Dai Zhiqiang couldn't care less about how the people looked at him. He was well aware he wasn't in the best condition. With how messy, dirty, and battered he was, he was almost like a beggar who grew up in the street.
"Mom…" He looked around anxiously as many people came in and out of the train.
Searching for his mother in this crowd would be akin to searching for a needle in a haystack, but he refused to give up.
"Kid, you have been searching for a while. If you just tell me your mother's name, we can make an announcement for her to pick you up." The staff who had been accompanying him since earlier said.
Honestly, he felt bad for the kid, but letting a person without a ticket roaming free like this would make him scolded by his boss. The least he could do was to watch over the kid so he wouldn't do anything unsavory, like pick-pocketing.
"No, we can't. If you announce it, she'll know I'm here, then she will leave!" Dai Zhiqiang replied, almost in despair.
"How can that be?" The staff asked in confusion before realizing something.
As he slowly thought of a scenario, a sense of pity flashed across his eyes. He saw a lot in the news about parents abandoning their kids in public places.
He sighed helplessly, thinking that the world could be ruthless for kids because of irresponsible adults.
"Kid, I don't want to discourage you, but there is a possibility that your mother isn't here anymore."
Dai Zhiqiang shook his head stubbornly. "I believe she is still here. She got to be here somewhere."
The staff raised his hand, admitting his defeat. "Alright. Can you at least tell me your mom's body features or what clothes she is wearing? I'll help you search for her as well."
"Really?"
"Yes, we need to hurry and find her, right? Two pairs of eyes are better than one, then."
Dai Zhiqiang agreed. "Thank you very much. My mother is…."
While Dai Zhiqiang was busy describing his mother's features to the staff, a woman figure walked past them. The staff's eyes widened when someone with a similar feature could miraculously appear so close beside them.
The staff turned back and pointed at the woman. "Hey, kiddo. Look over there. Isn't that woman similar to your mother?"
Dai Zhiqiang stood facing the opposite direction as the staff, so he didn't notice the woman until the adult man pointed it at him.
He followed the direction where the staff pointed out, and his eyes widened, seeing familiar-looking back walking elegantly while pulling a small suitcase behind her.
"Mom!" Dai Zhiqiang exclaimed before running towards the women.
It wasn't hard for him to maneuver his way through the crowd with his small stature. When his mother was already in reach, he stretched out his hand and tackled the adult woman with all his might.
"Mom!" He called, almost shouting.
"Huh? Hey kid, who are you? I'm not your mom!"
Dai Zhiqiang's expression fell when he looked up, only to find that the woman he held right now wasn't his mother. He took a few steps back with disappointment written all over his face.
"My God, look at how dirty you are. You make my clothes stained!" The woman clicked her tongue in irritation, but she reluctantly swallowed her anger, looking at the child's lonely and dejected expression.
"I'm busy enough just as it is; I don't have time to deal with you, kid."
That was the woman's last sentence before she stomped her way out of there, leaving Dai Zhiqiang who was still in shock behind.
The staff who witnessed the whole spectacle scolded the cold-hearted woman in heart and walked over to Dai Zhiqiang to give him a pat on the shoulder.
"My bad. I thought it was your mother. Sorry for causing a false alarm."
"No, I also thought that was my mother. It's not your fault, Mister."
Despite his messy appearance, the kid was actually pretty sensible. It made the staff feel more encouraged to help him. "Come on, you don't have time to feel down. We still have to check many people in here, so save your energy for that instead."
"You're right, Mister." Dai Zhiqiang gained his energy once again. He and the staff looked for a while around the station, but just because there was another pair of eyes helping him, it didn't make the search any less difficult.
The sky turned dark in the blink of an eye. Dai Zhiqiang was dead tired, and he also worried about his little brother, who he had left behind in the house. He clenched his hand into a fist as tears welled up in his eyes.
Dai Zhiqiang wasn't a crybaby. He never cried even once, even when he was surrounded by kids much bigger than him or when scolded by the bad kids' parents who blamed him for every damage he caused to their kids. Even though he wasn't the one who started the fight first.
But this time, he couldn't suppress the fear and anxiety inside him. The thought of being abandoned by his mother was too much for him.
"Kiddo…" The staff that had been accompanying him called out to him helplessly. "I would love to help you search longer, but I really have to go back to my job now. Don't make trouble, and let me send you home, okay? I'll pay for the fee, so don't forget to treat those injuries on your knee."
"Mister, am I abandoned? My mother suddenly disappeared and was nowhere to be found."
The staff was at a loss seeing the kid before him on the verge of breaking down.
"That's not true! Who knows? Maybe your mother actually already came home and is waiting for you. I will help you go home, so don't cry, okay?"
Dai Zhiqiang had been running around for hours, and his energy was supposed to be drained long ago. He could still pull himself together merely because of the drive to see his mother.
Now that he was slowly coaxed by the station staff, his body relaxed, and all the accumulated stress and tiredness fell on him.
"Hey, kiddo!" The staff exclaimed when Dai Zhiqiang's small body fell forward. Thankfully, he managed to catch the kid before it was too late.
The staff's voice alarmed a few people, and some stopped to see what happened. However, any kind of voice felt distant to the little kid. His body felt light, and his arms dangled around as the station staff picked up his body and carried him.
Before his eyelids closed entirely and the exhaustion fully engulfed him, he saw a person accidentally. That woman was looking at him with an inexplicable gaze for quite some time before she turned her back on him.
Just like that, she left his life without looking back even once.
"Mom…" Dai Zhiqiang called out to her, but no voice came out. His vision slowly became blurry due to tears streaming down his cheek.
It was the last straw before everything blackened in front of him.
He felt freezing and lonely.
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