The white rose I picked up cried and said she liked me.

"It's good that you're alright. Here's your pay for today. Take it."

Xu Nian took the money and counted it; it was fifty yuan more than usual, which surprised him.

"It's a good thing it's your turn to handle the Beijing shipment today. There's a lot more cargo than usual. If it weren't for you, I would be a little worried."

The burly man patted Xu Nian on the shoulder.

After spending some time together, he also came to appreciate Xu Nian very much.

Not only do they not have any stockpiled goods after get off work each day, but they can also come to work every day.

Most of his subordinates work three days on, two days off, or even one day on, two days off, and he is often short-staffed.

Compared to them, Xu Nian was the person he trusted the most.

"I won't be coming tomorrow, something's come up."

"Brother, should we take a break?"

Upon hearing this, the burly man frowned slightly.

"I'm still a bit short-staffed tomorrow. If it's feasible, I can arrange for you to work on the line with the least workload for two days, is that alright?"

Xu Nian shook her head.

He looked at Qi Yu, who had a worried expression, and the burly man, and decided to tell them everything that had happened that morning.

After spending these days together, Xu Nian felt quite at ease with the two of them.

Although Qi Yu is not very strong and is not suited for heavy physical labor, he is hardworking and kind-hearted.

The burly man, though seemingly stingy, fierce, and irritable, was actually very meticulous and had never mistreated him.

"That's the situation. I plan to find a better place to rent tomorrow, somewhere far from the shantytown."

Xu Nian said earnestly that he had considered moving out of the shantytown several days ago.

The current house is too small, and at night we have to squeeze two people into one bed to sleep, not to mention the surrounding environment is particularly chaotic.

It doesn't matter to him living alone, since he's tough enough that no one dares to mess with him.

But now that Xu Xi is here, living in such a place is really inappropriate.

He originally planned to wait until he had saved enough money before considering moving.

But what happened that morning really frightened Xu Nian, and he was no longer comfortable leaving Xu Xi alone at home.

So even though he didn't have much money saved up, he still had to move.

After listening, Qi Yu looked at Xu Xi behind Xu Nian with some pity.

Although his family was poor, they hadn't fallen to the point of living in a shantytown. If he hadn't heard it with his own ears, he wouldn't have been able to imagine that there could be such a chaotic place in this city.

Qi Yu felt deeply distressed that this beautiful little girl had suffered such a terrible ordeal, almost losing her virginity and even her life.

The burly man frowned, his face ashen.

After a long while, he sighed, took out a wallet from his inner pocket, took out all the banknotes inside, and stuffed them into Xu Nian's hand.

"Brother, to be honest, even though I handle hundreds or thousands of dollars every day, I don't actually make much money. All the money I earn goes to my wife. This is the money I've saved for cigarettes this month."

"Nothing much to say. I know it'll be hard for you to save up enough for rent in a few days doing this job. Here, take it and don't let the girl suffer."

Qi Yu also stuffed the salary he had just received into Xu Nian's hand.

"Brother, me too. You've taken such good care of me these past few days, and now that you're in trouble, I have to lend a hand."

"you..."

Even though Xu Nian tried her best to control her emotions, she couldn't hide the tears welling up in her eyes.

He clutched the sweaty banknotes tightly.

"Thank you, brother, thank you, Qi Yu, I will pay you back."

"Hahahaha..."

The burly man punched Xu Nian's shoulder twice.

"Don't call me 'brother,' I'm not so old that I can't walk. My name is Xu Hu. If you really want to thank me, hurry up and finish moving and come back to work."

"Okay, Tiger, definitely."

After Xu Nian thanked the two, Xu Xi stepped forward from behind Xu Nian and gave them a crisp bow.

"Thank you, brothers."

"Oh my, look how sensible this little girl is."

Xu Hu grinned from ear to ear, his eyes narrowing into slits.

"I'll talk to my wife about it later, we want to have a daughter like that too, she's so adorable."

Qi Yu scratched his head sheepishly, feeling a little flustered as it was the first time a pretty girl had thanked him.

......

On the way home, Xu Xi held Xu Nian's hand tightly.

Perhaps because of the fear of what happened that morning, she dared not let her guard down for a moment.

But because Xu Nian yelled at her today, Xu Xi didn't dare to get too close to Xu Nian.

They walked forward in this strange way, at a distance that was both unfamiliar and intimate.

"Xiaoxi, I'm sorry."

Finally, Xu Nian spoke first.

"Brother, I should be the one saying sorry."

Xu Xi lowered her head, like a child who had done something wrong.

"I shouldn't have done such a dangerous thing, I shouldn't have disobeyed my brother..."

"But I also want to do what I can to help my brother."

"I have nowhere to go, and I need my brother to provide me with shelter."

"I can't earn money, so I can only rely on my brother to support me."

"When I'm bullied by bad guys, I rely on my brother to protect me."

"My brother works so hard to earn money, but I can't do anything about it. I really want him to have it less hard..."

Xu Nian knelt down and gently wiped away the tears on Xu Xi's face.

He pointed to the sparrows that had just returned to their nests on the treetops nearby.

"You are just a child now, like a fledgling in the nest, needing the protection of the adult bird to grow up."

"If you want to repay your brother, it's not too late when you grow up to be a big bird."

"And what about you, brother? Aren't you just a few months older than me, a fledgling too?"

Xu Nian suddenly became speechless, unsure how to respond.

Yes, at his age, isn't he just a fledgling bird crying for food?

But he had no big bird to rely on, like a lost, footless bird that had to spread its wings and fly at birth, and whose only time of landing in its life was when it died. When it was tired, it would sleep in the wind.

He is an expired child and an adult who has been prematurely matured.

Xu Nian touched Xu Xi's hair and chose to skip the question.

"Xiaoxi, do you know that your brother has been living alone for ten years?"

"Over the years, I've lived in a daze every day, with no one to care about and no one to care about me."

"Perhaps one day, I'll die in my rented room, and no one will find out."

"Since you came into my life, I've started to have something to care about, a sense of home, and the feeling that someone is waiting for me to come home."

"I don't want to recall those lonely days, and I don't want to go back to living alone."

"So, I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Before helping your brother, please protect yourself first, okay?"

Xu Xi nodded heavily.

"Good girl."

Xu Nian pinched Xu Xi's fair and tender face, revealing a long-lost smile.

The dark sky hung low, accompanied by bright stars.

Xu Nian and Xu Xi walked hand in hand on their way home, like two fireflies in the dark, each the other's only guide.