Chapter 19

Chapter 19: I Have a Family Again

[Translation By Divinity]

Dong Jianren’s injuries this time were much lighter than before. He was discharged from the hospital after only two days. During this time, apart from Officer Shi visiting twice to inquire about the incident at the Third Hospital and subtly hinting if there was anything Dong Jianren wanted to tell him, no one else came to visit.

Seeing the disappointed Officer Shi leave each time, Dong Jianren always felt guilty. He could sense that Officer Shi was a good person, someone who sincerely wanted to help him. But precisely because of this, he couldn’t drag him into this terrifying affair.

Feeling that his body had almost recovered, Dong Jianren didn’t hesitate to leave the hospital. Before leaving, he once again basked in the admiring gazes of the nurses, or so he imagined.

As soon as he opened his door, Dong Jianren froze in place. He then retreated in disbelief, confirming he hadn’t gone to the wrong place before returning.

“Whoa! Is this my house?”

The once scattered disposable lunch boxes, discarded socks and underwear, and the floor so dirty that even mice would slip were all gone. In their place were neatly folded clothes and a spotless floor. What was even more unbelievable was that the bare walls were now covered in pink wallpaper.

While Dong Jianren was still in a daze, a small hand gently poked him in the back.

He quickly turned around and saw a girl with her hair tied up, wearing an apron.

Dong Jianren couldn’t believe his eyes.

“You, you, why haven’t you left yet?”

The girl ignored his question and took out a bag full of food from behind her.

She walked into the house, pulling Dong Jianren’s sleeve, urging him to follow.

Watching the girl eating happily beside him, Dong Jianren couldn’t take a single bite of the food on his plate. His emotions were incredibly complex.

He had thought that after being away for three days, the girl would have left. But not only had she not left, she had also cleaned the house to a degree that made him, a twenty-five-year-old single man, feel ashamed.

Seeing the girl finish the food in her bowl, Dong Jianren decided to have a good talk with her.

“Hey, I need to talk to you about something.”

Dong Jianren gently patted the girl’s shoulder.

The girl looked at him with a blank expression.

Looking at her clean face, Dong Jianren’s words to ask her to leave got stuck in his throat.

“Sigh…”

After a long silence, Dong Jianren realized he still didn’t know the girl’s name.

“By the way, what’s your name?”

After he asked, the girl still had a blank expression. Remembering that she wasn’t mentally sound, Dong Jianren tried another approach, “Well, let me give you a name then.”

“Should I call you… Niu Aihua? No, that’s too old-fashioned, and I don’t even know your last name. How about Xiaohong? Xiaolv? But those sound like dog names. Mudan? Meigui? No! Those sound like names for people in the love-for-money business. Duoduo? Yiyi?”

Just as Dong Jianren said the name “Yiyi,” a hint of joy suddenly appeared on the girl’s previously vacant face. She then reached out and grabbed Dong Jianren’s arm.

Dong Jianren, who had been immersed in the task of naming, snapped back to reality.

“You said your name is Yiyi?”

The girl couldn’t answer Dong Jianren, only looking at him expectantly.

“Yiyi? Yiyi?”

Hearing Dong Jianren call her name, a flower-like smile bloomed on the girl’s face, making him stare in a daze.

“Okay, from now on, I’ll call you Yiyi.”

Looking at the flower-like girl, Dong Jianren spoke, regardless of whether she could understand him or not.

“Yiyi, I’m in a very dangerous situation right now. If one day I go out and never come back, don’t wait for me at home. Try to find a…”

Before Dong Jianren could finish, Yiyi picked up the lunchbox from beside her leg.

Looking at Yiyi, who was staring at him intently with her arm outstretched, Dong Jianren swallowed the words he was about to say.

Seeing that Dong Jianren still didn’t move, Yiyi thought he didn’t understand her meaning. She pointed at the lunchbox and patted her stomach, making a pained expression on her face.

Looking at the cute girl in front of him, Dong Jianren burst into laughter. He took the lunchbox from her and started eating heartily.

Even though the food was delicious, Dong Jianren ate with tears streaming down his face.

It had been ten years since his parents passed away, and Dong Jianren had been living alone ever since. A fifteen-year-old boy, struggling to survive, had tasted the bitterness and warmth of the world. His once tender heart had long since hardened. This resilience was the reason why Dong Jianren never gave up even when faced with such terrifying events.

Yiyi’s appearance and care made Dong Jianren, who had been alone and helpless for ten years, feel cared for again for the first time.

Large teardrops mixed with the food were swallowed by Dong Jianren.

‘Mom and Dad, I have a family again!’