Chapter 18
However, before Han Shuo could get Meng Yuxiu's mattress after school, someone brought him a quilt instead.
During the last self-study period, Han Shuo was daydreaming when Pi Dan bumped into him and then pointed to the side.
Han Shuo followed the gaze and saw his homeroom teacher standing outside, waving at him.
"What's wrong, Teacher Yu?"
Class teacher Ms. Yu told Han Shuo that his brother had arrived and was waiting for him on the playground.
"My brother?" Han Shuo was very surprised. As he ran downstairs, he was still thinking that it was only Wednesday. It would take a lot of time to get from Xiaoshi Village to Yunxi County. If Han Hong came to the school to find him at this time, there would be no way to get back later. Did that mean he wouldn't have to cook for Han Ting tonight?
When he ran to the playground, he found that Han Ting had also come along.
The weather was gloomy today, and the wind picked up especially near dusk on the playground. Han Hong stood there holding Han Ting, who was wearing a tan woolen hat, with a bulging snakeskin bag at their feet.
Upon seeing Han Shuo emerge, Han Hong immediately broke into a smile.
"Brother, what brings you here?"
Han Hong pointed to the snakeskin bag and said to Han Shuo, "The weather suddenly got cold, so you probably don't have enough blankets in your dorm room."
Han Shuo glanced at the snakeskin bag. It was so big, he estimated it weighed about seven or eight pounds. Even before nightfall, he already felt warm inside when he covered himself with it.
"I'm going home in two days, Friday. Why did you bring Tingting along?" Han Shuo was puzzled when he heard Han Tingting's name. Usually, the little thing would call him "Uncle" the moment it saw him. Why was it so quiet today?
He looked over in confusion and saw Han Ting's rosy little face under his woolen hat, leaning weakly against Han Hong. But he was clearly happy to see Han Shuo, his eyes crinkling. He just didn't have the strength, so he called out "Uncle" in a weak voice.
Han Shuo's heart sank for a moment. He grabbed Han Ting's small hand and asked Han Hong, "What's wrong with Tingting?"
Han Hong, who is usually full of energy, rarely showed signs of fatigue, but he still smiled and comforted Han Shuo: "He caught a cold and has been coughing since Monday. He was given IV fluids at the town clinic for two days but he still couldn't get it. I was worried that he might develop pneumonia, so I took him to the county hospital to get checked out. I also brought you a blanket while I was there."
He had barely finished speaking when Han Ting, who was in his arms, coughed twice.
Han Shuo instinctively wanted to ask for leave to accompany the father and son to the hospital, but Han Hong stopped him.
"You shouldn't go. It's too much trouble to go back and forth, and your dorm room has an iron gate that's locked at night. What will you do when you come back?"
To prevent students from sneaking out at night, iron gates were installed at the entrance of each floor of the school dormitory building. The dormitory supervisor would lock the gates at lights out. The county hospital was a bit far from the school, so students usually didn't get back until 9 or 10 pm.
"Then what are you going to do?" Han Shuo asked anxiously. "I mean, you'll definitely be at the hospital tonight, right? How will you sleep?"
Han Hong laughed and said, "I'm a grown man, how could I let you worry about me? There will definitely be a place for me to sleep. Okay, you go back to class, I'll take Tingting to the hospital first."
Han Shuo still refused to go back, so Han Hong had to say that if he went with him, dinner would cost the price of one more person.
With Han Ting coughing again, Han Hong decided not to waste any more time with Han Shuo, so Han Shuo had no choice but to give up.
After watching Han Hong and his son leave, Han Shuo carried the snakeskin bag to the iron gate of the dormitory building. He planned to carry it back to the dormitory after school when the gate opened.
As soon as the school bell rang, Han Shuo went to Class 1 to wait for Meng Yuxiu to go to the cafeteria for lunch together.
He was usually the most enthusiastic eater, not content with just eating his own food, he would always scoop a few spoonfuls from Meng Yuxiu's teacup. Later, the teacup of food that Meng Yuxiu brought didn't last until Friday, so when he returned to school on Sunday, he asked his current mother to cook some extra.
However, Han Shuo was preoccupied today. He not only didn't go to Meng Yuxiu to pick up some food, but he also ate listlessly.
He stopped eating, looked at the open doors of the cafeteria, and recalled the scene of Han Hong carrying Han Ting away in the gray sky.
Then she remembered Han Ting's pale, fragile face as he leaned on Han Hong's shoulder, his eyes still gazing at her with reluctance as she left.
