The weather forecast said it would snow today, and the dense clouds piled up like they were about to collapse under the weight. The desolate streets were silent because of the cold, and the passers-by in a hurry cast cold eyes at Gu Yue and me, but looked away again in a flash. We have read all kinds of news about people who are eager to help, but when we are in desperate situations, we only get a look of indifference or suspicion.
Gu Yue was in front of me, taking long steps with his long legs. He seemed invincible, and his fragile look was completely gone. We turned a corner and walked into the hospital gate one after the other. I just told Gu Yue that maybe I could use the red envelope gift money that my aunt had left at my house, but he flatly refused. Gu Yue put his hands in his pockets. I knew that there were only two thousand yuan in his hands, which was not enough for even one day's medicine expenses.
"Yueyue, how are you?" Seeing Gu Yue, the uncle stood up suddenly, staggering a bit because he stood up too quickly, "What did your dad say?"
Gu Yue shook his head imperceptibly, fumbled around, paused, and then took out the two thousand yuan from his pocket.
He slowly handed the money to his uncle, and his uncle's hopeful eyes slowly faded. His uncle sighed deeply, lowered his head, and the white hair on his temples seemed to have become more. He took the money and said helplessly, "Any amount is better."
Gu Yue's uncle nodded at me.
I followed Gu Yue into the ward. The eighty-year-old grandmother sat by the bed, wiping away tears, with a wrinkled and spotted hand pressing on Liu Sulan's arm where she was receiving an IV. Liu Sulan closed her eyes, twitching in pain, and talking nonsense. Gu Yue's invincibility had become a joke.
"Gu Yue, Gu Yue, the blood is coming back, go call the nurse!" The infusion bottle was empty , and I saw the transparent infusion tube was stained red with blood. I panicked and slapped Gu Yue beside me.
Gu Yue opened his eyes wide, almost to the point of popping them. He turned and ran out the door, grabbing the door to stop himself: "Nurse! Nurse! Change the dressing! My mother is recovering! Nurse!"
"What are you shouting for?! This is a hospital and no noise is allowed. If you have something to say, just ring the bell!" A voice came from the other end of the corridor.
Gu Yue even forgot to press the bell, but I forgot too. Looking at the blood rising along the infusion tube, I immediately adjusted the infusion controller to the minimum.
Gu Yue stood at the door with a stiff face, not knowing whether to continue shouting or go in and ring the bell.
I rang the bell.
A voice came from the pager: "Why are you still pressing the button? I know everything. It's coming, it's coming. Why are you rushing me? Which bed is it?"
Didn't you say you knew? I looked at the head of the bed and reported the bed number impatiently.
The other party probably thought that he had hung up the call, and only heard another nurse asking: "Which bed is it? Why is it so annoying?"
"Who else could it be? The one who owes money and hasn't paid it back!"
I turned back to look at Gu Yue, who was still clinging to the door, his fingertips white. There was a clanking sound, and a fat nurse pushed a cart to the door of the ward. She was holding a plate, banged it against Gu Yue's shoulder, and then came in.
Gu Yue was pushed forward by the fat nurse and avoided falling down by holding onto the railing of the hospital bed. He turned around and glared at the fat nurse fiercely.
The fat nurse didn't notice and said calmly, "Who needs a change of dressing ?"
"Here! The blood backflow is almost filling up a medicine bottle. You nurses are so irresponsible!" I said angrily.
The nurse ignored me, pulled out the needle, replaced the medicine, and re-inserted the needle. Then she left with the plate. When she passed by Gu Yue, she said, "It's okay to bleed a little bit. Don't worry, young man!" She turned around and looked at me with a squint: "Want to enjoy good service? Sure, you have to pay off the medical bills you owe first! We are very ethical by not stopping your medication!"
"What's your attitude?" I held my breath. The fat nurse probably thought I was a patient's family member. Her tone was so rude. "Is this a hospital? Don't leave. What are you talking about! This is called medical ethics. Stop right there!"
The fat nurse even snorted before leaving. I was so angry that I chased her and wanted to scold her, but was blocked by someone.
"Gu Yue, don't stop me!"
Gu Yue’s grip on my arm got tighter and tighter.
