Chapter 131: Halloween

Bai Qingxia hesitated for a moment before deciding to respond honestly: "Yes."

Lu Yuanqiu chuckled. "What a meeting of minds. I feel the same way. I’m definitely picking you next, so pray that I get called to give my speech later rather than sooner. Heh, heh, heh—"

The girl pouted, lowering her head in a mix of gloom. Yet, she wasn't truly angry; in fact, deep down, she felt a strange flicker of joy. Being chosen in such a situation was proof that the person who picked her—the person before her—actually valued their connection.

This was something that, in the past, could only have happened in dreams. After all, why would Lu Yuanqiu, someone she had never spoken to, randomly select her out of fifty-plus classmates when they had never once crossed paths?

If, on that day at the end of August, she hadn't gone to the supermarket to steal bread, and hadn't formally met Lu Yuanqiu because of it, Bai Qingxia knew she would likely have been the very last person in the class to give a speech. She would have been the only one left, and since no one else in the class was close to her, no one would have chosen her.

On many nights, Bai Qingxia had wondered. It wasn't as if she hadn't frequented that supermarket before, but she had never seen Lu Yuanqiu there. It was only on that one occasion, when she decided to steal bread to stave off hunger, that they encountered each other. Perhaps it was destiny.

After turning his head back, the smile on Lu Yuanqiu’s face gradually faded. He sighed. In his previous life, during their senior year, it was he who had been the last person to speak after Bai Qingxia passed away.

...

October 30th, evening. Tomorrow was Halloween.

At Four Seasons Fresh Supermarket, Bai Songzhe moved boxes of fruit prepared in advance from the warehouse and arranged them outside. He then stood there obediently, accepting the lollipop Lu Tian gave him as a reward.

"Hehe, lollipop, hehe..."

Bai Qingxia stood nearby, gently stroking her father’s back. After unwrapping the lollipop, Bai Songzhe immediately handed it to his daughter. "For Xiaxia to eat!"

"Xiaxia isn't hungry, you have it," she said with a gentle smile toward her father.

Lu Yuanqiu pulled his gaze away from the scene. He bent down to tear open a cardboard box and said to Bai Qingxia, "Do you remember what I told you the other day? About our supermarket's tradition?"

Bai Qingxia nodded quickly upon hearing this. "I remember. You said we have to wake up early tomorrow to go out and hand out fruit."

Lu Yuanqiu had indeed said that, though Bai Qingxia didn't understand why they had to hand out fruit in the early hours of Halloween. Shouldn't it be handed out on Halloween night? That was why it was called All Hallows' Eve, after all. Of course, she didn't know the specific customs; a holiday like Halloween had always felt too distant for her.

Lu Tian looked at his son, then at little Xia, and couldn't help but laugh. "Who would have thought? This year, it’s you two youngsters doing it. It used to be Fatty Wang and me getting up at the crack of dawn."

Hearing this, Fatty Wang, who was helping move the cargo, scratched his head and gave a simple, honest smile.

The whole thing felt so mysterious... Bai Qingxia looked at the father and son, blinking her beautiful eyes, a sense of anticipation bubbling within her.

The next morning, October 31st, Halloween.

The girl living in Gui Alley woke up promptly at 3:30 AM. It was her habit; as long as she decided the night before what time she needed to wake up, she could almost always rouse herself right on time. It wasn't that she wasn't tired, but with something weighing on her mind, her brain seemed to start a tense countdown the moment she lay in bed.

Once ready, she tiptoed out and closed the door carefully so as not to wake her father. It was still dark outside, and the air was chilly. The girl waited at the entrance of Gui Alley for a short while before seeing Lu Yuanqiu pull up to the roadside in a cargo tricycle.

"Come on, hop in."

Lu Yuanqiu sat at the front, yawned, and scooted over to reveal a narrow space beside him. Bai Qingxia climbed on, their bodies pressed together. Lu Yuanqiu teased her by deliberately wrapping his arm around her back—as if holding her in his embrace—while using both hands to steer the tricycle's handlebars. The girl glanced back from within his arms and saw Lu Yuanqiu’s serious face focused straight ahead. Thinking this was just how the tricycle had to be driven, she said nothing.

Lu Yuanqiu couldn't keep the act up and burst into laughter right by her ear.

On Halloween day, in the dead of night at 3:30 AM, the boy and girl rode the tricycle, carrying a load of fruit toward Chuanglai Square on the side of Wangjiang Road.

After parking the tricycle, Lu Yuanqiu handed a red supermarket vest to Bai Qingxia and said, "Put this on." The red vest was printed with the name and address of the Four Seasons Fresh Supermarket.

Once the vehicle was secured, Lu Yuanqiu carried four boxes of fruit, and Bai Qingxia carried two. He glanced back and noticed that the two boxes completely obscured her head, so he asked, "Can you manage? If not, give me one of those boxes."

"It's... not heavy," came a strained voice from behind the cardboard boxes.

Arriving at the square, Lu Yuanqiu set his boxes down, and hearing the movement, Bai Qingxia followed suit.

The girl froze at the sight before her.

In the dimly lit Chuanglai Square, many migrant workers were standing around wearing yellow hard hats. Some were standing, some sitting, some lying down. They were mostly middle-aged, but Bai Qingxia also saw many elderly people with gray hair and gaunt faces. They wore Liberation shoes, sagging t-shirts, and worn-out military-green jackets. They wandered aimlessly around the square, as if waiting for something. A few of the older men and women circled the nearby breakfast stalls, seeming to want to buy something to eat, but after a few glances, they walked away without buying anything.

Seeing the girl stunned, Lu Yuanqiu said, "It’s my first time here, too. It’s quite overwhelming. My dad told me these people are day laborers without fixed jobs, doing casual work by the day."

"But they don't call it 'finding work' here; they call it 'finding a way to survive'."

Bai Qingxia looked at Lu Yuanqiu and asked in confusion, "But here... where is the work?"

Lu Yuanqiu replied, "Wait another hour or so. People will drive minivans over to pick them up for labor. Whoever grabs the chance gets to jump in the van and earn some money."

"Every year at this time on Halloween, my dad comes here with Fatty Wang to hand out fruit. This is the tradition of the Four Seasons Fresh Supermarket." Lu Yuanqiu turned his head and smiled at her.

Bai Qingxia looked back at him and nodded with a smile.

"Let's go."

The two carried the boxes onto the square. Lu Yuanqiu bent down to open a box, picked up a megaphone, and shouted, "Hello, uncles and aunts, grandpas and grandmas! Happy Halloween!"

After saying this, Lu Yuanqiu held the megaphone to Bai Qingxia’s mouth. The girl was about to speak when she suddenly noticed everyone’s eyes turning toward them. She said softly and timidly, "Happy... Halloween."

Lu Yuanqiu continued, "We are employees from the Four Seasons Fresh Supermarket on Wangjiang Road. Today is Halloween, and we’ve come to give out free fruit!"