"I'll go to Mr. Xu's house again and see. If it doesn't work, I'll go to Shanghai once to ask him to come back. People's lives are at stake, and someone like Mr. Xu should come back," Lin Sanshui said.
"You go check on your aunt and the girl. I'll go back with your uncle Sanshui. You see how he's holding up." My father said.
"Is that really okay?" Lin Sanshui asked.
"What's not okay about it? Look at your appearance. Does it look like that of a village head? You look like a vagabond. Go home, take a bath, change your clothes, and then come back." My father replied.
If it was in the past, I would have definitely wanted to stay, but with the situation in the village, and uncertainty about my father's health, would he really ask me to stay here? Yet this time, he was very insistent, as if he had seen through my dark desires for Miao Miao. In the end, I had no choice but to agree, and Lin Sanshui indeed looked quite disheveled.
After they left, I put my hand on the armrest of the room, but in the end, I didn't open the door. It was still early in the morning, and if I saw something I shouldn't have, I'd end up arguing endlessly with the mother and daughter.
After a night of turmoil, my father was okay, and I felt a bit tired. I squatted in the spot where Lin Sanshui had been squatting earlier and rested for a while. When I woke up, I had been covered with a piece of clothing, and Lin Yao was making faces at me, pinching my nose.
I just opened my eyes and saw this situation, seeing Lin Xiao Yao's face, which was so shocking that even without making a ghostly face, it still startled me. Honestly, I was taken aback. But thinking of Lin Xiao Yao's fragile self-esteem, I pretended to scratch my head and said, "My legs are numb."
There was a fleeting look of disappointment on Lin Xiao Yao's face, but she still smiled at me and said, "Xiao Fan, are you planning to sleep until noon?"
I stood up, took out my blue screen Nokia to check the time, and found that it was already close to eleven o'clock. Yawning, I said to Lin Xiao Yao, "Have you eaten? I'll go buy food for you."
"While you're gone to buy for me, my mom and I would have starved to death. I just brought some food back, waiting for you to come back and eat. Come on, let's go inside," Lin Xiao Yao took my hand and led me into the room.
As soon as she entered the room, she let go of my hand. But at that moment, I grabbed her hand, which she was trying to pull away, tightly holding it.
I am aware of Lin Xiao Yao's intentional or unintentional attempts to matchmake me with Wu Miaoke. However, my complex feelings towards Wu Miaoke have left me feeling very conflicted.
At this moment, this is the only way I can respond to her.
I attempted suicide by cutting my wrist, and even though it didn't kill me, it was still a wound. Wu Miaoke spent two days in the hospital because of excessive blood loss, and her body has almost recovered. When we entered, she was even standing at the window looking outside.
"Xiao Fan, come and eat. You didn't even tell me you were here, and there's an empty bed inside," she smiled at me, seemingly ignoring the fact that Lin Xiao Yao and I were holding hands tightly.
Lin Xiao Yao's expression was very awkward at this moment, using her body to shield herself, she struggled violently to release her hand. In the end, I let go of her. I couldn't take advantage of this poor girl.
The meal was more terrifying than encountering a ghost in a temple. The ward was set up with a round table, and while I was eating, I felt a foot reach into my crotch.
I almost spat out my rice in surprise. They were sitting opposite me, a mother and daughter, and I couldn't tell whose foot it was. Both of them were eating with very natural expressions, looking down at their food.
I knew it was Wu Miaoke. I understand the biggest difference between a young woman and a young girl.
If it were Lin Xiao Yao, she wouldn't be able to act so naturally.
Only Wu Miaoke, whose recent attitude seemed to have undergone a significant change, could do so naturally, to the extent that I even feel like I don't know her anymore.
Since it was summer, I was wearing shorts. The atmosphere of the three of us, with a mother and daughter sitting across from me, a beautiful woman had put her foot in a place where it shouldn't have been. This kind of stimulation was almost as intense as being stimulated by a female ghost in the temple last night.
"Xiao Fan, are you feeling hot? Why is your face so red?" Lin Xiao Yao suddenly asked me.
Her sudden question startled me, and I unconsciously clamped my legs together. I ended up clamping the foot that was now between my legs.
