Chapter 22
On the way home, I walked silently along the road, watching the streetlights on both sides. They glimmered and shone, like a sea of light, so brilliant, so astonishing. I imagined how many stories were unfolding at this moment in the dimly lit corners scattered throughout the county town, how much clamor and turmoil, how much unimaginable emptiness, indulgence, and lovemaking. I imagined the scenes from earlier that had both excited and driven me crazy, but also left me feeling lost and regretful.
"Sigh!" A long sigh scattered in the wind.
The busy Xiaofan had finally finished his official duties and was free. So, on the second day after returning from Guangzhou, he drove to the school to see me. Not only that, but he also brought me almond cakes from the famous Lianxiang Lou in Guangzhou. Looking at his enthusiastic and satisfied expression, I thought darkly to myself: You would never guess, would you? After my dad, my mom has betrayed you too. Although it's only physical for now, who knows what will happen after a long time. But then, my mother's sorrowful cries from that day surfaced in my mind again, making me feel an inexplicable frustration. My conversation with Xiaofan also became absent-minded.
My attitude also quickly caused him to lose interest in continuing the conversation. Just as he turned to leave after saying goodbye to me, he suddenly seemed to think of something, turned back, and asked me, "Xiaojun, you haven't gone to see your mom in a while?" I froze for a moment, about to deny it, but in the end, I just nodded. Seeing me admit it, he said to me kindly, "Come and see her when you have time on the weekends. I've noticed she's been a bit down since I got back these last two days. I asked her what was wrong, but she wouldn't say. She hasn't been to the driving school for a few days either. I guessed it might have something to do with you." At this point, he paused, took a breath, and then continued, "I've been so busy lately too, I haven't spent much time with her. If you come see her more often and keep her company, it should cheer her up. Consider this a favor from your uncle, okay?" Since he put it that way, it was hard for me to object, so I nodded in agreement. Having gotten what he wanted, he then said goodbye and left the school.
After seeing him leave, I turned and walked towards the classroom on the second floor. I hadn't gone up a few steps when I heard someone call my name. I looked toward the source of the voice and saw that guy, Wu Haoze, running towards me in a hurry. When he reached me, he immediately said, out of breath, "Huff, huff, Ajun, wait, huff, wait a second, don't go back to the classroom yet. Huff, Boss Chen wants to see you, huff, he's in the little woods by the sports field."
"Yeah, I know." I answered coldly.
'Heh heh.' By now, he had caught his breath and was giving me a malicious grin.
"What the hell are you smiling at!" Seeing his expression, I was already in a bad mood and became even more furious. So I opened my mouth and scolded him sternly. Seeing that I looked like I was about to explode, he quickly said to me with an awkward smile, "Uh, no, I wasn't smiling at anything. Oh, look out for me from now on, Ajun. Well, I'm, I'm going back to the classroom now." After saying that, he scampered off to the second floor. I went downstairs towards the sports field with a heavy heart.
On the way to the sports field, I kept turning over Wu Haoze's last words in my mind.
"He wants me to look out for him? He's been following Chen Kai for over a year, and he needs me to look out for him? Could it be that bastard Chen Kai told him?" The more I thought about it, the angrier I became, and I couldn't help but curse Chen Kai under my breath. The plastic bag of almond cakes in my hand was also shoved forcefully into a roadside trash can. My steps became faster and faster, my mind filled with nothing but the thought of going to Chen Kai to get to the bottom of it.
It didn't take long to get to the small grove on the south side of the sports field. As soon as I got there, I saw Chen Kai sitting brazenly on a tree stump, smoking a cigarette and chatting and laughing with two other people. When he saw me, he immediately said a few words to them. After listening, they got up and left.
As I brushed past them, I caught a glimpse of the contempt and mockery in their eyes as they looked at me. This made me even more certain. My heart also sank to the bottom, and I walked over to Chen Kai with a dark expression.
"Well now! What's wrong, brother? Why the long face? Who pissed you off? Tell me, I'll help you teach that blind bastard a lesson." Seeing me like this, Chen Kai said with a playful grin. Since he didn't bring it up directly, I had to suppress my anger and try to speak in a calmer tone: "Nothing. What do you want with me today? If it's about the last time, then we have nothing to talk about."
'Heh heh.' Hearing my words, he chuckled, then continued, "I originally wanted to talk to you about your mom. But now, your expression like you want to kill someone has killed the mood." After saying that, he took a drag of his cigarette, blew out a smoke ring, and then continued talking to himself: "From now on, you hang out with me. If anyone bullies you, just drop my name. It works the same at school or outside, I guarantee it."
"I don't need it." I replied coldly.
"You really don't want it?" He got up from the tree stump at this moment and leaned his face close to mine to ask. A hint of a taunting expression was also on his face.
"I don't need it!" I repeated, my tone heavier.
"OK, OK. Since you don't appreciate my offer, then forget it." He said with a look of regret on his face. I didn't want to say anything more to him, so I immediately turned around and walked out of the small woods.
After that, everything went on as usual. There was no beating by his men as I had expected, and he didn't come looking for me again. However, I could tell something was up from Wu Haoze, who was in the same class as me. Because that guy occasionally had a smug, condescendin expression when he looked at me, and sometimes his tone when he spoke to me was also full of sarcasm. I was so angry I really wanted to beat him up, but every time that thought appeared, I suppressed it deep down. I was very clear about the consequences of doing so; making a big scene would do me and my mom no good at all.
