Ази Хелл - Глава 7
He didn't know how to tell his mother.
My mother said this clivia is worth several thousand yuan, and it should be borrowed and returned safely; nothing should happen to it.
For this family, several thousand yuan represents more than a year's worth of expenses.
He saw his father. He saw his father pat his head and say, "Good boy, don't be afraid, come home with me! I'll settle the score with them! Anyone who dares to bully my son, I'll smash them to pieces!"
He saw his mother, who said, "How can you be so useless? You're just a man who only knows how to sit on the kang (heated brick bed), how come you can't even take care of a pot of flowers?"
Looking back, he couldn't find his father anywhere. He longed to be by his father's side, but his father was like a shadow, leaving him unable to rely on him.
The boy, Mouse, sat on the threshold of the classroom with his schoolbag on his back, looking at the empty courtyard. In the darkness, there was no sound of his mother calling him, nor was there any sign of his father. He waited for them to call him, to look for him, or to scold him.
It grew darker and darker, until there was not a sound, not a soul in sight. There were no teachers, no classmates, no parents. No one would discipline him, no one would bully him, and no one could see him. He could walk freely in the darkness, do whatever he wanted, curse whomever he pleased, kick whomever he wanted. Thinking that none of his classmates dared to stay in this dark school, he let out a long, drawn-out "Ah!" The night pressed even heavier on the earth, pressing down on him.
When things first start, people easily overlook or ignore them. But once they escalate, people often become fearful and unsure of what to do. This process of understanding is undesirable, but it's undeniably frustrating. Who can pay attention to every single detail every day? Who can predict the future of everything?
On-site: A straw-like creature fights a wolf – who's afraid of whom?
Yao Yulan told me that the SARS period was undoubtedly a good thing for her. It reduced her social engagements, and she no longer had to eat at restaurants every night. She no longer had to listen to the compliments and requests from men and women at restaurants, nor did she have to flatter or make requests to others at restaurants. Instead, it allowed her to rediscover the feeling of cooking again, which reminded her of many warm memories that had happened in the kitchen in the past. Naturally, she regained her identity as a woman she had lost for many years, and even found a few tears that flowed from her heart.
With fewer social engagements, she had to spend more time at home. Loneliness often makes one seek solace in the past, reminiscing about the beautiful days when she wasn't lonely. The past was suddenly turned page by page and savored carefully. So many youthful romances flooded her mind, inevitably making her feel that time waits for no one, that she was no longer young, and that she would no longer have romantic and touching stories.
Thinking about sad things makes me feel so pathetic. I didn't know how to cherish my youth when I was young, and by the time I did, I was no longer young. This sad helplessness not only makes me sigh, but also makes me feel regretful and much older.
SARS had an unexpected benefit for Yao Yulan: she no longer lacked sleep. Previously, she often felt weak and listless due to insufficient sleep—in modern terms, a state of sub-health. Now, she could sleep whenever she wanted most of the time, as if she had made up for all the sleep she missed. As a result, she gained two and a half kilograms, becoming fairer and fuller-figured. Acquaintances who met her all said that Ms. Yao looked younger and more beautiful.
Ms. Yao had already purchased a luxury apartment in the Imperial Garden, which was fully furnished and ready for immediate move-in. However, the recent downfall of many of the wealthiest individuals seemed like a warning sign. She decided it was best not to flaunt her wealth so ostentatiously. She reasoned that if these so-called tycoons weren't so arrogant and unscrupulous, why would they suddenly fall from grace one after another? When these people were poor, they were like cowards, capable of anything for a pittance. But once they had money, they were eager to cover up their past misdeeds, so they flaunted their wealth, trying to use it to signify their superiority. They were foolish enough not to consider that someone might investigate them. Once investigated, they would be utterly disgraced, worse off than their former cowards, facing either a death sentence or life imprisonment. She realized that while she wasn't extremely wealthy, she wasn't exactly poor either. There were always a few envious people watching her, hoping she would fall from grace and never recover. With this in mind, she repeatedly postponed her housewarming plans.
During the SARS outbreak, the movement of people slowed down, and most people stayed at home, which made her feel relatively safer. People were less likely to discover her whereabouts, so she couldn't help but visit her luxurious new home a few more times. Although she enjoyed the quiet, comfort, and luxury, and even more so the pride, glory, and prestige, there were too few wealthy people in that upscale community. The quiet, lifeless atmosphere day and night made her feel increasingly empty, depressed, and lonely. After staying there for two and a half days, she had no choice but to quietly run back and hide in her old house.
Strangely, the old house was small and somewhat crowded, but she felt very safe, fulfilled, and at ease; the new house was large and empty, and she always felt that someone or some danger might be hiding in some corner.
She'd had enough of the boring TV dramas; it was already past midnight. She yawned several times and quickly washed her face. The TV program said that not washing your face after watching TV would make it look dark, bad, and old because the face, like a TV screen, absorbs a lot of dirt, bad things, and toxins. So, she washed her face every night after watching TV and then applied night cream.
