Xia Chen had not yet walked completely out of the village at this moment. Looking at the muddy road ahead, he felt a lingering sense of unease.
For some reason, ever since he stepped out of Shi Yao's courtyard, his right eyelid had been twitching incessantly. He kept feeling that something was not quite right, though he could not put his finger on what the problem was.
"Should I go back and check?" Xia Chen thought to himself, but he quickly shook his head.
At this hour, people were probably starting to have dinner. If he suddenly went back over there, would it leave a bad impression, making them think he was coming over for a free meal?
A gust of cool wind blew past, making Xia Chen shiver. Subconsciously, he reached his hand into his jacket pocket.
"Huh, what is this?" He realized there seemed to be something extra inside his pocket.
When Xia Chen pulled out the object from his pocket, his expression froze in shock.
He looked at the small stack of banknotes in his hand. Weren't these the very tips he had paid Shi Yao earlier when buying barbecue?
"This girl." Xia Chen sighed helplessly. Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he turned around to retrace his steps toward Shi Yao's place.
"There is no reason for things I, Xia Chen, have given away to be returned to me."
Perhaps because he deliberately quickened his pace, in less than five minutes Xia Chen arrived back at Shi Yao's small earthen cottage.
Since he had already thought up a solid excuse along the way, he was not afraid of being misunderstood.
Walking up to the door, Xia Chen was about to reach out and knock when he noticed the door was ajar. Seeing this, he gently pushed open the wooden door in front of him.
After pushing the door open, Xia Chen's body jolted. Not far within his line of sight was a sizable pool of blood, and lying facedown in that pool of blood was none other than the young girl who, just a short while ago, had stood right where he was standing now, waving goodbye to him.
Fresh blood stained the girl's sweater, and a smudge remained beneath the corner of her mouth.
What made Xia Chen even more bone-chilled was seeing Shi Jing watching from not far away, holding a dripping piece of glass in his hand.
Their eyes met, and sparks were completely ignited in that instant.
Shi Jing forced a morbid smile. "What, did you come back to collect her corpse?"
Hearing this, Xia Chen's body trembled uncontrollably. It felt as though something was stuck in his throat, causing a sharp, unbearable pain.
Reason told him that now was not the right time to make a move, but right now, what the hell reason did he have left?
With lightning speed, Xia Chen snatched up a hoe leaning against the wall and brought it crashing down toward Shi Jing.
Shi Jing, who had just been wearing a calm expression, widened his eyes in utter shock. He had expected the other guy to charge over and fight him hand-to-hand, which would have given him the advantage, but he never imagined that Xia Chen would ignore all the rules and immediately attack with a hoe.
Since Shi Jing had not yet shaken off his drunken stupor, plus the fact that he had expended a great deal of energy on Shi Yao just moments before, he had nowhere to run and no way to dodge Xia Chen's swing.
Caught completely off guard, Shi Jing was struck in the head and staggered back several steps. Xia Chen gave him no breathing room; in his eyes, scum like this did not deserve to live, and he swung the hoe down for a second strike.
Just like that, the "pitiful" Shi Jing was beaten down to the ground by Xia Chen's two hoe blows before he could even react.
After finishing off Shi Jing, Xia Chen dropped the hoe and rushed hurriedly to Shi Yao's side. With trembling hands, he pulled out a tissue from his pocket to try and staunch her bleeding.
The girl on the ground seemed to share a telepathic connection with him at that moment. She struggled to open her eyes, and upon seeing Xia Chen, the girl who had always tried to be strong could no longer hold it in. Tears fell from her face like pearls that cost nothing.
Was this just a hallucination on the verge of death? Even if it was just a hallucination, she felt completely content.
At least heaven had not treated her too unkindly, letting her have a good dream right before she died.Seeing Shi Yao open her eyes, Xia Chen felt a surge of joy. With trembling arms, he scooped the girl up horizontally into his arms, low, muffled sobs spilling from his lips: "Girl, I'm begging you, please don't sleep, okay? I'm taking you to the hospital."
Shi Yao's consciousness was gradually fading as she murmured, "Brother Xia Chen, you were right. We really are destined for each other."
"Yes, our meeting was fated."
Regrettably, just as he spoke those words, the young girl in his arms closed her eyes.
Carrying Shi Yao, Xia Chen sprinted all the way. Along the path, blood dropped from the girl's body, a truly gruesome sight.
Upon reaching the hospital, he watched helplessly as the girl was wheeled into the operating room. At that moment, Xia Chen, who had lived for twenty-four years, finally understood what true terror was.
His clothes were stained with blood too, but he had no time to change his shirt, as he still needed to pay Shi Yao's surgical fees. Fortunately, he still had the tens of thousands of yuan that Cheng Ruo and the others had given him in his bank card, which was at least enough to avert the immediate crisis.
He did everything he possibly could, until finally there was nothing left to do, and he collapsed weakly to the floor.
Xia Chen lit a cigarette for himself. He hadn't smoked in a long time, and this time he tried to use the cigarette to numb himself, but the moment he closed his eyes, the girl's bloody, mangled face seemed to appear right before him.
"Sir, this is a hospital, smoking is prohibited." Seeing that Xia Chen's emotional state was unstable, a young intern nurse who was mopping the floor hurriedly put down her mop and walked over to gently remind him.
Xia Chen glanced at her, then stood up, stubbed out the cigarette, and stumbled toward the balcony in the hospital corridor.
This action startled the intern nurse. Drawing a sharp breath, she asked, "Sir, are you all right?"
At that moment, Xia Chen seemed not to have heard the intern nurse at all. He walked up to the balcony, leaned weakly against the wall, pulled out his phone on his own accord, and dialed a number saved under the contact name "Uncle Qi".Tonight was the first sleepless night in Xia Chen's entire life.
Inside the hospital room, looking at the young girl on the bed whose brows were furrowed in pain, Xia Chen was consumed by self-reproach as he fiercely pounded his own head with his fist.
According to the surgeon, at least three fragments remained lodged inside the girl's head, too small to be removed. Xia Chen naturally knew what that meant.
He reached out and gently touched the side of the girl's face.
"My girl, why didn't you tell me?"
Xia Chen's gaze grew gradually softer as he murmured to himself, "Don't worry, this time I won't let go of your hand. I will stay with you always."
As if sensing this in her heart, the girl on the bed slowly unknotted her tightly furrowed brows. A sparse, scattered moonlight spilled across her face, draping her in a thin veil.
I was once a cocoon discarded in a dark gutter, yet because of the single ray of light you bestowed upon me, I broke out of my cocoon to become a butterfly. Thus fearless, I flew through the endless night, finally reaching your side.
"You gave me the hope of life, and I will certainly not fail your expectations."
The next day, the sun gradually rose. The girl's eyelashes fluttered slightly as she caught a glimpse of the first ray of morning sunlight.
"Am I dead? Xia Chen, big brother, I'm sorry. I broke my promise."
Blinded by the dazzling sunlight, Shi Yao could barely open her eyes. She vaguely felt as though she were trapped in a small, enclosed space, surrounded by a glaring whiteness.
It seemed her soul had already passed through transcendence and arrived in heaven.
The girl struggled to turn her head, feeling only that her eyes were shrouded in white light, until a figure finally reflected in her long-lusterless eyes.
"Xia, Xia Chen, big brother."
Shi Yao's large, dark eyes widened as round as copper bells, filled with utter disbelief. She desperately wanted to reach out and rub her eyes, but unfortunately, she couldn't manage it.