"Tolerate for a moment, and the wind and waves will be calm; take a step back, and the sea and sky will be vast." This was a saying I had to live by now.
Unfortunately, things don't always go as you wish. On the way home from school on Friday, I still met with misfortune. It was on a necessary road near my home, only about three or four minutes away. I was caught off guard and was beaten senselessly by four young men who looked like thugs and suddenly jumped out from behind me. They didn't say a single word while they were beating me. After knocking me down, they also took the more than five hundred yuan in cash I had on me, and then quickly fled. The attack was so sudden that I could only see how many of them there were. As for their looks, unfortunately, by the time I tried to get a good look, I had already been knocked unconscious by them and was unable to distinguish them.
When I came to, I was already lying in a hospital ward. Just as I was about to turn my head, which was wrapped in gauze and still a bit groggy, my mother's surprised and joyful voice came from beside me: "Son, you're awake! That's great! You're finally awake!" As soon as she said this, she threw herself forward and grabbed my shoulders.
'Mom, I—' I was about to speak to her, but was interrupted by her tear-streaked face. I heard her say with a trembling voice, "That's great! You're okay! That's all that matters! You scared mommy to death! If anything had happened to you, what would mommy do?" As she spoke, her already somewhat red and swollen eyes began to well up with tears again. Only then did I notice what she was wearing today: a silver-gray silk blouse on top, a pair of dark blue jeans below, and black mid-heel shoes on her feet. Her wavy hair was also casually draped over her shoulders.
"Mom, I'm fine, don't worry." Looking at her sad, tear-streaked face, I felt bad too, so I started to comfort her.
Gradually, her mood calmed down. She began to tell me what happened after I passed out. It turned out that after I fainted, I was sent to the hospital by a few residents of our community who had just gotten off work and were passing by. One of them probably knew me, so on the way to the hospital, he took my phone out of my pocket, found my mom's number, and called her.
When she heard the news, she immediately rushed to the hospital with Xiaofan. After an examination, the doctor described my injuries to my mom. Besides a minor concussion from being hit on the head with a hard object, the other injuries were just soft tissue contusions and nothing serious. However, just to be safe, my mom decided to let me stay in the hospital for one night for observation. And Xiaofan arranged for a private room for me at the hospital and then went to the local police station to report the crime.
"Son, did you get into a fight with someone at school? Is that why you were beaten?" My mom, who had calmed down, asked me at this point.
"No, I didn't argue with any classmates." I answered without thinking.
"Then how come—" Just as she was about to ask again, Xiaofan walked in from outside the ward with two police officers in black uniforms. After the three of them stood still, Xiaofan said to my mom and me, "Xiaojun, Xiuqin, these two police officers would like to understand the situation at that time." My mom and I had no objection. She even stood up and politely greeted the police.
They also nodded politely to her. After that, they began to ask me about the situation at the time. I couldn't explain clearly at the moment, I could only confirm that there were four people who beat me, and I couldn't say anything else about the rest. Seeing that they couldn't get any valuable clues, they put away their notebooks and said goodbye. My mom and Xiaofan saw them out. I lay back down, thinking about this sudden disaster. I knew very well in my heart who did it, but without evidence, saying it would be useless.
Thinking of this, my head began to throb with pain. To ease the pain, I stopped thinking about these troublesome things. I adjusted my posture, preparing to get a good sleep. Just then, my mom walked in again. Seeing that I wanted to sleep, she sat down beside me, tucked the corners of the blanket in for me with both hands, and said gently, "Go to sleep, you'll be fine after a good sleep."
"Where's Uncle?" I asked her when I saw Xiaofan hadn't come in.
"He has something to do tomorrow and can't be too late, so Mom told him to go back. Mom will stay with you tonight." Hearing my question, she explained to me.
'Oh.' I answered, indicating I understood. Then I closed my eyes and started to rest.
Asleep, I began to dream. In the dream, I seemed to have returned to the past. There was a happy and peaceful family, my dad, my mom, and I, living happily together. There were no conflicts, no suspicions, no arguments, no cold wars between us. We ate together, watched TV together, went shopping together, and rested together every day. My dad still had a kind and non-confrontational look. My mom was still noble, elegant, beautiful, and dignified. But as the dream progressed, the three of us got into a car.
After we sat down in our seats, the driver turned his head and smiled at us. That smile was particularly evil. I looked at the driver's face, it was Xiaofan. I screamed and shouted, wanting to get out of the car. Then another person behind me patted my shoulder. I turned my head and saw it was Chen Kai. He was also giving me a malicious grin. I started to try desperately to smash the car window, but no matter how hard I tried, it was useless. And the car, driven by Xiaofan, sped towards a cliff in front of it. Finally, the car flew into the sky like a meteor, then quickly fell straight into the unfathomable abyss—'Huff!' I woke up from the dream, instantly feeling my whole body covered in sweat. I looked up and saw my mom half-leaning on the edge of my bed, sleeping soundly. Her wavy hair was scattered beside me like flowers, looking very bright under the moonlight. At this moment, I reached out and gently stroked her beautiful hair. Looking at her charming figure, I couldn't help but be completely captivated.
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