I had intended to answer Lin Xiao Yao's question, but at that moment, that foot moved vigorously, causing me to spit out my rice. Lin Xiao Yao's face turned red instantly, and she slammed her bowl on the table, saying, "I'm full, I'll step out for a bit."
"Xiao Yao..." I called out, but she completely ignored me and went straight out. As she left, she even gently locked the door.
My heart sank. If Lin Xiao Yao found out about this, how would I face her?
"Auntie..." I watched as Lin Xiao Yao left, and couldn't help speaking to Wu Miaoke, my face also flushed.
In front of Lin Xiao Yao, she seemed intentionally or unintentionally to leave the two of us alone. She seemed nervous now, despite the fact that she had eaten calmly with her foot between my legs just now, and she couldn't even bring herself to look up.
The foot remained in place, and she dared not move. I dared not move my clamped legs either, and the atmosphere was awkward and alluring.
"Xiao Fan, how are you considering that matter?" she suddenly asked me.
"I still feel uncomfortable about it," I swallowed and said.
She didn't say anything, the foot struggled, and I naturally opened my legs, thinking that since it had come to this, I would have to go out and explain to Lin Xiao Yao.
But at that moment, while I opened my legs, she suddenly used her foot to kick where it had been just now. It wasn't hard, but it caught me off guard, and I instinctively used my hand to cover it. This time, my hand caught her restless foot.
White, snow white.
Just like the sight I saw when I was eleven, this kind of environment, this kind of person, and in my hand was such a boneless little foot.
She buried her head on the table and made a soft whimper.
Like the best aphrodisiac.
I couldn't bring myself to let go. I really couldn't. I'm not really a hungry man, nor am I a saint. Even if I had pondered whether I should do something like this, in such a situation where my hormones were boundless.
I am just a man. Wu Miaoke is a woman, someone I have longed for, and a woman who willingly reciprocated my feelings.
I didn't even know how we embraced each other. Every movement of my body seemed like a natural instinct, and I wanted to assimilate this woman who had suffered so much into my body. This was a hospital ward, and I was about to take off the virginity I had worn for more than twenty years here.
Finally, I let out a low roar and embraced Wu Miaoke, burying her head between my chest, and she dared not look up. Her fair skin, which had just been kissed due to excitement, was now covered in a charming blush.
I threw her onto the bed.
I began to undo my belt.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
I shuddered, intending to tidy up my clothes and go to open the door, but Wu Miaoke suddenly used her arms to hook around my neck and murmured in my ear, "Don't mind them."
I kissed her deeply and continued to undo my belt.
"Xiao Fan, are you inside?" Lin Xiao Yao called from outside, and the knocking on the door became more intense.
"Auntie, it's Xiao Yao," I pulled her arm, placed her on the bed, tidied my clothes, slapped myself twice, and pretended to be as calm as possible to open the door.
"Xiao Fan, I accidentally locked the door. Did you deal with the spilled food?" Lin Xiao Yao blinked at me with her eyes.
As soon as I opened the door, my legs went weak, because standing beside Lin Xiao Yao was Lin Sanshui.
"Uncle, why don't you take a rest? I can take care of things here," I pretended to be calm and said to him.
It seemed like Lin Sanshui noticed my unusual behavior, and I was extremely nervous. Such nervousness was, apparently, a giveaway to someone as experienced as him. Thankfully, he only gave me a quick glance and said, "You don't have to worry about the matters in the village. I'm going to Shanghai to find Mr. Xu. I came this time to pay the hospital bills."
After speaking, he looked in the direction of Wu Miaoke, who had her head covered in the hospital room. I don't know if he saw anything in the end, but he didn't say anything, just nodded to me and said, "I'm leaving. Take care of things in the village when you have time. Your position in the village is completely different now."
My position in the village is completely different now, what does this mean? I couldn't figure it out for a moment. I watched as Lin Sanshui's figure disappeared into the corridor, my whole body leaning against the door. I felt my back had been soaked through with sweat.
"Xiaofan, do you want to continue?" Lin Xiaoyao asked me at this time.
