TSED; chapter 12

Even if the police couldn’t say they were well acquainted with those living in their section, they still paid close attention to troublesome outsiders and anyone possibly dangerous. Zhao Xiaolian had lived in the area ever since she left her marriage, so the police had a good understanding of her. Zhang Jianguo’s wife had come to make trouble some time ago, and they also had various records from the past. So, when a few more senior policemen came over and Zhang Hang introduced himself, they had already had a general understanding of the situation. They couldn’t help feeling sorry for Zhang Hang’s suffering.

This child… if it was only his mother abandoning him, his father could at least give him child support directly. However, he was now blind, and nobody was equipped to care for him.

“What now?” Xiao Ren asked the police captain in a low voice. It hurt his heart to even look at the boy.

“Let’s get in touch with his father first. Although custody was awarded to his mother, his father would surely love to take his child back and raise him.” The captain’s words were reasonable, but he was uninformed about the entire situation. If they really did contact Zhang Qiming, it would be very awkward.

They’d been speaking softly, but how could they hide from Zhang Hang and Lu Chengye,both of which had sensitive hearing? Zhang hang fisted his pants so tightly his knuckles turned white, while Lu Chengye ran to the phone line to prevent Xiao Ren from making the call.

“Ah, ah, ah!” Xiao Ren rushed to take the phone line back from Lu Chengye’s mouth. “Don’t bite it, it’s public property. If you ruin it, you’ll pay for it!” (T/N: Xiao Ren, he’s a dog… he has no money)

Lu Chengye hadn’t bitten hard, so he kept the phone line in his mouth and refused to let them call.

“You, this dog…” Xiao Ren wanted to snatch back the phone line, but Lu Chengye’s awe-inspiring appearance made him a bit nervous. Even if the police were well-trained, if they fought this kind of big dog, they would get bitten. While getting injured in the line of duty was glorious, getting hurt trying to recover a phone line from a dog…

“Big Black,” Zhang Hang gently called Lu Chengye over, and Lu Chengye sat beside him with the telephone line still held in his mouth. “Don’t make a fuss, give the phone line back.”

He felt around for Lu Chengye’s mouth, then slowly pulled on the phone line. Lu Chengye opened his mouth obediently to allow Zhang Hang to remove the phone line, then licked the boy’s palm.

“I’m sorry,” Zhang hang said, turning towards the direction Xiao Ren’s voice had come from. “Big Black probably doesn’t want you to call my dad. Our relationship isn’t good, so he isn’t likely to take care of me.”

Such sad words, he said with a light tone and calm expression. He didn’t appear discouraged. Instead, he displayed the strength of acceptance.

“But you…” Xiao Ren took back the phone line, feeling a little down. As police officers, each day they saw tragic things. However, this was the first time for them to see a child as strong as Zhang Hang. Judging by his tone, he didn’t resent his irresponsible parents or fate for they had done. He simply accepted everything that happened to him, treated his parents with tolerance, and kept his heart free from hatred.

His eyes were so pure, yet they could not see.

“Actually, I shouldn’t have come today,” Zhang Hang said apologetically. “I have no place to live right now. If I wasn’t blind, I would soon be able to find something, but now I can’t see, so it’s much harder for me. I was standing on the street worrying, so Big Black brought me here.”

“No, no, no, if you have any problems it’s okay to ask us!” Xiao Ren poured Zhang Hang a glass of water. “I can help you find a house, but how about you do that later? You’re only 16. You still need to be in contact with your parents, at least until you can support yourself.”

Xiao Ren’s words made Zhang Hang feel warm. He smiled and touched Big Black’s head, then said, “I have Big Black, he can help me. I’m also already teaching myself Braille, and I plan to go to the Disabled Persons’ Federation sometime soon. I can probably get some allowance, and will slowly learn some skills so I can find a job. There will always be a way.”

Zhang Hang’s words shocked the whole police station. They had seen all kinds of people and suffering, but few had been so optimistic. Without holding onto bitterness or sadness, he looked toward the future.

Unlike Xiao Ren who had worked himself up and was a little emotional, the captain sat beside Zhang Hang and said reasonably, “Your relationship with your father may not be very good, and you may have your own plans, but you are still underage. Because of this, there are many things we cannot decide for you. You still need a guardian. As policeman, we are obligated to contact your family, so if we can’t contact your mother, we’ll contact your father.”

