Chapter 439: Volume 1, Chapter 439 – Obsessive Professor Side Story (3)

After that, the child often came to her house to mooch meals. It wasn't entirely just mooching; sometimes he would bring things, like food from a roadside snack stall or a bag of fruit.

Jiang Zhi had told him many times not to bring anything, but the child was stubborn; each time he promised, he would forget again when he turned back.

New Year's Eve arrived.

On her way home from work, she saw several children playing with firecrackers, laughing and playing together, adding a touch of joy to the snowy white landscape.

Jiang Zhi rubbed her chilled fingers, a faint smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

She thought, why not go to the supermarket and buy some red paper to put up at home, to at least celebrate the New Year?

On her way to the supermarket, a familiar figure caught her peripheral vision.

Short and small, he held a sack in one hand and an iron tongs in the other, picking up trash as he walked.

He looked utterly out of place on the bustling street.

Jiang Zhi, however, stopped in her tracks, brows furrowed, her gaze following the child's back.

She followed him all the way until he arrived at a scrap yard, where he haggled with the owner as if he were a regular, and finally sold a bag of scrap for thirty-six yuan.

The child licked his dry lips, his eyes bright; he lifted his frostbitten hand to rub his dark hair at the forehead, then walked back on his short legs.

But after just a couple of steps, he saw a figure standing not far away.

Jiang Zhi's complexion was not good; a thin mist veiled her dark eyes, obscuring the emotions within.

"Huo Yin." She called out his name, intending to pretend she hadn't seen the child, who abruptly stopped in his tracks.

He lowered his head, the hand holding the money trembling slightly. White snowflakes fell from the sky, landing on his black hair.

Jiang Zhi walked over, opened her umbrella to shield his head. She drew a cool breath, easing her tight chest a little, and fixed her gaze on his head as she asked, "Every time you come to my house bringing things, is the money from picking up scrap?"

Is this what he meant by making money?

A six- or seven-year-old child out picking scrap in the deep winter. No wonder, when I saw him the past two days, he was always wearing gloves; it turned out his hands were frostbitten, and he didn't dare let her see.

Little Huo Yin explained earnestly, "Picking up scrap makes good money."

Jiang Zhi felt helpless, squatting before him and meeting his gaze: "But you're still a child; this isn't something you should be doing."

Having spent so much time with him, she had also wondered why he didn't go to school—his parents let him go to a stranger's house and stay all day. That wasn't normal either.

But no matter how she asked, the child wouldn't say.

……

A long silence.

Jiang Zhi brushed the snowflakes from his hair ends and gently asked, "Huo Yin, can you tell me about your family situation?"

The worst case would be that he, like me, had lost both parents.

The child's eyes slowly reddened, his hands clenched into fists, his lips pressed together as he remained silent.

After a while, he shoved her away with one hand and ran off, disappearing from her sight in no time.

Jiang Zhi stood there for a moment, sighed, and thought she wasn't the child's relative, so whatever happened to him had nothing to do with her.

She turned and headed home, no longer in the mood to go to the supermarket.

…

New Year's Eve, nine o'clock at night.

Two clusters of fireworks arced across the sky, bursting into splendid beauty, then quickly scattered sparsely and faded.

The urgent wail of fire engines came from afar, passing through the window to reach Jiang Zhi's ears as she read in the bedroom.

Her attention was drawn outside; she unconsciously put down her book and walked to the window.

In the distance, amid the hazy night, a fire truck drove by.

That direction…

Jiang Zhi recalled the address the child had once mentioned in passing.

She vaguely remembered it was Crane City District.

She paused for a moment, and by the time she collected herself, she had already grabbed a coat and run out of the residential complex.

Deep down, she even felt a faint premonition of something amiss.

Jiang Zhi ruffled her messy hair, steeled herself, hailed a taxi, and headed for Crane City District.

…

Intense flames shot straight up to the heavens, thick black smoke spreading to cover the entire sky.

The fire spread to the neighboring high-rise; a dark crowd surged toward the square's center. The fire engines arrived in time, and the connected high-rises suffered no casualties, but the source of the fire looked dire.

…

Half an hour later.

Jiang Zhi, running over in a pair of slippers, saw the child crouched alone on the stairs.

Two police officers were questioning him.

At that moment, two charred black bodies were carried out from the stairwell.

"It seems the woman poured gasoline inside the house, intending to die together with the man; the child wasn't home and escaped disaster."

"Good heavens, are they crazy? Committing suicide on New Year's."

"That poor child! I heard they have no one left; I don't know what will become of this little one."

The onlooking crowd chatted away, munching on melon seeds with great relish.

As Jiang Zhi passed by, her expression grew solemn.

She approached and heard the police's question.

"Besides your parents, do you have any other relatives?"

The child was covered in dust and grime, his hair tips singed; he looked as if he had rushed into the fire.

He shook his head.

The police officer showed a sympathetic look, exchanged a glance with a nearby colleague, and said, "We'll send you to the welfare home; don't worry, someone will take care of you."

The child remained silent, but upon noticing Jiang Zhi's gaze from not far away, he lifted his eyes; a pair of dark, dull, lusterless eyes, gray and devoid of color, dropped the instant they met hers.

He didn't want to see her pity and sympathy, nor did he want her to see his wretched appearance.

She was different, unlike anyone else.

Xiao Huo Yin suddenly stood up and started to run.

Jiang Zhi strode over, grabbed his wrist, and told the nearby officer, "Hello, I'd like to become his guardian."

The officer looked at her, glanced at the child she held, remained silent for a few seconds, then said, "This requires you and him to go to Jingju."

Jiang Zhi indicated her agreement.

Riding in a police car to Jingju, the child stared blankly the whole way, letting her lead him forward.

Only when the officer questioned him did he snap out of it.

"I… I…" he stammered, his face flushed red with anxiety.

The officer handed him a cup of water, saying, "Don't rush, speak slowly."

Xiao Huo Yin's eyes were red, his hands fidgeting; before he could speak, he suddenly burst into tears.

He didn't even know what he was thinking; feeling the warmth of the hand holding his, his nose inexplicably soured.

After leaving Jingju, he was still crying.

Jiang Zhi patted her pockets, found no tissue, and could only let him cry.

The paperwork for guardianship was extensive, and officials would frequently visit to inspect, worried she might maltreat the child.

She blew a gust of cold air, and her mind suddenly cleared.

She didn't regret adopting him; she just felt uncertain about the future.

She had never even kept a pet, how could she raise a child?

"Alright, come home with me."

Xiao Huo Yin abruptly stopped sobbing, lifted his bewildered, bloodshot eyes to her, and stammered, "You… you… why… did you… adopt… me?"

Jiang Zhi: "I didn't think too much about it."

Xiao Huo Yin hastily wiped tears from his cheeks, his body shaking badly, "Th-thank you."

Jiang Zhi looked at him for a while, then sighed and reached out to pull him into her embrace.

On New Year's Eve the temperature was low, gusts of cold wind blew, snowflakes flew, and in the distance brilliant fireworks burst, streaks arcing across the night sky.