Fu Jingsheng picked Rong Yan up in his arms and said, "Let's go back to the room and sleep."
The beds in the earthen house are all old-fashioned, with intricate patterns carved on the dark purple wood. The cotton and linen curtains restore the essence of that era, and a few jade stones adorn the foot of the bed, adding a touch of luxury.
The bed wasn't big, probably about 1.5 meters wide.
Rong Yan had only ever seen beds like this in museums. To give guests a realistic experience, there was no mattress under the bed. The guesthouse owner specifically explained this, saying that the bed board was right under the quilt, and guests should be prepared for that.
Rong Yan had slept on a kang (a heated brick bed) when she was on a business trip in the north before, and she could tolerate the firmness of it.
Fu Jingsheng placed the woman on the bed, which creaked and groaned.
"They've already called out before it's even started." Fu Jingsheng gasped.
Is this bed really from that era? It would fall apart if you put too much pressure on it.
The man sat down gently, causing the bed to sway. He quickly stood up and asked, "Am I in the wrong position?"
Rong Yan rolled over, and the wooden plank creaked.
She patted it and said, "With that sound, the bed isn't broken. It's quite sturdy. Don't worry, get on."
Fu Jingsheng sat back down: "I knew it! How can you not let people sleep in such an expensive room?"
"How could we not come here at least once?" He looked straight at his wife. "What do you say, honey?"
Rong Yan glanced at the bedroom door, the old wooden door letting in light.
“I can’t explain it.” She shrank into the corner. “This room doesn’t feel safe. The door can’t be locked, and the latch always feels like it could be opened with a push.”
Fu Jingsheng moved a little further in: "Don't worry, no one will come over at this time."
He took off his shirt and hung it on the bed frame, supporting himself on the foot of the bed with one hand and reaching out to pull Rong Yan with the other.
Rong Yan simply lifted her leg, and the piercing sound came again. She couldn't even imagine what she would do on it, or it would turn into a symphony.
Fu Jingsheng hooked his hand around her waist and pulled her forward sharply. Rong Yan fell onto him and her voice suddenly stopped. Could it be that when the force is strong enough, it can hold down a wooden board?
The man's breathing grew heavier, making Rong Yan's heart race.
She looked worriedly at the flimsy old bed. She knew Fu Jingsheng very well. Even though he was moving gently and slowly now, once they got on the highway, he wouldn't be able to turn off so much, and with the long duration and continuous vibration, she wondered if the bed would collapse. If it did, compensation was a small matter; how embarrassing it would be if word got out.
Rong Yan pointed to the empty space behind the door: "Fu... Fu Jingsheng, would you like to go downstairs?"
The room floor was just bare earth, without tiles or carpet. You couldn't just lay the blankets on the floor and get them dirty.
"Standing?" Fu Jingsheng thought of a solution.
"Okay." Standing was quite strenuous, especially for someone like Rong Yan who was terrible at exercising. Her legs would start shaking even after ten minutes, let alone half an hour. But in order not to damage the other person's belongings, she agreed first.
"No, I still want to stay here." Less than two minutes later, Fu Jingsheng changed his mind. "Who leaves a bed unused? Besides, what hotel bed is only meant to be used for lying down? I bet this bed isn't that fragile."
He patted it a few times: "It should be quite sturdy."
Before Rong Yan could speak, he pinned her down.
The bed swayed in rhythm with him.
Rong Yan was initially distracted due to worry, but after about ten minutes, she realized that her worries were unnecessary and immediately relaxed.
She bit her arm, trying her best not to make a sound.
The spring sunshine lasted until dawn.
The two lay down, drenched in sweat.
Early in the morning, the croaking of frogs filled the air.
When Fu Jingsheng got out of bed, he felt like his back was about to break.
He really couldn't get used to sleeping on this hard bed. He used two blankets and an extra pillow last night, but he still felt terrible all over when he woke up this morning.
Rong Yan is in better condition, but she changed her posture when she was with Fu Jingsheng yesterday, and there are some bruises on her knees, which are not visible at all when she wears long pants.
Fu Yunlei and the others packed their things early and played outside while waiting for their mother.
Several people found small bottles and nets to catch tadpoles.
Summer is almost over, and there are still tadpoles? Rong Yan was highly skeptical.
But Fu Yunting told her in a serious tone that they had seen it.
Fu Jingsheng, hands on his hips and head slightly bowed, asked, "Aren't you afraid of catching a toad?"
"Don't be afraid, Dad. You're the one who's scared," Fu Yunting mocked his father.
Upon hearing Fu Jingsheng mention toads, Rong Yan touched her arm and shivered. Just imagining the scene of catching toads made her tremble.
She took the net bag from the child's hand: "I think we should get ready to leave, just in case there's a traffic jam."
It took Rong Yan half an hour of pulling and tugging to finally get the four children into the car.
——
Tiancheng Municipal Hospital.
Rong Bing had forgotten how she fell asleep the night before. She had planned to leave in the middle of the night, but she missed the opportunity.
When she opened her eyes, she saw Chen Xiu right next to her.
Chen Xiu received a call from the caregiver in the morning and learned that Rong Bing had woken up last night and had been in a daze, not saying a word, and not allowing the caregiver to make phone calls.
The caregiver had prepared herself mentally for a long time before finally deciding to tell Chen Xiu the truth. However, Rong Bing was asleep late at night, so the caregiver thought it would be inconvenient to disturb Chen Xiu so late and decided to wait until dawn.
Seeing her friend wake up, Chen Xiu helped her raise the headboard: "You set it up yesterday, didn't you?"
Chen Xiu had a pretty good idea of what was going on; Rong Bing had already woken up.
"Did you hear what I said? Are you sad?" Chen Xiu asked expressionlessly. "I really don't want to care about you anymore, really, it's too tiring."
Chen Xiu tried hard to suppress her anger; if they weren't in the hospital, she would have yelled it out.
"Xiu, I'm sorry." Rong Bing wanted to grab Chen Xiu's hand, but she didn't dare. She must have made Chen Xiu despair.
"I will leave Tiancheng," she said after a long silence.
Chen Xiu finally couldn't hold back anymore, and her voice rose: "Do you want to die again in a place where no one knows you? Rong Bing, if you're not afraid of death, are you afraid of living? Have you ever thought that your life doesn't belong to you? We saved you again and again. It's all over. Trying to reason with you is like talking to a brick wall. Do whatever you want."
Chen Xiu felt relieved to see Rong Bing wake up; she could no longer control Rong Bing's future path.
Rong Bing called out Chen Xiu's name, but the woman left the ward without turning her head.
At this moment, Rong Bing felt even worse than if she had just broken up with her boyfriend.
Watching the person who truly cared about her leave because of her own actions caused her heart to ache.
Remembering what Chen Xiu had said yesterday, Rong Bing removed the IV drip.
The caregiver was so frightened that she shouted, but the patient insisted on being discharged and no one could stop her.
Rong Bing returned to her home, hired some temporary workers to pack all her belongings, and then called the landlord to inform him that she wanted to terminate her lease early.
The person who originally signed the contract with the landlord was Fu Jingchen, so the landlord contacted Fu Jingchen to confirm the situation.
Rong Bing checked out of the hotel. Is she dead? Did Chen Xiu use Rong Bing's phone to make the call? The man had a series of questions.
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