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墨書 Inktalez
On the first day back from school, I made a special effort to leave my work at the company early and rush home.
Although she had transferred schools multiple times, I always tried to have dinner with her on the first day of each new school, asking about her experiences and whether she liked the school. Each time, the answer was always, "Yeah, it's pretty good."
"You're back! Auntie has already prepared dinner. Go wash your hands and come eat," I said with a smile as Xiao Mo walked in through the door.
She gave me a slight smile in return.
I couldn't help but be surprised. I stood up and walked over to ask, "Did anything fun happen at school today?"
She took off her backpack, and I naturally took it from her and placed it on the large shoe cabinet.
As she changed into her slippers, she said, "I met an interesting person."
"Oh? What made them interesting? Come on, tell me! It's been decades since your dad left school; I really miss those days—" I tried to sound interested.
She glanced at me and replied, "It's nothing."
I awkwardly touched my nose. Sometimes Xiao Mo was just too smart; she could see right through people's thoughts. I felt both proud and helpless in response.
"Was it a boy or a girl?" I asked as Xiao Mo walked toward the dining table, following closely behind her.
She paused, turned to look at me, and instead of showing any dissatisfaction about being questioned, she said, "A girl."
"Well, that's good! You didn't have many friends growing up, so making a friend is nice."
"Friend?" Xiao Mo thought for a moment, then a faint smile appeared on her face. "That's quite nice."
She smiled twice in one day! This is truly a good sign; I thought the expression of "smile" had disappeared from her face.
Or perhaps all expressions had vanished from her face. She always seemed so calm and unperturbed, with the most movement being a slight opening of her mouth or blinking her eyes. When her emotions ran high, she would just stare at you, her pupils constricting.
I wondered what kind of child that female classmate was. I hoped she was easy to get along with. If she could make Xiao Mo experience emotions like a normal person—joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness—I would definitely reward her endlessly.
Soon, I met that female classmate.
It was probably two or three days later; it was too long ago for me to remember clearly.
At that time, the company had purchased the land in Shantytown, intending to build a shopping mall. After signing the contract, the next step was to organize the relocation of local residents and negotiate compensation matters.
Such matters are usually the most troublesome. Fortunately, the company had established processes and allocated funds for this purpose, with dedicated personnel in charge, so I didn't worry too much.
Unexpectedly, after more than a month of effort from the team, news came that there was a stubborn resident who was extremely difficult to deal with. They had exhausted all polite and unpolite words and even privately negotiated additional compensation with other residents behind his back, yet he remained unsatisfied. He demanded an exorbitant amount, greedily thinking that owning a house meant holding onto a golden nest, refusing to budge.
Such matters shouldn't require my intervention, but recently the municipal government had implemented policies aimed at "vigorously rectifying urban appearance and striving to advance toward first-tier cities." There was pressure from above, so out of necessity, I decided to personally visit Shantytown.
It would be ridiculous for a policy or project to be delayed by one stubborn individual.
On Saturday afternoon, I drove to Shantytown.
Since I had given prior notice, as soon as I arrived at my destination, the designated personnel responsible for communicating with residents rushed over to report the situation to me.
Everything was as usual; all the other matters were settled, and the contracts that needed to be signed were signed. The only remaining issue was with one household. What was infuriating was that not only did he shamelessly refuse to cooperate, but he also incited other residents, making public the private communications between the staff and himself, which caused quite a stir. Fortunately, the company stood firm, and the local residents were eager to relocate and receive their compensation, so the commotion quickly subsided.
While I was talking with the staff, Xiao Mo called. Since we had agreed earlier that I would take her shopping for seasonal clothes this afternoon, I told her over the phone to take a taxi over. After wrapping up here, I would drive her to the mall.
Before long, Xiao Mo arrived.
She stood by the car door with her backpack and asked when I would be done.
"I'll be finished soon. Get in first; once they bring over the documents, I'll take a quick look and then we can go," I replied.
"Okay," she said and was about to walk around the car to the other side when she suddenly straightened up, seemingly noticing something. I glanced in the rearview mirror to see what was happening behind us.
Under the gray sky was the usual chaotic scene of Shantytown, filled with foul water and disorder. In that scene stood a girl dressed in rags, her hair disheveled but with a somewhat delicate appearance.
Xiao Mo was staring at that girl, who was also looking back at her.
Suddenly, a Brute Man rushed out from behind the girl and swung his hand hard at the back of her head. The girl jumped in shock, covered her head, shot a quick glance at Xiao Mo, and turned to flee.
In Shantytown, where poverty breeds troublemakers, violence, chaos, and illicit activities are commonplace. However, Xiao Mo had never witnessed such a thing before. She stared blankly in the direction where the girl had run off for quite some time.
"What's wrong?" I called out.
"Oh? It's nothing," she replied.
But Xiao Mo's expression told me that she was troubled.
But she has always had her own concerns, and I never asked too much. "Get in the car," I said as I rolled up the window.
Turning points in life often come unexpectedly, quietly passing through your life like a fleeting visitor. After the turning point, life takes a strange direction, and when you recall that moment, it carries a sense of fate.
If I were given a chance to start over, I would deeply gaze at Lin Ye at that moment, perhaps say a few more words of greeting, and then turn around and leave without looking back.
In the days that followed, I became busy. The project could not come to a halt because of one stubborn resident; other residents needed their paperwork processed, which was enough to keep several departments working overtime.
Xiao Mo seemed to become increasingly downcast for some reason; perhaps something unpleasant had happened at school. Even if I wanted to show concern, there was nothing I could do if she didn't tell me.
About a week later, one evening, I was at a dinner table with several partners when my phone vibrated for quite some time before I noticed it.
It was Xiao Mo's call.
"Xiao Mo, what's up?"
On the other end was an unfamiliar young girl's voice, sounding very anxious. "Oh, hello, uncle. I'm Xiao Mo's friend. We're in an alley on Wenqing Road right now. Xiao Mo has been attacked by a group of thugs and has fainted. Can you come over quickly?"
Xiao Mo was attacked? I felt a bit tipsy and took a while to process what she said before confirming the address. I told her, "Okay, I'll be there in ten minutes."
I quickly said goodbye to my friends and, unable to wait for my designated driver to arrive, disregarding the dangers of drunk driving, hurriedly got into the car and drove towards the location the girl mentioned.
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