Chapter 60: Passing by Chen Yu
She hadn't said a word, but Han Mo felt his heart ache.
She must have had such a hard life before, right?
He couldn't help but pull her into his arms: "It's over. Everything will pass."
His pain, He Huanhuan's pain—it would all pass.
He Huanhuan nodded seriously: "I know."
The two of them squatted by the roadside sharing a piece of cake, taking turns taking bites, utterly carefree.
Near the end, she shoved him away in disgust: "It's not even that big to begin with, and you've eaten this much!"
But Han Mo stubbornly held out his spoon: "This is your coming-of-age cake. We have to share it together."
"No way!"
The two of them wrestled over it right there on the street, oblivious to everyone around them. He Huanhuan still had her helmet on and, without a second thought, bonked him right on the head with it!
Neither of them noticed that, just ahead of them, Chen Yu's car slowly drove past.
It had been less than three days since the accident, but Chen Yu looked completely worn out.
His dark circles were so deep he could cosplay as a panda, and stubble had grown in thick and fine—he simply didn't have the heart to shave.
He drove slowly through the streets, searching aimlessly.
He knew it was like looking for a needle in a haystack, but he had no other choice.
He couldn't just sit at home waiting for news from the police, could he?
That would be pure torture.
And he couldn't go home either—if he did, he'd get beaten.
His father's belt was practically wearing out against his back...
So better to come out and search. At least it gave him something to do, and it kept his mind a little lighter.
As his car passed the cake shop, he even glanced at He Huanhuan and Han Mo fighting over the cake.
The kid wiped his tears with his hand: "I'm so worried about my cousin that I'm starting to see things..."
Even a mother and son playing by the roadside looked familiar—he thought he glimpsed his cousin's and He Huanhuan's faces.
He really needed to rest. If he didn't, he was going to go crazy.
He didn't see that in the rearview mirror, the "mother and son" he thought he saw stood up, and both their faces were fully exposed.
It was He Huanhuan and Han Mo!
He Huanhuan adjusted her helmet: "The e-bike's almost out of battery. Let's ride it home and charge it."
Wang Qiang's company was too stingy—employees weren't allowed to charge e-bikes at work. If they got caught, it was a two-hundred-yuan fine.
The two of them couldn't even earn two hundred yuan from delivering food all day, so they had to ride the e-bike back to the rundown house to charge it.
They rode into the village, and when they got near the rundown house, they noticed a bunch of villagers gathered by the roadside.
He Huanhuan curiously went up to ask: "What's going on? Why's everyone gathered here?"
"That old house of Old Li's was taken over by a homeless person! So they're installing surveillance cameras on it now!"
He Huanhuan was shocked: "There are homeless people these days?"
"You bet! Isn't that something!"
He Huanhuan took another look—oh my goodness! That was her and Han Mo's home!
Wait, no—wasn't that the rundown house they were temporarily staying in?
So the "homeless person" was them!
She awkwardly turned her head and exchanged a silent look with Han Mo.
She blinked: Our home is gone.
Han Mo gave a bitter smile: I can see that.
She blinked again: So what do we do now?
Han Mo raised an eyebrow: Let's go. Don't get caught by the owner.
Just as they were about to leave, the villager who had just spoken suddenly turned around!
Six eyes met. The villager grinned: "Picking up your son from school?"
Han Mo stared at the villager, pupils shaking. Him? Her son?
He Huanhuan? Her mother?
When did this man go blind?
But He Huanhuan instantly nodded with familiarity: "Yeah, picking him up for lunch."
The villager glanced at Han Mo: "Doesn't the school provide lunch? Why bring him home to eat?"
Han Mo kept his face straight and said nothing. He Huanhuan immediately elbowed him: "When your uncle's talking to you, why don't you answer? Kid, you're such a disappointment!"
Han Mo's face instantly darkened: "The food's bad."
The villager instantly started rambling: "This kid's pretty big, but so picky! That's not good. You should learn from your parents. Your dad never used to be picky when he was little..."
Han Mo's head was about to explode. His dad? Not picky when he was little?
What nonsense was this man talking?
Did he even know his dad?
He Huanhuan kept nodding: "Tell me about it. Raising a kid is so exhausting. They won't eat this, won't eat that. Ugh, so stressful!"
...
Han Mo couldn't take it anymore. He shoved He Huanhuan: "Let's go home."
But He Huanhuan was getting into her role. She turned and glared at him: "Mom's talking to someone here. All you know is 'go home, go home.' Such an ill-mannered kid!"
Han Mo glared at her, face dark: "We're leaving."
"Ugh, there's just no dealing with you!"
He Huanhuan still remembered to wave at the villager: "We'll get going now..."
The villager earnestly saw her off: "Alright, alright... come over for a meal sometime..."
"Sure, sure..."
Han Mo's head was spinning even more: "You're actually going to eat at his house?"
He Huanhuan laughed: "Haven't you ever chatted with people before? This is just small talk!"
...
They rode the e-bike out of the village, then squatted by the roadside, silent and staring at each other.
He Huanhuan sighed: "We had a piece of cake, and now our home's gone."
The e-bike was also completely dead by then, so they had no choice but to push it.
Han Mo stood up and started pushing: "Let's go to the sales office first and return the bike to Wang Qiang."
He Huanhuan followed behind, feeling regretful: "Honestly, our home wasn't that bad. That bed was sturdier than the one I used to sleep on..."
Han Mo paused, then asked casually: "What kind of bed did you used to sleep on?"
He Huanhuan replied offhandedly: "I didn't have a bed. I used to sleep with my grandpa and grandma. That old wooden bed was sold by my dad for money."
Han Mo frowned in disbelief: "You had no bed? How did you sleep?"
"Three wooden planks on two old benches—that was enough to sleep on."
...
A wordless emotion churned in his chest. He already knew she had suffered a lot before.
But when that suffering became specific—when it settled into those tiny details of everyday life—it suddenly became vivid and concrete.
He felt his heart ache in waves. What kind of life had she been living before?
He opened his mouth and finally forced the question out: "What about your mom?"
She'd only ever mentioned her loving grandparents and her worthless dad.
But her mother—she'd never mentioned her.
He Huanhuan blinked and said casually: "Don't even bring her up. My dad was into drinking, gambling, whoring, and everything else. My mom got beaten away by him more than ten years ago."
Han Mo couldn't help but ask: "Why didn't she take you with her?"
If her mom had taken her away, wouldn't she have been spared all this suffering?
"Forget it."
He Huanhuan stood behind the e-bike, pushing from the back: "It wasn't easy for her just to escape. How would she have managed with me in tow? My dad's crazy. If she'd taken me, and he went off the deep end looking for her, what then?"
Her dad was a total scumbag. Getting as far away from him as possible was a good thing.
She was genuinely happy for her mom.
Han Mo walked ahead, saying nothing for a long time.
The mood suddenly turned heavy. He Huanhuan reached out and patted him: "Why aren't you saying anything?"
"Did he ever hit you?"
He Huanhuan shook her head: "No. He never had the guts for that."
When she was little, her grandparents protected her, so he couldn't get to her.
By the time her grandparents died, she was already grown and had gotten mixed into the punk scene.
If he dared so much as curse at her, she'd buy two packs of spicy chips and drag a whole house full of dyed-haired thugs back with her. She'd beat him senseless!