The car neared the outskirts of the small town, which was actually only a few streets away from the hotel. Sun Er stretched his body, gesturing here and there before exclaiming, “Here we are, we’ve arrived.”
It was an old building once designated for the families of the credit union, standing at about five or six stories high, clad with cyan-gray tiles.
It wasn’t until they reached the base of the building that Chao Xin’s delayed nerves kicked in. She had been avoiding thoughts of Paipai’s condition in the past few days, keeping up a facade of calmness in front of Xiang Wan and the others. However, with Paipai just upstairs now, she felt a cowardice similar to ‘fear of the familiar.’
Standing at the entrance, with a dark rolling shutter in front of them, she looked up and asked, “Which floor?”
“Fourth floor,” said Sun Er.
Just two streets away, just two streets away.
Chao Xin repeated the distance to herself, without being too self-reproachful or too guilty. She simply stood there, unwilling to move, mechanically echoing those two sentences.
Then she lowered her head and said, “Let’s go.”
Chao Xin sniffled and neatly tucked her disheveled hair behind her ears.
The old building had no elevator, and they climbed the dim, rust-scented concrete stairs step by step until they reached a dark red iron door. Sun Er then announced, “Here we are.”
He pounded on the door fiercely. A woman’s voice from within called out, “Who is it?”
“It’s me,” Sun Er replied, clearing his throat.
The door was pulled open from the inside, revealing Sun Er’s sister – Sun Sanmei[1], who was cooking and still in her apron. She cast a quick glance at him and then at the stylish girls behind him.
With a swagger, Sun Er entered without changing his shoes and sat on the sofa, swinging his leg. “Chao Bei’s aunt is here to take her back to school. Call her out,” he instructed.
As soon as he finished speaking, a door inside slammed open.
“Auntie! Auntie!” Paipai’s voice called out.
Chao Xin’s heart clenched, and after a two-second pause, she responded, “Paipai.”
Her voice carried a slight hoarseness, accompanied by a faint breathiness.
Sun Sanmei fished out a key from her waist and unlocked the door. Paipai darted out, stopping short at the sight of Chao Xin, stunned.
She stood there, tilting her head slightly, timidly calling out again, “Auntie.”
Seeing the wetness in Chao Xin’s eyes, Paipai noticed her take a breath and slowly release it through pursed lips.
It was an exaggerated breathing gesture very familiar to Paipai, reminiscent of the one Chao Xin had made when she had woken from a feverish haze. Then, Chao Xin had blinked and said, “You’re awake.”
“Auntie, don’t be angry,” Tears suddenly welled up in Paipai’s eyes, and she didn’t dare to approach, standing a few steps away while rubbing her eyes, “I wanted to call you, but they wouldn’t let me.”
Sun Er lied to her, claiming that he was taking her and Chao Xin back home to see Grandma, saying that Grandma missed her. Paipai remembered Grandma’s words about not having much time left, so she hesitated a bit. Sun Er added that he had already talked to Chao Xin, and they would pick Chao Xin up after dinner.
He also said not to call Chao Xin to avoid interrupting her TV show recording.
He took Paipai out for a meal, saying he owed her for not being there, and noticing how much she had grown, he asked if Paipai remembered flying on a plane with him and her mother when she was little.
It wasn’t until she was in a fellow villager’s car that Paipai realized they weren’t heading towards the TV station. By then, it was too late for her to get off the car.
“Auntie, I’m sorry,” Paipai said, crying.
Chao Xin shook her head. Her gaze was fixed on Paipai’s protruding wrist, so thin it seemed a single finger could circle it. How had she become like this in just a few days?
“Aren’t you eating properly?”
Then she glanced at the oversized cartoon T-shirt on Paipai, obviously a little boy’s design, with grease spots, and Paipai was still wearing her school uniform pants. Her hair was unkempt, tied carelessly at the back by Sun Sanmei, and on her feet were men’s slippers, dark blue, looking like two small boats.
“Whose clothes are these? Who changed you into them?”