Although Han Hong casually told him that there was a place to stay for the night, Han Shuo was well aware that going to the hospital would cost money. Although he didn't know the price of a hotel in the county town at this time, he estimated that it wouldn't be cheap.
How could someone as frugal as Han Hong bear to do that? Han Shuo had watched those melodramatic period dramas before, and the thought of Han Hong possibly spending the night with Han Ting in a hospital corridor or on a bench made his food stuck in his throat, making it hard to swallow.
Meng Yuxiu noticed that Han Shuo was acting strangely and asked, "What's wrong with you?"
After being brought back to his senses, Han Shuo sighed heavily, "I can't eat anymore."
He poked around in the half-eaten rice in the lunchbox with his spoon and asked Meng Yuxiu, "I haven't touched this half, can you have it?"
Meng Yuxiu glanced down at his lunchbox and hesitated for a moment.
Han Shuo then said, "I'll cut half for you, it'll be clean. I really can't eat anymore, it would be a shame to throw it away."
Meng Yuxiu looked up and saw Han Shuo's genuinely troubled expression, so he nodded.
"Thank you." Han Shuo scooped the other half of the clean rice into Meng Yuxiu's lunchbox, then grabbed the lunchbox and went to the sink to wash it.
After washing up, he said goodbye to Meng Yuxiu and went back to the classroom.
Back in his seat, Han Shuo couldn't concentrate on his novel and just stared out the window. When his classmates returned to the classroom one after another after dinner and the noise around him gradually quieted down, he couldn't sit still any longer. Finally, when evening self-study started, he ran to the office and asked his homeroom teacher for leave.
By this time it was completely dark. Han Shuo knew the location of the county hospital; he had passed by it briefly when he was strolling around the county town with Pidan Doufu and the others.
It takes about an hour to walk there from the school. Han Shuo glanced at the dark dirt road outside the school gate without any streetlights and turned back to Class 1.
Meng Yu was studying with his head down when his deskmate patted him on the shoulder. He looked up and followed the direction his deskmate was pointing, and saw Han Shuo outside the glass window.
He put down the book, opened the door, and went out.
Han Shuo was quite anxious. Before he could even close the door, he asked, "Meng Yuxiu, can I borrow your bicycle for a bit?"
Meng Yuxiu glanced at the sky and asked, "Where are you going?"
Han Shuo kept it brief: "My nephew is sick, and my brother took him to the county hospital. I'm worried about them, so I want to go and check on him."
Just as Han Shuo thought he would have to say a few more words, Meng Yuxiu went straight into the classroom and then came out again very quickly.
He gave Han Shuo the key and a flashlight.
Han Shuo accepted the gift gratefully and said, "You're so thoughtful! Otherwise, I would have already planned to ride my bike in the dark."
"My bicycle is parked in the bike shed. Do you recognize it?"
Han Shuo nodded repeatedly: "I know, it's black, thanks Meng Yuxiu."
He turned to leave after he finished speaking, but Meng Yuxiu grabbed his arm.
What time will you be back?
Han Shuo: "I don't know yet. If my nephew is alright, I'll probably be back soon."
"The dormitory doors are locked at 10 o'clock," Meng Yuxiu reminded them.
“I know, I’ll get back before then.”
Meng Yuxiu frowned and remained silent. He watched Han Shuo run off in a hurry until he disappeared before re-entering the classroom.
Han Shuo found Meng Yuxiu's bicycle in the bike shed. The bicycle locks of that era were made of leather rings, which felt quite sturdy. He turned the key and rode out of the school.
He tucked a flashlight under his arm, but the light was inadequate, and Han Shuo was practically groping his way along the bumpy dirt road. The night air was even colder, and a fine, dense wind seeped into his clothes. By the time he reached the hospital, he felt as if his ears were about to fall off.
He warmed his ears with his palms, then locked his bicycle.
The weather changed suddenly, and the hospital was mostly filled with children. Their crying could be heard from outside.
The benches in the corridor were full of parents with their children receiving IV drips. Fortunately, the hospital was not large, and Han Shuo looked around and found Han Hong and his son.
Hearing Han Shuo's voice, Han Hong was startled. "Why are you here?"
Han Shuo walked up to them, squatted down as he answered Han Hong, "I had nothing to do during evening self-study, so I came to see how Tingting is doing?"
