"Wu Yu, you're a lunatic too!"
Only then did she realize that she was still tightly gripping the bottle of orange soda in her right hand. There was no blood on it, nothing at all; it was clear and pure, looking so beautiful in the sunlight.
Ju Nian spun the slender glass bottle. Besides the beverage label, there was another line of small print in an inconspicuous spot: "This bottle is for bottling only XX brand soda." She suddenly found it hilarious, absolutely hilarious—perfect black humor. How come she never knew this bottle had another purpose before?
“Are you thirsty, Wu Yu?” She held up the bottle.
Wu Yu paused for a moment, took the bottle, bit off the cap with her teeth, drank a few mouthfuls, and then handed it back to Ju Nian.
The two stood side by side on the pebble-strewn riverbank. Before them stretched an endless expanse of gray reeds, the river flowing silently on the other side. They fell silent, neither willing to utter a word. Was Lin Henggui dead? Was that one blow enough to kill him? What should they do next?
"Wu Yu, do you believe in fate?" Ju Nian finally spoke.
Wu Yuqiang laughed, "My grandma says, if you believe, it works; if you don't believe, it doesn't. As long as I don't believe, this thing doesn't exist. Don't try to fool me with that stuff you read in a book again."
Ju Nian laughed, "What are you talking about? I just wanted to ask, there's a Guanyin temple nearby, have you ever been there?"
“Oh, I know,” Wu Yu said. “My grandma went, but I didn’t.”
Ju Nian touched his arm, feeling too embarrassed to hold Wu Yu's hand again. For a moment, she wished he would never let go.
"Come with me, let's go to the temple and take a look."
The Guanyin Temple was on the opposite bank of the river. Ju Nian and Wu Yu shakily crossed the pontoon bridge. Inside, because it wasn't a religious festival or a large temple, the incense was scarce. Only an old man who didn't look like a monk was dozing at a table next to the main hall. In the main hall was a statue of Guanyin. Besides the altar and incense table, the most striking thing was a large wooden board standing to the side, covered with yellow paper strips.
"Monk, do you know what those are?" the young man asked the person next to him.
Wu Yu shook her head.
“Those are Guanyin divination sticks. I’ve read about our local history in the library. The divination sticks at this Guanyin temple used to be very famous. After drawing a stick, the person would tear off the corresponding text from the wooden board according to the number. That person was probably the one who interpreted the divination.”
"How about we ask for a fortune slip?" Wu Yu knew that Ju Nian liked these strange and unusual things.
Ju Nian said, "You don't know, interpreting fortune sticks costs money. It's two yuan for a bad fortune stick, five yuan for a medium fortune stick, and ten yuan for a good fortune stick. In addition, the worst fortune stick is free, and the best fortune stick is thirty-six yuan. There are rules about all of these."
Wu Yu laughed and said, "Why do you think the better the fortune, the more expensive it is? If it were me, I would rather get the worst fortune, at least I don't have to pay for it."
"Nonsense!" Ju Nian didn't like hearing such arguments. "This is the first time I've heard of someone being willing to suffer for the rest of their life just to save this money."
"Why don't we give it a try?"
"I don't have a single penny left."
"It's alright, this old man needs to use the restroom eventually. Anyway, there's no one else around, so let's just shake the divination sticks quickly. Besides, we don't need anyone else to interpret the sticks. Look, you're a ready-made fortune teller right here," Wu Yu said with a smile.
Not long after, the old man at the table actually got up to go to the toilet. There was nothing valuable here, and there was no need to guard against anything. He never expected that two teenagers would come to "steal the signature." What was there to steal? Most people wouldn't understand it even if they took it.
As soon as the old man left, Wu Yu and Ju Nian rushed to the incense table. Ju Nian knelt down on the prayer mat with a thud. Seeing that Wu Yu was still in a daze, she tugged at his sleeve, and the two of them knelt down together.
"Shake it quickly." Wu Yu handed the divination sticks to Ju Nian.
Ju Nian shook her head, "You go first."
Wu Yu moved quickly; within seconds, a bamboo stick fell to the ground with a thud. Ju Nian waited for him to pick it up; it read: Fifty-fourth stick.
"It's your turn, Ju Nian."
Ju Nian held the divination stick container with both hands and shook it vigorously, but the container seemed to be deliberately making things difficult for her, and it just wouldn't fall down no matter what she did.
"Hurry up, the old man should be back soon."
The more Wu Yu urged her, the more anxious Ju Nian became. The old man's coughing sounded as if it could be heard from behind the main hall. Her palms were sweating as she shook her head, silently praying, "Hurry, hurry. If there really are gods, please give me a signal."
