I Deduce the Female Lead Likes Me [Transmigration into a book] - Chapter 30: Food
“This is your brother?”
Kou Shuang looked at the homeless man sitting not far away in surprise. The other person glared at her.
“Yeah, we just talked about him,” Xiao Huzi said naturally: “What’s wrong with my brother? Why are you two here?”
Kou Shuang felt a little embarrassed. I bought too little food, and I didn’t dare say anything. Then Song Muxue and I went to get more food, met Xiaodie, followed Xiaodie, and met Xiao Huzi’s brother. And we even followed him all the way?
No matter which detail she brought up, it seemed hard to say.
Kou Shuang hesitated for a second or two, then heard Song Muxue ask: “Your brother just fell into a pile of trash; he’s very dirty. Aren’t you going to help him wash?”
Xiao Huzi had always been a little afraid of Song Muxue. When asked this, he stammered a bit, saying: “Well, he’s used to being like this; taking a bath is like pulling teeth for him. Did he make you two sisters smell bad? I’ll take him to wash now.”
Xiao Huzi stood up and waved at the homeless man, completely unaware that Song Muxue had skipped over his original question.
Perhaps he realized it but didn’t dare to question it, Kou Shuang thought.
“Let him come over,” Song Muxue said calmly.
Xiao Huzi was startled, but still waved, calling his smelly brother over, and said: “Did my brother steal anything from you? I’ll tell him to return it.”
Song Muxue shook her head and said: “No, I have some questions for him.”
The homeless man obediently walked over. Xiao Huzi admonished: “These two sisters are asking you questions; you must answer nicely, okay?”
“Ask away.”
Song Muxue looked at the homeless man. His eyes were very cloudy and his gaze was dull. His appearance showed that his mental state was not normal. Song Muxue offered a gentle smile and even took the homeless man’s hand.
As the homeless man walked over, the smell he carried from the trash heap also wafted over. Kou Shuang held her breath, intending to remind Song Muxue that he was dirty, but seeing the soft smile on her face, she lost her voice.
Song Muxue rarely smiled at outsiders. When she didn’t smile, she appeared very aloof, exuding an aura that warned people to keep their distance. Just now, in Zheng Fenglin’s dorm, she had even scared Xiao Huzi. But her current smile was somewhat different from what Kou Shuang usually saw, filled with inclusiveness and tenderness, making it easy for people to let down their guard and soften their hearts, thinking: Ah, so she’s also such a gentle person.
Even Xiao Huzi was a little surprised, murmuring: “Eh… this little sister can also smile…”
Kou Shuang smiled, thinking that Song Muxue was good like this.
Song Muxue’s hands were cold. When she reached out to pull the Huzi Brother’s hand, Huzi Brother flinched, but quickly immersed himself in Song Muxue’s gentleness and didn’t pull his rough hand away.
Song Muxue held the homeless man’s finger, lifted it higher, pointed to the paint on his finger, and asked him: “What is this?”
The homeless man said: “Food… food.”
“Is it tasty?”
The homeless man shook his head.
“Where did you get it?” Song Muxue asked softly again.
The homeless man paused for a long time this time, tilting his head as if thinking.
Xiao Huzi looked at Song Muxue in surprise and said: “I can’t believe you can actually talk to him! The neighbors took almost a year to communicate with him!”
Kou Shuang smiled and said: “Because of your gentleness, probably.”
Song Muxue seemed not to have heard this, still gazing at the homeless man, though the tips of her ears were a little red.
Kou Shuang asked curiously: “Have you thought about sending your brother for treatment? Maybe his illness can be cured?”
Xiao Huzi shook his head helplessly and said: “No money. If I had money, I wouldn’t have to be a hoodlum on the streets. Fighting and faking accidents bring quick money.”
Zheng Fenglin glared at Xiao Huzi, who immediately made a “zip it” gesture.
“Food… delivering food…” Huzi Brother paused for a long while, finally uttering a vague phrase.
What does that mean? Delivering food? Who’s delivering? Is it a non-sequitur or does it need interpretive translation?
Before the others could react, Xiao Huzi suddenly slapped his forehead, as if remembering something, and said: “Oh, I remember! There was a day before when my brother came back covered in paint! After that day, he kept saying he was scared, and stayed home for days before daring to go out again. I asked him what was wrong, and he said someone was hitting, grabbing, cars… something like that. Anyway, I didn’t understand it. Is it related to what you want to ask?”
Song Muxue’s eyes immediately sharpened. She stared at Xiao Huzi and asked: “What day was that? Do you remember?”
“Roughly… around October 1st, I don’t remember the exact date. I just remember it was during the long holiday, and I was going to snatch a phone on the subway, but my brother caught me.”
