Ruan Ruan, Let Go (1)

It was dark at night, but fortunately, the snow reflected a faint white light, so it was not exactly pitch-black.

The little mute pulled Qin Yuan forward as they walked along the uneven road. As they walked, Qin Yuan was still slightly suspicious in his heart: The little mute was not an average person, so where was he leading him?

The little guy had never seen the world before, so could he have seen something new and strange and wanted to show it to someone too?

They were scheduled to go skiing during the day. When they arrived, they had to change into special ski clothes and store their mobile phones and other valuables, so they didn’t bring their phones with them and couldn’t contact each other now. Should he, in fact, follow a disabled child around knowing this?

He stopped, crouched down, looked at the little mute seriously, and slowly tried to communicate with him. “What actually happened? We will return if you don’t say it clearly. It’s cold and dark outside.”

By all rights, shouldn’t the special school have taught him a little lip reading?

The little mute seemed to understand his doubts at once. He stood up on his tiptoes anxiously, straining to get a little higher than himself, and touched his head, combing his hair, then stretched out his fingers and made a number two sign.

Qin Yuan looked at him in shock, his heart jumping: this height, with long hair, two people?

He opened his mouth urgently and made a precise lip shape. “Little sister? Two people?”

The little mute’s eyes lit up, and he nodded his head desperately, screaming “Wuwu” with his mouth, and reached out to point at the dark woods of the valley in front of him, suddenly crouching down and rolling a few times on the ground, no matter how dirty and cold the earth was.

Qin Yuan’s heart sank in his chest.

Although he had not spent much time with the little mute, he could completely see the nature of this child’s heart, thoughtful and understanding, and that he would not make up any stories. This action of the little mute… made him remember that Xiao-Siquan and Miao Miao had been playing with Xiao-Zhuang all day, and a horrible suspicion suddenly arose.

“Let’s go! Hurry up.” He reached down and picked up Xiao-Zhuang, grasping his fingers. “Point me in the right direction!”

Children who were physically impaired in some way tended to be more perceptive in others. At this point, he could only gamble that the boy was trustworthy in his ability!

Xiao-Zhuang looked around, struggled to identify the terrain, and hesitantly pointed in a direction.

He was only a child of a few years old, but fortunately, his sense of direction was perfect and his memory was terrific, pointing in the right direction.

While Qin Yuan ran into the darkness, his mind raced: Should I go back and call someone first? The chances of success are better this way.

But what if… what if there was a danger involving life and death? What if he missed it by that little bit?

“One step too late.” This realization was like a knife, not knowing where it came from but stabbing viciously and chaotically in his heart, causing sudden and excruciating pain.

He took a sharp breath, filling his lungs with the cold air of the countryside, and calmed his chaotic mind a little.

Ahead of him were dark brown woods and further back… the little mute suddenly struggled fiercely in his arms, screaming louder.

Qin Yuan hurriedly put him down and as soon as he hit the ground, the little mute stumbled in a direction.

Qin Yuan’s eyesight was so good that he immediately saw something wrong and hurriedly followed him, stopping the mute in time. “Be careful!”

The little mute struggled hard, desperately tugging him toward that cliff until he reached the edge of the mountain before getting down and pointing indiscriminately. “Ahh– wu!”

Qin Yuan cautiously approached, raised his voice, and called out loud, “Xiao-Quan, Miao Miao!”

There was no response. Unwilling to give up, he shouted a few more times before a faint cry finally came from below. “… Gege?”

Qin Yuan was so shocked that his heart jumped wildly and he hurriedly moved a little closer, cautiously probing down. “Xiao-Quan?! Are you there?”

Xiao Siquan was frozen to death at the edge of the icy cliff. She thought she heard her brother’s voice in her daze, but only when she heard a few more voices was she sure it was him and cried out, “I-I fell. Gege, save me…”

***

Ruan Qingmu ran alone for a while before slowly coming to a halt.

Turning his head to look back… eh, his fellow boyfriend didn’t even catch up. How strange.

He resentfully thought for a while. Finally, the feeling that something wasn’t quite right grew.

No, it wasn’t that he was sensitive, but Qin Yuan really seemed like he had something on his mind today.

He froze in the middle of the road, suddenly becoming slightly distracted.

Had he crossed the line too much with what had happened yesterday? Was that boy looking for some company because he was lonely and bored, or did he really like him?

In this world, were there really that many people… who liked men? If it was simply curiosity, would it be simply unacceptable after the intimate encounter yesterday?

Otherwise, why would he seem so distracted and preoccupied today?

There was a bench by the side of the road with snow that had not been swept away, so he dusted it off haphazardly with his hands and sat on it without a second thought, looking at where he had come from.

It was getting darker and darker, but Qin Yuan never appeared at the end of the path.

Ruan Qingmu bit his lips. His exposed face was blown cold by the increasing wind, but his heart became more confused.