Strangely, Xiao Chengzi arrived. What was he doing here at this time? She was truly helpless with Xiao Chengzi. She was somewhat annoyed by him, yet also somewhat unable to live without him. Besides, she couldn't find a suitable person to replace him.
Xiao Chengzi is her private driver.
When she was thirsty, he would immediately hand her a Coke; when she was hungry, he would have already ordered her favorite dishes; sometimes, if she didn't want to attend a dinner party, he would find a convenient excuse, saying, "You already agreed to a dinner party with a certain bureau chief yesterday, Ms. Yao." He would become close to whoever she liked in the company, and he would kick whoever she disliked. Sometimes, if someone offended him, he could use her name to punish them. He also served as the company's office manager, overseeing two female clerks he had hired, and he was very close to them. When she went out of town, he would drive his two female subordinates to and from the company, and even went out to hotels with them at night, all with the company reimbursing the expenses. He had huge amounts of gas and car repair bills every month, but the accountant, whom he had also hired, dared not refuse to reimburse him. She only learned about these things later. At the time, she only knew that some people publicly called him Second Boss, and others even called him Second Master behind his back. She was so angry that she immediately found an excuse to fire that jinx.
However, his ability to so easily understand her thoughts also annoyed her. Sometimes she even wondered if he knew how much she wanted that thing—the thought sent chills down her spine. What bothered her even more was that Xiao Chengzi lacked masculinity; his effeminate manner of speaking made her cringe, especially when he tried to please her, his words giving her goosebumps.
Xiao Chengzi was dressed exceptionally neatly and fashionably today, standing in front of her with a grin and not saying a word, which made her feel even stranger.
Unexpectedly, he suddenly pounced on her, pinned her down on the bed, ripped off her outer clothes, and reached for her genitals. How could this be? I didn't even want you, and you dare to do this to me? From now on, are you my subordinate or my man?
"Are you crazy?" she yelled, pushing him with all her might. Unexpectedly, the beast became enraged and reached out to slap his own neck, viciously attacking himself.
She couldn't tell if the deep darkness before her was a nightmare or reality. Her eyes were wide open, but she couldn't see what was happening. The oppressive darkness made her feel fear, vulnerability, and helplessness.
Her neck was being squeezed so tightly by two hands that she couldn't breathe. She heard his heavy breathing, heard him muttering something, and then smelled the strong odor of mutton and garlic on his breath. Like a fish thrown onto land, she instinctively struggled with all her might.
He pressed his body against hers, but she didn't feel how heavy he was.
Finally, she heard him mutter, "I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" This ignited a fire in her heart. "You want to kill me? Why should I? I'll kill you too!" She tried desperately to push him away with both hands, but couldn't budge him. Suddenly, she remembered she still had her feet! Immediately, she bent her right knee and kicked him in the groin with all her might. He cried out and rolled to the floor, crawling into the living room.
She hurriedly jumped out of bed and saw him in the living room, clutching his lower abdomen and groaning.
She looked around, trying to find something to hold in her hand.
The living room was lit by a foot lamp, but it wasn't very bright. After all, she had come out of the dark bedroom, and this little light was enough for her to see his every move.
He clutched his stomach with one hand and pulled a knife from his pocket with the other. Seeing a flash of white light in his hand, she quickly took a few steps back.
The man was wearing a black hood, which was quite creepy. He was crouching down, ready to attack.
Suddenly her legs went weak, and why were his eyes bloodshot? That bloodshot look was like a knife stabbing into her heart in the darkness.
She dared not look him in the eye, staggering back to the wall. She groped on the bookshelf behind her and found two stones (souvenirs she'd bought at a high price during a trip, which unexpectedly came in handy). Just as she was about to throw them at him, she suddenly realized that her blows were unlikely to hit him. She thought it would be better to just hold them in her hands and scare him; that would probably frighten him more than actually hitting them. Sure enough, she saw him staring motionless at her hands, breathing heavily, as if he had phlegm in his throat.
After calming down and thinking it over, she realized that these petty thieves might not be very intelligent, so she had to outsmart them.
She slowly moved towards the phone, then suddenly turned on the main lights in the living room. Instantly, her heart was filled with light, and her courage surged.
Without the cover of darkness, suddenly exposed to the light, the bloodshot in his eyes vanished instantly, and he trembled like a dog.
"Breakthrough robbery, you deserve the death penalty! I'm calling the police!"
She screamed.
He shuddered, covered his eyes with his hand, hesitated for a moment, and stammered:
"No, no, you, you, let me go, I, I won't kill you..."
As he spoke, without waiting for her reaction, he sidled up to the doorway.
He stared at her through the hood, holding a knife in one hand and trying to unlock her house with the other, but he couldn't open the security door no matter what he tried.
"You, help me, and I won't kill you. My buddy downstairs has..."
He finally gave up on opening the door himself and kept twisting his body.
She could see that the small eyes inside the hood were no longer bloodshot or fierce, but filled only with panic and pleading. He was thin and small, wearing a wrinkled old suit, hunched over and twisting his body nervously, like a child who had never grown up. She even felt a little sorry for him.
She finally understood and yelled at him:
Get out of the way!
He shuddered, immediately stepped aside, and muttered softly: