Chapter 04

After several untidy days, a hot bath washed away much of the fatigue. Ruan Nianchu changed into the white sarong provided by Aunt Xin.

There was no mirror in the room, so she didn’t know how she looked in this outfit, but she felt it was a bit loose. Nevertheless, the clothes were clean, odorless, with light and elegant colors, which was better than nothing. In the current situation, not knowing where tomorrow would be, she could only accept the present.

She took a dry towel, opened the window, and watched the night while drying her hair. In the night breeze, the flickering lights on the open ground could be seen. Groups of young men were drinking, gambling, and the entire camp looked like a scaled-down version of a pleasure district.

Ruan Nianchu’s gaze became somewhat distant.

When a person dies, they lose everything. So, being alive is a blessing. If someday she could escape this predicament, it would probably be the greatest luck of her life.

Thinking this way, Ruan Nianchu stared blankly for a moment, then showed a bitter smile. As she raised her hand to close the window, she suddenly sensed a gaze from outside.

She hesitated, turned her head, and saw several big and tall men squatting by the water tank a few meters away. They smoked and whispered to each other, occasionally glancing at her with lewd and vulgar eyes.

Ruan Nianchu’s heart raced, but her gaze turned colder. Clenching the towel, she slammed the window shut with a loud bang.

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Unexpectedly, a voice came from above, deep and indifferent, “Hand me my lighter. It’s on the table.”

“Oh,” Ruan Nianchu nodded, took out the square metal lighter, and handed it to him.

Li Teng took the lighter with a cold expression, without saying a word. He turned and walked away, almost without looking at her. But after a few steps, a very low “Hey” came from behind, the volume was faint, the tone hesitant, and one could barely notice it unless paying close attention.

He paused, turned his head, swept his gaze backward, vaguely catching a glimpse of two slender and straight legs beneath the sarong skirt, dazzlingly white.

Ruan Nianchu bit her lip and mumbled, “Are you coming back tonight?”

This question, in any context, would provoke various thoughts. Li Teng raised an eyebrow slightly, finally lifting his eyelids to stare directly at her but remained silent.

Ruan Nianchu had to explain, “I’ll probably lock the door later. By then, you might not be able to open it.” Those men had ill intentions towards her. When he was around, they didn’t dare to act recklessly, but in his absence, it was a different story. She had to protect herself as much as possible.

Li Teng remained silent for a moment and said, “Not coming back. Lock the doors and windows yourself.”

Ruan Nianchu nodded, “Okay.” After saying this, she closed the door with a click and locked it from the inside.

Li Teng stood at the door for a moment, took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and lit it. Through the smoke, his gaze glanced into the distance, squinting. The several burly men by the water tank looked disappointed, touched their noses, chatted casually for a few moments, and soon dispersed.

He flicked off some ash from his cigarette. As he turned his head, he happened to see Aunt Xin coming out of the kitchen, her aged face full of wrinkles, with a kind expression.

Aunt Xin took the initiative to greet him, smiling and asking in Khmer, “By the way, did the young girl wear that outfit?”

Li Teng nodded, “Yes.”

The old lady grinned, her smile even brighter, “Her skin is so fair; she must look beautiful in it.”

Li Teng lowered his gaze, picturing Ruan Nianchu wearing the sarong from earlier. The slightly damp long hair draped over her shoulders, the glossy shoulders leading to slender arms, exuded a particularly charming charm. Expressionless, he took a deep drag on his cigarette, “Hmm.”

Later, Li Teng slept on the roof of the bamboo house.

The night sky stretched endlessly above him, the stars vast and profound. After looking for a while, he suddenly smiled as if self-mocking. This damn job is really not something a human should do.

~

The next two days were calm and quiet. The only change was that the conversation between Ruan Nianchu and Li Teng became even less frequent. They had limited interaction to begin with, usually in a question-and-answer format. Since he was the only one who could speak Chinese here, she lost even the occasional opportunity to speak.

Ruan Nianchu became increasingly silent.

Occasionally, she would reflect on the first twenty years of her life. From birth to her third year in college, she had always been a headache for her teachers and parents. She was casual, lax, disliked constraints, and in high school, she befriended some troublesome companions, nearly heading in the direction of a problem girl.

Fortunately, she wasn’t too brave. The reason she restrained this trend was her fear of getting sick and her reluctance to smoke. Seeing her timidity, the troublesome people lost interest in bothering her.

Sometimes, Ruan Nianchu would think that if she had been diligent and hardworking from a young age, excelling in both academics and character, her fate might have been very different. At least she wouldn’t be unable to negotiate with her kidnappers after being abducted due to a language barrier.

She spent two days in silent contemplation and daydreaming.

On the third day, the silence was finally broken. That day, Li Teng went out with Tuwa, so the person delivering lunch to Ruan Nianchu was different.

“Bang bang,” came a knocking on the door.

Ruan Nianchu opened the door, raised her head, and was stunned. Standing at the doorway was a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy. Dark skin, big eyes, smiling at her, and a set of white, neatly arranged teeth gleamed in the sunlight. His height was similar to hers.

She frowned slightly, lowered her gaze, and saw the boy holding food.

The young boy cheerfully said in Khmer, “Brother Lee went out, so I’ll be delivering your lunch and dinner today.” He handed the bowl of food to her, saying, “Come on, it’s still warm.”

He chattered away, and except for the word “Lee,” Ruan Nianchu didn’t understand anything. However, she could roughly guess what he was trying to convey. So she took the bowl, responded with a somewhat indifferent, “Thank you.”