This question made me blush. What I and Wu Miaoke did in the hospital room wasn't a good thing to begin with, and Lin Xiaoyao seemed to know it all. The intense knocking at the door just now, the initial lie I told, was all to deceive her own father, Lin Sanshui.
At that moment, I was extremely embarrassed by the tangled relationship between us three. Damn it, in this world, where else would a daughter like a man, yet still act as a lookout for her mom's affair with that man, deceiving her own father? I couldn't continue to stay in the hospital room with this mother and daughter. What I and Wu Miaoke did just now, even though it could be overlooked, the relationship between a man and a woman is like a wall. It's okay as long as it doesn't escalate, but the problem is, we were just one step away from that escalation, and that step was my own impulsive consciousness. Now I didn't even dare to look at Wu Miaoke!
"Aunt's health is almost back to normal. The village is in chaos. I need to go back and take a look." I said to Lin Xiaoyao, without even saying hello to Wu Miaoke, and I left the hospital room directly.
"Xiaofan!" I left abruptly, and Lin Xiaoyao followed me out. Her presence was particularly eye-catching. With her calling out to me, the people in the entire corridor were watching us. I didn't feel like she was embarrassing me. I just couldn't bear to face them, lowered my head, didn't respond, and just walked out, rode my tattered bike, and left.
"Xiaofan, are you angry?" Lin Xiaoyao jumped onto the back seat of my bike and held onto my waist.
I had to admit, with Lin Xiaoyao behind me, attracting all the attention, people were looking at us. I wasn't someone who didn't care about other people's opinions, so I rode my bike quickly. After passing the town's streets, I stopped the bike and said to Lin Xiaoyao, "Get off."
"No, I won't!" Lin Xiaoyao said.
I was immediately at a loss for words. I was angry at her, but how could I be angry at such an extraordinary woman?
So, we ended up parking our bike on the side of the road in a test of patience, as she leaned her head against my back. At first we didn't speak, but eventually she started sobbing slowly.
"Why are you crying?" Once she cried, I felt helpless. But no matter what I said, she couldn't stop crying.
I reached into my pocket, lit a cigarette, and started smoking. I really didn't know how to comfort her. At that time, I had asked her for time, but accepting her required real time and courage.
Eventually, Lin Xiaoyao started hitting my back.
"Stupid Lin Xiaofan, always bully me and my mom!" She said as she hit me. She kept hitting and scolding me with the same words. I didn't know what to say. Come to think of it, I didn't know who had bullied whom between the three of us!
She cried for about ten minutes, then jumped off the bike and in frustration said to me, "If you want to leave, then leave!"
I flicked off my cigarette, didn't look back, and rode off. As the bike started, she kicked it down to the ground. I looked at her, her eyes were red from crying. Seeing me on the ground, her face showed a mix of concern and anger, torn between helping me and not wanting to deal with me.
I still didn't say a word. I picked up the bike, dusted myself off, and got back on.
To Wu Miaoke, I had wronged Lin Xiaoyao.
To Lin Xiaoyao, how could I explain what happened between her mother and me?
"You think we wanted this!!" As I walked away, I heard Lin Xiaoyao crying and shouting behind me.
I stopped the bike and saw Lin Xiaoyao crouched on the ground, sobbing with her head buried in her knees.
I stood and watched for a while. In the end, I got back on the bike and left. I didn't want to see them again in the future. If someone introduced me to a girl when I returned, I would agree. I really couldn't bear the mother-daughter relationship.
When I got back home, Aunt Pang, who was picking vegetables at the village entrance, hurried over and said, "Xiaofan, you're back. Hurry and go see Erling. Bai Zhenzhu has been looking for you everywhere."
"What happened to Erling?" I asked.
"Don't mention it. Hurry and go see. He fainted yesterday and still hasn't woken up. He seems to be out of breath!" Aunt Pang sighed. "Such a healthy young man. How come things suddenly went wrong?"
I rushed off on my bike at full speed towards Erling's house. When I arrived at the door, I saw that it was crowded with people.
Seeing me approach, both Bai Zhenzhu's family and the people from our Lin family voluntarily made way for me. Almost all of them said, "Xiaofan is finally back. Everything will be fine now that he's back."
