Chapter 19: Night Run
"Really? I'm afraid you can't carry me. Otherwise, you ride the bike and I'll run." It seemed that the wind was going to blow in the evening. Xiaomai touched her nose and wanted to sneeze but couldn't.
"Don't underestimate me," Pu Zhihe said as she pedaled the bike in front of him, "I can even carry you up like a princess."
At this moment, many couples were cuddling downstairs in the dormitory building. Xiaomai, wearing a retro American hooded sweatshirt with white background and red lettering, revealed his thin face, which had just been tanned again that afternoon. He was standing right at the dormitory entrance, the streetlights on either side casting a long shadow that stretched all the way to Pu Zhihe's feet. It was no wonder people were glancing at them; they were indeed blocking the road, a bit like someone in an idol drama.
It was more important to find grandma. Xiaomai walked down the stairs in three or two steps and sat down, folding her arms and legs so that she could sit cross-legged on the pink back seat.
Pu Zhihe made a beautiful turn and rode her bike towards the teaching building. Suddenly, a loud chorus of cheers came from upstairs: "Come on, Mai Xu!"
Everyone looked up and saw that Xiaomai's roommates were sticking their heads out of the window, screaming with their mouths wide open like chicks in a nest, and Xiaomai just gave them a gesture to keep quiet.
He prayed that Pu Zhihe didn't hear the voices of these conspicuous people.
Pu Zhihe heard it. She found their childishness a bit amusing, but it wasn't offensive. Ten years ago, when she'd been dating Zhu Fu, his roommate had probably done something similar. Thinking of Zhu Fu, she felt deeply annoyed. She pedaled as fast as she could, weaving through a group of freshmen clutching books from class. Once she reached a less crowded area, she gradually slowed down, feeling her legs aching.
Xiaomai, who was sitting in the back row, finally dared to relax his grip on the seat. He had wanted to step on the brake several times, but fortunately Pu Zhihe nimbly avoided people the next second.
"I haven't ridden a bike like this in a long time. Look, I can still do this." Pu Zhihe said, letting go of both hands. She thought Xiaomai would cheer, but he looked terrified. She decided not to scare him.
"Where's the milk tea?" she asked.
"I'm not hungry and don't really want to drink, so I left it for my roommate." He replied.
"Someone bought it for you, don't give it away casually." Pu Zhihe's voice floated over from the front. Xiaomai didn't know how to answer. Fortunately, the wind blew her hair onto Xiaomai's face, making his nose itchy. He finally sneezed and got away with it.
"Why did you come out without drying your hair? You'll catch a cold if you get blown by the wind." Pu Zhihe turned her head and looked at him, "Put on your hat."
"How was dinner today?" Xiaomai asked, looking at her back.
"It's not good. It looks like we're getting married."
Xiaomai's heart was in her throat.
Pu Zhihe added, "It would be great if we could go to Dunhuang. I'd also like to go see the murals with your grandma."
"There will be a chance."
They had already arrived at the lecture hall Xiaomai had mentioned, but Hang Liumei was nowhere to be found. The two had no choice but to move on to other places.
They walked from dusk to nightfall on this familiar campus, even Xiaomai's hair drying out without him noticing. He let Pu Zhihe lead him east, west, and north, his heart sinking downward, slowly grinding in a corner, turning into thick ink. He pondered how to start a conversation with her, thinking himself into a beautiful essay, but alas, it all melted into the night.
He suddenly thought of something and dialed the number with the note "Dad". Just like Hang Liumei's number, he couldn't get through. Then he looked at his circle of friends. It was a picture of the sunset at an unknown valley in the Qinling Mountains. The caption only had one emoticon, a tent.
He left a message for Jiang Yunyi: "Dad, did grandma go into the mountains with you?"
Pu Zhihe slammed on the brakes, and Xiaomai, preoccupied with clutching his phone, bumped into her back. He then realized that Pu Zhihe was even more lightly dressed than he was. Rubbing his nose, he sat back, leaning back awkwardly. Just as he was about to ask if he'd hurt her, Pu Zhihe turned around and asked, "Let me go return the car first. Where else can you think of?"
