Chapter 45 Jiang Yingxu thought he was about to be saved.
My parents passed away in the autumn.
The continuous autumn rain dampened the pale paper money scattered on the ground, and the wreaths were also covered with a layer of moisture.
The funeral was held in my hometown.
Jiang Yingxu was hit with this sudden blow. He was still a child, but he had to mature and be sensible and went through the entire funeral process.
The uncle and aunt were downstairs offering cigarettes and exchanging pleasantries with the families who came to help.
Jiang Yingxu stood on the second-floor platform, staring blankly at the cemetery shrouded in mist on the distant mountain.
Jiang Tianhao has been chubby since he was a child. He was playing games on Chen Xiumei's phone with his legs crossed.
Another game lost.
He cursed angrily and threw his phone carelessly on the ground beside him.
When I looked up, I saw Jiang Yingxu's back.
This annoying older brother, who is always brought up to be compared to him at family gatherings, is academically excellent and polite.
Jiang Tianhao overheard his parents at home sighing that Jiang Yingxu was a bit strange, and they even grabbed his ear, telling him to stay away from Jiang Yingxu this time, or he might get cursed by Jiang Yingxu.
If your parents are dead, aren't you an orphan?
Nobody's backing him up?
Jiang Tianhao's eyes darted around, a childlike malice flashing in them, as he deliberately approached on low footsteps.
Then, he suddenly reached out and pushed—
Caught off guard, Jiang Yingxu suddenly lost his balance and stumbled forward, stepping onto the slippery edge of the balcony.
The old house is quite old; there were no railings on the second floor, only a slightly raised edging.
Exposed to the elements and neglected by the public, the bricks inside have long been exposed.
Before falling, Jiang Yingxu grabbed onto the edge of a brick and managed to hang himself on the edge of the balcony.
The autumn wind was biting, howling across his pale cheeks and seeping into his thin shirt.
He had been cooperating with the funeral procession for the past two days, and his voice was already hoarse from crying. Even when he tried his best to shout for help, his cries for help didn't travel far and couldn't reach the ears of the villagers who were chatting in front of the old house.
Hearing Jiang Tianhao's hurried, retreating footsteps, Jiang Yingxu gripped the bricks tightly with his fingers and shouted in a hoarse voice, "Find someone!"
Jiang Tianhao hurriedly ran downstairs.
Chen Xiumei's shrill voice rang out from the front, "What did you say?!"
Overlapping footsteps came upstairs and approached.
Jiang Yingxu thought he was about to be saved.
His strength was waning rapidly, and the arm supporting his body trembled slightly in the cold wind.
He called for his uncle, his aunt, and for help.
Jiang Pinghai rushed over first, followed by Chen Xiumei.
"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and pull him up!" Chen Xiumei hurriedly pushed her husband.
Jiang Pinghai reached out his hand, but just as he was about to touch Jiang Yingxu, he suddenly withdrew it.
He suddenly pulled Chen Xiumei backward.
Chen Xiumei hadn't even reacted yet: "What are you doing?!"
Jiang Pinghai's eyes flickered as he glanced at his son, who was huddled to one side crying, and said vaguely, "How about... we forget about it?"
"Anyway, it was an accident."
"My brother and his family...the compensation money...should be saved...we don't need to support them..."
The deliberately hushed words reached my ears intermittently.
Jiang Yingxu was clever and quickly understood his uncle's meaning, his mind going blank.
He wasn't old enough to see the dark and secretive side of human nature, but he overheard his uncle and aunt discussing making this accident a reality.
His uncle and aunt wanted him dead.
But he didn't want to die.
Jiang Yingxu gritted his teeth, his gaze fixed stubbornly on another protruding red brick on the edge of the balcony. He swayed slightly in the cold wind, reaching out to try and grab it.
Once, twice.
Many attempts.
My wrist rubbed against the rough surface of the brick, quickly breaking the skin, and hot blood flowed down my forearm.
Jiang Yingxu didn't know where he got the strength from, but he shook violently and reached out to grab another red brick.
Jiang Tianhao, who was squatting to the side, was startled by the hand that suddenly reached out. He fell back to the ground with a thud and burst into tears.
The crying startled the couple, and people downstairs also heard it, calling out to ask what was wrong.
Chen Xiumei was completely disoriented and subconsciously looked at her husband.
Jiang Pinghai mustered his courage again and walked to the edge to take a look.
Jiang Yingxu gripped the bricks with both hands, his face as pale as paper, his eyes dark and unfocused. He didn't look at him, gritting his teeth as he tried to step onto the small protrusion on the floor.
It would be better to let Jiang Pinghai pretend not to know and let Jiang Yingxu fall.
But he couldn't bring himself to push Jiang Yingxu down.
Jiang Pinghai swayed slightly.
Just then, Jiang Yingxu stepped on the wall and pushed himself up a little further.
