I'm at Your Door

When Su Cheng saw the chibi version of himself, his eyes widened in shock and surprise, his mouth gaping open beneath his mask.

He glanced at Gu Ruoxue, who seemed slightly embarrassed beside him, then back at the figurine, swallowing hard.

After leaving the specialty store, the cocky Su Cheng trailed behind her, boasting smugly, "Director, want me to sign the clay for you? My autograph would make it official!"

However, Gu Ruoxue paused mid-step before quickening her pace and coldly tossing back, "Unnecessary."

"Hey, come on! With my signature, it’s authentic. You wouldn’t want people knowing you bought a knockoff, would you? That’s illegal, you know!" Su Cheng hurried after her, grinning as he tried to persuade her.

At his words, Gu Ruoxue stopped and fixed him with an icy stare.

Su Cheng’s heart skipped a beat, but he quickly recovered, still smiling. "Why look at me like that? I’m just trying to help."

"This is officially licensed."

Gu Ruoxue pulled the chibi figurine from her bag, her tone calm as she corrected him.

"Pfft—no way!" Su Cheng burst into laughter. He had never authorized anything like this, though he wasn’t about to pursue legal action.

After all, this was his hometown.

But there was no denying it—this figurine was a bootleg!

"Go back and check for yourself if you don’t believe me."

Gu Ruoxue shot him a glance before resuming her walk.

"Check?"

Su Cheng turned to look back at the store.

Just then, the shop was preparing to close. Several staff members stepped out, ready to lock up.

Among them was a young salesgirl wearing an apron splattered with paint. The moment he saw her, his pupils constricted, his entire body freezing in place as if all strength had left him.

Because the girl, who should have been confined to a wheelchair, was now standing and walking like any other person, even waving cheerfully to her coworkers as she left.

After she disappeared from sight, Su Cheng stood there dazed before a wave of bitterness surged in his chest.

"So it really is official..." he muttered, lifting his gaze to the sky. After a long pause, he finally moved, following the girl at a distance. Since the orphanage was far away, she had chosen to walk.

He decided to accompany her—just to see her home safely, and maybe catch a distant glimpse of the place he once called home.

This girl was from the same orphanage as him. Her strengths? Independence, kindness, resilience, optimism, good looks, and a warm presence.

Her flaw? Extreme stubbornness and obstinacy.

She never accepted favors from anyone—not even him. If she had no choice but to accept help, she would go to great lengths to repay it, refusing to owe anyone anything.

In short, she was a girl who worked hard but was never favored by life, just like him—abandoned by her parents.

Yet now, this same girl was wearing expensive prosthetic legs.

He truly had no idea how Senior Sister Liu had managed to convince her to relent—or what price she had paid to make her agree to the surgery.

The girl walked slowly, a dim flashlight in hand, its weak beam barely illuminating her path. Su Cheng followed twenty meters behind, matching her pace.

Her flashlight was even dimmer than his phone’s light. Most phones nowadays had built-in flashlights, but she clearly wasn’t using one—likely still relying on an old clamshell phone, the kind that could only make calls.

The orphanage provided smartphones to all the kids when they came of age—even he had received one. But this girl had refused, insisting her old phone still worked to save money, adamantly rejecting a smartphone.

A girl so stubborn it was almost admirable. A fiercely independent woman who lived life on her own terms, no matter what.

The two walked in silence, twenty meters apart. Su Cheng remained quiet, and so did she—until she suddenly stopped, as if sensing someone behind her.

Then, she turned around, her dark eyes locking onto him.

Su Cheng halted as well.

They stared at each other for several seconds, but the night was too dark—only silhouettes were visible.

Then, without warning, the girl undid her ponytail, letting her silky hair cascade down like a ghost’s.

"You..."

Her lips parted, a single word escaping—low and hoarse. Then she sat on a nearby stone post...

And her leg fell off.

She had detached her prosthetic.

Su Cheng froze.

An awkward silence hung in the air.

Realizing she was trying to scare him off, he quickly played along, feigning terror as he suppressed his emotions and sprinted away...

Vanishing into the night.

"Hmph..."

The girl let out a cold snort before standing up again and reattaching her leg. She glanced down, gave it a testing stomp with her other foot, and, satisfied that everything was in order, continued walking forward.

However, she hadn’t gone far when she encountered another pair—a mother and daughter.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a girl with twin ponytails and someone slightly older, who appeared to be her sister.

The two were walking while bickering, which immediately caught the girl’s attention—their voices were so loud they couldn’t possibly be ignored. She slowed her steps and paused to listen.

“What do you mean, ‘Su Yue’? There’s no such person at the orphanage,” Andrea grumbled.

The two had arrived in town, checked into a hotel, and rushed straight to the orphanage, only to be told that no staff member named Su Yue existed.

“No, the security guard must’ve gotten it wrong. We’ll go back and ask again tomorrow!” Cornelia insisted, shaking her head firmly before adding, “I bet the orphanage staff just misremembered. We’ll come early tomorrow and ask someone else!”

With that, she nudged Andrea forward, though Andrea’s complaints still reached the girl’s ears.

“Honestly, do you think Su Cheng and Su Yue are just messing with you? You’re such an idiot.”

“Who are you calling an idiot?!” Cornelia immediately flared up, hands on her hips as she glared at Andrea. “Su Cheng would never lie to me!”

“Oh, getting defensive, are we?” Andrea rolled her eyes and scoffed. “And what if we ask again tomorrow and there’s still no one?”

Just as the two were about to start squabbling, the girl, upon hearing the name Su Cheng, couldn’t help but approach them. She politely intercepted their path and asked, “Excuse me, what’s your relationship with Su Cheng?”

………………………………………………

By the time Su Cheng returned to the hotel, it was already past ten. But before he could even settle in, his phone buzzed. He pulled it out to see a message from Li Guanqi:

“I’m outside your room door.”