The gods seemed to have heard, and the divination slip for Ju Nian fell with difficulty.
The twelfth fortune slip.
She ran quickly to the fortune-telling board and looked for the yellow slips of paper corresponding to the two fortune numbers.
"Fifty-four, fifty-four, twelve, twelve..."
Wu Yu stood guard nervously beside her.
Ju Nian first found her twelfth fortune stick, a medium-sized one, and then the fifty-fourth one caught her eye. The first line on it read—the worst fortune stick. Like the best fortune stick, the worst fortune stick is not easy to come by. Most people are ordinary, and the lives of ordinary people are a mixture of joy and sorrow.
Ju Nian gasped. Why did Wu Yu's jinxed mouth always come true, even when the good things didn't?
"Ju Nian, are you done yet? We should go." Wu Yu, unaware of what was going on, still urged.
Ju Nian had a sudden thought; she couldn't let Wu Yu know this. So she tore off only half of each fortune slip, leaving the part that read "the worst fortune" on the slip.
The bottom half of Wu Yu's picture only has one sentence: "There is no shore to turn back from the sea of suffering."
Ju Nian felt an indescribable unease upon seeing this; she didn't want this fate! Was there any way to remedy the situation?
Taking advantage of Wu Yu's inattention, she casually tore off another bill and stuffed the original one into her pocket. Before the old man returned, she and Wu Yu slipped out along the same route they had come from.
Back on the riverbank, Wu Yu indeed asked, "Where's my fortune slip? Please take a look at it for me."
Ju Nian took out the fortune slip that she had later torn off and handed it to Wu Yu.
"A fool wakes up from a dream unaware... Is this talking about me? This is just a little bit, but it feels like it's never going to end. Ju Nian, what's going on?"
“You were in such a hurry, and the top half was stuck on so firmly that it wasn’t torn off.” Ju Nian made up a story in her mind. “It’s a lucky sign, a very lucky sign. It means that good things are coming, and good people are by your side. You don’t even know it yet. Who’s as stupid as you? That’s why I say you’re a fool. But once you open your eyes, you’ll see everything.”
“Good person, good thing?” Wu Yu shook her head in confusion. “My hope for good things is that this high school entrance exam won’t be too bad, and that you, Ju Nian, will get into No. 7 High School smoothly.”
Ju Nian smiled, "Is that all you've got? Let me see my own... medicine is hard to find even in the vast ocean."
"What's the meaning?"
Ju Nian was also somewhat confused, and she kept repeating that sentence.
In the legend, Chang'e stole Hou Yi's elixir of immortality, thus enabling her to fly to the moon, where she resided in the vast and beautiful Guanghan Palace. So what does the phrase "the elixir is obtained, but the moon is still a place of longing" imply? What could possibly make Chang'e "unable to fly" even after obtaining the elixir? Could it be that everything was ready, and the moon palace no longer held what she desired?
"Forget it, this thing is only good for fun. I won the lottery, but I'm not as lucky as you."
"Wait a minute, Ju Nian, what's in your pocket? It looks like there's another bill."
Wu Yu had a sharp eye, and Ju Nian regretted that she had been too hasty at the time. She hadn't managed to completely hide the fifty-fourth fortune slip in her pocket, and the yellow part was still sticking out.
Before she could speak, Wu Yu had already pulled the fortune slip from her pocket and read, "The sea of suffering has no shore to return to... I think I understand this; it must be very bad." He looked at Ju Nian, "This fortune slip is mine, isn't it?"
Those eyes were clear and bright, with distinct black and white.
Ju Nian lied again against her will under the gaze of those eyes.
"What? I want to draw one for my future partner, I'll just tear it off randomly."
"Your future partner?"
Ju Nian's blushing was genuine.
Wu Yu wasn't completely stupid after all; he suddenly realized, "Oh, I see."
"Yes, one is yours, and one is mine... mine... you know. I hid the other one, but you insisted on seeing it."
Wu Yu gave a funny look. "You girls are just so strange."
Ju Nian breathed a sigh of relief. Wu Yu's happiness had dwindled considerably, and she didn't want this empty game to cast a shadow over him any further. It seemed she had finally managed to deceive him.
From the temple to the riverbank, it was like returning from an illusion to the real world. Penniless, they couldn't escape to the ends of the earth. Ultimately, they had to go back.
"Where shall we go this year, Orange Year?"
Ju Nian lowered her eyes and said, "I'm going back to my aunt's house. I'm going to tell my aunt about this. Wu Yu, when you go back, don't make a sound, and don't say what you saw. If that bad guy dies, it's because of me. He's shameless, but I... I'm not afraid."
She said she wasn't afraid, but she was trembling.
