Alone, Beautifully – Chapter 107
by Little PandaMy Wife (19)
“I want you to hug me.”
Xu Jiao was also sent to the hospital in town.
To some extent, the Xu family could be considered reunited as a family of three. The police came to investigate the situation. It was Xu Jiao who called the police, but when Mother Xu woke up, she only stared blankly at the ceiling. Old man Xu had gone completely insane, and Xu Jiao knew nothing when questioned. In the end, the matter was left unresolved.
Due to her fever, Xu Jiao should have stayed in the hospital for a longer period, but she herself was unwilling to stay in this terrible place. She felt that in these desolate mountains and treacherous waters, even the scenery that should have been beautiful became repulsive.
With this time, she would rather go back and work through a couple more sets of practice questions to be happier.
She boarded the bus leaving town in the afternoon. She came with those two simple sets of clothes, and when she left, she didn’t have much more luggage. Her bag was still that somewhat worn and old-looking schoolbag. Overall, her appearance didn’t seem to have changed much.
Oh, if there was any change to speak of—
It was that she ignored Zheng Zhiyu.
Throughout the journey, she treated the red-clothed figure who had been constantly by her side as invisible. She calmly transferred buses, bought tickets, and boarded the train. She placed her bag at the foot of the lower bunk, closed the door, pulled up the covers, and went to sleep.
Zheng Zhiyu, knowing she was in the wrong, didn’t cling to Xu Jiao or act coquettishly. However, she did silently care for Xu Jiao, such as pouring her hot water. Now, seeing that her phone was out of battery, while the others in the small room were busy sleeping or listening to music, she secretly took Xu Jiao’s phone and plugged it into the socket to charge.
When the dining car passed by at mealtime, Zheng Zhiyu silently memorized all the dishes and their contents, estimating when Xu Jiao would wake up, ready to call her to eat something on time.
But Xu Jiao never woke up.
This sleep seemed particularly deep and steady for her.
Xu Jiao had a very long dream.
In the dream, she seemed extremely sad. There was a painful, sour feeling in the place where her heart should be. Her entire being was immersed in a state of nearly crying but not quite. She seemed to be looking for someone, but as far as the eye could see, there was only scorched earth.
To call it scorched earth didn’t seem quite right. The soil was red, as if it had been soaked in lava. She looked down at her feet, and descriptions naturally sprang to her mind. She knew that real lava was flowing beneath, but people generally didn’t call this thing by that name. Instead, they called it:
The Red Lotus Hellfire.
One of the legendary eighteen layers of hell.
The souls who have committed certain sins must endure painful burning here after death, until their sentence is completed, only then can they be liberated.
But Xu Jiao showed no signs of suffering here.
She knew what was beneath the ground, but she also knew that those things couldn’t harm her. She walked forward anxiously. Fog surrounded her in all directions, front and back, making it impossible for her to see clearly where she had come from or where she was going. She was just sad, desperate, and urgent.
Suddenly, she heard a painful howl:
“Ah!!!!”
Xu Jiao’s first reaction was not fear, but to quickly move towards that place. Within her field of vision, there was a constantly running figure with particularly tattered clothes, a disheveled black shadow running. As it ran, deep red, terrifying tongues of flame sprang up from beneath its feet, chasing and burning it.
As soon as the thought crossed Xu Jiao’s mind, she was already in front of that thing. The black shadow raised its head, allowing Xu Jiao to see its facial features melting from the high temperature, like wax, as if it was about to turn into a puddle of wax oil on the spot.
The eyeballs were very prominent, as if they were about to fall out.
Xu Jiao was seen raising her hand with exceptional calmness, not at all minding the filth and stench, and placing one hand on the other’s shoulder. Xu Jiao noticed that her fingertips had deep black nails, though it was unclear whether this was a fashion choice or due to something else. The color of the nails was thoroughly black.
The figure was caught by her, barely halting its melting rhythm. Then, without a word, it knelt down before Xu Jiao, as if wanting to kowtow in gratitude.
Xu Jiao stopped it and spoke, asking:
“Have you ever seen…”
“Seen…”
At this point, she stopped herself.
The discomfort and pain in her heart hadn’t stopped. Xu Jiao’s mind was empty, like a bag of milk that had been emptied by a straw. She sucked hard, trying to taste that last bit of sweetness, but there was nothing left. Only the continuously collapsing bag told her the truth.
This was how her mind felt now.
She was anxiously trying to ask about someone, but as the words reached her lips, it was as if she had forgotten that person’s name. Her mouth opened and closed, unable to utter anything.
Only the anxious feeling continued to spread.
Then, she heard another painful howl—
She turned her gaze back to what was in front of her, realizing that the figure which had just solidified and stopped melting had turned into a wisp of smoke and dissipated.
As if it had been killed by her.
Xu Jiao was startled awake by this thought of her own.
“Huff…”
She opened her eyes and heard the clanking sound of the train constantly moving over the tracks. Her body swayed slightly with the subtle arc of the motion, gently rocking back and forth in the lower berth of the soft sleeper.
Zheng Zhiyu looked down at her. Although no emotion could be discerned in her black eyes, her voice was somewhat gentle, filled with concern: “Did you have a nightmare?”
