Married the Abandoned Puppy Alpha - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Cold Rainy Night

When the suspended car stopped downstairs, it was already past twelve o’clock.

Song Xiao stepped on the brakes: “You should get a good night’s sleep today. Later, I’ll help you check out what’s going on with Shi Qingze.”

He Xinglou snapped out of it: “No need to check. Regardless, there’s no connection in the future anyway.”

Song Xiao saw his absent-mindedness throughout the journey and sighed in compromise: “Fine, we don’t have to check, but you must take the matter of the blind dates to heart. I heard that a city-wide search is about to begin.”

He Xinglou knew about this too.

The new policy had been out for half a month. The Empire considered itself to have done everything possible for undocumented residents; now it was determined to use forced measures to drive people out.

He heard last week that search officers had already swept through the apartment buildings on the adjacent street and arrested many people.

Searching his apartment building was only a matter of time.

“I understand. This matter… I’ll think of a way myself.” He forced a smile.

Song Xiao looked at him silently for a long while, not speaking.

Consequently, He Xinglou found it a bit difficult to keep smiling.

To hide it, he turned his face away: “You’re tired too, hurry back. This weekend, the three of us will go out to eat together.”

After speaking, he got out of the car. Having just taken two steps toward the apartment entrance, Song Xiao called out to him again from behind.

Song Xiao rested her elbow on the car window and leaned out; her face looked exceptionally serious under the reflection of the car lights.

“Do you still feel like you’ve done Shi Qingze wrong?”

Xinglou felt his heartstrings suddenly pull tight. Before he could even think of an answer, Song Xiao shrugged and shrunk back into the car.

“Forget it, let’s talk during the weekend, lest you dream of Shi Qingze all night tonight. Call me or Shuyan if something happens.”

After saying that, she blew a kiss toward He Xinglou and drove away.

Xinglou laughed in spite of himself, shook his head, and went upstairs.

As it turned out, he still dreamed of Shi Qingze that night.

It was the long-lost Shi Qingze from three years ago.

In the dream, He Xinglou was walking through a dark alley piled with trash, suppressing his rage while contacting the boss of his part-time shop.

“I said it already, the person who stole things wasn’t me. You guys can completely go check the surveillance!” he said to the boss on the light-screen.

On the other end of the screen, the boss was absent-mindedly clipping his nails: “Checking surveillance is very troublesome. In short, you don’t need to come starting today.”

He Xinglou was directly laughed into anger: “Is it that you guys never intended to investigate at all, and from the very beginning planned to make me the scapegoat?”

“Why speak so harshly?” The boss furrowed his brows, his opening words full of ‘old-timer’ flavor. “A little kid with this kind of temper, what will you do once you enter society in the future?”

He Xinglou tried his best to stay calm: “You don’t need to trouble yourself worrying about future matters, but right now you are dismissing an employee without cause. I can go to the Labor Bureau to sue you!”

“Sue me?” The boss looked at him with disdain, as if hearing a joke. “What capital do you have to sue?”

“Stinky brat, did you forget? You are still an undocumented resident! Before the age of eighteen, the Welfare Bureau protected you, but now nobody takes you seriously! After becoming an adult, you must accept the laws of adult society!”

The expression on He Xinglou’s face froze for a moment.

In this era, resources were abundant and welfare was perfect, but because of the low birth rate, minors were the most protected group. Even without a family to rely on, they could go to school for free and receive monthly subsidies.

When He Xinglou first transmigrated, it was exactly the final time limit for receiving the subsidy. As soon as he turned nineteen, the institution immediately cut off his welfare.

He Xinglou had not yet completed his basic education. Even if he calculated carefully using the last of the subsidy and worked part-time non-stop after class, the money still wasn’t enough to save.

Life was like a plastic bag with a hole; it couldn’t hold onto the savings that were slipping away like flowing water.

And now, his part-time job was also going down the drain.

As if seeing the doubt in his eyes, the boss’s expression became even more triumphant: “Go ahead and sue! See if you enter prison first for being undocumented, or if I pay you money first!”

Without a word, He Xinglou directly hung up the communication.

It wasn’t until that detestable face on the other side of the light-screen disappeared that he tremblingly exhaled the breath he had been holding, kicking over the trash can beside him with force.

Countless flies flew out; the stench was heaven-scenting (overwhelming).

If he hadn’t transmigrated to this ghostly place, he wouldn’t be this destitute!

How was he supposed to live? How?!

