Chapter 31 Part 1

Originally, I didn't feel it was an injustice, but when he asked, it became one even if it wasn't.

Originally, I felt it was an injustice, but when he asked, it no longer felt like one.

—— Little Monster's Diary

It was dinner time, and the lingering aroma of food drifted from the alley, whetting appetites.

As Zhou Siyue pulled open the iron gate, the little girl in the corner suddenly looked up, her face still streaked with two dry tear marks, staring at him with a mix of grievance and surprise. Their eyes met for two seconds, and perhaps realizing something, Ding Xian abruptly lowered her head again, quickly wiping away her tears with her sleeve.

Seeing Zhou Siyue's face, she suddenly realized what she was doing. She tried to stand up, but having squatted for a while, her legs went numb, and she ended up sitting firmly on the ground.

Zhou Siyue leaned against the wall by the courtyard gate, glanced at her, then lowered his head and smiled. With his hands in his pockets, he tilted his head and spoke to Ding Xian by the corner of the wall: "Feeling wronged?"

Originally, she didn't feel it was an injustice, but when he asked, it became one even if it wasn't. Ding Xian simply sat on the ground, curling her feet, wrapping her arms around her legs, resting her chin on her knees, giving a couple of sniffles, and ignoring him.

Zhou Siyue simply squatted down with his hands in his pockets too. He was standing at the courtyard entrance, a few steps higher, and looked down at Ding Xian crouching by the wall, then spoke again: "Did you argue with your mom?"

Ding Xian hugged her legs, shook her head, looking utterly wronged, her face flushed, her eyes glistening with tears.

"Do you know what you look like right now?" Zhou Siyue squatted on the steps, tilting his head to look at her.

"Like what?" Having just cried, the little girl's voice was muffled.

"Especially like a 'Pot Lid' that's about to let off steam." After saying that, he chuckled to himself, squatting on the ground, his hands casually placed in front of him, his head buried, laughing a few times.

"Zhou, Si, Yue."

Ding Xian glared at him through gritted teeth.

The boy had enough fun. He stood up, stepped directly onto the ground, stood in front of Ding Xian, and pulled her up from the floor. "Alright, how old are you? Still sitting on the ground? Isn't it dirty?"

"Come in with me."

Zhou Siyue finished speaking and went in first.

Ding Xian patted the dust off her clothes, followed him, and then heard another instruction from inside: "Close the door."

Only then did she notice that Zhou Siyue had only come out in a T-shirt. When he pulled her earlier, his entire hand had been icy cold.

It was her third time at the Zhou Family's house, and her emotions were slightly different. Uncle Zhou and Mrs. Zhou weren't home, but Ding Xian still asked knowingly, "Where's Auntie?"

The boy's tall figure was standing at the table pouring water. Hearing her, he suddenly put down the kettle, turned to give her a meaningful look, then turned back, and said faintly, "Business trip."

That look was so obviously sarcastic it made Ding Xian feel truly pretentious.

She wasn't a fool, and neither was Zhou Siyue. Crying at someone's doorstep late at night, how could she not know that no one was home? She had already heard clearly, ears perked, outside the internet cafe that Uncle Zhou and Mrs. Zhou were on a business trip.

Thinking about it again, she felt there was nothing to say. So, she picked up the conversation anew, "Doesn't Auntie not work?"

Zhou Siyue brought the water over, handed it to her, and sat down on the sofa, casually saying, "Wherever my dad goes, my mom likes to accompany him."

"Your parents have a really good relationship."

Ding Xian held the cup, cupping it against her chest, occasionally taking a few sips to warm her stomach.

"Your parents don't have a good relationship?"

He raised an eyebrow slightly, asking casually.

"Average."

"Oh."

It was their first time sitting alone, face to face, in such a private space, and a subtle, awkward atmosphere spread between them. For a moment, there was silence. Zhou Siyue scratched the back of his neck. "Want to play games? I have a computer in my room."

Ding Xian was grateful he didn't press her about her family's mess. She shook her head, not in the mood.

Zhou Siyue had never really coaxed girls since he was little, nor did he know how. He was used to running wild with Jiang Chen and his gang, tough and resilient, kids who grew up playing in the dirt. He certainly didn't understand how to take care of a girl's emotions. It was a miracle that Song Yijin, the only girl, had survived among this group of boys until now.

He suddenly stood up and said to Ding Xian, "You sit for a bit, I'll show you something."

When he returned, Ding Xian was stunned.

"What's this?"

Zhou Siyue lowered his head, fiddling with the small robot in his hand, and said to her without looking up, "D2-T3."

'A code name?'

'Or what?'

Ding Xian's attention was completely drawn to the robot in his hand, staring intently. Zhou Siyue placed it on the coffee table, adjusted a few transmission points, then tucked its arm in close to its chest. He then moved some books and a fruit basket from the coffee table to the floor, picked up a joystick from the side, and sat on the sofa with his back arched, elbows on his knees. He raised an eyebrow slightly, pursed his lips, and said, "Watch."

Ding Xian kept her eyes wide open, not daring to blink.

The little fellow named "D2-T3" waddled slowly along the path on the coffee table towards her.

One hand was pressed against its chest, while the other seemed to be broken, connected by a wire in the middle, hanging bonelessly at its side. With each step, that arm swayed twice, just like a zombie in a movie.

'This...'

'Why does it look a bit creepy?'

Ding Xian's entire spine was stiff, her nerves taut, watching this "little zombie" constantly, terrified it might suddenly lunge at her.

Then, the "little zombie" stopped at the edge of the coffee table.

Suddenly, it bowed to her, and the rusty iron plates behind it creaked with its bending motion, as if it hadn't been out and about for years.

Ding Xian's scalp began to tingle; she kept thinking it would start eating people any second.

But then—

The little zombie made a "click" sound and did the splits in front of her.

'What kind of routine is this?'

Ding Xian glanced in surprise at Zhou Siyue on the opposite sofa. He was leaning back in the chair, holding the joystick, his hair a little softer than when he first came in, and he motioned for her to look down.

Her gaze returned.

The "little zombie" slowly retracted its legs, stood straight, paused for two seconds, then suddenly did a moonwalk.

"..."

The "little zombie" somehow pulled out a small cane, propped it beside its two feet, slowly splayed its feet outwards into a classic duck-footed stance, and then poked its other broken arm onto its waist.

One, two, three...

It leaned its upper body slightly towards Ding Xian, then suddenly wiggled its backside, turned around, and wiggled its backside at Ding Xian again. Mechanical things were particularly awkward, but watching it, it was quite comical.

"Cha... Charlie Chaplin?"

The boy opposite raised an eyebrow, pressed another button, his attention entirely on the little fellow, and replied casually, "Not bad, you even know Charlie Chaplin."