Si Teng (Rattan) – Five Years Later – CH03

Yan Furui was discharged five days later. The doctor said it was a blessing that thanks to prompt and meticulous treatment, his condition hadn’t worsened to hemiplegia. However, he did have a persistent illness, and his gait was always slower than that of an average person, slowing down, and his spirit slowed as well, as if he had suddenly stepped into a frame of twilight.

Aging was something one couldn’t oppose, whether it arrived gently or abruptly.

Because of Qin Fang, the orphanage kept Yan Furui, but he was no longer up to the hustle and bustle of the kitchen, nor could he chase the pheasant-head boy with cabbage in a rage. He acted like a janitor, often sitting on a small stool by the playground in the sun, keeping order while the children played and directing kitchen work. He would take a sip of the broth Xiao Liu brought, taste it for a long time, and say, “It’s bland. Add some salt.”

How could he have aged so quickly? Yan Furui felt rather bored. The sight of him chasing Wang Qiankun with a chainsaw seemed like yesterday.

A few days later, Qin Fang came to see him. The director enthusiastically led Qin Fang on a tour of the orphanage, as if he were receiving a superior. He detailed, one by one, how Qin Fang’s donated money would be spent effectively: “Half of the room will be vacated to create a medical corner, so we can take care of minor bruises and scrapes ourselves. We’ll also get a larger air conditioner in the activity room. The current one only cools, not heats, and the children have a hard time in winter…”

She added, “Our orphanage is small, so we don’t get the best deal on funding. Many people choose to transfer their children to larger institutions. A few days ago, on the day that Grandpa Yan had his accident, a little girl was sent here. Firstly, we have to go through the proper procedures, and secondly, I heard that the person who sent the child looked down on this place.”

Qin Fang smiled: “I know they dislike this place, but at least they care about the child.”

The director was a little indignant: “Of course, they found the child. They know how to treat the child well. I don’t understand the carelessness of those biological parents who just throw a half-grown child in a blanket at the orphanage gate and call it a day!” Yan Furui, unable to move around easily, didn’t join Qin Fang and the others. He sat alone in the playground, basking in the sun. Occasionally, he’d glance at Qin Fang’s car parked at the orphanage’s gate. For the umpteenth time, he’d turn around and suddenly be startled: the car door was open, and a young woman stood out.

The woman was thin, with long chestnut hair, a pale complexion, and delicate features. Standing in the shadow of the car, she looked like a lonely bamboo.

Yan Furui realized, “You just got in the car? You came here with Qin Fang?”

As he spoke, he stood up, leaning against the side wall. He tried to walk out with a slow gait. He’d only taken two steps when the girl said, “Master Yan, your legs aren’t working well. Let me come over.”

Yan Furui watched her walk toward him. Suddenly, something strange arose in his heart. Why was this girl’s walk so strange…

He couldn’t put his finger on the specifics, but it just felt wrong. A normal person shouldn’t walk like this. Yan Furui muttered to himself, “She’s so pretty; she should fix her walk.”

The woman came closer, stopped, and said, “My name is Yi Ru. I’m Qin Fang’s friend.”

Friend? What friend? Yan Furui wondered why Qin Fang had never mentioned this to him, yet he couldn’t help but feel delighted. He didn’t know how to best demonstrate his friendliness. After a pause, he suddenly extended his hand: “Hello, hello.”

Yi Ru hesitated before extending her hand. She was wearing gloves, and her gesture was different from others. As their hands clasped together, a thought occurred to Yan Furui: Weren’t women’s hands supposed to be soft and boneless? Miss Yi’s hands were rather stiff.

Yi Ru explained to Yan Furui, “Qin Fang originally told me to wait for him in the car, but it was stuffy, so I got out and stood for a while. I happened to see you, so I just happened to say hello.”

Since they were friends, why was he hiding her from him? Yan Furui couldn’t understand, but he greeted her warmly, “Sit down, sit down.”

Finding hospitality, Yan Furui reached out with difficulty to pull the empty bench next to him. Yi Ru stopped him. “Master Yan, you sit down. I’ll do it myself.”

When Yi Ru wasn’t moving, she looked like a meticulously painted painting of a beautiful woman. But when she moved, she looked awkward. Yan Furui stared at her legs, then suddenly met her gaze. He felt embarrassed, like a thief caught with stolen goods. He coughed twice and quickly looked away.

Yi Ru, on the other hand, didn’t seem to mind. She dragged a stool over to sit next to Yan Furui and suddenly asked, “Master Yan, do you think my walk is strange?”

Yan Furui was startled and quickly acted nonchalant: “No, no, everyone has their own way of walking…”

He couldn’t finish the second half of his sentence. With a sound like a metal buckle unfastening, Yi Ru removed her left leg and held it flat in front of him. The leg was wearing a long boot, and the patent leather upper was covered with dust. Yi Ru said, “It’s a little dirty.”

She blew on the upper and wiped it with her gloved hand. Then she looked up at Yan Furui and said, “That’s why.”

Yan Furui’s scalp throbbed, not because of fear, but because he felt embarrassed and awkward, as if he had exposed someone’s scars. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something comforting, but he couldn’t help himself, and his eyes drifted to her other leg.

“That’s right.”

Yan Furui didn’t dare speak. Yi Ru leaned over and put the removed leg back on. As they stood up, their arms bumped against each other, making a clanging sound.

“That’s right, too.”

