Chapter 9: The little mouse walks around in the middle of the night, climbs up the lampstand, steals oil, and then...
After falling asleep, Zhu Yingning was particularly careful. Whenever he felt drowsy and about to fall asleep, he would twist his arm to force himself to wake up.
It was past eleven o'clock and the whole family was asleep when a slight noise finally came from Xu Sirui's corner. She closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep too, until the person next to her gently turned over, slid off the bed, and tiptoed out of the house. Then she got up, put on her slippers, and followed him out quietly.
It was completely foreseeable that Xu Sirui would get up and eat secretly. Zhu Yingning didn't think that a delicate person like him who would feel pain even if he sprained his ankle could endure the pain of hunger.
Hunger is a burning sensation. The mouth burns, the tongue burns, the esophagus burns, the intestines burn. The raging fire consumes the entire body, destroying everything in its path, burning the internal organs into a shrunken mass. When hunger numbness sets in, one doesn't even feel hungry, and after eating, one immediately vomits it out because the food's irritation is unbearable.
As for Xu Sirui, Zhu Yingning speculated that he was in the transition stage between hunger and numbness. At this time, his desire for food was the strongest. If he was given a cow, he could even gnaw on its bones.
As she had guessed, he sneaked into the kitchen in the dark, scooped a basin of water from the water tank, drank a few mouthfuls, then wiped his mouth and impatiently opened the lid of the pot, grabbed two cold white steamed buns from it, and stuffed them into his mouth with a gleam in his eyes, as if he was filling a pig's intestines with water.
Zhu Yingning hesitated for a moment at the kitchen door, unsure whether to go in. She had already completed her mission of getting Xu Sirui to eat—she had come along simply to confirm that. Going in now would seem to have no effect other than embarrassing him. She didn't want to embarrass anyone, not even Xu Sirui.
After thinking it over again, she stepped back, intending to pretend that she knew nothing and go back to sleep.
But the story always goes against one's wishes.
When she stepped back, she accidentally lifted her legs too high, creating a large gap between her arch and the cheap plastic slippers. The moment her feet touched the ground, the air in the gap was squeezed, and a loud "pop" sound was heard.
Bu~~~
The sound is full of twists and turns.
It's terrible.
She bit her lower lip awkwardly, and saw Xu Sirui in the kitchen hunching his shoulders like a frightened bird, looking up at her. In his bright peach blossom eyes, besides fear and panic, there was also a flicker of...
Tears?
Zhu Yingning was stunned.
She realized that Xu Sirui was crying while eating.
This discovery was even more embarrassing than simply discovering that he was cheating. In her opinion, prying into the vulnerability and predicament of others was far from being a gentleman's behavior. Almost the moment she discovered that he was crying, she felt a strong sense of guilt in her heart.
Xu Sirui, the person involved, was even more embarrassed than her. He had half a steamed bun in his mouth, and he didn't know whether to continue eating it or spit it out. With tears in his eyes and a red nose, he looked at her pitifully, his whole brain seemed to have stopped working.
They didn't have much time to stare at each other blankly before the footsteps of a third person were suddenly heard outside the kitchen.
She was so frightened that she quickly hid in the kitchen. She stuck half of her head out and saw that the person walking towards her was a photographer with a camera!
What's going on?! Did the crew also think Xu Sirui would get up and eat secretly, and wanted to take the opportunity to film his miserable plight?
Zhu Yingning had her own set of moral standards. She felt Xu Sirui's willful behavior was caught on camera, and she felt he deserved it—he could have been more polite in front of the camera, but he insisted on revealing his true nature and bossing people around, so it was no wonder the camera faithfully recorded it. However, the current situation clearly violated his personal wishes. His vulnerability and helplessness should not be used by the crew as fodder for variety shows, magnified a thousand times and broadcast on television, becoming a source of laughter or conversation after dinner.
Zhu Yingning quickly made a decision.
She turned to look at Xu Sirui—he had completely lost the arrogance he had a few days ago. He was crouching behind her, nervously gazing at the photographer, his face filled with helplessness. She grabbed his hand and whispered, "Follow me." Then she dragged him to the kitchen window, pushed it open, and climbed out first, motioning for him to do the same.
He held a steamed bun in each hand and had no hands free to climb over the windowsill. He stamped his feet anxiously and simply stuffed the remaining steamed buns into his mouth, puffing his cheeks up like a hamster, before he hurriedly climbed over the window.
"Xu Sirui——! You're really cheating!"
Halfway through, the photographer's voice suddenly came from the kitchen door.
It wasn't hard to tell from the voice that it was the photographer he'd beaten up that day at school; it was clearly a personal vendetta. Xu Sirui was so angry he nearly vomited blood. He wanted to go back and settle the score with him, but with tears streaming down his face and a mouth full of steamed buns, he looked so forlorn.
Xu Sirui was a man who allowed himself to be overbearing, but never allowed himself to appear pitiful and miserable. Yet, at the same time, he was also a man of great scruples. He was struggling with this, unsure which way of thinking should prevail, when Zhu Yingning tugged at his arm.
"Go!" She made the decision for him.
The strange thing was that he clearly didn't like to listen to other people's arrangements, but at this moment, Zhu Yingning's words showed a strange persuasiveness, making him feel that following her choice was the right and reliable one. He was pulled down by her and followed her in slippers.
Late at night, in the deserted mountains, outside a dilapidated village, two children were running.
The mountain path was difficult to walk on, with its twists and turns. His ankle hadn't fully healed yet, and without the aid of crutches, running on it felt like floating on water. He'd occasionally lose weight from jumping down, and there was always the risk of a foot falling. But the process of running brought a sense of lightness, a sense of escape. This was the first time in all those days that Xu Sirui had truly felt joy.