"Gu Yue, it hurts! It hurts! Let go!" I jumped back two steps and only then could I see Gu Yue's face clearly, a pale, stubborn, vulnerable, young face.
We live in a strange society. When people love you, they will say to you, "Yueyue is still young and still in school." When people blame you, they will say, "You are about to graduate, you are not a child anymore." All the mistakes that are easily forgiven because of your young age are never because of your young age, but because those who can protect your small mistakes and help you clean up the mess, they love you.
“Leap, leap, leap…”
Liu Sulan's sudden high-pitched voice seemed to wake up Gu Yue from his deep sleep. He looked towards the bed in surprise. However, Liu Sulan on the bed still had her eyes closed. Her bloodless face showed her pain. She kept talking nonsense, sometimes high and sometimes low.
All the color brought by the surprise faded away, and Gu Yue's face was paler than the dusty wall of the ward.
Gu Yue no longer has anyone who loves him so much. The person who loves him is lying in a coma on the hospital bed. The person who loves him has arrived in this city the day before yesterday but has ignored him. No one said to him, Gu Yue, we don’t blame you for not being able to get the money; no one said to him, you are still young. Until a few days ago, this boy had never been so panic-stricken and embarrassed to worry about money. But suddenly one day, his world collapsed, and no one would tolerate his mistakes or indulge his little temper. Life, accidents, family, everything forced him to take on that burden. The burden was heavy, maybe he couldn't bear it, but he couldn't put it down, because he was carrying Liu Sulan's life.
Gu Yue was still young, but he was no longer a child. He stood straight in front of the bed with a gloomy face, like the last pillar of support in this ward.
"Let's just use the money my uncle received as a birthday present. My aunt is used to saving money at the end of the month, so we can use it for emergencies." I suggested to Gu Yue again. I didn't know how much money was in there, or how many days it would last, but it was better than the nurse rushing in the next moment and pulling out the needle and saying she wanted to stop taking the medicine.
Gu Yue remained silent and didn't even look at me.
"Just think of it as a loan, and when your dad comes back, I'll pay you back!" I actually doubt whether this statement is tenable. But I still think that no father would really hide from his children.
Gu Yue blinked, and all his fragility disappeared. He turned to look at me, his eyes were firm again, and he said, "Okay."
It was very easy to take the handbag with the money and the red booklet out of the house. I covered my chest with my heart pounding, and when my father turned his back to me, I crouched and ran out quickly. I should have been in school at this time, and I shouldn't have been at home anyway, with money that didn't belong to our family hidden in my cotton-padded jacket.
Gu Yue was waiting for me at another alley. I hurried over with my handbag in my pocket, and hastily pulled the handbag out from the hem of my long cotton-padded jacket, ready to give it to Gu Yue.
Gu Yue's lips turned pale. He opened his mouth and tried to utter a few syllables. In the end, he just paused and simply said, "Thank you."
Gu Yue didn't take the handbag, and I didn't care too much. I gestured to him to pay the medical bills first. We turned around and prepared to go to the hospital, but we saw Zhou Sijie and his friends standing under the inconspicuous sign of the Internet cafe. They seemed to have spent all their money and just came out of the Internet cafe. They smiled at us with ill intentions and whispered something to each other.
Zhou Sijie chewed betel nut in his mouth: "Hey, isn't this the leader of No. 6 Middle School? Aren't you studying hard and reforming yourself?" He laughed disgustingly and approached step by step, "Is it time for class now?"
The tall boy smiled with his mouth crooked and said, "Our Boss Gu is not studying hard, he is doing this to pick up girls, right?" After saying this, he raised his eyebrows at me in disgust.
I subconsciously hugged my handbag tightly and shrank behind Gu Yue.
Zhou Sijie pretended to be angry and pushed the tall man: "Get lost, what are you talking about? They are just a young couple on a date!"
The tall guy didn't get angry. He walked to my right and approached us.
"Yes, a date." Gu Yue said nonchalantly, pretending not to notice their ill intentions.
I vaguely felt that something was wrong. It seemed like these three people wanted to surround us.
I tugged at Gu Yue's sleeve, he nodded, and looked at me reassuringly, and the next second my wrist was held by Gu Yue.
