Chapter 4 (Part 2)

Chapter 4 (Part 2)

"My mother is busy. She said she'll come to pick me up once she's done."

Cuicui said, "Mom, I'm going to take Brother Yuanhou upstairs to play."

"Uh-huh, go ahead, take good care of Little Yuanhou."

Cuicui took Li Zhuaiyuan's hand and led him to the stairs. She skillfully took off her shoes and put on slippers. Seeing this, Li Zhuaiyuan also started to take off his shoes.

"No, Brother Yuanhou, you don't need to. Just come up."

Li Zhuaiyuan still took off his shoes, intending to go up barefoot, so Cuicui handed him her mother's slippers to wear.

Wearing the oversized slippers, Li Zhuaiyuan followed Cuicui upstairs to her room, where a black-and-white TV was set up.

Liu Jinxia's family had bought a TV early on but hadn't publicized it. The villagers were indifferent, so she didn't bother inviting them over to watch.

Cuicui turned on the floor fan, but the blades didn't move. "Huh, is the power out?"

Li Zhuaiyuan: "The plug isn't in."

"Oh, right." Cuicui bent down, picked up the plug, and inserted it into the wall socket:

"Buzz... buzz... buzz... buzz..."

The heavy blades slowly started to spin, creating a gentle breeze that seemed to cool the summer heat.

"Brother Yuanhou, do you want to watch TV?"

"Sure."

Cuicui turned on the TV and fiddled with the dial, but only a few channels were available, half of them just static.

"Brother Jing, are you okay?"

"Sister Rong, I'm fine."

"Hmph, Ou Yangfeng, you...!"

During every winter and summer break, the TV would air "The Legend of the Condor Heroes."

The two of them sat on the bed and watched for a while. Li Zhuaiyuan suddenly felt very sleepy.

He hadn't rested since last night, and after the initial emotional tension, the fatigue was setting in.

Cuicui, thinking he was just uninterested in the TV, got up and began showing him her dolls, toys, and picture books.

Despite being very tired, Li Zhuaiyuan watched her, making an effort to respond to each of her introductions.

The little girl was immersed in her joy of sharing, but soon she noticed he wasn't responding. Turning her head, she saw Li Zhuaiyuan had fallen asleep, leaning against the bed.

Cuicui immediately stopped talking and quietly approached. She gently straightened him out, folded the thin summer blanket, and covered his stomach.

Then, she pushed the fan a bit closer and pressed the small button at the back, making it oscillate.

After that, she brought a chair and sat by the bed, propping her chin on her hand, watching the sleeping Li Zhuaiyuan.

Every so often, she would smile to herself, her ears turning red, then look away, only to find herself looking back at him a moment later.

Time passed unnoticed.

"Little Cuihou, Little Cuihou, bring Little Yuanhou down for dinner." Li Juxiang's voice called from downstairs.

Cuicui quickly went down and said to Li Juxiang, "Mom, Brother Yuanhou is sleeping."

"Then come down and eat first. We'll save his meal."

"No, I'm not hungry. I'll wait for Brother Yuanhou to wake up and eat with him."

Most parents in the village would prevent their children from going out to play near mealtime, fearing they would be invited to eat, which might seem like taking advantage.

However, sometimes it was unavoidable, and they would end up at the table.

Cuicui had never experienced this, but she was willing to wait for Li Zhuaiyuan to wake up and eat with him.

Li Juxiang smiled and nodded, then went to the living room to invite her mother and the card players to lunch.

Cuicui ran back upstairs, sat in her spot, and continued watching Li Zhuaiyuan.

"Huh?"

Cuicui leaned in, puzzled, as she noticed Li Zhuaiyuan's brow furrowed.

"Is he dreaming?"

...

"Grandma, I brought Brother Yuanhou to play."

"Uh-huh, play away. Pong!"

Li Zhuaiyuan looked at Cuicui standing in front of him, then at Liu Jinxia in the living room, playing cards with her three companions. He knew he was dreaming.

The scene around him was so surreal that everything in his field of vision was in black and white, as if everything and everyone had been sketched with charcoal.

While the people and objects were recognizable, they were blurry and distorted, with rough lines that exuded an eerie randomness.

Li Zhuaiyuan looked down at himself and found that he was normal, but everything and everyone else in the dream was not.

This reminded him of the charcoal sketches in his mother’s study, with their white backgrounds and charcoal marks.

He dreamed of the moment when he and Cuicui first arrived at Liu Jinxia’s house and greeted her. Cuicui then took his hand and led him inside.

The little girl’s hand, which was usually soft, now felt rough and a bit painful, like sandpaper.

He instinctively pulled away and stopped, but Cuicui continued walking, her arm still in the position of holding someone.

Behind him, the four people playing cards in the living room suddenly fell silent.

Li Zhuaiyuan turned to look and saw that all four of them were frozen, completely still.

