Zhen Jie sat on Yi Zhao's bed skimming through the dictionary he'd bought her a few days earlier. It'd only been two days, but her reading had already gotten a little better and she had a wider vocabulary. It was shocking since she'd only been talking for five years and could learn so easily.
It was early Monday morning and Yi Zhao had to walk Zhen Jie back home so she could meet Officer Gong and go to school. No one could know she was staying with Yi Zhao. They couldn't be seen together, ever. He wouldn't tell her why — but she assumed it was because he was a runaway and if they were seen together he'd be forced to go back home.
That's the downside of being underaged. You can't escape the pain of home life most of the time and you're expected to just deal with it. Granted Zhen Jie had no clue what he'd gone through back at home, she knew it had to have been something serious for him to run away and not even want to talk about it.
"Come on," He motioned to her after slipping on his jacket. "I know it's early but we can't be seen together when it's bright out."
Zhen Jie grabbed the backpack he'd bought her and sluggishly followed him out. She was really quiet. After the first night they met, she didn't talk much. It was in her nature to be quiet. She never talked to anyone at home and the only socialization she got was at school with Mo Chen — previously Qi Qiao as well.
Even then, however, she didn't talk much. Mo Chen was one of the only people Zhen Jie considered a friend, but sometimes she made the girl feel bad. She didn't mean any harm when she'd constantly comment on how Zhen Jie's speech hadn't improved. She honestly thought she was helping — when all she was doing was making Zhen Jie feel stupid. It should've been common knowledge that speaking on someone's disability was rude, but for some reason, Mo Chen just couldn't pick up on that... or maybe she did and genuinely thought it'd push Zhen Jie to try harder. Either way, Zhen Jie would rather not talk around her only friend than feel like she was lower than everyone else, even though she already knew she was.
Once they reached Zhen Jie's home, Yi Zhao left without a word. He came back half an hour later and when Zhen Jie opened the door, he grabbed her hand and placed a wrapped piece of bread in it. He folded her fingers around it and said, "Don't forget to eat." Before sliding down the stairs and leaving again.
He was really awkward and curt about the interaction, avoiding Zhen Jie's eyes even though she wasn't looking to make eye contact with him in the first place. It was as if he was forcing himself to be kind, but to Zhen Jie, that was fine. She didn't mind his distant character one bit. She was the same way so she couldn't say much about it.
Zhen Jie smiled softly before carefully peeling the plastic wrap from the bread. A sweet smell flooded her nostrils. She brought it closer to her nose to try to figure out what kind of bread it was before eating it, "Banana and nuts..."
She recognized the smell faintly. When her mother was around, she'd always buy an abundance of bananas, apricots, and apples. They'd be fresh from the market and her mom would always slice them nicely for Zhen Jie to munch on. While it had been a while since Zhen Jie had fruit, or anything fresh at all, she'd never forgotten the smell of them — especially bananas.
Her mom loved bananas.
The walnuts, on the other hand, were something her father always had. After he left the military, he turned to drinking. He never got too into the life of alcoholism, but he did drink quite a bit. He drank enough to forget he had a daughter and wife most days.
Whenever he'd drink, he'd have a snack by his side whether it be walnuts or an entire bag of chocolate chips. If Zhen Jie could speak properly back then, she'd have asked to try it. Her father didn't understand the grabby motion she made, and if he did, he ignored it.
Zhen Jie never got to taste nuts or chocolate before.
She tore a piece of the bread off and shoved it into her mouth impatiently. The inside was light and fluffy while the outside was crunchy from the walnuts. It was still warm, having been freshly pulled from the oven, per Yi Zhao's request, and wrapped neatly in a pretty pink wrapping, also picked by Yi Zhao.
Zhen Jie ate the bread slowly, savoring every bite. It was a delicacy for her. Being alone at home all of the time, she was forced to spend the little money she had, that she'd save from collecting change from the streets, on groceries. She couldn't count well so she was always scammed at stores. The clerks would tell her she couldn't afford something and she'd end up giving them way more than needed for a small loaf of bread that she had to cut the mold off of and a carton of eggs that were always cracked.
