"Hey! What's going on here?!" Old Li Qi was panting heavily from trying to break up the fight, and it took him a while to catch his breath.
San San's father, who was being held by the village chief and Li Hanqiang, broke free of one of their hands, panting heavily as he pointed at San San and said, "You get the hell out of here and go home first!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Yunqi, his eyes bloodshot, glared at him and roared, "I'm not going back! San San, come with me!"
This shout caused the two to charge at each other again without further ado, and the village chief, while pulling them back, stamped his feet in frustration, "Hey! Stop fighting! Can't you two talk this out?!"
San San's father turned to him and roared, "Did you call the police? Call the police!"
The village chief said with a worried look, "Why call the police! How am I supposed to tell them?" Seeing that Sheng Xuelu and Chen Yunqi had both lost their tempers, he had no choice but to turn to San San and ask, "San San, tell me what's going on?"
"What are you asking me?!" Before San San could even speak, San San's father pointed at Chen Yunqi and yelled, "Ask him what he did to my son?! Huh?! Let's see if he's even ashamed to talk about it!"
"There's nothing to be embarrassed about!" Chen Yunqi said without fear. "Listen carefully! I like San San! I'm taking him away!"
Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned. Seeing their bewildered expressions, Tang Yutao said to Chen Yunqi with a mixture of anxiety and helplessness, "Damn it, stop talking! They have no idea what you're saying!!"
San San's shirt was covered in footprints and filthy. His lips were blue from the cold. He raised his dazed eyes to look at the village chief and slowly said under everyone's gaze, "I like Teacher Chen, like a man likes a woman."
This time, everyone seemed to understand.
"I like him, I want to go with him, I want to marry him, I want to sleep with him," San San muttered to herself, completely ignoring the surprised and disdainful looks directed at her. "I liked him from the first moment I saw him. I fetched water for him, ate with him, and begged him to tutor me—all to make him like me too, to take me away. I even sneaked to school to find him in the middle of the night, deliberately taking off my clothes and climbing into his bed to seduce him..."
"San San..." Chen Yunqi choked out, breaking down in tears, "San San... don't do this... don't say anymore... don't say any more!!"
"...You!" San San's father hadn't expected him to admit it so bluntly, and for a moment he could hardly believe his ears. Everything that had happened tonight shattered his worldview like a bolt from the blue. His son's words were like a barbed whip, lashing him hard across the face in front of everyone—Sheng Xuelu, nearly fifty years old, an honest and simple farmer who had spent his whole life toiling in the fields, had never heard of love and affection between two men.
He lost his temper again and kicked San San once more.
San San didn't dodge. She simply stood up straight and looked up at the furious Sheng Xuelu. Just as he was about to kick her, she suddenly spoke up: "It's me who likes him...it's me who shamelessly pestered him! I want to study! I want to leave here! I want to live a good life! Dad...hit me if you want...it's all my fault..."
San San cried, her blood-stained lips trembling slightly, tears streaming down her cheeks like broken beads.
"Dad, I'm sorry, I've let you down. I don't know what's wrong with me. I don't like women and I don't want to get married or have children," San San said, still unable to stop herself from falling to the ground. "I like men, I can't control myself. Hit me... hit me... don't blame Xiao Qi... it wasn't his fault..."
Sheng Xuelu couldn't understand a single word. His mind was a complete blank; he felt nothing and couldn't comprehend anything except anger. His own son actually liked men—how could he save face? How could he ever hold his head high among his neighbors again?
Thinking of this, his anger surged up again, and he roared, "How the hell did I give birth to such a shameless thing like you!" Without hesitation, he slapped San San to the ground again, grabbed his hair, and dragged him out.
Chen Yunqi rushed over and hugged San San, desperately trying to pry Sheng Xuelu's hands off. The others also rushed over, and in the struggle, San San's scalp was pulled painfully. He cried and said to Chen Yunqi, "Brother, let go, go... I'm sorry... I hurt you... Go quickly, forget about me."
San San's father held on tightly, refusing to let go, completely disregarding how much pain San San was in. With a fierce glint in his eyes, he dragged San San away while roaring at him, "Shut up!! Have you no shame?! Shut the hell up!"
San San could no longer bear it. With his last bit of strength, he said goodbye to Chen Yunqi: "Brother... let go... If I have the chance to meet you again in the next life, I will definitely be reborn as a girl to find you."
