Chapter 136 The Gears of Fate

Shi Nianzhi vaguely sensed something, but still smiled and said, "What? Are we going back together? I already said no..."

Lu Jiunian interrupted Shi Nianzhi, speaking in an extremely serious tone, "You'll be going back alone."

The smile on Shi Nianzhi's face faded. "What does this mean?"

Lu Jiunian removed Shi Nianzhi's hand from his waist, stood up and looked down at Shi Nianzhi.

A cold, emotionless voice said, "You never belonged here."

Shi Nianzhi's hand was pressed against the bed sheet. He looked up, his dark eyes staring at Lu Jiunian. After a while, disappointment gradually crept into his gaze.

"Does this mean you're going to abandon me again?"

Shi Nianzhi felt as if something was stuck in his throat, and it took him a lot of effort to utter that sentence completely.

Lu Jiunian remained silent.

Shi Nianzhi's fingers tightened, gripping the bed sheet tightly. "Is that so?"

His voice had become hoarse, grief was building up in his chest, and he was in unbearable pain.

Lu Jiunian turned around, his back to Shi Nianzhi, and said, "Go back to your hometown. Didn't you keep saying you wanted to go back? You don't like it here."

"I don't like it here..."

Shi Nianzhi seemed to have heard a funny joke. He looked at Lu Jiunian's back, his voice hoarse, "Is it that I don't like it here, or do you no longer want me to stay here?"

"I'll have Aunt Zhang pack your things for you."

Shi Nianzhi didn't even know how the tears fell. When he realized it, his face was already wet. He said in a hoarse voice, "I'll leave right away. You're not in my way."

Shi Nianzhi threw off the covers, stood up, and walked to Lu Jiunian.

His gaze traveled from the man's face down to the hand he was holding, and he pointed to the hand, "This ring..."

"It's my wedding ring, do you want to hear more?"

Lu Jiunian looked at Shi Nianzhi with heartache in his eyes. In fact, Shi Nianzhi only needed to look up to see that he was also reluctant to part with her.

But Shi Nianzhi no longer had the courage to look up, so he turned and left.

"Your train ticket has been bought. Just bring your ID to pick it up."

"Bang----"

Shi Nian slammed his fist into the door, but despite the force, he seemed to feel no pain.

After a long pause, Shi Nianzhi finally said, "I understand."

He quickly disappeared from Lu Jiunian's sight.

Lu Jiunian seemed to have all his strength drained away. He sat on the bed, opened his palm, and looked at the ring.

"Young Master Shi, it's cold outside, you should put on another layer of clothing."

"Need not."

Shi Nianzhi pushed the down jacket back; he didn't want any more of Lu Jiunian's things.

He walked out the door, and the car that Lu Jiunian had arranged was already parked at the entrance.

Zhang Sao, dressed in thin clothes, saw Shi Nianzhi out, then stood at the door, watching Shi Nianzhi's back with heartache and reluctance in her eyes.

As Shi Nianzhi was about to get on the bus, he suddenly looked at Aunt Zhang and then bowed to her.

"Thank you for taking care of me for so long."

Aunt Zhang's eyes instantly reddened. "Young Master Shi, I'll be waiting for you to come back."

Shi Nianzhi knew he wouldn't be coming back, but he still gave Zhang Sao a slight, kind smile before opening the car door and getting into the back seat.

He didn't try to be coy and refuse Lu Jiunian's offer to send a driver to take him; after all, all he wanted to do now was escape this place as quickly as possible.

TRAIN STATION.

Shi Nianzhi picked up his ticket, but in the crowded train station, he couldn't even find a seat and had to stand there.

Even though it was Chinese New Year's Day, many people were still rushing home.

Home is a very warm word.

Shi Nianzhi closed her eyes, thinking of her mother's delicious cooking, her father's simple smile, and a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner.

The pain in my heart gradually subsided.

He had the courage to leave Lu Jiunian again, and never look back, but that didn't mean he wouldn't be heartbroken by being abandoned by Lu Jiunian once again.

Shi Nianzhi leaned against the wall, feeling as if his heart was stuffed with cotton. He took a deep breath and then exhaled heavily.

Her eyelashes were covered in water droplets.

Fortunately, Lu Jiunian bought a ticket for the earliest possible departure, so he didn't have to wait too long.

Shi Nianzhi, carrying a schoolbag, stood alone amidst men and women carrying large and small bags as she went through the ticket check and entered the station, then crowded onto the train.

Sleeping berth, lower berth.

Shi Nianzhi had just sat down.

Hearing someone speak from next door, "Uncle, my mother is too old and really can't get a lower bunk anymore. Can we switch with you? We're willing to pay the difference."

"I'll switch with you if you have the middle bunk, but this top bunk is too much for a big man like me to climb up. We really can't switch."

"Isn't this a special case? How about I give you some extra money?"

"No, no, stop arguing."

Shi Nianzhi stood up. "I'll switch with you. I'll take the lower bunk."

"Oh, thank you so much. I'll pay you back."

"No need, you take the old man there."

Shi Nianzhi took off his shoes and climbed up to the upper bunk.

The train slowly started moving. Shi Nianzhi faced the partition wall, bit his finger, and suddenly could no longer hold back his sorrow, crying silently.