Zhen Jie finally finished the bread and patted her stomach which was full and protruding ever so slightly. Even though Yi Zhao bought her a nice dinner the night before, she was unusually hungry before eating the bread. It was weird to her.
Having been deprived of actual meals for so long, she no longer felt hungry at times — even when her body was desperate for something to eat. After finally starting to eat properly, thanks to Yi Zhao, she could actually feel when she was hungry.
Zhen Jie folded the pink wrapper the bread came in and placed it in her backpack. She liked to keep cute things even if it was something simple because she knew she'd never be able to buy something pretty. Maybe she could find use in the paper later, and if not, she'd use it for a new origami heart for her room.
Her room was small and plain. The only furniture in it was the old bed that used to belong to her parents and a small bookshelf that was flooded with books. Whenever Zhen Jie got cute little things, which wasn't often, she'd use it to brighten up her room. Like the heart-shaped jars she was gifted from the only nice woman at the market.
While zipping her bag, Zhen Jie noticed a little frog hopping around the stairwell that led to her apartment. Her apartment building was run down and nearly abandoned. The tenants were either really poor like Zhen Jie, or drug addicts who snuck into the vacant apartments.
The building was decaying and violated many regulations but no one did anything about it. Animals and what not always slithered their way into the complex, finding a home in the overgrown grass and the little pond that was out front unintentionally.
A few years after Zhen Jie and her dad moved in, a bad storm blew a large object into the middle of the yard. No one knew what it was, but it was heavy enough to leave a large pit in the ground. The same storm flooded the apartment complex so much, the trench had filled by the next morning, henceforth leaving a place of residence for whatever creepy crawler that swamped through.
"Oh!" She exclaimed when the frog hopped to her feet. "Hi!" She kneeled down to pick it up and it hopped into her hands. She brought it towards her face and smiled at it.
"Do you think Yi Zhao will let you stay with us? I think... he will not," She told it before bringing it into her house. "He is a little mean... too quiet. I am quiet too but I am nice."
"He will maybe not like you," She sighed. "He will probably not like you."
She continued looking at the frog, mumbling things to it, and rubbed its head with her index finger. It was so cute she couldn't help but give it a tiny smile. It was tiny but chunky, green, and had beady eyes. Zhen Jie was sure it was smiling back at her.
There was a knock on the door, interrupting Zhen Jie's conversation with her new friend. She went to open it and was faced with Officer Gong who looked relieved for some reason.
"Zhen Jie, where were you? I called to make sure you got home safe Friday and you didn't pick up! Every time I came over during the weekend, you were gone! I almost filed a missing persons report!"
"I'm sorry, I lost my phone. Please do not be mad," She said. "And I have been at the library. To get better at talking and reading."
"I'm not mad... Who's this?" Officer Gong sighed while pointing to the frog that was still in Zhen Jie's hand. He wasn't mad — just worried. He feared the worst when she wasn't answering his calls or at home when he stopped by. She had a target on her back since she was the last person to see Qi Qiao alive and he'd promised himself and her that he'd protect her.
"Hmm, I think I will call him Berry. He is my new friend. He was outside. I want to have him but... school. I can not leave him here."
"How about this? After I drop you off at school I'll go to the pet store and get... Berry a habitat. Since I've been appointed to watch over you while your dad's gone, it's my responsibility to take care of you and now your little frog too."
"Really?" She smiled. "That's very altruistic of you!"
"I learned a new word... did I use it right?"
Officer Gong let out a hearty laugh while nodding, "Yes, you did. I'm proud of you. You've gotten better." Her lack of stuttering caught his attention as soon as she began to speak when she opened the door which is why it was so easy for him to believe she was at the library — even though she wasn't. "Have you been eating well? It looks like it."
Zhen Jie nodded and grabbed her backpack, making sure not to disturb Berry, "Your backpack looks different. It doesn't look like your books are in there? Is it new?" Zhen Jie dropped her head as they reached his car and got in without saying a word. She couldn't tell him she'd dropped it when Wan Cui attacked her. He'd question her for sure and knowing how the police were, they'd let her go and she'd be after her again.
"Zhen Jie? Are you okay?" He asked concerned. "Is someone bothering you? You need to tell me if they are. How am I supposed to protect you if you're not telling me things?"