“San San…don’t give up…I love you, I won’t let go, and you shouldn’t give up either, look at me,” Chen Yunqi gripped Sheng Xuelu’s hand tightly to stop him from using force, his long, slender fingers bulging with veins and knuckles turning red.
“Look at me,” he whispered in San San’s ear as he held her tightly, “I told you I would take you away, remember? Stop talking nonsense. You’re an adult now. What you want to do, where you want to go, and who you want to be with are all up to you, understand?”
Tang Yutao was pushed and shoved until he fell to the ground. In a fit of anger, he got up and shouted at the chaotic crowd, "Teacher Chen and San San are truly in love! I know you can't understand or accept two men being together, but please respect them! Stop using violence to solve problems! Can't you sit down and have a proper conversation?!"
"Go to hell!" San San's father couldn't bear to hear another word. He still held San San tightly with one hand, glaring fiercely at Tang Yutao and said, "You sons of bitches of teachers, just because you're a little educated, you spout nonsense. Did you waste your education? Which teacher taught you two men to be together?! There has never been such a thing since the beginning of time!"
Tang Yutao didn't want to argue with him, so he turned to the village chief and said, "Do you remember what I told you when we went up the mountain together that day?"
The village chief was short and almost invisible in the throng of people struggling together. Hearing this, he couldn't recall what Tang Yutao was saying, so he stepped aside and looked at him with a puzzled expression. Tang Yutao sighed and said, "I told you, if one day we outsiders have another conflict with you, I hope you can uphold justice and not just follow the crowd. Remember that?"
“This…” Village Chief Sheng frowned, looking somewhat troubled. “Teacher Tang, it’s not that I’m not trying to be fair, but Sheng Xuelu is right! How can two men be together? It doesn’t make sense! What am I supposed to do?”
“If that doesn’t make sense, then let me explain,” Tang Yutao pushed up his glasses and said, “Teacher Chen is truly sincere to San San! He’s truly sincere to each and every one of you! Considering all that he’s done for everyone, can’t you just listen to him? Besides! San San doesn’t want to live the life you’ve arranged for him, so why force him? What’s wrong with letting the two of them be together? It’s none of your business!”
"What sincerity?!" Tang Yutao had barely finished speaking when someone shouted a question. Everyone looked up and saw Acuo Qubi squeeze out from the crowd, sneering, "We were living peacefully, and he came and made our lives miserable. Now he's done something like this. If you ask me, we should just kill them both! Who would care!"
Tang Yutao looked around and found that apart from San Niang and Li Laoqi, everyone else was just staring coldly at Chen Yunqi and San San without any reaction. He sighed heavily, walked to Chen Yunqi, squatted down, and put his hand on Chen Yunqi's shoulder, saying, "Chen Yunqi, let go."
Seeing that Chen Yunqi was still stubbornly holding onto San San and wouldn't let go, he repeated seriously again, "Chen Yunqi, let go and let San San go home first. San San has parents, and it's not your place to solve his problems. Look at these people, if this continues, it won't do anyone any good."
Chen Yunqi opened his mouth, about to say something, when San San gently placed her palm on the back of his hand, looking at him with pained eyes and saying, "Brother, I'm so tired and in so much pain, please let go..."
"San San..." Chen Yunqi closed his eyes in despair, his hands suddenly losing all strength. San San was instantly pulled from his embrace, and he felt a void in his heart, collapsing heavily to the ground.
San San was dragged along like a wad of white cotton wool, disappearing into the darkness.
Chapter Fifty-Nine: Farewell
San Niang didn't sleep all night. After leaving school and returning home, she tossed and turned in bed for half the night. Before dawn, she woke up her three children, urged them to get dressed and ready, ate a quick breakfast, and sent them down the mountain. She then rushed home and used the last of the scallions and greens to cook a bowl of hot soup noodles, which she then brought to San San's house with Li Laoqi.
The children will be arriving at school soon. Tang Yutao and Li Hui couldn't persuade Chen Yunqi to stay, so they had to leave him to guard San San's door for the time being, planning to come see him again after class.
In early spring, the mountains were still chilly, and the morning wind was quite biting. Li Laoqi draped one of his old cotton coats over Chen Yunqi, then carefully tightened the collar around his neck. Looking at Chen Yunqi's haggard face and lifeless eyes, he shook his head and sighed repeatedly.