Dad Mai hasn't replied to the message yet, and there's still no one at home.
Xiaomai thought for a moment and realized there was one place she hadn't found, but it wasn't the right time to go. It was Grandpa's grave, in the Nanjiao Cemetery. When Grandma was feeling down, she'd go visit Grandpa without asking for permission.
Pu Zhihe thought of Hang Liumei's joy and sorrow after she found the painting yesterday, and began to believe this possibility. She patted Xiaomai on the shoulder and said, "Let's go. It's better to look for it before closing than to just wait." So the two of them hurried to take a taxi to the cemetery.
Pu Zhihe asked Xiaomai in the car, what kind of person is your grandfather?
"Grandpa? When I was a child, my parents were busy with work, so my grandparents took care of me. There were two situations for parent-teacher meetings. If I did well in the exams, my grandma would go, and if I didn't, my grandpa would go. Grandpa bought me comic books, but when I was doing my homework, he would take the comics aside and read them by himself. The katydids and chickens I raised when I was a child were all bought by my grandpa, and my first puppy was picked up by my grandpa with me. He used to be an engineer, but he stayed in Dunhuang for my grandma, so he was very good at math, physics, and chemistry. He could still understand my math homework until I was in high school..." His description was disorganized. It turned out that there were too many happy memories. Xiaomai also missed him a little.
Seeing his expression soften, Pu Zhihe thought of Chibi Maruko-chan's grandfather's words, "Even if no one in this world favors Maruko-chan, I favor her the most." Perhaps Xiaomai's grandfather was similarly like that. Pu Zhihe also began to understand why Hang Liumei, at this age, still had the innocence and pampering of her youth.
When we arrived at the cemetery, all the worshippers had already left. The old man at the gate paused the news broadcast, put down his oil-splashed noodles, and came out to chase them away: "Close the door quickly! Don't go in! Come earlier next time! Who would come to visit the graves at this time?"
Xiaomai stepped forward to explain: "We are just going in to find someone."
The old man closed his eyes and said angrily, "Then there's no need to worry. The people inside can't escape. We can look for them anytime."
Pu Zhihe was at a loss for words: "We are looking for a living person. Her family is still inside. We will go in for fifteen minutes and bring her out."
The old man wiped the spicy noodles from his mouth, looked at his watch, thought for two seconds, and then waved and let them go: "Then you guys hurry up, I have to lock the door on time."
After entering, the two of them headed straight for Grandpa's tombstone. It was completely deserted, with no one in sight. There were no flowers, fruits, or paper ashes in front of the tombstone, so it looked like Grandma hadn't come. Pu Zhihe pulled an apple and two bananas from her bag and handed them to Xiaomai. "This is the fruit plate we got for lunch. I thought it tasted good, so I brought it back. Since we're here, let's pay our respects and explain that it wasn't us being negligent, we were just rushed."
Xiaomai took it. "Sister Zhihe was so stylish today, I wondered how she could fit all that fruit into such a small bag." He obediently placed it on the table. It was completely dark, and the cemetery announced the departure. When Pu Zhihe and Xiaomai reached the gate, the black iron gate was already locked, entangled with a heavy chain and rusty padlock. The gatehouse was dark, and the old man who had been guarding the gate had disappeared, a prelude to a somewhat urban spooky experience.
Pu Zhihe asked twice if anyone was there, but no one answered. Xiaomai took out his phone to make a call, but it had automatically turned off. He then remembered that he had been busy playing the game that afternoon and had not charged it.
"He just let us in, why didn't he lock the door before we came out? It's not even the agreed time yet, and he's gone too," Pu Zhihe said to Xiaomai as she walked back, but she kept looking around. A chilly wind rustled the trees near and far. The fence was connected by a stone wall of medium height. She suggested to Xiaomai, "How about we climb over the wall and get out?"
