Tanghulu Boy Has No Tanghulus

Yuan-er was a much quieter boy than Xiao Hui had initially thought. 

When she had first met him briefly, he was handing Li Xinyi a tanghulu, free of cost. That time, he had beamed a smile so bright, the maid had to look away. 

But then she met him again in a different world, in a different place. And he seemed like a completely different person. 

Nevertheless, Xiao Hui visited the little boy again and again, just trying to cling to a familiar face. They were complete strangers, in both the last world and this. And yet she sought him.

He never spoke, opting to just stare at the maid as she mindlessly talked. Occasionally she would pose a question to him, inquiring about his family and his job, but he would never answer. 

This was the fifth time this week Xiao Hui visited him. To her displeasure, he was as thin as ever. 

The boy's clothes poured out of him, making him look even smaller than he already was. His wrists were so thin, the maid was almost certain that a youtiao could wrap around one and still have enough space to fit in the other.

Xiao Hui's heart gave out to the sorry sight but what could she do? She too had no roof under her head and hardly much food to eat. But despite that, she tried to bring to him something every time they met because at the very least her wrists were not that thin.

This time she brought two jiaozi that a kind vendor had given to her. She planned to eat one and give the other to the boy.

However as soon as he saw the food, the boy swiped both from her hands and stuffed them under his loose cloth. Then, instead of running away as Xiao Hui expected, he stared at her face as if he had done nothing.

The maid stared back, slightly uncomfortably.

The child was more malnourished than ever even though she had been giving him whatever food she can. Not for the first time Xiao Hui wondered if her efforts were futile. 

"How old are you?" She decided to ask, breaking the awkward silence. 

Yuan-er - she should really start calling him that - did not answer. That was to be expected. 

But then he broke eye contact and looked at the ground as if searching for something. Just few seconds later, he walked some steps behind and bent down.

Xiao Hui craned her neck to see the object that he picked up. It was a stick.

"What are you-" she began to ask, but closed her mouth as the boy neared her. 

Instinctively, she closed her eyes but did not feel any impact. She opened one of her eyes while the other remained shut.

Yuan-er was writing something on the dirt. The stick made a krsssh krsssh sound that grated the maid's ears. Finally, he was done and he moved away.

Xiao Hui leaned forward to read the letters and blinked. Once. Twice.

Written crudely on the dirt were the characters spelling out the number 11. So the boy did know how to respond. He just could not voice it.

Xiao Hui gave him an encouraging smile all the while the cogs in her brain went overdrive. Just how malnourished was the child that he looked less than 3 years his age? And turns out he was also mute? 

The maid wanted to also beat herself up. All this time she had thought that the boy refused to reply because he did not like her and turns out that he just could not speak.

She would have sighed with relief had this not actually been a sad thing. 

So, to change the subject, Xiao Hui jumped into a larger fire. A fire that did not burn Yuan-er, but burned her instead. 

Steeling her resolve, the maid recounted the tale of her escape. 

To Yuan-er's credit he listened attentively. Xiao Hui smiled to herself. The boy did not even once interrupt and when her story ended, his face lacked any sort of judgement. She knew her decision to confide in him was right. 

Suddenly, Yuan-er started to walk away. Xiao Hui startled. Did she see wrong before? Did he actually think different of her now after she told of her fleeing?

Getting up on her feet, the maid scrambled after him. She refused to lose her fellow street companion just because she was dumb enough to confide in him. Perhaps if she explained to him, he would stay.

Yuan-er glanced behind and met her eyes. He held it for a few seconds before turning back and walking faster. Xiao Hui increased her pace to keep up.

Somehow, it seemed as if the boy was challenging her to follow him and so the maid took it. 

She followed him to one of the narrow alleys where people usually never went to. The huts crowded the place, leaving hardly much room to spare. 

Xiao Hui wondered if this was where Yuan-er lived in. 

Praying she was wrong, the maid raised her voice to ask. "Are we going to your house, Yuan-er?"

Yuan-er paused suddenly, making Xiao Hui nearly bump into him. Then so subtly, he gave an imperceptible nod, that made the maid almost wonder if she imagined it. 

She almost wished she had: the poor boy lived in such a desolate and mangy place where no one should even step foot in. It was giving her unwanted flashbacks to when she lived in a street very similar to this one. Those were memories she wanted to bury deep within but could not now. 

The boy stopped in front of a hut that looked even worse than the ones they passed. Xiao Hui followed close behind with trepidation. 

To her mild surprise, he looked left and right before opening the door. Was he that scared that someone would follow them, or was he breaking into somebody else's house?

The maid did not know which one she preferred. 

Inside was somehow worse than the outside of the hut. The walls were crumbling and the interior held hardly anything. 

The only furniture was a small cot in the middle. And on it laid a frail and sickly man. 

The man, hearing the door open, croaked out, "Yuan-er, is that you?"

Xiao Hui wondered how he expected the boy to reply but her question was answered when he simply walked up to him. 

The man gave a weak smile once he came into view, and lightly patted his head. For the first time in this world, the maid saw the boy smile. It looked nice. It made him look like his age and not someone who had prematurely become an adult. 

Then the man noticed her and his soft expression vanished. Xiao Hui flinched at the cold expression left behind. 

"And who is this?" he asked, his eyes not leaving hers even though the question was addressed to the boy beside him. 

Yuan-er frowned, looking around the hut before his eyes spotted something. He went round the cot and picked up a parchment and brush from the ground. The man wordlessly handed him an inkpot.

Sticking his tongue out slightly, the boy began writing. Messy strokes spelled out just one word. "Friend".

The man tsked. "Yuan-er, my son, have you forgotten?"

Said son ignored his father and instead dipped his brush with ink and began to write again. This time it was two words. "Run away".

Why was Yuan-er disclosing all her secrets now? Did this count as betrayal?

But somehow those words appeased the man, and he gave a reluctant nod. Yuan-er smiled that cute smile again and carefully placed the parchment and brush on the side of the bed. 

He went towards the far edge of the hut and tapped on the floor. Xiao Hui watched with no little confusion. It almost seemed as if he was searching for a dragon's gold. 

But then he pushed the floor slab and to the maid's surprise, it came off the floor, revealing a dusty staircase. 

Xiao Hui frowned. It seemed as if this small hut had secrets of its own. And now Yuan-er was leading her to what seemed to be a dungeon. The maid had had her fair share of them and she did not want more, thank you. 

Still she followed him down, albeit hesitantly, and found herself in a dark, but fairly large chamber. 

They walked in silence. Left, then right, then right again. They reached a clearing that looked somehow more pathetic than above. The only furniture that was there was a mat laid on the ground. Nothing else, not even pillows.

Then Xiao Hui looked to the side. She gaped.

Huddled in the corner, was a familiar king and courtesan. 

The maid quickly lowered herself into a bow. "Dawang."

_________________________________________

Question:

Where is the weirdest place you have found something you lost?