"I still have some things to do, so I'll invite you to play games some other day!" Gu Yue said with a smile, and wanted to rush out with me, but was stopped by Zhou Sijie.
"Don't leave in such a hurry!" Zhou Sijie opened his arms, and the other two people blocked us on the left and right. "Why don't we do it another day? Why don't we just play with our sister-in-law today?"
"Right, sister-in-law?" Zhou Sijie smiled, and the other two boys also smiled slyly.
I looked at Zhou Sijie with fear, hugged the handbag tightly in my arms, and hid behind Gu Yue.
Seeing me avoiding him, Zhou Sijie became even happier: "Sister-in-law, why are you hiding? Sister-in-law, what are you hiding in your arms? Let me see it!"
I knew that I would not return the handbag after I lent it to them, so I dodged more obviously, but there was only a wall behind me, and there was nowhere to escape. The boy on my right suddenly pulled me, and I screamed and hid behind Gu Yue.
Gu Yue became anxious and lost his composure. He yelled at Zhou Sijie, "Don't touch her!"
Zhou Sijie chewed the betel nut twice and said with squinting eyes: "You can't move if you say so? What good things did our sister-in-law steal from home that she is forcing on you? Gu Yue, we are brothers after all, why can't you even let me take a look?"
"There's nothing to see." Gu Yue protected me and suddenly became fierce. He was looking for an opportunity to make a breakthrough.
"Who are you and your brother? Do you think we don't know what your intentions are? Disgusting, get out of here!" I felt disgusted when I saw Zhou Sijie's pretentious look. He also had narrow eyes, but he looked violent.
"Oh?" Zhou Sijie raised his eyes, "We are not brothers anymore? I remember two months ago someone slapped my little brother in the face with a notebook and told him to call him boss, saying that we are good brothers from now on. Wasn't he very arrogant at that time? Gu Yue!"
Slapping my little brother in the face, how come I heard that the one who was slapped was Zhou Sijie? I smiled at Zhou Sijie sarcastically and said, "He doesn't treat you as a brother, he treats you as a grandson!" Gu Yue tightened my wrist in his hand, and I knew what he was signaling to me.
Zhou Sijie spat out the betel nut residue in anger and said viciously: "Zhang Yuanyuan, why are you so arrogant! Gu Yue can't save himself, and you are still arrogant? I like you today, so just take out the things hidden in your bag honestly. If I am happy, I won't beat you today!"
"Zhou Sijie, it's okay if you want to bring up old issues with me, but just let her go away. She's a woman, don't be hard on her! Let her go first!" Gu Yue knew that today's events could not be resolved peacefully, so he tried his best to keep me safe.
But I didn't realize it at all. I thought we were all still students and the fight was just for fun, so I shouted at Zhou Sijie even more disdainfully: "Get out! Why should I give it to you? Who do you think you are!" I thought I was shouting in protest.
"Yuanyuan!" Gu Yue suddenly pulled my wrist, clearly trying to stop me. But after I had said it, I realized that Gu Yue wanted me not to anger them.
Zhou Sijie was breathing heavily, obviously annoyed by my arrogance: "You won't give it to me? Then I have to take a look! Anyway, you stole it from home and you wouldn't dare to say anything if it was lost." The other two minions echoed him, ready to close the encirclement.
Gu Yue looked back at me and whispered to me that I should find a chance to run. I nodded in understanding and held my handbag tighter.
I looked warily at the tall guy on my right who had just pulled me. Suddenly, he stepped forward and stretched out his hand to pull the handbag from my arms. While doing so, he said, "Hey, number one in the grade, I'm not going to hit you!" He gestured to me arrogantly.
I felt extremely sick and shouted loudly: "Get away! Get away!" But I couldn't free my hands to stop him because I was still holding the handbag in my arms, and the bag contained life-saving money!
Gu Yue reacted and shouted, "I told you not to touch her! Get out of here!" He kicked the boy away. The boy took a few steps back, and a hole was opened in the encirclement.
I was still shouting when Gu Yue yelled at me: "Yuanyuan, run!" I looked at him before I reacted and started rushing out.
"Beat him!" Zhou Sijie roared angrily, and then ordered the tall man, "Catch her!"
I panicked, I knew it was coming for me, I took a step and ran out. But the tall guy followed me like a cat, making me run around, but I couldn't get far. A few meters away, I heard the sound of punches and kicks and a bunch of dirty words. Gu Yue was busy with his own business, and the tall guy didn't want to tease me anymore.
The tall man laughed sinisterly. I had nowhere to retreat. I was trembling all over, watching the tall man getting closer and closer. I rushed over in a fit of rage. I pushed the tall man away with inertia, and then I kicked him in the leg with all my strength.
"You deserve a beating!" The tall man took two steps back, stretched out his hand and grabbed my collar.
I was almost pulled up by him: "Let go! Let go!" I kicked and hit the tall man, "Let me go, let go!"
"Let go?" The tall man grinned, "You want to avoid being beaten after kicking me?"
The tall man freed one hand and swung it at me in the face. I was so scared that I immediately closed my eyes.
I didn't get slapped, but the handbag in my arms was pulled away by that person!
I can’t let him take it away! My mind went blank, my heart pounding, I rushed over, grabbed the handbag and dragged it towards me, even opening my mouth wide and biting the tall man’s hand hard!
The muscles on the tall man's face twitched: "Let go! You dare to bite me?"
His hands strangled my wrists, but I still refused to let go. Finally, he loosened one hand, but punched me on the arm. I was in so much pain that tears immediately flowed out, and I bit my tongue even harder.
The tall man loosened his grip, raised his leg, and kicked me in the stomach. I almost fell to the ground, but I was still holding the handbag in my hand, so I felt relieved.
"You dare to bite me? I must beat up a girl today!" The tall man rolled up his sleeves and approached me.
"Ah!" There was a muffled sound, followed by a wail.
The tall guy and I looked over there at the same time and saw Zhou Sijie being kicked to the ground by Gu Yue.
Gu Yue's eyes were shining with coldness, and his expression was more ferocious than ever before. He kicked Zhou Sijie's thigh fiercely: "What did I tell you? I told you not to touch her! I told you not to touch her!"
Zhou Sijie hugged his chest and shrank into a shrimp shape, screaming in pain while dodging, but his disadvantage of lying on the ground left him with nowhere to hide, and he could only take the kicks one by one.
"What did you just scold me for? Aren't you unconvinced? Aren't you going to bring up old grudges?" Gu Yue kicked him almost every time he said something.
Zhou Sijie rolled on the ground and wailed, yelling at the tall man in front of me and the other man who was standing there watching the show, "What are you two doing standing there? Why don't you do it now!"
The tall guy saw that something was not right, so he immediately threw me aside and ran behind Gu Yue, trying to sneak attack him. He raised his leg and kicked Gu Yue in the waist.
"Gu Yue!" My heart was about to jump out of my mouth, "Be careful behind you!" But I still watched Gu Yue get kicked.
Gu Yue was knocked to the wall by the impact. He turned around and punched the tall man in the face. "You guys want to beat me up?" Gu Yue's eyes were bloodshot, and he was completely bloodshot. "Come on! Come on!"
Gu Yue didn't look like he was fighting with a few people. He seemed to be roaring at the behemoth that is life. He shouted in protest and roared, "Come on! I'm not afraid of you!"
Gu Yue threw another punch at the tall man, but this time he was locked by the tall man, who jumped up and hugged Gu Yue. Gu Yue was locked in the head by him, and he kept attacking his abdomen, but Gu Yue had only punched him twice before he was locked by another man.
Gu Yue was completely trapped by two people! I stood far away and could not help at all. I wanted to shout for help, but I was holding the most shameful thing in my arms. I opened my mouth and took a few deep breaths, and finally shouted: "Someone is fighting, someone is fighting!" But this alley is long and it is a back alley, and the sound was blocked, as if it had never been made.
The tall man and another man each locked one of Gu Yue's arms, and the two of them clamped Gu Yue on both sides, making him unable to move. Gu Yue kept kicking to both sides, and the two men either dodged or were kicked, but they did not release their grip on Gu Yue.
Zhou Sijie got up from the ground. He walked slowly, holding onto the wall because of the pain, and picked up a wooden broom from a corner. Zhou Sijie held the bottom of the broom, waving the stick, and grinned at Gu Yue: "Why, still so arrogant!"