Chapter Twenty-Two: I've Been Watching You Leave
When Ju Nian returned to her aunt's house, her aunt and uncle's tricycle, which they used to transport fruit, was already parked at the door. Hearing Ju Nian's footsteps, her aunt came out of the kitchen and began to scold her.
"I can't even get you to help out at home during summer vacation. Why are you so playful, girl? I'm warning you, don't hang out with Wu Yu anymore. I told you long ago he's no good. Look, this afternoon he beat your Uncle Henggui bloody over a bottle of soda. Your uncle has already gone to the hospital. This time, that little brat is definitely going to be sent to a labor camp... And you, what happened to you?"
Auntie mumbled on and on, but finally noticed that something was wrong with Ju Nian standing by the door. A button was missing from Ju Nian's clothes, the cuffs were torn, the trouser legs were covered in dust, and his hair was a complete mess.
As a woman, the aunt instinctively sensed something ominous; Ju Nian was, after all, her own niece. She quickly walked over to the silent Ju Nian, took her arm, and asked.
"What's wrong, Ju Nian? What happened to your clothes... Did someone bully you... Tell me, child, tell your aunt who bullied you... Was it that scoundrel Wu Yu? I'll tear him apart."
“It has nothing to do with Wu Yu!” Ju Nian grabbed her aunt who was about to rush out the door. “It was Lin Henggui, Aunt. It has nothing to do with Wu Yu. Wu Yu saw Lin Henggui bullying me, so she fought with him. I was the one who hit Lin Henggui on the back of the head.”
"What did you say? You mean...?"
At first, Aunt didn't believe it. But she had been married to Uncle for many years and had heard about the character of Uncle's cousin, Lin Henggui, who was indeed capable of such despicable acts. And Ju Nian was still a little girl; she couldn't have come up with such a colossal lie.
"What a terrible thing! That inhuman beast is trying to drive me crazy!" Auntie plopped down on the doorstep, pounding her thigh and wailing softly. However, after a while, she recovered from her initial shock and anger, pulled Ju Nian into the house, closed the door tightly, and rummaged through the laundry room for her niece.
"I'm going out to find your uncle. You stay at home and don't go out, okay?" Auntie instructed. Before leaving, she touched Ju Nian's hair, her eyes filled with a long-lost tenderness for Ju Nian.
About three hours later, Ju Nian leaned blankly against the headboard, the passage of time meaningless to her. So much had happened that day, the ugliest and the most beautiful things in the world, and she was willing to believe that all the ugliness was only to bring out the beauty.
Around nine o'clock, Aunt finally brought Uncle back, along with Ju Nian's parents. The four adults surrounded Ju Nian, who rarely received such attention. She felt awkward and couldn't answer any questions.
Later, her mother pulled her into a room alone and kept asking, "Ju Nian, where did he touch you? Did he... did he?"
Ju Nian hadn't spoken to her mother alone for a long time. When she first came back, she longed for her aunt to be her mother, for a woman with warm arms to hold her. But now she suddenly didn't think that way anymore. Perhaps her rest period had been too long, and she had already passed through the most confusing time while waiting. Now she was more worried about Wu Yu and didn't know how Wu Yu was doing.
"Ju Nian, give me an answer! Don't scare your mother." Her mother pinched Ju Nian's arm so hard it hurt.
Ju Nian understood why her mother was anxious; she wanted to know whether Lin Henggui had succeeded and whether her daughter's virginity was still intact.
"He ripped off one of my buttons and started groping me. Then, Wu Yu rushed in."
Ju Nian said so.
The mother visibly breathed a sigh of relief, as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. It seemed things weren't as bad as she had imagined.
Did Lin Henggui's failure to go that final step fundamentally alter the harm he caused to the girl through his previous molestation? Ju Nian was perplexed.
Next, Mom went out and whispered a few words to Dad. The four adults went into Aunt's bedroom, closed the door, and were probably discussing something only adults would understand; Ju Nian didn't need to participate.
The discussion lasted for more than ten minutes. Ju Nian sat alone on the bench by the door, waiting for their result. How to deal with that scoundrel Lin Henggui and how to wash away the dirty water that Wu Yu had splashed on him were what Ju Nian cared about most. As for what responsibility she should take for hitting Lin Henggui on the forehead, she was willing to accept it.
Mom and Dad, Aunt and her husband filed out of the bedroom.
It was Dad who spoke first.
“Ju Nian, your mother, your aunt, your uncle, and I have discussed it and decided that this matter should not be made public. We all agree to settle it privately.”
"You? Settling this privately?"
Dad sat down next to Ju Nian and lit a cigarette. The smoke made Ju Nian's eyes water.