Sweet Nostalgia of the 80s

Wang Xiaohu got a good beating from his dad; he knows the pain of getting hit on the butt with a shoe sole. If his dad knew that he didn’t go home after school and went this far to play games, he would definitely get another round of ”bamboo shoot with meat” stir fry.

And if his mom got mad, she might join in for a mixed doubles match.

This is no joke.

”Alright then. Let’s all listen to Chenyang, okay? Let’s go, let’s go! If our parents find out, we can forget about coming here again.” Wang Xiaohu tossed the game controller aside and was the first to stand up.

Bean Sprout and Sheng Xiaoguang seeing that Wang Xiaohu stopped playing, simply stopped as well.

If they’re leaving, they might as well leave together.

Luo Tong walked the four of them downstairs and reluctantly said to Ning Chenyang, ”Come to my house on Sunday, okay? I’ll buy you guys some delicious snacks!”

”Okay! No problem. It’s settled then.” Wang Xiaohu answered for Ning Chenyang.

Ning Chenyang didn’t say anything, but Luo Tong took it as a tacit agreement.

When the four children returned to the military compound, the sky had darkened; during summer, darkness falls around seven or eight o’clock.

They passed through the guard post and slowly headed home, while concocting lies and aligning their stories to ensure that if their parents asked, they wouldn’t give conflicting answers.

After some discussion to get their stories straight, it was time to separate.

”If you guys want to go to Luo Tong’s house to play games again in the future, no one can betray the team. Remember, never admit to anything even at the cost of your life! If anyone betrays the team, my fist, Wang Xiaohu’s fist, won’t spare anyone.” Wang Xiaohu waved his strong fist in front of the kids.

Bean Sprout and Sheng Xiaoguang shook their heads repeatedly: ”We won’t. We won’t say anything even if you kill us.”

But Ning Chenyang hadn’t said a word from the beginning until now, his handsome eyebrows were tightly furrowed and his dark eyes looked into the distance, frozen in place.

”Hey, Chenyang, why aren’t you saying anything? Are you planning to tell the truth to your parents?” Wang Xiaohu was worried.

”I’m considering.”

”Hey! Don’t be a traitor! We’ll be beaten to death by our parents! Then we’ll never have a chance to go to Luo Tong’s house to play games again.” Wang Xiaohu immediately shouted.

”We can’t go to Luo Tong’s house anymore.” Ning Chenyang said, frowning.

”What? Why?” The three of them asked in unison.

”Because of this.” Ning Chenyang took out a photograph from his backpack that he had secretly hidden earlier and waved it in front of them, ”See for yourselves.”

The three of them leaned in to look at the photograph, and when they saw who was in it, they were stunned, their mouths wide open, large enough to fit an egg.

”Isn’t that the human trafficker?”

”Where did you get this photo?”

”Could it be from Luo Tong’s house?”

Luckily, their brains weren’t completely rusted; seeing the photo, they understood a bit more.

”This person is Luo Tong’s dad. To be precise, he’s her foster father.” Ning Chenyang truthfully disclosed.

”Oh my god!”

”This is terrifying.”

”How could this be so coincidental?”

Wang Xiaohu and the others felt chills down their spines, and in retrospect, they couldn’t help but feel scared. They had been going to Luo Tong’s house for several days in a row, and it was sheer luck they hadn’t encountered the trafficker.

If they had run into him, seeing tomorrow’s sun would have been uncertain.