Chapter 13

My mother once asked me a similar question.

That was the first time my mother showed me a videotape of her competition. Back then, she was full of energy, wearing a pure white ballet skirt. Accompanied by beautiful orchestral music, she danced on tiptoe as lightly as a butterfly, the hem of her skirt like her graceful and beautiful wings.

I was too young and superficial at that time, and I didn’t understand what kind of hardships were required under such a glamorous appearance. I just felt that the stage, the scene, the applause and cheers of the audience at the curtain call, the glittering fireworks blooming from the sky, the dazzling lights... everything was so dreamy.

So when she asked me if I wanted to stand on a stage like her, I nodded almost without hesitation.

Mother was once someone I aspired to be.

So bold, so beautiful...

But I am so ordinary, with no talent in dancing. I can only use my insignificant diligence to chase that figure, fearing that one day at some moment I will slack off and be surpassed by others.

Day after day, until all my love is worn out.

*

"Will you think that I...the protagonist of this story is a coward who has accomplished nothing?"

The senior on the other end of the phone paused and said, "No, I think she's very brave. Sometimes it's amazing that she can bravely speak out about something she doesn't like."

I didn’t…

I'm not that brave a guy at all.

On the contrary, I always love to lie.

My mother asked me if I liked dancing, and I said yes.

--That's a lie. I just don't want to disappoint my mother.

My father also asked me if I like dancing, and I said yes.

--That's a lie. I just hope they don't quarrel over this.

My mother asked me if I supported her in pursuing her dream again, and I said yes.

--That's a lie too. I just want her to be happier.

…

In short, no matter what, I have nothing to do with the words honesty and courage.

But my senior said that I was a very brave person and that I had done a great job, and that he might not be so brave if he were in my place.

Damn it, I didn’t say that the protagonist was me…

but--

I tightened my grip on the phone, and after a long moment, I said, "So, Senior, can I ask you a favor?"

"Hmm? What's up?"

I slowly exhaled, and said without any embarrassment, "Praise me more, I love to hear it."

“…”

“You…”

He sighed helplessly on the other end of the phone, but finally followed my words and started praising me.

For example, even though I hate math, every time someone explains a problem to me, I still listen carefully before going to sleep...

For example, even though I said I had no experience raising cacti, I would share some of my daily life with him every day and carefully ask him about various details...

For example...

All of this ended up making me feel embarrassed by all the praise. I lay on the bed as if I were lying on a soft cloud, and said in a light-hearted voice, "Hey, am I as good as you say, senior?"

The person on the other side was puzzled and thought, "Of course, my girlfriend is a very good person."

Never stop until you say something shocking!

I sat up in shock (no, not in a state of dying illness), all the blood in my body rushed to my head, I yelled "Ah" and threw the phone to the ground in a hurry as if it were a hot potato.

The phone made a crisp clanging sound.

"This phone must be broken! That's why I heard that kind of nonsense!"

"Could it be that Senior has been possessed? This is truly... so terrifying!!!"

It must be like this!

Senior:?

*

I smashed my phone directly.

I really didn't expect that such a small fall would send my phone directly to the hospital. Well, what a rubbish fruit water machine!

I'll replace you when I save enough pocket money!

So the next day, which happened to be the weekend, I walked out of the mobile phone repair shop with my gradually empty wallet. The repairman was quite nice and helped me fully charge my phone.

The moment I turned on my phone, a lot of messages came in.

First is Ryoma Echizen's, and when you click on it, you will see words of concern.

Humph, I'm still taking my anger out on this brat, so never mind, just cross it out.

Then there's Senior Cactus. Sorry, the word "girlfriend" had such a strong impact on me yesterday that I haven't recovered yet, so I skipped it and didn't even have the courage to click on it...

What the hell... Senior Cactus, I'm not the brave person you say I am...

Then came the news about Aunt Huimei.

Because I told her about my mother yesterday, she seemed a little worried and sent me many messages in a row.

Aunt Huimei: That woman is so powerful! I already... Never mind, Nana-chan, are you okay?