"Nothing is bothering me... no one," She lied. "Just upset because I lost my bag and my work. Had to spend my only money on a new one... but can't get my notes back. Sad."
Officer Gong knew she was lying about the first part. He didn't think much about the backpack, but her sudden absence from home over the weekend after telling him she'd go home with a friend and never making it there — told him enough. She was hiding something and he had a feeling it had something to do with Qi Qiao's death.
He couldn't question her about it though. His boss had specifically told him that since he now had a personal connection with the girl, having grown protective over her as if she was his responsibility, he was no longer allowed to work on the case that revolved around her — which didn't seem to be getting anywhere anyway since they believed her story about Qi Qiao bringing the book and having dinner with her.
Officer Gong dropped Zhen Jie off at school and waited until she was inside before he went to drive off. He looked at Berry on the dashboard and smiled. The entire ride, Zhen Jie talked to Berry about random things. It was the most Officer Gong heard her speak and the way she smiled made him happy.
From what he'd heard from her teachers, Zhen Jie didn't smile much. She didn't smile when talking to them and she didn't smile when talking to friends. They said she always seemed scared and they knew it was because the other students always picked on her.
They made fun of the way she talked, the way she looked, how she didn't "belong" in China, and how her dad had gotten caught selling stolen goods. She refrained from talking or showing any emotion, since the one time she did, a student told her she had no right to smile when her father was a thief who couldn't even afford to get her a wearable pair of shoes.
From the corner of his eye, Officer Gong saw someone watching the school. They were staring intently, making no intentions of moving. When they saw Officer Gong drive towards them, they ran off, "Fucking delinquents." He grunted before finally leaving the school and going to a pet store.
In an abandoned house across town, Yi Zhao sat with his friends smoking pot. His mind was everywhere but the conversation. He wondered if Zhen Jie was okay at school. He wondered if her bullies attended the school or if they were some random stranger. He wondered if she noticed the bento box he slipped into her backpack for lunch.
It was still spring and very cold outside, so he packed her soup and a sandwich — and tea in a stainless steel water bottle.
She should've noticed it, right? The weight of her backpack should've been noticeable seeing as it was empty of her old notes and binders. He hoped she ate it during lunch.
Yi Zhao brought the joint to his mouth and stared ahead, earning weird looks from his friends, "Aye, Zhao, you okay?" Qiu Fu asked. "Haven't seen you look so out of the loop since that bitch—"
Qiu Fu was cut off with a jab in the ribs. Another friend, Hou Wei glared at him and motioned for him to shut up. Yi Zhao laughed and shook his head, "I don't care about her... never did."
"You stopped talking when she left you. Must've felt something." Qiu Fu shrugged, not believing Yi Zhao for a second.
"Nah, I stopped talking because I was scared she was gonna call the cops and lie on me or some shit. I was anxious as hell. That'd be like, what? Three charges?"
"Yep... don't know why you messed with her anyway."
"Simple," Yi Zhao started. "She was willing to fuck without the extra shit that came with it, so I accepted it."
"And look how that turned out," Qiu Fu laughed. "She became obsessed and thought you wanted her."
"So, is it a new girl that got you like this?"
"She threatened to call the cops too?"
"No," Yi Zhao snapped. "There's no girl... I'm just tired today. I've been making more sales lately."
"I've been meaning to ask, why?" Hou Wei asked. "Wasn't the normal enough to support you? Are you living with someone else?"
"Nah, I just want more cash incase some shit goes down. What I was making before was enough to support me and then some... but I've got a bad feeling I'm gonna have to run off again someday."
"Ah, don't say that. You'll jinx yourself!" Hou Wei said.
"I've been wondering," Yi Zhao said while bringing the joint to his lips again. "What happened after I left Friday? Did you see anyone run away from the alley or anything?"
"Yea," Qiu Fu nodded. "There were some bitches running away with someone's clothes and yelling about a prostitute being in the alley."
"Speaking of, did you and Cheng Yahui ever fight? You said you were just going to poke fun at them waiting for you — but me and Wei heard someone fighting."
"We went to help you after we heard too many punches but by the time we got there, you were gone."
"Yea, we fought. The cops showed up so we booked it."