The kind-hearted Li Laoqi was not good at offering words of comfort, nor could he think of any better way to alleviate his pain. He squatted down beside him, took out a cigarette from his pocket, and offered it to Chen Yunqi. Seeing that Chen Yunqi did not take it for a long time, he had no choice but to take back his hand, light the cigarette himself, take a few puffs, and then offer it to Chen Yunqi's mouth again.
"Let's take a couple of puffs to relieve the boredom."
Third Sister had forgotten to wear her hat and was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday. She glared at Li Laoqi and complained, "What are you doing smoking? Go smoke yourself if you want!"
Third Sister slapped Li Laoqi's hand away, handed the soup noodles to Chen Yunqi, and said, "Good brother, at least eat something first, don't ruin your health!"
Chen Yunqi looked up at Third Sister, a bitter smile forcing a smile, and whispered, "Thank you, Third Sister, I'm not hungry..."
Without a word, Third Sister grabbed his hand and told him to hold the bowl. She then took out a crumpled tissue and carefully wiped a pair of chopsticks before handing them to him, urging, "Eat even if you're not hungry, or they'll get cold."
Chen Yunqi couldn't bear to disappoint San Niang's kindness, so he sighed, picked up the bowl, stirred it with his chopsticks, scooped out the noodles, put them in his mouth, swallowed them without tasting them, and then smiled at San Niang and said, "Delicious."
"Is it delicious? Eat more," Third Sister's tightly furrowed brows relaxed as she saw Chen Yunqi finally start eating the noodles bite by bite. She said with a sigh of relief, "Does it taste the same as last time? You ate two big bowls last time. If you're not full, I'll go back and cook some more. Have some soup too, to warm your stomach."
"Mmm," Chen Yunqi responded. He buried his head in his noodles, recalling the time at his aunt's house when San San had given him all the vegetables from her bowl, smiling as she told him she didn't like them. His heart immediately ached with indescribable pain. He swallowed the hot noodle soup along with the sour taste in his throat, choking back tears as he quickly finished the noodles, only then noticing a poached egg at the bottom of the bowl.
"Are you feeling better now that you've eaten?" Third Sister reached out and took the empty bowl and chopsticks, placing them on the ground. She sighed and said, "Sit here all the time isn't a solution. Listen to my advice, go back and rest. We can talk about it after your brother calms down, okay?"
The "brother" San Niang mentioned was San San's father. They were distant cousins. San Niang knew Sheng Xuelu's temperament well; at this juncture, saying or doing anything more would be useless—he wouldn't listen to anything she said. But she felt there was still room for negotiation, so she advised, "These next few days, your seventh brother and I will try to think of a way to persuade your brother, you and Sanwa...your matter..."
Third Sister was no less shocked by this matter than the others, but she was kind and gentle by nature, and had always been very fond of Chen Yunqi. She had seen and remembered how good Chen Yunqi was to her family and to everyone, and San San was the most well-behaved and sensible child in her heart, whom she had watched grow up. Even if she could not fully accept and tolerate their relationship for the time being, she could never bring herself to repay kindness with enmity and be ungrateful.
Hearing that she seemed hesitant to speak, Chen Yunqi said, "Third Sister, don't worry about me. If you speak up for me, people might think you're not good enough. I'm already very grateful."
"Silly child," Third Sister's heart ached upon hearing this, and she couldn't help but reach out and pat Chen Yunqi's back, choking back tears as she said, "Third Sister is uneducated and doesn't understand anything. She doesn't know what's going on between you and Third Brother, but Third Sister knows you are both good children. Seeing you suffer makes your Seventh Brother and me feel terrible..."
Chen Yunqi closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "I didn't suffer... I brought it all on myself... It was San San who suffered... He took so much injustice for me, he took the beatings for me... Third Sister, what should I do... I feel like I'm going crazy..."
Li Laoqi, who had been silent until now, put his arm around Chen Yunqi's shoulder. Suffering from stomach problems for years, he looked somewhat thin and pale, and when he wasn't smiling, his dark face held a rare seriousness and depth. He hugged Chen Yunqi tightly and said earnestly, "Teacher Chen, things aren't good here. Everyone's suffering, a lifetime of poverty due to lack of education. Sanwa is lucky to have met you; he'll have a bright future with you. Once this period is over, if you have the chance, take him with you."
Chen Yunqi hadn't expected Li Laoqi to say such things to him. With tears in his eyes, he said, "I remember. I will take good care of him, as long as I still have this chance."
He was about to say that meeting San San and all of you was my good fortune when he suddenly heard a creak and the wooden door in front of him was pushed open from the inside. Then Sheng Xuelu stepped out of the door, followed by San San with her head down.
Upon seeing San San, Chen Yunqi's dim eyes instantly regained some light. Exhaustion and prolonged sitting caused him to suddenly feel dizzy and nearly fall to the ground when he stood up abruptly. Li Laoqi and San Niang reached out to support him, and he managed to steady himself. He forcefully suppressed the urge to rush forward and snatch San San away, desperately telling himself to remain calm, standing anxiously in place as if awaiting a doomsday judgment.
"Brother," Third Sister broke the deathly silence, calling out to Third Brother's father, "Teacher Chen meant no harm, please let him explain..."
San San's father didn't respond, but stared at Chen Yunqi with a gloomy expression for a long time before taking a step back to let San San out from behind him. He then fiercely commanded, "Speak!"
San San was still wearing Chen Yunqi's white shirt, the sleeves still rolled up by Chen Yunqi. The exposed section of his fair arm was covered with bruises from being whipped, the obvious red marks making Chen Yunqi's eyes redden and his heart ache.
Before Chen Yunqi could ask with heartache, San San's father grabbed San San's collar from behind, shoved him hard, and ordered again, "Speak quickly!"
San San was nearly knocked over by the push. After regaining his balance, he finally raised his head and looked at Chen Yunqi. He took a deep breath and, as if using all his strength and courage, said to him, "Teacher Chen, I'm sorry. I was confused and bewitched. I know I was wrong. From now on, let's not see each other again. Please don't come looking for me anymore. We are not on the same path. You should leave us as soon as possible."
The moment San San looked up, Chen Yunqi's heart shattered. It was as if he had gone deaf; he couldn't hear a single word San San said.
In an instant, the world lost all its color. He only saw that San San's once bright and affectionate eyes were now swollen and red, and his soft lips, which he had kissed countless times, were stained with blood. Chen Yunqi longed to step forward, cup his face covered with bruises and purple finger marks, kiss his tearful eyes and sorrowful brow, and soothe all his pain with his gentle embrace and large palms.
"Did you understand?" Seeing that Chen Yunqi didn't react, San San's father took another step forward and pulled San San behind him, blocking Chen Yunqi's intense gaze, and said, "Don't let me see you again. Get out!"
"San San..." Chen Yunqi ignored San San's father's anger and said to San San behind him in a hoarse, low voice, "Have you given up? Don't you want to fight for yourself anymore?"
He took heavy steps and slowly approached San San, but San San kept backing away, lowering her head and not daring to look at him. After hesitating for a long time, she finally made up her mind and said to him, "Teacher Chen, you can go now."
You can leave now.
Those three words were like a blow to the head, shattering all expectations and hopes.
Feeling ignored by Chen Yunqi, San San's father angrily shoved Chen Yunqi in the chest and roared, "Can't you understand human language? Are you leaving or not?"
Chen Yunqi stubbornly tried to go forward again to ask for clarification, but San San suddenly turned her back to him and shouted, "Don't come any closer! I don't want to see you again!"
After saying that, he seemed to have lost all courage to face it all and ran back into the house as if fleeing.
Chen Yunqi froze on the spot. Seeing that San San's father was about to throw another punch, Li Laoqi quickly stepped forward to stop him, pleading, "Brother, let's talk this out. Don't make things difficult for the two children..."
"Who do you think you are? When did it become your business to meddle in our family affairs!" San San's father, enraged, shoved Li Laoqi aside and roared at him and San San's mother, "Useless bastards, stop interfering! What benefits did he give you to make you two good-for-nothings side with outsiders?!"
"Brother!" Third Sister was furious, her face flushed red, wishing she could slap him across the face. "How could you say that! What do you take us for! In every way has Teacher Chen been bad to any of us?!"
"Stop talking nonsense! He can be nice to whoever he wants! Whoever wants to curry favor with him can go ahead and do it! I've never begged him! I've said everything I need to say!" San San's father pointed at Chen Yunqi's nose and said, "Don't you feel sorry for San San? If you dare to come looking for him again, I'll beat him to death! Don't think I wouldn't dare! I gave birth to him, and I can take his life back!"
