Life is mostly ordinary, passing day by day. Apart from feeling a flutter of anticipation when his foster mother mentioned that Lin Ruoruo was coming, Xu Lai preferred to spend his time alone in the dormitory. Even his roommate, an older boy three years his senior, rarely spoke to him. Combined with the fact that the older boy had to go to school every day, Xu Lai was essentially left all by himself in the orphanage during the daytime.
Over the next few months, under Lin Ruoruo's influence, Xu Lai gradually began to venture outside the orphanage to play with some of the neighborhood children, and his feelings of inferiority seemed to slowly soothe away.
On November 23, 2002, Xu Lai woke up very early. Standing by the small window in the second-floor hallway, he did not ask his foster mother when Lin Ruoruo would arrive because it was Saturday, and according to their usual schedule, Lin Ruoruo would be there soon.
However, today Xu Lai waited by the window for a full two hours, and as the afternoon approached, the Charade that should have long since appeared on the street was nowhere to be seen.
Meanwhile, on this very day, a new type of pneumonia virus emerged in Chancheng, Dongguang.
The news quickly spread across the country. Faced with the unknown, people everywhere panicked, filled with dread toward this mysterious virus.
Naturally, this atmosphere also reached Xu Lai at Linlang Orphanage. He could sense that the older boys and girls at the orphanage had stopped going to school, the orphanage gates had remained closed for days, the streets were filled with people in hazmat suits, and the air carried the lingering scent of alcohol and disinfectant.
Half a month later, with a vague and innocent understanding, he began to realize what was happening. He was desperate for news of Lin Ruoruo, having heard nothing of her for half a month, and he wanted to share some of the Banlangen granules his foster mother had given him with her.
Two days later, Xu Lai saw Auntie Li, the orphanage cook, weeping uncontrollably as she walked out of his foster mother's room. He later learned that this sudden virus had claimed the lives of Auntie Li's husband and daughter, leaving the once-happy family with only Auntie Li.
Amidst this sudden upheaval, young Xu Lai was destined to remain a mere spectator. He could do nothing, not even go to see Lin Ruoruo.
January 1, 2003, was New Year's Day. Last year on New Year's Day, Xu Lai had met Lin Ruoruo for the very first time. But in just a single year, the changes around him had filled his heart with anxiety. This was an innocent, pure, and utterly untainted emotional tangle, and he worried deeply about her.
This drove him to summon the courage to go see his foster mother. "Granny, could you call Ruoruo for me?"
His foster mother did not seem surprised that Xu Lai was asking her to call Lin Ruoruo. A subtle, barely perceptible change crossed her face before she said to him, "Little Lai, Granny wanted to call Ruoruo's parents, too, but no one answered. They must be busy, and Ruoruo's father is a doctor, so he's definitely even busier."
His foster mother spoke with a feigned calmness, as if afraid Xu Lai might discover something.
Although Xu Lai was not yet six years old, his naturally timid yet independent personality had taught him from a very early age to observe people's expressions. His intuition told him that things were not nearly that simple, but he chose not to expose the foster mother who had raised him since infancy. He decided to find a way to see Lin Ruoruo himself.
At 2:00 AM on January 2, 2003, the midnight streets were exceptionally deserted. Even Jiangcheng, a city where nightlife was gradually flourishing, had grown utterly desolate under the shadow of the new virus, with not a single pedestrian in sight.
Xu Lai knew Lin Ruoruo's address because she had told him.
Clutching a "simple map" in his hand, Xu Lai resolutely climbed out through the small window of the second-floor hallway. He was only five years old and probably did not understand what would happen if he contracted the virus; he simply wanted to see Lin Ruoruo right now.
In reality, because the orphanage was located in a very remote area, not a single person in this urban-rural fringe zone contracted the virus until the outbreak was over.
The night wind was biting, and Xu Lai's slender frame shivered in the cold, but he did not back down.
