As the song was now playing an upbeat song entitled "Don't You Worry Child" by Swedish House Mafia, Shu Xian couldn't help but comment on Pan An's musical taste, not expecting him to like these kinds of music.
"I didn't know you would like these kinds of songs," Shu Xian said, already bobbing her head to the beat as the atmosphere between them was no longer awkward like it was a while ago. "I actually like this song," she added, Pan An, nodding in agreement.
"Yes, I like this song, too," he said, both of them singing to the lyrics of the first stanza together after the long intro that they had.
***
There was a time
I used to look into my father's eyes
In a happy home
I was a king, I had a golden throne
Those days are gone
Now the memory's on the wall
I hear the songs
From the places where I was born
***
The drive to their grocery shopping was actually fun—both of them admiring how the city lights were so attractive and at the same time, distracting in their eyes. The traffic light showed red, Pan An stopping as he and Shu Xian continued singing the song aloud.
***
Upon a hill across a blue lake
That's where I had my first heartbreak
I still remember how it all changed
My father said
***
Both of their voices were now loud in the car, both of them singing the song as if they were in a karaoke.
***
"Don't you worry, don't you worry, child
See heaven's got a plan for you
Don't you worry, don't you worry now"
Yeah!
***
With both of them looking at each other as they sang and danced in the car as if they were in a rave party, Pan An and Shu Xian laughed out loud, not expecting that both of them would sing together after feeling so awkward a moment ago.
"Goodness, Pan An," Shu Xian commented, shaking her head at the same time. "I didn't know that you know the lyrics of the song well," she added, Pan An, laughing as well.
"Hearing the song you like on repeat, how could you not?"
With that, the traffic light already signaled green, indicating the vehicles to move forward. Pan An then focused his eyes on the road, Shu Xian, looking out the window as the song still played in the background.
"You know, Pan An," Shu Xian started, already turning her head to look at him to tell him something. "I haven't had this much fun since I ran away from home. Thank you."
With that heard, Pan An couldn't help but feel bad for Shu Xian. With him giving her a small smile, he then started a conversation with her about it, making Shu Xian blink her eyes a few times, not expecting Pan An to ask her a question.
"If it's okay to ask, how was it like… back at your home? You don't have to go into detail," he asked and said, Shu Xian, contemplating for a while as she stared out the window once more, remembering the time when she was with He Shen.
During her stay with her uncle, she rarely saw him. However, whenever He Shen would come across her in the house, he wouldn't hesitate to insult her and abuse her physically from time to time, making her lips turn into a tight line as her hands on her knees flinched, the memories of the past, haunting.
Seeing how her hands on her knees tightened, Pan An regretted asking her, making him take back his words.
"Anyway, like I said, you don't have to tell me anything. I—"
"My uncle… He Shen… whenever he saw me in his house, he won't hesitate to hurt me with his words, his physical abuses as well when he's drunk," she mumbled, interrupting Pan An in the middle of his statement.
"He provided me what I needed for my education, however… in high school, I could no longer stand it. I ran away, then sought help to Shi Lian's family. With their help, they were able to block my papers but I couldn't stay longer with them—I wouldn't want to burden Shi Lian's family."
"So…" Pan An trailed off, making a blind curve first before continuing his statement. "This prompted you to live alone in an apartment with Wan Wan?"
"Yes," Shu Xian said with a nod. "As for Wan Wan, well, she was like my savior. When I ran away, I met her, too, in the streets, as an abandoned puppy. Then I raised her. She's like my partner forever," she added, now turning to Pan An as she recalled the night when he rescued her.
"They hurt my dog that night, you know? That's why I challenged them. To people, dogs are just animals—but to me, my Wan Wan is my family."
With now tears pooling in her eyes, a genuine smile of gratitude appeared on Shu Xian's face as some tears escaped her eyes, already thanking Pan An even though she has already thanked him before.
"So, thank you for saving me that night… thank you for taking Wan Wan and me… thank you for taking care of her with me. You're nice, Pan An. You really are."
With Shu Xian now turning her head to look outside the window as she shyly wiped her tears away with the back of her hands, Pan An couldn't help but pity Shu Xian, the man feeling frustrated and angry by the fact that her uncle was this ruthless towards her.
"Shu Xian," Pan An called out to her, his grip on the steering wheel tightening as he tried his best to control his anger. "This He Shen… do you know his surname?"
"Gu," Shu Xian answered, already wiping her nose with tissue that she brought with her in her small pouch. "I tried to ask Shi Lian's family to search, but they said there were a lot of Gus and it seems that his information is blocked, so no luck. I don't know who my real parents are."
With that, Pan An didn't say a word. With the surname "Gu," given to him, Pan An thought if he would talk to the trusted secretary of their family but knowing that their mother might have already done it and has not said a word with what she found out, then maybe there was nothing she saw as well.
Shu Xian's identity is indeed a mystery—her identity being a secret the one that is suspicious.