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Chapter 28 What am I expecting?

Jiang Yu picked up a meat skewer himself and took a bite.

Yes, it still has that smoky, fiery smell.

The ratio of cumin to sesame seeds is just right, the meat is roasted to a perfect crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, and every bite is bursting with flavor…

The only downside was that I wasn't hungry.

When a person is not hungry, no matter how delicious the food is, it will always feel a little lacking.

It's like you can choose to eat it or not.

There was absolutely no urge to shovel it into my mouth.

He leaned back in his chair, slowly sipping his beer, watching Jiang Ning eat heartily.

Criticism aside...

Although he felt that Jiang Ning had a large appetite, was troublesome, and cost a lot of money.

But watching her eat is really relaxing.

There's a strange sense of healing about it; it's like seeing her enjoy her meal makes me happy too.

Perhaps this is why live-streaming food shows is so popular.

Is beauty everything?

Maybe people who are good-looking eat food in a good way.

"Eat slowly, no rush."

"Mmm...uh!"

"If the skewers get cold, put them on the stove to heat them up."

"Hmm...okay!"

……

This angelic little girl became a beautiful sight at the barbecue restaurant.

Many guests at the next table were drawn to Jiang Ning.

They would steal glances every now and then, whispering among themselves.

Everyone was saying how pretty the little girl was, and how well she ate; she was clearly the kind of child who had been well-cared for at home.

She also wondered what her relationship was with the handsome young man drinking beer across from her.

Just then…

A big yellow dog came to the roadside.

The dog was so thin it was almost unrecognizable, with its ribs protruding and its fur gray and dull; it was clearly a stray.

It sat obediently next to Jiang Yu's table, neither barking nor making a fuss.

Just squatting there quietly.

Its tail swept across the ground, leaving a semi-circular mark of dust.

Those clever dog eyes stared pitifully at the skewers on the table.

It kept licking its lips, drool almost dripping onto the ground, its eyes filled with a humble plea: "Please, just give me a bite."

Jiang Yu looked down at the dog.

"This dog is so pitiful..."

His tone carried a genuine sense of pity.

That kind of pity was very familiar to Jiang Ning.

She suddenly looked up at Jiang Yu, a hint of expectation flashing in her large, bright eyes.

"!!!"

My brother has the best love for small animals!

In the past, when my brother encountered stray cats and dogs, he would always share his food with them.

Sometimes it's meat that I wouldn't even eat myself, and sometimes it's a sausage bought with the little change I had left in my pocket.

My brother once said that these stray animals are very intelligent and perceptive.

They, like us, were abandoned by humans, so we need to take care of each other even more.

Is it...

Has my brother's memory returned?

Jiang Ning looked at Jiang Yu expectantly, clutching the sausage tightly in her hand, not even noticing the oil dripping onto her hand.

"Poor little guy, you must be hungry!"

After saying that, Jiang Yu reached for the table…

then…

He took the old Zhongjie wooden stick that was stuck in the beer bottle on the table and shook off the remaining beer foam...

Then he threw it to the stray dog.

The stick bounced twice on the ground, "tap, tap," and rolled to the stray dog's feet.

The stray dog ​​lowered its head, sniffed the stick stained with beer, and licked it with its tongue...

Then it turned around without hesitation, wagged its tail, and went to the next table.

"..."

Jiang Ning silently lowered her head and continued eating her grilled sausage.

What am I expecting?

It seems my brother hasn't regained his memory...

Hmm, not at all.

The brother and sister no longer communicated.

All I could hear was the sound of people eating skewers.

After witnessing the little angel's appetite...

The attitude changed from "This child is so cute" to "This child is so awesome".

A gust of wind swept away the remaining clouds...

The plates on the table were all empty, and the skewer container was full of skewers.

They were densely packed, like a hedgehog.

Jiang Ning leaned back in her chair, stroking her flat stomach with both hands, a satisfied expression on her face.

This little guy continued to perform consistently, showing off over 100 yuan worth of barbecue all by himself.

After Jiang Yu paid the bill, he asked the owner to bake 10 more flatbreads to take away.

I'll save it for tomorrow's breakfast.

The shop owner saw that Jiang Yu was a repeat customer, and since Jiang Ning was so cute, he gave her two extra tickets.

Jiang Ning accepted the baked flatbread and politely bowed slightly to express her gratitude.

"Thank you, Uncle!"

"Oh, so good!"

The boss was overjoyed to be called "uncle," his smile almost reaching his ears.

……

Ten minutes later, the electric scooter stopped downstairs.

Jiang Yu parked the car and looked back at Jiang Ning…

The little guy actually fell asleep sitting up.

That little face is so cute.

His head was tilted to one side, his ponytail hung down, his mouth was slightly open, and he was breathing evenly.

Even when she was asleep, she held the baked biscuit tightly in her arms with both little hands, as if afraid of dropping it.

Jiang Yu reached out and poked her little cheek.

It's soft and bouncy, like a piece of pudding.

"Hey, wake up."

Jiang Ning opened her eyes groggily, her large, bright eyes filled with sleepiness.

She blinked twice, made out the residential building in front of her, and then slowly slid off the back seat.

When my feet landed, I wobbled a bit and almost fell.

Jiang Yu reacted quickly and caught her.

"Brother, my legs are numb..."

Jiang Ning's voice had a soft, sweet quality, as if she had just woken up.

"Can you carry me home?"

"No…"

Jiang Yu was about to say no.

He caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye.

Zhang Guiqin from the neighborhood committee.

The other person was standing below Building No. 3, accompanied by several people from the neighborhood committee.

She was acting suspiciously, glancing this way every now and then.

That old man is really annoying...

