Chapter 42: Once

“Young Miss, we’ve arrived.”

Lü Qingchang stopped the car and looked with regret at the young girl in the passenger seat.

“Thank you. You can go back now. I’ll handle the rest myself.”

Mo Yuan opened the door, got out of the car, and took her few pieces of luggage from the trunk.

Without a backward glance, she walked towards the tall building.

Lü Qingchang watched helplessly as Mo Yuan’s lone figure receded into the distance.

The high heat of midsummer scorched her fair and delicate skin, and the scorching sun stretched her already slender shadow even longer.

After a long hesitation, knowing she would be refused, she still made a final, futile attempt to hold her back just as Mo Yuan was about to disappear from her sight.

“Please think it over again, Young Miss. Both Manager Yun and the Second Young Miss are very reluctant to see you go.”

Anyone who had witnessed Yun Xi’s deep affection for Mo Yuan would not understand the decision the girl had made.

A grown fledgling might voluntarily leave its mother’s protection, but to fly so resolutely towards an unknown horizon with wings not yet fully feathered was far too unconventional.

“I know. My mind is made up. Please don’t try to persuade me anymore.”

Even Yun Rou’s hoarse, crying voice could not change her decision, let alone that of an outsider.

A determined light flashed in her clear, light purple eyes.

After Mo Yuan finished speaking, she took another step and resolutely walked into the building.

Ten years old.

To let a daughter of this age live alone—no competent mother in the world would likely agree to such a mad course of action.

Yun Xi was no exception.

She knew better than anyone that in the face of her daughter’s determination, no amount of earnest persuasion would be anything but futile.

Sisyphus’s boulder could never be pushed to the top of the mountain.

Forcibly trying to bend an edge that was sharpened to its extreme would only result in one’s own hands being cut.

But to watch her daughter step towards a future with no visible end without doing anything—that was something she could not do.

At least not now.

Mo Yuan was equally aware that behind the security door in front of her, there would be no greenhouse with eternal spring, nor would there be a tender and cute, “Sister, you’re back.”

Yet, she still inserted the key into the lock without hesitation.

It was a suite that had been unoccupied for some time.

The furnishings inside remained just as they were when Yun Xi had last left.

The hurried, busy figure reappeared in the silent house.

By the time Mo Yuan had dusted off the last corner, the scorching sun had already set in the west.

She sat on the sofa, facing the sunset, and closed her eyes, panting.

The sun was about to disappear below the horizon where light met dark.

Darkness crept in from outside the window, casting her slender shadow on the wall.

Faintly, there were clamorous sounds from outside.

Vendors closing up their stalls were chatting loudly as they packed up.

‘This is the life I will live from now on. No mother, no little sister, and no one else to disturb me. Until I find you and bring you back to my side.’

The city of steel and iron fell asleep along with the girl.

The setting sun took back its final rays, and the night descended like a curtain over the girl’s body.

From then on, on this bustling street, there was a new female middle school student who didn’t talk much and always came and went alone.

“Lu You? No impression, never heard that name. There are so many customers coming and going here every day, the only ones I can remember are the old regulars. Never seen a little boy named Lu You.”

A middle-aged man reeking of fish placed a live crucian carp into a bag and handed it to the young girl standing in front of his stall.

“Thank you. Sorry to bother you.”

A look of disappointment flashed beneath the girl’s long, slender eyelashes.

She paid, took the bag, and walked out of the wet market.

Watching the girl’s lonely figure retreat into the distance, the man asked his colleague at the next stall in confusion, “Old Zhang, didn’t this little girl ask you the same thing last time?”

“Yeah, seems like she’s looking for someone. Such a good kid, so independent at just ten years old, and so polite. Much better than my own mischievous granddaughter,” the elderly man lamented as he weighed a head of cabbage in his hand.

The girl had already returned home by now.

The lights came on in the dim and silent house.

There was no voice in the empty living room to welcome her back.

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled in from the window, climbed onto the desk, and the spotlessly clean floor reflected a lonely figure.

Another day, another dead end.

In the month that Mo Yuan had lived here, she had also searched for a month, but no news related to that boy had reached her ears.

The fruitless passage of time did not make Mo Yuan consider giving up; instead, it strengthened her resolve.

‘The life-saving straw I touched when I was about to drown must be found, no matter what, and then held tightly in my hand.’

‘No matter the cost, I will bring you back to my side.’

Mo Yuan took a small bite of the fish, chewing the tasteless morsel, savoring this rare meat dish on her dining table.

Today was her birthday.

Her family’s request to come and celebrate with her had been sternly rejected a few days ago.

At this moment, she was the only one sitting alone at the dining table.

