Chapter 33
The car slowly drove through a vibrant green, and the long-legged summer was running in this wilderness, quietly approaching.
It was not as hot as in summer, and the refrigeration equipment in the car was still dormant. The whole car was warm. People who were wearing thicker clothes would take off their robes and coats, and then there was another commotion of friction between the fabrics, which woke me up from my sleep.
I turned sideways, distracted, and curled up in the seat, taking advantage of my soft body. Perhaps the car saw how soundly I slept, while it continued to toil endlessly, and just as I was getting comfortable, it jolted jealously, sending everyone flying like dumplings on a spoon. I nearly broke my neck from my position, so I swallowed my anger and blearily opened my eyes.
The first thing that catches your eye is the rolling hillside outside the car. Clusters of vegetation decorate the hilltops, and they are green. When the breeze blows, you can seem to smell the fragrance of late spring through the window glass.
Another bumpy ride, and I woke up completely from my sleep.
I let out a long yawn, turned around, and looked around expressionlessly. Everyone on the bus looked like frost-bitten eggplants, lifeless and swaying from side to side. My butt was also stiff from sitting for so long. Not only did I feel nothing when I moved, but my spine felt like it had been pulled out, and any twist would cause me to tilt.
In order to find Xiaoju, I asked my boss for three days off and then took the bus to my destination.
Wen Liangxi had originally arranged for me to take the high-speed rail, but it goes directly into the city and can't take me to my more remote destination. For convenience, I opted for the more direct but slower bus, even at the expense of time. Even though Wen Liangxi had emphasized the difference between the two options, I insisted on taking the bus, insisting I could handle the ordeal.
I sighed weakly, thinking that I had really boasted in advance. I regretted not choosing the high-speed rail, which was troublesome but comfortable. Anyway, it wasn't my money.
Now, I just want to be a cat and curl up in my seat.
I looked out the window again, trying to distract myself from my physical fatigue by appreciating the scenery.
As the car reached a smoother section of road, darkness suddenly enveloped us. The tunnel blocked all outside sounds, the chirping of birds dimmed considerably, and the sound of the wind blowing against the hillside faded faintly. Only the rustling of the wheels and the various noises inside the car were amplified infinitely.
A child's crying sounded like thunder exploding in everyone's ears, followed by the impatient scolding of the parents.
"Oh my god, can you please stop making him cry?" The woman sitting next to me glanced at the source of the heart-wrenching sound in the aisle with an annoyed look on her face. "I finally fell asleep."
I immediately changed direction, leaned over and looked sideways, past the sullen-looking woman next to me, and saw an older woman struggling to hold down a child who was swinging his arms and kicking his legs.
The woman raised her hand and smacked the child's butt, yelling, "You're just making your mother angry. I brought you out to play and you still won't stop. If you cry again, I'll feed you to the wolves!"
The sleepy woman hesitated to speak, gradually waking up after repeatedly closing and opening her eyes. She sighed deeply, adjusting herself to a comfortable sitting position, her tone as cold as ever: "If that doesn't work, just cover his mouth. If he keeps crying, poke his throat. Don't hit him. You know how savage he is. The more you hit him, the more excited he gets. There are so many people around, and we're all listening to him howl. How can anyone else sleep?"
"Taking care of children is so annoying nowadays." After saying that, the woman turned her head and met my eyes unexpectedly.
Perhaps she felt that being speechless was awkward, so she gave me a motherly smile and said, "Are you going out to play, young man?"
I nodded to her, and then felt that the topic ended too suddenly and abruptly, so I took out the note Wen Liangxi wrote to me from my pocket and showed it to the person next to me.
"You're not getting off at the terminal. I thought you were going there to play." She leaned in closer, squinting her eyes. When she returned, her brows furrowed as if she had seen something dirty. "You're getting off at the bus station in this county? There's nothing here... Could it be that your friend is here? But I have to tell you, most of the villagers here are very xenophobic, so be careful with your words."
