Chapter 13: A Low-Level Joke
"Brother Liu, Brother Liu, is that you?"
I immediately broke out in a cold sweat and shouted into the phone in a trembling voice.
"I, I'm so cold..."
Liu Bin's voice was heard intermittently on the phone.
cold?
I hurriedly asked: "Brother Liu, where are you now?"
"I'm so cold and it's so dark here..."
"Don't you know where you are?"
“Aaaaaaaaa——”
Suddenly, a shrill baby cry, like a thunder, rang out on the phone.
I was so scared that I almost dropped my phone.
When I picked up the phone again, the call had been hung up and a busy tone of "beep, beep, beep" was heard.
I'm almost going crazy, what's going on?
Why would the dead Liu Bin call me?
He said it was so cold and dark. Where was he?
Also, what about the crying baby sound that appeared in the middle?
404, what does it have to do with Liu Bin?
I sat on the bed, my heart beating like crazy.
Logically speaking, I have never offended Liu Bin. Even if he turns into a ghost, he shouldn't come looking for me, right?
Of course, there is another possibility - Liu Bin is not dead, he was kidnapped and is being held in a dark room.
No, that's unlikely.
I was the first one to discover his body.
Regardless of appearance or figure, it is undoubtedly Liu Bin.
Could it be that Liu Bin...really turned into a dirty thing?
Horrifying thoughts suddenly flooded into my mind.
What was the point of him calling me? Just to scare me?
Fell asleep again.
The next day, I was woken up by Liu Fuqiang.
After tossing and turning for half the night, I felt exhausted all over. I lay on the court, glanced at Liu Fuqiang, but didn't even bother to say hello and continued to sleep.
"It's time to get off work." Liu Fuqiang said.
I ignored him.
Liu Fuqiang snorted, turned on the TV, and deliberately turned up the volume very loud. It was so deafening that I couldn't sleep anymore.
He was angry, but because he was Liu Bin's cousin, he couldn't show it. He got up, got dressed, and left the lounge.
When I was walking on the road, my legs felt light as if I was stepping on cotton, and my head was dizzy, obviously caused by waking up and sleeping too much last night.
I tried to ask Sister Sun for leave, and surprisingly, she agreed. She told me to have a good rest at home, as the nurse would be here tonight and I didn't have to worry about Building D for the time being.
…
When I was in the classroom, I was absent-minded and kept thinking about the "ghost phone call" last night.
I took out my phone and took a look. The caller ID was still a string of garbled characters.
I tried to call back, but a mechanical female voice said, "Sorry, the number you dialed is unavailable. Please check before redialing..."
I patted my head and decided not to think about it anymore.
Chen Wei came over and asked me if I felt unwell. I forced a smile and said I was fine, I just didn't sleep well last night.
I was planning to sleep a little longer, but Cheng Xiaoyan and a few boys next to me were playing Truth or Dare, and it was very noisy.
"Hehe, Zhang Qiang, you lose. Now it's my turn to ask a question... How long do you usually masturbate at home?"
"Damn, Xiaoyan, your question is too sharp, isn't it?"
"Haha, Zhang Qiang, you have to admit defeat and answer quickly!"
"Um... maybe ten minutes or so."
"Tsk, bragging!"
"Come on, let's continue!"
In the classroom, the sounds of students having fun could be heard one after another. Some were shouting, some were playing cards, some were watching movies , and some were playing "high-level" truth or dare games like Cheng Xiaoyan's.
The teacher was like a robot at the podium, speaking the contents of the textbook expressionlessly and ignoring the noise of the students. Or perhaps he was used to it and didn't care whether anyone listened to him or not.
I sighed inwardly. How can this look like a school?
I felt inexplicably guilty.
My mother raised a useless person like me with all the hardship and effort, so how did I repay her?
Apart from working in Building D, which was barely a serious job, I was basically wasting my time at school.
I'm considering whether I should talk to my mother and just drop out of school?
But the idea was quickly dismissed.
My mother wanted me to get my diploma, so telling her this at this time was like a bolt from the blue.
"I'm going to the bathroom."
Cheng Xiaoyan stood up, glared at me, and said, "Get out of the way!"
Because she was sitting against the wall and I was outside her, every time she came out, I had to go out first.
I was already used to her arrogant attitude, so I didn't intend to make a fuss about it. I stood up and made way for her.
"Head hurts."
Unexpectedly, Cheng Xiaoyan had just taken a few steps when she suddenly covered her forehead, groaned in pain, staggered, and fell to the ground.