“I changed myself. The clothes were given to me by her,” Paipai pointed at Sun Sanmei.
Chao Xin squatted down and held out her hand. Paipai shuffled over in her slippers and nestled softly into her embrace.
It was only after smelling the familiar fragrance that Paipai hugged Chao Xin’s neck and started to sob loudly.
Chao Xin stroked her back and waist, whispering, “What have you been doing these past few days? Does your body hurt anywhere?”
“What ya talking about, we don’t beat people here, okay?” Sun Sanmei wiped her hands on her apron. “She wouldn’t eat at first, so I even went to the market and got half a pound of pork.”
“Then she says she doesn’t eat pork, acting all high and mighty like a spoiled rich girl.”
She was irritated and complained to Sun Er.
“I even asked my son to take her to play, play on the arcade machines. She says that the game about souls is for idiots, and they ended up fighting. I told them not to fight, but she kicked me right here, so I locked her in the room.”
“It is indeed played by idiots.” Paipai managed to retort between her sobs.
“See! Look at her.” Sun Sanmei was livid and didn’t want to talk anymore.
Chao Xin didn’t want to say more either. She picked up Paipai and walked out the door. Sun Sanmei glanced at Sun Er sitting on the couch motionlessly, so she signaled with her eyes, “Eh?”
Sun Er just sat there, smoking on the sofa.
With a ‘bang,’ the door closed behind them, and he didn’t say another word.
Chao Xin, in her high heels, carried the ten-year-old girl down the stairs. Yu Zhou and Peng Xiangzhi both marveled at the sight. Once on the ground floor, the group didn’t want to delay any further. They had initially discussed whether to head straight back to the county, but after the day’s exhausting events and with the sky completely dark, they decided to stay another night at the hotel.
Once in their room, Chao Xin adjusted the water temperature for Paipai, encouraging her to take a good bath. She then rummaged through her luggage to find some clothes she had packed for Paipai, choosing a piece with comfortable material to serve as pajamas.
She then carefully washed Paipai’s hair, blow-dried it, and tucked the girl into bed to ensure she got a proper night’s sleep.
“Chao Xin,” Paipai said, her eyes fixed on Chao Xin’s movements, not wanting to close her eyes.
After lying down for a while, she spoke up, “I actually tried to eat well. I knew you would come to save me.”
“The pork she cooked was too fatty; it made me feel sick, so I didn’t eat it.”
“I fought with that cousin because he was talking nonsense. He said you didn’t want me anymore. I told him if he kept it up, I’d smack him.”
“He’s not your cousin,” Chao Xin interrupted her.
“Oh, right,” Paipai quickly amended, “That fatso.”
“Where did you learn to talk about smacking people like that?”
Paipai blinked her large eyes, looking left and right, but said nothing.
Chao Xin let out a laugh, “Sleep now. We’ll go back tomorrow.”
Paipai was still worried, “Did you inform my teacher I’d be absent? What about my homework? The teacher might think I’m just playing around. Please remember to explain it for me, okay?”
And there was Zhou Ziqi. Paipai wondered if he would worry about her…
Could it be possible that he’d find someone else to care about?
Her phone had been sold by Sun Er to a second-hand shop. Once she got a new phone, she’d have to re-add everyone as friends, and the thought exhausted her.
As these thoughts swirled in her head, Paipai drifted back to sleep.
The child, who had struggled to sleep well for days, began to softly snore. Chao Xin watched her, noticing how Paipai’s facial contours actually resembled Chao Wang’s – pale, frail, as if even a slight lack of attention could mean she might never awaken again.
Chao Xin watched over her, like she was guarding a regret that had been sealed away for ages.
However, Paipai’s sound sleep also made it clear to Chao Xin that some things are truly lost forever.
Back then, Chao Xin genuinely hadn’t had the power to save her.
- Like Sun Er’s address, San(三) means third, mei(妹) means younger sister, Sun Sanmei means the woman rank third in Sun Family. [return to text]
CNYuriTranslation 