Yan Furui was stunned for a moment. He looked up at Yi Ru, who stood there. Yi Ru stretched out her hand and traced the outline of the head, starting from the top of the head, down to the shoulders, to the waist, to the bottom of the thigh, and then back up the other side. She smiled at Yan Furui and said, “Uncle Yan, don’t be afraid. This part is all true.”

Yan Furui’s reaction made her laugh creepily. If it were anyone else, Yan Furui might have felt sympathy or admired her for her strength despite her disability, but with Yi Ru, he couldn’t muster such emotions. He felt like this girl was a ghost crawling out of the gates of hell, gathering the remains of her body to form a human body, and returning to the world of the living.

Yi Ru turned and walked out, then turned back after a few steps and instructed him, “Master Yan, Qin Fang told me to stay in the car. Don’t tell him you’ve seen me.”

Yan Furui nodded quickly, his skin covered in goosebumps in the scorching sun.

In reality, Qin Fang hadn’t been kept in the dark that time. The playground at the Sunshine Orphanage was a muddy field covered in dust. After Yi Ru had walked past, two shallow, crooked footprints were left. Qin Fang saw them when he returned and said, “Yi Ru was here?”

Facing Qin Fang, Yan Furui didn’t hesitate: “What happened to her?”

“She got hacked.”

Yan Furui’s heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly remembered Qin Fang’s arm. But Qin Fang didn’t dwell on the subject. He simply smiled and patted his shoulder: “Yan Furui, remember my words. Live a few more years. I’ll come to see you every once in a while.”

As he spoke, a hint of loneliness lingered in Qin Fang’s eyes. He had only seen Yan Furui once or twice in the past few years, and they didn’t usually communicate. It wasn’t until Yan Furui’s unexpected accident that he suddenly seemed to understand a truth.

His friends didn’t have the same long-term time as he did. Each time they saw Yan Furui, they’d see him less often. Besides, Yan Furui was already a frail patient.

Qin Fang decided to visit Yan Furui at least every six months.

But life, like a fickle face, couldn’t be planned or predicted. The anticipated six-month meeting ended abruptly after three months. While descending the stairs, Yan Furui slipped and tumbled from the top, instantly collapsing into shock.

Qin Fang received the call in the middle of the night. Hearing the news took him a while to recover. He mechanically asked the hospital director, “How much? As long as we can save him, money isn’t a problem.”

The hospital director hesitated for a long time before telling him that Yan Furui had been resuscitated and his life was temporarily safe, but he had hit the back of his head when he fell and hadn’t woken up. The doctor said he might remain asleep.

Qin Fang hung up the phone in silence.

Although further visits seemed pointless, two days later, his car once again entered Qingcheng territory. Along the way, Yi Ru sometimes drove, and sometimes he did. When they reached the city, Qin Fang dozed in the backseat, fully clothed. He felt like he was asleep, his mind a whirlwind. Suddenly, he saw Si Teng, then Yan Furui, both smiling and waving at him, before driving further and further away into the winter mist.

His friends had all chosen different ways of falling asleep. The world of familiar faces dwindled, and the air grew increasingly desolate.

The car stopped, and Qin Fang awoke from his slumber. The setting sun shone through the car window, and he lost track of where he was. The front window was half-rolled down, and Yi Ru was staring out, lost in thought.

The sounds of children playing and laughing filled the air. This was a kindergarten, so Qin Fang didn’t disturb Yi Ru. They sat quietly until the shrill ring of the school bell suddenly rang, bringing Yi Ru to her senses. She restarted the car and said, “We’ve got over half an hour left. Why don’t you get some more sleep?”

The children shoved and jostled their way into the activity room as the bell rang, each finding a small stool to sit on. This was a game class. The substitute teacher cleared her throat and was about to introduce the game when the door opened.

It was the homeroom teacher, Ms. Lin Juan. She wasn’t actually very old, only about 25 or 26, but her black-framed glasses gave her an older look. She said, “Little Kong Xizhu, come out for a moment.”

The children’s eyes quickly focused on a little girl in the back row.

She was about four years old, wearing a tweed overcoat, red boots, and bangs. Her hair fell to her shoulders, and she had a diamond-studded hairpin in her hair. She was quite beautiful, but among the energetic future stars, she looked a bit decadent, like someone who had given up on treatment. She sat listlessly on the bench, her back hunched uncomfortably, her hands tucked into her sleeves—her international-style outfit gave the impression of an old rural woman basking in the sun by a wall.

At the teacher’s words, she lazily stood up, feeling that going the other way was too much of a detour. She squinted at the children in the front row and said, “Make way, make way, the teacher is calling me.”

The children were very obedient, carrying their benches close to their hips to make way for her. And so, in full view of everyone, she slowly walked out.

Lin Juan was both angry and amused. She closed the classroom door and looked at Kong Xizhu sternly: “Xixi, do you know why Teacher has called you out?”

“I don’t know.”

Lin Juan was furious: “Three kids have already reported you stealing their food today. Xixi, didn’t the teacher tell you to raise your hand and ask the life teacher to give you more? Why did you steal from others? This behavior is very bad, don’t you know?”

“Also, the kids said you threatened them, saying whoever told the teacher would be punished. Xixi, this… who did you learn this from?”

Lin Juan was so agitated that she almost blurted out the words “this kind of hooliganism.”

“I learned it from TV.”

She was so calm and composed, and she thought she was right!