The boy was stunned, only realizing later, scratching his head, and blushing after a while. He awkwardly produced a few extremely clumsy English words, “Hello… My name is Tori… Nice to meet you!”

Although the pronunciation was far from standard, Ruan Nianchu managed to understand. She nodded, seeing Tori’s innocence and shyness, her internal vigilance and guard weakened slightly.

After all, he was just a child. Even if he was mischievous, he probably couldn’t be too troublesome.

Thinking this, Ruan Nianchu forced a smile, her beautiful face, previously hard to discern due to dirt, now appeared clean and gentle after a bath. Tori felt embarrassed by her smile, scratched his head, and said in Khmer, “You eat first. I’ll bring dinner to you later. Goodbye.” After saying this, he turned his head and ran away quickly.

In the aimless afternoon, she took a nap and woke up to find it was already evening. Indeed, the boy called Tori had brought dinner again.

This time, Ruan Nianchu invited Tori to come into the room.

Tori still wore that wide smile. As if suddenly remembering something, he quickly lowered his voice and said in Khmer, “Brother Lee probably won’t be back tonight. You’ll be alone, so be careful about your safety.”

Ruan Nianchu was slightly surprised, smiled awkwardly, and replied in Chinese, “Sorry, I don’t understand your Khmer.”

The imagination of young people is always boundless. Tori made a presumption himself, thinking confidently, “Although everyone is afraid of Brother Lee and wouldn’t dare to mess with you openly, you still need to stay vigilant.”

Hearing him mention “Lee” again, Ruan Nianchu thought for a moment and said, “Lee… Compared to the others here, he’s not bad. Just a bit too reserved.”

Tori continued in Khmer, “You’re pretty, and beautiful girls are in danger here. But don’t worry, from now on, we’re friends. When Brother Li isn’t around,” he puffed out his chest, making a banging sound, “I’ll protect you.”

Ruan Nianchu continued in Chinese, “Well, you talk more, lively.”

Suddenly, Tori’s eyes lit up, “Right!” He picked up a bunch of golden flowers and handed them to Ruan Nianchu, still speaking in Khmer, “I picked some flowers this afternoon, here, a gift for you!”

She took the flowers, examined them closely, and asked with suspicion, “Is this grass?”

Tori replied, “Did Brother Li give you this before?”

Ruan Nianchu muttered to herself, “It looks a bit like rice stalks.”

Inside the room, the girl and the boy spoke their respective languages, and surprisingly, they chatted for quite a while. Li Teng stood at the door, observing the soft light inside. Ruan Nianchu’s profile looked as if it were veiled in a layer of golden gauze, appearing exceptionally youthful, and one could almost see the fine and soft fuzz on her skin.

The stars and moon filled the sky as he smoked, listening to the lively chatter inside. Suddenly, his lips curved into a silent smile.

~

Ruan Nianchu accepted the bunch of rice stalks(a bouquet of flowers).

She found a damaged vase with a missing corner in the room, filled it with water, and placed the rice stalks inside. Each golden and bright strand caught her eye. Looking at the bouquet, she suddenly recalled that these were rice flowers, also known as rice ears, Cambodia’s national flower.

Ruan Nianchu placed the vase on the table, resting her chin on her hand, observing carefully. She recalled the lines from Xin Qiji’s “Xijiang Moon: Night Travels on the Huangsha Road”: “Amidst the fragrance of rice flowers, anticipating a bountiful harvest, listening to the chorus of frogs.”

Rice flowers symbolize abundance and hope, and poets throughout history have used them to express inner joy. Receiving a bouquet of hope in the cold and eerie night, it seemed like a good omen.

She quietly contemplated.

Over the night, on the second evening, to Ruan Nianchu’s surprise, she again saw a bunch of fresh golden rice flowers on the window sill. She felt delighted. Later, when the boy named Tori passed by the window, she raised the bunch of flowers in her hand, smiled, and said to him, “Thank you.”

Tori looked puzzled but still scratched his head with a grin, laughing at her.

Thus, the rice flowers continued to appear for three consecutive days. Ruan Nianchu kept them in the same broken vase. Although these flowers had lost their roots, their resilient vitality made them even more beautiful. At the same time, she found the boy increasingly kind and adorable.

On the third night, Li Teng returned.

At that moment, Ruan Nianchu had just finished thanking Tori who was passing by. Upon hearing her words, Li Teng’s boot-tying motion paused, and he turned his gaze towards her. Arching an eyebrow, he asked, “You thanked him?”

Ruan Nianchu was completely caught off guard by his initiative to speak with her. She hesitated for a moment before nodding and quietly replied, “Tori sends me a bouquet of flowers every day. He’s very thoughtful.”

Li Teng gave a humorless smile, said nothing, and turned away.

On that day, as usual, under the night sky filled with stars, he slept on the rooftop. Holding a mostly empty bottle of alcohol in one hand and playing with the Type 99 paratrooper’s knife in the other, his gaze pierced through the darkness, landing on an unknown distance, his expression stern.

Mrs. Xin sat at the kitchen door, sewing clothes. Suddenly, she smiled and asked in Khmer, “The flowers were from you. Why didn’t you tell her?”

Li Teng took a big gulp of strong liquor, tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and replied indifferently, “There’s no need for that.”

---

Sansukini: This novel will have 2 timelines, btw. We’re now at the Cambodia timeline, then the second one will be a time skip in China.

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