In the sweltering heat of summer, there were hardly any people on the streets at high noon.
The roadside greenery trees, being far too slender, were almost useless for providing shade.
“Chirp chirp, chirp chirp.”
So hot, so hot.
A chirp rang out on the ground. Its tone, the sound of tiny claws being scalded, suddenly broke the stillness and startled a little bird napping in the tree, which flapped its wings and flew away in a rush.
“Chirp!”
Who’s up there in the tree?!
The little ball of fluff that had made the chirping sound instantly raised its head in alertness.
The little ball looked like a tiny yellow chick, round and plump, very adorable. But the chirp that came from its tender beak was somewhat different from the peeping cries of a baby chick.
After all, he wasn’t actually a real yellow chick.
He was a young phoenix chick, Feng Yuan, one of the only two phoenixes left in the world.
The other phoenix was his father, Feng Qi.
Thinking of his father at home, who would start coughing after just a few steps, Feng Yuan, who had been craning his neck to check the situation in the tree, quickly drooped his little head.
He lowered his head, not because he was feeling sad, nor because he was dispirited.
He lowered his head because he needed to make the most of his time to continue searching the ground for junk he could sell!
Cardboard, paper boxes, bottles, bits of iron, and copper. These were all things that could be sold.
On one of Feng Yuan’s chubby claws, he had specially tied a large sack.
All the junk he picked up went straight into that sack.
He was great at scavenging. He could fill several sacks like this in a single day!
“Meow, meow-meow.”
Boss Feng Yuan, you’re here!
About fifty meters ahead, by a trash bin, a tabby cat was wagging its tail, calling out to Feng Yuan from afar.
While greeting him, it also dug through the trash bin, fishing out useful junk for him.
“Meow-meow.”
It signaled for Feng Yuan to come and pack it up.
Feng Yuan was the acknowledged boss of all the stray little animals on Huasheng Street.
As long as they paid Boss Feng Yuan the protection fee, Boss Feng Yuan would protect them!
The pile of junk the tabby had pulled out was its protection fee for him.
Dragging his sack over, Feng Yuan looked at the junk and proudly lifted his chin, giving the tabby underling a word of praise.
“Chirp.”
Not bad.
There were quite a few valuable things in this pile of junk.
The tabby underling, having received the boss’s praise, happily meowed several times.
In its heart, Boss Feng Yuan, who had once helped it defeat a crazed stray dog, was simply the most formidable, most amazing boss in the whole world.
After handing over its protection fee, the tabby respectfully saw Feng Yuan off.
Along the way, here and there, several other cats and dogs also came forward to pay their protection fees.
Just as Feng Yuan’s claws were starting to struggle to drag the sack any farther, a big black dog blocked his path again.
“Woof!”
Boss!
Feng Yuan: “…”
Feng Yuan chirped seriously, “The protection fee can wait until tomorrow!”
He really couldn’t drag any more today!
“Woof, woof-woof!”
Boss, come with me.
The big black dog wagged its tail wildly, insisting that Feng Yuan follow it.
With no choice, Feng Yuan could only laboriously drag his pile of junk along, following it in twists and turns until, at last, they arrived at an abandoned factory.
“Woof!”
Boss, look!
In the corner of the abandoned factory, a pool of blood had spread across the floor.
And lying in that pool of blood was a good-looking little boy, dressed in black pants and a white shirt, his eyes closed as he lay there quietly.
Feng Yuan was startled.
All this time scavenging, this was the first time he had ever picked up a person!
The big black dog was still barking.
This dog had been abandoned by its owner. Even though it had been cast aside, it still had a fondness for humans, especially human children.
It barked and pleaded with Feng Yuan to take this child away.
Feng Yuan took two steps back. “Chirp chirp!”
I only pick up junk, not children!
Though he said he wouldn’t pick up children, when he looked at the boy covered in blood, his claws didn’t move back any farther.
“Chirp.”
Hei Hei, go outside.
Feng Yuan told the big black dog to leave the factory and keep watch at the entrance.
The big black dog obediently backed out.
Once the dog was gone, Feng Yuan kicked off the sack tied to his claws.
He then took off the small bottle hanging around his neck.
Inside that little white bottle were the last few brown pills. It was pills refined from a phoenix’s true essence.
Feng Yuan poured out a pill, pecked it into his beak, and swallowed it.
This pill was a great tonic.
Feng Yuan had been born with injuries, making it very difficult for him to take on human form.
To help him transform, Feng Qi had specially refined these small pills for him.
After taking one, he could maintain a human form for a whole day.
Feng Qi’s health wasn’t very good. He hadn’t been able to make many of these pills.
Feng Yuan treasured them dearly.
Ordinarily, he was never willing to eat one so easily!
“Seeing as you’re this good-looking, your boss here will save you this time!”
Feng Yuan squatted down, his chubby little hands feeling around the boy’s body.
The boy looked about four or five years old. His features were handsome, and his face carried a trace of coldness. He didn’t seem like the sunny, cheerful sort of child.
Feng Yuan, a little face-connoisseur himself, after checking the boy’s injuries, couldn’t resist squeezing his cheek.
“If you hadn’t run into me, you’d be dead by now.”
The boy’s injuries were far too severe.
If Feng Yuan didn’t save him right now and merely carried him out, the boy wouldn’t survive.
Fortunately, fate had him cross paths with Feng Yuan.
Feng Yuan was a phoenix chick, and every part of him was precious. His feathers could ward off evil, and his cry could clear a person’s mind.
His phoenix blood, even more so, could bring someone on the brink of death back to life.
But phoenix blood couldn’t be given too much.
Feng Yuan looked at his chubby little hand, his round face turning deadly serious.
He was afraid of pain!
Seeing the boy lying in the pool of blood, his handsome little face growing paler and his breathing weaker and weaker,
Feng Yuan gritted his teeth and pricked his chubby hand.
“Waaah.”
The sting from the prick made Feng Yuan cry out in pain.
Crying, he held his chubby little hand to the boy’s lips.
Phoenix blood was fragrant.
The boy caught the scent and, by instinct, latched onto the wound, swallowing his blood.
Tears streamed down Feng Yuan’s round face. His sobs were so strong they made his voice break.
“Boohoo… when you wake up, you have to acknowledge me as your boss.”
The little Feng Yuan was much smaller in size than the boy.
Yet, tearful as he was, he still insisted on being the boy’s boss.
Amid his crying, the boy lying on the ground, Qin Xun, finally showed a flicker of consciousness.
His weak breathing slowly returned to a normal rhythm.
Sensing that he was getting better, Feng Yuan quickly pulled back his chubby little hand.
“Phew, phew-phew.”
He blew on his wound.
After blowing on it, Feng Yuan sniffled, then hoisted Qin Xun up from the ground onto his back.
Not only did he carry Qin Xun, but he also didn’t forget to take his sack of junk with him.
“Hei Hei, I’m leaving. You don’t have to guard the door anymore.”
At the doorway, Feng Yuan spoke to the big black dog standing watch.
The big black dog: “Woof?”
Looking bewildered, the dog watched as its boss, now in human form, gradually disappeared from sight.
The ground, steaming from the summer heat hot enough to cook eggs, finally no longer burned his claws.
Feng Yuan’s little face was flushed red from the effort of carrying someone on his back.
He didn’t even dare cry now, afraid it would waste his strength.
“You’re so heavy.”
Although Feng Yuan had stopped crying, there was still a faint, hoarse sob in his milky voice.
He complained about how heavy Qin Xun was. But the entire way, he never once put him down.
Just like that, Feng Yuan carried Qin Xun to the police station on Huasheng Street.
Just before they reached the police station, Qin Xun woke up.
When he opened his eyes, his irises were not the usual pitch black of most people’s, but a deep-sea blue.
With those unusual eyes, he silently gazed at Feng Yuan’s flushed, round little face.