The hallway was filled with the sounds of children playing and adults laughing and chatting; everyone was looking forward to going home.

At the very top, however, sadness pervades the scene, accompanied by the faint sound of sniffling.

It's like two separate scenes, with incompatible atmospheres.

Indeed, people's joys and sorrows are not shared.

Shi Nianzhi got off the train in the early morning. It was snowing and very cold. He walked out of the station in the wind and snow, his eyes red and swollen. Fortunately, it was cold and everyone was dressed warmly and in a hurry, so no one noticed him.

Because of the snow and ice blocking the roads, the bus only went as far as the foot of the mountain and dared not go any further.

Shi Nianzhi walked the winding mountain road by himself, and by the time he got home, it was already noon on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

He knocked on the door.

Who is it?

Shi Dazhuang, wearing a thick coat, came to open the door. He was terribly surprised to see Shi Nianzhi, but his eyes were filled with joy.

But she still scolded him, "You child, it's so cold, we told you not to come back, why did you insist on coming back? You must be freezing, come inside and warm yourself by the fire."

Shi Nianzhi sniffed, his sorrow blown away by the wind and snow all the way.

I thought I was about to collapse last night, but I'm already fine today.

No matter how tough it gets, once you get through the darkest night and a brand new day arrives, it's a rebirth.

All that unbearable pain, vulnerability, and sorrow is buried in last night.

Shi Nianzhi entered the room and said, "I thought you would come back."

Hearing the noise, Li Zhi immediately ran out and took Shi Nianzhi's schoolbag. "You child, why are you dressed so lightly? Your hands are so cold! Come inside quickly, Mom will find you some clothes! And why didn't you call so I could come pick you up?"

"It's okay, I'm not cold."

"Nonsense, your eyes are swollen from the cold, and you still say you're not cold."

Shi Nianzhi touched her eyelids with her frozen fingers. "Oh, it's probably because I didn't sleep well."

He entered the room and saw the empty bowls and pot on his parents' dining table, with some noodles still inside.

Shi Nianzhi suddenly felt very sad. "Mom and Dad, why are you eating this?"

Li Zhi subconsciously tried to block it with her body, looking clumsy and cautious.

Shi Dazhuang said, "Since you're not home, your mom and I will just eat whatever we have."

Li Zhi carried the coal stove to Shi Nianzhi's side before saying, "The meat your dad bought is still hanging outside. Mom will cook some good dishes tonight. Look how thin you've become. Studying must be hard."

Shi Nianzhi walked over and hugged Li Zhi tightly, saying, "Mom, I missed you."

"You're all back now, okay, okay, Mom missed you too, my good son."

"Um."

"You haven't eaten, have you? I'll go make two dishes."

"Mom, no need to trouble yourself, this is fine with me."

"The noodles are getting cold!"

Li Zhi tried to stop him, but Shi Nianzhi had already picked up his chopsticks, picked up the noodles, and stuffed them into his mouth.

His cheeks were bulging from eating, and he laughed as he ate, saying, "Delicious."

He stopped eating midway through, desperately blinking away the tears welling in his eyes before swallowing the noodles.

Li Zhi had already made up the bed for him, with a thick quilt, afraid that Shi Nianzhi would get cold.

Shi Nianzhi didn't feel anything as he walked back.

But when he lay in bed, the ailments that had been suppressed in his body and chilled suddenly erupted.

He curled up into a ball, delirious with fever, and kept saying he was very cold.

"My fever has spiked again after taking fever-reducing medicine, what should I do?"

"I'll go get the doctor to come and take a look at him."

"It's snowing so heavily and it's late at night. Be careful with your flashlight."

"It's okay, I know the way well."

"Wait a minute, how about I go with you?"

"You should stay home and take care of our son. He has such a high fever; what if he becomes mentally impaired?"

"Pah, pah, pah, what nonsense are you talking about?"

The sounds faded into the distance, and Shi Nianzhi drifted off to sleep again.

Then he was woken up by a noise: "Get him to the hospital! His condition is not good! Get him to the hospital right away!"

"It's all my fault! I knew he wasn't well, how could I let him go to the doctor! What am I going to do? Honey, please hang in there, I beg you!"

What's wrong......

Shi Nianzhi forced himself to sit up despite his burning fever. He weakly picked up the thick down jacket from the bedside and got out of bed.

As I walked out through the thick snow, it was already dawn.

He saw his father lying on a stretcher, pale and lifeless.

"What's wrong?"

Shi Nianzhi quickly went over, but because she was too weak from the fever, she almost stumbled and fell in the snow.

He managed to stand still.

Li Zhi grabbed Shi Nianzhi's hand, sobbing, "You had a high fever all night, and your father fell into a ditch on his way to find a doctor. He wasn't found until this morning, and he might not make it."

Li Zhi cried miserably.

At this moment, Shi Nianzhi remained unusually calm. "Take him to the hospital, quickly. I'll carry him there."

The village chief spoke up, “Your child is still sick, so it’s not your place to carry him. No matter what, Dazhuang is still alive. I’ll carry him to the hospital. If he dies on the way, then that’s just fate.”