Global Film Emperor

Chapter 538 Atonement (End) - Part 1

At school, Sarah's interpersonal relationships did not improve after the fight. On the contrary, her classmates heard a lot of rumors and became afraid of her. Even the boys who were infatuated with Sarah's beauty dared not get close to her, for fear of causing unnecessary trouble for themselves and their families.

As a result, she became even more lonely. Apart from Bonnie accompanying her on her way to and from school, it was difficult for her to find anyone to talk to at other times. She was not an aloof person by nature, so she naturally felt lonely, but she was helpless about the alienation from her classmates and teachers.

The teachers close their books, and as soon as the bell rings, they pack their bags and leave. Teachers in these schools have no feelings for their students; they are just seasoned veterans who come to coast through the rest of their lives. Even those who have accepted their fate feel powerless and desperate in the face of these children who have no worries about their future. Gradually, learning to give up, learning to turn a deaf ear, and learning not to have any communication with students in their spare time become their compulsory courses. That way, when these children appear on the news on TV someday in the future, they will not feel regret or sadness.

Whether these children become perpetrators or victims in the future.

The roughhousing began, and the boys even wrestled at the back of the classroom, knocking over desks that were being bumped around. But no matter how wild they were, they avoided getting too close to Sarah, as did the other students watching, creating a vacuum within a meter of Sarah.

She began to tire of school. She had no playmates, and she could mimic seven or eight parts of the teacher's awkward accent. She even figured out which pair of underwear the teacher, who didn't own many pairs, would wear each day. The utterly boring days made her feel like she was wasting her life. Just sitting there every day, without even her brainwaves pulsating, was the greatest offense to life. She wanted to go for a walk, to find happiness, even if the fleeting happiness wouldn't help her in the future. At least in that moment, she would give her time a moment of joy.

She packed her bag, got up and left the classroom. No one paid attention to her, or perhaps someone did, but no one was willing to ask her where she was going. She was there in an objective sense, but she had disappeared in a subjective sense.

She walked out of the school gate without any trouble, and even the school security didn't dare to stop her. But there were no bustling streets or passersby in front of her. Instead, there were only homeless people throwing her disgusting flirtatious glances and making obsequious remarks as they passed by. She stood at the school gate, but she couldn't find her way.

Just take a stroll and relax.

After walking around the school for a while, she still hadn't decided where to go. Feeling a bit tired, she sat down under a tree outside the wall to cool off. Just then, a schoolbag was thrown out from inside the wall, hitting the ground and kicking up dust. The dust landed right on Sarah's face. She looked up and saw a boy climbing over the wall, blocking out the sunlight like a hero or villain from a movie who could blot out the sky. He just jumped right in front of her. Their first meeting was a startling encounter, and both of them shuddered in fright.

"Hey……"

"Hey……"

An awkward greeting. The boy was tall but thin, with a knitted beanie pressing down on his dark red, naturally curly hair that reached past his ears. The necklace around his neck made a pleasant sound, like the tolling of a temple bell, with lingering echoes.

Seemingly feeling it was impolite to talk to someone while sitting, Sarah stood up, gripping the shoulder strap of her crossbody bag with both hands, her little finger gently brushing against her soft, glossy black hair, her head lowered to avoid meeting the boy's gaze.

Did you just jump down?

"That's right..."

"Are you hurt? Sit here."

"No."

“Um…Josen.”

“Sarah.”

With a simple touch of their palms, Sarah was surprised to find that the boy's palms were not as weak as they looked. Instead, they were somewhat rough, with a hard texture of calluses. When these calloused palms touched Sarah's delicate palms, she could hardly feel anything.

"I'm a third-grade student, what about you?"

"I... am in first grade."

"Where are you planning to go? Just by yourself?"

"Just... just wandering around."

"Shall we go together? I'm going to have some fun too."

"where to?"

"Want to come to my friend's party?"

She glanced at the clock on the wall of the main teaching building. Lunch break had already passed, and in a few hours Bonnie would be waiting for her at the school gate as usual. After thinking for a moment, she shook her head.

"Never mind, my grandfather will come to pick me up this afternoon."

"Okay, now that we know each other, let's be friends. I don't really have any friends at school. Bye, I'm leaving now. If you really don't have anything to do, go back to school. After all, this is the neighborhood, and it's not that safe even during the day."

After saying that, he picked up his schoolbag, dusted it off, and carried it on his back, preparing to cross the road and walk towards an unknown alley. Sarah stood on the other side of the road, looking hesitant, until a car drove by and the figure reappeared, and he was already in the deep alley.

Suddenly, she called out.

"Qiao Sen!"

"how?"

Do you have any wine?

"Abundant high-quality goods."

Without further hesitation, a car sped towards her, reaching the middle of the road just before hitting her. It then climbed over the guardrail and ran towards the boy named Johnson.

……

An unnamed alley, dilapidated houses—this was once her home. Elderly people of various ethnicities gambled by the roadside, while younger people danced to popular music. Johnson became very familiar with these people, calling them brothers and sisters, but he didn't stop until he reached a house at the end of the block. From a distance, he could hear the music coming from inside.

Johnson stepped forward and knocked on the door. Soon someone knocked. It was a Middle Eastern man, much older than the two of them, with a beard and a thick layer of chest hair that shone in the sun. He patted Johnson's shoulder warmly, and seeing that there was an unexpected guest, he warmly opened his arms and gave Sarah a light hug, but she found the hug very offensive.

There were quite a few people in the room, men and women, all older than them. There was wine on the table. Johnson led her into the room, poured himself a glass of wine from whoever had used it, drank half of it, and then handed it to Sarah. After hesitating, she drank it herself.

Sarah knew there were no good people here, but she wasn't afraid because her father was the worst man in the neighborhood. Even though he was dead, his name was still there, and no one dared to do anything to her.

Sure enough, someone recognized her very quickly. He pulled the Middle Eastern man aside and said something to him, his expression not very good. Then, Johnson was also called over. When they returned, their actions and tone were much more polite, and they were not as familiar with each other.

Johnson didn't seem very natural. He sat on the worn-out sofa, his fingers constantly picking at the cracked leather. They took out their so-called "hardcore" cigarettes, lit them up, and chatted and boasted, but none of them offered Sarah a cigarette. This was because these "hardcore" cigarettes were released by Ovira for her family members to play with, and she was a girl in her early teens, who was simply tired of living.

She only drinks, and these people only allow her to drink. Perhaps if other girls came here, they wouldn't be able to keep anything to take home. They have many ways to easily lead girls astray, but she is different.

No one urged her to drink, and she drank very little because Bonnie would be picking her up in a few hours, and she couldn't give herself away by letting Bonnie know she had skipped class. It was basically nine parts juice and one part alcohol. She wasn't here to get drunk and be groped by a bunch of dirty, burly men. She knew everything, so she dared to go with anyone. She was just here to chat with someone, to express her feelings through alcohol, nothing more.

Gradually, they got used to Sarah's presence and realized that Sarah was by no means a well-behaved girl who was well protected by Andrew. So, they started to act recklessly, just like the usual party atmosphere, but the target of their recklessness was definitely not Sarah.

Johnson sat next to Sarah for more than an hour before he finally relaxed. He talked to Sarah a lot, mostly about school, including why he didn't have any friends at school. He explained that most of the kids there were just kids who were full of teenage hormones and nothing but playing around, while he had to make a living.

He's someone who's been through thick and thin, and even if he's not doing well, he's still a nobody at the bottom of society, not someone those idiotic teenagers living in sexual fantasies in school can associate with.

He expressed his envy to Sarah again, saying he wanted to join the Camorra so he could make a lot of money. He admired Andrew because in his world, Andrew was a very famous person. Even if he died, even if he was shot and left lying in the street, this was the life the boy wanted to pursue. He wanted to become a big shot. Sarah did not comment on this.

When it was time for her to leave, she was escorted away by the bearded Middle Eastern man.

"It's okay, I can go back by myself. You guys do what you want."

"Come on, if anything happens to you, Ovila will definitely kill me."

She really wanted to say that Ovila and her father weren't as close as she thought, since Ovila hadn't even attended his funeral. But considering there were quite a few police officers present, she kept quiet, accepted the bearded man's kindness, and took him back to the school gate.

Everything went smoothly without Bonnie noticing, but Sarah knew it was because of Bonnie's trust in her. He believed that she would never have anything to do with those thugs again, but she was destined to disappoint Bonnie. She was lonely, she needed friends, and there was still no kind child on her friend list.

……

A weekend outing with Johnson, no one else joined us.

Perhaps those scum who could hang out with Johnson always knew that the two of them were still minors, so after leaving that dilapidated house, the adults didn't often participate in the activities organized by Johnson or Sarah. For them, being seen playing with children was a very shameful thing.

Their childhood and naive ideas are trapped in that old house, never to emerge. When they do step out, they will only be pretentious, aggressive thugs.

Saying goodbye to Bonnie, she dressed herself up and went out. Bonnie didn't stop her. Playing with her friends took up far more of her childhood than endless books and homework. This is what happy education is all about—happiness is the priority. However, Sarah didn't tell Bonnie that her only playmate today was a boy who was two years older than her.

After taking the bus and transferring to a neighborhood near Johnson, several people approached Sarah with strange looks shortly after she got off. Some were scoundrels who simply enjoyed harassing women, while others were pimps from pornographic magazines and pornographic video production companies who wanted to earn a commission from Sarah.

A large proportion of girls from lower-class neighborhoods will go into the sex industry after they reach puberty. After all, children from wealthy families wouldn't do that. But the market is there, and there are a lot of consumers willing to pay for these things, so naturally some people will do it.

The best places to recruit porn stars are low-income neighborhoods and immigrant neighborhoods. In addition, the biggest source of female protagonists for videotapes is foreign girls who have been smuggled and tricked. This kind of dirty work is naturally inseparable from the mafia. Although Andrew did not do this, it is obvious that Camorra was involved in such a big pie as the sex service industry.

Slum girls and illegal immigrants are the largest source of women engaged in sex work, accounting for more than 95% of the female market share.

Sarah's father was a gang member, and many women in the neighborhood made money from this. Naturally, Sarah knew some of the intricacies involved. Having seen so many young and beautiful girls return to their hometowns in miserable condition, she learned from a young age how to protect herself when facing such people.

Don't talk to them. Don't say a word to these pimps, not even a word of refusal or insults. These shameless pimps and drug addicts will continue to chatter on and on, trying to break through the slightest crack in your tightly guarded psychological defenses.

Don't use your underage status as an excuse to refuse him. If he knew you were still a child, he would be even more brazen. Even if it's illegal, there are too many scumbags in this world. A child who is not yet an adult is worth far more than an ordinary adult woman. The younger the child and the sweeter the appearance, the more valuable they are.

The pimp's conversation didn't end until Johnson came to the door. Faced with this arrogant young man who kept his hands in his pockets, the skinny pimp found it hard to muster the courage to continue harassing Sarah. He could only laugh awkwardly, give a comical gentleman's bow, and leave in a hurry.

"You should have just beaten him up. He looks so sickly, you could have easily beaten him."

"Let's go, stop talking nonsense."

Ignoring the bad advice from Josen, she turned and walked towards another bus stop. Josen watched the pimp leave in a hurry, spat on the ground, tightened her purse, and followed Sarah. Their destination today was the only aquarium in the city, an aquarium that had been open for decades.

Andrew never took Sarah to the aquarium; he always tried to avoid going with his family. Sarah's mother, on the other hand, always promised to take Sarah to the aquarium to see the dolphins, but she always broke her promise, because on the day they were supposed to go to the aquarium, she would find something more important than going there.

For all these years, the word "aquarium" has never appeared in Qiao Sen's everyday language, and even that captivating deep blue has never appeared in his impoverished spiritual world.

So, during a casual chat, Sarah vented her long-held grievances in a complaining manner, which was echoed by Johnson, who also expressed that he had many beautiful sights to see and many places to visit, although the aquarium was not among them.

But the aquarium, a place that had never been on his must-visit list, became his number one destination the moment Sarah opened her mouth.

……

Even in the most dilapidated cities in the world, there are still wealthy people, and the aquarium is located near one of the city's affluent neighborhoods and several middle-class neighborhoods.

The street scene that came into view became bustling, and the number of police officers patrolling the streets began to increase. The dilapidated bus was about to reach its destination, and the two of them were the only passengers on the bus, as if telling them that this was a place they should not be.

The number of people of color is gradually decreasing, the sanitation of the roads is gradually improving, and the flow of people on the roadside is becoming denser, unlike the neighborhoods where Sarah or Johnson live, where even during the day, very few people linger on the streets except for homeless people and thugs.

There was a football match today, and many supporters of the city's smaller teams were still strolling around the streets wearing their home team's jerseys. Roadside businesses also set up tables on the roadside, unlike the area near Sarah's house where even supermarkets need to install bulletproof glass and iron bars on their windows.

Even on the bus, the two could smell the aroma of desserts. At Sarah's age, it's hard to resist the temptation of such sweet scents.

She had her hands in her pockets, her long black hair cascading over her shoulders beneath her beanie. Her fair skin, when expressionless, always gave off a cold feeling, but her gaze was fixed on the cake on the outdoor table. As she watched the fork pierce the soft cake base, she realized that it wasn't that she hadn't eaten cake before, or that she hadn't eaten cake recently. It was just that this cake looked much more exquisite than the ones she usually ate. Girls can always easily imagine the delicious taste of delicate desserts.

Suddenly, a huge object blocked the window. The blue and white luxury bus and the old bus she was riding were stopped at the same intersection, waiting for the streetlights to change color. A blond boy was looking out of the opposite bus with his forehead pressed against the glass, and their eyes met.

Her long, golden hair, reaching past her ears, reflected the sunlight. A handsome boy with defined features, dressed in a sharp blue and white school uniform, smiled and waved to her. She didn't respond; her expression remained indifferent. She simply lowered her head, using her long hair to obscure her face. She reached out and gently fiddled with the hard-ear headphones in her ears. In this age of rapidly evolving digital products, her old Sony cassette player was still playing her favorite songs.

It seemed to be a school trip. She had no intention of getting to know them. She turned her gaze to the side, no longer focusing on the privileged teenagers across from her. Instead, Qiao Sen scoffed and then looked awkwardly at the other car window.

This is jealousy from the bottom of one's heart, a powerless hatred born from the inability to change one's life. Whenever these people appear around, they draw the gaze of the suffering person, who then quickly looks away as if staring directly at the sun, as if afraid that if they see them for too long, they will shed bitter tears.

After the light turned green, the bus started moving faster, and by the next intersection, it was no longer in sight. For the remaining stops, the two men talked less and stopped commenting on things they had never seen or experienced before.

Because in that brief minute that they met the rich kid on the bus, the calm and collected demeanor in their eyes made the two realize just how outdated their previous conversation had been.

Upon arrival, they got off the bus and walked one kilometer to their destination. Following their pre-arranged plan, the two stood smoothly at the entrance of the aquarium. However, to their slight discomfort, a brand-new bus was also parked there.

They were probably already inside the building. Inside the car, only the driver was fast asleep in the driver's seat, snoring so loudly that it could be heard clearly through the car door. Some careless person hadn't closed the car window, and half of his backpack strap was hanging outside. Johnson's gaze gradually shifted to the strap, but Sarah slapped him hard on the back.

"Don't even think about doing bad things."

"Even if I don't touch it, it will be lost within ten minutes."

"That's not something we should take."

Was Sarah so righteous? Of course not. Any other child from the slums would have seized the opportunity to make a quick buck. Sarah was no different. Her intervention was mostly out of respect for the bustling area and her desire to integrate into the harmony.

Johnson suppressed his instincts, slowly withdrew his hand and put it in his pocket, bit his lower lip, and turned to look at Sarah.

"What if there are a few hundred dollars inside?"

Who would give a child so much money?

"Too……"

Actually, a few dollars wouldn't have been enough to make him do it, but Johnson was a little hesitant. After Sarah gave him an out, he reluctantly stopped and went to the side to wait for Sarah to return with the exchanged tickets.

……

This is a dreamlike blue place. Even though it has been an aquarium for many years and the facilities inside look a bit old, it is still too dreamlike for two teenagers who have never set foot in any amusement park before.

As the enormous, brightly colored school of fish swam overhead, the boy's concept of beauty was given an unprecedented shock. His previous rustic understanding of beauty was gradually replaced by a more magnificent and spectacular scene. This was the broadening of his horizons. Even the old-fashioned aquarium felt like stepping into a future world to the two of them, replacing the shallow information they had gained from pictures. It was inevitable that this would give rise to a greedy desire to have money and see even more beautiful scenes. Even adults would feel this way, let alone two children.

"Are you still leaving?"

Johnson was drawn to the blue before him, his gaze following the movement of the small sharks. But the argument from earlier still lingered in his mind. To save face, he retorted with a question to Sarah, who watched all this, speechless.

A childhood dream has come true today. This sense of illusion, coupled with the reality presented by her eyes, creates a fierce conflict. She suddenly wants to cry, not for the beautiful scenery before her, but for her mother who had promised her countless times that she would bring her to fulfill this dream.

Her mother broke her promise, and perhaps they would never see each other again. Regret and hatred intertwined, combined with everything she saw on the way to the aquarium. To this day, she still couldn't understand why her mother would abandon her. But she roughly understood the unease of a woman who had never had a good life taking her daughter, who had also never had a good life, to an amusement park.

That unease of becoming a puppet on a string.

They watched intently, their pace gradually slowing. The small space took them three hours to observe, and they wanted to memorize the characteristics and names of every fish. Even as they left the aquarium, they were still savoring the beautiful blue they had just seen.

When they were about to return, they found the bus still parked at the entrance, and a police car parked on the side. The teacher and students leading the group were talking to the police.

"It's really lost."

Sarah wasn't surprised to see her backpack with the strap sticking out. In her mind, it would be strange if the bag was still there in this situation. But then, Johnson pulled up her sleeve and whispered something to her.

"hurry up."

Her scalp tightened instantly. Although she tried to remain calm, her steps were in sync with Qiao Sen's. In the end, he couldn't resist the temptation and took his things.

The two were not close to the bus and did not attract the attention of others. They easily circled around to the other side of the aquarium. Only then did they feel relieved. She angrily shook off Johnson's hand and questioned, "Are you crazy? Didn't I tell you not to take it?"

"Don't worry, I had my back to the camera the whole time, and it was resolved in less than 30 seconds."

"You knew there were cameras, yet you still dared to take it?"

“Sarah, look…”

He pulled a roll of banknotes from his bag, waved it in front of Sarah, and quickly hid it back in his bag. He looked around and saw that the roll of banknotes consisted of loose bills with small denominations. Even so, it was enough to surprise Sarah. Even if the bills inside were of even smaller denominations, it would still be more than two hundred dollars. This was undoubtedly a huge sum of money for the two of them, and it instantly calmed Sarah down.

"How many are there in total?"

"Less than five hundred, and there were a few whole bills rolled up inside, looks like a guy who likes to save money."

He had counted the tickets many times in the restroom, and he remembered exactly which ticket had a missing corner. However, to save face and not appear too excited, he did not give Sarah an exact number.

"So much? Cash in a child's hand?"

What she saw and heard today broadened her horizons, but this incident was undoubtedly the most surprising. Bonnie never mistreated her; giving her three or five dollars a day was quite a lot. At least among the children at school, she was relatively well-off. When she was hungry, she could buy a slice of pizza and a drink. Most students didn't have a single penny of pocket money. After all, their parents didn't have a stable source of income and didn't rely on scavenging, stealing, or robbing. The children at school were always penniless, which is why there were so many juvenile delinquents in the slums.

"You get a share."

"Never mind, I don't want it."

It wasn't that she disliked the source of the money being unclean, but one thing at a time. She felt a little embarrassed to receive a sum of money without having done anything. She simply shook her head and turned to leave, leaving Qiao Sen standing there stunned for a while before quickly following her.

While waiting for the bus back, Johnson said she needed to use the restroom. She stood by the bus stop sign, gazing absently in the golden light at the fans who were cheering and singing along with their home team in celebration of their victory.

The children, carried on their parents' shoulders, sang with clear, cheerful laughter. The mother, carrying the children's belongings, gently supported their backs and sang along. This was a happiness she had never experienced before. She watched, lost in thought, until a slender yet rough hand gently patted her shoulder.

"What are you thinking about?"

"No."

She shook her head, put her hands in her coat pockets, sat on the bench in front of the station, stretched her legs out and crossed them, her heels on the ground swaying from side to side, her head resting against the advertising board, her gaze still fixed straight ahead, when suddenly a square cardboard box blocked her view.

Qiao Sen didn't speak, and neither did she. She simply took the box, opened it, and found a strawberry cream cake inside. It was a very small piece, only the size of a fist. Even if one wanted to praise it, one could only say that it was small and exquisite.

She carefully removed the fork from the cardboard box, afraid of accidentally scratching the delicate dessert. A cake is only sacred when it is actually meant to be eaten; to accidentally damage its shape is to desecrate this sacredness.

Before eating, she took a sniff of the cake. The animal cream smelled much better than the vegetable cream. It was a fragrance she had never smelled before. The fork pierced the cake effortlessly, as if opening a Pandora's box with a deadly allure. The aroma spread, and even Johnson, who was standing next to her, could smell it clearly.

He turned his head away, deliberately avoiding looking at Sarah. South Americans, like Europeans, cannot resist the temptation of sweets, and his constant drooling revealed his curiosity about the taste of high-end desserts.

A fork was held up to Johnson's mouth, with the reddest strawberry still stuck on the cream cake. He looked at Sarah, but she didn't speak or smile; she was just fiddling with her messy headphones with her Walkman plugged in.

He blushed slightly, sat silently next to Sarah, his posture a little stiff, and with his neck stiffened, he gently opened his mouth to take a bite of the cake. Then he didn't dare to look at her, his gaze following the movement of the fans.

It's sweet, very sweet, much sweeter than I imagined.

The bus arrived, and they were still seated by the window. As the twilight shone on them, the two of them, like cheering football fans and smiling people on the street, had lost their initial hostility. Like ghosts freed from resentment, they blended into this otherwise ordinary day.

……

"How was it? Did you have fun?"

"not bad."

When she got home, Bonnie was busy in the kitchen. She threw down her bag, jumped up and slumped onto the sofa. She touched her forehead with the back of her hand; it was still a little hot. Her face wasn't so red anymore. She sat up, leaned against the back of the sofa, and looked at the busy Bonnie, unable to suppress her smile.

The whisk in her hand was still stirring non-stop. Bonnie looked at Sarah's inexplicable smile, and curiously peeked into the mirror to check her own face. After confirming that there was nothing on her face, she asked a question.

"What are you laughing at?"

A young girl in the throes of first love can never hide her joy, and she can't help but smile when asked about such matters. She was no exception, her smile widening, her bright smile like that of a cunning little fox. She didn't speak, but just stared intently at Bonnie before slowly lying down on the sofa.

Having lived through the past few decades, he quickly realized something was wrong with Sarah's obviously abnormal state. He immediately straightened his face, put down the egg mixture he was stirring, strode to the sofa, stood behind the sofa, bent down and stared at Sarah's face, hoping to see some more obvious marks on her face.

"What are you doing? You scared me."

She playfully raised her thigh and kicked Bonnie's face, but he casually brushed it away. Seeing his serious expression, Sarah turned away in a panic and buried her head between two cushions.

"Are you in love?"

"No, what are you thinking?"

“I’m warning you, Sarah, dating is not what you should be doing right now.”

A cushion was thrown at him; he grabbed it, then tossed it back. He was already seven or eight parts certain of his suspicions. Sarah's self-deceptive excuse only fueled his anger. Suddenly, he felt dizzy; pain and vertigo surged up, turning his already pale face ashen. His fingers gripped the backrest until his knuckles turned white. Sarah, hidden behind the cushion, didn't hear his rapid breathing. Bonnie stopped talking, staggered to the dining table, took his medication, and quietly endured the pain. Sarah didn't notice anything amiss. Because of their brief argument, she didn't even glance at Bonnie, heading straight to her room. When she opened the door, she didn't go in immediately, turning her back to Bonnie as if hesitating. After a few seconds, she didn't turn back, entered the room, and locked the door behind her.

……

the next day.

Bonnie got up on time, tidied herself up, fried a few slices of bread, made two bowls of oatmeal, and then went to Sarah's room and gently knocked on the door.

"Time to get up and eat."

The door wasn't locked, and the latch wasn't even locked in the doorway. A fist easily pushed the wooden door open, and after a series of painful clicks from the hinges, Bonnie found the room empty.

No one was around, and she left without disturbing Bonnie, which made Bonnie look very unhappy, but she didn't curse out loud. Her already not-so-gentle face just became even colder.

The room was simple, not because Sarah was particularly clean, but because the briefs carelessly tossed on the carpet under the bed were the most direct proof of her laziness. It was just that Bonnie didn't have enough money to buy Sarah more furniture that a girl should have.

The blankets weren't folded; they were twisted like a pretzel and thrown on the bed. He approached, placing his hand under the blankets to feel their warmth. They were still slightly warm, indicating she hadn't been gone long. It was 7:15, and based on experience, she couldn't have left home later than 6:30. This slightly brightened Bonnie's heavy mood; at least she hadn't slipped out in the middle of the night and never returned.

Although the neighborhood isn't exactly safe during the day, it's still much better than at night. Early morning is the safest time of day on this street. If Sarah dares to sneak out at night, he'll definitely teach her a lesson about solitary confinement—the kind that can only be lifted after she's an adult. After all, Bonnie is a master of kidnapping and imprisonment.

Having deduced the time when Sarah left, he felt somewhat relieved. He gathered up the clothes she had carelessly tossed around the room and put them in the laundry bin. He didn't immediately go out to look for Sarah. Although he didn't have much of an appetite, he still endured the discomfort and finished his breakfast. Taking care of himself after being sick was a responsibility that an elderly person should fulfill. Only by eating well could one have the strength to live.

He then noticed a small, folded note on the coffee table in front of the sofa, pressed down by a water glass. He unfolded it and saw that Sarah had written quite a bit on it. First, she complained about his meddling. Second, she was very dissatisfied with Bonnie's attitude last night. It was all too common for thirteen or fourteen-year-old girls to have crushes these days, especially in the slums. Some children that age had already completed their coming-of-age ceremony and were moving towards their next generation. Becoming parents at fifteen or sixteen was considered normal for these slum kids who couldn't even afford condoms. Only those living in the past, those who experienced Italy's economic recovery and whose values ​​were shaped by an era of high education levels, and those from the new middle-class and above families, would think this was incredibly outrageous.

The attitudes of these refugees in the slums and the most unemployed at the bottom of society toward having children too early are exactly the opposite of the mainstream social perception. It should be noted that birth subsidies are a huge help to unemployed families, even though the relief funds and subsidies they receive are basically not spent on the children.

Living in this environment, Sarah inevitably felt that Bonnie was being too nosy. They only had mutual feelings for each other and hadn't done anything yet, but Bonnie was already demanding that they keep their distance from the boy. Such a tough attitude naturally couldn't satisfy the fourteen-year-old girl who was still feeling sweet. So she warned Bonnie that if she continued to interfere in her private life, she might not go home until she was close to giving birth.

Upon seeing this, Bonnie's ears rang. The note seemed to contain a large amount of compressed gas, which began to leak after Bonnie opened it. When it came into contact with Bonnie's inner rage, it instantly ignited Bonnie.

He put on his coat, tucked his revolver into his waistband, grabbed his car keys, and stormed out the door. He was going to find Sarah and teach her a lesson. Even though he doted on Sarah, this threat made Bonnie hard-hearted. He also wanted to see that kid and show him what death really meant.

As for where Sarah is, it's clearly written on the note. She went to class as usual today, but didn't need Bonnie to take her. She'll be home tonight. Her running away from home this morning was just to give Bonnie a warning.

Filled with rage, he sped to the school, nearly knocking the bumper off his old car. Instead of entering the school, he parked in a secluded corner. Just as you catch a thief red-handed, you catch a couple in the act. If he saw the two kids doing anything out of line, he could stand on his high ground and criticize them without giving Sarah any chance to argue.

Seeing that it was still early for school to end at noon, he yawned. Since falling ill, he had clearly felt his physical strength declining rapidly, and his spirits becoming increasingly listless. Forgetfulness, drowsiness, weakness, fatigue, and various negative states made it increasingly difficult for him to cope with his current life. Otherwise, he would definitely have been startled awake the moment Sarah left home and closed the door.

He took a nap and slept until the school bell rang. He got off the bus, found a secluded corner to wait, since there weren't many parents who could pick up and drop off their children at this kind of school besides him. If he stood openly at the school gate, the probability of Sarah spotting Bonnie first was much greater than the probability of Bonnie seeing her first.

He soon saw her, which made him breathe a sigh of relief. At least she was still in class and didn't intend to wander the world with some rascal. However, he wasn't completely at ease, since no one could guarantee that such a thing wouldn't happen in the future.

He got out of the car and leaned against it, waiting for her to slowly walk out of the school gate. His anger gradually subsided as he saw that the child was safe, but his eyebrows furrowed involuntarily.

She seems very lonely.

Ever since she came out of the main building, she hadn't been seen greeting any of her classmates, or even nodding goodbye. The other children were playing and laughing, and some shameless boys would even take advantage of the girls when they were smiling, hugging and touching places they shouldn't have. But they all avoided Sarah, as if they had a great fear of something ominous and kept their distance from her.

Bonnie's memory was pretty good; he clearly remembered that several children who walked out of the school gate at the same time as Sarah were her classmates. However, compared to other unfamiliar children, they seemed to be more resistant to Sarah. Even walking side by side with her was an insurmountable obstacle for these children.

Sarah, meanwhile, kept her head down, walking slowly, seemingly lost in thought, occasionally touching her rather large, hard-eared headphones to prevent them from falling out.

Soon, all the other students left the school, leaving her alone, walking slowly behind. A gentle breeze stirred her hair, causing the soft, glossy strands to ripple and shimmer in the sunlight. However, a slightly long strand of hair from her right bangs seemed to brush against her eye, causing her to stop in her tracks. She rubbed her eyes with her small, fair hands, closed them tightly, and then blinked hard. When she opened her eyes, they were slightly red, and a tear rolled down her cheek. She unconsciously looked up and realized that she had only just reached the school gate. Outside the gate, an elderly man in a simple coat was frowning and looking at her.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Only the gentle breeze rustled the withered yellow leaves on the ground, drifting across the vast space of twenty meters between them. The sounds of classmates laughing and playing were gone, as were the school's unpleasant yet heavenly school bells and the roar of car engines. The only sound was the rustling of the wind through the leaves that stubbornly clung to the trees.

A tear finally fell, wetting the slender leaf that happened to fall at her feet, trapping it, leaving only the still-dampened edge of the leaf struggling in the breeze.

Bonnie suddenly understood why Sarah was so happy last night. The girl, surrounded by this sense of loneliness, probably really needed a boy to smile at her, to stroke her soft, shiny hair, to give her a passionate kiss, and to give her the courage to overcome being maliciously ostracized. And this girl, who was afraid of being ostracized, could only give the boy feelings that were even more intense than body temperature.

This was a level of tolerance that an old man like him couldn't offer; it was an emotion that an old man didn't want to accept yet could understand. This didn't mean he agreed to Sarah officially developing a relationship with the boy she had never met. He still needed to test that boy. Only after the boy passed his test could Bonnie, whose days were numbered, feel at ease entrusting Sarah, this troublesome child, to a boy he disliked but had no choice but to accept.

"Why are you alone?"

He forced a smile as he greeted the girl as she approached him. He took her empty backpack, pulled out a handkerchief, and handed it to Sarah. She didn't object, even though she still couldn't understand why, in a time when there were convenient products like tissues, someone would still keep a handkerchief that had been washed countless times but was still clean.

The car was parked some distance from the school gate. The two walked on, without arguing about the boy again. As usual, they walked one after the other. Sarah held a handkerchief, her hand trembling slightly. She wiped her eyes hard, but found that the more she wiped, the more tears she shed. To control her emotions and avoid Bonnie noticing her "abnormality," she tried to regulate her breathing and barely managed to hold back her tears. She looked at Bonnie's back and couldn't help but run a few steps, placing her small hand into Bonnie's palm.

Can you hold my hand?

Bonnie paused, turned around and looked down at the child who was looking up at her. She gently bent down, took the handkerchief from the child's hand, and gently wiped the child's red eyes. With a smile, she stood up again, held the child's small hand tightly in her own large hand, and continued walking forward.

"Okay, I'll hold your hand."

He had grown old, so old that even as he walked ahead with a smile, just an arm's length away, he never heard the faint sobs of the girl he was holding hands with.

……

On the bus, she leaned against the window with vacant eyes, letting the boy she admired hold her hand. He seemed to be trying to give Sarah some kind of spiritual energy, but the desperate Sarah could not receive this energy.

When the train arrived at the station, which was not the usual meeting place between the two, he was worried about the girl, who looked so lost and disoriented, going home alone, so he took the initiative to escort her home.

She was still a little dizzy, but it was much better than when she needed help to stand up in the hospital. At least now she no longer needed Johnson to support her arm.

This was Johnson's first time here. He looked around and marked the way. He followed the girl downstairs and only came to his senses when he heard her speak. He looked at the girl, who was pale and had red and swollen eyes.

"I'm home, you can go back now."

"Can I do it myself?"

"It's okay, you can go home now. Be careful on the road."

Remembering the girl's words, he nodded vigorously and took a few steps back, but did not turn around to leave. Instead, he hoped to watch the girl go upstairs before preparing to leave. Seeing that Sarah was exhausted and could hardly take a step, he felt as if his heart had been cut by a knife. He couldn't help but rush over and hug Sarah in his arms.

Be strong, I'll be with you.

"But I still want him to be with me. I made him angry again yesterday, and I feel so regretful when I think about it."

He had lost count of how many times Sarah had cried in his arms that day, soaking his gray shirt again and again, leaving an uneven white outline on his chest.

He didn't know how to comfort a girl whose father had been shot and killed, abandoned by her mother, and now about to lose her last remaining relative. Even he, a boy so poor that his family members drank cough syrup when they were sick and who had witnessed several relatives die from illnesses instead of being brought back to life by "miracle drugs," was also hating God for being so cruel to his beloved.

After a long while, he comforted the girl again and gave her all the "unexpected gains" from the aquarium last time. He promised to keep the person she loved for longer, even though the doctor said it was an astronomical figure that he had never dared to dream of. But this cockroach living in a slum that was worse than a rich man's doghouse still wanted to try his best for the girl he liked and to change her fate.

He watched the girl go upstairs before leaving, his hands in his pockets, somewhat melancholy wondering where he could get some money to buy necessary medicine for Bonnie's grandfather. His head was throbbing so badly it felt like it was going to split open. He kicked a pebble away, only to find it rolling to the feet of a group of teenagers.

"Sarah's new lover?"

Qiao Sen looked up, calmly observing the young man and woman sitting on the roadside railing, and replied, "Is there something you need?"

The boy, still convulsing from being frightened by Bonnie, couldn't change his ways. He chewed gum, a lewd smile spreading across his face as he shook his leg and looked mockingly at the boy in front of him, whose clothes were even worse than his own.

"It's nothing, I just wanted to ask you, did you enjoy playing with that bitch I threw away? Have you fucked her yet?"

"Is it a draft..."

Johnson cursed under his breath, exhaling the air from his lungs along with the swear word. He wasn't good at controlling his emotions, and Sarah's pain only fueled a fierce, nameless anger within him. Without hesitation, he reached into his bag, pulled out a baton, and struck the troublemaking boy on the head...

……

She had to admit that the note she wrote yesterday morning was somewhat vengeful, an expression of her dissatisfaction with Bonnie. However, she didn't actually leave early. Instead, she hid to the side, keeping an eye on the building entrance until Bonnie stormed off in her car. Only then did she dare to return home, go to Bonnie's bedroom, and prepare to steal Bonnie's bank card to deposit the ill-gotten gains from the aquarium into it. She hoped that her husband would be oblivious and not notice the small fortune, and simply spend it.

But to her utter surprise, instead of finding her bank card, she found a medical record and several bottles of medicine.

Despair, like a rampant vine, climbed relentlessly into her heart. This helplessness in the face of fate was even greater than the loss of her father. After all, this time... she was going to witness the death of her last relative. Once Bonnie passed away, she would be completely without support.

She didn't tell Bonnie that she had seen the medical record. She knew that she, as a burden, had become a psychological burden for Bonnie. Solving her survival problem was Bonnie's most urgent need. If the matter went from one person knowing to two people knowing, then the issue of her placement would immediately be put on the agenda. She had no doubt that Bonnie would entrust her to someone she could trust and then leave without ever having any contact with her again.

People in gangs are like that, like stray cats and dogs, escaping the warmth of family, and choosing to die in some corner, whether by murder or natural causes. This is the fate of the mafia. Her father was like that, and her grandfather will be like that too.

So let's pretend we don't know, until they never see each other again.

She hid in the stairwell for a long time, then took out a small mirror to carefully check her condition. Although her eyelids were still swollen, the redness from the tears had subsided. She patted her cheeks, cheered herself up, then took out her keys. The moment she pushed open the door, a smile returned to her face…

……

"this is for you."

They agreed to meet under the tree where they first met. A roll of loose bills tied with a rubber band was thrown into Sarah's arms. Johnson, wearing a hat, kept a certain distance from her, sat down against the tree next door, pinched the cigarette holder with three fingers in the opposite direction, looked around, and then put it in his mouth and took a few puffs.

The money wasn't much, maybe as thick as a tube of chewing gum, and there weren't any large bills either. It was just a few dollars in loose change, but for two children from poor families, it was a huge sum of money.

"Where did it come from?"

"You can keep it. I'll give you some more in a few days. With the money from the aquarium, it'll be enough to buy some medicine."

He turned his head away nonchalantly, not answering Sarah's question, and poked the cigarette, which had burned out completely, in circles on the ground until all the embers were extinguished, before throwing the cigarette butt far away.

Sarah lunged at Johnson in an instant, snatching his baseball cap away. Seeing the blood seeping from the corner of his mouth and his bruised and swollen face, she couldn't help but tear up. Instead of offering comfort like the other girls, she punched Johnson in the chest, almost knocking him unconscious.

"What's wrong with you? Tell me honestly, where did this money come from?"

"Don't worry, it has nothing to do with the injury on my face. It's just a fight, like you don't fight at all."

Sarah's feat of taking on four opponents when she first entered the school had already spread throughout the school, and Johnson had also heard about it. In order to shut Sarah up directly, he chose to confront her head-on and make her forget why she was in that state as soon as possible.

Her mind was indeed not as quick-witted as Qiao Sen's. One sentence made her think for a long time about how to retaliate. She could only hit him a few more times before turning the page and focusing all her attention on the banknotes that should not have been in Qiao Sen's hands.

"Then where's the money? Where did it come from?"

“Just take it. Once you’ve saved enough money, you can give your grandfather a course of treatment. I promised you I would let him stay with you a little longer.”

"Don't try to fool me. I won't take this money unless you tell me clearly. If... you can tell me, then I'll consider this money a loan from you."

Clutching the banknotes, she couldn't resist the temptation to save money for Bonnie's medicine. She had noticed that Bonnie's medicine bottle was almost empty. Clearly, her presence and his illness had driven Bonnie to the brink of starvation. Perhaps this was his last medicine if she didn't have the money to buy it for him.

Of course, Johnson wouldn't confess what he had done and was about to make up some excuse, but he never expected Sarah to be so persistent in her questioning. With just one sentence, she made Johnson swallow back the excuse he had prepared.

"You don't have to tell me, then I won't go home. I'll just follow you and see what you're up to."

Her attitude was resolute, and Johnson didn't know how to argue. He didn't dare look at her face again, so he could only turn his head away and stop talking. But his reaction was clearly not approved by Sarah. She was unusually angry, grabbing Johnson's clothes tightly, tearing open his coat, and forcefully stuffing the banknotes that Johnson had just handed her into his clothes.

"Take it away, I don't need it anymore. Don't give it to me again, and never give it to me again! I'll find a way to get the money back myself!"

Johnson tried to dodge, struggling to push away Sala's hand that was pulled inside her clothes. The friction between their bodies occasionally touched his already injured face. He couldn't control his emotions, grabbed her arms and pushed her aside, yelling.

"I said I would help you! Is it necessary to ask these questions? If you have the money, just take it out and buy medicine. Why do you care where it came from? Can't you just accept it as a matter of course?"

"No! I hate that you keep things from me, I hate your attitude! Whether you stole or robbed the money, I'll accept it, but I can't let you bear the consequences alone!"

The girl's strength was no match for Qiao Sen's. She was pushed to the ground, but she did not let go of Qiao Sen's coat. The coat was torn and stretched to its limit. When Qiao Sen stood up, the coat was completely deformed and could not be restored to its original state.

"let go!"

“Johnson, tell me, if you’re going to hide even this from me, then there’s no point in us continuing our relationship. Look at me! I really don’t want to… I really don’t want to lose you again.”

For a moment, Johnson's body stiffened, and the force with which he was tearing at his clothes gradually lessened. He lowered his head and looked into the eyes of Sarah, who was sitting on the ground, weeping. Her tears had blurred her eyeshadow, and her once clear eyes were now filled with murky tears. It was the first time he had seen Sarah like this, and his inner struggle intensified at that moment.

“My father went into business without telling me, and he died. My mother packed all her belongings and left without telling me. My grandfather is also keeping it from me, waiting to die alone. Why are you keeping it from me too? Why can't I know anything? Why do I have to passively accept everything? I don't want to bear this alone anymore, Johnson… please don't go…”

He was disheartened. Looking at Sarah, who was crying, he had no strength left to struggle. He sat down on the ground with a thud, threw his hat on the ground, and remained silent for a long time without saying a word. It wasn't until Sarah, exhausted from crying, controlled her emotions, handed the money to Johnson in disappointment, and prepared to leave that he slowly spoke.

“Some older cars in the city are easier to pry open. The bearded man gave me a master key. Many people leave loose change in their cars. As long as the car isn’t damaged, they won’t even notice that a few dollars are missing.”

"But that's illegal too."

"What else can I do besides break the law? Where are we kids supposed to get that much money?"

Sarah wasn't afraid of stealing; she had done it as a child to buy food to satisfy her cravings. However, recently, thanks to Bonnie's example, she tried her best to avoid making similar mistakes again.

Children living in slums have no idea how serious the consequences of theft are. In fact, their parents may even encourage them to steal to supplement the family income. In such an environment, they are simply unable to resist the allure of unattended valuables placed in front of them. Unless the valuables are not attractive enough, these children will definitely take the bait.

Sarah, like them, was trying her best to control her thieving addiction and avoid causing trouble for Bonnie. But now she had a more pressing problem to solve, and at this moment, she was naturally tempted.

"Take me with you."

She made up her mind, and after hesitating for a while, she took the initiative to ask to go with Johnson to carry out criminal activities. At this moment, she desperately needed money to solve her life's difficulties, and the small roll of banknotes in front of her became her lifeline.

"No, don't joke around. The more people there are, the more conspicuous it will be. I can go by myself. You can just deposit the money. In case... I don't come back one day, at least the money is with you, which can help you solve some problems."

"I'll say it again: if I force you to do things behind my back, then I won't take your money. I can't accept money you risked your life for without feeling at ease, no matter how much I need the money."

After arguing for a long time, the two teenagers reluctantly agreed that he would carry out the lock-picking and theft, while Sarah's job was simple: to keep watch and hide the stolen money obtained by Joseph. After discussing the plan, they began to plan tonight's operation. Without further ado, the two of them had to get started as soon as possible.

……

At night, the side effects of Bonnie's medication became apparent, including excessive drowsiness. Once his snoring was clear enough to reach her ears, Sarah quietly left the house. Downstairs, Johnson was there to meet her. She quickly got on the back of Johnson's bicycle, and the two sped off towards the city. This round trip would take at least two hours.

The homeless man and drug addict on the roadside were still awake. When they saw the two teenagers passing by in the middle of the night, their eyes were filled with hostility. Fortunately, neither of the homeless men actually got up to stop the two.

They arrived at their target location without incident. Sarah, carrying a backpack, stood in a concealed position about twenty meters away from Johnson, cautiously observing their surroundings. Johnson, wearing a baseball cap, chewed on a flashlight, picked up a flathead screwdriver, pried open the lock's protective cover, inserted the key, and pried it a few times. The car door opened, and he climbed into the car, rummaging through it for anything of value but not particularly conspicuous, putting it into his shoulder bag. After searching for a while, he got out of the car, put everything back in its original state, and Sarah stepped forward, opened her backpack, and took all the stolen goods from the shoulder bag before they split up to look for the next worthwhile target.

Gang operations actually have certain advantages. The two can each perform their own duties. Johnson no longer needs to carefully observe the surroundings and can carry out the robbery more boldly and quickly. The results of this night's looting lasted until 2:30 a.m. After frantically ransacking four cars, the two rode their bicycles back home.

Along the way, neither of them paid much attention to today's results, but they were certain that they would earn more than what Johnson had earned by working on his own.

Johnson did not leave. Like other homeless people, he casually found a few pieces of cardboard to put under himself and lay down to rest on the street until dawn, when he took the first bus away.

Sarah counted her earnings for the day: over four hundred dollars. This huge sum clearly exceeded her expectations. Combined with the earnings from the aquarium and the thirty-odd dollars that Johnson had given her, they had saved enough for half a course of medication. If things continued like this, they could stop after two more days of hard work, until Bonnie's next course of medication ran out.

She stuffed the money into the cushion, listened to Bonnie's snoring, and smiled a long-lost smile. The pressure she had been under lately had been immense, and now she finally saw a glimmer of hope for life.

However, their earnings over the next few days were not as substantial as they had hoped. They only managed to collect less than eighty yuan in the entire night. This setback inevitably left the two boys feeling disappointed and made them even more anxious. Consequently, their mindset while committing the crime changed, becoming more careless and reckless.

Until a car appeared...

When Johnson opened the duffel bag in the back, he was almost blinded by the sight of several stacks of large bills. Tens of thousands of dollars were thrown into the bag, a huge amount of cash he had never seen before. And this was only a small part of what was being shown. As soon as he unzipped the bag, the bulging bag seemed to excrete the bills, squeezing them out.

Just as he was about to see what was inside the bag, a beam of light shone into the car. After shining on it three times intermittently, the light stopped. Johnson broke out in a cold sweat instantly. Without thinking, he quickly tucked the bag into his arms, slammed the car door shut, and ran into the alley. At the same time, Sarah also headed towards the meeting point with Johnson from another road.

"A patrol officer passed by."

After they met, they took a breath to calm their racing hearts caused by running and shock. Half a minute later, Sarah, supporting her knees, explained what she had just seen.

"It's okay, it's fine now that it's run away. Guess... guess what I found."

An excited smile spread across his face as he patted the bag in his arms, unable to contain his excitement. Sarah also became curious about the contents of the bag. Neither of them had the patience to go home and count the money. Johnson pulled Sarah to the end of the alley, squatted behind a trash can, and opened the bag. The scene Johnson had just experienced was repeated once again.

Bundles of banknotes fell to the ground, all of them old bills of the largest denomination, with obvious discoloration and creases. Sarah was instantly stunned, trying her best to suppress her overwhelming joy, but even so, her hands were still shaking violently. She hugged the money that had fallen to the ground tightly to her chest, not caring that it was stained with the disgusting liquid flowing from the nearby trash can.

Seeing that she was clutching the money, Johnson stopped staring at it and reached into the lower part of the duffel bag filled with cash. But soon, his expression changed...

Ignoring the mess on the ground, he turned the bag over and emptied everything out. On top were only a few bundles of cash, but underneath were bags of dried plants, each packaged in a plastic bag. Behind the plants were two submachine guns.

He opened the plant's packaging, took a sniff, and his mind went blank for a moment. His ears started ringing, and he collapsed to the ground, his face turning deathly pale.

We've gotten ourselves into big trouble...

"How come... these are all counterfeit money?"

For Sarah, the most attractive thing in the bag was the cash, but when she looked at it under the light, she found that it was full of props used by bank employees for practice. The color and texture were very similar to real banknotes. If Sarah hadn't opened it and taken a closer look, the two of them probably would have been kept in the dark until they got home.

She checked the rest of the cash, and without exception, it was all counterfeit. Even the money sandwiched at the top and bottom was indeed counterfeit after careful comparison; there wasn't a single real bill.

She had just pointed out the problem when she was startled by the two submachine guns lying on the ground. She looked at Qiao Sen, and both of them had very ugly expressions.

"We need to return it quickly."

This was the thought in both of their minds. Without even exchanging a word, they quickly packed their things back into their bags and ran frantically back to where they had come from. But when they got back, they found that the old Mercedes was long gone; someone had already driven it away…

"How to do?"

At this moment, both of them were somewhat at a loss, frantically searching their surroundings, hoping that their memory was failing them and that the car could still be parked in the place they had just missed. But unfortunately, things were developing in the worst possible direction.

Johnson was the first to react. He pulled Sarah onto his bicycle and pedaled furiously toward Sarah's house, while simultaneously analyzing the current situation for her.

“They will never find out who took the bag. As long as we don’t get into trouble, they will most likely never find it. We can’t do this job from today onwards. We need to find a place to hide the bag in a bit. We must not let anyone find it. And we can’t touch the things inside. If the things are leaked out, it will be easy for someone to recognize it, and then we’ll be in trouble. I know a place that’s not far from here. Let’s go there first.”

Without further ado, Johnson turned a corner, rode onto a large bridge, and slid down the slope of the lawn to the riverbank. Then, carrying his backpack, Johnson climbed up the steel frame of the bridge, all the way to the center. He placed his backpack in the gap between the pier and the frame before turning back. By this time, he was exhausted. He had to climb the bridge with a flashlight in his mouth in the dark, which was no longer a matter of physical strength. The immense psychological pressure also caused his energy to drain rapidly. After hiding his backpack, he lay on the lawn for more than ten minutes before he could recover slightly.

Climbing onto the lawn, the two set off again. Compared to their previous excited and expectant demeanor, the two children now hung their heads like wilted eggplants, not uttering a word. But they hadn't ridden a hundred meters or so when they reached the next intersection.

They were met by a police car...

……

"Jingle Bell……"

The landline rang in the empty living room, startling Bonnie awake from his deep sleep. His heart pounded. He hated nighttime calls. He glanced at the time; it was almost 2 a.m. He was mentally reluctant to answer the call, but he eventually walked to the phone, glanced at Sarah's door, picked up the phone, and after two seconds, held the receiver to his ear and uttered a single sentence.

"The Bonnie Rossi family, who is it?"

"..."

He hung up the phone and remained silent for a long time. Perhaps there was something wrong with his ears? Or was he still half asleep and a little confused? Perhaps both. He walked towards Sarah's room, each step seeming to put more pressure on his aging body. His hands trembled slightly. He wasn't like this before. The last time he trembled so badly was when he received the call about Andrew's death.

He gently pressed down on the handrail; it needed some oil. He hadn't noticed before, but now he was surprised to find that the sound of the metal turning was so jarring. With his last bit of courage, he pushed open the door.

Empty...

……

(End of this chapter)