June. The irksome height of summer.

A stretch luxury car was driving toward an orphanage on the outskirts of the city.

Shi Linchuan sat inside, silently gazing at the scenery outside the window. His slightly youthful face remained cold the entire way. Beside him sat a gorgeous, elegantly dressed noblewoman; she was exceptionally well-preserved, looking barely in her early thirties.

Sitting together, the mother and son resembled a sister and brother.

The woman wore an exquisitely tailored silk gown, with a round, delicate pearl necklace adorning her throat, making her skin look white as snow. Her hair was meticulously styled, with a few stray strands falling gently by her ear. At the moment, she was applying lipstick while looking at her reflection in the car window, her red lips parting slightly as she said offhandedly:

“It’s rare for you to have a day off—unhappy?”

Through the window’s reflection, their eyes met.

The boy was tall and slender. At fifteen years old, he already had the faint outline of an adult—broad, flat shoulder lines and a narrow waist. His features were handsome, but those long, narrow eyes were ice-cold, completely devoid of warmth. Even when the corners of his lips curled slightly without a word, it only struck others as mocking and distant.

Click.

Getting no reply, the woman was not angered. She unhurriedly snapped the lipstick cap shut, tucked it into her clutch, and commented casually: “We’re taking group photos with the people at the orphanage in a bit. You can try smiling a little more kindly.”

“When doing charity, one has to keep up appearances.”

Shi Linchuan noncommittally tilted his head, uttering:

“What’s the point of looking good?”

He hadn’t intended to mock her, but the woman had been in a foul mood lately. Hearing a simple remark through a distorted lens, her gentle, easygoing tone instantly turned aggressive:

“I am your mother.”

“Instead of thinking about helping me, you glare at me with a cold face all day long! Look at you, so noble and above it all, acting like you won’t fight or snatch. Just wait until those little sluts step all over my head—let’s see if your father will ever give you another glance!”

“If you don’t want to take photos, then don’t!”

With that, the woman splashed the iced coffee beside her—of which she had only taken a single sip—straight onto Shi Linchuan, soaking half of his clothes in filth. A few drops of the dark liquid splattered onto his jaw, leaving behind twisted traces on his skin.

Yet, Shi Linchuan’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. He continued to stare at the contorted face of the woman with that same cold gaze—as if looking at an inanimate object. A few seconds later, he averted his eyes as if it had nothing to do with him, ignoring the mess on his clothes entirely.

The driver didn’t dare make a single sound.

Soon, the car pulled up in front of the gate of an aging building.

Shi Linchuan lowered the car window by a crack, and the air-conditioned cold inside collided with the sweltering heat outside. The two forces held each other at a standstill, neither willing to yield.

He saw a crowd of people gathered in front of the gate, seemingly having waited for a long time. Sweat beaded on the foreheads of the few adults standing in the front, to say nothing of the dozens of neatly arranged teenagers and children.

Those young faces varied in age, height, and size, all dressed in identical white shirts and black trousers. The eyes they directed toward the car were filled with the same mixture of nervousness and excitement.

Of course they were excited.

The chance to change their destiny was right before their eyes!

The director had said that the patrons visiting today were people of great background—not only had they donated a huge sum to renovate the orphanage and its infrastructure, but they were also willing to sponsor some of the school-aged children. What if…

What if they could be adopted?

Some of the children couldn’t help thinking secretly.

Outside the gate:

While the others stayed in place, the director beamed and stepped forward to greet them:

“Mrs. Shi, you’ve arrived!”

Noticing a young face inside the car, the director quickly offered a greeting and picked a boy of similar age from the crowd behind, telling him to show Shi Linchuan around the orphanage.

That was, until Shi Linchuan stepped out of the car, revealing the absolute mess on his clothes.

The director visibly froze, and the chosen boy stuttered in nervousness. Without paying mind to anyone present, Shi Linchuan walked straight through the open gate on his own long legs, and no one dared to stop him.

…It was kind of funny.

He was also wearing a white shirt and black trousers today; he looked no different from an orphan here.

Reaching a corner, Shi Linchuan glanced back.

The woman had already restored her smiling, elegant noblewoman facade, devoid of any trace of anger.

Shi Linchuan watched her, feeling as though he were looking at a monster.

And he was a little monster.

The place he lived in was an even bigger nest where monsters gathered.

—It was sickening.

By now, it was just past noon.

The shadows of the sycamore trees swayed on the red brick walls, and the chirping of the cicadas ignited the sweltering heat in the air.

From not far away came a clamor of voices:

“Have the sponsors arrived?”

“It’s all Xie Jinghe’s fault! My clothes got dirty!”

“Hurry up, hurry up!”

Listening to the noise, Shi Linchuan turned down another dilapidated, quiet path. Unexpectedly, upon reaching a silent spot, he caught the faint sound of running water. He couldn’t help following the sound…

Beneath a red brick wall sat a pool piled high with fallen leaves.

The faucet was rusted, but it still worked, gushing water with a rush.

A child was standing on tiptoes in front of the sink, shirtless on top and wearing a pair of slightly oversized black trousers below. His waist, back, and arms were remarkably slender, his shoulder blades bony. His two hands were tugging at a dirty white shirt, scrubbing it over and over under the running faucet.

The sound of water pierced through the stifling heat.

Shi Linchuan stood at the corner, watching coldly.

With just a glance at the bruise on the boy’s back and the dusty, white shoe-prints on his pant legs, Shi Linchuan easily guessed what had happened—it was nothing more than the boring drama of a group of orphans isolating another. Uninteresting.