Zhou Sijie stood up completely. He stood in front of Gu Yue and whipped the stick quickly, causing the airflow to make a terrifying sound. He threatened Gu Yue with his teeth and claws: "Do you think I can bring up the past? Can I teach you a lesson? Bastard!" Zhou Sijie spat on Gu Yue.
The wooden stick was against Gu Yue's face. Zhou Sijie tapped it back and forth with the stick, squeezing Gu Yue's face out of shape: "Gu Yue! You're trash, trash that your parents don't want!" Zhou Sijie yelled and hit Gu Yue on the waist with the stick.
I screamed out, "No!"
Gu Yue endured the pain and yelled: "Zhou Sijie, what kind of man are you? Challenge me if you dare!"
"Why should I challenge you in a duel? I just want to beat you up!" Zhou Sijie slammed the stick again, "Did you hear that? Your squad leader is heartbroken!"
Every time the stick hit Gu Yue, it made a whirring sound. Gu Yue's face was instantly deformed. I was twitching and shaking, and I didn't know when tears covered my cheeks. I was going crazy. I was so upset that I was going crazy.
Zhou Sijie was still provoking: "Your squad leader is distressed! Should I stop? Didn't you like to see me embarrassed before? Didn't you say you can't scold your mother, so you have to beat me every time you see me? Go ahead!"
The stick made a dull sound when it hit his body.
I've gone crazy. Gu Yue will die. Gu Yue will be beaten to death by him! I stepped back tremblingly, and suddenly I stepped on a half-turned head. Gu Yue will die! This thought mixed with everything in front of me has driven me crazy!
Crazy hatred suddenly attacked my heart, and I think my eyes must be full of blood. Zhou Sijie raised the stick high and prepared to swing it down towards Gu Yue's head!
"Ah!" I let out a short cry, then rushed over, holding the half brick with my limp hands, and I couldn't feel my own strength at all. I used all my strength to swing the brick at the back of Zhou Sijie's head.
Zhou Sijie's stick did not hit Gu Yue's head, but fell to the ground.
I moved the brick away and a pool of blood flowed out. I looked at my fingers and they were stained red.
"ah!"
"What are you doing!" A man wearing a Northeast hat stuck his head out of the second-floor window with sleepy eyes and shouted at us.
But it was too late.
After that brick hit me, my mind went blank. Zhou Sijie slowly fell down in front of me; someone pushed me to the ground; I didn't know when the handbag in my arms was taken away; but at this moment, Gu Yue was holding me and I ran for my life.
When we stopped again, we had run three blocks and arrived at the river.
The river swirled in panic as it flowed northward. Dusk still enveloped the riverbank, but street lights had already been lit in the distance. Cars sped past on the road, and the occasional roar of the motors made me panic. Gu Yue stood two steps away from me. A crack in the tiles separated us, like a natural moat. I vaguely felt that something was different.
Gu Yue held onto the railing and gasped for breath. I breathed in and out in rhythm with my heartbeat. No one dared to speak first. I didn't know what I should say. The night rolled up a curtain, gradually approaching the sky where we were, like a hundred-foot-high wave in a disaster movie, pressing towards us in a dark mass.
I breathed steadily but felt like I couldn't catch my breath. I looked at my palms and there seemed to be blood between my fingers. I said to Gu Yue who looked up at me, "I hurt someone."
I hurt someone.
The touch of blood seemed to still linger on my fingertips. The scene of Zhou Sijie slowly falling down kept replaying in my mind. The blood dyed his hair into strands and kept spreading in my brain.
I am done.
I know this very clearly in my heart.
When I was in the second or third year of junior high school, the school took us to visit the "juvenile detention center" in a unique way. It was like watching a literary evening, but the location was behind high walls. The teenagers, or juvenile delinquents, performed various programs, dancing, singing, crosstalk, which was no different from any other literary performance, except for their tearful speeches and regretful exhortations. I sneered at the time, thinking that I would never encounter such a thing in my life. My life should be glorious, something that people look forward to and envy.
After the art performance, the students left the auditorium. I turned back amid the sobs and saw those young people staring at us blankly, eager to leave, or rather, wishing that nothing had happened.