Mo Yuan did not like meat.

This fish was just a symbolic gesture to celebrate her own birthday.

Her cooking skills were superb; the fish was seasoned perfectly, and its texture was excellent.

But the more she ate, the more she lost her appetite.

‘A birthday without you… is better not celebrated at all.’

Mo Yuan dumped the entire plate of fish, of which she had only eaten a few bites, into the trash can.

After cleaning the table and washing the plate, she collapsed onto the sofa, exhausted.

The bone-chilling cold brought by loneliness seeped into her soul, decaying her spirit.

Mo Yuan’s energy was long gone.

This state had not begun on the day she left home.

The moment the boy disappeared from her life was the moment she truly understood loneliness.

Similar to Meursault, with his shocking behavior and unconventional speech, Mo Yuan could not find warmth in the crowd of people, each with their own ulterior motives.

Even Yun Xi’s most genuine and tender motherly love could not melt the solid ice deep in her heart.

The only thing that could warm the chill of her frozen soul was the boy’s pure and innocent smile.

The old and frail Santiago was willing to spend eighty-one days of his remaining time waiting for the great marlin he ultimately failed to catch.

Mo Yuan, too, was willing to spend even a lifetime to find that light that had driven away the shadows and darkness from her life.

Her eyes, which had been closed, suddenly flew open.

Mo Yuan seemed to have remembered something, pleasantly surprised.

She took out her phone and looked at the red numbers pulsating all over the screen.

Perhaps it was good luck brought by her birthday, but the stock market’s gains were much higher than usual.

Although she received a huge sum of living expenses from Yun Xi in her account every month, Mo Yuan was still pursuing financial independence.

Thanks to her innate talent, she was like a fish in water when it came to financial management and had already amassed a considerable fortune.

This was also one of her preparations for the life she would lead after getting Lu You back.

Mo Yuan did not lack an adventurous spirit.

On this matter, she had to be fully prepared.

When necessary, anything could be sacrificed.

And now, everything was ready, except for the most important step.

‘Come back to me soon, Xiao You.’

“Are you sure? Is he really there, Xiao You?”

On the scorching cement road, the car sped along.

Mo Yuan excitedly sought confirmation from Yun Xi in the front seat once again.

“According to the files, it is indeed him. Xiao Yuan, you should go and see for yourself in a bit. If even you think it’s him, then there’s no mistake.”

Looking at the phantoms flashing by outside the window, Yun Xi instructed the female driver beside her again, “Qingshang, drive a little faster.”

“Yes, Manager Yun.”

The moment the car stopped, Mo Yuan impatiently pulled open the door and rushed out.

The guard at the orphanage gate was about to stop her, but upon a closer look, he recognized the noble lady who often sponsored the orphanage following behind her.

He didn’t obstruct her and let Mo Yuan run inside.

“Miss Yun, was that young lady just now your daughter?” the tall, thin middle-aged man asked respectfully when Yun Xi walked up to him.

“Mhm. Is Director Li in the orphanage today?”

“Yes, she is. Should I take you to her?”

“Thank you, but that’s not necessary. I know the way.”

The sound of children’s laughter came from not far away, and Yun Xi’s gaze shifted there.

Young children were gathered together, playing games joyfully.

Only one slender little boy was sitting alone to the side, holding a book, looking out of place.

Under the large shade of a tree, her daughter was staring intently at the back of the boy who was reading with his head down.

“Is it him, Xiao Yuan?”

“Mhm. It’s him. I would never mistake him for anyone else.”

Blinking her beautiful big eyes, Mo Yuan was beside herself with excitement.

“Then go on. I’ll go find the director to sign the adoption papers. You can handle this on your own, right?”

“Of course. If Xiao You isn’t willing, I’ll just tie him up and bring him back.”

Yun Xi lightly tapped her daughter on the head and said irritably, “What nonsense are you talking about? Whether Xiao You agrees or not, you are not to do anything you shouldn’t to him. Do you hear me, Xiao Yuan?”

“Don’t you worry, Mom. I know my limits. You go and find the director to sign the papers.”

Mo Yuan gave an “OK” gesture.

As Yun Xi gradually walked away, a morbid smile appeared on her face.

‘This time, I can’t listen to you, Mom.’

‘You’ve probably already forgotten everything that happened, haven’t you? It’s okay. We can start over. This time, I will protect you, Xiao You.’

Mo Yuan calmed her agitated and chaotic breathing, restraining the impulse to run over and hug the boy.

She walked with light, slow steps to Lu You’s back, recognized the book he was reading, and reached out to snatch it away.

“This is not a book a child your age should be reading.”