Stealing a chicken but losing the rice (4)

This place often rains at night and clears up in the morning. It was now the time of the rain, which was intensifying. The streets were already deserted of vehicles and pedestrians. The fog was thick, with visibility reduced to just two or three meters. On this street, a tall, slender man, holding a black umbrella and walking with a dog in a yellow raincoat, was strolling.

Song Shiwen had a red plastic bag tied to his head and a black garbage bag torn open to make a poncho, both used to keep out the rain, but it was of little use. The rain was pouring down, soaking every inch of his body. The patter of raindrops fell on his head, numbing his scalp. Streams of raindrops flowed from his hat, past his eye sockets, down his nose, and along his jaw. He had been following the man in front of him for a long time, and he was sure he knew what was going on, but simply didn't care.

He kept walking. Wherever the dog took him, he went. He walked through almost half of the city. It was the first time Song Shiwen realized how long it took to walk in such a small place. He was almost unable to hold on, and he kept chewing candy in his mouth to prevent fainting. But his body was already weak, and now it was so cold, it would be strange if he didn't get hurt. If he collapsed anywhere, he would probably not see the sun tomorrow.

Thinking of this, the man in front stopped, turned around, and started walking back. The dog actually followed him obediently.

The two were only five meters apart. The figure in Song Shiwen's eyes gradually became clearer, and he could hear the other person's laughter. Although it was suppressed by the sound of rain, he could still make it out.

"Here's my umbrella for you." Shuixi handed the umbrella over, but Song Shiwen didn't take it, so he had to hold the umbrella between the two of them.

"Where did you send the deer?" Song Shiwen demanded. He had clearly sent the deer, but the hospital said they had never seen it and wouldn't answer his calls.

"Little deer?" Shuixi questioned.

"His surname is Lu, and his name is Cang Yue." Song Shiwen said firmly, his teeth itching with hatred.

"I don't know!" Shuixi's eyes were clear.

"Don't know?!" Song Shiwen's fist rushed forward, but it was limp in Shuixi's hand. He couldn't support his body and knelt on the ground. Others who saw him might think he had fallen, but Shuixi kindly supported him. Shuixi let him go, and Song Shiwen fell to the ground. The rain on the road was a foot deep, washing over Song Shiwen's body. The dog next to him came close to sniff and barked at him twice. Seeing him like this, Shuixi couldn't bear it, so he picked him up and sent him under the eaves.

"Don't worry, let me think... Lu Cangyue..." Shuixi looked thoughtful. Seeing Song Shiwen gradually relax at his reaction, he figured he'd learned how easily those around him tended to forget about her. "She was picked up by a young boy who said he was her younger brother."

"Brother? I've never heard of her having a brother..." Song Shiwen's tense body relaxed, and he suddenly felt like he was about to collapse. He took out the last two candies, hurriedly tore open the packaging, put them in his mouth, and swallowed them whole.

"There are many things you don't know, and here's one more thing..."

"What?" Song Shiwen was nervous.

"Her brother is the cat abuser you've been so angry about." Shuixi said this with a gloating smile. "One more thing, he seems to have some unusual power. I advise you not to get close to him. Go home and have a shower. You have an exam tomorrow."

He looked at Song Shiwen's hand. The amulet he had been wearing recently was wet and was dripping with gray-black water droplets.

When Shuixi was about to leave, Song Shiwen grabbed his collar and demanded, "How did you know? What are you doing here?"

"Of course I'm walking the dog! What else can I do?" Shuixi raised the rope in his hand, and the dog barked twice in cooperation.

"Who would believe that? You're walking your dog here so late?"

"What do you care about me?" Shuixi closed her umbrella, placed it beside Song Shiwen, and walked out into the rain with his dog. Song Shiwen watched helplessly as the man's back faded into the mist, the rain washing over him without changing his direction. His head ached, and he wondered if he had seen it wrong.