Right at that moment:

The child laboriously wrung out the shirt and turned around toward Shi Linchuan’s direction, revealing a pair of wet yet stubborn eyes. Sunlight melted into his gaze, reflecting obsidian into amber radiance.

This was an exceptionally handsome child.

Shi Linchuan suddenly understood why he got bullied.

Seeing a tall teenager standing behind him who was clearly several years older, the kid was startled. Yet in the very next second, noticing the stains on the older boy’s clothes, his wide, vigilant eyes softened somewhat. In a hesitant tone, he asked:

“…Ge, were you bullied too?”

He was sweating profusely, his messy hair clinging to his forehead.

A small patch of bruise showed faintly.

Before Shi Linchuan could reply, the boy babbled on by himself:

“I’m done washing! You can come over now!”

Shi Linchuan felt his luck was rather terrible. He had wanted to find a quiet place, only to run into a chatterbox of a kid. Before he could utter a single word, the kid was already chirping away again.

“They said I have fleas on me… how could I…”

“I’m very clean.”

Shi Linchuan really wanted to turn around and walk away, but the weather was far too hot. The soaked front of his shirt clung to his skin; liquid containing sugar wasn’t like plain water—it was sticky, and its sickly sweet scent was unbearable.

So, Shi Linchuan walked over with slow steps.

As he walked, he unbuttoned his shirt, stripped off the dirty white top, and naturally handed it to the pretty child whose head barely reached his chest. The meaning was crystal clear—

Wash it for me.

Ever since he took those steps toward him, the kid had gone mute, two bright black eyes staring at him blankly. Shi Linchuan shoved the dirty clothes into his hands without a word. Only after receiving them did the kid look down, then quickly looked back up, a look of confusion on his face.

In the next instant:

His gaze involuntarily dropped to Shi Linchuan’s waist and abdomen, and he couldn’t help letting out a soft “Wow,” unable to hide his admiration: “Gege, you look so strong! I want to have this much muscle too…!”

Shi Linchuan urged calmly:

“Wash it faster, and I’ll teach you next time.”

The kid didn’t find anything wrong with this. Sure enough, he foolishly began washing the clothes for him. Before scrubbing, he even brought the cloth to his nose, gently sniffing it, and asked: “What is this smell? It’s sweet, but also bitter.”

Shi Linchuan ignored him.

Standing behind the kid like a supervisor, he pulled a cigarette pack and a lighter out of his trousers pocket. With a flick of his thumb, the cigarette held between his lips caught fire, allowing him to puff out clouds of smoke.

The greyish-white smoke carried a pungent smell.

The kid coughed twice, mindlessly rubbing the distinctly textured fabric, turning his head back again and again to look. Seeing the teenager lower his eyelids to meet his gaze, he mustered up the courage to say slowly:

“Gege, I heard the teacher say…”

Shi Linchuan held the cigarette, his knuckles prominent, his neatly trimmed fingernails pale pink. He half-closed his eyes coldly, looking down at the little squirt’s mouth opening and closing, delivering a gentle sentence:

“…Only bad kids smoke.”

The tip of his nose was wet with sweat, gleaming under the sunlight.

Shi Linchuan deliberately blew a puff of smoke into his face, declaring bluntly:

“You guessed right. I am a bad kid.”

Watching the child cough repeatedly, Shi Linchuan tilted his head and laughed heartily. A chunk of cigarette ash suddenly fell, brushing past his abs and dropping onto the green turf, vanishing without a trace.

The afternoon cicadas chirped sharply.

Beside the sink was a clothesline propped up by bamboo poles, looking somewhat crooked. The child washed the line with water before hanging both white shirts—one large, one small—onto it.

His movements were nimble; he was clearly used to doing chores.

Shi Linchuan was bad to the core, standing there motionless, watching lazily.

The wind was warm and gentle.

Dappled light filtered through the sycamore leaves, swaying across the two white shirts. Water dripped down occasionally from the unwrung hems, washing the green grass below into a richer color.

Weeds and fallen leaves were everywhere.

Shi Linchuan stood straight as a post, while the kid crouched by his feet. After staying quiet for barely two minutes, he started making rustling noises again. Glancing down, Shi Linchuan saw him pull a cheap candy wrapped in clear plastic out of his pocket…

The noise was the sound of the plastic wrapper being opened.

The candy was a bright, vivid yellow. Its outer layer had softened and melted from the high temperature, looking completely flattened as if someone had punched it.

He stared at the candy in his hand for a few moments, then slowly looked up at Shi Linchuan, raising an overly thin arm to hold the candy out to him, his small face flushed red.

“Ge, you eat it.”

Shi Linchuan didn’t take it, his tone full of disgust:

“No, it’s filthy.”

With that, he asked offhandedly:

“So relaxed—not going to take photos?”

The child fell silent for a long time before saying softly:

“The teacher said I’m not suitable for photos right now and told me to go next time.”

Shi Linchuan didn’t have any thoughts like ‘I’m such a jerk.’ Instead, he simply nodded and replied: “Oh.”

The sunlight was bright, the cicadas noisy.

Chewing on the cheap lemon candy, Shi Linchuan suddenly said:

“—Your name is Xie Jinghe, right?”

“How about I sponsor you, and you be my dog?”

__

Author’s Note:

Ten years later.

Shi: My dog confessed his love to me. What bad luck.