The sleepy boy opened his eyes.

   He saw the clouds on the ceiling, felt the warm sunlight on the bed, and heard cheerful footsteps coming to the door.

   The door was gently pushed open, and a girl in an apron walked into the room.

   "It's time to get up, Lu Li."

  She walked around the bed to the window and reached out to open the curtains.

   Lu Li sat up, the sleepiness faded away, and the thin quilt slipped down with the teddy bear in his arms. The morning light reflected on the thin body, Lu Li hurriedly covered his body before the girl by the window turned around.

   "Today is the day to go to Pesci's house, don't stay in bed." The girl who turned around said helplessly.

   Lu Li pulled the quilt: "I'm not wearing any clothes."

  The girl took out a top from the closet and went back to Lu Li, who was staring at her while clutching the thin quilt: "It rained and it was cold outside, so put on your underwear."

   She lifted the quilt and put the clothes over Lu Li's head.

  Lu Li lowered his head and sniffed, the scented dry clothes did not have the musty smell in the closet,

   Put on his clothes, and Lu Li put on his coat. The girl put her hand into her sleeve and helped Lu Li pull the underwear that had slipped to her elbow back to the cuff.

   "Anna, I don't want to go."

   said Lu Li, who was rustling in his trousers under the covers.

   The girl who was about to go out gently scratched his nose: "I have to work night shift and can't come back very late... I'll pick you up tomorrow morning."

  Anna put the teddy bear beside the pillow, "Percy and Moore live together, they'll play with you."

   Lu Li got dressed and walked out of the room. The smell of oatmeal filled the living room, and Anna was unbuttoning her apron with her hands behind her back.

After a heart-warming breakfast, Anna put on a convenient women's work clothes, looked at the sky from the window, a dark cloud was floating in the distance, so she put the raincoat in her bag, took Lu Li out of the room, and locked the door. , took Lu Li's hand away from the cross-flow of sewage and the smelly slums.

  Twenty minutes later, outside Mrs. Tom's house, the enthusiastic Mrs. Tom and Anna gently touched each other.

   "I was just telling Tom when you were coming, hello Xiao Luli." Mrs. Tom said hello to Lu Li next to Anna, "Don't worry, I will take good care of Xiao Luli."

  Anna let go of Lu Li's hand, squatted down and looked directly at him: "I'll pick you up tomorrow, okay?"

  Lu Li was taken into the front yard by Mrs. Tom who was smiling.

   "Little Percy and Little Moore have been looking forward to this day for a long time."

  Anna stood outside the fence and watched, until she turned to see that Lu Li was led into the room by Mrs. Tom and disappeared behind the closed door before she turned and left.

   "Percy, Moore, your new partner is here."

   Mrs. Tom clapped her hands and called to the two children who were building blocks: "You take Lu Li to the backyard to play, and the cake will be ready in a while."

  Percy and Moore ran to the backyard with their hands raised. They were already sitting in the sand and playing when Lu Li came.

   Lu Li didn't join them, he sat down on the swing next to him and waited quietly for Anna to come back to pick him up.

  The children's laughter rippling in the backyard, but there was always something missing in Lu's heart, and the surroundings seemed empty.

  Percy and Moore find Lu Li sitting alone on a swing.

   "It looks like a puppy that can't find its owner." Percy laughed.

   Moore raised a handful of sand at him: "Let's play together!"

  Lu Li ignored them and continued to sway along the swing.

   "Percy, Moore, Lu Li, come to have some snacks~"

   Aunt Tom's call rang from the house, Percy and Moore ran into the house cheering, Lu Li followed, they were arguing at the kitchen door when they came in.

   "I'm the first!"

   "I'm here first!"

"it's me!"

  Aunt Tom smiled and jumped the first cake over their heads and handed it to Lu Li behind.

   "Why not give it to us!"

   "We came first!"

   "Lu Li is a guest, you let him order."

  Aunt Tom smiled and asked Lu Li, who was holding the cake but didn't eat it, "Don't you like it?"

   "I want to leave it to Anna."

   "There's still a lot of cake, we can leave it to her, okay?"

"Um."

  The children returned to the backyard with their dinner plates. Lu Li sat on the swing and ate slowly and carefully. Percy and Moore pointed to this side and laughed, not knowing what to say. Then they ran to the corner with weeds, wrapped something in handkerchiefs, snickered and came to Lu Li who raised his head.

   "Don't move, you have bugs in your hair."

   Lu Li, who didn't like being close to people, endured it. He suddenly saw the children's smirks and the worms twisting in the handkerchief. Lu Li patted Moore's hand away, and the handkerchief and the worms fell together.

   "There won't be another time."

   Lu Li stared defensively at the disappointed Percy and Moore, and sat solitary in a corner away from them until night came.

  Aunt Tom led the lonely Lu Li to the bedroom, pointed to the single bed beside the two children's beds and said, "Lu Li, you sleep here tonight."

  Percy and Moore, who were playing with blocks on the bed, refused:

   "We don't want to live with him..."

   "He doesn't play with us."

   "Lu Li is still afraid of life, you have to take more care of him." Aunt Tom said, exiting the room and closing the door.

  The silent Lu Li stood motionless behind the door, Percy and Moore looked at each other, quietly opened the window, caught a ladybug and threw it into Lu Li's hair, then pointed at him and covered his stomach and laughed.

   Lu Li suddenly rushed out of the door, ran behind the exclaimed Aunt Tom, turned over the low wall in the backyard, and ran in the direction of home in memory.

   The surroundings are both unfamiliar and familiar. The words of the adults are like the whispers of monsters, and the swaying shadows are like twisted monsters.

  Monsters dormant in the dark shadows, whispering and rustling, ambush where there is no light.

   Lu Li ran faster and faster, tripping over the uneven stone road, his knees were frayed, and his wounds seemed to be digging into sand.

   Finally, Lu Li saw the old door, the light in the window was on.

  嘭嘭—

   He jumped to the door and knocked on the door.

   After a while, Anna opened the door with an oil lamp and an axe, her vigilance turned into astonishment when she saw the grayish Lu Li. She hurriedly threw the axe away, and Lu Li hurried into her arms.

   "You are so dirty."

  Anna rubbed his head gently, "Why did you run back...what happened?"

   "…I don't like living there, I want to go home."

   "But this isn't our home either."

   "But here you are."

   Several falls, the dark and terrifying road, grievances and confidence, all made Lu Li's eyes foggy.

  Anna was about to say something when the phone rang. She led Lu Li to close the door and returned to the room, and picked up the microphone.

   "Aunt Tom...yes...well...it's okay, Lu Li has come back, just a little conflict between the children...it's okay...outing? I'm worried...well, I'll ask for leave tomorrow morning...I'll take Lu Li with me."

   hung up the phone, and Anna said, "Mrs. Tom invited us to go on an outing tomorrow."

   "I don't want to play with them."

  Ana squatted in front of Lu Li and gently pulled up his hand.

   "Will you be by my side then?"

  The cowardly boy took Anna's hand and nodded hesitantly.