YV | Chapter 7

Su City had been hit by continuous heavy rain. The broken basement of the old residential complex awaiting demolition was gloomy and damp. In the coffin-like space, sewage had risen over the ankles. Outside was muggy, inside was wet and cold. Sheng Xiaoyang had a fever, and his wounds had festered and refused to heal. Under these multiple torments, let alone the Jiangping Road war god, even the red-faced Lord Guan would not be able to bear this blow.

Dayan was so frightened she had not eaten properly for a week, and she had lost a lot of weight. Every day at midnight, she had to get up and see whether Sheng Xiaoyang was still alive, and her method was direct, she stuck out her index finger and checked his breathing.

Sheng Xiaoyang’s face was stiff and white, his breath faint, and his lips would occasionally twitch and purse. Dayan really thought Sheng Xiaoyang was about to die.

Dayan was anxious to the point of going mad, she called Xiaoyang, leaned her ear over, and asked, “What do you want to say?”

Only after the words fell did she vaguely remember that Sheng Xiaoyang could not speak.

How could there be someone so miserable, suffering in the Shura field of the human world, running a fever, feeling awful, wanting to call out but unable to make a sound. Dayan raised her hand, wiped away her tears, pushed Sheng Xiaoyang, and said, “Wake up, let’s go to the hospital, we can’t keep going like this.”

“Not dying would be stupid!” she said.

In the end, Sheng Xiaoyang did not make it to the hospital. Dayan was just a girl, and Sheng Xiaoyang was uncooperative, she could not move him. The next morning, Sheng Xiaoyang woke up, gestured, thirsty, is there water?

Dayan splashed through the water to buy a bottle of mineral water.

-Thank you.

Sheng Xiaoyang drank a bottle of water in one go, then properly put the bottle away. He lay down for another day, slowly brought the fever down, and his body seemed to recover. Although his face was still white, it looked like he should not die now.

Dayan, with the feeling of having survived a disaster, said, “You scared me to death!”

Sheng Xiaoyang gave a weak smile, tugging at the corner of his mouth.

-No need to worry, I’m durable.

Dayan shrugged, “That’s great, a lot of people want to live but can’t.”

He did not look at what she said afterward, his attention was on the wooden carving of a flower.

The air was rippling with water, mold was breeding happily, and the wood was miserable. The edges of the petals were faintly turning black, and it was like a real flower, sadly moving toward withering. Sheng Xiaoyang had clearly already been very careful, he even did not dare to feel discouraged.

Palms sweating coldly, Sheng Xiaoyang’s hand stretched out, then shrank back. He was cautious and careful, not daring to touch that flower branch. Maybe the course of all things developed naturally according to rules, and darkness and light never met.

Sheng Xiaoyang raised his head, his gaze falling on the only window in the room. The glass was wet. He had once written Zhang Xu’s name on it, and when the sun came out, it all evaporated clean.

Dayan waited for Sheng Xiaoyang to stare blankly for a long time, then tugged at his clothes.

Sheng Xiaoyang turned his head.

-?

This pair of dark, bright eyes made Dayan lose herself for a moment.

Sheng Xiaoyang was actually very good-looking. Dayan thought, if he cleaned himself up properly, he would definitely outshine those pretty-boy celebrities.

Sheng Xiaoyang just lived too rough, there was always something covering his face, not only dark, but also looking dirty.

A person’s appearance grows old, but the bones never change until death. When Sheng Xiaoyang’s brows and eyes were not pressed downward, the corners of his eyes were slightly hooked up, the lines soft, and when he smiled, they were lazy, like a bright and lively crescent moon. Yet the corners of his mouth were naturally downturned, making him look like he had a sorrowful story.

A thin body, contradictory and calm.

Dayan told Sheng Xiaoyang to smile more.

Sheng Xiaoyang said, “Smiling can’t scare off vicious dogs.”

Dayan, still with shallow experience, found it hard to understand the reasoning in that. In modern society, a good-looking face is not a crime, but whether or not to show it depends on whether, under the gaze of the outside world, there are malicious guesses and ill intentions.

Sheng Xiaoyang had tasted too much malice.

Dayan did not care, she reveled in the future in the basement filled with moldy smell.

“Right now, self-media is so hot, someone like you, just show your face, build a persona, sell some misery, everyone will definitely like it. Then livestream sales, making money like crazy, okay!”