It was the first time Cang Yue had slept so comfortably. In her dream, she smelled the fragrance of Sophora japonica flowers. After a long time, she suddenly woke up with a start. The room was indeed filled with fragrance. She saw a bottle of light green liquid on the table. It was the smell coming from that thing. She looked at the time and it was already half past eight in the morning. The sun shone through the window and fell on her face, warm and cozy. No wonder she had such a wonderful dream? It was great that she stayed safely and her body had almost recovered. But where was Song Qiren? Did he go to school? Left her alone in her room?

Just as he was standing there, the door suddenly opened, revealing an extremely old face. Its bark-like lips, at a height only a child could reach, uttered indistinct sounds. Zang Yue looked at him with fear, rubbing her heart while trying to guess, "Do you want water? Or porridge?"

In the thermos box on the table was the porridge that Tan Songqi bought for her.

The old man's hands were digging something out, and Zang Yue couldn't understand what it was.

There was a deafening noise outside the door, as if someone had returned. Like a bear, they stood in the small, cramped living room, kicking things and throwing food off the table against the wall. The old man crawled out, closing the door with difficulty, and began to scream.

"Old man, what are you doing in my son's room? Are you trying to kill yourself? You dared to go in when I wasn't even allowed in? What were you doing in there?"

The old man whimpered, his voice becoming more urgent. Zang Yue couldn't help but open the door and go out to stop him. The middle-aged man was a little surprised when he heard the door open. He turned around and immediately smiled. "Is this my son's girlfriend? They started dating so early? Hey, kid, you're not bad, but you're a few years behind me. What's the girl's name?"

Cang Yue remembered who this person was. That night, Song Shiwen and his friends were taken to the police station because of a dispute with this person.

"Are you shy, little girl? Go inside and sit down. That damned Tan Songqi will be back soon. Come in."

Zang Yue's eyes turned cold when he looked at him, "No, I'm leaving now."

The man grabbed Zang Yue's shoulders and pulled her back. She twisted around, grabbing the man's arm and twisting it, then taking advantage of the opportunity to kick him in the face. The man didn't react and immediately covered his shoulder and face, screaming.

Zang Yue immediately ran to the door, but she couldn't open it no matter how hard she tried.

The man behind him cursed furiously, unbearable to listen. He grabbed a nearby bag of flour and threw it at Zang Yue, sending white powder all over the room. Blinded by the flour, Zang Yue listened intently for the man's movements, but the old man was still screaming at the top of his lungs.

He seemed to be coming over, holding something in his hand. The door behind him seemed to open, and a bright light appeared at his feet.

A massive object crashed down upon her. Cang Yue shielded her head with both hands, kicking back. The man cursed, saying he'd fallen for a little girl and couldn't live without her. Given that, she wouldn't hold back. The door had clearly been wide enough for one person to pass through, and a pair of legs she'd seen before had entered. Why was it crashing down upon her again with such force?

Her kick went astray, her arms colliding, the pain piercing her head. She fell to the dirty floor and saw a bug crawling in the corner. What had happened to her? Why was she so weak? And why, even after this injury, could she lie still and calmly? Her consciousness gradually faded, and soon her eyes closed.

In the hospital, the patient on the bed was speechless and in disbelief. Hearing the man dismiss his friends one by one, he felt so angry that he wanted to curse, but thinking about facing him when he woke up, he decided to hold it in. The man seemed very patient, sitting by the bed, reading the newspaper, and occasionally leaning over to check on Song Shiwen.

He finally couldn't hold it in any longer, threw back the covers, and rushed to the bathroom with the IV. Three minutes later, he returned, sitting back on the bed with a look of despair. Shuixi hadn't even changed her posture; she was still reading the newspaper.

"You brought me to the hospital?"

"Yeah, how is it?" Shuixi spoke to him without a good tone, ""

"Thank you." Although he was reluctant, Song Shiwen still expressed his gratitude seriously.

"What benefits do you offer me?"

It was as if he had waited until now just to ask this.