"You won, didn't you?" Hou Wei asked.
"You know me." Yi Zhao said cockily. "So, Wei, what did the girls look like?"
"They all looked alike..."
"Except for one. She looked kind of rough. Her hair's cut really short — like a dude almost — but she was wearing jewelry and a skirt. I definitely saw brass knuckles on her fingers."
"She could've still been a dude." Qiu Fu snickered. "You know that's how they are these days."
"Yea well, one of the other girls called her a 'slow excuse for a woman' so if she is biologically a male, she doesn't identify as one."
"You think you'd be able to point out the girls if you saw them?" Yi Zhao interrupted.
"Not really — just that one. It was really dark and the other girls looked too familiar for me to be able to recognize."
"Why such a sudden interest in them?"
"Did they say anything to you?"
"You wanna bang or something?"
"Nah... I just have a feeling they know something I'd like to know."
"Like what?"
"I don't know yet."
Yi Zhao was sure those girls knew Cheng Yahui and his friends would be there so they purposely dragged Zhen Jie into the alley. After prying a bit of information from Zhen Jie, he found out that they'd taken her from a store.
If they had any ounce of common sense, there were multiple other places they could have taken her that were closer or more closed off. Seeing as they'd taken her to that specific alley and stripped her naked, they knew there'd be men there and they were planning on having her raped — whether they openly planned for guys to rape her or just threw Zhen Jie into the lions den and hoped someone sick enough would take her.
Yi Zhao left his friends after a few hours of smoking and went to Zhen Jie's apartment to wait for her. His friends were confused about his sudden departure and followed him as far as they could, bombarding him with questions. They were confused about his sudden absence over the past few days as a whole.
He'd told them not to even bother contacting him at certain hours and he wasn't hanging out with them at night anymore. They didn't know, but he was clearing his schedule around the times he had to get Zhen Jie and he'd stay with her at night since she was scared to sleep at his place alone.
Apparently, she didn't have to worry about anything at her home. It was shabby and not in the best condition, but it had locks on all windows and the door. Yi Zhao's home didn't. He didn't even have a door — he got in through the window. When the factory was destroyed, the door was no longer operable. It had been stuck shut from years of no use and no matter how hard he tried, Yi Zhao couldn't get it opened.
Yi Zhao waited for Zhen Jie in her bedroom once he arrived. They'd already talked about him waiting for her there — purposely avoiding the living room incase officer Gong came in. Yi Zhao didn't want to intrude by messing with anything, so he just sat there and looked around while he waited.
It was definitely her room.
Pink comforter, stickers and drawings decorating the otherwise bare walls, and books piling up on the bookshelf.
Heart-shaped jars — ranging from large, medium, to small — sat on the windowsill. The largest one had rocks in it. She'd added a few in there that morning and he knew it because, on their walk to her apartment, she'd stopped a few times to pick up the prettiest ones she saw. The second one had lucky paper stars and Yi Zhao wondered what she wished for, and the smallest jar was filled with glitter.
She loved shiny things.
An hour later, Zhen Jie walked into the room and waved at Yi Zhao, "Hi." She said.
"Hi..." He replied. "Did anything happen today? Did you eat?"
"Thank you for the food! It was yummy... and the drink too!" She thanked him.
"Oh, and something happened!" She beamed. "This morning... when you leaved!"
"When I left. Say when I left."
"Now, what happened?"
"When you left, look!" Zhen Jie grabbed his hand and pulled him up from the bed, surprising him. She never touched him before. She always cornered herself off and flinched when he was near. She also never sounded so excited about anything... She didn't talk.
"Can we have him at your house, please?" She begged while looking at Yi Zhao, then back at the frog that sat on the table in the living room. Yi Zhao completely overlooked the frog when sneaking in. "He will be very very good and he's in a terrarium so he won't bother you! His name is Berry like the fruit!"
"Officer Gong taught me the word terrarium so maybe since I learned so good... I can have Berry at home?"
Home... Yi Zhao liked that for some reason. He was glad she felt comfortable enough around him to consider his home hers. Most people felt uncomfortable around him and he didn't like it. He was so glad, he didn't even realize he'd slipped out an, "Okay."