Zhang Hang bit his lips, but didn’t speak. His relationship with Zhang Qiming was hard to talk about. In truth, Zhang Hang was very grateful for his adoptive father’s willingness to pay child support. He also hoped that Zhang Qiming could find a wife who was sincere to him, and have his own children in the future. At the moment, he really didn’t want to bother Zhang Qiming any further, but was also reluctant to speak of these personal matters to others.

He shook his head. “I don’t want to bother him. I’ll be fine by myself.”

“Or…” Xiao Ren thought for a bit, then said, “My house is a waste of two bedrooms and a living room. The rent is very expensive, so I’ve been looking for a roommate to help me pay it!”

The young police officer was sympathetic towards the teenager, and was willing to reach out to help him. However, the captain slapped him on the back of the head.

“Knock it off. This isn’t about renting a house, it’s about parents abandoning their child. He has to contact his family!”

“But I’m not a child,” Zhang Hang argued. “I’m sixteen years old and can manage my own life. Even if I have to work, it won’t be child labor.”

“Woof, woof!” Lu Chengye barked twice beside him, expressing that he could help Hang Hang.

The captain gave a hopeless sigh, then looked to Xiao Ren. “Well, if you want, you should take him to live with you for a few days. Then you can help him rent a house, as well as contact the Disabled Persons’ Federation so he can apply for a disability certificate and get an allowance. Zhang Hang, you’re not responsible for your mother’s departure. At the very least, we have to contact your father and request that he give you the child support directly, understand?”

Zhang Hang nodded obediently. This result was best. For the time being, there would be a place for him to live, and someone would help him find a house to rent. As for contacting Zhang Qiming, it had to be done.

In this way, Xiao Ren took Zhang Hang to his home when he got off work that night. Just as he said, his home was really spacious, with two bedrooms and one living room. It was a pity that only a bachelor called it home…

As soon as Zhang Hang came in the door, he was hit by a strong smell. Lu Chengye was unable to endure and started to sneeze. Xiao Ren scratched his head and laughed. “Haha, you guys stay outside for a while. I’ll clean up the room right away!”

After that, he hurried into the room and shut Zhang Hang and Big Black out to prevent them from suffering from the smell.

Zhang Hang smiled, then squatted down to Big Blacks level and said in a low voice, “Big Black, we’ve met a good person, haven’t we?”

“Woof.” He’s a good guy, not the type to cheat a blind man out of thousands. Plus he’s a policeman. It’s much better than just finding someone off the road.

“Big Black is really smart and knew to take me to the police station. Back then, I really thought that we’d have to live in the ATM cabin tonight.”

“Woof!” That isn’t a good place to stay, what if you were robbed during the night? Lu Chengye had a headache. How could this child be so upbeat and naive? Didn’t he know there were bad people in the world?! But… it was probably better this way. At least his Hang Hang wouldn’t be sad. He would be able to bravely face the future, and Lu Chengye would help him along his way.

The mismatched pair of one man and one dog chatted happily. After a while, Xiao Ren opened the door and invited them back in.

This time, the smell of expired cologne was in the air, and Lu Chengye once again began to sneeze.

Xiao Ren was almost in tears. Big Black, could you not always tear apart my stage!?

Zhang Hang tried hard to resist pinching his nose, then entered the room with Big Black.

Lu Chengye examined the room as he entered. It was a bit messy, but it would do. Before Xiao Ren came in to show the way, Lu Chengye barked twice and started to lead Zhang Hang around. There was the table, there was the bed, there was the wall. He brought Zhang Hang around the entire space until Zhang Hang understood the indoor environment. The teenager rubbed Big Black’s head and thanked Xiao Ren.

“It’s alright,” Xiao Ren scratched his head. “I don’t mind if you live here, I need a roommate anyway. The house is very expensive. I don’t even have enough salary to pay the rent, hehe…”

“Woof.” Xiao Ren is a good person, you should think about it.

It would be good for Zhang Hang to have a warmhearted and honest roommate. After all, he needed to be taken care of. No matter how smart Lu Chengye was, he couldn’t take Zhang Hang to buy clothes. As a dog, there were many things he couldn’t do.

Zhang Hang was thinking and didn’t respond. On one hand, he didn’t want to bother others, but on the other, it was really hard being alone.

In the end, he decided to be selfish and stay for a few days.

Seeing that Zhang Hang was wavering, Xiao Ren said, “Then let’s do it this way. The lunch box we ate together at the police station, I’ll make it again for you tonight…”

He glanced at the box of instant noodles lying on the ground, kicked it aside decisively, then said, “I’ll treat you to dinner tonight.”

Zhang Hang smiled shyly.

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