"Hello!"
I was startled and quickly supported her.
When I touched the girl's soft body, my face felt hot. I didn't dare to look into her eyes and said, "Are you okay?"
"I, I'm not feeling well, can you hold me?"
Cheng Xiaoyan said softly.
This is the first time I see her like this.
It was really hard for me to refuse such a request, and I couldn't help but hug her a little tighter.
"Tian Zhiyong, you, you let me go!!"
An angry shout suddenly rang out.
Snapped!
Before I could react, I was slapped in the face. In my confusion, I saw Cheng Xiaoyan, who took the opportunity to break away from my arms, and laughed so hard that she was shaking with laughter.
All eyes in the class turned to me.
My eyes widened and my cheeks felt hot.
The pain of humiliation!
Cheng Xiaoyan walked up to the boys who were playing truth or dare with her and held out her hand with a smile: "Give me money!"
"You're amazing, Sister Xiaoyan. I was really fooled by you!"
"Haha, Xiaoyan, you should go act in a movie."
"It's over, Tian Zhi's courage has exploded, you should run away!"
A few boys took out money with a grin and handed it to Cheng Xiaoyan.
I stood there, my face turning blue with anger.
I understood it instantly!
This bitch treated me as the object of punishment for a big adventure!
"Hey, are you okay? It's just a joke. At most, I'll give you some of the money." Cheng Xiaoyan saw that my face looked strange and walked up to me and said.
"roll!"
I forcefully opened the money from her hand and yelled.
Cheng Xiaoyan was startled and angry: "It's just a slap, so I let you hit me back?"
I ignored her.
This kind of woman is simply insane.
"Are you so stingy?" Cheng Xiaoyan tilted her head and moved closer.
I looked at her coldly and said, "I don't hit women. I hope you won't make me an exception."
Cheng Xiaoyan felt a little guilty and whispered, "Am I afraid of you?"
…
After school, I went to the hospital to bring food to my mother.
As usual, she asked me whether I studied hard in school, how my grades were, and whether my work was hard.
A little tired of her nagging, I just said a few perfunctory words and started playing with my phone.
My mother lying on the hospital bed seemed to want to talk to me, but when she saw that I was busy, she sighed softly , leaned back on the bed, and said no more.
I glanced at her quietly. She looked haggard, her hair had turned a lot whiter, and wrinkles had covered her forehead without her noticing.
A lot older.
I don’t know if it’s because of my age or the worsening of my illness.
I feel inexplicably sad.
Maybe my mother knows that she doesn't have much time left, so she keeps chattering?
In my impression, she has always been a gentle and quiet woman.
If she wasn't afraid that she would never be able to talk to her son again, why would she keep finding topics to talk about every time she saw me?
A feeling of guilt overwhelmed me. I put down my phone, sat next to my mother, and held her cold hand.
She looked at me, tears flowing from her cloudy eyes that had lost their clarity...
…
It was already past nine o'clock when we left the hospital.
I walked along the magnetic lake of the hospital towards home.
The journey is not far, only about ten minutes.
I passed by a newly opened bar, which was filled with deafening music, singing and dancing.
I used to go to bars with my bad friends, but I lost contact with them after my mother fell ill.
I hesitated for a moment and walked in.
I have no other purpose, I just have too many worries lately and want to go in and have a few drinks.
Inside and outside are two completely different worlds.
Noisy, intoxicated, and indulgent.
I ordered a glass of wine and drank it alone.
The air was filled with the smell of cigarettes and alcohol. The music was turned up to the maximum, almost deafening people's ears. Men and women were twisting their waists and hips wildly on the dance floor. The women dressed in cool and elegant clothes were laughing and playing among the men, teasing those men who could not control themselves with frivolous words.
This kind of life no longer belongs to me.
I finished a glass of wine quickly and was about to order another one. I don’t know if it was an illusion, but I saw several men pressing on a woman at the booth, tearing her apart randomly, with lewd smiles on their faces.
The woman was very young, with a childish face, and looked very familiar.
It’s Cheng Xiaoyan!
I was stunned, thinking I was drunk.
After a closer look, it was indeed her.
She was shouting something, her face full of fear, her hands struggling and flapping desperately, but the music was too loud and no one could hear her.
I saw one of the boys with messy hair, with a fierce look on his face, cursing at her, pulling her hair and slapping her.
Then, several other boys forcibly dragged her towards the back door of the bar.
My hand holding the wine glass trembled.
In this situation, even a mentally retarded person would know what happened.
The question is, to help or not to help?
