Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 6 Uneasy
In the early morning, the sound of roosters crowing pierced the silence in the shantytown on Qingyuan Road.

“Oooooohhhhhhhhhh!!!”

Those were the chickens raised by the Zhao family next door. The rooster's crowing, which used to be full of energy, sounded a little weak today.

Ran Qing, who had been sitting on the bed with his mind tense all night, finally relaxed when he heard the rooster crowing and saw the sky outside the window gradually turning indigo.

“…It’s dawn.”

Ran Qing leaned against the window and murmured.

As the night faded, the yellowed and dilapidated buildings of the Qingyuan Road shantytown appeared crowded at the foot of the mountain.

Although the sun has not yet risen, there are already figures and sounds in the dirty and narrow alleys of the shantytown.

Amid the harsh sound of spitting, old man Zhao from next door squatted on the cement step in front of his house to rinse his mouth. Balls of white foam dripped from his mouth and fell into the stinking gutter under the cement step.

Older people always get up very early.

Little Erwa's grandmother, carrying her child on her back, was complaining to her husband as she passed by the Zhao family's door.

After rinsing his mouth, Old Man Zhao wiped the foam from his mouth and asked curiously, "Aunt San, why are you up so early today? Where are you carrying Little Erwa?"

Hearing the neighbor's question, Xiao Erwa's grandmother quickly forced a smile and said, "Take Xiao Erwa to the street to buy some food..."

The relationship between neighbors is polite and close, but also a bit distant. Xiao Erwa's grandmother did not tell the truth.

In the two-story building behind them, Ran Qing, lying by the second-floor window, watched all this silently.

As the sky brightened, the scary old man in the shroud finally left. No one knew where he went. The cement yard in front of Old Chen's house was empty, with only the rice and water that had been scattered last night being pecked by chickens.

The second little boy, who had cried all night, fell into a deep sleep before dawn and was now fast asleep on his grandmother's back.

The old man’s departure seemed to have also taken away the pain in the little boy’s ankle. The child who had cried all night finally fell asleep.

But this night was extremely difficult for Xiao Erwa and Ran Qing.

He kept his nerves tense the entire night, staring intently at the windows, the door, and the ceiling, not daring to relax for even a moment, fearing that something horrible might suddenly jump out from the crack in the door or from a corner.

By three or four in the morning, Ran Qing, who was extremely nervous, could hardly hold on any longer and was extremely sleepy and wanted to go to sleep.

Ran Qing is at an age where he needs sleep. He is used to studying hard and he squeezes his sleep time to the minimum every day. He has no energy left to stay up late.

But every time he closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep, his father's instructions would suddenly ring in his ears, and his mother's hideous and painful death would suddenly appear before his eyes.

Every time this happened, Ran Qing would be frightened and open his eyes hurriedly, fearing that the thing wearing the No. 3 Middle School uniform had entered his room.

With such difficulty and confusion, Ran Qing managed to survive until dawn.

He could only be thankful that it was summer and the nights were short.

Around five in the morning, the night sky gradually turned indigo, and the crying of the little boy downstairs stopped.

At that time, Ran Qing knew that the crisis of tonight was temporarily over.

But to be on the safe side, Ran Qing still huddled in the house, not daring to move, until he heard the sound of people walking outside, and the sound of Xiao Erwa's grandparents carrying Xiao Erwa out of the house. Only then did Ran Qing carefully move to the window and observe the scene outside.

In the early morning, the shantytown on Qingyuan Road was filled with noises.

Inside each room, people busily getting up made all sorts of noises: the clatter of iron basins, the howling of wild cats in heat, the gurgling of water pipes, and the hoarse coughing of elderly people...it was a cacophony of noise.

The sound of the corner of the bed being moved on the floor could also be heard in the next room. The students began to get up, go out to fetch water, wash up, and prepare to go out to class.

After staying up all night, Ran Qing felt extremely sleepy and just wanted to fall asleep.

As an excellent student, he has never asked for leave or skipped classes. If he asked Ding Yong to help him ask for leave, Teacher Jin would definitely approve it.