Aunt Huimei: Don’t worry about what that woman said…

Aunt Huimei: Why aren't you replying? Oh, yeah, sorry, I just got off the plane. It's late in China now, right? Anyway, don't worry about it. I'll book a flight back early tomorrow morning. If there's anything, I'll handle it when I get back...

I continued to scroll down, and the last message was sent by her in the early morning -

Aunt Huimei: You must take good care of yourself when I'm not around.

Aunt Huimei: If there is an emergency, you can call this number: 1xxxxx9.

I felt a little strange when I read this sentence, but I couldn't tell what was strange, so I just thought that she was too worried about me.

However, judging by the time, Aunt Huimei should be getting off the plane by now if she has a flight this morning.

Thinking of this, I took the remaining pocket money in my wallet to the supermarket, bought some fresh ingredients, and went home to wait for Aunt Huimei.

*

But when I was at home, I waited from dusk until dark but Aunt Huimei didn't show up. Even calling her on her cell phone didn't go through. Could it be that the plane was delayed?

I had a bad feeling in my heart and felt a little upset, so I casually turned on the TV, which was broadcasting the evening news.

The female host was dressed in formal attire and reported with a serious expression:

At 7:00 this morning, a plane carrying 119 people took off from Casablanca, bound for Tokyo, Japan. Half an hour after takeoff, it suddenly crashed in the southern Sahara Desert. Rescue teams are searching for survivors, but experts point out that the likelihood of survival after a 10,000-meter crash is slim. The cause of the accident is still under investigation. Below is the passenger list, including 57 Japanese nationals.

At this moment, the serious image of the female host was instantly switched to a long list.

I saw a name among them at first sight and was stunned for a moment.

--Koizumi Emi, female, 35 years old.

*

There was no light in the room, and the furniture around was perfectly hidden in the darkness. Only the faint moonlight shone through the window onto a small area beside the bed.

I forgot how I got back to the room. When I came to my senses, I was sitting on the bed with the quilt in my arms. The moonlight made me feel extremely cold.

Since I saw the news, I called Aunt Huimei countless times, but every time I couldn't get through.

Aunt Huimei’s plane crash seemed as light as a feather, leaving me with no sense of reality at all, yet it was as heavy as Mount Tai, weighing on my heart.

She was messaging me just a few hours ago...and I bought so many fresh ingredients to eat with her when she comes back...

I held my head in my hands and didn't cry, but there were moments when I felt like I was suffocating and couldn't breathe at all.

The whole room was as quiet as a tomb...

So that the footsteps coming from the stairs were so clear.

“Da—da—”

Footsteps?

My breathing stopped and a feeling of ecstasy flashed through my mind, but was ruthlessly extinguished the next moment.

"...Nai...Nai?"

It was a man's voice.

A stranger found out the password to my house and snuck in!

Perhaps it is because when people are in completely desperate situations, they often burst out with courage that they would never have under normal circumstances. Some very terrible thoughts flashed through my mind. I tiptoed quietly, walked carefully on the floor, picked up a vase from the desk and went behind the door.

"nano...."

The footsteps were right in front of me. Just outside the wall, a strange man was standing in front of my door.

“Aa ...

The door was pushed open and a tall, dark figure walked in. I raised my hand and the glass vase fell, hitting the back of his head.

"Nai...Nai?"

The man's questioning voice trailed off before he collapsed to the floor, temporarily unconscious.

"Nai you na na na!"

I bent down to check out the man. He had blond hair and the same wheat-colored skin as Aunt Huimei. He looked like a mixed-race person and was quite handsome.

With a face like that, he would have become rich long ago as a gigolo... But he chose to rob people's homes... He is really going astray!

I continued to check the things on him. There was a leather wallet with many bank cards, credit cards and tens of thousands of yuan bills. I counted them and there were 20 of them!

Probably stolen money...

Then I saw the other person’s ID card, which contained his identity information——

[Name: Feng Guling, age...]

I picked it up and was about to take a photo and call the police, but then a police ID card slipped onto the floor.

Me: Huh???

I suddenly remembered Aunt Huimei's last message. The moment I realized that the two of them might be related in some way, I swallowed hard, took out my cell phone with trembling hands, and dialed the number.

The man lying on the ground heard the ringing of a phone.

No, man, why don't you knock on the door before entering someone else's house?