The wind whistles in my ears, bringing with it the smell of freedom.
He followed Zhu Yingning and ran out of the village, ran towards the mountain behind the village, and finally stopped in front of a hidden cave, panting.
There were mountain turtles growing in front of the cave. Zhu Yingning reached out and brushed them away, then called Xu Sirui in.
He bent down, lowered his head, and crawled in in a half-crouching position.
The cave wasn't large, just four or five square meters, but it took in everything at a glance. She put the turtle down at the entrance and crept to a corner, rummaging around for a while before finding a box of matches and a candle. The matches lit up, and the candle burned, illuminating the small space.
Xu Sirui saw his own shadow climbing on the inner wall of the cave like a giant beast. As long as he moved slightly, the shadow would come alive and sway on the wall.
"No one will find us here," she gasped. "I know this place only I know."
As she spoke, she turned her head and saw that Xu Sirui's mouth was still full. She pointed at his cheek and said, "Aren't you going to swallow it?"
Xu Sirui suddenly realized that he had been running all the way with a steamed bun stuffed in his mouth. He looked so shabby. If he had been in the city a few days ago, he would never have been able to accept being seen in this state. But when he thought that the person opposite him was Zhu Yingning and that they were both men, he felt a lot less psychologically burdened. He covered his mouth, chewed the bun with his cheeks, and swallowed it in front of her as if nothing had happened.
The cave fell into silence for a moment.
After all, they had only known each other for a few days and had not communicated much. If it weren't for the sudden incident on the crew, they were far from familiar enough to visit each other's secret space. Therefore, it seemed a bit abrupt for Xu Sirui to sit in this cave that did not belong to him.
The atmosphere was silent for a long time. Zhu Yingning felt that it would not be good if the silence continued, so she made small talk and asked, "Are you okay?"
Well, let’s not bring up this topic anymore.
Xu Sirui was speechless at her ability to pick topics, rolled his eyes, and let her figure out the meaning herself.
She didn't notice his resistance and continued, "Is it really that good in the city? Do you really want to go back?"
"It's just so-so, okay." He irritably brushed his hair off his forehead and replied bluntly, "At least it's better than this crappy place of yours."
"Oh." She nodded.
oh?
What does "oh" mean? Xu Sirui glanced at her and found that she didn't show any anger in the face of his disparagement.
The atmosphere became cold again.
His gaze wandered around the cave, finally landing on an iron box in the corner. It was from this iron box that Zhu Yingning had found the matches and candle. He was tall, and his vision was sharp, so he noticed that in addition to the matches and candle, there was also a stack of envelopes in the box.
"You can actually receive mail here." He also spoke for the sake of conversation.
Zhu Yingning followed his gaze towards the iron box, pursed her lips, and said, "Yes, EMS can deliver it."
"Did your father send it?"
He heard from the crew that Zhu Yingning's father worked in another city and could only come home during the holidays.
She shook her head: "It's not him, it's... my sister."
"Ah? You have a sister out there? How come I've never heard anyone mention it?"
Talking about this topic, she seemed a little embarrassed, picking at the decorations on her plastic slippers with her fingers, and replied in a muffled voice: "She's not my biological sister, but a sister from the same village. We're not related by blood."
Xu Sirui couldn't help but glance at her with a teasing look.
Zhu Yingning was confused and stared at the envelope. Suddenly, she asked him, "Do you know a lot about computers?"
"I guess so. What's wrong?"
She perked up instantly, leaned forward, and took out an envelope from the tin box. She then pulled out a piece of letter paper from the envelope, pointed at a line of numbers on it, and asked eagerly, "Do you know what this means?"
Xu Sirui looked down and said, "QQ number, of course I know."
"What's a QQ number?" she asked a little embarrassedly.
He subconsciously wanted to say, "Why are you so unsophisticated?" But when he thought about the school she attended, where even the running track was 50 meters, not to mention the computer science department, he swallowed his sarcasm and explained with difficulty, "Uh, it's just... well, QQ is an online social platform. Everyone has a unique QQ number after registering. If you know someone's QQ number, you can add them as a friend. That way, even if you are thousands of miles apart, you can still chat online."
"Really?! Does that mean I can still keep in touch with her?" Her eyes lit up and she grabbed his arm, as if she had heard that Beijing's bid for the Olympic Games was successful or that the Dongfanghong-1 satellite was successfully launched.
Xu Sirui pulled his arm away, his eyes becoming more and more mischievous: "What kind of relationship do you have with her that makes you so excited?"
Zhu Yingning was still confused by his teasing and said happily, "She is my best friend."
"Yeah?"
He looked at the date on the envelope, April 2, 2008. This letter was sent two years ago. He then looked at the content of the letter. It was just a very short sentence.
-Ningning, I have created a QQ number, xxxxxxxxx, we can use this to contact each other in the future.
The signature is just one word: Juan.
He realized something and couldn't help but sneer: "She doesn't seem to consider you a friend. This is the last letter she wrote to you. How long has it been since you last contacted each other? Two years?"
Zhu Yingning was stunned for a moment, then after realizing what was happening, she quickly shook her head to excuse her: "No, she has her reasons."
Xu Sirui found it very funny. Zhu Yingning looked like the type who was very simple and easily trusting of others, but he was not like that. He always had the habit of assuming the worst of people and things. "Hardships? What hardship could there be? She's from your village. She must know what your conditions are like. You don't have a computer or internet, you don't have the means to access the internet at all. And yet she gave you her QQ number. How is this different from just losing contact? You're really stupid."
"...You!" Zhu Yingning was furious at what he said, her face flushed red, and she said anxiously, "You don't understand anything at all. You are not allowed to talk about her like that. She really has her own difficulties. She...she ran away from the village."
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