Chapter 533: Night, because of you, it never ends

Under the dim streetlamp, on the black park bench, I and Han Duo sat on the park's long bench, she on the left, I on the right, we remained silent for a long time.

"Hungry..." I handed over a rice ball—no, to be exact, it's a piece of sushi. After getting soaked in the rain, I was hungry and cold; there happened to be a sushi shop nearby, so I packed a few rolled sushi to go.

Han Duo was soaked through, her tied-up hair already loosened, she was wiping with a tissue. Seeing the sushi I handed over, a complex emotion flickered in her eyes; she gazed at the sushi in her hand and let out a soft sigh.

Thinking of her nickname "Mili", I couldn't help teasing her: "What, do you feel like you're eating your own companion and can't bring yourself to swallow it?"

She showed a wistful expression, bearing the weathered look of having seen through worldly vicissitudes. Suddenly, she turned her head and asked me: "Hey, do you know why my nickname is 'Mili'?"

"Why?" This puzzling question left me confused, yet I couldn't help blurting it out to her.

Han Duo gazed at the moonlight and let out a soft sigh: "I remember a year when the locust plague was especially severe; rice and meat prices in the city skyrocketed, and grain was almost entirely devoured by the locusts. The already hard days at the orphanage became even tougher. At the dinner table, forget meat—many kids relied on older brothers and sisters digging up wild vegetables to stave off hunger."

"I recall once, a kind person donated three catties of rice to the orphanage; Aunt Lan boiled it all into thin porridge at once and waved for the children to come up with bowls. Yet many older brothers and sisters held their bowls and didn't move, because Aunt Lan hadn't drunk, they dared not drink." Han Duo said, tears welling up on her face: "Later, Aunt Lan said, 'I'll drink, I'll drink.' In front of us, she picked up a spoon and ladled herself a bowl. But I clearly saw she drank only the rice water, not a single grain of rice."

"At the time I didn't understand, I ate the most, the pot was scooped empty by the hungry children, yet I still felt unsatisfied. The sensible older brothers and sisters gave me their porridge. That meal was the happiest I'd ever eaten, and also the messiest—my little face was covered in rice grains."

"So they gave you the nickname 'Little Millet' because of that?" It sounds like a funny story, but hearing it I just couldn't feel happy.

Han Duo gave a soft hum and said: "The name 'Millet' has accompanied me for a long, long time; it will walk with me through my life. Because this name represents the times I love most, and the person I love most."

"The orphanage's environment must be pretty tough, right?" I handed over a tissue for Han Duo to wipe her tears. But she didn't take it; instead, she reached into my pocket, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it herself.

But after Han Duo exhaled a puff of smoke, still crying, she continued: "Have you seen the old dormitory at Child Fate Harbor? Two large tile houses, over twenty kids crammed together. In summer, the children would take straw mats to sleep in the big courtyard. In winter, we could only rely on a coal stove for heat. Yet Aunt Lan dared not nail the windows shut too tight, fearing the children inside would be poisoned. When the cold wind blew in, everyone shivered all over; we could only huddle together for warmth. Come winter, the children at Child Fate Harbor would develop chilblains on their hands and feet. Aunt Lan saw it in her eyes, felt it in her heart, and could only do more work, using her earnings to supplement the orphanage's daily supplies."

"As for us kids, we all grew up enough to go out on the streets to pick up paper scraps, collect bottles and cans to sell at the garbage station—for just a few cents a can, the older brothers and sisters were chased by dogs set loose by restaurant owners, beaten by outside beggars… sob sob, I personally saw an older brother chased by a dog into the street, only to be hit and killed by a car, sob sob."

Han Duo flung herself into my arms again, sobbing loudly: "I hate it—I hate my own helplessness, I hate that back then I didn't have the abilities I have now, couldn't help my older brothers and sisters."

My chest felt tight, even tears welled up. Half was from hearing Han Duo's words and feeling upset; the other half was pain. While she cried loudly, her fists kept pounding my chest hard, the pain almost making me unable to breathe.

"Um, little Millet, that's Chen Xiao's son…." I shifted the topic to Chen Xiao's son Chen Zhi, still wanting to advise Han Duo not to interfere. Unexpectedly, she then suddenly asked me: "Hai Sheng, do you know why the orphanage is called Child Fate Harbor?"

"Is it 'child, fate, harbor'?" I understood it literally.

"Yes…" Han Duo nodded firmly, stood up, turned her back to me, and wiped away her tears.

"Every child at Child Fate Harbor shares the same destiny; we are all homeless children. Child Fate Harbor gave us a sense of family, gave us a harbor to rely on. Since fate has brought us orphans together, none of us can abandon another……"

"I swear I will never abandon any of my younger siblings at Child Fate Harbor, even if I die I will absolutely not forsake them." Han Duo's voice carried a stubborn resolve; both her small hands clenched into fists.

In the chilly night wind, she stood on this quiet, deserted park path; the night cast her as more fragile, more diminutive. Yet in my heart, her figure loomed large again, that peacock-like pride blossoming once more on her.

No matter how lonely the night, no matter how dark the sky, nothing can block your radiant light.

Han Duo, night, because of you it never ends.

"Millet, let's go! I'll first take you back to the orphanage, then tomorrow we'll investigate the case." I stepped forward and draped the nearly dry coat over her shivering shoulders.

I know she told me all this so I would stop trying to stop her. Since I can't stop her, I can only do my utmost to help.

Han Duo remained silent as we walked slowly down the road; her face returned to its usual calm, the faint traces of fatigue and weakness seeming like a fleeting wisp of mist that had never appeared.

I escorted her all the way; not long after, we arrived at Ye Liang's small eatery. As we neared the gate of Child Fate Harbor, both Han Duo and I couldn't help but freeze.

Suddenly, the gate of Child Fate Harbor was swarmed with police, accompanied by funeral home vehicles; intermittent sobbing drifted from within the compound, jolting Han Duo's and my hearts.

Could it be… that Aunt Lan has passed away?

Han Duo rushed into the compound without hesitation, I followed closely. As we passed through the bustling crowd and entered the grounds, Han Duo froze like a soulless puppet.

She covered her face with both hands, disbelief streaming from her eyes—just like in a movie when the protagonist sees a dead relative and can't accept it at once.

"Xin Xin…" Finally, unable to suppress her inner anguish, Han Duo burst into tears and lunged toward the child about to be carried away.

On the stretcher lifted by the funeral home staff lay a girl under ten years old—the very child Han Duo and I had encountered on the road; her name was Xin Xin. When I first saw her, her thigh had not yet been bitten by a feral dog.

When I pushed Han Duo aside and got a clear look at Xin Xin's condition, at that moment my scalp went numb and cold chills ran through my heart.

On the stretcher, Xin Xin's Yintang area was just as darkly discolored; on her crown lay a hole about five centimeters wide, its edges flecked with white granular matter. This manner of death was exactly the same as Chen Zhi's.

"Xin Xin…" sob sob Han Duo flung herself onto the stretcher, clutching the icy corpse in agony. Aunt Lan and the children of Child Fate Harbor stood around, tears streaming, faces grief-stricken.

As for me, at this moment I felt no sorrow whatsoever—only tumultuous waves. It seems this affair is growing ever less simple; one child's death you might call a grudge killing, but two…

My heart pounded thump-thump without cease; an ominous premonition grew stronger. I felt that Han Duo and I had fallen into a massive vortex, darkness creeping ever closer toward us. Perhaps one misstep and our fate would be utter ruin.

Author's note: