Chapter 4 Sleepwalking 3
I didn't fall asleep that night, I kept my eyes open from the endless darkness to the dawn. Chen Qiaoluo's matter was like a nightmare that entangled me, I wanted to struggle but it was useless.
I came to school in a daze from home. It was six o'clock in the morning and there were few people on campus. I stood at the door of Chen Qiaoluo's classroom waiting for him to come to class. Everyone couldn't help but look at me a few more times when they saw me.
But until the bell rang, Chen Qiaoluo still didn't come.
My heart felt like it was hit hard by a hammer.
I closed my eyes sadly, took a deep breath, and slowly dragged my steps to my classroom. When I arrived at the door, the math teacher was already standing on the podium. Seeing me at the door, she asked a few questions in a somewhat unhappy tone, but I seemed not to hear her and went back to my seat and lay down.
Seeing me like this, Gigi Lai beside me came over with some concern and whispered, "Hello Yun, are you feeling unwell? Why do you look so bad?"
Yes, I was not feeling well. Every organ and joint in my body was clamoring for their pain. I said nothing, closed my eyes and buried my face in my arms. It seemed as if tears were flowing down my face and falling on my arms, making them sticky.
I called Chen Qiaoluo, but no one answered. I thought maybe he was just pretending to come to class before, and after I caught him lying yesterday, he didn't think it was necessary to do it again.
For the whole day, I thought about so many possibilities. I wanted to find Chen Qiaoluo, but I didn't know where he was. After school, I unexpectedly saw Chen Qiaoluo waiting there as soon as I walked out of the school gate. The sun fell on him, and he looked so unreal.
Seeing me standing there in a daze, he walked over to me from the opposite street, tapped my head with his hand, and said in a funny way, "What are you looking at? You look so stupid."
It was as if nothing had changed, Chen Qiaoluo was still the same person as at the beginning, and everything that happened yesterday was just a nightmare I had, but today the sun came out and the nightmare naturally faded away.
My nose suddenly felt a little sour, I pushed him and yelled in a crying voice: "Chen Qiaoluo, how dare you appear in front of me!"
"Why not? Miss Zhu, what you said is a bit unreasonable." He still smiled beautifully and said, "Come on, I'll treat you to a meal, and we can talk about some things slowly."
I followed Chen Qiaoluo to the night market on the next street, and it was still the same store as before.
After two glasses of beer, Chen Qiaoluo said, "Hello, Yun, you know that our family is very short of money now. Recently, Guyu's mother's health has been getting worse and worse. The cost of her treatment is a bottomless pit. No matter how much money we throw into it, it will never be filled. If it weren't for the mistake my father made, she wouldn't be like this now, so I have to take responsibility."
He took a sip of the wine in his glass and continued, "I met Brother Lei Zi when I was working a few days ago. He is the man you met yesterday. At that time, he and his friend were parking in front of our store. Someone happened to cause trouble for his friend, and he helped his friend block a stick without saying a word. At that time, I thought this person was very loyal. Although he was a rough guy, this kind of person is real. After that, we got to know each other slowly. Brother Lei Zi is really a good friend. He knew that I was short of money, and he gave me money more than once. He also said that as long as I worked hard with him, I would definitely be successful in the future."
Seeing Chen Qiaoluo's obsessed look, I became anxious. Lei Zi was not a good person at first glance. I looked at Chen Qiaoluo, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Chen Qiaoluo, you'd better not trust Lei Zi too much."
Seeing me say this, Chen Qiaoluo raised his head and looked at me, his expression was very serious. He said: "Hello Zhu Yun, I know you care about me, but please believe that I can distinguish between right and wrong . Maybe Brother Lei Zi didn't leave you such a good impression yesterday, but he is just a bold person. These days, I have learned a lot from following him. Do you know? The only thing I want to do now is to pay off the debt our family owes to the Guyu family, so that my mother can live a good life with me as soon as possible."
Such words made me feel sad. Chen Qiaoluo has always been a filial son. I believe he is willing to do anything for Aunt He Pei. But is it really okay to continue like this?
I sighed and wanted to say more, but he stopped me. He said, "Zhu Yun, I know what I'm doing, so don't say anything now. Since I've decided to do these things, I will definitely not give up halfway."
When I saw him like this, the words suddenly got stuck in my throat. I think everyone has their own obsessions, and they will never give up until they achieve them. Chen Qiaoluo's obsession is Aunt He Pei. For her, he is willing to do anything, even if he knows that those things may be harmful to himself.
Chen Qiaoluo may have already understood that Lei Zi was not a good person, but he was still willing to sink into it.
I didn't say anything else, just silently accompanied him to drink bottle after bottle of beer. I think maybe we are still growing up, and there are some things we can't see clearly for the time being.
Although I was worried about Chen Qiaoluo, I knew that no matter what I said, he would not listen. Chen Qiaoluo was now possessed by a demon, and his demonic state was not caused by Lei Zi, but by his own inner demons.
That Lei Zi started to appear frequently at the gate of our school waiting for Chen Qiaoluo. Every time I saw him, I didn't have a good impression of him.
But Chen Qiaoluo is different. He is very satisfied with his current life. According to him, his life is very fulfilling now. Lei Zi would take him to some cocktail parties in the evening. Chen Qiaoluo thought that was helping him expand his network of contacts. He thought he would make a name for himself by following Lei Zi. But Chen Qiaoluo forgot that he was just a kid who hadn't even graduated from high school. How could those people really appreciate him and look at him differently?
I didn't burst Chen Qiaoluo's dream, and watched him indulge in his own fantasy. It's not that I don't want to pull him, but I know that it's useless to say anything now. The only thing I can do is to appear by his side and comfort him after he falls.
I know I am sorry for Aunt He Pei's trust in me, but there is nothing I can do.
Lei Zi appeared in our lives like this, and became a taboo that I could not mention. Occasionally, Gigi Lai would ask me what Lei Zi did, and I always kept silent. Gigi Lai has always been a good girl who knows nothing about the world, and I don't want her to see too much of the dark side of society.
Tong Xiaotian reappeared in our sight after disappearing for a while. Every time when Li Zi and I walked out of the school gate, besides Lei Zi, we could always see him. It seemed that he had learned his lesson from the last time he didn't dare to provoke me at all. He just followed us silently without saying a word.
Several times I turned around to scold him, but he always replied with a perfunctory answer, which was not like the easily irritated boy before. Seeing him like this, Li Zi became more curious and often couldn't help but look back at him. There was even one time when Tong Xiaotian didn't come to wait for her for some reason, and she seemed absent-minded on the way home.
The warming of Tong Xiaotian and Gigi Lai’s relationship was within my expectations, but I never thought it would happen so quickly. Not long after Tong Xiaotian disappeared, Gigi Lai told me in a feminine manner that Tong Xiaotian confessed to her again, but this time she was not as flustered as last time.
I looked at Gigi Lai with a sweet and happy face, and suddenly I felt a warm current flowing through my heart. I think Gigi Lai is lucky, at least there is Tong Xiaotian who has been waiting for her wholeheartedly.