Zhen Jie hugged him and smiled brightly. Yi Zhao, disgusted with the sudden affection, pulled her arms away from his body, "Okay, okay, you don't have to touch me. Just get the thing and come on."
Zhen Jie rushed to get Berry's terrarium and rushed out of the house after Yi Zhao. Halfway through the walk to his place, Yi Zhao took the container from Zhen Jie and carried it for her. Part of him felt bad for not letting her hug him and the other part saw her struggling to carry it and her backpack at the same time — all while trying to keep a good enough distance between the two of them.
She was in front of him and she couldn't walk too close, but she also couldn't walk too far. He had to keep an eye on her, but it couldn't look like they were together.
Once they were in the woods, they walked side by side. Zhen Jie glanced at Yi Zhao every once in a while. He was hot and cold. He'd be warm with her at times, making sure she ate, buying her books, and helping her study. Other times, he'd just sit there without saying a word or he'd snap at her for small things like talking to herself — then he'd apologize, not verbally, but by giving her something pretty or just sitting closer to her than usual.
She'd already grown attached to the guy after only four days. He protected her when no one else would and that made her grow dependent on his presence. Sure, she was nervous around him because he was a human and she was scared of people — but she was still fixated upon him. She couldn't explain it.
Animals, Officer Gong, and Yi Zhao were the only people she trusted in the world. No matter how mean he acted or looked, she'd always count on Yi Zhao to help and protect her if she needed it.
And trust and believe, he did look mean. Mean and dark — but also freakishly attractive.
His face was dead. It had no life in it and she wondered why he wanted to help her. She appreciated it, of course, but she wondered what the reason was.
He seemed like a troublemaker. She was judging him from the moment she saw him. She never had anyone around to tell her judging people wasn't right so it was something she habitually did. She threw him into the stereotype of a criminal from the jump based on his appearance alone... and while he was one, she was positive she liked this criminal.
He was one of the only people she had.
He had a jaggy appearance. He looked young, yes, but he could also pass for someone older with a youthful face if he wanted to. He was terrifyingly tall — pushing 6'4. He was lanky and thin, but obviously healthy juxtaposed to Zhen Jie who was gaunt because of her lack of food.
His hair was quite long, touching his shoulders when he let it down, which he only did when he washed up and Zhen Jie didn't see it down unless he forgot to put it back up when leaving the bathroom. His hair was dark and Zhen Jie thought it was black until one day the sun hit it and it turned a beautiful plum color. It suited him and she liked it, even wondering if she could color her own hair one day.
Probably not, though.
Yi Zhao had a smooth face. He didn't have any facial hair and it didn't seem like he ever grew any. He had a sharp jawline and the rest of his features were sharp as well. His eyebrows were narrow and he always looked upset even if he wasn't, his cupid's bow was chiseled, and his nose was short and upturned.
He was a work of art and even Zhen Jie's lack of knowledge of blasphemous actions couldn't protect her from fawning over the man and her teenage hormones from running wild. She didn't know what was going on, but she knew she liked looking at him.
Contrasting with his youthful, seraphic countenance, Yi Zhao always had bruises on his face. Some old that hadn't healed yet and some new since he couldn't seem to stay out of altercations.
The guy had no problem holding back. If he saw something he didn't like, he acted on it. If he heard something he didn't like, he said something. That's what brought him most of his problems — aside from sleeping with people's sisters and girlfriends.
He slept with anyone he wanted to, as long as it was consensual, and that angered most guys. They couldn't believe he had the audacity to sleep with taken women and girls who weren't allowed to date since their brothers said so.
Yi Zhao didn't care though. He didn't care about anyone's feelings except for his own. The only sense of morality he had was to protect women, older people, and children. That was the bare minimum though. He never thought much of it.
He wasn't as cold as he or anyone else thought he was and Zhen Jie was the only one who could see that. No matter how many times he tried to act tough, she knew he had a soft spot for her and women in general.
He'd made it clear with his actions. If he was as cold as he said, he would've left her. Yes, morals played a large part in what he did, but he could've sent her on her way after helping her. He was a nice guy, and she knew it.
She was already hurting knowing she'd have to leave her protector when her dad came back.