Since they were already there, Han Hong knew that Han Shuo cared about them, so he made room for Han Shuo to sit down.
"I feel much better after the IV drip. The doctor said there's nothing seriously wrong."
Han Shuo looked at Han Ting carefully and saw that he was indeed in better spirits than when he was on the playground.
There were three bottles hanging on the IV stand, and the IV bottle was still more than half full. Han Shuo touched Han Ting's small hand; it was ice-cold.
Just then, Han Shuo arrived, and Han Hong was able to spare a moment to find an empty IV bottle for Han Ting, then fill it with hot water to warm his hands.
"Uncle." Han Ting felt a little better and reached out his arms, wanting Han Shuo to hug him.
Han Shuo quickly pulled down the hand receiving the IV drip to prevent the blood from flowing back.
He pulled Han Ting onto his lap and asked him, looking down, "Have you eaten dinner?"
Han Ting moved the back of her head. "Dad bought wontons."
"Do you share a bowl with him?"
Han Ting shook her head, "Dad and I will share a bowl."
Perhaps it was because he had taken over this body. Even though Han Shuo had no previous memories, the blood ties were hard to sever. Hearing Han Ting's words, he felt a slight pang of sadness in his heart.
The children next to her were eating candy, and their parents were helping them tear open the colorful candy wrappers. Han Ting was attracted by the sound and turned her head to look.
From Han Shuo's perspective, he could just see his nephew's long eyelashes fluttering, and it was clear that he was staring intently with both eyes.
Han Ting stared for a while, then looked up at Han Shuo and said, "They're eating candy."
Kids are like that; even though they know they can't have it, they'll still tell others about it.
To ease the awkwardness of not being able to eat the candy but still looking forward to it, Han Ting smiled at Han Shuo, revealing her pearly white teeth.
Han Shuo still had fifty cents in his pocket, his fare home for Friday. But he couldn't bear to look at his nephew's sensible eyes, so he said to Han Ting, "Uncle will go buy you some candy, okay?"
"Great!" Han Ting was overjoyed.
Just as Han Shuo was about to put him down and get up, Han Hong returned with an IV drip bottle filled with hot water. Upon seeing him, he asked, "Xiao Shuo, are you going back?"
"I'm going to buy some candy for Tingting."
"What are you buying?" Han Hong put the IV bottle in Han Ting's hand. "Where are you going to get the money to buy it? Tingting, listen to your father. You can't eat candy when you have a cold and cough."
Han Ting heard Han Hong's words, and although he pursed his lips, he didn't say anything. He just lowered his head and stared at his two dangling feet.
Han Shuo was extremely upset. He said to Han Hong, "Brother, I have money. You forgot that you give me an extra 50 cents every week."
Han Hong was surprised: "You didn't spend any money?"
Han Shuo lied, "I didn't spend any money. I'm not like Tingting, who's greedy? Isn't that right, Tingting?"
When Han Ting heard Han Shuo say he was rich, he immediately became happy again, and he chuckled with his eyes crinkling.
How could Han Hong not feel sorry for his son? So he made sure Han Shuo didn't use his own travel money to buy candy before he agreed.
As Han Shuo left the corridor, he heard Han Hong laughing and talking to his son behind him.
"Your uncle is so nice. He saves money to buy you candy."
Han Shuo felt a lump in his throat, and he suddenly felt ashamed. He couldn't quite put his finger on why he felt ashamed; perhaps it was because Han Hong was so frugal, unwilling to buy candy for his son, yet he was willing to give him five cents.
Perhaps he not only failed to save the fifty cents, but also took the fifty cents that Han Hong had saved by living frugally and spent it.
Perhaps it's because his nephew is envious of other children, but he doesn't have enough money to support them.
In short, as Han Shuo walked out of the hospital, he felt a slight tightness in his chest and difficulty breathing from the cold wind blowing in his face.
He wasn't thinking about how to get home on Friday; at this moment, he was content as long as Han Hong and Han Ting were happy.
He bought some loose candy from a small shop near the hospital, spending fifty cents. After taking it home, Han Ting seemed half-cured, and was able to chatter away with Han Shuo again.
Han Hong sat beside them, smiling as he watched the uncle and nephew. "Xiao Shuo, is it okay if you don't go to evening self-study?"
While peeling candy for Han Ting, Han Shuo said nonchalantly, "Oh, even when I'm in evening self-study, I'm always slacking off. Don't you know me?"