There were more people asking questions downstairs, and some even came up the stairs to come and see.
Jiang Pinghai knew there was no chance left, so he turned and called to Chen Xiumei, and pulled Jiang Yingxu up before the villagers could come up.
"What's going on? Oh my god!"
Several people rushed up from the first floor. The woman at the front of the group exclaimed in shock when she saw Jiang Yingxu, who was sitting on the ground in a disheveled state with his fingers and wrists covered in a bloody mess.
She is Chen Xiumei's sister-in-law, and she also married into this village. She came to help early this morning.
Jiang Pinghai calmly said, "It's been raining these past few days. Xiao Xu was standing on the side and didn't notice when she slipped. Luckily, she grabbed the edge and Xiu Mei and I pulled her up."
Chen Xiumei clenched her hands tightly and nodded blankly.
The woman glanced at Chen Xiumei, whose expression was tense, and her heart skipped a beat.
The villagers behind, not understanding what was going on, continued talking.
"Oh dear, that was so careless! I was wondering why Tianhao rushed downstairs so quickly without asking us for a hand!"
Jiang Pinghai chuckled, "What kind of kid has he ever seen anything like this? He was playing a game when Xiao Xu suddenly lost his footing and fell. It scared him half to death. Look, Tian Hao was so anxious that he even dropped his phone on the ground."
"..."
Jiang Yingxu's chest was still pounding, and his gaze gradually regained focus.
My fingertips were all worn raw and bleeding, and my left wrist, pressed against the edge of a brick, was rubbed raw and bloody, with small stones and pebbles embedded in it.
His eyes were dark, and he swallowed with difficulty.
"uncle……"
The woman spoke up hurriedly, her voice loud and clear, "It was your uncle and aunt who pulled you up, Xiao Xu. Don't thank them so much. The wound is so serious, you should take him to the hospital to get it checked out right away."
Jiang Yingxu's heart skipped a beat. He stared intently at Jiang Pinghai, then opened his mouth, attempting to reveal the truth.
"It's Jiang Tianhao..."
"Yes, yes, it was Tianhao who helped notify the people. Our Tianhao is very smart."
As the woman spoke, she lifted the sobbing Jiang Tianhao up and shoved him into Chen Xiumei's arms.
Her voice was bright, easily drowning out Jiang Yingxu's hoarse voice.
She then added meaningfully, "Xiumei, it's not that I'm criticizing you, but Xiaoxu is being immature, and so are you. How could you let someone go upstairs by themselves?"
“This old house has been in disrepair for years. Last month, the stairs of the old house at the entrance of the village collapsed. One step broke it and I fell straight downstairs.”
"Luckily, we have security cameras at home. My children noticed something was wrong through the cameras and rushed back in time. Otherwise, no one would have known if I had fallen there."
Chen Xiumei was pinched by her sister-in-law, forced a smile, and nodded repeatedly.
"Yes, we were negligent. We will definitely keep a closer eye on Xiaoxu in the future."
Jiang Pinghai: "It's my fault, it's my fault. Don't say anything more. I'll go get the car right now and take Xiaoxu to the hospital quickly."
Jiang Yingxu sat alone on the cold ground, his gaze sweeping over the villagers.
Some were bewildered, some were open and honest, and some were evasive.
It's not impossible that no one noticed the oddities of this accident. For example, Jiang Tianhao ran down crying, the couple hesitated to call for help, and Jiang Yingxu, who was seriously injured and in a tense posture.
But... what good would it do to expose it?
There is no evidence.
As long as the Jiang couple insists it was an accident, they can turn around and accuse Jiang Yingxu of being young and panicking, making a mistake.
Their only act of conscience was to say to Chen Xiumei, "Keep an eye on Xiaoxu, and make sure there's no more accidents like this."
Jiang Yingxu avoided Chen Xiumei's hand that was supporting him and silently went to the hospital.
The doctor cleaned his wound and casually asked how he got hurt.
Jiang Pinghai and Chen Xiumei repeated the same excuse.
Jiang Yingxu stared at the doctor, his voice hoarse, "Someone pushed me."
Chen Xiumei immediately patted his head, a little too hard, and said helplessly to the doctor, "This kid has been arguing with us lately, always saying that his younger brother is bullying him."
Jiang Pinghai nudged Jiang Tianhao from behind.
Jiang Tianhao immediately knelt down beside the bed, his eyes red-rimmed, looking very obedient.
He cried and wailed as Jiang Pinghai had taught him before he entered the room.
"Brother, I won't fight you for the toys anymore. Please don't be angry with me. I'm so scared."
What a harmonious and loving family.
The doctor didn't suspect anything, just said "oh," and used a cotton ball moistened with saline solution to wipe the dust off Jiang Yingxu's face, smiling as he spoke.
Kid, be careful next time and don't play in dangerous places.
"..."
The light in Jiang Yingxu's eyes slowly dimmed.
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