Sheng Xiaoyang:……

Having such thoughts was normal, just like most people, before going to sleep every night, would always imagine how they would spend it if they won five million, secreting dopamine, happy.

Dayan continued, “Think about it, you become an internet celebrity, I’ll be your assistant. Making a fortune for the two of us is not a dream!”

Sheng Xiaoyang played along, smiling and clapping for Dayan.

Dayan looked at Sheng Xiaoyang with a lovestruck expression, holding her face, and said, “I really think you look better than him!”

Sheng Xiaoyang asked, “Who?”

“Zhang Xu!”

Sheng Xiaoyang’s heart once again beat out of rhythm.

Dayan always used Zhang Xu to tease Sheng Xiaoyang, and she kept the measure just right, not making Sheng Xiaoyang uncomfortable.

-We can’t pick up trash for a lifetime, we have to learn a skill to survive.

Sheng Xiaoyang said.

Dayan looked at the plastic bag drifting over from who knows where, and said dejectedly, “I can’t learn it, I can’t do anything.”

Sheng Xiaoyang was confused, he also could not do anything.

Zhang Xu had not started work for half a month, and his occupational illness was all in his right hand, the thick calluses from holding a knife and the arm that ached every rainy season. It could not be cured, just bear with it.

Zhang Xu did not show his feelings on his face. When Zhang Xiumei called, asking if he had been doing well lately, Zhang Xu smiled and said he was doing pretty well.

Zhang Xiumei sighed, saying that if he found a wife, that would be even better, they could take care of each other.

Zhang Xu did not even mm, after listening to Auntie’s chatter, he ended the call.

His attitude was very good.

At his age, he was in the peak period of being pushed to marry. The more resistant the person involved was, the more strained the family relations became. Joking around and muddling through for the time being was fine, but it was not a long-term solution.

Zhang Xu rubbed the bridge of his nose. The reclining chair rocked back and forth, and Burnt Meat lay by his feet, lazily yawning.

Fine, dense rain drifted and scattered for half a day. In the afternoon, a muffled thunderclap struck, and in an instant it turned into a downpour. Rain drops the size of beans smashed open the dark green river, and the black awning boats docked by the shore. Leisure mixed with irritation. Zhang Xu’s brow suddenly tightened, and a piercing pain hit his wrist. He tiredly opened his eyes and saw the white shirt hanging on the clothes rack by the window, fluttering in the wind and rain, the faint bloodstains on the hem completely out of place with the Jiangnan mist and drizzle.

Zhang Xu’s thoughts drifted back with the rain to not long ago.

At that time, he had accepted an invitation to attend a hotel opening ribbon-cutting ceremony. The client, all smiles, pulled Zhang Xu into the office to drink tea, Phoenix Dancong, the flavor was good.

The client’s surname was Huang, and Zhang Xu called him President Huang.

President Huang was very satisfied with Zhenwu Dadi, and did not put on airs in front of Zhang Xu, speaking directly.

“I’ll book another project with you.”

“Cai Shen?”

“No, no, not that. A master figured it out for me, Cai Shen won’t bring me prosperity!”

That was bold, to even dare say that.

Zhang Xu never questioned things verbally, he gave full emotional value, “Oh, then there’s a reason for that.”

“Yes!” President Huang slapped the table excitedly, “We have to put up Yue Lao!”

Zhang Xu:……

“Yue Lao brings marriage. Once the wife comes, money will follow along too.” President Huang was rather embarrassed, “I’m still single, I’ll strive to get married in the second half of the year, if I listen to my wife I’ll definitely get rich!”

Zhang Xu nodded, “That’s right.”

President Huang produced an image of Yue Lao, “This was invited from that master’s place, carve according to this, take your time, money is not a problem, the main thing is sincerity.”

Zhang Xu originally did not believe this, but he could not stand President Huang being too respectful. He took it with both hands, his expression sincere. However, not long after being sincere, just after leaving the hotel, Zhang Xu’s right hand suddenly hurt, and he broke out in a sweat.

Zhang Xu acted decisively, did not go home, changed course and went to the hospital, he could not drive, so he took a shortcut on foot, and crossed the alley to get there.