Faced with his cold and unapproachable attitude, Chen Yunqi couldn't utter a single word in response. After uttering a string of harsh words, San San's father slammed the door and left.
Third Sister rubbed her eyes, sighed, and said to Chen Yunqi, "Your seventh brother and I are useless; we're afraid we can't help you either. This isn't a place for you; you should leave now."
His heart was broken to the extreme, and suddenly it seemed he could no longer feel the pain. Chen Yunqi wasn't upset by San San's sudden change in attitude; he simply lowered his eyes dejectedly and whispered to San Niang, "How could I bear to leave him..."
"Let's go," Li Laoqi urged, "If we don't leave, Sanwa's father will only get angrier, and Sanwa will suffer! You go back first; we'll take care of things here. We'll think of something later; there'll always be a way..."
Chen Yunqi wasn't ungrateful. He listened to what San Niang and Li Laoqi said, knowing they meant well. Li Laoqi was right; if he stubbornly persisted, it would only cause San San more pain and misfortune. He couldn't bear to recall San San's battered appearance; those shocking marks made him imagine the frail San San huddled in a corner, enduring his father's beatings with helpless pain. If even the smallest wound were to appear on his beloved, precious boy, he would surely go mad.
Chen Yunqi politely declined the offer from San Niang and Li Laoqi to take him home and walked back to school alone. He sat in the room until noon when school was over, and only after Tang Yutao and Li Hui arrived did he calm down, take out his luggage, and start packing his things.
"Have you thought it through?" Tang Yutao squatted down and helped him open the backpack pockets, watching him fold and stack the clothes one by one and put them in. He said helplessly, "Alright, let's go back and avoid them for a while. If we stay any longer, these people will add fuel to the fire and burn you and San San to death."
"What a damn ingrate!" Li Hui said indignantly. "We should have broken off relations a long time ago. If you ask me, you should just elope with San San and ignore them! We'll sneak San San out tonight!"
“San San won’t come with me now,” Chen Yunqi said, pulling a cardboard box from under the bed. He opened it, glanced at it, and closed it again. He looked up at Tang Yutao and Li Hui and said, “I don’t know if he was forced into it or if he really gave up, but in any case, he won’t come with me now.”
"Don't blame him," Tang Yutao advised him as if he could see through everything. "San San has never done anything like this before. It's normal for him to be scared. Give him some time. I believe he won't give up so easily. He's worth waiting for."
“I agree!” Li Hui immediately chimed in, “He must have been forced into this situation! He likes you so much that even a love idiot like me can feel it. You won’t find another person in this world who would be so foolish as to express all his affection through his eyes.”
Tang Yutao looked at Li Hui with disdain, "What kind of description is that? It's long and cumbersome, and there's no aesthetic appeal at all!"
“You have a sense of aesthetics! You do it!” Li Hui glared at him and retorted with dissatisfaction.
Upon hearing this, Tang Yutao was about to rack his brains to come up with a few words to show off when Chen Yunqi zipped up his backpack and said to them, "Alright, you don't need to try to make me happy anymore. I appreciate it."
"Alright, I'm glad you understand," Tang Yutao swallowed back the poem he had just come up with, dusted off his knees, stood up and said, "When are you planning to leave? We'll see you off."
"No need to see me off. I'm leaving this afternoon. I'd like to say goodbye to Huang Yelin later."
Chen Yunqi placed his luggage on the table and then scanned the room again. Memories of the past six months flooded his mind: teaching Huang Yelin to paint, playing cards with Tang Yutao and Li Hui, helping the children with their homework, feeding Xiao San San soy milk... A surge of emotions over the past six months overwhelmed him.
It was in this little house that he first tasted the sorrow of longing and yearning, the flavor of love and affection, experiencing one tender moment after another, whispering sweet nothings in each other's ears. This house was filled with all the beautiful and touching memories he shared with San San, and these memories swept over him like a tidal wave, making him feel suffocated and giving him the urge to escape again, just like when he fled here half a year ago.
During the afternoon break, Huang Yelin arrived. As soon as he entered, he noticed Chen Yunqi's neatly packed luggage. Staring at his backpack with his bright, clear eyes, he asked, "Teacher Chen? Where are you going?"