Pu Zhihe's outrageous behavior always exceeds Xiaomai's imagination. Now everyone in the family is more daring than the other. Grandma has disappeared, and Sister Zhihe has climbed over the wall in the cemetery. It all depends on him to maintain basic order.
But days like this seemed quite interesting, Xiaomai nodded in agreement.
Pu Zhihe tried to climb up by holding onto the wall with both hands. Xiaomai was a little nervous behind her, ready to catch her at any time. But the wall was too high for her, and her arms were too weak to move, so she failed to climb up after several attempts.
Pu Zhihe looked around for something to stand on. Xiaomai squatted on the ground and asked her to step on her back. Pu Zhihe refused. Xiaomai knelt on one knee, patted her shoulder and said to her, "Sister Zhihe, then you can sit on it. I'll support you up."
Pu Zhihe was still hesitating. Xiaomai thought she was worried about danger and comforted her, "Don't worry, I won't let you fall."
So Pu Zhihe leaned on Xiaomai's shoulders. Xiaomai's shoulders were strong. She held the wall with one hand and his arm with the other. His body warmth came through her palms, and Pu Zhihe suddenly felt shy. Fortunately, it was dark, and Xiaomai couldn't see her blushing from below. Xiaomai didn't seem to notice her body tensing up. He was worried that she would fall, so he just supported her waist and legs and slowly stood up.
Pu Zhihe braced herself against the wall with both hands, trying to push one foot against it. She lost her balance, and Xiaomai immediately reached out to support her waist from behind, almost half-embracing her. She wasn't heavy, and the touch of her spine was obvious. Xiaomai exerted some strength and helped Pu Zhihe up. Only then did he realize that sweat was beading on his forehead and his heart was beating fast, even though he wasn't hot.
Pu Zhihe squatted on the wall, looking down. There was a lawn on the other side, a bit high, but still manageable. She tucked her hair behind her ears and was about to leap when a booming, smoky voice called out, "Hey, hey, hey—that woman's crawling up the wall and spreading mud! Why don't you go in and look for her the right way?" The old man, still kind-hearted, brought a ladder while shouting.
"I was just going to the bathroom, and you two were about to climb over the wall," the old man lit a cigarette and was about to criticize something when he suddenly remembered the key thing, "Hey, didn't you say you were going in to look for the family members? Where are the people you are looking for?"
"No one is here." Pu Zhihe and Xiaomai brushed the dirt off their bodies.
"Then why did you bother making this trip? Did you two drive? There aren't many buses these days. If you called a taxi, the drivers would be scared. Who would come to the cemetery to solicit passengers so late at night? You probably won't be able to leave."
Pu Zhihe and Xiaomai exchanged a glance. Seeing they were truly at their wit's end, the old man pushed out an old bicycle from behind the gatehouse and said, "I'll give you this as a loan. Ride it to the main road so you can get a taxi."
"How much?"
The old man held out his hand: "Not expensive, five hundred."
Xiaomai was about to pay when she realized her phone was turned off. Pu Zhihe said firmly, "One hundred, no bargaining."
The old man handed the car to them and the deal was done.
"You are so awesome, Sister Zhihe." Xiaomai expressed her sincere admiration to Pu Zhihe while sitting on the back seat of the tattered bicycle.
Pu Zhihe turned around and said, "It's a little too quiet walking on the road at night. Why don't you sing a song for us? A song that's uplifting and righteous."
Xiao Mai thought for a long time and started singing "Hero Song". When he finished singing the last sentence "Running through the nine states in a hurry", Pu Zhihe made a sharp turn and braked, and they just caught the last bus.
It was already late at night when they got home, but there was still no news from Hang Liumei. Pu Zhihe comforted Xiaomai and told her to rest first and report the case early the next morning. The next day, before they woke up, Hang Liumei had already returned home. Not only did she come back, but also a black-faced Siamese cat.
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