Feng Yuan, focused entirely on carrying him, didn’t notice his gaze at all.
It wasn’t until they entered the police station and he set Qin Xun down that he realized Qin Xun was looking at him.
The two children locked eyes. Feng Yuan was startled.
“When did you wake up?”
Feng Yuan asked, “Was it on the way? Why didn’t you tell me? Carrying you was exhausting!”
Before Feng Yuan could finish speaking, the people at the police station hurried over.
“Blood. This kid’s covered in blood! Old Chai, quick, get him to the hospital!”
Old Zhang, the station chief on duty, was startled at the sight of Qin Xun drenched in blood and immediately called for help.
Qin Xun was quickly taken away.
Watching his figure disappear, Feng Yuan’s round little face went slightly blank.
He hadn’t even finished recruiting his new underling. How could the underling be gone already!
“Yuan Yuan, come here and tell me what’s going on. What’s the situation with this kid?”
Old Zhang came over, scooped Feng Yuan up, and carried him into the office.
There were other people in the office as well.
As soon as these people saw Feng Yuan, they all came over.
They filled his pocket with little snacks. “Yuan Yuan, here. These two amusement park tickets are for you, too. When your dad’s feeling better, have him take you to the amusement park to play.”
“Mm! Thank you, Uncle Lin!”
“No need to thank me. Oh, by the way, we’ve collected quite a bit of scrap in the office. When I take you home later, I’ll bring the scrap along for you, too.”
“Okay!”
Feng Yuan’s eyes curved into a smile, his pretty little face brimming with joy.
He had been to the police station before with his father to handle household registration and get their ID cards.
The people at the station were all very kind. Knowing the father and son were struggling, they had even helped them find a place to live.
Feng Yuan liked all the uncles and aunts at the police station very much.
“All right, all right, let’s chat later. Yuan Yuan, cooperate with Uncle first and give a statement.”
Old Zhang’s sharp eyes had already recognized that the boy sent to the hospital was the very child from the Qin family in the city who had been kidnapped.
The Qin family was immensely wealthy, a true high-ranking noble family.
And Qin Xun was the only son of the Qin family’s main branch.
His kidnapping case had been all over the internet.
Old Zhang had never imagined that Feng Yuan would actually carry the boy straight to him.
“Uncle Zhang, I picked him up in the abandoned factory at the far west end! Hei Hei led me there.”
Feng Yuan recounted the entire process of how he had found Qin Xun.
Old Zhang carefully noted down everything he said.
“I have to rush to the hospital. Xiao Lin, I’m giving you half a day off. Take Yuan Yuan to sell the scrap, then treat him to a meal before sending him home. I’ll transfer you the meal money.”
After quickly arranging matters for Feng Yuan, Old Zhang strode off in a hurry.
Watching him leave, Xiao Lin bent down and picked Feng Yuan up.
“Let’s go. I’ll take our Yuan Yuan to eat something delicious.”
Feng Yuan was chubby and cute, dutiful to his father, and lively in personality.
Few adults who met him could manage not to like him.
At the very least, Officer Xiao Lin couldn’t manage it.
If Feng Yuan didn’t already have a father, Xiao Lin would have wanted to take him home and raise him himself.
With Xiao Lin carrying him the whole way, Feng Yuan sold both the junk he had picked up and the scrap collected by the police station.
They sold for a total of thirty-one yuan and twenty cents!
After helping him sell the scrap, Xiao Lin carried Feng Yuan off for a nice meal.
By evening, the sunset had finally softened, no longer plotting to roast people alive the way it had at midday.
Feng Yuan’s little belly was round and full from the meal. In his chubby hand, he clutched a stick of cotton candy.
“Yuan Yuan, if you ever get hungry, come find me again. I’ll take you out for meat!”
Xiao Lin truly was fond of Feng Yuan.
When he thought about Feng Yuan’s situation, Xiao Lin’s fondness for him carried a touch of heartache.
Feng Yuan was holding his cotton candy but hadn’t eaten it.
