Chapter 14 The Second Takeaway
Qing Bai couldn't help but look back at the courtyard gate. He seriously suspected that the house was monitored by surveillance cameras, or that some bald man was secretly involved...
But since the road has been paved for him and a positioning map has been given as a gift, how could he not go up and take a walk with such thoughtfulness?
Qing Bai carefully observed the short, winding red walking delivery route on the phone screen. As he looked at it, he felt that it looked a bit like the thin blood vessels on his wrist, or like a dark river.
The thin line on the map, which was less than two finger joints long, was only about a thousand meters long when placed under his feet. Qing Bai put aside the messy thoughts in his mind and followed the instructions on the map to bypass his own small building. He had long legs and could cross the small slope covered with tall grass in just a few steps.
Crossing the small dirt slope made of piles of construction waste, there's a vast expanse of flat land – vast and yet desolate. Once, it was a field dedicated to vegetable cultivation. In recent years, whether the original owner has passed away or the elderly residents of Weiming New Village have found more leisure activities, there's no one tending it anymore. Amidst the tangled, overgrown weeds, you can occasionally spot a few slender melon vines and vegetable seedlings. Fortunately, the path is paved with gravel, otherwise, there's nowhere to step.
Strangely enough, after stepping onto the gravel path, the bird song, which should have become clearer as the distance gradually shortened, became even more distant, making people's hearts wrinkle slightly, as if an old wound was uncovered... or a hoarse hallucination.
It was also because of this that Qing Bai finally understood the subtle sense of familiarity that had been in his heart since last night.
He had heard similar bird calls before the heavy rain at Changqing Cemetery.
Qing Bai walked silently through this uncovered area. His cheeks, which were extremely pale due to days of fatigue and lack of rest, were tanned by the strong sun and turned a thin layer of red. He forced himself to look a little more energetic. However, when he finally arrived at the grove, even someone as calm as Qing Bai couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
...But he seemed to have always underestimated this small forest.
Qing Bai looked up at the towering tree with a trunk as thick as his waist and thought, this is not small at all.
After leaning against a big tree to relax, Qing Bai lowered his head to look at his phone. The red line had reached the end, but he saw nothing but the tree.
I don't know when the birdsong stopped, there was nothing I could do but walk further in.
Fortunately, although the trees are tall, the distance between them is quite wide, and the branches and leaves are dense, but they do not block people's way. The originally scorching sun shines through the gaps in the treetops, and after being filtered by the thick green branches and leaves, it seems to be stained with green coolness. Walking among them, it does not feel like being in the wilderness, but more like being in a park carefully cared for by gardeners... There must be someone maintaining this place for a long time, and it is impossible for it to grow naturally without even a single dead branch or rotten leaf.
But even the specially cultivated vegetable fields are abandoned, so what reason is there to carefully maintain a wild forest?
Soon Qing Bai saw the reason - large and small, high and low, various sesame-gray granite tombstones stood silently in the depths of the woods... This was actually a cemetery, and it had existed for quite some time. Some of the tombs were very simple, with only a small mound left, while others were very luxurious. The granite tombstones were tall and large, with golden inscriptions on them. There were steps, marble bricks and marble fences in front of the tombstones, and even eaves on the tombstones... However, they were ultimately sleeping in the same forest, enduring the same wind, frost, rain and dew.
Compared with the Changqing Cemetery, which is under unified management and where burial sites are hard to come by, this cemetery is obviously not as grand and beautiful, and even looks a bit messy at first glance. However, under the cover of golden sunlight broken by green leaves and branches, it appears warm and quiet.
Buried here are the relatives, friends, lovers, and even children of the villagers in the village not far away.
Qing Bai almost held his breath, looking around as he walked. However, after a few steps, his eyes were attracted by a small tomb. Compared with those tombs with built-in steps and fences, it was really small - a small round mound, with two round little stone lions standing proudly and majestically on both sides with their heads held high. Even every corner and every line on the tombstone were rounded... It had a kind of inappropriate cuteness.
There is no photo on the tombstone. Generally, self-built tombs in the countryside don’t put photos...but it’s a bit careless that there is not even the year of birth and death.
"...My beloved daughter, the tomb of Li Nannan." The moment Qing Bai softly read out the words engraved on the tombstone, an inexplicable emotion suddenly surged in his heart, like sadness... and like anger.
This emotion came suddenly and went away quickly. Before Qing Bai could sort it out carefully, he was left with a sense of loss.
Qing Bai could only sigh dryly: "It doesn't sound like a proper name..."
Just as he finished speaking, a strong wind suddenly blew up in the forest, rustling and blowing all the green leaves to the ground. The wind then blew them in all directions close to the ground. The branches swayed, and dust and leaves flew all over the sky. Qing Bai was blown so hard that he couldn't open his eyes.
Not being able to open your eyes is just a small matter. What’s more important is that the warm and quiet atmosphere in the forest disappeared in an instant. Qing Bai had the leisure to walk slowly before, but now he just wanted to find a tree that was thick and strong enough to hide from the wind... or to hide from the thing that created the wind.
Unfortunately, he is doomed to be unable to move forward if he cannot open his eyes. After all, he has been blown away and cannot tell the directions. He cannot be groping in the dark among other people's ancestral graves, right?
How rude... What if you touch something you shouldn't?
