The room was completely silent. The two stared blankly at the contents of the letter, speechless for a long time. They could hardly believe their eyes, wondering if they were seeing things.
"Xiao Xing might not have gone far. I'll go find her," said Grandma Qin, turning and running outside.
The old headmaster couldn't stop him even if he tried. He looked down and read the contents of the letter again, frowned, pondered for a moment, and then turned and went to the kitchen.
Grandma Qin went out and chased after him for a long time but couldn't catch up, so she had to return dejectedly.
Seeing smoke suddenly coming from the kitchen, she walked in curiously and found the old headmaster staring blankly at the stove with its flames burning. She asked, puzzled, "What are you doing, Old Qin?"
"I burned the letter," the old headmaster said, adding another piece of firewood as if afraid it wasn't burned thoroughly enough.
Grandma Qin paused for a moment, then quickly nodded firmly: "It should be burned."
Regardless of whether the contents of the letter are true or false, keeping it will only cause trouble, both for them and for Xiao Xing. They are old and their passing is inevitable, but they cannot implicate Xiao Xing.
Xiao Xing is a good child. If it were someone else, they wouldn't dare to so brazenly hand over the letter, say nothing, and leave. She trusts them, and they can't let her get into trouble.
"Do you think what the letter says is true?" After a moment of silence, Old Mrs. Qin asked in a low voice.
The old headmaster looked somewhat bewildered, shook his head, and said, "I don't know either." Although they were born in the old society, they came from well-off families and had all received an education. This was the first time they had ever heard of such a mysterious and enigmatic matter.
"Young Master Xing wouldn't lie to us about something like this, would he? What would he be after? If it weren't for Young Master Xing, with our old bodies, we'd probably all be dead by now, leaving Xiao Chu all alone." Old Mrs. Qin paused, then realized something and quickly looked up at the old headmaster.
The old principal also realized what was happening, looked up at Old Mrs. Qin, and exchanged a knowing glance.
It matches what Qin Shi said in the letter.
If Xiao Xing hadn't run into Xiao Shi over there, and no matter how she managed to find out about their situation from Xiao Shi and come to help them, they might really be gone.
Although he didn't mention in his letter how difficult it was for him to live alone after they were gone, it's easy to imagine how difficult it would be for a minor to survive without parents and elders.
Grandma Qin couldn't help but wipe away her tears.
The old principal's eyes also reddened.
Just then, someone pushed the door open and came in: "I'm back, Grandma." It was Xiao Qinshi who had returned.
Grandma Qin's heart skipped a beat. She exchanged a glance with the old headmaster and quickly turned around to greet him: "Xiao Shi is back! Why are you here so early today?"
"Sister Xing was worried I might encounter some danger, so she wouldn't let me go too far. I wandered around town for a bit, but didn't find anything, so I came back first," Xiao Qin said, looking up at Grandma Qin. Seeing her red eyes, clearly having cried, he frowned in confusion and asked, "Grandma, why are you crying? Did Grandpa bully you?"
The old headmaster followed him out of the kitchen and overheard the conversation. He glared at his grandson and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? How could Grandpa possibly bully Grandma?"
"Then what about Grandma..." Xiao Qin asked, looking at Grandma Qin.
Grandma Qin's eyes welled up with tears again, but she smiled and held little Qin Shi's hand tightly, saying, "How could Grandpa dare to bully Grandma? Grandma just feels sorry for Xiao Shi. He's so young and has to take care of Grandpa and Grandma. It's too hard for him."
Xiao Qin grinned dismissively, "I don't find it tiring at all. I just enjoy being with my grandparents."
The old headmaster deliberately put on a stern face: "Now that the family is well-off, you're not allowed to go out and collect recyclables anymore. Stay home and practice calligraphy and reading with your grandfather."
Xiao Qin refused, saying, "How can that be? I still need to help Sister Xing find treasures."
Upon hearing Xiao Qin bring up Xing Zhaozhao, the old principal was at a loss for words: "Just don't run around so frequently or so far like before. Isn't your sister Xing worried about you getting into danger?"
Upon hearing that the former principal had also brought up Xing Zhaozhao, Xiao Qinshi thought about it seriously for a moment and nodded in agreement: "Alright then."
The old principal: "..." Now Xiao Xing's words are more effective than his, but as long as he listens to what he says, that's fine. He's not the kind of old-fashioned person who's obsessed with saving face.
Xiao Qin felt that his grandparents were acting strangely today. Every time he looked at them, he would meet their eager gazes. Their eyes seemed to hold a thousand words they wanted to say to him, but they wouldn't say them. When he asked, they wouldn't answer. They were just too nice to him, which made him feel uncomfortable.
I feel like something's happened at home.
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Xiao Qinshi was awakened by the urge to urinate. Just as he was about to get up, he suddenly heard rustling sounds coming from his grandparents' room next door. Someone was getting up.
Xiao Qin glanced out the window. It's still early, why are they up so early? Their schedules are different from their grandparents'.
"Where are you going, Old Qin?" Then came Old Mrs. Qin's voice.
The old headmaster hesitated for a moment, then said, "I really can't sleep, I still want to go find..."
The old principal deliberately lowered his voice, and Xiao Qin didn't hear him clearly.
“I’ll go with you,” said Mrs. Qin.
"Then what if he's left alone at home when he's little? What if he gets up and sees we're all gone, and then asks about it?" the old headmaster worried.
“It’s still early, let’s go early and come back early. On the way back, we can buy some breakfast. If he asks, we can just say we went out to buy breakfast,” Grandma Qin said after thinking for a moment.
"That's fine too," the old principal said.
Hearing the two leaving, Xiao Qin's eyes widened. They were definitely hiding something from him; so early in the morning, who were they going to see?
Xiao Qin felt as if a cat's paw was scratching at his heart, making him unbearably itchy. When he heard that there was no more noise outside, he immediately jumped out of bed, took care of his business in the spittoon, quickly dressed, and chased after the cat in a flash.
The old principal and Grandma Qin had no idea that their grandson was following right behind them. After asking around for directions, they headed towards Xiaogaozhuang.
Xiao Qin followed behind, and as they walked, he felt that the road looked so familiar. Were they going to find Sister Xing? Why were they acting so sneakily?
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