That person’s appearance was even more unannounced than the pain itself, like a blurry shadow arriving on the wind, and when he looked up, he ran straight into it. Zhang Xu stared at the half-puddle of blood on his shirt, a little dazed. Combined with the nonstop pain, he thought his hand had been cut off by someone. Only when the thick smell of blood drifted away did something in Zhang Xu’s eyes move, and he came back to himself and looked around. The alley was as calm as a hallucination, the wind had never come.

Blood was hard to wash out. After three rinses, the shirt still showed traces. Sending it to a dry cleaner was not worth it, after all, this shirt only cost 29.9 yuan on Taobao.

The rain grew heavier again. Under the hanging shirt, beside the chaotically orderly carving knives on the workbench, the Yue Lao image had kind brows and benevolent eyes.

Zhang Xu looked away, yawned, and since he rarely had free time to drift off, he might as well sleep for a while. Just as he closed his eyes, Restaurant Master Song came running over with an umbrella, carrying a lot of things in his other hand.

“Ah Xu!”

Burnt Meat smelled the food, and trotted up to him, circling around Master Song’s legs and wagging its tail, craving the meat in his hand, very flattering.

Master Song lifted a foot and nudged it away, “Go on, go on, stop making trouble, I’m looking for your dad!”

Zhang Xu’s stomach hurt and he had not eaten lunch. He was hungry now and had ordered a bowl of braised meat noodles, but he did not expect Master Song to deliver them personally, so he was flattered, “It’s raining so hard, why did you bring them?”

“If I don’t deliver them, who will? Count on that ancestor in the shop? He’d starve you to death sooner or later!”

Zhang Xu did not answer, he took a dry towel and wiped his face for him, then asked, “Is the shop not busy?”

“Not busy, who comes out to eat in weather like this, everyone’s hiding inside to shelter from the rain!”

Master Song had a loud voice, and Burnt Meat did not like listening to him, so it hid under the table and licked its fur. Zhang Xu ate noodles, Master Song was too polite, he had put in three pieces of meat, and the taste was a bit salty. He picked out a chopstickful and gave it to Burnt Meat.

Master Song stood straight, his elbow propping against Zhang Xu’s back, “I’ve got something to tell you.”

Zhang Xu ate elegantly, and only after swallowing did he speak, “What?”

Master Song put a small tin can on the table. Zhang Xu heard the sound of coins colliding inside, and froze for a moment, then asked, “What is this?”

“Money,” Master Song was very mysterious, covering half his mouth with one palm, and said quietly, “Forty-five yuan and five mao, with both big and small coins.”

The tin can was a peach can commonly seen in supermarkets, its opening sealed with a plastic bag and rubber band. Inside were four soggy five-yuan bills and ten one-yuan bills, and the rest were loose coins of one mao and five mao.

When shaken lightly, the music mixed with the sound of water rang out ding-dong.

Zhang Xu seemed to glimpse the original owner of the tin can’s tight financial situation. He had finally managed to save up a sum of money, was very happy, and found a container to put it in.

The surface of the tin can was clean, the person had kept it carefully.

Looking at the one-mao and five-mao coins all over the table, Master Song clicked his tongue and shook his head, “Kids now don’t even have this much loose change in their pockets for buying spicy sticks. What’s going on?”

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Xu asked, “Where did you pick it up?”

“On the west wall window of the noodle shop, I wouldn’t count that as picking it up.” Master Song said, “Who would throw something there, a thief climbing through the window?”

The small noodle shop’s west wall window had suffered a tragic death under typhoon ravaging a few years ago. Su Miaomiao had already thought it was old, so she simply found a specialized window designer and made a Chinese-style flower window with ice plum patterns. The blue liuli light and shadow reflected on the white wall, complementing the green river outside the window, and then a one-hand-wide windowsill was newly built outside, with a pot of greenery placed on it. The window became a frame, the window view became a painting, and Su Miaomiao had a flash of inspiration. The small noodle shop gave birth to a new check-in spot, and its turnover doubled and surged.

However much it was renovated, the stories that had happened would not disappear.

A thief climbing through the window.

Memory rode a time machine through the void, and Zhang Xu vaguely saw a mysterious phantom spirit visiting in the dead of night, sprouting new shoots from his land of wild strawberries.

【📢Author's note】
Land of wild strawberries: a secret place, a dwelling place, known only to the person himself, full of personal emotions and quiet memories.