Bite Your Fingertips

33rd -【Ended up empty-handed】

Wang Zhenshu recalled, “I’m but an old woman and my memory isn’t good. I remember Mrs. Lu was very educated, she liked reading books and often phoned others to discuss issues with them. I’m illiterate and didn’t understand any of what I heard. Mr. Lu was busy and returned late at night. Mrs. Lu just waited for him while reading, never listening to any persuasion otherwise.”

When people were old, they’d keep bits and pieces of trivial things in their memories.

Lu Shi asked, “Did they have a good relationship?”

“Yes, very good, very affectionate. Mrs. Lu was pregnant and her feet were swollen so it wasn’t easy for her to wear shoes. Whenever Mr. Lu returned, he’d take her shoes off and massage her feet. The anti-slip mat in the bathroom was also bought specially by Mr. Lu. His care for her was truly meticulous.”

Wang Zhenshu looked at Lu Shi again. “Mrs. Lu also said that she’d let me hug the child once he was born. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get to that. My husband at home was seriously ill so I hurried back to my hometown. Before leaving, Mrs. Lu gave me a lot of money. She was very kind.”

“When did you leave?”

“When? When… ah, I left when Mrs. Lu was eight months pregnant. At that time, she stood with her pregnant belly at the door to see me off. She was smiling while telling me to stay safe on the road.”

Speaking up to here, Wang Zhenshu then spoke incoherently. After a while, she mentioned that the fire was still on in the kitchen and that it was almost dark, then asked why Manli hadn’t returned.

Li Manli came over from the side. “Mom, I came back earlier, did you forget?”

She turned to Lu Shi apologetically. “Old people, the mind wouldn’t be so clear when you’re old, it’s confusing.”

Lu Shi sat for a while.

It wasn’t until Li Manli helped Wang Zhenshu go back to her room to sleep that he earnestly said his thanks, then got up and left.

Leaving Xiali Town, Lu Shi took a bus to the neighboring town.

It was late and there were no buses back to Xiali County. But he was near the station and so found a hotel to stay in.

Early Monday morning, Chu Yu carried his empty school bag to the classroom.

The desk behind him was empty and as Chu Yu glanced at it, he inexplicably felt a little sense of loss in his heart.

Zhang Yueshan inquired once he saw him, “Lu-Shen asked for leave, what’s the matter?”

Chu Yu appeared wan. After sitting down, he held his chin in his hands and replied slowly, “Rep, I also don’t know.”

“I thought you’d know.”

Zhang Yueshan sized up Chu Yu. “School Flower, are you… sick again?”

“What sick?” Chu Yu’s glare was strengthless.

Since last night until dawn, his whole body had had a low fever, rendering him unable to sleep comfortably.

When he got up in the morning, he could hear his heart’s ‘badump badump’ jolting his eardrums. The veins on both sides of his temples felt like they were about to explode.

“That sounds like the same thing you had at the beginning of school!” Zhang Yueshan recalled with difficulty. “That thing… called, called, a nomorelogical disorderThe real word for neurological dysfunction is 神经功能紊乱 (Shénjīng gōngnéng wěnluàn), but ZYS said 植物神经紊乱 (zhíwù shénjīng wěnluàn) which translates to plant nerve dysfunction. How did he even think of plant???? HHAHAHAH I put nomorelogical for better flow.! Yes, that’s the name!”

“Nn, something like that.”

Chu Yu spoke weakly, about to lie down again.

Zhang Yueshan remembered. “By the way, Lu-Shen isn’t here so who will you copy your homework from?”

“I won’t copy.”

Chu Yu lay down and uttered without care, “Don’t feel like copying.”

Thinking that Chu Yu didn’t want to study as it was just after the monthly exams, Zhang Yueshan recalled something. “Last night, I heard Guan Yiyang transferred to another school.”

Chu Yu’s mind processed slowly, taking him several seconds to react. “The one who made a futile attempt to call me father?”

“That’s him. And not only him, but also Fang Mingzhe who framed you for cheating, and Shen Zhongming, the son of the teaching and research department head. They all transferred!”

Li Hua was covering his ears to memorize some text, but hearing their gossip, he turned his head and quickly joined in. “Also also, Shen Zhongming stole his father’s key to open the drawer with the test paper and stole it. They said that he was shut in at home and beaten, his cries could be heard from the gate of their community.” He added, “He lives on the 20th floor.”

