Before he turned five, Xiao Xin was always called Dog Turd. His older brother, a year his senior, was called Puppy.
Their father was a homeless man with no education. He said that giving a child a lowly name would help him survive. Xiao Xin didn't care, either. When they couldn't even get enough to eat, who cared what other people called them?
But the female teacher who brought them food every few days said that once children grew up, they ought to have proper names. She suggested Xiao Xin, then looked at Puppy, who was standing nearby with his head tipped up expectantly. "How about Xiao Cheng for you? May all your wishes come true."
But their father didn't seem to like it much. He kept calling them Puppy and Dog Turd.
The year Xiao Xin turned eight, a six-year-old little brother suddenly appeared. The boy wasn't their father's biological son. Neither was their older brother, nor was Xiao Xin.
Their father called the boy Little Puppy, but the boy scrunched up his face and said he already had a name: Lin Huai'an.
Lin Huai'an. Xiao Xin thought it sounded nice, but didn't notice the sinister look that flashed across their father's eyes.
Their father didn't pay much attention to Lin Huai'an, so the little puppy started clinging to Xiao Xin, talking every day about the home he'd lived in before.
Whenever their father heard him say that, his face darkened and he started smoking.
Then one night, Xiao Xin got up to use the bathroom and heard their father on the phone.
Curious, Xiao Xin tried to creep closer. They were so poor that the three of them had to share just two steamed buns a day. Where had their father gotten a phone?
Before Xiao Xin could get any closer, a man's voice came from the phone: "Old Tree, we can't keep any of these three. Let's go to the Northeast."
[Blurb published October 19]
Theme: Even when the world collapses, someone will love you with unwavering devotion