I finally understood what Lin Sanshui meant by saying my position in the village had completely changed. If I was the only college student in the village before, after yesterday's incident, I was endowed with an even more mysterious aura because I had subdued the grandfather of Lin Erling.
In the eyes of the villagers, I was a person living at the intersection of science and myth. Nothing in the village could be accomplished without me, and I could accomplish anything. There were even rumors that my grandpa, Lin Laomei, faked his own death to take me to the underworld to make me a ghost officer, so that's why Grandpa San was so afraid of me. I must say, the villagers' imagination was quite something.
As soon as I got off my bike, someone took it and parked it against the wall. Bai Zhenzhu's cousin came over and said, "Brother, you're back. Hurry and go see Erling. He still hasn't woken up, and his breath is getting weaker."
I didn't reply. I was just as worried about Erling as they were. He was my brother who I had grown up with. I rushed into the house and saw everyone's red, teary eyes. I asked, "Erling still hasn't woken up?"
"No," Bai Zhenzhu said, her eyes completely dry from crying.
"Let me see." I went over and sat by the bedside. Erling's eyes were closed, his nose was swollen, and several silver needles were stuck into his forehead. It looked like the handiwork of Lin Xiaoqiang, the village's barefoot doctor.
"Uncle Xiaoqiang came? What did he say?" I asked Bai Zhenzhu. She was almost the only one in the room who could talk normally. Erling's parents had fainted, and with a child, in his prime, something happening to him, it would almost bring disaster to this ordinary family, much like the kind that would befall my own family if I were to disappear.
"Uncle Xiaoqiang said we should take him to the hospital, but we thought we should wait for you to come back. After all, Erling had just gone through what he did, and this healthy boy suddenly fell ill - it's too strange," Bai Zhenzhu said.
"Alright, I'm back now. Listen to me. You all go to the hospital first. I'll arrange things at home and come over shortly," I told Bai Zhenzhu. After saying that, I felt that she was already flustered, so I turned to Bai Zhenzhu's cousin and Lin Luazi, asking them to find the quickest mode of transportation to take Erling to the hospital.
"Xiaofan, Uncle San was causing trouble yesterday, wasn't he?" Lin Luazi asked me.
"I'm not sure, but for now we need to take him to the hospital first. The village head has already gone to get Mr. Xu. We shouldn't jump to supernatural conclusions if something goes wrong. We'll wait until the hospital examination comes back clear," I told them.
After speaking, I didn't dare to discuss too much with them. I simply rode my bicycle back home. The things that happened to Lin Erdan couldn't be explained by science. If it weren't for Grandpa San's possession yesterday, I might have believed that he just fell ill. But with what happened yesterday, no one would believe that a young man would just collapse without reason.
But one thing was for certain, we had to solve Lin Erdan's condition immediately. Otherwise, if he remained unconscious, he would starve, even if he didn't die.
As I left Lin Erdan's house, my mind was in a whirl. Lin Sanshui had only left for Shanghai today. It was uncertain if he could even get a ticket in Luoyang's city center, and even if he did, it would take several days to come back by plane after finding Mr. Xu in Shanghai. If I just waited for Mr. Xu to return, Lin Er could have already passed away.
The only option now was to take Lin Erdan to the hospital. Even if he had to rely on an IV drip to maintain his basic physiological functions, I needed to go back and ask Uncle Er for help.
I couldn't let him keep hiding things. This time it was Lin Erdan, but next time it could be someone else. My intuition told me that nothing would be resolved until that red coffin was taken care of!
When I got home, I saw my father repairing a hoe. I asked directly, "Where's Uncle Er?"
My father pointed to Uncle's room and said, "He's inside. Why did you come back so soon? How is your aunt?"
"She's fine," I replied, then pushed open Uncle's door without any hesitation.
As I opened the door, he was just coming out of the room. It seemed like he knew what I was about to ask. He nodded at me as if to say, "This isn't the place to talk."
Instantly, I felt relieved that Uncle wasn't going to hide things anymore. I didn't push for more information and just informed my father that Uncle and I were going to see Lin Erdan. As soon as I mentioned Lin Erdan, my father frowned deeply and said, "You should go."
When we left the house, we didn't go to Lin Erdan's place. Instead, we went straight to the back mountain.