There was something behind her words, and I was curious, but as a mute I couldn't explain it clearly, so I could only keep it in mind as a good intention.
I put the note away and looked at the receding scenery outside the window. There was a faint, uneasy thread in my heart pulling at me.
Gradually, the bus turned out of the rugged mountain road and headed towards the scattered mountain villas.
A few minutes later, the car entered a small yard and squeezed in between other cars.
I arrived at the bus station where my destination was.
"If you're getting off at this stop, don't forget your luggage!"
Taking advantage of the break in the car, the driver picked up the water beside him and took a big gulp, then shouted to the back while unscrewing the bottle cap.
Seeing me stand up, the woman next to me kindly made way and repeated the driver's words: "Did you leave anything behind?"
I didn't bring any luggage on this trip. The woman's kind reminder made me feel the care of a stranger again. I couldn't help but smile, shake my head at her, and wave my hand.
"Goodbye," she said. "Mark my words."
After getting out of the car, I smelled the leather scent that was different from the one inside the car. The fresh air made me feel refreshed. I couldn't help but raise my hands and stretch my legs, wishing I could turn into a howling monkey on the banks of the river.
After losing my strength, I felt like a deflated balloon again. My limbs hung limply, my legs were powerless, and I had to drag my feet to take two steps. It was difficult for me to follow the main group to the exit.
But I didn't leave. I looked at the nearby supermarket, my mouth was dry and my mind was full of thoughts about how to rob it.
I licked my lips which were about to become dehydrated.
"Do you want to drink?" someone suddenly asked in my ear.
Teng Zheng is truly elusive.
I didn't expect to meet him here, and the sloppy image that was gradually fading away in my memory suddenly became clear to me.
I was stunned, looking at the person who shouldn't be here in disbelief. I was really surprised by his unexpected visit.
Teng Zheng looked more like he'd seen a ghost. He crossed his arms, leaning sideways like a branch struck by lightning, and couldn't help but chuckle. "What? I'm not a ghost. It's not like you haven't seen me before. Are you really that surprised I'm here? As if I could eat you."
I still find it incredible: Why are you here?
"Wait," Teng Zheng thrust his hand forward, blocking my attempts to continue the conversation. He then raised his phone and started snapping photos at me. "Say what you just said again."
"..." His action made me instantly understand his purpose. He probably came to help because he was worried that I couldn't speak the language.
As I expected, Teng Zheng repeated what I had just said and then immediately started to scold me, "You're a fool! How could a dumb person like you ask for your cat back? Do you think everyone in the world knows sign language? If that were the case, would I have listened to Wen Liangxi and spent hundreds of dollars to be your translator?"
His scolding made me instinctively dissatisfied, and the sourness in my heart gradually receded when I heard Wen Liangxi's name. Wen Liangxi really considered everything for my trip.
This solo trip suddenly turned into a two-person trip. While I was alone thinking about and digesting this unexpected event, Teng Zheng grabbed my wrist without saying a word and accompanied me into the supermarket like a hen carrying her chicks.
In my opinion, Teng Zheng is just a fool with a lot of money and surprisingly strong. When he came, he didn't carry a bag, but he was carrying all the bags he bought in both hands, which was very comfortable.
"This is for you." He handed me the bag in his right hand.
I had a bag of bread in my mouth and was still struggling to unscrew the cap of a soda bottle. When I heard this, I glanced at him lazily and continued with what I was doing indifferently, with no intention of taking it.
I'm not stupid. Even if I don't carry them, if Teng Zheng can't eat these snacks in the end, they will still be mine.
"I don't want anything free," Teng Zheng said, his eyes widening like bird eggs. "Is your brain sharing signals with a fool?"
I really want to use my iron sand palm to smash his balls.
But I still took a sip of water to calm the anger in my heart, and then said: Please carry it for me first, thank you.