Xinglou stepped heavily on a piece of trash to vent his anger. Unexpectedly, at that moment, the piece of fabric beneath his foot actually shrunk back, nearly causing him to fall directly to the ground.

“What is that?!”

A rat? Or a stray dog?

He immediately backed away, looking toward the depths of the dark alley alertly.

But inside the trash pile, there was only a slight movement; it did not make the rustling sound of a small animal.

He Xinglou was not a person who liked to actively provoke trouble. Picking up his schoolbag, he was about to leave hurriedly, but at the moment he turned, he saw a patch of bluish-white in his peripheral vision.

It looked like… human skin.

He Xinglou instantly froze. His entire heart was seized by the eerie imagery; he was so scared he didn’t dare move.

The rotting stench in the trash pile lingered. He Xinglou made several psychological preparations before slowly turning his head.

The youth in the trash pile opened his eyes slightly, meeting his gaze.

He Xinglou breathed a sigh of relief. The schoolbag slid from his weakened hand to the ground.

…Thankfully, it was a living person.

Perhaps because the other party was young and hadn’t differentiated, he couldn’t distinguish the other’s sexual characteristics and mistook them for a corpse.

He Xinglou calmed down and said softly: “Don’t be afraid. I’ll call an ambulance and the police for you right away.”

“Don’t go to the hospital.” The youth struggled a bit, seeming somewhat nervous.

“Don’t go to the police station either. Can’t… can’t be found!”

“Be found? Found by whom?” He Xinglou caught the keyword.

The youth, however, showed a blank expression and couldn’t answer for a long time.

“I… I don’t remember.”

He Xinglou asked again: “Then what about your name? I can contact your parents and send you home.”

The youth shook his head: “I don’t remember that either.”

Xinglou blinked his eyes.

What did this count as? Amnesia?

Looking closely, there was indeed blood on the other’s head; there was indeed the possibility of retrograde amnesia caused by a serious injury.

But thinking about it, it was too outrageous like acting in some old-fashioned idol drama.

After thinking it over, He Xinglou still tapped the light-screen: “I should still call an ambulance for you.”

If it was amnesia, all the more reason to go to the hospital.

“Don’t! I beg you!” The youth struggled; his wounds burst open, emitting a thick scent of blood. “I will be killed!”

Be… killed? What kind of logic was that? And didn’t he have amnesia?

He Xinglou eventually stopped his hand, feeling conflicted.

He recalled the youth’s fragmented words and finally could only barely infer one conclusion the youth was also an undocumented resident, so he couldn’t be found by the police or doctors.

Wait.

He Xinglou suddenly turned to look at the other party again.

Undifferentiated meant this kid was a minor.

According to the Empire’s regulations, as long as one was a minor even if undocumented they could obtain subsidies!

Xinglou’s heart beat rapidly. He walked slowly toward the youth lying in the trash pile.

The evening lights were just coming on; the light from outside the alley happened to project in at this moment, illuminating a face as bright as a clear moon.

The youth seemed stunned by his face and couldn’t help but shrink back, but unexpectedly pulled his wound, hissing in pain.

“Don’t move, you’re still injured.”

He Xinglou reached out to grab the other’s wrist. A damp and sticky sensation came from under his palm, making his scalp feel a bit numb.

At the moment their skin touched, the youth’s reaction was even more intense; ignoring the pain, he pulled his hand back with force.

Xinglou thought he was being wary of him and explained: “Don’t be afraid, I won’t hurt you.”

Thinking that the other was still a minor, his tone became even more softened, speaking in the gentle tone used for a child:

“You don’t want to go to the hospital, and you don’t want to report to the police, right?”

The youth nodded. He tried to get up but couldn’t stand no matter what, nearly falling forward.

Xinglou’s hands were quick and eyes were sharp as he supported him, pulling his arm and, without allowing for discussion, hoisting it onto his own shoulder.

The youth was flustered and helpless, especially after seeing He Xinglou’s white shirt get dirtied by himself; his dangling hand trembled slightly.

“Don’t move around. I’ll take you to my home; no one else will find you.”

The physical characteristics of an undifferentiated child were not obvious. The current youth was a bit shorter than He Xinglou; he easily propped the other up, turned around, and walked back.

“Like this… I can’t trouble you too much.” The youth’s face was flushed red and his body was hot, seemingly running a low fever due to an infected wound.

“It’s no trouble. You being willing to trust me is what I should thank you for.” He Xinglou’s tone was lighthearted.