Xu Jiao blinked. She remembered the scenes from her dream clearly. Now, with just a brief recollection, those contents vividly appeared before her eyes. She didn’t think much about it, only assuming that she hadn’t been resting well lately, and coupled with her poor physical condition, that’s why she had a nightmare.
So she immediately shook her head, lifted her blanket, and sat up.
Zheng Zhiyu felt her forehead and noticed that she seemed to have developed a low fever again. She silently handed her a thermos filled with hot water from her bag, saying to her: “Drink some water first. The dining car will pass by later. You can eat something and then take your medicine, okay?”
Xu Jiao nodded.
Fortunately, the train station wasn’t far from the school. Under Zheng Zhiyu’s care, after getting off the train, they took a bus for about ten minutes and arrived at the school gate. Xu Jiao walked unsteadily towards the direction of the dormitory.
On the way,
A girl passed by her, accidentally bumping into her with the bag she was carrying on her back, and said: “Sorry.”
Xu Jiao hadn’t quite reacted yet; her low state seemed to have slowed down her brain’s response speed as well. She was dazed for a second, realizing that the voice she heard was somewhat familiar. Before she could identify who it was, she slowly replied:
“It’s okay.”
But the other person had already walked away and disappeared.
It was as if she was talking to the air.
Xu Jiao tilted her head slightly, just about to walk towards the dormitory, when her shoe stepped on something soft. She moved her foot and looked down, only to discover that what she had stepped on…
Was a doll with straw-like hair.
Isn’t this the bag charm of that girl from the neighboring department who became very pretty?
Xu Jiao still remembered when Zheng Zhiyu took her to the rooftop, how that girl made a wish to this eerie doll. Logically speaking, wouldn’t it be bad if such a cherished item was lost?
Moreover,
For the person who picks it up or sees it, it might be a bit unlucky too.
Thinking this way, Xu Jiao pretended not to see the little doll, put her weight back on her foot, and just stepped over it nonchalantly, slowly walking towards the direction of the dormitory.
The doll that fell on the ground, its face having had an intimate encounter with her shoe sole: “…”
Zhou Qili and Qian Ai went to play in the neighboring city.
Because the May Day holiday wasn’t over yet, they were too bored staying in the dormitory, and shopping in the city center mall was too expensive. So after crouching in the dorm for two days, taking advantage of Zhou Qili having a friend studying near a scenic area in the neighboring city, they arranged to go there together to climb the mountain in the scenic area.
When Xu Jiao greeted them in the dormitory group chat, Qian Ai replied that she wasn’t there and explained the whole situation to her. Xu Jiao told them to have fun, then put down her phone and turned over to sleep on the upper bunk.
She didn’t have the mind to do exercises, planning to recover her body first before thinking about other things.
Zheng Zhiyu looked at her, wanting to say something but holding back. After Xu Jiao fell asleep, she secretly used her phone to silently look through all the information about the symptoms of this illness and the medicines to be used, wondering in her heart when Xu Jiao would finally get better.
Xu Jiao had another dream.
This time she didn’t appear in that strange red lotus hell, but in the deep mountains at night. The entire world was lonely and quiet, as if she was the only person existing there.
She easily crossed mountain after mountain, layer upon layer of scenery, without encountering anyone.
The feeling of anxiety in her heart resurfaced.
Xu Jiao wanted to drive this feeling away, but she couldn’t figure out how in her confusion. She could only keep moving forward, and further forward. When she finally encountered another person, a glimmer of hope arose in her heart, and she rushed over quickly.
It was a woman wearing very bright clothes.
When tapped on the shoulder and turned around, she was trembling.
Xu Jiao didn’t notice this, and just started to ask: “Have you seen…”
“Seen…”
Still unable to say the name.
As if it was a forbidden zone that couldn’t be spoken of.
Xu Jiao was filled with an inexplicable irritation, an irritation that made her almost want to destroy everything. She was awakened by this mood, but after waking up, she found herself as if locked in a dark room, unable to see or hear anything.
In the dormitory.
Zheng Zhiyu saw that Xu Jiao had been sleeping for a whole night, and thinking that sleeping for too long isn’t good for the body, she hesitantly placed her hand on Xu Jiao’s shoulder and called out softly:
“Jiaojiao.”
As soon as the sound fell, the person in the bed had already opened her eyes silently.
A strange red light flashed in her deep brown eyes, then everything disappeared.
The person lying in bed saw Zheng Zhiyu, pulled her hand out from under the covers, and said a simple sentence to her: “Hug me.”
Zheng Zhiyu: “…!”
What, what kind of emperor-level treatment is this?
She looked at Xu Jiao in bewilderment, doubting for a moment if this person’s brain had been fried by the fever, and said to her: “What did you say?”
Seeing no reaction from her, Xu Jiao raised her hand to wrap Zheng Zhiyu’s arm around her waist. Her fingertips were trembling for some reason. When Zheng Zhiyu came close, she curled her lips, like a seductive spirit, and said in a low, husky voice just waking up:
“It’s so hot…”
“I want you to hug me.”
Zheng Zhiyu was somewhat mesmerized by that tone, thinking of some story about cold and heat. However, her actions were not ambiguous. She very calmly held the chin of the person in front of her and asked unhurriedly:
“Hugging is not impossible, but first let me ask, what are you?”
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