The Early-Deceased Mother of the Male Lead CHAPTER 2
Chapter 2
The way back was uphill. Luo Wen Shu hadn’t eaten all day; her hands and feet felt weak, and she walked with difficulty. By the time she got home, the bangs on her forehead were damp with sweat.
A small table with two plastic chairs stood against the wall in the living room; this was where the mother and son usually ate.
Luo Wen Shu was starving, but her expression remained unchanged as she slowly opened the plastic bag, taking out the food containers and placing them on the table.
Luo Xingyu had bought two dishes: Mapo Tofu and spicy shredded potatoes, along with a bowl of soup, all garnished with fresh green scallions—they looked delicious. Two bowls of rice, one large and one small.
Luo Wen Shu handed Luo Xingyu a pair of disposable chopsticks, but he looked strange.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
The thin child bit his lip, looking timid. “…Sorry, I forgot to ask the owner not to add scallions, I’ll pick them out for you.”
He took the chopsticks from Luo Wen Shu and started picking out the scallions.
Luo Wen Shu recalled that the original owner disliked scallions.
“It’s okay, let’s eat.” Luo Wen Shu didn’t mind, picking up some potatoes and eating them.
Luo Xingyu stared at her for a few seconds, then lowered his eyes and began eating his rice.
Midway through their meal, a knock came.
“I’ll get it…” Luo Xingyu, still chewing, got up to answer the door.
It was the landlady, Mrs. Fang, looking anxious. “Xingyu, is Pengpeng at your place?”
Pengpeng was the landlord’s son, Fang Peng, about the same age as Luo Xingyu. They often played together.
Luo Xingyu shook his head. “No.”
The landlady asked again, “What about earlier? Did you see Pengpeng?”
Luo Xingyu had played with Pengpeng earlier in the afternoon but had returned home soon after. He hadn’t seen Pengpeng since. Other children had been playing with them; Xiao Bao and Lili, also tenants in the building.
After Luo Xingyu explained, she hurried off.
Luo Wen Shu watched, saying nothing.
Luo Xingyu closed the door and returned to his meal.
“Eat your vegetables.” Seeing him only eat rice, Luo Wen Shu reminded him.
“Okay.” Luo Xingyu nodded, picked up some potatoes, then resumed eating rice.
Luo Wen Shu remembered that he wasn’t a picky eater; this wasn’t his usual behavior.
Perhaps he was frightened by the car accident earlier.
Thinking this, Luo Wen Shu put more vegetables into his bowl; soon, there was more food than rice.
He looked up at her, then quickly looked down, murmuring a thank you.
“What did you play with Pengpeng and the others this afternoon?” Luo Wen Shu casually asked.
Luo Xingyu didn’t know why she asked, but replied, “Hide-and-seek.”
Children’s games were always similar; Luo Wen Shu wasn’t surprised. She cared about the details. “There were five of you. Besides Pengpeng, Xiao Bao, and Lili, who was the other one?”
Luo Wen Shu remembered that the children often played together. They were all around the same age and lived in the same building. But their group seemed exclusive; they rarely played with other children.
Luo Xingyu had told the landlady there were five of them, but didn’t mention the fifth child’s name, which was odd.
“I…I don’t know…” Luo Xingyu frowned, looking confused.
It was a little girl, around their age, not from the neighborhood, as Luo Xingyu hadn’t seen her before.
She had appeared after their first game of hide-and-seek, wearing a pink floral dress, cheerfully asking if she could join.
The four children readily agreed.
Luo Xingyu, still just a five-year-old, instinctively felt something was wrong but couldn’t articulate it. After thinking for a while, he managed to say, “We rarely play with others.”
Luo Xingyu had gone home soon after.
When he left, Pengpeng, the others, and the girl started another game of hide-and-seek.
“I understand.” Luo Wen Shu nodded, ending the questioning.
Dinner took about ten minutes. Luo Wen Shu’s weakness gradually subsided.
“I’m going downstairs to throw out the trash; stay here.” She briefly instructed Luo Xingyu, gathering the disposable containers and leaving.
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Li Yufen stood downstairs; the pale light of the energy-saving lamp washed over her, making her already poor complexion even worse.
She was on the phone, her voice anxious and tearful. “…I asked everyone; he wasn’t at Xingyu’s house. He came home early, and then we didn’t see Pengpeng. Xiao Bao and Lili suddenly felt unwell and went to the hospital…Da Hao, what do we do…”
Li Yufen and Fang Da Hao married young and had a good relationship, but having a child was difficult. She didn’t conceive until age thirty-five.
The pregnancy was fraught with problems, twice nearly resulting in miscarriage.
Both families worked hard to ensure Fang Peng’s survival.
He was frail as a child, often ill, only recently improving.
Li Yufen remained vigilant, carefully watching over him.
