Chapter 18 He Ran Into Me
When Tang Xiaomang called me, I froze for a second.
That was when I matched him to the skinny, crybaby kid in my memory.
He was sturdier than he had been in prison. There was a bit of flesh on his face now.
But those eyes were still wet, carrying a fragile kind of dependence.
Before I could react, he shot over like a little cannonball and wrapped his arms around my waist.
His head buried itself in the new, puffy down jacket.
His voice came out muffled, with a sob in it.
"Qin Ye, I finally found you."
My body went stiff. I wanted to push him off, a little uncomfortable.
This kid was still the same.
He liked to cry.
Not like that kid Ji Yanli.
Back then, no matter how badly he got beaten, his spine stayed hard. His eyes were like a wolf's. He never dropped a single tear.
Tang Xiaomang was made of water.
In prison, if someone bullied him, if he missed home, or if he just felt wronged, he could cling to me and cry until he could not catch his breath.
"Alright, alright. You're grown. Still sniffling."
I patted his back. It felt thicker than a few years ago.
"How'd you find this place?
"Get inside first. It's cold out."
I pulled out the key and opened the door.
Tang Xiaomang picked up that heavy woven sack and followed me in.
His eyes were still red, but his face already showed a relieved smile, like he had found someone to lean on.
The smile was simple, a little stupid.
Completely different from Ji Yanli's, the deep kind you could not read.