MESTO

Mesto: mournful, sad.

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Zhou Yongliang stopped his trailing action when he reached the subway station. A tall shadow walked farther away from him to the station, and he finally could smile in relief.

"Have a safe trip, Yang Liu," he whispered to himself.

even though the environment around the convenience store was relatively safe, but Zhou Yongliang intended on following his classmate to the subway station. He wanted to make sure that the taller guy arrived safely at the station.

Zhou Yongliang didn't know how to fight, and he knew that he couldn't protect the other guy if anything bad happened, but he was still doing what he wanted, anyway.

After making sure that his classmate was alright, Zhou Yongliang turned on his heel and walked away from the station.

The distance from the station to his rented house was not so far. He only needed to walk for fifteen minutes to reach the house. It was quite tiring, but he didn't have any other choice because there was no public transportation at this hour.

Zhou Yongliang was a positive kid, so he just kept smiling as he walked on the nearly empty street. He then whistled joyfully. Thinking about Yang Liu could bring happiness to his heart.

It was twenty-five minutes past ten when Zhou Yongliang arrived in his small residence. The place was very small. It only consisted of a bedroom and a bathroom. It was no wonder that he got the place at a cheap price.

The tall student was not picky and didn't mind living in such a small space. He arranged it in such a way that in the bedroom area, there was a couch, a small stove, and several cooking utensils which could be counted on five fingers. He didn't have many things in that place.

Zhou Yongliang took off his shoes and walked towards the couch. He then took off his yellow backpack and put it on the couch before he threw himself on the shabby couch. Tonight was quite tiring. The convenience store was quite busy from eight to nine that he was tired of standing behind the cash register.

Yang Liu's presence was quite entertaining, though. The black-haired guy always got angry whenever he teased him, but that was precisely what made his grayscale world turned into a colorful world. Unconsciously, Zhou Yongliang chuckled softly at the memory of all the expressions Yang Liu made when he was annoyed.

He had to admit that Yang Liu's presence was enough to fill the void in his life.

The young guy from Shanxi actually used to live alone. Since his parents died, he had been living with his grandfather. He had been learning to be independent ever since.

His grandfather was a farmer in the village, and Zhou Yongliang often helped out in the fields in between his busy life as a student. He remembered the first time he learned how to grow the wheat. He even refused to go to sleep because he wanted to wait until he could reap the wheat. At that time, he was only eight years old, so he was still very innocent.

["The soil must be properly prepared before we start the wheat farming, Ah-Liang. For this, we can plow the soil either with a disc board plow. After that, we can arrange the soil by giving one deep plow, followed by 2 to 3 light plowing and planking. Now, add natural fertilizers to it. We need 50 kg Nitrogen, 25 kg Phosphorus, and 12 kg Potash. We can add more organic contents while preparing the soil."]

Zhou Yongliang was still so young back then, so he couldn't understand his grandfather's direction. Remembering it now just made him chuckle.

Zhou Yongliang also often came along when his grandfather harvested the wheat and millet. His grandfather taught him how to harvest it properly so they wouldn't damage the crops.

Zhou Yongliang missed that time. The time he was spending with his grandfather. He actually missed his parents too, but he didn't have a lot of memories with them. He was still young when they left the world.

Zhou Yongliang suddenly shed tears when the memory of the tragedy greeted his mind. He regretted that his parents gone so soon and couldn't accompany him in his life. In addition, he lost his parents at the same time.

His chest tightened as he remembered that night. The night when his parents said goodbye to him to go to work. They promised to go home as soon as possible, but the only ones who came back home were their empty bodies. Their lives had passed into the bosom of God.

["Do you need to go now, Mom? But, it's already so late, and it's raining," the little Zhou Yongliang whined as his small hand clenched on the hem of his mother's shirt.

The mother crouched in front of him and framed his small face with her warm hands. "Be a good kid and stay at home with your grandpa and grandma, alright? Just go to sleep, and mom and dad will be back the moment you open your eyes again. Tomorrow, we will buy you a new toy," his mother bribed him.

Zhou Yongliang glanced at his father who was standing beside his mother, and asked, "You promise to come back soon, Dad?"

The father smiled at him while ruffling his brown hair. "I promise," he said. "You are my good boy, so you have to protect your grandpa and grandma at home."

The little Zhou Yongliang smiled and nodded his head. He then let his parents leave him."]

That was the last memory with his parents. On a rainy night, his parents left him forever. There was no new toy, and there was no warm hug. They were no longer in the world.

Zhou Yongliang's trembling hands grabbed his wallet tucked into his trouser pocket. He opened the black wallet, then found a piece of a photograph that looked worn.

He stared at the photo with a mournful gaze. In the photo, two adults and a small child smiling broadly at the camera. It was a photo of him with his parents. The photo was taken a week before the departure of his parents. An invisible hand clenched his heart as he recalled the tragedy.

He then remembered his grandfather's last message: "Find him, and then kill him."