After midnight

This was the third time Xiaoshui had seen that person, and he had been wandering around here for three days. He had never seen the same stranger wandering around here so frequently and continuously, not to mention that he was a child. It was really strange, a child who was about the same age as him.

Xiaoshui saw the man at the garbage dump in Sand City. It was called a garbage dump, but it was not a real garbage dump. Instead, it was a place where many useful wastes were dumped. The garbage dump was located in the southeast corner of Sand City, the closest place to the heart of the desert in the entire city.

To the northeast of Shacheng is Xindu, to the northwest is a long lake, and to the southwest is Xidu via Tingzhong. So only here, if you continue to go deeper, you will see the endless desert.

But because of its geographical location, Sand City has become a large city for goods manufacturing and transit. Therefore, the garbage dump is often filled with all kinds of unwanted defective goods thrown here every few days.

Xiaoshui's task is to pick out anything that can still be sold and used before the goods are cleared away every day. The garbage dump is not really a garbage dump, it is a Feng Shui treasure land for homeless people and people who specialize in secondary production and manufacturing. Therefore, someone will soon be eyeing him to prevent this place from being coveted by outsiders.

Sure enough, that person was targeted.

On the evening of the fourth day, Xiaoshui found himself surrounded by a group of adults and beaten in a corner.

"You are a kid. If you want to survive, why don't you go out and beg on the street? Why are you rummaging through these rags here? Don't you agree? How about this, I'll help you and just cripple your hands and feet?"

Song Yu held his head and huddled up, letting them beat him until his face was bruised and swollen without saying a word. After a while, they got tired of beating him, so they turned around and left. Xiao Shui, who had witnessed the whole process, only dared to tiptoe forward when she saw the adults had left.

"Hey, are you okay?" Xiaoshui called him.

Song Yu didn't say anything. He ignored Xiao Shui as if she were air, and then he brushed off the dirt on his body and went back to look for something. Xiao Shui followed him all the way and kept chattering.

"Hey, you can't find your things. I just came back because I couldn't find them."

"You must have just arrived here, right? Let me tell you, once the discarded waste is transported here, someone will come to clean it up first. Those people are not the hooligans just now, but ordinary adults with jobs and management. They are well-informed and know what will be delivered and when. Then there are all kinds of gangster gangs. The person who beat you up just now is from a gang. Then there are the homeless uncle and others..."

"What about you? Which category do you belong to?" Song Yu suddenly asked him. The man in front of him was half a head shorter than him, but he seemed to be adapting to life here.

"Me? I belong to the last category. I'm so small and skinny that no one wants me. Even the homeless uncles don't want to have a burden, so I have to support myself."

"Then why are you smiling so happily?"

"Ah? Because it's already very difficult for me to live."

Song Yu stared at him for a while and then stretched out his dirty hands to lift up the torn cloth again.

"There's really nothing useful left. There hasn't been anything decent thrown here in days. Oh, by the way, are you hungry? I'll treat you to a meal."

After hearing the last sentence, Song Yu paused, but he immediately chose to continue looking for things. Xiao Shui didn't care about that, he just started to pull people. "Hey, come with me."

Song Yu wanted to preserve his remaining pride, but his feet followed him uncontrollably. They came to a simple wooden house, which was made of crooked wooden boards nailed together, with no windows, and the roof was covered with two large pieces of tarpaulin, and then some hay and stones were thrown on it to fix it.

"I made this myself, please don't be disgusted."

"No, he's much better than me."

"Really? Thank you." Xiaoshui opened the door, and it made a scratching sound on the ground.

The room was a little dark because there was no light bulb in it, so Song Yu stood at the door and watched Xiaoshui rummaging around in the dark.

"Here, for you." He took out a steamed bun, which was a little hard.

"Thank you." Song Yu took it and ate it, forcing himself not to eat so voraciously.

He patted his chest and finished eating. Xiaoshui handed him a bucket of water. The water was drawn from the stone vat next to the wooden house. He drank it down in one gulp, not caring whether it was clean or not. After he finished drinking, he returned the bucket to Xiaoshui, who threw the bucket in, covered it with a cloth, and then pressed it with stones.

After doing this series of actions, Xiaoshui walked to the side and sat down, then patted the empty space beside him. Song Yuyi understood and sat over. As soon as Song Yu sat over, Xiaoshui lay back and fell on the grass. This was a place he had carefully selected. He had built his home in the last oasis in the desert. It was far away from the city, and not too close to the garbage dump where he made a living, but it was secluded and safe.

Song Yu looked at him and hesitated for a moment before he also leaned back like him. In the night sky, countless bright stars twinkled above their heads.

"Look!" Xiao Shui pointed at the night sky and said impatiently. "As for me, I'll be satisfied as long as I can see this every day."

Song Yu nodded, taking the vast night sky into his dark eyes, locking his emotions into the depths of the night sky. He could now feel the breeze, smell the scent of grass breaking through the ground, and the warm skin of the person next to him.

"What's your name?" Xiaoshui asked suddenly.

After he asked, he saw that the person next to him didn't respond for a long time, so he sat up and leaned towards Song Yu and asked him: "Hey, what's your name?"

Seeing that Song Yu still didn't answer, Xiao Shui got a little angry. He brought him back and gave him food and water, but now this man didn't even want to tell him his name. If we don't want to be friends, then we don't want to be friends.

