PROLOGUE….

In the dark corners of a certain city, gambles and fights were very common. In the backyard of an old building, some middle aged and young men were enjoying themselves by gambling on a chess match played between two men. One of them is bearded, fat and a bit untidy and the other looks exceptionally handsome with his long dirty blond hair properly tied up.

Baam!!

The chess board was turned over by the brute force exerted by the bearded man. “Now, Bers, you can’t just destroy the chess board because of your anger of your own loss,'' said a skinny young man who was involved in gambling.

“Hmph! You don’t have to worry about the chess board or the table. I will order a new one.”, said Bers while grumbling.

“I couldn’t care less about that. Give the cash first.”, the handsome young man said with an annoyed expression.

“Calm down, Lin. Let’s celebrate your 578th victory,” said an enthusiastic middle aged man who was gambling for Lin.

“The cash first,” replied Lin straightforwardly.

“I know but let’s...“

“Cash first.”

“…”

“…”

The middle aged man collected the money and handed over Lin seventy percent of the total money involved to Lin.

“Guys! Let’s celebrate my victory!” Lin exclaimed with an excited look.

Others present were simply speechless.

“And by the way, the drinks are on you, Scott.” Lin said to the enthusiastic middle aged man. The man was no more enthusiastic about celebration

While the group were having their celebration, a thump sound came from their surroundings.

“Who is there?!” Bers shouted on top of his lungs.

“Woah! Bers. Calm down. I doubt that the person would not flee from your shout,” said a bulky young man named Takashi.

“Shut up, you pregnant c*nt!”, cursed Bers.

“What did you say?! If I appear pregnant, then you must be a pregnant c*nt with octuplets!” Takashi cursed back.

While the two of them already started wrestling, Lin went to the direction from where the sound came from. There, he saw a small figure. Seeing it close, he found a little boy of probably not even 5 years old wearing a torn grey cloth that doesn’t seem to cover much of his body.

“Woah, come here and take a look.” Lin lightly said to his friends.

All the others present there went over to where Lin was, and saw the little figure. The boy, despite being dirty, looked very fair and cute.

“That’s rough… Should we take him to a nearby police station?” Bers said after he took a good look at the boy.

“That’s the most we could do. From his state, I could only say that he was probably kidnapped and escaped or he was miraculously saved from a car accident or perhaps….he is a beggar”, deduced Scott after examining the boy’s wounds that were not so serious.

While Lin and his friends were discussing what to do about the boy, the boy opened his eyes. He looked around finding this place foreign. His cold, lifeless eyes could be noticed clearly. Even in such a state, he didn’t lose his power of reasoning and thought. He, then, noticed Lin and his friends who were looking at him with a curious expression.

“Where am I?” - was the first thing the little boy asked.

“Lil boy, this is one of the colonies of XXX city. What happened? Why do you have such wounds on your body ? Did you have an accident?” Lin crouched and asked the boy with a worried look.

“….” The boy stood silent.

“Did something happen that you don’t wish to tell us?” Lin asked again.

“Kid, if you don’t open your mouth, we can’t do anything.” Another middle aged man named Dave said.

“….Is there something called ‘orphanage’ in this world?” The boy asked with a curious expression but the lifelessness in his eyes could still be seen.

“Orphanage? Sure, but can you give us more details about yourself and your family?” Lin’s expression wasn’t looking too good but he continued asking.

“….” Again, the boy remained silent.

But nobody complained this time, cause they could guess that his family must have been dead.

“I don’t have any family….I was abandoned a few days ago….”, the boy said with no emotions. The atmosphere turned more serious and they were stunned at the boy’s state of mind. It didn’t seem that they were talking to a five-years-old kid.

“Such an awful family! I now think that ‘blood is thicker than water’ is an absolutely nonsensical idiom. Lin, I think we should take him to the nearby orphanage as he himself said.” Bers said with an annoyed expression.

“Yes, but-”

“Lin? Who is Lin?!” Lin was interrupted by the boy with.

“I am Lin. Do you know someone with a surname Lin?”, said Lin himself.

“Yes. It’s my surname as well. Are you also Lin?” The boy asked Lin with a curious and nervous look.

“No. I don’t.” Lin replied straightforwardly.

The boy dropped his shoulder and seemed disappointed.

“You don’t have a family?”

The boy shook his head.

“Fine, I’ll do it myself.” Lin said with a soft smile. The others present in the scene all choked by Lin’s words. He didn’t mind them and extended his right hand towards the boy with a smile.

The boy looked at Lin’s eyes that seemed as clear as sky and extended his hand but brought it back again. With a meek expression, he asked. “B-but will I not be a burden to you?” The others present were shocked to the extreme this time again because of the boy’s state of mind. It now seemed that they were talking to an adult.

“Maybe. But that’s not for you to worry about.” Lin replied with his usual smile and extended his hand again.

The boy thought for a while. “Then, I will be in your care. If one day, you will think that I am a burden , you can abandon me…..” The boy then fainted.

Lin caught the boy and carried him in his arms.

After the boy fainted, Lin’s friends looked at Lin seriously and were about to ask questions when Lin sighed and answered

“Don’t worry, guys. I am not being impulsive here. I thought about it very seriously. All my life, I wandered around finding purpose in my life. The moment I saw this kid, you could say it was the moment I found my purpose in life. It's tough to be an orphan ,you know. In an orphanage, you can perhaps lead a life that’s not too shabby. But I know what it feels to not have parents. I picked up this kid mostly because of pity but I can see a few resemblances in him…..Ahh..enough of this!!”

“Lin, are you sure about this?” Bers asked with a serious expression.

“I am super-duper ultra-hyper mega-super sure.” Lin seriously replied.

Scott, Bers, Takashi and the other three sighed.

“Remember Lin, if the boy ever has any problem, be sure to remind me.” Dave was a rich guy.

“Woah! Never knew you guys can be nice too.” Lin replied playfully.

Then, the other continued their party and the party seemed to have brightened due to the presence of the boy.

After the celebration was over. Each of them went their own way. Lin, along with the boy he adopted, went to Lin’s residence(rather than residence, home would be suitable cause Lin lives alone).

On the way, Lin asked the boy who had already awoke, “Do you remember your name?We talked to you all day long but we never asked for your name.” Lin laughed out loud.

“Xie,” replied Xie unenthusiastically and with the same lifeless eyes. But now, deep inside those eyes, a fire could be seen within him.

Lin, then patted him and said. “Xie, it is then.”