Chapter Thirty-Four: The Slender Lin Xue

  From that day on, Yu Songyuan waited for her to commute together every day. However, he could feel that the little girl did not trust him, always being vigilant about something, keeping a distance from him at all times, and never speaking to him.

  The cold wave arrived, and the sky had a more winter-like flavor. The temperature dropped sharply that night, and snowflakes began to fall from the sky. Soon, a thick layer of snow covered the ground, and the world was white and vast.

  Yu Songyuan finished his evening self-study, holding books and slowly walking towards the dormitory. When he reached the last row of the teacher's residential area, he found that in the distance under the eaves of a house, a small girl was curled up. She no longer hid like before, but kept standing up to rub her hands, sometimes walking back and forth, occasionally stomping her feet to warm herself up.

  She was not much taller than her sisters Yu Ya, Yu Xiao Hui and Chen Jing, wearing the oversized work uniform from the school-run factory, with a cap issued by the factory covering almost half of her small face. She wore adult-sized sheepskin boots that looked out of place on her feet. After getting up and walking for a while, she would put her hands back in her sleeves and squat against the wall waiting for him.

  Looking from afar at the family dormitory wall and the thin figure crouching at the foot of the wall, Yu Songyan's nose turned sour, and tears almost fell. Yu Songyan hurriedly walked over, but slowed down his pace when he got closer, so that she could catch up.

  When she saw Yu Song walking over, the little girl immediately stood up and followed him from a distance. However, she always kept a safe distance where she could run away at any time, looking timid and never speaking to him.

  They walked together through the vegetable field, woods and reed marsh. Yu Song Yuan intentionally slowed down his pace so that she could see the light from her flashlight. The girl seemed to feel his kindness and the distance between them began to narrow slightly.

  As they walked to the side of the river, because it was too dark here, a small bridge made of several large logs was covered with a thin layer of snowflakes. Yu Song took her onto the bridge. Originally wanted to stretch out his hand to support her, but she shook her head, meaning she could do it herself.

  The bridge was very narrow, only two long round logs, uneven in height. It was too slippery, and she couldn't see the road surface clearly, so she walked onto the bridge with great care. Suddenly, her foot slipped, and she let out a cry of "ah", losing her balance and falling towards the river below.

  At the critical moment, Yu Songyuan, who had been prepared early, suddenly reached out with his right hand and grabbed her arm, lifting her up with force and throwing her onto his left arm. With a burst of strength from his feet, the two finally managed to regain their balance.

  Too dangerous!

  Yu Songyuan was shocked, but the girl felt it was improper to be held and struggled to get down. Yu Songyuan said: "If you make another move, we'll both fall off and take a bath!" She was so scared that she didn't dare move, tightly hugging his neck.

  He carefully walked across the three or four meter long bridge, Yu Songyuan put her down on the ground and asked her: "Just now your bag was making a lot of noise, quickly check if anything is missing?" She shook her head, still lowered, without saying a word.

  Returning to his dormitory, Yu Songyuan stood from the girl's point of view and thought for a moment, then he understood everything.

  A fourteen or fifteen-year-old little girl, who should be pampered in her mother's arms, has to follow a young man she doesn't know at all on a dark night, through dense forests, impenetrable reed marshes and deep ravines with only a few logs for bridges. Then, she has to live in a so-called "ghost house" that even big men dare not enter. Can you imagine the fear in her heart?

  Every time he recalls the scene of hugging her on the bridge, Yu Songyuan wants to cry. He feels that when he hugs her, it's like hugging his niece Yu Xiaohong's small body, light and airy, not at all like a 14 or 15-year-old person.

  If it were Yu Ya, Chen Jing, and Yu Xiao Hui, the three sisters, or his nieces Yu Xiao Hong, Yu Xiao Mei, and Yu Xiao Yin who suffered like this, what would he do? The eighteen-year-old Yu Song Yuan suddenly felt a strong desire to protect her in his heart.

  Yu Songyuan decided to finish his evening self-study ahead of time every day, and arrive early to wait for that poor little girl. He would never again let her stand alone in the cold winter, crouching pitifully at the corner of the wall waiting for him, nor would he let her walk alone on this 1,500- or 1,600-meter road that terrified her and made her heart skip a beat.

  He usually studies in the classroom until 22:00, while the school's late self-study ends at 21:00. The school-run textile factory's night shift must end before 21:00. That is to say, every day, the girl has to squat by the wall of the dormitory building for more than an hour in the cold winter wind, waiting for him.

  Yu Songyuan specially went to the school's factory transmission room to check the working hours, and indeed the night shift ended at 20:00. Yu Songyuan's heart was severely stabbed, it had already started snowing, and now it was almost entering the coldest season in Northern Jiangsu. He felt a wave of unease in his heart, really wanting to slap himself several times.

  What a scene it is, a 14 or 15-year-old little girl, in the past half month, just to accompany him, every day has to be alone, curled up in the corner of the wall for more than two hours on this dark, cold and desolate night.

  From that day on, every morning, he would do some light exercises in front of the door before going to get his lunchbox, giving her enough time to wash up, tidy herself and catch up with him, so she wouldn't be too rushed or flustered. Every evening, he would leave the classroom early, carrying his books, before 8 o'clock. By the time he reached the last row of the teachers' residential area, the girl had almost caught up with him.

  Sometimes, he would walk to where the girl hadn't arrived yet and intentionally stand at the edge of the vegetable field for a while, only returning to the dorm together when her figure appeared. Every time they passed over the bridge covered with accumulated snow, he would proactively stretch out his hand and hold hers as they crossed the bridge together.