Blinking his round, glossy black eyes, he spoke in a soft, milky voice, “No, Dad makes food for Yuan Yuan.”
Feng Qi’s health was very poor, so he couldn’t earn much. The family was indeed a bit poor.
But poor or not, Feng Yuan always had food to eat.
The meals Feng Qi made had raised his little body to be plump and sturdy.
“Sigh, your Dad…”
Xiao Lin trailed off. He didn’t have much confidence in Feng Yuan’s father’s health.
Feng Yuan’s father had a face more handsome than a TV star’s, but his frail body made people’s hearts ache just looking at him.
“Yuan Yuan, if anything happens to your Dad, like if he faints or something else happens, you must call 120 immediately, understand?”
Xiao Lin reminded Feng Yuan with concern, “Your next-door sister has a cellphone. Go borrow hers.”
Feng Yuan’s family was too poor to even own a cellphone.
Feng Yuan nodded earnestly at every word Uncle Xiao Lin said, showing he had remembered it all.
Soon after.
They arrived at the most secluded little alley on Huasheng Street.
Feng Yuan and Feng Qi lived at No. 23 in that alley.
When Xiao Lin dropped Feng Yuan off at home, Feng Qi happened to be out.
Originally, Xiao Lin had wanted to stay and wait for Feng Qi with him, but Feng Yuan wouldn’t let him.
“I can wait for Dad at home by myself. Uncle Lin, you should go back.”
Sitting on his little stool, Feng Yuan waved his chubby hand. His well-behaved, soft, and adorable appearance nearly made Xiao Lin unable to walk away.
Reluctantly, he stepped out of Feng Yuan’s home, turning back to look three times with every step, even after walking quite a distance.
“Such a good Yuan Yuan… how come he doesn’t have any family to dote on him?”
Xiao Lin thought about how Feng Yuan had no other guardian besides his father.
He couldn’t help but imagine. If only Feng Yuan could suddenly have more family…
That would be nice.
Then he shook his head, feeling it was just wishful thinking, and headed home.
Not long after Xiao Lin left, Feng Qi, dragging his weary body, returned home.
As soon as he came in, Feng Yuan, who had been sitting on his little stool, threw himself into his arms.
“Dad!”
After not seeing his Dad for half a day, Feng Yuan had already started missing him.
He buried his chubby face into his Dad’s chest and rubbed against him hard.
When he was done nuzzling, Feng Yuan pulled away. He ran to fetch the cotton candy and brought it over.
“Dad, here. It’s really, really sweet.”
The cotton candy Uncle Lin bought, Feng Yuan had only taken a few licks.
He couldn’t bear to eat it himself; he wanted to save it for Dad!
Feng Qi looked at the cotton candy, then at the little boy holding it up with eyes shining brightly.
His heart softened. He pulled his son into his arms.
“Yuan Yuan.”
On Feng Qi’s handsome face, a trace of guilt flickered.
He felt sorry. Sorry that he couldn’t give Feng Yuan a better life.
A great battle in the past had left his body gravely injured, and much of his memory was lost.
He only remembered that Feng Yuan had another father, but he could no longer recall who that father was.
Now, he could sense that his life was nearing its end.
So, using a secret method, he calculated the approximate location of Feng Yuan’s other father.
Looking at the boy in his arms still holding up the cotton candy, Feng Qi closed his eyes and firmly resolved that, before his death, he would entrust Feng Yuan to be raised by his father.
“Yuan Yuan.”
Feng Qi pressed his lips against his son’s soft, bun-like cheek and kissed him, then spoke in a low voice: “I’ll take you to find your other father, alright?”
Feng Yuan’s father was somewhere within a stretch of land in an exclusive, sky-high-priced, wealthy district.
Feng Qi thought, if his little boy could stay with his other father, perhaps—
He would never have to scavenge for scraps again.
Moonlit: I hope Yuan Yuan’s Dad will live until the end of this story (ㅠ﹏ㅠ)
🥺🥺