Han Hong had no choice but to shake his head with a smile. As he smiled, something suddenly occurred to him, and he asked Han Shuo, "Xiao Shuo, how did you get here?"
Han Shuo was about to answer "ride a bicycle" when a sudden thought struck him and he stopped.
"Uh... I ran here."
Han Hong responded with a half-believing "Oh".
Seeing him stand up, Han Shuo asked, "Where are you going?"
Han Hong touched his coat pocket and said, "I'm going out for a smoke. You stay with Tingting."
"Okay." Han Shuo didn't think much of it.
Han Hong arrived at the hospital entrance but didn't smoke. He looked around, then slowly strolled to the bike shed, staring at each bicycle for a while before returning to the hospital after finding nothing amiss.
Han Shuo didn't stay long. When Han Hong saw that the clock on the wall had reached nine o'clock, he urged him to hurry back to school.
Seeing that Han Ting was alright, and that Han Hong and his son weren't the only ones spending the night in the corridor, plus that the doctor had provided thin blankets for the child to cover himself with, Han Shuo felt a little relieved.
When leaving the hospital, Han Shuo didn't let Han Hong see him off, as Han Ting was still on an IV drip and Han Hong really couldn't leave.
He could only tell Han Shuo to be careful on his way back.
"Don't worry, I'm leaving now."
Han Shuo took out his keys from his pocket and walked towards the bike shed, but when he reached the spot where the bicycles were parked, he suddenly opened his eyes wide.
"???"
There were many bicycles parked in the bike shed. At first, he thought his eyes were blurry from the cold wind, so he rubbed his eyes and walked around the bike shed several times.
After a final check confirmed he wasn't seeing things, he stood there blankly and said, "Where's my bicycle?..."
"Damn it! Where's my bicycle?!"
Then he noticed something on the ground. He crouched down, turned on his flashlight, and saw—damn it, it was the bicycle's leather lock, and the leather ring had obviously been cut by a sharp object.
Han Shuo was immediately stunned and stood there for a long time, unable to come to his senses.
When he came to his senses, he thought to himself, "I'm doomed!"
In those days, bicycles were treasured by every household. Every time Meng Yuxiu rode his bicycle through the school wearing a white shirt, it would arouse a lot of envy.
Most importantly, Meng Yuxiu didn't say a word when he borrowed the bicycle, but if he finds out it's gone...
Han Shuo dared not imagine that scene.
He felt that from now on, let alone doing missions, given Meng Yuxiu's difficult-to-please temper, he probably would never want to see him again in his life.
This was the first time Han Shuo had ever been so flustered in all his years in this world.
He checked the bike shed again and, after confirming that the bicycle was really gone, his heart sank to the bottom.
He definitely couldn't ask Han Hong for help in the search, since Han Ting was sick and he didn't want his brother to worry about this.
He picked up the bicycle lock from the ground and ran to the hospital entrance to ask the security guard, but with so many people and bicycles coming and going every day, the guard couldn't possibly manage everything.
Han Shuo had no choice but to search the entire small hospital by himself, and then he went out to search the streets.
He figured there was no nightlife in this era, so he took advantage of the empty streets and ran around looking for people in the nearby residential areas.
He walked through the streets and alleys with a flashlight, searching every nook and cranny near the hospital, and rushed over to any bicycles parked on the roadside he saw.
Fortunately, it was cold and everyone went to bed early, otherwise he would have been caught long ago for acting so suspiciously.
Han Shuo didn't know how long he had been searching. He didn't have a watch and couldn't tell the time. All he knew was that the lights in those tenement buildings were going out one by one.
In the dormitory, everyone else had finished washing up and was making their beds. Meng Yuxiu came back from the bathroom carrying a washbasin. He glanced at the time and frowned when he saw that the hour hand was approaching ten o'clock.
Before the bell rang, he put down the washbasin and went to Han Shuo's dormitory.
Han Shuo's bed was on the top bunk. He climbed two steps up the ladder and saw that Han Shuo's bed hadn't moved at all.
Doufu was peeking out from under the covers, about to close his eyes and go to sleep, when suddenly someone patted him on the foot of the bed.
He craned his neck to look, and when he saw who it was, he opened his mouth in surprise.
"Hello." Meng Yuxiu glanced at Han Shuo's bed. "Has Han Shuo not returned yet?"
"Huh?" Tofu said blankly, "He's not back yet."
Pidan raised his head and said to Doufu, "Yeah, why aren't they back yet? It's almost time to lock the door."
