Bai Xiaoxue (1)

Bai Feng yawned as he finally managed to leave the school. For the punishment of fighting, both he and Zhou Jie were given a week's suspension and were forced to clean the classrooms.

It was annoying because he'll be very behind in the lectures, but it also provided an opportunity. With a week's worth of free time, maybe he could find some ways to earn extra money.

The sky was already dark. Bai Feng needed to get home because he was certain his sister was already starving. Doing a quick double check of his possessions to make sure he didn't forget anything, the teen hurried down the stairs.

To his surprise, a familiar figure was waiting at the school gates, seemingly for him.

Shan Lingling averted her eyes when Bai Feng approached. Opening her mouth, she tried to say something but no sound came.

"Sorry." She finally managed to get the words out.

Bai Feng raised an eyebrow. Maybe this spoiled princess wasn't so bad after all, atleast having the common courtesy to apologize.

"It's fine." Bai Feng didn't really hold that big of a grudge inside. In all honesty, he was already contemplating on ditching classes to earn more money.

"What did they punish you with?" She asked.

"Just a week's suspension." Bai Feng shrugged. "I have to go home now."

Walking past Shan Lingling, he didn't notice the beautiful girl's guilty stare. The only thing on his mind was getting back to his sister.

...

"Xiaoxue, I'm home." Bai Feng called out as he set down his items tiredly.

He also managed to buy an on-sale bag of Leshi chips from the nearby convenience store on his way home. His sister loved this brand.

"Big brother!" An adorable girl about 12 years of age suddenly jump-hugged him out of nowhere, nearly knocking him down.

Her dark brown hair was tied in cute, short twintails, bouncing on her head as she nuzzled Bai Feng's shirt. Bai Xiaoxue's face was like a flawless porcelain doll, making it certain that she'd grow up to be very beautiful.

Looking up towards him with big and bright eyes, Bai Xiaoxue pouted and began to get teary. "I'm so hungry uwuu. I thought I was going to starve to death!"

"Wah! Leshi chips!" Her large eyes seemed to glow with stars as Bai Xiaoxue noticed the bag in his hand.

"Poor you." Chuckling at her antics, Bai Feng patted her affectionately. "I'll go make us dinner. You can have some chips after you finish eating."

He closed the old and worn door of the small apartment and began putting stuff away. Opening a cabinet, he took out a heavily used iron pot and began to fill it with some rice.

"Why were you so late today?" Bai Xiaoxue asked. It was already 8:00 pm when Bai Feng arrived home.

Bai Feng sighed, explaining the events of the day as he worked. His sister's eyes widened as she listened, and began to hammer the table with her small fists in anger.

"Bai Feng, it's not fair!" Bai Xiaoxue trembled with rage. She only used his name whenever she was unhappy or needed his complete attention. "It's not your fault! Why did the school punish you?"

Giving her a quick glance, he started chopping the washed scallions and tomatoes while reheating some of the leftover sweet potato. "It's fine. We need money anyways."

Cracking some eggs, he quickly scrambled them with chopsticks before adding salt and pepper. "Even if I didn't get suspended, I was already thinking about not attending some days."

Bai Feng sighed tiredly as he cooked. "I had to spend most of our savings on me attending school. If I don't find a part-time job or some other way to make money, we won't be able to afford the rent this month."

"Plus, you're getting old enough and need tuition for school too." He calculated the expenses with the fingers on his free hand.

Finally, the food was done, and Bai Feng laid out the plates on the table. There was a long moment of unusual silence from his sister, and he turned around to find her crying.

"Wuuu... Brother..." Bai Xiaoxue cried sadly.

She knew how much he had to work to support them both, having only enough time to sleep for a few hours everyday. When the sun wasn't even up, he tended to their outside garden and prepared to set up stall for selling sweet potatoes.

Smiling softly, Bai Feng hugged his adorable sister tightly. "It's alright, little dummy. Aren't we just doing fine?"

Bai Xiaoxue observed her brother closely with teary eyes. Although faint, Bai Feng's eyes had dark circles underneath and he did his best to not look exhausted, but she could tell.

"Good girl, it's alright." Bai Feng comforted Bai Xiaoxue as she began to cry harder, stroking her head.

Seeing her like this, it reminded him of the past and how they had met on that bleak, rainy day.

...

The 10 year old Bai Feng did his best to run under shelter as the downpour continued. He finally finished selling the remaining produce he foraged, feeling extremely happy.

A few years had already passed since he escaped from that hellhole. The orphanage was cruel, where the owners only fed them enough so that they wouldn't starve to death. The children were also forced to work to the bone, accompanied by usual beatings and abuse.

In this life, his body was just the body of a weak child. There was no way he could fight back against an adult at that time, plus he had no idea his system even existed.

If he had no other choice, Bai Feng would've stayed there just for the sake of survival. However, one day, he saw an older boy being dragged into a room with visiting strangers. One of them also gave him a perverted leer.

The older boy's screams were haunting, causing Bai Feng to peek in a hole in an adjacent room to see what was happening. Realising the trafficking and other dark things that the orphanage was part of, Bai Feng immediately escaped.

He tried telling the adults as to what was happening nearby, but they laughed him off. Instead of helping him, they caught him and prepared to bring him back to the orphanage.

Seeing no other choice, Bai Feng leaped out of the moving car and ran off, managing to escape.

By chance or by luck, a kind woman saw the bloodied boy a few hours later and helped him. Listening to his story, she called the authorities, making a report on the orphanage's dark actions.

Bai Feng requested to not be made known, because he didn't want to go to another orphanage. The woman, wanting to respect his decision, was put into a difficult situation.

She already had many children of her own that she needed to tend to, so she couldn't adopt him. Maybe someone will come eventually for this boy, but at the moment there wasn't anywhere available that he could stay.

The woman then remembered that there was an old, unused apartment that was passed down to her by her late grandparents. Bai Feng had lived there ever since, doing odd jobs and selling vegetables at stalls to pay for the low-cost rent.

...

Years passed, and nobody seemingly wanted to adopt Bai Feng, but he didn't mind. He was self-sufficient, able to save and make money from such a young age.

Running through the rain, Bai Feng's stomach growled with hunger. He lived off one meal a day, and today he hasn't eaten anything yet.

"Hmm?" Bai Feng's eyes noticed a big bin under the canopy of a small stall. It read "low price for fast sale", and one of the items that caught his eyes was a bag of Leshi chips.

They were already slightly past the expiration date, he didn't care.

"How much for this, boss?" Bai Feng decided to treat himself, asking the glasses-wearing store owner.

Looking down from his newspaper, the man squinted to see a skinny, soggy boy staring at him hopefully while holding the bag of chips. He also noticed the raggish-looking clothing and frowned.

"One yuan is fine." The man returned to his newspaper, hiding a sympathetic smile.

Giving a small bow in thanks, Bai Feng placed a coin on the counter and ran off with the chips. One bag of these chips usually cost 5 yuan, and he managed to get it for a steal.

Bai Feng placed the bag under his shirt, scared that it would get soggy. He only managed to have these chips twice before in his life, and they were delicious.

The rain suddenly became stronger, forcing Bai Feng to duck into an alley that had a small roof on the side. Unable to contain his hunger anymore, he opened the bag of chips and took out a chip, biting down with a loud, satisfying crunch.

"So yummy." Bai Feng's eyes teared up from how hungry he was.

He was about to place another chip in his mouth when he sensed another presence in the alley with him.

"Who's there?" Bai Feng's eyes narrowed warily.

Turning, he saw a small girl staring at him wistfully, her eyes focused like a laser on the chip in his hand.