Song Yu had no choice but to sit up and look Xiao Shui in the eye and said, "I don't know. I don't know what my name is."

It's not that Song Yu didn't know who he was, he just found it hard to talk about it. He didn't want to tell Xiao Shui about his past, and he couldn't, so he chose the simplest and most effective way - hiding and escaping.

"Oh my god! Really? You lost your memory?"

"Yeah." Song Yu nodded and continued. "I think so. Anyway, I don't remember who I am."

"Oh my God." Xiao Shui said in surprise, but soon he became uncontrollably excited and began to look Song Yu up and down, seeming to be very curious about Song Yu.

"Then who are you?" Song Yu asked in return, but he resisted the urge to tell him, as it was really impolite of him to do so.

"Me? Xiao Shui! My name was given by my mother, implying that I want to be as powerful as the 'Son of God'. Doesn't it mean that water ability is the strongest?"

"Did mom name it?"

"Yes, little sand."

"Who is Xiaoshazi?" Song Yu asked, thinking that the name sounded like a little fool.

"You, that's the name I just gave you."

"I don't think I do..."

"I can't help it. Although I hate the desert, this is Sand City, and I really can't think of a better name. Little Sand, look, that star is so bright."

Song Yu looked in the direction of Xiaoshui's finger, and that star was indeed the brightest star in the sky.

"Don't worry, Xiaoshazi. I will take care of you from now on." Xiaoshui puffed out his chest and assured Song Yu.

Song Yu frowned as he looked at him. "But you seem to be younger than me, right? Are you also older than me..."

"I will grow taller! I will be taller than you!" Xiaoshui jumped three feet high.

"Okay, you have the final say."

Song Yu looked at Xiao Shui helplessly and thought, just treat it as a younger brother. Although, he once wanted to have another younger sister.

The next day, Song Yu crawled out of bed before dawn. When he went out, he woke up Xiao Shui who was sleeping soundly.

"Xiao Shazi, where are you going?"

"I'm going to get my stuff and I'll be back shortly."

"Well...no, wait, I'll go with you." Xiao Shui said, and immediately turned over and jumped off the bed.

When they went out, the outside was covered with mist, and the figures were hazy. After Xiaoshui caught up with Song Yu, he looked up and saw that the sky in the distance was pale, and there were still a few stars hanging there, refusing to hide. The sun would probably come out later, Xiaoshui thought.

Xiaoshui followed Song Yu, and Song Yu tacitly allowed him to follow. They walked further and further away. When they entered the desert and Song Yu had walked a distance, he turned around and found Xiaoshui standing a hundred meters away from him, motionless.

"What's wrong?" Song Yu shouted at him.

"It's okay." Xiao Shui shouted, but didn't follow.

There was no choice. Song Yu looked at the road ahead, then looked at the troubled little tail behind him, and decided to go back first.

"What's wrong?" Song Yu asked again.

"I'm scared." Xiao Shui said, "There's nothing here except sand. Let's go back. I don't want to go any further."

"But I haven't taken my stuff yet. It's the only thing that belongs to me."

"Then...then I'll wait for you here. You have to come back soon."

"Okay, remember, just stand here and don't run around."

"it is good."

Half an hour later, when Song Yu hurriedly came back to get his suitcase, he saw Xiao Shui slumped on the ground sobbing with his head down. He didn't even look up and didn't know Song Yu had returned.

"Xiao Shui." he called hurriedly.

"Little Sand, woooo... woooo... that's great."

"Why are you crying?"

"I couldn't see you anymore. I thought you were dead. I was scared."

"I'm not dead, don't be afraid."

"But I'm just scared because my parents died in the desert and never came back."

At this time, the sun had risen and shone on the vast desert. The temperature in the desert was very high, so Song Yu's little face looked particularly red.

"Hand out."

"What are you doing?" Xiaoshui wiped away her tears and asked him while extending her hand obediently.

"I will hold your hand and walk with you, so that you won't get lost or die in the desert."

"Yeah." Xiao Shui laughed, "Xiao Shazi, what did you get?"

"It's just a suitcase, my ever-present connection and not-so-important past."

"What do you mean? I don't understand. Xiaoshazi, I think you are very powerful, even more powerful than the 'Son of God'."

"Yes." Song Yu nodded heavily, holding Xiao Shui's hand tightly, and walked out of the desert that scared Xiao Shui. From then on, Song Yu gave up the idea of ​​going deeper into the desert and continuing eastward.

Song Yu and Xiao Shui quickly became familiar with each other. They shared the same breath, as if they had grasped the last straw of each other's life. They lived together and took care of each other, and time soon came to June.

June 1st was Xiaoshui's birthday, and Song Yu knew it a week ago. Because Xiaoshui was not at all reserved and shy about celebrating her birthday, she had been asking him for a birthday cake a week ago. But this also made Song Yu realize that Xiaoshui was older than him.

Well, cake is definitely fine. But what gift should I give? Although Xiaoshui said that gifts that can't fill the stomach are not good gifts, so he doesn't seem to be too interested. But, I still have to give it.

Before June 1st, Xiaoshui started jumping up and down and talking about it. When the day came, he was naturally very happy. He dragged Songyu to the cake shop early in the morning because Xiaoshazi told him that the cake had been ordered.