Meng Yuxiu didn't ask any more questions. He said thank you and climbed down the ladder to leave.
Soon the dormitory lights-out bell rang. Meng Yuxiu's bed was on the first floor by the window, next to the corridor.
After the lights were turned off, he listened quietly for a long time, but there wasn't a single footstep in the corridor. After waiting for a long time, he unknowingly fell asleep.
When he woke up again, he was disturbed by a slight noise from the glass window next to him. The sound was actually very soft, but Meng Yuxiu still opened his eyes.
He was stunned when he saw Han Shuo behind the glass window.
"Meng Yuxiu".
While the other students in the dormitory were still asleep, Meng Yuxiu woke up, quietly put on his clothes, and then opened the dormitory door.
The sky outside was still dark, with a faint glimmer of white on the horizon, clearly indicating that a night had passed. Han Shuo's clothes and hair were damp with the chill of dew.
Meng Yuxiu glanced at the time; it was 5:30.
He asked Han Shuo in surprise, "You just got back?"
Han Shuo looked slightly embarrassed and nodded, "Yes, I just got back."
How did you get in?
Han Shuo pointed to the wall beside him, "They climbed over the wall to get in."
"..."
Meng Yuxiu noticed Han Shuo's eyes flicker slightly and was quite puzzled.
"Well..." Han Shuo scratched his neck awkwardly, "Meng Yuxiu, I have something to tell you, but don't be angry after you hear it."
"What?"
"Well..." Han Shuo briefly prepared himself mentally before blurting it out, "I'm really sorry. You kindly lent me your bicycle, and I should have kept an eye on it, but I parked it in the hospital bike shed, and when I came out of the hospital, I found it was gone..."
He handed the bicycle lock to Meng Yuxiu, forcing a stiff smile, "This is all I could find..."
Meng Yuxiu thought that perhaps he hadn't slept enough, so when Han Shuo told him that his bicycle was stolen, he was just a little confused and didn't have any other feelings.
He just listened to Han Shuo rambling on and on.
"It's really embarrassing, I haven't taken good care of the things you lent me. Don't worry, I'll definitely pay you back..."
"I'm broke right now... My family is broke too, and I'm too embarrassed to ask my brother for money. You know my nephew is sick... Sigh, actually my brother isn't broke either..."
"But don't worry, I'll get a job after I graduate, and then I'll earn some money..."
To make it easier for students to use the restroom, the lights in the dormitory corridor are left on at night. In the dim light, Meng Yuxiu could see Han Shuo's nose, which was red from the cold, and the fresh, damp mud on his shoes.
He suddenly interrupted Han Shuo's rambling and asked, "You searched all night?"
"Huh?" Han Shuo was taken aback, probably not expecting Meng Yuxiu's reaction. He stammered, "I don't have a watch, so I don't know the time. I just looked around."
Meng Yuxiu's brows furrowed slowly upon hearing this.
Seeing that he hadn't spoken for a while, Han Shuo asked nervously, "Hey, what do you say? How about this, I'll fetch you hot water every day, wash your lunchbox and steam rice for you. Of course, I'll definitely compensate you with a bicycle."
However, Meng Yuxiu silently took the bicycle lock. The more he did this, the more flustered Han Shuo became. He was afraid that if Meng Yuxiu lost his bicycle, he would burst into tears, and he really didn't know how to deal with that.
"Han Shuo," Meng Yuxiu said.
"Why."
Meng Yuxiu stared at his face and spoke slowly: "If it's lost, it's lost. There's no need to search for it all night."
"..." Han Shuo asked in surprise, "Then how are you going to explain this to your parents?"
"We'll see when the time comes."
Han Shuo opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say. On the way back, he had been thinking about Meng Yuxiu's various reactions and was almost prepared to kneel down and beg for mercy. However, Meng Yuxiu's reaction at this moment was beyond his expectations, leaving him at a loss for words.
Meng Yuxiu asked him, "Do you still have classes during the day?"
Han Shuo stared blankly, "I'll probably have to take the whole morning off. I'll take a nap first."
Do you still need your mattress?
"Uh..." Han Shuo felt even more ashamed after hearing Meng Yuxiu's words. "My brother brought me a thick quilt... Thank you."
Meng Yuxiu nodded and turned to walk into the dormitory.
Han Shuo stood there scratching his head, when Meng Yuxiu came out and said something to him.
"Han Shuo, let's do a mission together tonight."
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