Unfortunately, the umbrella he had in his hand was a cheap one. Even if he managed to open it with such a strong wind, it would be "unbroken" in an instant... There was no other way, Qing Bai could only stand there blankly, hoping that the wind would stop, and silently apologize in his heart... He deserved to be punished for cursing someone's name on his grave, no matter what caused the wind.
“Brother, brother!”
A thin voice suddenly appeared in the whistling wind. Qing Bai put his arms in front of his face and struggled to determine the source of the voice.
"Brother, over here, I'm over here!"
Qing Bai squinted his eyes and looked in the direction of the sound, only to see a small head sticking out from behind the largest and most luxurious tombstone...but it could only be seen as a head.
"Puh, puh, puh! It's so annoying to have sand in my mouth!" The little head was blown by the strong wind into a long-haired sea urchin swaying in the wind. Seeing that Qing Bai had found her, the long-haired sea urchin quickly retreated behind the monument, "Brother, come and hide over here! They are coming to attack us!"
They? Who?
Qing Bai squinted his eyes and took a few steps towards the big tombstone, but did not hide behind it. Firstly, it was somewhat impolite to use someone else's tombstone as a windbreak, and secondly, he really couldn't squeeze in because of his long arms and legs.
The little girl behind the tombstone—yes, not a hairy sea urchin, nor some other strange-looking creature—was a little girl about the same height as the tombstone. However, she didn't understand Qing Bai's self-awareness and was quite anxious: "Why don't you come in? They're about to attack!"
"Who are they?" Qing Bai asked.
The little girl had a round face and round eyes. Her hair was messed up by the wind and she looked disheveled and pitiful. “That’s who they are.”
But he was still wearing a sweater in this weather, so he didn't look too healthy... or too smart.
Qing Bai sighed, raised his hand and plucked a torn leaf from the little girl's messy hair, then changed the question: "Where are they?"
The little girl shrank her neck, but she didn't hide. She just squatted behind the tombstone like a timid mushroom, her expression serious and stern: "It's right in front of us, it's about to hit us! It's so fierce!"
Qing Bai looked back at the forest full of flying sand and dust, but could see nothing.
The little girl was genuinely scared. Although she was hiding behind the monument, she was still trembling. Her two big black eyes stared at Qing Bai motionlessly, and she begged, "Let's run! They're so scary! Let's go play house together!"
Qing Baixin said you are quite scary too.
He remained impassive and tried to appeal to her emotions and reason: "No, I'm here to deliver food. I can't leave until the food is delivered... I'll be charged."
The little girl blinked her eyes and asked, "What's takeout?"
It seems that this little girl is older than he thought... After all, nowadays even three-year-old children know about express delivery of takeout.
Qing Bai patiently explained: "It means delivering food, vegetables and snacks to others."
"Wow! Then I like takeout!" The little girl's eyes lit up instantly when she heard it.
"...You have to pay first." Qing Bai added.
The little girl pouted and said, "I don't have any money. Can you play house with me?"
Is this playing house over? Qing Bai didn't dare to agree casually, so he had to divert her attention: "Why are you here alone? Where are your parents?"
The little girl lowered her head to pick at the seams between the marble tiles. From Qing Bai's perspective, she could only see a small whorl of hair. She said cheerfully, "Mom and Dad are going to pick up my sister! I'm waiting for them here, they're so slow... It must be my sister pestering me for snacks! Humph! My sister is the most annoying!"
Who would leave their child in a cemetery waiting for someone?
Qing Bai saw through it but didn't say anything. Before the little girl could think of playing house again, he took the initiative and said, "I'm here to give you an umbrella. Do you want to use it?"
The little girl opened her eyes wide: "I don't have any money!"
"..." The little girl had a good memory and was quite alert. Qing Bai was inexplicably amused and was about to say he didn't want the money when the wind in the forest suddenly became calm.
Then the next second, footsteps were heard behind him.
Qing Bai turned his head almost immediately, because he had been squatting while talking to the little girl, so the first thing that caught his eye when he turned around was a pair of long legs... and they were very straight.
Moving my eyes upwards, I saw a pale, slender hand, holding a black, unknown object, then a thin waist, waist-length black hair, a slender neck, and a pale face.
The man was very tall, and even in the summer he was wrapped tightly in black clothes and black pants. Only his hands and face were exposed, so the exposed parts looked even paler, like a handful of snow in the wrong season, which made people worry that it would melt in the sun.
Qing Bai squatted in front of the tomb, squinting his eyes and looking up at him.
This posture is actually a bit difficult. The person is too tall, and even if he raises his head, it is difficult to see his entire face from this angle. Moreover, after the wind stops, the sunlight leaks through the treetops and branches again, which makes people's eyes hurt.
But Qing Bai still didn't look away... He also saw the man's face clearly.
Thick black eyebrows, light eyes, straight nose bridge, tightly pursed lips... Not to mention the bad angle and glaring sunlight, even if this face turned to ashes, he could still restore it with his bare hands.
…But now, the person with that face stood before him, looking at him with unfamiliar eyes, as if he were a paralyzed stranger with a strong will, and then said in a gentle voice, "Hello, this is my takeaway."
He looked like he was in a hurry to leave after getting the takeaway.
Takeout, fuck takeout.
Qing Bai sat down on the ground, took a few sharp breaths, then turned back fiercely and said to the little girl who was huddled behind the tombstone pretending to be dead: "Playing house? We're short one."
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