Accompanied by the dim street lights at night, goose-like snowflakes are flying all over the sky and falling in the streets and alleys. This city has completely entered winter, and the cold wind blowing in the face makes people shiver.
It’s not unusual for people in this city to see a lot of snow on weekdays. At this time, they would rather enjoy the heating at home than step out to embrace the cold wind.
The snow was falling harder and harder, and everything was covered with silver gauze before it was even late.
"Rust, rustle..." A faint sound came from the unattended alley. The street lights at night were bright enough, but they belonged to the road. It was completely invisible in the dark alley.
Looking up, he saw a child who looked to be only five or six years old walking out of the darkness. There were several big holes in his clothes, and there wasn't much down left inside. They were dirty and scattered like dust on the cold street.
He didn't wear shoes, so he stepped barefoot on the snow. His feet, which were turned purple from the cold, were shocking.
His nose was dripping with snot, and he could only breathe back again and again. He looked left and right, and started walking along the street with his purple feet.
In this kind of weather, except for one or two 24-hour convenience stores, almost no one is willing to open the store at night, so it is extremely quiet along the way, with the rustle of falling snowflakes, subtle footsteps, and the sound of breathing from time to time. .
"Sneeze!!!" The child sneezed heavily, but the mucus came out of his nose. He stretched out his hand and wiped it twice. It seemed that it was of no use, so he stopped caring about it.
He walked along the street, his eyes wandering between the various trash cans. They might have been cleaned not long ago. Most of them were empty, with only a few containing dirty paper towels. He couldn't help but show a disappointed expression.
We can only keep moving forward...
The icy cold wind stung his face, and he kept rubbing his hands, trying to retain some warmth...
He didn't know how long he had been walking when a red apple suddenly rolled into his sight. The child's eyes suddenly lit up and he immediately knelt down to pick it up. He moved quickly, as if he was afraid that someone would snatch it from him.
He stood up holding the apple, and when he raised his eyes, he saw a woman standing about five meters in front of him, staring at him blankly. The child glanced at the bag of fruit in her hand, and then at the one in her arms...
After struggling internally, he swallowed and stretched out his hands to hand the apple back.
The woman still stared at him without making any movement, with a bit of shock in her eyes.
"That, that..." The child's weak voice pulled the woman out of her thoughts. She quickly waved her hand and smiled.
"No, I'll give it to you..."
Her voice in life is very nice, like an oriole coming out of the valley, which makes people feel relaxed.
The child was so surprised that he said with a silly smile, "Thank you, sister!" and then ran back quickly.
The woman originally wanted to say something, but when she saw him running away, the words in her heart were stuck and could not be heard anymore after running so far away. In the end, she could only show a wry smile and walked toward the child. The running direction went.
…
The child ran very fast and returned to the small alley before long. "Cough cough cough..." He couldn't stop coughing. In fact, running in winter was not comfortable, and countless cold winds entered his throat. , as if it had been covered with a layer of frost, which was very dry.
The child didn't seem to think too much, and ran towards the alley without stopping, not noticing the woman following him at all.
The woman watched the child disappear into the dark alley, frowned slightly, and followed him in.
The child ran in the alley for a long time before he stopped. Looking ahead, he saw a huge trash can with a lot of discarded sheets and the like, and on top of those sheets, there was actually a man with white hair lying on it. The old man with hair loss had his eyes closed, his lips were white, and his face had no color at all.
The child tremblingly came to the old man holding the apple, put it to the old man's mouth, and spoke. "Grandpa, eat, eat...I won't feel sleepy after eating..."
The old man didn't respond...
The woman who followed him also saw this scene. She frowned and stared at the old man on the scrap sheet - this man was already dead. Thinking about it, she sighed deeply and walked slowly to the child.
"Huh?" The child noticed the movement now, turned his head and looked, and a beautiful face came into view. "Sister just now? Why are you here?"
His silly look made the woman laugh, and she couldn't help but reach out to touch his head. But just when her hand was about to touch him, the child suddenly took a step back, covering his head with his red hands.
"Sister, don't touch it, it's dirty..." When he finished speaking, his voice was so low that it was almost inaudible.
The woman was slightly startled, her nose felt a little sore, but she still forced a smile. "Do you need any help? Sister, help you..."
"Then, um...sister, do you really want to help me?" The child's eyes were shining brightly.
The woman nodded.
"Then...then can you let grandpa eat this? When he woke up, he said...that he was so hungry..."
"..."
The woman didn't speak. She didn't know what to do. Her dark eyes moved back and forth between the two. Looking at him like this, he probably didn't know that the old man had passed away, and he couldn't say it so directly.
After thinking for a long time, she made up her mind. "Can you tell me your name?" She smiled, making people feel like spring breeze.
"Name?" The child looked a little confused. "Grandpa calls me Mao Xiaozi..."
The woman was stunned for a moment and shook her head helplessly. "Your grandpa is sleeping too deeply. If you let him eat now, it will disturb him..."
The child looks at the apple in his hand. "That's it..."
The two of them fell into silence, each thinking. The woman's beautiful eyes flashed, staring at the child, as if she had made some kind of determination. "Do you... want to go home with me?"
"???" The child seemed shocked that she would say such a thing and asked quickly. "Why?"
He heard from his grandfather that there are many bad people in the world who specialize in abducting and trafficking children like him. Could it be that his sister is this kind of person? But...it doesn't look like it...
Sensing his vigilant look, the woman couldn't express her pain. She knelt down and pressed her moving eyes closely against the child.
"Are you willing?" She chuckled, causing the ice and snow to melt.
The child stood there blankly, not knowing how to answer.
"Grandpa, he..."
Before he could finish speaking, a wisp of fragrance poured into his nostrils, and the woman opened her arms and held the child tightly in her arms.
Even if he didn't want to, he knew... That was the first time in his life that he felt a hug...
"Your grandpa is a good man, he is very kind...so the gods in heaven want to invite him to be an official in heaven..."
As soon as he finished speaking, a fiery red light appeared in the dark alley...
