.

Xiang Chen gnawed on half a bun, then couldn’t help but ask Song Wenbin, “Uncle, what will Gege eat if he doesn’t come back?”

Song Wenbin found his worried little expression quite endearing and chuckled, “Don’t worry, he took money and grain coupons, so he can eat at a restaurant. There’s so much good food there. Next time, I’ll take our Chenchen too. How about we order some braised pork?”

Xiang Chen nodded, obediently agreeing. Then he continued to slowly nibble on his bun, thinking to himself, ‘If Gege came back early, I wouldn’t even need braised pork.’

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