Chapter 16 I Killed Someone
"Good morning, did you sleep well last night?"
Gustav sat down next to Li Wenjing and offered a long greeting. Li Wenjing nodded, her eyes fixed on the beach outside. She didn't stop looking at Gu Weiyi until he came closer.
He picked another table and sat down. His unkempt hair curled up in a circle in front of his forehead. Li Wenjing lowered her head, bit her lip and smiled. He immediately grabbed two handfuls of her hair. Gustav signaled the waiter to serve breakfast.
"Isn't it delicious? You eat so little."
Li Wenjing shook her head. "It's delicious. Thank you."
"Angry about yesterday?"
Li Wenjing sighed, tore open the bread slices, and put them into her mouth without dipping them in jam. It was so dry that it felt like chewing tree bark. Gustav pushed the jam-covered bread slices to her hand and raised his hand to greet Gu Weiyi, "Charles, I'm leaving now. You stay with Wenjing and take her home later."
Gu Weiyi didn't say anything. Gustav walked over and stood in front of his table for a while, then knocked on the table twice.
"It's a quarrel, but they didn't even offer to send a lady. That's so rude."
After breakfast, the two remained silent. Gu Weiyi got in the car first. Li Wenjing was hesitant about whether to sit in the front or the back. Gu Weiyi glanced at her and started the engine. She let go of the front handle and sat in the back.
The road across the grassland stretched endlessly, empty. The sun shone through the car window onto her arm, burning it. As the car pulled away from town, the only sound between them was the wind, rising from the yellow-green grass, bringing with it dark clouds and a fine, drizzling rain. The whirring sound became even lonelier. Kenya's rainy season was approaching. Li Wenjing leaned her head against the back of the car seat, watching Gu Weiyi's hand on the steering wheel. There was a tattoo on the inside of his arm, resembling a strange rose, its bright red petals coiled together and difficult to see. She just stared at him, her hands pressed against the leather seat, sweat dripping down her palms.
The car stopped, and she banged her head against the seat. Then she realized two locals had stopped the car. A tall, muscular man, smoking a cigarette, was waving at them from the roadside with a child of seven or eight. Gu Weiyi rolled down the window, letting in slanting rain. He asked them where they were going, and the man said they were going to the county.
"Wenjing, come sit in the front."
The first words spoken along the way were: "Never mind, let's go. It's not safe for strangers to ride in a car."
"He has a child with him, so it's not convenient. I'll take them all the way." Gu Weiyi said, "Unlike you. Last time you didn't take me with you, my feet were sore from walking for several days."
Li Wenjing couldn't persuade him, and he even brought up what happened last time, sounding sarcastic.
"Wait, ask again."
Before he could finish his words, the man suddenly rushed over, opened the front door, and snatched Gu Weiyi's bag. Before the child could even open the back door, Li Wenjing immediately pressed the child lock with a "click." After the man succeeded in the front seat, he went for the back seat. Li Wenjing desperately pulled at the door, but he was too strong and pulled half of her body out in one go.
"Doctor Gu!"
Li Wenjing called out to him, nearly screaming her throat out. He finally reacted, jumped out of the car, and pulled the man from behind. The man turned around, and the two of them immediately grappled. He wasn't good at fighting, so he was punched twice by the man and fell to the ground. The child took the opportunity to run over and grab Li Wenjing's bag. She ignored it and threw it to the child, then took the handle from the back of the car and smashed it into the man's back. With only a muffled cry, blood gushed out, and the man fell straight down.
Li Wenjing stood there, feeling dizzy. She looked at her hands, then at Gu Weiyi. Her ears were buzzing, as if they were filled with flies. Gu Weiyi took out gauze from the car to stop the bleeding, and after carrying the man to the car, he beckoned Li Wenjing to get in. Li Wenjing didn't move, so he pulled her arm.
The blood on the grass had not dried yet. Li Wenjing could not move and looked at the man lying in the car again. All she could hear was the crying of a child.
"Is he dead?"
"It's okay, let's get in the car."
"No—I want to go back, back—"
She began to shiver, first in her feet, then in her legs, hands, lips, until her whole body was shaking and she could not walk. He embraced her and took her back to the car.
After returning to the county, they sent the man directly to the hospital. Li Wenjing was still dazed, her hands stained with blood. The world before her seemed to be filled with blood. The blood had coagulated, and she had become a stiff shell.
