It seemed that he had been well prepared in recent days. His brows gradually relaxed and a smile appeared on his face. His gentle temperament made him look particularly amiable. However, at this moment, he stopped on his way home and looked at the young figure standing at the intersection, looking very confused, with some doubt. The slightly long dark hair looked a bit strange for a boy, and it was messy, obviously not taken care of for a long time. His face was haggard, as if he had not had a full meal for a long time. His body was also dirty. Apart from the coat he wore outside, he only had a very thin inner shirt, and it didn't fit him well. He would definitely catch a cold if he wore it like this. Even if he had a coat, that coat was already tattered and could not keep out the cold wind at all. However, her eyes were very clear, although filled with confusion about her surroundings, but... very beautiful. Abandoned? Or... something else? He frowned again, thinking of some bad things, but then relaxed again, with a amiable smile on his face, and an inexplicable gentle aura all over him. Just like that, he walked up to the bewildered child who needed help as usual. "You seem to need help, kid." He spoke as usual. "Woo..." The boy seemed a little timid. He shrank slightly and looked at him warily.
"Don't be afraid, child. I'm the priest of the church around here, and it's my duty to help those in need, let alone a child like you." As he spoke, he stepped back a little at the right time and raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, to show that he was not a threat... This would quickly make those vigilant children let down their guard and at least not resist him too much. "Father?" The boy chewed on the term, as if pondering its meaning, and then looked at the black robe he was wearing, as well as his exposed cross pendant. Coupled with his timely actions and gentle temperament, all these made the boy's body slowly relax, as if he believed what he said. "Yes, Father, you may call me that, like the other children." The priest laughed. His nearly half white hair and gentle smile made him look very kind. Then he showed a puzzled expression and asked. "Kid, how did you get here? Are you lost? Or... lost? Your parents are really irresponsible. They let you come out dressed like this... You will get sick if you do this." As he spoke, he walked forward slowly and took off his black robe slowly, while paying attention to the boy's expression. "parents?" There was a hint of confusion in the boy's dark pupils, and his attention was diverted to his [parents]. He did not pay too much attention to the priest who was gradually approaching. "Mom and Dad...seem to be gone..." As if he remembered something, the boy's tone and expression became a little depressed as he spoke. "Oh... sorry kid, for bringing up your sad story." The priest's expression became compassionate, and his words were full of apology, but from the look in his eyes, he didn't seem surprised by this answer. At this time, he had already arrived in front of the boy. "Then how did you get here? This area is not a place you should go near as a kid. There are a lot of bad people here. You should go to the police station or an orphanage. At worst, you should go to the church... Yes, the church where there are people like me." As the priest spoke gently, he squatted down and personally put his clothes on the poor child. The boy did not resist too much, perhaps because the priest's words and concern made him let down his guard. "I...I don't know..." The boy responded in confusion, as if the question troubled him so much that even when the priest held him in his arms, he did not resist. He even reached out and gently grasped the priest's shoulders, using both hands to slightly support his body so that the priest could save some energy.
"What a well-behaved and pitiful child..." The priest naturally noticed the boy's behavior and laughed happily. A wandering orphan? The priest thought so, and seemed very happy with the answer. The corners of his mouth and his tone rose slightly, but they were all covered up. It seemed that he was just happy because the child was well-behaved and sensible. After making a conclusion about the boy's origins in his mind, he took a step and continued to walk towards home - or the direction of the church. "But don't worry, kid. It's my duty to help people in need, especially children like you. My church is also a kind of welfare home, and there are many children like you there. You can rest here for the time being. This area is not peaceful. Wait for two days... No, tomorrow, tomorrow I will take you to the police station to see if I can help you find your relatives. If not... you can stay in the church as well. You can have a home after that." "Yes...really? Thank you, Father!" It seemed that because of the priest's promise, the boy's expression recovered a little, and his tone became lighter, with the vitality unique to children. "You're welcome. This is my duty... By the way, kid, I don't think I've asked your name yet? Can you tell me?" "Of course! Father, my name is Xiwang!" “[Hope]…?” The priest took a quick look at the child in his arms. Because of his words, the poor boy had regained some vitality and a smile appeared on his face. The bright smile flowed from his clear pupils, and seemed to infect others inadvertently. "What a great name." The priest sighed with a smile, perhaps he was infected by Xi Wang's emotions, the smile in his pupils became even brighter, and he seemed to like this child very much. ---------- [You met a kind priest who seemed to care about you, a poor child, and treated you as gently as possible] [You soon let down your guard, perhaps because of his concern, or because he promised to take you to the police station tomorrow... In short, you let him take you back to the church.] [As the priest said, there are many children with similar conditions as you here. They are all taken care of by the priest and several nuns.] [The children welcome you very much and are very enthusiastic about you as their new companion... except for a few children who seem a little shy and dare not come forward. They just sit in their seats obediently and glance at you from time to time.] [Here, you enjoy a warm dinner with the children, play with them, are driven by the priest to take a bath amid laughter, and then lie together on a slightly hard bed, covered with warm blankets] [The children in the same room with you seem very excited. Even after the nuns turned off the lights, they did not fall asleep obediently, but kept asking you all kinds of questions.] [You answered them briefly, and when they mentioned their encounter with the priest, they seemed to become a little excited. You could sense their gratitude to the priest from their words.] [Everything is good here, which makes you think that the priest is indeed a good person - even if you don't know his name yet] [On the second day, several people came to the church to discuss something with the priest. Judging from their gaze and actions, the main target of the discussion was the children, and of course, you.] [Other children said that he was a teacher from a school. Every once in a while, the school would send a few people to take some suitable children to school. They would live better there than here. I heard that they would have the opportunity to go to college and they could even help find jobs.] [It sounds like a welfare school specially prepared for children like you] Although the children do not know what "college" and "work" are, they know that as long as they are taken to school by teachers, their lives will be better. [“Is it really such a good thing?” You subconsciously questioned it, but soon, the priest and the teachers came over and discussed something with you.]