"All right…"

Jiang Yu had no choice but to squat down.

Jiang Ning immediately climbed up like a koala, wrapped her arms around Jiang Yu's neck, and pressed her little face against his shoulder.

She was surprisingly light.

She was so light that it was hard to believe she was a 12-year-old girl who could eat more than a hundred skewers of barbecue by herself.

Jiang Yu carried her on his back without any effort.

After returning home…

The little one was half asleep the whole time, washing up with his eyes closed, and then hurriedly went back to his room and fell asleep.

Even the table lamp was left on.

Jiang Yu went in, turned off the lamp for her, and pulled the blanket up to cover her exposed shoulders.

Then he returned to his room and lay down on his bed with a sense of relief.

The whole world fell silent.

After a long and tiring day, he is now completely exhausted.

He turned over, pulled the blanket up to his chin, and closed his eyes.

He fell into a deep sleep not long after.

……

I don't know how long I slept...

Jiang Yu was startled awake by a bright light.

The light was accompanied by a smoky, burning smell.

It doesn't taste like barbecue anymore.

Instead, it smelled of burning plastic.

Is there a fire?

He opened his eyes and found himself standing in a sea of ​​fire.

A fiery dragon shot into the sky, billowing thick smoke...

The air was distorted into transparent waves by the high temperature, and everything in sight was shaking.

The ground beneath our feet was burning red.

However, he felt no pain in his body.

Jiang Yu knew he was dreaming.

Since the dean passed away, he has had the same dream every night.

In his dream, he stood at the entrance of the orphanage, watching the director swing on the ginkgo tree…

But he had never had this dream before.

What I saw was not an orphanage, but a completely unfamiliar place.

He stood amidst the raging flames, facing a burning building.

To be precise, it used to be a house.

Now only a skeleton remains.

The black beams twisted and deformed in the flames, and the brick walls glowed red-hot…

The iron bars inside the window were bent from the heat, hanging down like limp candles…

The roof had collapsed halfway, and the tiles shattered in the flames…

All I could hear were crackling and popping sounds.

The front door of the house was wide open, and a tin sign hung above the door.

The paint was burned, bubbling and peeling, but the words on it were still barely legible.

"Grace Welfare Home".

grace…

These two words made Jiang Yu's eyelids twitch.

For some reason, Jiang Yu had a vague recollection of those two words.

But he couldn't remember where he had seen it before.

The smell in the air suddenly changed.

It's not just the acrid smell of burning wood, plastic, or fabric...

Beneath that layer of acrid smell, there was another odor mixed in.

It's sweet and cloying, with the aroma of protein that's been baked at high temperatures.

It tastes a bit like barbecue.

The grilled pork belly I ate at the barbecue restaurant that night tasted a bit like this.

But now this sweet and savory flavor is much more fragrant than braised pork belly.

Jiang Yu felt somewhat unwell; his stomach twitched, and he almost vomited in his sleep.

The fire is getting bigger and bigger...

Then he saw a woman.

She stood in front of the house's door, right in the middle of the flames.

Flames rose up around her, but she was unharmed.

Her clothes did not catch fire, her skin did not blister, and her hair was not burned.

The black and white maid outfit flickered in and out of focus in the firelight.

The white apron was embroidered with delicate lace, and a black bow was tied at the neckline.

The pair of black, round-toed leather shoes stepped on the burning ground, their surfaces reflecting the flickering flames.

Her hair was black and long.

A thick, long braid hung down from her shoulder all the way to her waist.

A white bow was tied at the end of her hair, made of the same fabric as the lace on her apron.

Her eyes were closed, and a smile remained on her lips.

"Who are you?" Jiang Yu shouted across the sea of ​​fire.

The woman did not answer.

She slowly raised her left hand, her five fingers spread open.

He wore a brass thimble on the ring finger of his left hand.

The tiny pits on the thimble flickered in the firelight, as if something was flowing out.

The woman played with the thimble in her hand, her voice incredibly gentle.

"You should call me Mom."

Jiang Yu's eyes widened.

He hates it when people joke about this kind of thing.

"Damn it, I don't know you at all!"

A crack appeared at the corner of the woman's mouth.

She took a step forward, and the flames spread out like a carpet beneath her feet, clearing a charred path.

She walked step by step towards Jiang Yu through that passage.

Tap, tap, tap…

The sound of leather shoes striking the ground was exceptionally clear amidst the flames.

"How could you not recognize me..."

Her voice suddenly became shrill, as harsh as glass scratching porcelain.

"You are a piece of my flesh!!!"

Jiang Yu's world trembled slightly.

The woman's smile grew wider and wider, her mouth stretching almost to her ears.

That once handsome face was now unrecognizable, like a human skin mask that had been torn open and then sewn back on.

"My son, are you happy now?"

"Did your sister make a wish for you again?"

"Was the barbecue good tonight?"

With each word she spoke, she took a step forward, getting closer and closer.

Jiang Yu was so close that he could smell her scent.

It wasn't the floral or fruity scent that a girl should have.

It has a fishy, ​​salty, and foul smell.

Five meters…

Three meters...

One meter…

Jiang Yu finally saw her eyes.

The flickering firelight was reflected in his slightly narrowed eyes.

Through the slits of his eyes, there was a cluster of pupils.

Yes, a whole bunch.

Her pupils, large and small, were squeezed together, making it impossible to tell which direction she was looking.

It looked like some kind of insect had laid eggs inside his eyeball, making Jiang Yu's scalp tingle and triggering his trypophobia.

That's really disgusting.

The woman stopped in front of him, tiptoed, and whispered in his ear.

Her lips were almost touching her ears, and her breath smelled foul.

"My son, bring your little sister home tonight. Mom misses you both!"