This was his first time leaving the orphanage alone. Since he was practically illiterate, he could only rely on the simple route map Lin Ruoruo had once drawn for him. The distance was actually less than two kilometers, and it took Xu Lai a little over half an hour to reach the residential compound where Lin Ruoruo lived, only to be immediately blocked by the security guard at the gate.
"Little kid, which household do you belong to? How did you sneak out during such special times?" inquired the guard, who looked to be in his fifties.
"I... I'm here to find someone. I want to find Lin Ruoruo. She lives in this compound," Xu Lai said without overthinking, telling the guard the purpose of his visit in complete detail.
"The Lin family? That's quite a rare surname. There are a lot of people living in this compound. Do you know her exact address?" the guard asked further.
"I... I forgot," Xu Lai said with a pang of regret. How could he have forgotten Lin Ruoruo's exact address? Then, thinking for a moment, he added, "Her father is a doctor named Lin Tunan."
Hearing the name Lin Tunan, the guard's expression shifted—he clearly recognized Lin Tunan. Instead of answering Xu Lai directly, he asked, "Where do you live, little one?"
Without any suspicion, Xu Lai replied, "I live at Linlang Orphanage."
Hearing Xu Lai's answer, the guard froze for a moment. He immediately went into the guard booth and used the landline phone to make a call.
Before long, Xu Lai's foster mother, Xu Minghui, rode over on an old Flying Pigeon bicycle, accompanied by two community workers.
Although the virus had not yet spread to this area, necessary prevention and control measures had to be strictly implemented to ensure the safety and lives of the people.
Xu Minghui's deeds were well-known not just in their own neighborhood, but across all of Jiangcheng, and people held her in deep respect. That was why, upon hearing that Xu Lai was a child from the orphanage, the guard immediately dialed the orphanage's landline.
To pick up Xu Lai, Xu Minghui had also contacted local community workers to accompany her.
"You child, what are you doing running all the way out here this late? Aren't you just giving your granny something to worry about?" Xu Minghui scolded, but her eyes were filled with tenderness and heartache.
"Granny, I wanted to find Lin Ruoruo. I was a little... a little worried about her," Xu Lai answered.
Hearing Xu Lai's words, whether out of heartache for the boy or touched by what he said, Xu Minghui inexplicably shed a tear. But she quickly wiped it away with her hand and said calmly to Xu Lai, "Little Lai, Ruoruo is very safe at home. The outside is the most dangerous place right now. Since you're worried about her, you need to take good care of yourself. Once everything passes, Granny will take you to Ruoruo's house, okay?"
With a dazed look in his eyes, Xu Lai glanced toward the interior of the compound and nodded helplessly.
As Xu Lai turned and took Xu Minghui's hand to walk back, on the balcony of a building facing the street, a crying little girl caught sight of Xu Lai's retreating figure and wanted to call out to him, only for her mother Liu Sufang's voice to come from behind.
After Xu Minghui brought Xu Lai back to the orphanage, the community workers—knowing that Xu Lai had no contact with anyone other than the security guard—reminded Xu Minghui to keep a close eye on the boy before leaving.
Time flew by, and soon it was July 5, 2003. The virus had been effectively controlled, and more and more people began stepping out onto the streets to breathe in the fresh air, everyone feeling a profound sense of relief.
Over the past half year, Xu Lai had never seen Lin Ruoruo again. He frequently left the orphanage to ask about her, but could find no news of her whatsoever.
During this time, his foster mother always used various excuses to keep Xu Lai from looking for Lin Ruoruo. When Xu Lai pressed her repeatedly, his foster mother told him that Lin Ruoruo's entire family had moved away to Jinling because Lin Ruoruo's mother was from Jinling, and Lin Tunan had resigned from his job at Yintan Hospital to fulfill his wife's wish to accompany her aging parents, moving to Jinling together.
Seeing that Xu Lai didn't quite believe it, Xu Minghui added, "Little Lai, Ruoruo's household registration is still in Jiangcheng. She hasn't transferred it away, and when she turns seven, she'll have to come back here for school. You'll be able to see her then."
Xu Lai believed her. He would wait for Lin Ruoruo to return—two years.