[Their words reveal their concern for you, the poor child] [“Maybe there really is such a place.” With their kindness, you put aside your doubts for the time being.] [In the afternoon, the teachers left. They seemed to have finished their inspection and needed to go back to school to submit a report. The priest also took you to the police station as promised.] [The police officer who received you seems to be an acquaintance of the priest. He seems to know that the priest always finds some orphans from time to time, and they will come to him to find their relatives and register them.] [Soon, the police officer gave a message - they didn't seem to find your information. You seemed to have been trafficked from abroad. In addition, you said that your parents are no longer around. Finding other relatives... To be honest, it's a bit troublesome.] [To put it simply, it takes time, and during this period of waiting, it seems that you can only temporarily live in the priest's church] [The priest comforts you skillfully, and your depressed mood improves] [In the next few days, you became close friends with the children in the church, and you suddenly felt that there was nothing wrong with living here.] [About a week later, the priest received a call. You saw that he looked a little confused at first, and he seemed to subconsciously ask the other party a few more questions. After getting the other party's answer, he smiled brightly again.] [That night, the priest told you with a hint of sadness that the police had not found your relatives, and it seemed that you had no choice but to stay here.] [Although you feel a little lost, you are not too sad because you have found a "home"] [After a few days, the teacher from that school came again, driving a strange school bus, ready to pick up a few children] [The church also appropriately held a farewell party, which was also a welcome party for you.] [After the happiness, it was time to say goodbye, but everyone was not sad, they were just happy and expectant. The children saw them off, wished them well, and looked forward to the day in the future when they could go to that school where they could "live a better life"] [You mingled among the children, bidding farewell to those lucky companions, but you also noticed that those shy children were still standing at the farthest place, not laughing or cheering, just watching quietly] [You feel a little strange and ask other people, but you only get the response of "Those guys are bad kids, don't talk to them", whether you ask other children or nuns, the same is true] [You feel confused and want to approach those "bad kids", but before you open your mouth, they will sneer and leave, or hide in fear, or just run away] [You asked the priest, and he seemed very happy with your behavior and did not object to your contact with those "bad kids"] [“You just want to be friends with them. That’s a good intention. Don’t worry about anything. Just do it, child.” - This is what the priest said] [With the encouragement from the priest, you believe that what you are doing is right and start to interact with those "bad kids" more actively] [Perhaps because of your enthusiasm, those "bad kids" began to accept you slowly, and a few with better personalities even became friends with you... Although you feel that there is still some inexplicable gap between you and them, all this is enough to make you feel excited, especially when you find out that these so-called "bad kids" are not actually bad.] [However, when you want to introduce your "bad boy" friend to other children, you find that you have already been classified as a "bad boy" by others, whether it is your former good friends, those nuns, or even... the priest] [Although the priest's attitude has not changed much, and he has even become much more enthusiastic, the nuns and other children have begun to refuse to talk to you intentionally or unintentionally.] [In addition, you found that the food in the church has also decreased a lot. Thinking about it carefully, it seems that after the teacher of that school took the child away, the food in the church began to slowly decrease, but the reduction was only small each time. In addition, the reasons given by the nuns and priests were also very sufficient, so you didn't care.] [Of course, what puzzles you is the other children’s attitude towards the “deterioration of food”. They seem to be used to it and even take it for granted that “daily food is very poor”.] [You suddenly understand why the children hope so much to be picked up by the school teachers, and why the children are so happy and cheering during that period, because only during that short period of time can they eat well and have enough food] [You realize that this place is not as beautiful as you see or imagine] [Perhaps, you have fallen into that person's trap]