  Slowly, whether in the morning or evening, the little girl will not be far from him. When it's windy and snowy, she'll closely follow behind him. On difficult roads, she'll even tightly hold onto his clothes.

  His kindness, the girl finally felt it slowly. One day, after pulling her hand across the bridge, she finally spoke up: "Big brother, thanks for your trouble, my name is Lin Xue, what should I call you."

  Yu Songyuan said: "No need for formalities, I'm Yu Songyuan. I thought you were a little mute, great, now I have someone to talk to."

  "I'm not dumb at all." Her words suddenly had a bit of a spoiled little girl's tone, and Yu Songyuan felt a wave of comfort.

  He saw that she was no longer hiding from him, so he handed her the flashlight with four batteries that Zhang Laoshi had given him and said, "I'm naturally brave, I don't need this. You're just a little kid, if something comes up one day and you can't wait for me, don't be afraid, just shine the light and sing loudly on your way back to the dorm, okay?"

  Who would have thought that Lin Xue was so scared, she shook her head repeatedly and backed away: "No, no, no, Yu Ge, if you have something to do and don't stay in the dormitory, I...I'm not brave enough to come back here alone, there's nowhere else to live."

  "I mean if I have something on, you can go squeeze in at the women's dorm for a night."

  She seemed to be on the verge of tears, speaking in a choked and wronged tone: "They all dislike me, bully me, despise me for being small, despise me for not being able to do chores, and even steal my corn thresher and dried sweet potato, leaving me without enough food to eat and always hungry. In the factory, I only get along with my master."

  "Why don't you go to your master's house for a night then." Yu Songyuan teased her intentionally.

  "Master's house is in the county town, and there is only one room in the house. If there was a place, she would have let me live with her long ago, why bother living in this haunted place, it's scary to death."

  Yu Songyuan said: "Alright, alright, don't be nervous, I was just saying if. You can rest assured, I will accompany you every day, this should be fine, right?"

  She took over the flashlight: "Okay, thank you. I'll definitely buy a new one to return it to you after I get paid."

  "This flashlight was just bought by Teacher Zhang and given to me. At that time, you can buy this flashlight from me, so I can also make some money."

  Lin Xue was laughed at for the first time.

  Yu Songyuan was waiting for her, using his hands to part the thick reeds covering the mound of earth, and pulled out two large green radishes from underground. He then smoothed out the soil and covered it with reeds again. The girl arrived just in time, and saw Yu Songyuan pull out two big radishes from underground, she was both surprised and puzzled.

  Yu Songyuan told her that this large piece of land was all part of the school, and every autumn they would harvest big cabbages and turnips, which they would bury in pre-dug trenches, covering them with soil and reeds to keep them fresh and prevent freezing. They wouldn't finish eating them until winter and spring.

  She covered her mouth and exclaimed: "Really? Wow, then we're rich, we have food to eat." After finishing speaking, she was so happy that she jumped up and clapped her hands. She said "we", Yu Songyuan knew, she had begun to trust him.

  When they arrived at the dormitory entrance, Yu Songyuan washed and dried a turnip, knocked on the door and handed one to her, then reminded her: "It's just occasional digging that's okay, once the school discovers that the vegetable field has been stolen, it's over if found out."

  "I knew I knew it, thank you!" she exclaimed excitedly.

  From then on, every evening when she passed by the vegetable field on her way back to the dormitory, she would say: "Yu Gege, wait a moment." Then, she would lift up the reeds and dig out two large turnips from underground. After washing them clean in the dormitory, they would each have one for dinner before going to sleep.

  They formed an unspoken understanding, leaving early and returning late, pairing up together. Generally, Yu Song would walk ahead, with her following two or three steps behind, becoming the most heartwarming scene in the school's residential area every morning and evening.

  In fact, many of these teachers and family members are kind and ordinary people who have deep sympathy for the two children who were abandoned and forgotten by the school. Now, seeing them supporting and helping each other, it's a relief.

  After the first cold wave ended, the temperature began to rise gradually again. On this day, Yu Songyuan finished his second class and only discovered that Qin Hong had forgotten to bring him the chemistry materials during the break between classes. The last two classes were chemistry classes and he needed them, so he hurriedly ran back to the dormitory.

  As he walked past the teacher's dormitory, he faintly heard from a distance in the dense forest the kind of desperate, fearful, mournful, frantic and helpless crying voices that only little girls would make when they were in a hopeless situation. Yu Songyuan was not someone who often spoke with others, but as soon as he heard this voice, he felt extremely familiar with it.

  Something big has happened!

  Yu Songyuan hastily rushed through the vegetable field, plunged into the thicket, and was about to reach the river ditch when the crying voice became even sharper, more chaotic, and desperate. It was the voice of that girl named Lin Xue. He charged forward regardless of everything, and as he approached the edge of the river ditch, what he saw in front of him left him stunned.

  Across the ditch, there were those two earth dogs, one white and one gray, who had been defeated by General Big, standing on the opposite road, looking at the girl with a majestic gaze. On this side of the ditch, a yellow dog slightly larger in build was staring at the other bank.

  On the wooden bridge made of two large logs placed side by side over the river, Lin Xue was squatting on the bridge, bowing her head and holding her head in her hands, crying out loudly, and from time to time, she pounded the bridge with her hands in despair. Apparently, she who had just felt a glimmer of hope was not willing to be buried in the mouth of the vicious dog like this.

  Three vicious dogs, amidst the little girl's cries and wails, occasionally let out loud fierce barks, jumping up and down as if ready to pounce at any moment, the situation on the verge of erupting.