"It might not be very convenient to talk here. Come with me to my place," the old man said with a smile.
Shen Yu and Yi Pin exchanged a look and then followed the old man at his slow pace.
It was a very shabby house. Yi Pin felt a bit dazed looking at the scene in front of her. In just a few short months, she had grown accustomed to such sights in her life.
It didn't look like a proper house at all. Instead, it resembled a latrine.
All the houses in this area seemed to be like this.
Everyone's face showed a mixture of resignation, cruelty, coldness and exhaustion.
"Make yourselves at home. I'll make you some tea," the old man said.
"No need, sir. You don't have to go to all this trouble," Yi Pin frowned.
But perhaps out of courtesy, the old man still brewed a cup of tea and offered it to the two of them.
"The family moved here four years ago. The kid had bruises all over his face at that time. I bought him a piece of candy when I first met him. Thinking about it, it's already been four years since they became my neighbors. I've only seen the kid three or four times, I think."
The old man sipped his tea and spoke with a smile on his lips.
"When new neighbors move in, it's good to look out for each other. So I thought it'd be better to pay them a visit," the old man recalled, a trace of helplessness in the corners of his eyes. "But they beat the kid right in front of me... After that, every time the kid came to my place and then went back home, he'd surely get beaten. They used to let the kid out to play, but I haven't seen him outside for a long, long time."
Listening to the old man's description, Yi Pin felt a pang in her heart.
"I'm already this old. There's no way I could take him in and live with me. And at night, I'd always hear the kid crying. But later, the cries got softer and softer..."
Yi Pin felt a bit dazed listening to the description. She wished she could rush over and beat those two people up.
The two of them took notes of the conversation and some details of the crimes.
After the old man had finished telling everything, it was clear that the couple had been abusing the child. That was the truth.
"Sir, you witnessed their crimes with your own eyes. Could you come to court and testify for us some other day?"
Shen Yu frowned and spoke bluntly.
"What's a court? What does it mean to testify?" the old man asked nervously.
"It means you just repeat what you know in court. In this way, we can save the kid," Shen Yu explained.
"Really?"
The old man looked at the two of them doubtfully, disbelief showing in his eyes.
"Really!"
Yi Pin nodded.
"Then... thank you so much. Kids should go to school and learn. I'm just an old man and didn't know there was such a way to help. Otherwise, I should've saved the kid years ago. He's been living such a miserable life..."
The old man said excitedly. One could tell how much he'd been troubled recently.
"Don't worry. I'm just an old and lonely man. As the saying goes, saving a life is better than building a seven - story pagoda. It'll be a good deed. I'll be at peace when I go to heaven. These years, hearing the kid cry has really bothered me. I couldn't even sleep well."
"Thank you, sir. I'll contact you when the trial starts," Yi Pin said with a smile.
"Make sure the kid goes to school. In the future, he'll have the confidence to do things. He must make something of himself," the old man said excitedly. Maybe because the knot in his heart that had been there for so long was finally untied, a smile spread across his face.
After Yi Pin walked out of the house, she still felt a sense of oppression.
Looking at the slum, a feeling of indescribable sadness welled up in her.
Everything seemed normal. The sun was still shining brightly and the sky was cloudless.
But beneath this bright sky, there was a lot of sadness and helplessness.
She used to think the world was full of light, but later she realized there was also a dark side. This thought had become even stronger recently.
The two of them didn't say a word in the car. Yi Pin seemed to be lost in thought, staring straight at the sky with a faint smile on her face.
"Shen Yu, how come it's still so cold even though the sun is so bright today?"
Yi Pin smiled, but there was a hint of bitterness in her smile.
Shen Yu didn't say a word or respond. His face showed a touch of coldness. He turned back to look at Yi Pin, a gentle look in his eyes.
When they got home, they both sat on the sofa and watched TV.
But obviously, neither of them was really watching. They just stared blankly, lost in their own thoughts while the TV played in the background.
Shen Yu stood up and walked into the kitchen.
Watching Shen Yu's busy back, Yi Pin smiled and stared blankly.
"Why don't you like eating but like cooking so much? And you do it rain or shine."
Yi Pin walked over, munching on a raw cucumber.
"Did you wash your hands? You just pick it up and eat," Shen Yu said, looking at Yi Pin with a look of disgust.
Yi Pin pouted and rinsed the cucumber quickly under the tap.
"Cooking is like life. A lot of times, you don't feel like eating or cooking. But what you make yourself is different from what others make. You can take control of your own life. You know how much oil and seasoning to add. And the final result is life!" Shen Yu smiled.
Yi Pin was a bit dazed listening to this. But seeing Shen Yu's gentle smile, she felt a bit excited.
"So... what kind of life did you cook for me today?"
Yi Pin smiled.
"Bitter!"
Shen Yu's lips curved into a smile.
Looking at the ingredients, it was indeed bitter. There was a big bitter melon.
Yi Pin stood there stunned.
As they were eating, Yi Pin looked at the bitter melon in front of her and smiled. She picked it up and ate it. It didn't seem that bitter.
"Life isn't that bitter either!" Yi Pin said, unable to hide her smile.
"If you stir - fry bitter melon with eggs, it won't be that bitter. So when your life is like this bitter melon, don't think that since it's all bitter, you might as well give up and degenerate. Maybe adding a few more things will turn it into something delicious!"
Shen Yu said with a smile on his face.
Hearing this, Yi Pin was a bit stunned.
She realized that she had been so impatient all her life. Whenever she was unhappy, she'd show it on her face.
"The philosophical chef is on the job!"
Yi Pin joked with a smile, then lowered her head and continued eating the bitter melon, something she would never have eaten before.
"Now, is it all done? Can we finally bring those two people to justice legally?"
Yi Pin said excitedly, a look of relief on her face.
These days, she had been feeling a kind of indescribable oppression.