She sat outside in the corridor from day to night until Gu Weiyi came back, sat next to her, and patted the back of her hand twice. He also had gauze on his face and a swollen eye.
"He's out of danger, he's fine, just a little concussion."
"Oh." Li Wenjing snorted softly, as if relieved, and covered her face and couldn't help crying.
"I'm sorry, it's all my fault."
"I was just thinking, if I really killed someone, would I go to jail or be deported..." Li Wenjing shook her head, her face pale. "I really didn't care about anything else. I'm so stupid."
"This was self-defense," Gu Weiyi held her trembling hand. "Anyway, I've already said it was me. The priest knew the priest in their village, and we spent some money to reconcile. Even if we didn't reconcile, and he died, I'd still say the same thing in front of the police. I won't drag you down."
The warmth from his palm came through the skin on the back of his hand. Li Wenjing took several breaths and exhaled, and the blood in his body finally began to flow again.
"I've seen this kind of thing a lot. In the past, there were always scams like this in the village, people trying to scam people by hitting their cars, selling things, and even defrauding passing cars."
"Less trouble is worse than more," Li Wenjing continued. "I came to Africa to make money. I don't want to be robbed, and I certainly don't want to commit a crime. I have to be careful and stay safe in everything I do. I can't afford to make any mistakes."
The hand holding his hand tightened, and Gu Weiyi said, "I'm sorry."
"It's okay, no need to keep apologizing."
"The apology I owed you yesterday is not a single thing."
"Stop talking. I should be the one apologizing to you."
Li Wenjing pulled her hand away twice but didn't take it back, so she let him hold it.
"Doctor Gu, I really envy you rich people. I want to be rich too. With money, I can do whatever I want, eat delicious food, go to the places I want, and realize my dreams..." Li Wenjing smiled at him, "But I don't have any dreams. I'm just a superficial person. I don't understand you, and you don't understand me."
"What about after some time? Will we be able to understand each other?"
"Can you and your father understand each other?"
"I can't understand him, this is different! You have no idea how disgusting he is!"
Li Wenjing put her hand on his and comforted him, saying, "Don't force it. At least he is your father. Take your time."
"Wenjing!" He let go of her hand. "What's wrong with you? Why are you always talking to him?"
He immediately realized that his voice was too heavy, pursed his lips, lowered his head and said, "I'm sorry."
"You have your difficulties, and I have my difficulties too."
"Then tell me."
"I made it clear yesterday that I don't need to report to you about work matters."
This sentence brought him back to last night. Gu Weiyi pressed his hand on the wound on his forehead and frowned, "Gustav said that I went too far last night and made you cry. Can you tell me..."
He stammered, unable to articulate clearly, "Tell me, why are you crying? I didn't think too much about it. I was just... afraid that you were deceived by him."
"How many times do you want me to tell you that I wasn't deceived by him?" Li Wenjing said. "Even if I was deceived by him, I did it willingly. I'm an adult and I can take responsibility for myself."
Li Wenjing stood up and walked out. Father Paul asked them to go back. The priest drove the car. Li Wenjing sat in the front seat, looking out the window all the way. Gu Weiyi sat silently in the back.
The next day, Li Wenjing returned to Mombasa. Before the car left the village, Gu Weiyi was standing on the roadside trying to stop the car. Li Wenjing pretended not to see him and drove onto the road. In the rearview mirror, he was still chasing her, calling her name breathlessly. She stepped on the brakes and waited for him to come.
"Please give me a ride, my car broke down."
"It's always broken, just change it."
Having said that, Li Wenjing still let him get in the car. He took out a bunch of acacia from his pocket. Li Wenjing refused to accept it, so he picked out two small yellow flowers and tied them on the pendant.
"I went to pick it early in the morning. Thank you for saving me."
"I don't want to spend it, why not just give me two hundred yuan."
They drove in silence for a while, then drove off to town. Then her phone beeped twice. She stopped the car and opened it. He had indeed transferred two hundred yuan to her. Li Wenjing laughed in anger. The small yellow flowers in the car gave off a light fragrance, lingering on the seat where he had sat. Li Wenjing touched the small yellow flowers and sent him a message.
“Who really wants your money?”
"Then I'll treat you to a meal."
"Whatever, wait until I'm free."
"Can you tell me when?"
"I don't know. I'm very busy."
Li Wenjing threw her phone back into her bag and got back on the road, ignoring the beeping sound of messages.
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