Am I going to become one of those people who watched the students leave? Am I going to become a juvenile delinquent? I looked at the dark night that was sweeping over me in panic, feeling depressed as if my heart was being swallowed up. I grabbed my collar and had no idea for a moment.
Gu Yue clenched my hand and roared at me, "Did you hear what I just said?"
"Ah?" What did he say?
He pulled my hands off my collar and I gasped in pain. His eyes darkened and he pulled up my sleeves, leaving a purple bruise from my wrist to my arm.
"Damn it!" Gu Yue carefully put down his sleeve. I actually wanted to tell him that he didn't need to be so careful. It hurt all the time, whether the sleeve pressed down or not. Gu Yue kept cursing and turned to leave.
"What are you doing?"
Gu Yue looked back at me, his eyebrows were like sword edges, and there was a cold light flashing in his narrow eyes, as if asking me "What do you think I should do?"
I immediately understood Gu Yue's intention, he wanted revenge. I shook my head, raised my right hand and said to him, "Don't go, I've hurt someone." Fear took over every cell in my body, and I trembled as I imagined what would happen to me.
Gu Yue was furious: "I just told you so much, and you didn't remember a single word?"
What's the use of remembering? I hurt someone, what else can I do? Hurting someone means paying with one's life, so my life is ruined.
Gu Yue was going crazy, but he and I seemed to be separated in two worlds. He yelled: "Listen to me carefully! With your strength, Zhou Sijie will be fine! Don't worry about it, go back to school and attend classes well! Zhou Sijie will be fine, and he won't dare to call the police! As for the money, just say that I borrowed it from you, and I will pay you back when I contact my dad." Gu Yue grabbed my shoulders and forced me to look into his eyes.
Is it useful to say this? I suddenly remembered what Gu Yue said to me in the stairwell of the hospital. He was right. Don't think you know, don't think you understand, don't think you feel the same way. In fact, you are standing on the shore, Gu Yue, you are standing on the shore just like I was at that time. No matter how much I say about the matter of injuring others and paying for their lives, it is my business.
I stared at him but couldn't focus. What should I do? I still want to take the college entrance examination, I still want to go to a key university, I still want to go to Shanghai... My mind was blank, I stared at my right hand woodenly, just because of that half brick, I was finished, all the bright future had nothing to do with me.
I was awakened by a violent shaking, and I looked at Gu Yue who was shaking me by the shoulder. But he still felt it was not enough, and looked at me fiercely, making me tremble. He wanted to slap me awake, and he shouted at me: "Zhang Yuanyuan! Look at me!" His tone was so strong that I couldn't help but obey his orders.
"I told you to watch over me! Gu Yue borrowed the money and used it all to pay for medical expenses. Gu Yue's father will pay it back when he comes back."
His words poured into my brain like a dazzling bolt of lightning in the dark night sky.
"Nothing happened, you didn't hit anyone!" He guided me to calm down and clear my mind. Gu Yue said "hit someone". I just hit someone, Zhou Sijie.
The night had completely fallen over my head. The yellowish street lights illuminated Gu Yue clearly in front of me, stretching his shadow very long, making me shrink in panic.
I looked at Gu Yue, at Gu Yue's shadow. A lot of things happened during this whole day. I saw Gu Yue's panic, helplessness, sadness, collapse, despair, and self-righteous invincibility. I thought that invincibility was so fragile that it would break with a little force.
However, the person standing in front of me at this moment seemed to be helping me to hold up the collapsing night sky. His eyes were filled with determination, and he told me word by word: "Don't be afraid, it's okay."
It seems that the sky will not fall as long as he is here.
Gu Yue's determination slowly penetrated into my heart, and I felt like I had found my backbone. Just like that, I felt at ease.
Gu Yue told me a lot, and after I believed him, I actually began to feel that maybe nothing would happen. Zhou Sijie was able to escape the "scene" before Gu Yue dragged me away. He was injured, but he certainly wouldn't die! The money in the handbag was not a small amount. He robbed the money and I beat someone up. If we investigate, no one will get any good results.
Zhou Sijie didn’t dare to call the police. He didn’t dare. As long as he paid back his aunt’s money, nothing would happen!
I repeated what Gu Yue said in my mind, and my breathing gradually became steady. I have never been a bad person, and I don't want to ruin my life because of a momentary mistake! As long as I can fool my aunt and wait for Gu Yue's father to make up the money, nothing will happen!
"It's okay, it's okay !" I put my hands to my mouth and blew out air. My trembling hands blocked the path of the white gas spreading. I tried my best to convince myself and told myself not to panic.
"Yuanyuan." I looked up at Gu Yue, his hand caressing my back, his chest enlarged in front of my eyes, and I was held in his arms, "I won't let anything happen to you."
My heart was inexplicably shocked. What did Gu Yue mean by saying this?
He rested his chin on the top of my head, causing it to tremble slightly when he spoke, and said, "Do as I say. If anything goes wrong, just blame it on me."
Did he want to take the blame for me? No, absolutely not! I struggled to push him away. I wanted to see Gu Yue's face, but I was held tightly and couldn't move at all.
"Do as I say. You are different from me! Gu Changxing will not ignore me!"
"No! It's me..." I couldn't say the word, hit or kill. I was still terrified, no matter how I tried to calm myself down, it was useless. I was afraid, but I also knew that I couldn't let Gu Yue suffer for me.
Gu Yue seemed to be lowering his head, and the hot air he exhaled fell on my head: "Don't worry about it, just do as I say. If this matter is exposed, my father will definitely find a way to help me. I am different from you, do you understand?" Gu Yue poked the top of my head with his chin, and seemed to smile, "Zhou Sijie wouldn't dare to expose it!" He said firmly, "As long as you calm down, we will go to your aunt and say that the money was borrowed for emergency. I will be able to contact my father within three to five days."
"No, no." I shook my head and murmured. Anger, fear, and palpitations all turned into grievances at this moment. Tears flowed from my eyes, fell on Gu Yue's clothes, and soon disappeared.
Gu Yue seemed to sense something. He distanced us, squatted down a little and looked me in the face: "I'm just saying just in case! Calm down, I won't let anything happen to you, and I won't be in any trouble either, trust me!"
The light reflected in Gu Yue's eyes, but I couldn't bear such burning heat. Gu Yue, Gu Yue, Gu Yue. I called his name in my heart, feeling extremely comfortable. I believed in him, he would not let anything happen to me, but such thoughts, two people cuddling together like this, made me feel uneasy for no reason.
"It's okay." Gu Yue hugged me again, "I'm just saying just in case. There won't be a chance of that happening."
The wind started to blow, and I huddled in Gu Yue's arms. He held me tightly, and we tried to warm each other with our body temperature. On a cold night, the cold air descended densely from the dark night sky, forming a dense net covering the earth. The street lights were still on, but it was dark all around. We were like a small boat sailing in the black ocean. We were swaying in the wind and waves, relying on the remaining lights to find the direction to move forward, but we could not escape the dense net no matter what.
When I got back to the door of the house, my dad was repairing a mountain bike, and a young man stood next to him, looking very anxious. My dad was not surprised to see me and Gu Yue coming back together. He said that my aunt came to look for her handbag and asked me to help her find it.
I just calmed down, but I panicked again. I looked at Gu Yue for help, and only after he gave me a comforting look did I calm down. We walked in side by side, thinking that my aunt was at home, and I forgot to avoid the collapsing stairs.
Gu Yue immediately grabbed my arm and held me up. In the darkness, he said to me, "Don't talk for a while. Let me do it."
I nodded and continued walking. I have never lied or cheated since I was a child. Even if I had the thought of cheating, I would feel guilty like a thief. I can't lie, and I dare not lie. I dare not say anything to others without confidence.
I am now like a thief, or a liar waiting to be exposed. I can't help feeling guilty, even though Gu Yue is right next to me.
"Yuanyuan? Where did your father keep my bag? Your uncle asked me to deposit the money in the bank..."
As soon as I pushed the door open, I saw my aunt standing on tiptoe to reach the box on the top of the cabinet. I said to her stiffly, "Aunt, this is Gu Yue."
My aunt turned around, surprise flashing in her eyes: "What? Did you bring your classmates back?"
But after I said that, I didn't dare to speak again. Gu Yue bumped my arm with his elbow, and I shrank to the side.
