Scumbag Actor Screwup System

Chapter 27 - The deal with Xu Tengfei

CW: Child Abuse (not sexual!)

Xu Tengfei was silently staring at the eating family. The two girls, both under five years old, were being fussy and refusing to eat their side dishes.

The boy's gaze only wavered when one of the four happened to look in his direction, in a hidden corner. It took them 20 more minutes until they gave up, got up and resumed their walk. Tengfei took his chance, he moved quickly, sat down at the table and attacked the leftovers. He was lucky to have found people who didn't bother cleaning after themselves and whose kids hated so many delicious foods. He hadn't eaten since the day before, and even then it'd been only a leftover ice-cream cone he'd scraped from the trash, getting rid of the top layer. This was a jackpot. He wolfed down the content of all the six plastic containers in less than five minutes and at last he felt again the warm weight of a full belly.

Out of nowhere he heard a female voice calling his name. He tensed, and was about to bolt when a familiar face popped up from the opposite path, the one that led to the playground area. This boy he knew. They'd met only one year before and he looked a bit like a younger version of himself. It was Xu Xiaosi, his cousin.

"Mama, I found him! Don't leave, please, we've been looking for you."

Xu Tengfei looked warily at the boy and the woman who soon joined him. It was his aunt- what was her name again?

"What do you want?" he asked, in what was trying to be a cold, loud tone, his voice shaking a bit after a couple of days of not using it. He knew he wouldn't be a pretty sight after sleeping among bushes for several nights already, no showering, only washing in the public bathroom and still with a few greenish bruises on his arms that faded much too slowly.

"We heard what happened with your parents," his aunt spoke in a soft, soothing tone. She didn't sound accusing... It seemed too good to be true that someone might actually rescue him. He wanted to just flee but a part of him made him stay. He was so tired.

"Your dad is a donkey fucker," said Xu Xiaosi.

"A-Si!" scolded his mom, and he shrugged.

"He's an evil bastard who deserves to be hung by his scrotum. Do you know what scrotum means? My friends taught me, it's the skin-"

"A-Si, be quiet now," the woman scolded again but Xu Tengfei had visibly calmed down with the funny outburst. They seemed to really be on his side...perhaps. Maybe not everyone hated the gays? But no, that was too much, maybe they got it wrong, they couldn't really want a freak like him.

"Do you know what I did?" asked the boy, digging his nails into his palms, fists white. He was ready to run at a second's notice.

"Kissing boys is okay," said the woman gently, "you can love whoever you want. My husband thinks the same, that's why he married a lowly laundry lady like myself instead of one of those hateful people he was being pushed towards. Your dad... I know he doesn't understand what love is like. But we do," she spoke, eyes shiny with tears. He'd never seen an adult woman cry, this was weird. Why would she cry for this? They'd only met a couple of times. Life was life, he was gay, he desserved the punishment, it was no reason for crying.

"Yeah, you can like boys or girls, did you not know? I bet your parents are idiots who don't know it either. But it's okay, you can come home with us, we'll share a room! It'll be like having a brother," said the little boy with a bright smile.

Xu Tengfei looked at Xu Xiaosi, then at his aunt who nodded.

"Why... Why do you want to take me in?"

"Because you're family, duh!" replied young Xiaosi.