CHAPTER 207: CHAPTER 207 ORIGINAL SIN 16

After booking the room, Shuangshuang also bought some bread, cakes, and deli food from a shop near the hotel for her mother for lunch. As soon as she entered the room, she collapsed onto the bed, only managing to instruct Feng Jinyan to eat on his own and not to run around or leave the room before falling asleep!

The sleep was deep and all-consuming, and when Shuangshuang woke up, it was already the next morning. A child’s body craves sleep and wakes up with difficulty when deeply asleep.

From the late night escape yesterday until now, a full day and night had passed, and Shuangshuang hadn’t had the chance to eat or drink, leaving her stomach rebelling and her hunger causing pain!

Yesterday, the rush to escape was so intense that she didn’t notice, but now, relaxed, she realized how tired, hungry, and thirsty she actually was, with a throat parched to the point of almost smoking.

The hotel provided a kettle, so Shuangshuang poured a cup of lukewarm water, not too hot, unsure of how long it had been standing. Desperately thirsty, she couldn’t care less and drank two large cups, finally easing the dryness in her throat.

Although her thirst was quenched, the rush of lukewarm water into her empty stomach felt uncomfortable. Shuangshuang clutched her stomach and took a fierce bite of the bread she bought for her mother yesterday.

After eating, Shuangshuang began counting her money. She had saved quite a bit — a total of 32,700 yuan, as well as some small change amounting to several hundred yuan. She hadn’t counted precisely, but it should be more or less that.

The small change had been saved by Shuangshuang by selling woven baskets whenever she found time. Back then, Shuangshuang made it clear that this money was her pocket money for her own use. Since Shuangshuang handed over the bulk amount, the Yun Family didn’t say much about the small change, tacitly allowing Shuangshuang to keep it.

Shuangshuang divided the 32,000 yuan into two parts, wrapped them in plastic bags, and sewed them into cloth bags attached closely to her and Feng Jinyan’s bodies. This way, if anything went wrong, they wouldn’t lose everything. She carried the remaining 700 yuan and loose change with her as a backup.

Actually, depositing money in the bank would be the best solution, even if the passbook were lost, there would be nothing to fear. But she was a child, without an ID card, and unable to open a passbook. Feng Jinyan was even more of a lost cause, now practically a black-market citizen.

In her past life, Shuangshuang was only able to reissue her ID and household registration after reaching adulthood, as an undocumented child without a known original domicile, thanks to the kind help of a person who sympathized with her situation.

Shuangshuang calculated her expenses and realized they weren’t much. She had traveled a long way, but not much fuel had been consumed. Yun He’s purchase of two large containers of gasoline would last half a month, even if she and Feng Jinyan traveled daily.

Spending a day and night out, Shuangshuang and Feng Jinyan spent less than a hundred yuan. The major thirty-yuan expense was for accommodation, which was quite expensive, because Shuangshuang dared not stay in extremely cheap, remote lodgings for safety reasons.

The least money was spent on food: four loaves of bread, two packs of cakes, a pound of marinated chicken feet, and a pound of pig ears, all for about ten yuan.

Not long after Shuangshuang finished eating, Feng Jinyan, sleeping on the bed, woke up with disheveled hair, sat up from the covers, gave a big yawn, and dazedly looked at the already awake Shuangshuang, flashing a big smile.

Then, like presenting a treasure, she pulled out a plastic bag from her bulging arms, held it with both hands, and offered it to Shuangshuang: "Shuangshuang, good food! Saved for Shuangshuang, eat!"

Shuangshuang had not seen the marinated chicken feet and pig ears she had bought before, assuming Feng Jinyan had finished them all. Unexpectedly, Feng Jinyan had kept them warm against her body to wait for Shuangshuang to wake up and eat.

Shuangshuang felt a warmth in her heart; her mother, even in her confused state, always thought of her, which was deeply moving.

Held against Feng Jinyan’s body, it hadn’t cooled down and was still warm from the body heat. Since Feng Jinyan hadn’t had breakfast yet, and although Shuangshuang had eaten, she wasn’t very full. They ended up eating these two deli foods together.

After the meal, Shuangshuang planned to leave. Perhaps because yesterday was too exhausting, today Shuangshuang still had some soreness that hadn’t fully recovered, but she dared not stay too long. This place was still too close to the Yun Family, so they had to continue running further.

Afraid Feng Jinyan would be scared alone, or wander off and get lost, Shuangshuang took Feng Jinyan to a deli shop outside to buy some sealed packaged snacks, pre-packaged bread and cakes, a box of instant noodles, three kettles, and a big roll of tape.

When checking out, Shuangshuang spent one yuan to ask someone in the hotel’s hot water room to wash and fill the three kettles with hot water. She then used tape to secure them onto the tricycle to prevent spilling on the road, screwed on the outer cap tightly, and covered it with a thick quilt for warmth.

Before departure, Shuangshuang asked Feng Jinyan for help with refueling once more, then set off on the motorcycle. This time, Feng Jinyan, well-rested, was quite excited by the scenery along the way and even chatted a little with Shuangshuang.

Back at the Yun Family’s home, although in recent months Feng Jinyan hadn’t been locked up any more, and her life had gone fairly well under Shuangshuang’s care, the atmosphere of the house always weighed on her spirits!

The people in that household bullied her, hit her, locked her up, abused her. Even when they stopped locking the door later, she never left the room alone unless Shuangshuang was with her.

In Feng Jinyan’s mind, though the room was cold, dirty, and messy, and she never had enough to eat, it was safe inside. No one bullied her, or beat or scolded her; it was her protective shell, her only sanctuary from the Yun Family.

Now, leaving the place that had always burdened Feng Jinyan emotionally, Shuangshuang clearly felt Feng Jinyan was relaxed all over.

Even her speech was smoother, no longer the fragmented, two- or three-word sentences. Now, Feng Jinyan seemed like a five or six-year-old child, able to organize logical thoughts.

At noon, Shuangshuang was lucky enough to find a restaurant where she and Feng Jinyan could have a hot meal. Remembering her mother loved pure meat dumplings, she ordered a pound of pork green onion and a pound of beef green onion dumplings.

The portions at this restaurant were generous; Shuangshuang and Feng Jinyan were stuffed with round bellies before finishing all the dumplings. After resting half an hour, Shuangshuang took Feng Jinyan to continue their journey, this time with a clearer destination in mind after a night of rest.