Gu Yue's face was stiff, and he apologetically blocked me behind him and began to explain to my aunt: the adults in the family had a car accident, and they couldn't contact their father. My uncle had to pay off his debts and couldn't afford it. The hospital said that if I didn't pay, they would stop taking medicine. Zhang Yuanyuan said she wanted to borrow money for emergency treatment... Most of it was true, but he concealed the fact that the money was stolen halfway. Afraid that my aunt wouldn't believe it, Gu Yue also said that I could call Director Guo and the class teacher.
"Yuanyuan, is that so?" The aunt maintained her politeness and did not do anything rude, even though tens of thousands of dollars were gone for nothing.
I stared at my aunt in a daze, feeling a little frightened by her intimidating gaze. After Gu Yue coughed a few times, I kept saying yes.
Gu Yue took a pen and paper from my desk and said he wanted to write a promissory note to my aunt, saying that he would pay the money back immediately when his father came back.
My aunt smiled, pushed the paper and pen aside, and said, "Don't worry. Your family needs money urgently, and I believe you will pay it back. Your mother is in the hospital now, and the daily expenses are so high. Is the 30,000 yuan in my handbag enough?"
Gu Yue nodded hurriedly, but said, "My dad was originally on a business trip for two weeks. Now I can't contact him by phone, but it has been more than a week. Your money should be enough to last until my dad comes back. Auntie, thank you, I was really afraid that you would ask me to pay back the money immediately."
"No, every family has its hard times! Yuanyuan's father supported my education, but he injured his leg at work, and lost his only source of income. It was a life-or-death situation, and it would have been fine if someone had helped him, but we didn't have anyone to help us, and his leg became diseased." After saying this, my aunt looked at us, tears in her eyes, and she looked at everything in front of her in a blurry but clear way. I was shocked, and when I looked again, there was only sadness in my aunt's eyes.
How can I not feel sad? At that time, my father was not lame, but he had a chronic disease because he had no money for treatment. He finally rested for a few years, and because of my birth, he had to work hard to make a living, and finally became the lame one he is now. I didn't expect my aunt to believe us so easily. In my opinion, we were the ones who were wrong and guilty anyway. I never thought that Gu Yue's situation, which was very similar to ours, brought back memories from my aunt's heart.
What does it mean that my aunt is so sad at this moment? It means that she believes us. This plan is half successful. As long as Gu Yue contacts his father and makes up the 30,000 yuan, everything will be filled! Zhou Sijie got 30,000 yuan, and he didn't dare to pursue the brick I gave him!
The joy of surviving the disaster spread in my heart. I didn't have time to care about what my aunt and Gu Yue were talking about. I wrote another IOU for tens of thousands of yuan. I was in a daze, and my mind was in a daze. Nothing seemed real. Not long after, Gu Yue left. After my aunt symbolically scolded me for not discussing before doing anything, she told me to rest early and left too.
I was the only one left in the room. My face was still stiff and a feeling of fear was spreading down my spine. This day seemed even longer than half a century. I had been through so much that I could not say that I felt relieved at this moment, but I did feel relieved as if I had collapsed.
Did I just get away with it? I walked around the house and finally told myself with absolute certainty that I had passed. After my extremely tense nerves relaxed, I became very sleepy and yawned one after another.
"Ah!" I was halfway through stretching my body, and the backward posture caused my stomach to hurt. I was kicked by a tall guy today! I immediately took off my cotton jacket and opened my shirt to look at my stomach. There was a bruise bigger than a fist lying under my ribs. I couldn't help but curse. It hurt to touch it lightly, so I lifted my sleeve to look at the wound on my hand.
"Yuanyuan!"
The door was suddenly pushed open. I was so shocked that I immediately turned my back to the door: "Ah! Auntie, what are you doing?"
"I forgot to take my phone." Auntie smiled and walked to the dining table to get her phone. "Do you want to change clothes and take a shower? Why are you hiding from me? After all, you are a grown-up girl, you know how to be shy."
I put my clothes down in a hurry, afraid that my aunt would see the scars on my body, but she seemed to see nothing. She smiled, waved her cell phone at me, closed the door and left.
It was a false alarm! I stroked my chest to calm myself down, then collapsed on the bed, thinking back to this day that had frightened me so much. Then I said to myself, it’s finally over.
This day is finally over.