The corners of Teng Zheng's mouth twitched, and his teeth clenched tightly, making a hissing sound. "So I'm the stupid laborer?"
I shrugged nonchalantly. No matter what he thought, I just followed the address Wen Liangxi gave me to find the missing Xiaoju.
In this unfamiliar place, finding an exact address required consulting local residents. Teng Zheng opened a map and discovered that the small county's train lines were as dense as a web. His destination was nearly several kilometers from the station. To ensure accuracy, Teng Zheng specifically asked the ticket agent at the window before leaving the station.
The conductor, whose rest was interrupted, opened his eyes impatiently. When he heard that the person was asking for information rather than buying a ticket, he immediately closed his eyes with a serious face: "I haven't been there. Go ask a taxi driver."
Teng Zheng bared his teeth like a vicious dog at the man in the window who was ten years older than him. After rolling his eyes at me, he deliberately shouted at me to leave.
Before Teng Zheng dragged me out, I deliberately turned my head to glance at the ticket seller. He must have heard the dissatisfaction in Teng Zheng's words and hummed softly, "Old ghost from outside the city."
I immediately thought of the instructions on the bus: "..."
No matter how much he cursed or how much he rolled his eyes, Teng Zheng was not stupid, as long as he came to a place like this where there were no acquaintances. Even if he hated the locals' sarcasm, he would still take their suggestions into consideration.
So as soon as we got out of the station, he pulled me to the roadside where vehicles were coming and going, looking for a taxi.
As it is a bus station in an old county town, its geographical location is not as good as that of the urban area and it is still in a remote location. Since it is remote, there are not many people and the cars passing by will not stay here for a long time, so the layout and construction are not given much attention.
The walls are peeling off and the ground is bulging with wear and tear. The weeds in the cracks are alternating between old and new. The air is filled with a greasy smell, which becomes disgusting when it is baked by the midday sun and penetrated by car exhaust.
There were not many taxis in such an environment, and the taxi I just saw had already left after picking up the passengers.
"Master—" Teng Zheng raised his hand, "Fuck it."
He let go of my hand, picked a relatively clean curb and sat on it, tearing open a bag of potato chips with his mouth and eating it.
I sat down with him, holding the leftover soft bread in my mouth.
"How about we just take a taxi and check it out?" Teng Zheng folded his arm around my shoulder and held the potato chips in front of me. "If the location is wrong, we can just look for it again. I have enough money for a taxi anyway. The worst that can happen is that we'll just waste time making two extra trips. I think there's a hotel nearby."
The smell in the air is getting worse and worse, and the fresh grapefruit scent on Teng Zheng's clothes makes my sense of smell particularly preferred.
For the first time, I did not resist Teng Zheng's touch on me. Instead, I ignored the weight on my shoulders, turned my neck half a circle, looked around at the unfamiliar environment and strange people around me, and finally accepted Teng Zheng.
"The chef will be here in seven minutes." Teng Zheng removed his hand from my shoulder, tilted his head back and poured the remaining potato chip crumbs into his mouth. He wiped his mouth without caring about his image, stood up and stomped his feet. After searching around but couldn't find a trash can, he folded the packaging bag into a square and finally stuffed it into the plastic bag in his hand.
I also tucked the bread bag into that bag.
"The driver's stuck in traffic." The minutes of waiting seemed incredibly long. Teng Zheng would periodically check his phone for real-time updates. The unsatisfactory results left him scratching his head like a student stuck on a math problem, his thick black hair tangled into a mess. Out of sight, out of mind, he simply turned his phone off and continued to observe his surroundings, his camera in hand. It really struck him: "They're all grown men."
I followed his gaze and thought to myself that it was just as he said, there were almost no old or female people around.
Teng Zheng said jokingly, "A bachelor's village."
I wanted to smile, but I couldn't pull up the corners of my mouth because I felt like there was a stone weighing on my heart when I thought of the previous instructions.
A bold cell phone ringtone broke the eerie atmosphere.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