Chapter 3: Trap [The priest is getting more and more enthusiastic, and you feel very uncomfortable about it, especially when you realize that this place is not as beautiful as you see it, you have some bad thoughts] [You hope that those are just your illusions. You try to comfort yourself that everything is normal. After all, the reasons given by the priest are very sufficient... But you still subconsciously start to act.] [You tried to get together with other children, but they refused to have any contact with you, a "bad kid". You asked the nuns for help, but all you got was warnings and scolding. Sometimes they even called the priest to discuss how to punish you.] [Although the punishment was all mentioned with a smile by the priest, under the scolding and constant rejection, you became more and more silent and uneasy, especially after the room where you rest was specially moved to a separate room.] [This is not a special treatment, but rather a punishment, or a sign of being a "bad kid" - all "bad kids" live in single rooms, but the buildings are not located with other children, but closer to the backyard of the church. There are only houses for "bad kids" and a warehouse here.] [It is very quiet here, so quiet that it is a little scary. When you know that there is a cemetery behind the warehouse, you feel an inexplicable fear. Coupled with the slightly crowded space and single small window in the single room, it makes this place seem like a small cage.] [That night, the priest knocked on your door. Although you did not respond and locked the door, it was useless. The priest had the keys to all the rooms, and he still came in smoothly.] [But seeing that you were not asleep, and even curled up in the corner watching him warily, the priest didn't care too much. He just smiled and gently asked you why you didn't go to bed after turning off the lights.] [You didn't respond to him, but just stared at him warily. He seemed to just come in to take a look. He just said "go to bed early" and then closed the door and left.] [Because of the priest's arrival, you didn't sleep well. Even though you locked the door again, you stared at the door nervously in the second half of the night and didn't dare to fall asleep. This made you look sleepy the whole next day. At this time, the "bad kids" seemed to have officially accepted you, maybe with ridicule, maybe with comfort. In short, you are the same as them - that's what they said] [The teacher from the "school" came again. When he saw you hanging out with the "bad kids" again, he seemed a little dissatisfied. After negotiating with the priest for a while, he seemed to be convinced by the priest and just looked at you with pity.] [That time, the "school" picked up a few more children than the last time, but the children didn't care too much about it. The children who were chosen cheered and were glad that they were chosen, while the children who were not chosen saw the children off and felt sorry that they were not chosen.] [You and the "bad kids" watched all this silently, watching the "school bus" gradually moving away. You opened your mouth several times, wanting to say something, but then you looked around, at the cheering children, the indifferent nuns, and the priest who was smiling the whole time, and you closed your mouth again.] [You vaguely guessed that the "school" was probably fake as well] [The words "child trafficking" suddenly pop up in your mind, and you feel a deep chill and anger towards this word, but this emotion soon subsides, replaced by endless fear and anxiety] [As the days passed, the priest seemed to have made an agreement and his behavior became more and more flamboyant. He came to see you almost every night, and his stay time also began to increase. Although he would choose to leave under your vigilant gaze every time, you felt more and more helpless.] [One night, you faintly heard a child crying and a priest talking next door. It seemed that because the room was too soundproofed, the sound was very hazy.] You have a bad guess. [The next day, you noticed that the child next door almost dragged his tired body to walk over, his red and swollen eyes were still tinged with tears, the tear marks on his face were not washed away, and his walking pace seemed strange] [The other children and nuns turned a blind eye to this. The children might not know anything, but the nuns did not even show any concern. They just maintained the most basic etiquette... and sometimes even scolded them directly.] [The other "bad kids" seemed to be used to this, and just sighed to the child, "You must have had a hard time last night?" and after getting a nod from the child, they didn't care.] [These things seem to have become so commonplace that the child has rejected your concern] [You vaguely guess that this has happened many times. You didn't know it before because you didn't hear the sound. This may happen every day.] [And, the next one may very well be you] [No one will help you, and no one will care about this matter, because everyone here has long been "accustomed to" this matter, and it is "natural" for such a thing to happen. You don't even know who around you can ask for help] [Fear and despair come rushing in] [However, you did not give up hope. You thought you should ask the police for help. In your impression, the police would definitely be able to help you. At the same time, with your seemingly innate strong memory, you still remembered the route the priest took you to the police station. Therefore, you discussed with several other "bad kids" with whom you had a good relationship to see if you could find an opportunity to seek help from the police.]
[Some children are unwilling and even advise you not to have such an idea. If they can leave, it is better to run away directly, even if they don’t know where to escape to.] [However, some children are willing to help you. After a little hesitation, they choose to help you.] [After several days of discussion and testing, you came up with a roughly feasible solution] [You cannot leave during the day. Starting from the time you get up in the morning, all children will move together under the care of priests and nuns. Although they can move freely, they will be discovered immediately if there are not enough people. Therefore, the time to leave can only be set at night. And because of the priest, you must move late at night.]