"What do you want?" Hearing him say this, Song Shiwen felt much better. "Money or anything else is fine, except for one thing."

"What?"

"You can't take the girl I like away from you."

Shuixi finally raised her head and looked at Song Shiwen, "The girl you like? Who is it?"

Who is it? Song Shiwen felt like he had forgotten something, so he went to touch the small notebook and found that he was wearing a hospital gown. The coat he wore yesterday was placed on the back of Shuixi's chair. How could someone say that he liked a girl but couldn't even remember her name and appearance? Why did he say that Shuixi was not allowed to snatch the girl he liked? Did he? Song Shiwen was confused. Seeing that Shuixi was expecting an answer, he quickly responded, "Anyway, it's right that you don't snatch her. Tell me, what benefits do you want? Apart from this, I can't be as loyal to Hui Zifeng as you are. I can't do it!"

He deliberately emphasized the word "loyal" to humiliate Shuixi. Actually, this was what he had heard from friends: Shuixi followed Hui Zifeng like a loyal servant. He had never witnessed such an outrageous scene.

"Actually, I hate him too." Shuixi closed the newspaper and threw it on the table, looking nonchalant. This had no effect on Song Shiwen's ears. He didn't care about the relationship between Shuixi and Hui Zifeng, nor did he care about what others thought of Hui Zifeng.

"He's quite annoying. What's so good about him that Xiaolu wants to be close to him?" Song Shiwen was surprised when he said this. He couldn't remember why he kept saying these words unconsciously over and over again when he thought about it. "Why am I saying this? Who is Xiaolu? Shuixi, do you know who Xiaolu is?"

Shuixi remained silent upon hearing this, looking somewhat uncomfortable. Song Shiwen got out of bed, grabbed his coat, and searched for the small notebook. Unfortunately, it was soaked through, leaving only streaks of ink, not a single word left. Feeling irritated and distraught, he noticed the amulet on his hand, also distorted by the water, and wanted to remove it and throw it away. Shuixi's gaze silently shifted elsewhere.

"Master Wenjie said that my experience is very similar to what Hui Zifeng is going through. Shuixi, is Hui Zifeng also as neurotic as I am? There is a familiar person in my mind, but I can't find any memory of him?"

Shuixi looked at Song Shiwen, his eyes seeming satisfied with his reaction. However, when Hui Zifeng was mentioned, he found it a little ridiculous. He said, "You are different from him. He is jumpy and suspicious, but you have truly forgotten. Isn't this painful? You knew everything, but you missed the opportunity and did nothing. Someone very important to you is suffering and slowly dying, while you are happily thinking about who you will go and play with later."

"What are you talking about?" Song Shiwen was puzzled. "Are you crazy?" He was no different from Hui Zifeng.

"By the time you remember, everything is already a foregone conclusion. No matter how miserable you are, it doesn't matter. If you hadn't forgotten, that person wouldn't have ended up in such a miserable state."

"What are you talking about?" Song Shiwen said seriously. He suspected Shuixi was hinting at something, but he had no clue.

"I didn't say anything." Shui Xi smiled calmly, "I just said a few words out of kindness. Don't take it to heart. I'm leaving now. You should have a good rest."

Finally gone! Song Shiwen breathed a sigh of relief. He wanted to take out his phone to play games, but suddenly he remembered that his friend had taken a video one day. He still remembered that friend said that he was shy when he first saw him. He flipped through the chat history and finally found the video. When he opened it, it was obvious that there was someone next to him, but the picture was blurry, like a mosaic. He called the friend, and the other party thought about it carefully for a long time and replied: "I saw you and a girl together, and I took a video for you, but you deleted it from my phone! What does she look like? Let me think...is she the monitor of Class 2? Are you dating?"

Not at all. What on earth was Shuixi talking about? Song Shiwen couldn't figure it out, and sighed several times. He put down his phone, closed his eyes, and decided to have a good sleep before talking about it.