Even the smoke rings from Liu Jinxia’s mouth were suspended in mid-air, not dispersing.

This stillness gave Li Zhuaiyuan a chance to observe. The three card players had soft, light charcoal marks, while Liu Jinxia’s image had thick, deep, and hard lines.

Standing there for a while, Li Zhuaiyuan was puzzled. In the past, he would wake up immediately after realizing he was in a dream, but this time, he remained in the dream.

Eventually, Li Zhuaiyuan decided to walk inside. He saw Li Juxiang sitting there, picking vegetables. Her lines were also hard, starkly contrasting with the delicate, light sketches around her.

Li Zhuaiyuan approached Li Juxiang. The charcoal lines on her face revealed her expression in detail. She was smiling, her eyes filled with nostalgia.

“Auntie Juxiang, Auntie Juxiang?”

Li Zhuaiyuan called out a few times and waved his hand in front of her, but she remained motionless, not even blinking.

Leaving there, Li Zhuaiyuan walked to the staircase and took off his shoes before ascending barefoot.

In the bedroom, the pedestal fan had stopped spinning, and the TV showed only a blurry sketch of Guo Jing and Huang Rong.

Cuicui was pointing at one of her dolls, her mouth open as if she were telling a story, but she was frozen in place.

The lines on Cuicui’s body were clearer and harder than those of her grandmother and mother, almost like black, rigid lines.

It seemed as if everything else was drawn, while she was carved.

Li Zhuaiyuan looked at the bed, which was empty, with no sign of himself.

Not only were things still, but there was no sound. Li Zhuaiyuan realized that he hadn’t heard anything for a long time, the silence was terrifying.

He started to feel anxious, not knowing how long he would remain in this dream.

He opened the door leading to the balcony. The second-floor balcony of the building was connected, with red and white tiles.

Looking into the distance, he could barely recognize the fields near the houses, but most of the area was a bleak, blank expanse.

Looking up, the sun’s position was now just a glowing white patch, like an eraser that could fall and erase everything.

“Hey, is this Auntie Liu’s house?”

A voice came from the courtyard below, startling and almost piercing in the silence.

Standing on the second floor, Li Zhuaiyuan looked down to see a man in his fifties carrying an old lady on his back.

The old lady was very thin, with only a few bones visible under her withered skin. Her hair was long and disheveled, hanging over her back.

“Hey, is this Auntie Liu’s house?”

The man asked again, anxiously turning in place with the old lady on his back.

Li Zhuaiyuan wasn’t sure if he should respond.

At that moment,

The old lady, who had been lying on the man’s back, suddenly raised her head, facing Li Zhuaiyuan on the second floor.

Despite the charcoal sketch, her eyes were unnaturally detailed, filled with anger, malice, and venom.

In the next moment, everything around Li Zhuaiyuan began to spin and twist, as if a vortex had appeared, tearing and pulling everything, including himself, into the abyss.

…

“Brother Yuanhou?”

Li Zhuaiyuan opened his eyes to see Cuicui’s concerned face.

“Brother Yuanhou, were you dreaming?”

“Yeah,” Li Zhuaiyuan sat up and replied, “How long did I sleep?”

“Not long, just two hours. Brother Yuanhou, let’s go downstairs for dinner.”

“No, I’ll go home to eat.”

“Oh, don’t be so polite, Brother Yuanhou.” Cuicui took Li Zhuaiyuan’s hand and led him downstairs. “Mom, Brother Yuanhou is awake.”

At this moment, Liu Jinxia and her three card friends had finished lunch and were starting their afternoon session.

Li Juxiang smiled and lifted the red lid on the kitchen table, revealing the meal she had saved for him. “Little Yuanhou, come and eat. I’ll warm up the soup for you.”

“Auntie, I’ll go home to eat.”

“Come on, don’t be so formal, dear. I never was with your mom. Besides, Cuicui has been waiting for you to wake up to eat together.”

“Thank you, Auntie.”

“Brother Yuanhou, sit here.” Cuicui sat down first, and Li Zhuaiyuan went to the other side of the table to help with the bowls and chopsticks.

“Go sit, I’ll get them.”

“Okay, Auntie.”

Li Zhuaiyuan returned to his seat, and Li Juxiang quickly placed the chopsticks and a bowl of rice in front of him.

The table was set with small dishes, not in large quantities, but more than enough for the two children. There were two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes, with the bowl of braised pork with potatoes having mostly meat, clearly set aside for him.

Li Juxiang brought a bowl of fish stew, drizzled with sesame oil and a splash of vinegar, making it fragrant and tempting.

Additionally, she opened a can of mixed fruit, pouring a bowl for each child.

In the village, this was considered a very lavish meal.

“Little Yuanhou, stay for dinner tonight. I’ll make something special for you,” Li Juxiang said with a smile.

Li Zhuaiyuan put down his chopsticks and said, “It’s already a lot, thank you, Auntie.”

“Don’t put down your chopsticks, eat.”

