Early the next morning, just as dawn was breaking, the deep morning fog wrapped in the cold wind of the late autumn morning slipped through the gaps in the tin house, bringing with it the smell of damp soil. Yu Qingyao had slept in for the first time in days. When she opened her eyes, the small figure by the bed had already washed up.
Wu Yan stood at the door, which was open, letting the cold wind howl into the room. She picked up the hemp bag from yesterday and turned sideways, looking at her with a flat, emotionless gaze.
Yu Qingyao knew what she meant. She had only said yesterday that she would stay just one night and then leave, but now she wanted to go back on her word.
When Wu Yan saw Yu Qingyao just standing there in the middle of the room without any intention of leaving, she couldn’t help but frown. “It’s dawn. The road is visible.”
“But I still have nowhere to go,” Yu Qingyao said quite frankly, her gaze naturally shifting from her face to the hemp bag in her hand. “Are you going out to work? I can help you.”
“No need.” Wu Yan refused immediately. Seeing Yu Qingyao trying to approach, she even took a few steps back out of the house.
“Then I can help you fulfill a wish, as long as you let me stay.” Yu Qingyao used the methods of an adult.
“No need.” Wu Yan turned around. “If you don’t want to leave, suit yourself. The door isn’t locked. Just don’t touch anything.”
Having said that, she picked up the hemp bag and prepared to go out, but after just a few steps, Yu Qingyao grabbed her wrist.
Wu Yan’s wrist was very thin; even through her coat, Yu Qingyao could feel the bones. She subconsciously loosened her grip, afraid of hurting her. “I’ll be fine staying here alone, but if I follow you, you’ll have an extra person and an extra pair of hands.”
Wu Yan pressed her lips together tightly and was silent for a long time before freeing her hand from Yu Qingyao’s grip. She threw out a “Suit yourself” and walked away without looking back.
Yu Qingyao immediately closed the door and, with the materials at hand, fashioned a crude lock and attached it. With her physical abilities, molding a lock was easy.
The small hut was quite a distance from the nearest urban village.
When Wu Yan reached the street, the roadside breakfast stalls were steaming, and the sweeper’s broom rustled as it brushed the ground. Wu Yan was very familiar with this route. She deliberately chose alleys and trash bins that the sanitation workers hadn’t gotten to yet.
Her steps were quick, and her movements in rummaging through the trash were practiced. Her small body stood on tiptoe as she bent over to pull out bottles still covered in dirty water, then deftly shook off the water, stomped them flat, and stuffed them into the hemp bag.
Yu Qingyao wanted to help, but Wu Yan stopped her.
“If you really want to help, then hold this.” Wu Yan pointed at the hemp bag beside her, signaling to Yu Qingyao.
“Is this how you get by every day, just picking up these things?” Yu Qingyao’s heart ached.
“Pretty much.”
When they reached the alley entrance, they had picked up all the bottles on this street. The two were about to head to another street when a few middle-aged women with fluffy dyed red hair approached from the opposite direction.
“That little girl is here again, coming this early every day.”
“That little girl is also pitiful. After Old Deng disappeared, she has to pick trash all alone.”
“Who says? Isn’t she bringing a companion now? And you know, that older girl is pretty good-looking. If her background were decent, I’d kind of want to introduce her to my son.”
“Heh, you expect someone hanging around this girl to have a good background? Have you forgotten that even when Old Deng was around, people said they had sticky fingers? I say it’s better to stay far away from them!”
They themselves were middle-aged women, and they didn’t hide their discussion, their voices loud enough for vendors half a street away to hear.
Wu Yan lowered her head, ignoring it all, and kept walking toward the other street.
But Yu Qingyao’s face suddenly darkened. She stepped forward, intending to argue with the group, but Wu Yan stopped her. “Don’t mind them.”
“But aren’t they clearly slandering you? If you had really stolen something, how could you still live in that…” Before she could finish, Wu Yan interrupted, “It’s useless. Refuting only makes them think you’re guilty. People like this are all the same. Better to just pick up the stuff and go home early.”
By the end of the morning, the hemp bag in Yu Qingyao’s hands was completely full.
At noon, Wu Yan led Yu Qingyao to a scrap recycling station. The owner was an old man with white hair and a very kind appearance.
Seeing Yu Qingyao behind Wu Yan, the old man was taken aback for a moment, then actively walked out of the station and took the hemp bag from Yu Qingyao’s hands. “Little Wu Yan collected so much again today.”
“Mm, please weigh it and see how much it’s worth.”
“Sure thing!” The old man threw the hemp bag onto the electronic scale and quietly placed one of his feet on it as well. He thought his move was hidden, but Yu Qingyao saw it all clearly.
“Aiyo, you collected a lot today, Little Wu Yan. Fifty-seven yuan total.” The old man took out three twenty-yuan bills from the drawer and handed them to Wu Yan, smiling. “Keep it up, try to collect even more tomorrow!”
“Thank you, Grandpa Zhang.”
“You’re welcome.” Just as the two were about to leave, Old Man Zhang stopped Yu Qingyao. “Hey, that girl, wait a moment.”
Yu Qingyao paused, then turned around and pointed at herself in confusion. “Me?”
“Yes! Little Wu Yan, you go outside first. I have something to say to her.”
Once Wu Yan was completely out of sight, he stared at Yu Qingyao and said meaningfully, “Girl, that little Wu Yan has already suffered enough. I don’t want her to go through any more bad things. Do you understand what I mean?”
“Don’t worry.” Yu Qingyao’s voice was firm. “I won’t let her go through that anymore.”
Hearing Yu Qingyao’s reply, Old Man Zhang breathed a sigh of relief. He then took two red bills from the drawer and handed them to Yu Qingyao. Yu Qingyao recognized these—they were the highest denomination currency in this world.
“Old man, this is too valuable. I can’t accept it.”
“Take it.” Old Man Zhang said earnestly. “This is an old man’s goodwill.”
Unable to refuse the old man, Yu Qingyao finally accepted the money. Before leaving, she bowed to Old Man Zhang. “Thank you, old man.”
And so, Yu Qingyao and Wu Yan disappeared into the noonday street, while the scrap-collecting Old Man Zhang’s face suddenly shrouded in a thick mist.
In an instant, he transformed from a decrepit old man into a beautiful young girl dressed in youthful, lovely attire.
Su Qingxuan snapped her fingers, and the high-hanging sun rapidly set.
“Sigh, I didn’t expect my fellow townsman’s background to be so complicated. This life is really not fit for humans.” If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, Su Qingxuan would never have thought that even in the 22nd century, someone could be living like this.
“Anyway, I hope this can help you, fellow townsman. There might be others in the world who have it worse than Wu Yan, and Wu Yan is just one of them. Since we’ve both transmigrated to another world, at least let the people around you get closer to you.”
Outside the recycling station, Wu Yan and Yu Qingyao didn’t notice the rapidly darkening weather at all.
“What did Grandpa Zhang say to you?”
“He said I’m very suitable to be your family, and he wants me to take care of you.”
“Liar.”
“Really. If I’m lying, I’ll become your junior sister in my next life!”