Chapter 23: Wandering

In the steamy heat, Qinhuai and I, both soaking in the water, let out a sigh of relief.

“Here, take it.” Qin Huai lit two cigarettes and gave me one. I took it and took a deep breath, slowly exhaling the smoke. The moment of relaxation made my mind blank, and I didn’t want to think about anything, just wanting to sink into the comfort of the moment.

“This lake village is not bad. We can even build a small bathtub in the house to take a bath. Chengyi, how long has it been since we last took a bath together?” Qinhuai’s head rested on the edge of the bathtub, and he asked me lazily.

Yes, I didn’t expect that this three-story room would have a bathtub. When Qin Huai and I were still young, we used to go to the bathhouse together, take a bath, and so on. I remember that once the hot water suddenly stopped, and we were both naked, with soap bubbles, and we cried out in the cold winter, washing ourselves with cold water.

I laughed at the thought, and said lazily, “It’s been more than ten years, I think.”

“Sometimes I think it was really good back then, when we were so carefree and didn’t have to worry about anything. We got into trouble, but our elders at home would always clean up after us. But how did those youthful years pass so quickly?” Qin Huai’s voice came through the hot steam and into my ears. I smiled and didn’t say anything.

The past cannot be retrieved, and if time could stop, what would be worth the pain in this world?

“Is this the scar from the gunshot wound?” Qin Huai turned around and asked me in the bathtub, soaking in the bathtub. I had probably told him about what happened to me, and Uncle He had probably told me about the situation in Hucun. Master Zheng’s side was the most closely monitored, especially Master Zheng, who had almost no freedom of movement and was followed by someone every day.

These people have no scruples. There are many powerful families behind Hucun, and they dare to do this, but the department has not taken any measures against them. But this should be the bottom line, right?

“I’m asking you a question!” I was so lost in thought that I didn’t hear Qin Huai’s impatient urging.

“Nonsense, what do you think it is?” In the meantime, I couldn’t help but look at my body. From the tattoo that Xincheng gave me at the beginning to now, I have experienced a lot of things, and I have really inexplicably left a lot of wounds on my body.

“It’s okay, a little bit of scars on a man’s body is quite good-looking. What are you going to do next? Uncle He said he would leave in two days, and the department has already hinted at where they will send you.” Qin Huai said next to me.

I wrung out the towel in my hand, wiped my face and said, “For the time being, let’s do it this way. When I get to the place designated by the department, I’ll go find Chengqing and the others, and I’ll meet up with them first. You can also help me find out if they really have no news.

“Yes, only a month ago, Ruyue called me in tears, saying that something had happened to you, that you might be dead, and that there had been no news. I told you about it, didn’t I? I was really scared at the time. After I got off the phone, I couldn’t react for a long time. Was I dreaming, or had I really received such a call, saying that you were dead?” Qin Huai’s tone was full of ridicule, but you could still hear the sadness at the time.

“How are my family? Where is that kid Su Rou?” As he spoke, the cigarette had burned to the end, and I put it out with my hand. These were the last things I wanted to find out.

“Uncle, aunt, and your sister are all fine. I thought you were on a secret mission. When I received the news, I didn’t say a word. After all, all the news was not certain, and I was afraid that my uncle and aunt couldn’t bear it. But don’t call them for a while.” Qin Huai’s concerned reminder.

“Of course I won’t call them.” In fact, if I did call them, not only would I reveal the fact that I was still alive, but I might also endanger my family. Even a fool like me could think of this. Qin Huai must have been scared, and now he is worrying about me in every detail.

“Do you know that guy, Su Rou? In fact, after I received the call, the first thing I thought of was to call him,” Qin Huai said.

“What happened to him?” I squinted, and I was curious about what the optimistic Su Rou would do.

“Haha, that kid is better than me. At least at the time, he was more optimistic than me. After he found out, he was silent for a while, then he laughed. I asked him what he was laughing at. He said that we are Chinese, we don’t celebrate foreign holidays, and today is not April Fools’ Day. I was so angry that I yelled at him, “Do you think I’m fucking joking with you? Can you joke with your life?” Qin Huai recalled the scene at the time.

“Then what happened?”

“Then he laughed again, a kind of faint laugh. I yelled at him again, “You little bastard, how can you laugh when Chengyi is in trouble? He told me that the situation was not certain, and he was sure that you would not die. I asked why, and he said that he didn’t feel anything, that he didn’t feel like a piece of flesh had been ripped out of his heart. He said that he had grown up with you since childhood, and that his life was already connected to yours. If you died, he would definitely feel that way. He sounded like a goddamn charlatan.” Qin Huai smiled and said to me.