Li Juxiang patted Li Zhuaiyuan’s head, admiring how well his mother had raised him. Polite and considerate children were always liked.

“Little Yuanhou, does your mom cook for you at home?”

Li Zhuaiyuan shook his head, placing his chopsticks on the bowl. “No, she doesn’t.”

“Is it because she’s busy with work?”

“Yeah, she’s very busy.”

“What about your grandparents? Don’t they cook for you?”

“Not often.”

“Where do you usually eat?”

“At a neighbor’s house.”

After school, in the residential area, retired grandparents would often invite him to their homes for meals.

“ Poor child.” Li Juxiang stopped asking and told the children to eat. She then took the hot water bottle to refill the water for the card players.

At that moment, a voice called out from outside:

“Hey, is this Auntie Liu’s house?”

Hearing this, Li Zhuaiyuan’s chopsticks slipped from his hand and fell to the ground.

“Clatter!”

…

In the hall, Liu Jinxia threw her bridge cards on the table and clapped her hands. “Let’s call it a day.”

The three card friends nodded and got up, clearly used to this situation.

Before leaving the hall, they each went to the basin in the corner to wash their hands.

The basin was filled with banana leaves. They rubbed the leaves on their hands, shook them off, and dried them with a towel.

This was to ward off bad luck, a ritual Liu Jinxia had set up to add to her mystique, regardless of how the villagers perceived her.

Li Zhuaiyuan and Cuicui entered the hall, and Liu Jinxia got up from her chair. “Did you eat?”

“We’re eating, just came to check,” Cuicui said.

“Nothing to see. Little Cuicui, help your grandma put the cards away.”

“Okay, Grandma.”

After giving the instruction, Liu Jinxia walked inside to her office, a dimly lit room.

“Be careful, there’s a step here,” Li Juxiang’s voice came from outside. She had gone out to greet the caller.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine, I’m fine.”

Li Zhuaiyuan looked at the hall door and saw Li Juxiang helping an old man step over the threshold.

The old man was hunched over, his hands resting on his lower back, like a hunchback.

It also seemed as if he was carrying someone who wasn’t there.

“Is this your child?” the old man asked, smiling at the two children.

“The girl is mine, the boy is my sister’s. My mom is waiting for you. Go through the front door and turn right at the end.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll go. I can’t keep Auntie Liu waiting.”

The old man continued inside.

Li Zhuaiyuan’s gaze remained fixed on the old man’s hunchback.

The old man entered the inner door, turned right, and was about to continue when he suddenly stopped.

Because he was hunched over, his upper body was now hidden behind the wall, leaving only his hunchback in view.

Then,

his hands, resting on his lower back, lifted slightly. His left arm pressed down, his right arm raised, his hips moved inward, and his shoulders turned outward, his face pressed against the wall.

Li Zhuaiyuan looked at the old man’s empty back and felt as if there was someone on it, looking at him.

“What’s wrong?” Li Juxiang asked.

The old man’s rough voice suddenly had a high, raspy quality. “This child…”

Li Zhuaiyuan’s hands tightened in tension. He remembered when his mother had taken him to view a mural, and he had asked why a large part of it was left blank. His mother had said:

“Little Yuan, this is the negative space, left for you to imagine. It makes the effect better.”

At the time, he had been confused, but now, he seemed to understand.

“Hurry up, my mom is waiting for you.”

Li Juxiang urged him again, not understanding why he had stopped. However, she didn’t find his posture strange, given that he was a hunchback.

“Okay.” The old man responded and suddenly squatted down, his body leaning back, his hands supporting him on the ground.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

Li Juxiang reached out to help, but despite his hunched and thin frame, his weight was heavy, and she couldn’t lift him. Fortunately, he maintained his balance, squatting without falling.

Li Zhuaiyuan stumbled back a few steps.

The posture was like he was putting someone down.

Sunlight streamed into the hall, but the old tiles on the floor reflected little light, only showing slight changes in brightness.

Li Zhuaiyuan’s gaze shifted to the inner door. Two small areas, about the size of feet, seemed to darken slightly.

It was so subtle that Li Zhuaiyuan thought he might be imagining it.

Then, two more areas darkened and quickly returned to normal, but they were getting closer.

Finally, the darkened areas appeared on the tiles in front of him and remained.

A cold wind blew, and Li Zhuaiyuan felt his face, chest, and limbs grow cold, but he was facing the room, and there was no wind inside.

The darkened areas on the tiles grew darker, and the cold intensified.

Li Zhuaiyuan swallowed hard. His eyes flickered, and an instinct told him not to look directly. It was as if there was a withered old lady, leaning forward, her face approaching him.

Li Zhuaiyuan bit his lip.

Suddenly, he felt a stronger cold on his left cheek, like an ice block pressed against it, and his scalp began to tingle.

The old man, still squatting, turned to look at him and continued, “This child is so well-behaved.”

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end