The days that followed continued, a monotonous repetition that only deepened his despair.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9YjoQ4mzqa
From the first beating, the second, the third…
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeRhlwPNjjV
By the end, Yunho had lost count of how many beatings he'd endured.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxJWFqo3lr
Sometimes it was just because of his slowness.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7JtPIz8Fyo
Sometimes it was just because the food not to their taste.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ05TvXaUvZo
Sometimes there was no reason at all; They simply wanted someone to vent their anger on.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSIHyeVcjWh
He was always the one at the bottom, the easiest to bully.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpCXmLPzDQ1
And Jun-ge always stood by.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5nMTLfBqYR
From beginning to end, he remained consistently silent.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRYdqeVhes6
Like watching a complete stranger.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhedT17PoX6
Sometimes Yunho would be covered in bruises, huddled in a corner, panting.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMk6MLagIOs
Jun-ge would leave a bottle of medicinal liquor, a piece of dry bread, and, just like last time, turn and leave.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQqQ2M5xRTS
Sometimes, even that wasn't enough.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwf83uOrXgq
It was as if wasting even a moment on him was pointless.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc95DWAnhFD
The boy had secretly hoped.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoKqEi6Grb1
He hoped that the person who had taken him in would even cast a glance at him.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnbRHsXSOFn
Even a simple "Stop it."
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy0Qsf6I6ib
Even just one admission—"He's mine."
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE5ydtWboZA
Just once, and Yunho would suffer much less.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUYhAtovXWH
But for two years, it never happened.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZb2ttNH3if
And so, Yunho endured cold stares and bullying from age 11 to 13.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmanbWf3zeu
By day, he shouldered work far beyond his years; by night, he carefully slept, enduring the stinging pain of his wounds, terrified of another beating the next second.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3XrPr3t1Yi
The darkness stretched endlessly.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlBTAJlG6k5
And the person who had once given him a glimmer of light in that darkness,
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRnuV8Df3bH
though living in the same building, was farther away than the Great Wall,
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ75ZfIPC84
seemingly only to be admired from afar, forever unreachable.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsRnQQmVG8x
Now, at thirteen,
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq9nHCS82Us
he thought he was numb, thought he had closed his heart, that he would no longer feel pain, no longer have expectations.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSfjlTfrL4U
Until that girl appeared.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ46Pd7QLsUB
She was the daughter of a nearby shopkeeper,
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhSM7vRpxuK
whose shop had a long-standing partnership with the Xi Yue Gang.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0NrxufNPBi
Around 17 years old, a high school student,
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7L7XQjzwND
she possessed an incredibly pure and lovely aura,
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxCm7zbd83W
bright and radiant.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2w0VrAM0gU
She would occasionally help her family organize merchandise at the shop,
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuChLPfCGmH
and had several opportunities to interact with the boy.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmJC2U1386e
She was one of the very few people who looked at Yunho with normal eyes, without disliking his dirtiness, his background, or showing disgust upon seeing him.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMnPhMbthgm
Sometimes, as they passed each other, she would gently raise her head; sometimes, she would secretly toss him some snacks, even giving him a meat bun.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs8m842Lc35
"Eat quickly, don't let anyone see."
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnMATjTeEpA
"Thank you..."
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQPU5cOVzAf
Yunho froze, the warmth of her hand reaching deep into his heart.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6BOxOwObAz
Since losing his parents at age 11 and being kicked out by relatives, he had never been treated so gently.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7DV4zPmtSv
No insults, no contemptuous glances.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQZLfgHkhW
Just... simple, selfless kindness.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgxPRSKMur2
That tiny, insignificant act of kindness, in the darkness of his life, was like a spark, burning him with a frantic intensity, yet irresistibly drawing him closer.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3vmoiRmUyg
For the first time, he knew what it felt like to be moved—
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWYKWEWceBL
Flustered, unable to look her in the eye, yet unable to resist stealing glances.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrKEWWSMWfJ
He even had a ridiculous thought:
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjgJR8eA0D1
Perhaps, there is still a glimmer of kindness in this world.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2kXMWNf34r
At the same time, Yunho could sense that the girl wasn't entirely indifferent to him.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCrNRHfBZfc
Sometimes her eyes darted away, sometimes her cheeks flushed slightly, sometimes she would deliberately slow her pace to wait for him.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfTeg3bBnpj
The boy thought that this time, he could finally grasp a sliver of light that belonged to him.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡanJPMImeBJ
Until that day, he mustered all his courage and tried to take a step closer.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1sBggSCmx5
But the girl retreated first.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡknRhUC4woe
Her eyes flickered, her voice as soft as a cloud, yet every word pierced his heart:
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJVcY3aoMW4
"We…can't.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡICjcO1XiTQ
You're from that place, my parents won't approve, and I…don't dare."
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1jpvPN5WMm
Don't dare.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhSbXCBAQ4C
Those two words, so light and airy, shattered his last shred of illusion.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTceH4YwfD1
He understood.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbvSrEoMWIy
Even if someone had a shred of affection for him, they would back down because of his identity, because of his shady past.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVbbxx44DKK
He could never escape that quagmire.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ34nltDdQZN
That night, the boy huddled alone in the corner where he usually hid after being scolded.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ZqovAIzcu
All the memories he had suppressed surged up in that instant.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIMetu3yrx9
The afternoon his parents died.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTVboMkYjl4
The cold night when relatives rejected him and kicked him out, along with his belongings.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMPeMMcYQLe
The hunger and despair of being a homeless person on the streets.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjhlWUGktou
The endless beatings and humiliations in the gang.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCXq6njzt3C
And the vice-president—Jun Ge—who had taken him in, given him a glimmer of hope, but never offered him a shred of warmth.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKGOmDKR0VJ
He thought that after enduring so much, there should be some reward.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7SpT9Tv3We
After suffering for so long, he was finally going to receive some warmth.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8kccGxLOCt
The result was only a series of abysses, each fall more painful than the last.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR5qReXkVCQ
From beginning to end, he had always been alone.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9dTnjPvETH
A person abandoned by the world, unwanted, and uncared for.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsEeOCNy7vj
The boy curled up on the ground, his shoulders trembling violently, clenching his teeth to keep from crying out loud, yet tears still streamed down his face uncontrollably.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmS48HUhA7a
The grievances, despair, and resentment of the past two years erupted completely at this moment.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyRNnUw2OvE
He didn't know when Jun-ge had appeared there.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGp5X3ViitQ
The man leaned against the wall, silently watching him collapse, his eyes still indifferent.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWL2BhtBeJZ
No sympathy, no heartache, no wavering whatsoever.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEu9Hfuan2G
Yunho trembled all over as he cried, but vaguely sensed someone approaching. Through his tear-blurred vision, he slightly raised his head to look at the person he had once regarded as his only ray of light.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwNnxHDd8V
After a while, Jun-ge finally spoke, his voice deep and unwavering, each word striking his heart like a meteorite:
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCdRlSU6FWP
"Is this what you wanted?"7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ20PCm0RUxl
and then Add to home screen.