I smiled too. Compared to Qin Huai, I’m afraid that Su Rou, who grew up with me, has a little more ‘foresight’?

“But this kid is just pretending!” Qin Huai suddenly scolded.

“Why?” I asked with a smile.

“Didn’t Liu Chunyan call me later? She said that after Su Rou answered my call that day, he was depressed, didn’t talk much at home, and it took him a long time to respond when his children called him. Several times, Liu Chunyan was woken up in the middle of the night by his crying, and he wouldn’t say anything when asked. This really worried Liu Chunyan, so she called me to ask what I had said to Su Rou. What’s more, this kid wrote a will at home, saying that he would wait at home for another month or so. If he didn’t get the news he was waiting for in a month, he would go out, but he didn’t promise to come back after he left, so he left this will in advance. Qin Huai finished telling me all at once.

My heart was filled with emotion. I believe that Qin Huai and I both understood what this will meant. The meaning of the will was that he didn’t believe I would die, and if he didn’t hear good news after a month, he would personally go looking for me, leaving everything behind, for fear of encountering any danger.

“This is really… really a fairy tale friendship.” As I spoke, I wiped my face with a handkerchief. I didn’t know what to say, and I didn’t want tears to flow from my eyes.

“Yes, I’m also sincere with you, so this time, wherever you go, take me with you? Take me through those thrilling days again? Besides, my wife is also there with you, so I’ll go to keep an eye on my wife.” Qin Huai looked at me with anticipation in his eyes.

I looked at Qin Huai and said in silence for nearly half a minute, “Call Su Rou later, but I will never take you with me. Listen, never, this is not negotiable.”

“Damn it!” Qin Huai cursed me in Sichuan dialect.

Two days later, I don’t know what excuse He Shu arranged, we used the old method, I hid in the back of the car, and left Hucun.

When we left Hucun, Qinhuai went crazy and acted like he was reluctant to leave his friends, but he was forcibly dragged away by Uncle He, just to be on the safe side.

After the car had driven a few kilometers away from Hucun, in a place with few people, Qinhuai let me out of the back seat. I opened the window and breathed in the fresh air. I looked back at the road we had traveled and finally left Hucun.

I never thought that we would go to Hucun and that I would end up leaving in such a way.

“I never thought it would be like this, Uncle He. You kept me in the dark. You never told me about the organization’s arrangement. You were actually waiting for Chengyi. You only told me to go to the place where the incident happened and look for him. Maybe I would get some news. You even said it was some internal news. You made me depressed for so long. Uncle He, how could you do that?” Qinhuai teased Uncle He. At this moment, he was in good spirits. He had shaved and his hair was well-groomed. He looked like a young and handsome gentleman again.

“I didn’t think you could be so calm. Didn’t you worry that you would be exposed? I would have told you the truth if I had known.” He drove the car and answered seriously.

Qin Huai, however, was playing hard to get and insisted that he be compensated for his emotional distress.

The atmosphere in the car was lively, and I smiled along with them. I thought of Uncle He’s words of caution, and put on my sunglasses again. Now that I have a full beard and a pair of sunglasses, even my parents should not be able to recognize me at a glance.

Mr. Zheng I didn’t go to see him after all, but Uncle He assured me that he had already informed Mr. Zheng in a certain way that I was fine, and Mr. Zheng had also hinted to Uncle He in a certain way that they had not revealed anything, so I could also rest assured.

Our destination for this trip is X City, which is close to Beijing. The department said that if Uncle He waited for me and took me to X City, he would let me leave, and someone would naturally find me and help me.

It is a long way from Hucun to Xisheng, and it would take two days to drive there.

During these two days, we did not encounter any danger. It was just Qin Huai who kept begging me to take him along on this mission, but he and I were resolutely opposed and stopped by He Shu.

The two days were relaxing, but relaxing days eventually come to an end. Two days later… Uncle He successfully brought me to X City. According to the agreement, I only had to get off the bus anywhere in the city.

Uncle He and the others had to leave, and as I looked out at the unfamiliar city from the car, I suddenly felt the same sense of wandering that I had felt many years ago when I left Uncle Wang. I had a home and friends, but I was destined to wander around and could not stay.

I had already become numb to my emotions, and only the dazzling sunlight through my sunglasses at noon made me feel a little gloomy.