The train swayed and rattled, and it was already past 2 a.m. when we arrived in Kyoto.
Su Changqing and Xu Weihua squeezed out of the station like refugees fleeing famine.
Although Xu Weihua had been well taken care of throughout the journey, she was still pale-faced. There was nowhere to lie down or even stand in the carriage. Her buttocks were calloused from sitting for the past few days, and her back was stiff.
Su Changqing was in even worse shape; two of his bundles fell off, and even his glasses, which were hanging on his nose, were almost knocked off. His face was pale and blue.
"Changqing, there are no more cars at this time. I'm too tired to go on. Let's go to the guesthouse and rest for a while."
"I'll take the bus home tomorrow morning when there's one," Xu Weihua said weakly. All she wanted to do was lie down and stretch her aching back.
"Alright, I remember there's a guesthouse up ahead. Let's go, let me help you, just hang in there a little longer."
In the darkness of night.
A man wearing a hat stared intently at Su Changqing and his wife, then stubbed out his cigarette, pulled his hat down low, and followed them.
He finally came out; he thought he had gotten the wrong train number.
The exhausted couple in front of them had no idea they were being watched.
After checking into the guesthouse and getting the key, I took my luggage and went upstairs.
As soon as Xu Weihua entered the room, she collapsed onto the bed. Su Changqing quickly put down his things and took off her shoes. Remembering that the receptionist was filling a kettle when he entered, he took a basin to fill it halfway with hot water.
"Wei Hua, I'll go downstairs and bring up a pot of hot water. I haven't washed for days, and I feel sticky all over, so I can't sleep comfortably."
Xu Weihua mumbled a "hmm" in her sleep. Hearing the door open, she opened her eyes groggily and saw Su Changqing's departing figure. Through the half-open door, she saw a man wearing a hat passing by in the corridor. The man looked at the half-open door and glanced inside as well.
After making eye contact, they quickly looked away.
Not long after, Su Changqing came up with a thermos. The guesthouse provided hot water for free. After pouring the water, he wiped his sleeping wife's hands, feet and face clean, and then washed himself quickly before lying down.
In the quiet corridor, a figure carrying a bottle slowly squatted down at the door of the room, then twisted off the bottle cap and poured something into the crack in the door.
With a sizzle, the matchstick was lit, and the small matchstick flicked in from under the door crack. The man turned and left without stopping.
The old man on duty at the front desk downstairs was pecking at rice like a chicken and didn't notice anything at all.
Xu Weihua was woken up by Su Changqing kicking her.
"Cough cough cough, Wei Hua, Wei Hua, get up quickly, there's a fire."
Hearing the piercing scream and feeling the heat in the air, Xu Weihua was jolted awake.
When he opened his eyes, he saw that Su Changqing was already patting the fire with the wet cloth.
Xu Weihua scrambled to his feet and was about to pull at the door.
Su Changqing covered Xu Weihua's mouth and nose with the handkerchief in his hand. "Cough cough cough, it's no use, Weihua, the door can't be opened, it seems to be locked from the outside."
"Help! Help! Fire! Cough cough cough~"
The room wasn't big to begin with, and with oil spilled on the floor, the fire spread very quickly, and soon both of them were struggling to breathe.
"It's too late." Xu Weihua looked around the room, grabbed a stool next to the table, and smashed it hard against the window on the table.
"Splash!"
The window shattered instantly.
Seeing that Su Changqing was about to faint, she reached out and grabbed the back of his collar, making him lean against the window. She quickly pulled out the ugly scarf she had knitted herself from her duffel bag.
Although the scarf was ugly, it was made of good material and was long enough. One end was quickly tied to the windowsill, and Xu Weihua climbed down.
Stepping out the window, my breathing became instantly easier.
"Changqing, Su Changqing, get down, get down quickly."
Xu Weihua stood on the windowsill on the first floor, handed the wet handkerchief in her hand to Su Changqing, and hung in mid-air.
Su Changqing was completely dazed by the smoke and couldn't hear what Xu Weihua was saying at all.
This commotion finally woke up the people in the guesthouse, who were all shouting and yelling noisily.
Seeing that the fire inside the house was about to leap out of the window, Xu Weihua hardened her heart, steadied herself, reached out and grabbed Su Changqing by the collar and pulled her down.
Ah~
Weighing over 100 pounds and feeling utterly weak, Su Changqing was pulled down from the window by Xu Weihua with one hand.
The shards of glass on the windowsill scraped Su Changqing's arms and abdomen, drawing blood. The intense pain jolted him back to his senses.
Xu Weihua pulled Su Changqing down from the window, and he was pulled down with her. His wrist couldn't withstand the huge force of the fall and dislocated.
As soon as Su Changqing regained consciousness, he felt Xu Weihua pull him down from the second floor and throw him out.
"Ah~," the immense feeling of weightlessness made him scream, and his hands instinctively flailed.
Before he could react, with a thud, he was already sprawled on the ground.
Although it was only half a floor high, Su Changqing felt as if all his internal organs had shifted, his whole body was numb, and his chest felt like it was being pressed down by a huge stone.
Before he could catch his breath, he was struck again with a thud. He could no longer hold on, and everything went black.
Xu Weihua clutched her dislocated wrist and scrambled off Su Changqing, a bad feeling creeping into her heart. "Changqing, Changqing~"
"Changqing, wake up!"
"Help! Help! Someone, please help!"
Su Qingci had a good night's sleep and didn't get up until the sun was high in the sky the next morning. She packed a bag of flour, a big fish, and a small bag of raisins from the farm and rode her bicycle to Liuhuai Lane.
As soon as I entered the house, I sensed something was off. It was a day off, and none of the three Si Gui siblings were at school.
"Thinking of home, Uncle, where's Grandma? Look what I bought! Hehe~"
"What's wrong?"
“Sister.” Si Xiang’s eyes lit up when she saw Su Qingci, but then, as if she had thought of something, she turned to look at her father’s face and suppressed her smile.
"Qingci, you're back!"
Su Changzhi looked worried. "Your grandma and your aunt went to the hospital..."
"It was the officers from the Public Security Bureau who came to inform us. It seems they said that my older brother and sister-in-law had an accident."
Su Qingci raised an eyebrow. "My dad? They're back?"
Su Changzhi nodded worriedly, "Yes, I don't know what happened either. We're not home yet. The police officer said it's on the second floor of Pingkang Hospital."
Su Qingci put her things down, pushed her bicycle, and turned to leave. "You stay at home and don't worry. I'll go see what's going on."
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