They had planned to take him out today, but Fang Da Hao had been called back to work, so the plans were canceled.
Li Yufen stayed home with Fang Peng.
In the afternoon, Xiao Bao had come up and asked Fang Peng to play.
The children often played together, so Li Yufen had let him go, giving him a few instructions.
She was cleaning and preparing dinner when she realized he was gone.
She searched everywhere but couldn’t find him. She called Fang Da Hao, and they searched together.
They checked the whole area and asked neighbors, but still found nothing.
“…Do you think Pengpeng… I shouldn’t have let him go…” Li Yufen, overwhelmed with fear, sobbed quietly.
Luo Wen Shu came downstairs and heard the crying. She approached Li Yufen and softly asked, “Sister Yufen, haven’t you found Pengpeng yet?”
Li Yufen shook her head, eyes red.
“I just asked Xingyu; he said there was a stranger playing hide-and-seek with them today,” Luo Wen Shu said, throwing her trash in the bin. “I was lying down earlier and vaguely heard children playing; it sounded like they went upstairs. Did you check upstairs, Sister Yufen?”
This was Luo Wen Shu’s fabrication. When she arrived, it was already dark, and the children were gone. The original owner had been lying down but was too unwell to pay attention to what happened outside; her room was at the end of the hall, far from the stairs, making it hard to hear anything with the door closed.
Luo Wen Shu did this to justify her involvement.
Going downstairs to throw trash was another pretext.
Her eagerness to help wasn’t for personal gain; the landlords had been kind to the mother and son.
The original owner had lived there for almost three years. When she moved in, Li Yufen had reduced the rent by 300 yuan. Rent had gone up in the area, but the original owner’s remained the same.
Fang Da Hao had always fixed any water or electricity problems without charging.
Li Yufen often gave them fruits and vegetables.
These were acts of kindness, which the original owner hadn’t been able to repay. Now that Luo Wen Shu occupied this body, she would.
“I’ve already searched…” Li Yufen’s voice was choked with sobs.
The building had seven floors, all occupied; they lived on the seventh. A half-floor rooftop was used for drying laundry. Some junk was stored there, but it wasn’t obstructing the view.
“The building next door?” Luo Wen Shu asked.
It also belonged to the landlord.
Li Yufen shook her head. “He couldn’t get there…”
The scaffolding on the next building’s roof was faulty, so Li Yufen had locked the rooftop door for safety.
“There’s a door on the rooftop.” Luo Wen Shu reminded her.
Both buildings were the same height; a door was left on the rooftop for convenience.
Li Yufen was surprised; she hadn’t checked the rooftop, and the door to the other rooftop was locked.
“I faintly heard them go upstairs earlier,” Luo Wen Shu suggested. “Let me accompany you to check.”
Li Yufen, considering this possibility, felt a flicker of hope. “Thank you, Xiao Luo!”
She wiped her eyes and took Luo Wen Shu’s hand, heading upstairs.
They reached the top floor; a dim energy-saving lamp hung under the eaves. Luo Wen Shu turned on her phone’s flashlight, illuminating the door to the other rooftop; it was locked.
“It’s locked…” Li Yufen’s hope dwindled.
Luo Wen Shu sighed. “Let me see.”
She approached the door, touching the lock, subtly manipulating it.
“Click.”
She said in surprise, “The lock seems broken!”
Li Yufen saw it but lacked confidence.
The lock was still on the door; it wasn’t likely the child had gone to the other rooftop and relocked it perfectly.
Luo Wen Shu sighed, not bothering to persuade her, unlocked it, and went through. “Sister Yufen, come and look.”
Li Yufen followed without hesitation.
The other rooftop was more cluttered; various items were piled in corners, easily overlooked.
“Children playing hide-and-seek can easily get into dangerous situations without realizing it, especially when playing with strangers…” Luo Wen Shu said, pretending to search two wooden cabinets, then heading to an old discarded refrigerator in the corner.
She opened the door, shining the flashlight inside.
“Found him!” Luo Wen Shu’s voice rose. “Pengpeng is here, Sister Yufen, come quickly!!”
Li Yufen, despite initial disbelief, went over instinctively.
The refrigerator’s small space was illuminated; skinny Fang Peng lay curled up, his face slightly bluish, looking unwell.
“Pengpeng!” Li Yufen reached for him, feeling as if she had touched ice; despite the summer heat, she shivered.
Her relief turned to worry; tears welled up. “Pengpeng, what happened, don’t scare Mommy!”
“Sister Yufen, don’t panic. I’ll call Brother Fang; we’ll rush him to the hospital.” Luo Wen Shu reassured her, letting go of the refrigerator door.
At the same time, Luo Wen Shu glanced inside, seeing a girl in a pink floral dress, her resentful eyes fixed on Luo Wen Shu.