“October 4th, that was the first time I taught you a lesson,” Zheng Fenglin quickly added.
Song Muxue pondered for a while, then looked at Huzi Brother again, gently asking: “Did someone give you food, and then try to catch you?”
But Huzi Brother suddenly burst into tears, mumbling, she didn’t know what he was saying.
Xiao Huzi repeatedly patted his brother’s back and said: “Brother, don’t cry, don’t cry… no bad guys, be good…”
Xiao Huzi looked apologetically at Song Muxue and said: “You scared him just now. We probably can’t get anything out of him today. If you have any more questions for him, you can come back another time, after he’s a little calmer. My apologies.”
Xiao Huzi didn’t seem to mind his brother being dirty and smelly. He must have a good relationship with his brother.
“Then, we’ll take our leave,” Zheng Fenglin said, turning and walking out of the house.
Just as Kou Shuang was about to step out of the house, she heard Xiao Huzi stammering again: “Um… little sister, for someone in my brother’s condition, can it really be cured? How much would it cost?”
There was some hesitation and a hint of probing in his eyes, likely concerning the price.
“I’m not too sure, but I’ll help you ask,” Kou Shuang said with a smile.
Xiao Huzi then smiled and said: “Thank you.”
This was perhaps the most sincere smile he had given all day.
He truly had a light in his heart, otherwise Zheng Fenglin wouldn’t have bothered trying to help him.
As soon as they left Xiao Huzi’s house, Zheng Fenglin asked: “Why are you two here?”
Xiao Huzi was present earlier, and Kou Shuang was somewhat evasive, so he hadn’t pressed for details. But now that they were out of Xiao Huzi’s house, he felt he should inquire.
Especially since Song Muxue’s questions just now had been too leading; something must have happened or been discovered for her to ask that way.
Kou Shuang hesitated for a moment. Song Muxue directly said: “We tracked his brother here.”
“Tracked?” Zheng Fenglin frowned and asked: “What happened?”
Even in this situation, Zheng Fenglin didn’t doubt that Song Muxue had done anything wrong. Song Muxue also wouldn’t be wary of Zheng Fenglin; instead, she told him honestly and without hesitation. This was probably the kind of unspoken understanding only childhood sweethearts had. A strange, somewhat bitter feeling suddenly surged in Kou Shuang’s heart.
Song Muxue explained everything in detail, starting from the homeless woman Kou Shuang encountered, to Xiaodie, to Huzi Brother. When she talked about what happened today, she even took out her phone and handed it to Zheng Fenglin: “The video isn’t very clear; I don’t know if you can identify the truck model.”
Zheng Fenglin still frowned and said: “You two girls, tracking a homeless man, running around in this area? Do you know where this is? Curiosity is one thing, but safety is important.”
Song Muxue ignored this comment and simply said: “I’ll send you the video later. If it’s convenient, please look into it.”
Zheng Fenglin could only nod and say: “Okay.”
Zheng Fenglin put the two into a taxi, admonished them to “text me when you get home,” and then parted ways with them.
After getting into the car, Kou Shuang turned to look at Song Muxue and asked: “Are you suspicious of that ‘auntie’? The car Xiaodie climbed into must be hers, and it fits perfectly with what Xiao Huzi’s brother said about ‘hitting, grabbing, cars,’ and so on.”
“But you don’t think so; you believe her,” Song Muxue also turned to look at Kou Shuang and asked: “Do you not want me to tell Zheng Fenglin everything?”
Kou Shuang was startled and said: “Why do you say that?”
“A feeling.”
The two looked at each other in the dim back seat of the taxi, their eyes both focused and complex.
“No way! You’re mistaken!” Kou Shuang thought Song Muxue’s feeling was absurd, so she denied it. Telling Zheng Fenglin was perfectly normal; he was a public servant, a righteous police officer, and Song Muxue’s good friend. Why couldn’t she tell him? Why was she angry? Song Muxue must have sensed it wrong!
“Alright,” Song Muxue quickly conceded, but then asked another question: “Are you planning… to see Sun Jiawen?”
“Eh?”
“You want to ask Xiao Huzi about his brother’s condition, aren’t you going to the mental hospital? Won’t you see Sun Jiawen?”
Kou Shuang was startled. She had almost forgotten about that, but with Song Muxue’s mention, she felt it was very necessary. It was indeed time to go see Sun Jiawen, to see how she was doing now, and to see if she could bypass “heavenly secrets” and extract a little more information.
She had found a job here and had become somewhat engrossed, almost forgetting her goal of “going home.”
Kou Shuang shook her head self-deprecatingly, then said: “Mm, let’s go see her.”
Song Muxue then said nothing more.