Zhang Yueshan then began discussing with Li Hua whether Shen Zhongming’s house was really on the 20th floor and how his wails could reach the gate of the community.

Chu Yu didn’t participate, he was so uncomfortable that he was a bit irritable.

Turning his head to stare at the empty seat behind him, he felt even wearier.

Chu Yu just lay there all day.

As it got dark, the street lights downstairs gradually turned on.

After the bell rang, the school building seemed like it was about to be shaken into collapse due to all of the ‘boom boom boom’ sounds of footsteps.

Chu Yu stood up with his hands on his desk, preparing to go back to the dormitory and continue lying down.

Zhang Yueshan, who was packing his school bag, saw that Chu Yu was wobbly and unsteady. He was worried. “School Flower, are you okay? Do you want me to help you?”

Chu Yu knew himself well, so he waved his hand. “No, I can do it.”

Zhang Yueshan wasn’t assured and followed beside Chu Yu, accompanying him until they were downstairs.

The age of 16 and 17 was when one’s appetite was large, and if one didn’t eat supper, they could wake up hungry in the middle of the night.

Zhang Yueshan pointed to the direction of the cafeteria. “Can you really go back? If so, I’ll head that way?”

Chu Yu was also hungry, but there was no food he could eat in the cafeteria. For a moment, he felt miserable.

He nodded slightly. “Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

Back in his bedroom, Chu Yu directly lay down without turning on the light.

With eyes closed, groggy, and in a daze, he heard his phone ringing.

He reached out and felt around for a long time before picking it up. He opened one eye and found that it was Lu Shi calling.

Chu Yu instantly sat upright.

“Hello?”

When the call connected, Chu Yu could hear whistling wind coming from the receiver.

“It’s me.”

Lu Shi’s voice came through, mixed with some electric noise.

“Are you hungry?”

Chu Yu leaned against the wall, bowed his head, and unconsciously prolonged his tone as he answered honestly, “Extremely hungry.”

He asked back, “Where are you now? I’ll look for you.”

“At Qingchuan River.”

Listening to Lu Shi’s voice, it was more hoarse than usual, and the wind pressing in, brought by the river, indescribably made people feel a little sad.

“Don’t come here. I’ll return to the school, open the door for me in a while.”

After hanging up, Chu Yu lay on his bed, listening to the movements outside the door with his ears pricked up.

He thought that waiting was really too fucking hard.

His thoughts then wandered endlessly. What the hell did Lu Shi do? It was very mysterious.

Moreover, the voice Chu Yu heard, he wasn’t sure if he was hallucinating, but he felt that it was a bit different from normal.

Chu Yu grasped at a memory.

In the locker room, Lu Shi had the same tone of voice after answering the phone.

Like he was about to cry in the next second.

Every minute and every second was extremely difficult.

Until three soft knocks sounded on the door.

Chu Yu didn’t wear slippers as he stepped on the carpet barefooted and hurried to the door in two or three steps.

Lu Shi walked in and closed the dormitory door with his hand behind him.

The room was completely dark.

“No lights on?”

Before he finished speaking, Lu Shi felt someone pounce on him. Following along with the soft strength of the other party, he sat down on the carpet.

In the darkness, he could faintly see the other’s silhouette.

Lu Shi was pushed down by Chu Yu and simply relaxed, letting him freely move.

He felt Chu Yu fumble and touch his collar. He pulled it open, and soon, there was a slight tingling sensation on Lu Shi’s shoulder, as well as the subtle movements of sucking blood.

He wrapped his arm around Chu Yu’s waist and held him in his embrace. Lu Shi’s voice was light and husky as he said in a low voice, “I know you’re hungry, be good. Don’t worry and drink slowly.”

He rushed back and forth these past two days, but just like before, he ended up empty-handed.

Chilled by the early autumn’s night breeze, even the tips of his fingers were like ice.

Whereas the person in his arms was as toasty as the warm spring sun.

Lu Shi lay on the carpet, hugging Chu Yu. His eyes slowly fell shut and his tight nerves finally relaxed at that moment.

The author has something to say: Here’s a heart made up of used bus tickets~

• 1The real word for neurological dysfunction is 神经功能紊乱 (Shénjīng gōngnéng wěnluàn), but ZYS said 植物神经紊乱 (zhíwù shénjīng wěnluàn) which translates to plant nerve dysfunction. How did he even think of plant???? HHAHAHAH I put nomorelogical for better flow.