“Rest assured, I won’t tell anyone about you being undocumented.”

Thinking of his next plan, He Xinglou also frankly spoke his secret: “I am also undocumented; that’s why I don’t want to deal with the police.”

The youth was stunned.

He Xinglou reached out his hand: “Since we are both undocumented, from now on let’s just depend on each other for survival? You can call me Brother.”

“…Brother.” The youth’s soft voice came through.

A smile blossomed on He Xinglou’s face: “Changing how you address me so quickly? Thinking about it this way is quite good, isn’t it? From now on we are a family. Let’s go home.”

Rather than saying he was speaking to the youth leaning on him, it was more like He Xinglou was speaking to himself.

His mood became increasingly better. The key swung into a bright arc of light between his fingers before being tightly squeezed in his palm.

He opened the door to his home.

“Open the door! Search!”

Xinglou jolted awake from the dream.

Before sleeping, he hadn’t even changed his clothes or covered himself with a blanket; now he was sleeping until his whole body was icy cold.

It was still raining outside; thunder roared and lightning flashed.

But compared to the commotion of the thunder and rain, the noise outside the door made him even more nervous.

“Open the door quickly! City-wide search!”

The blood in He Xinglou’s entire body went cold. He got up nervously, looking at the door that was vibrating from the continuous knocking.

He didn’t expect that just after talking about the search, he would actually encounter the search officers tonight!

What to do? If he were caught, his two friends wouldn’t have the ability to bail him out!

He Xinglou quickly opened the window.

The icy rain pierced straight through like needles.

His breathing was rapid. He leaned out and glanced downstairs. He lived on the third floor; there were many awnings on the outer wall of the apartment building. It should… allow him to climb and jump down.

It was just that the rain was very heavy now, and the awnings were a bit slippery.

Xinglou gritted his teeth, took out his already-prepared essential items and wallet from the drawer, and flipped out of the window without hesitation.

The search officer’s stern voice faded. As soon as He Xinglou climbed out of the window, he was soaked through by the rain.

He didn’t dare waste time, struggling to grab the edge of the awning and cautiously beginning to move downstairs.

When he was about to reach the ground, he saw the search officer’s car parked at the apartment building entrance. Two red dots flashed inside, as if someone were waiting in the car smoking.

Then it seemed he couldn’t leave through the front entrance.

He Xinglou was pondering a way to escape when, in a moment of inattention, he slipped on the accumulated moss on the awning and fell to the ground out of control.

It hurt.

He bit his teeth hard, not daring to make a sound. He rubbed his twisted ankle and, without wasting a moment, left through the back door.

Fortunately, he had already prepared for search officers coming to his door; now that the things on his person were complete, he could just find a capsule hotel to make do for the night.

But just as he tapped open the light-screen, the sound of footsteps hurried over from a distance.

Was it the search officers catching up?

He Xinglou hurriedly turned off the terminal and accelerated his pace to flee forward. It was only after he walked out of the apartment building’s range that he realized the footsteps were actually coming from in front of him.

Someone was coming hurriedly through the rain; they only stopped after raising their eyes and seeing his figure.

The rain was torrential. Xinglou found it a bit difficult to see and didn’t dare carefully identify who the newcomer was; he turned a corner, wanting to escape from another direction.

“He Xinglou.”

The familiar voice came through low.

Xinglou’s footsteps stopped abruptly. He slowly turned around.

The silhouette in the rain approached him, finally letting He Xinglou see the other’s features clearly.

It was Shi Qingze, who was likewise soaked through.

He seemed to have come in a hurry, panting continuously. For some reason, there was a scraped wound on his face; the seeping blood was washed away again by the rain.

He Xinglou suddenly remembered that the iron fence near the apartment building was in disrepair. If a pedestrian was absent-minded, they could easily be injured.

While he was aimlessly thinking about that mysterious iron fence, Shi Qingze’s call came again. This time he shouted:

“Brother.”

His vision. He gazed at the person in front of him in silence.

Both were disheveled, both were carrying injuries. It was as if for all these years, both had been falling, getting injured, and getting soaked in places where the other couldn’t see, yet had trekked through it all to reunite here.

At this instant, all of He Xinglou’s emotions were completely drained; he couldn’t say anything at all.

He froze in place, only seeing Shi Qingze seem to frown, and then seem to smile. Finally, the other took two steps forward and pulled him forcefully into his embrace.