But Ran Qing didn't dare to stay in this rental house alone.

The noise outside the door made him feel extremely at ease. At this moment, he just wanted to go to a place where there were many people, the more people the better.

Even if I sleep, I can only sleep peacefully at school.

No matter how scary that thing is, it can't possibly appear in a school in broad daylight with so many people coming and going, right?
After going out with dark circles under his eyes, Ran Qing lined up to get water at the sink in the corridor on the second floor.

Ding Yong, who was squatting nearby brushing his teeth, was extremely surprised: "Hey? Ran Qing, why are your dark circles so heavy? Did you stay up all night last night?"

Ding Yong's roommate Wu Yue said, "Little Erwa downstairs cried all night last night. I was woken up several times. Ran Qing must have been woken up too."

Everyone started discussing the crying of the second child. After all, the child cried all night and it was too noisy.

Ran Qing did not join the discussion. He quietly washed his face, brushed his teeth, and went back to the house to clean up. After scrubbing his face with clean water, the cold water stimulated his pores and skin, and Ran Qing felt a little cool and sober.

But when he walked on the way to school, he still felt dizzy and even his steps were a little unsteady.

He endured the sleepiness and made it to school. Before morning self-study began, Ran Qing fell asleep on the table.

He slept so soundly that he lost consciousness as soon as he lay down.

It stands to reason that it is impossible to be this sleepy after just staying up all night.

Ran Qing had tried staying up all night a few times before, but he had never felt this sleepy. At this moment, Ran Qing felt so sleepy that he felt like all his energy had been drained away, and his brain was so tight that it was about to explode.

Ran Qing didn't know how long he had slept in a drowsy state, and he could vaguely hear the loud and orderly reading voice in his ears.

The class was having morning reading.

As a student's instinct, Ran Qing subconsciously wanted to get up in the morning to read.

But deep sleepiness gripped him tightly, and Ran Qing was eventually dragged back into the darkness.

He slept in a daze for who knows how long. When Ran Qing regained consciousness, there was no sound around him.

Ran Qing was startled by the silence. What had happened? Why was everyone silent?
A strong sense of panic came over Ran Qing. He raised his head suddenly and saw the blackboard covered with chalk words and the physics teacher squatting in front of the blackboard and writing on the blackboard.

Next to Ran Qing, in the quiet classroom, everyone was copying the blackboard notes seriously. Apart from the rustling sound of the pen tips scratching on the paper, there was no other sound in the classroom.

Seeing this familiar and friendly scene and listening to the pleasant rustling sound, the panic in Ran Qing's heart gradually dissipated. He couldn't help but let out a long sigh and relaxed.

——Fortunately, everyone was just copying the blackboard and didn’t leave.

Suddenly, his deskmate nudged him lightly with his elbow and whispered, "Did you steal a dog last night? How come you slept through three classes? In the first class, Teacher Jin called you, but you didn't respond."

My deskmate looked curious as it was the first time he saw Ran Qing dozing off in class.

Ran Qingze was stunned and quickly looked up at the clock on the classroom wall.

The clock hands pointed to 11:15, and it was almost noon.

He slept so soundly that he slept for three hours in the classroom.

Ran Qing wanted to speak, but a strong numbing sensation suddenly spread across his arm. Having remained in the same position on the table for a long time, the blood circulation in his arm was blocked.

At this moment, his arms felt like they were struck by electricity. Ran Qing grimaced in pain and gasped several times.

"...I had some insomnia last night and didn't sleep well."

Ran Qing rubbed his stiff arm and replied simply in a low voice.

Then he took out a pen and started copying the blackboard.

My deskmate stopped talking and the classroom became quiet again.

In this way, Ran Qing spent the whole morning in a daze.

The midday sun shone on him. Wearing school uniform, he ate with his classmates in a small restaurant at the school gate, then went back to the classroom to take a nap and wait for the afternoon class.

Time passed slowly, and Ran Qing's life seemed to be back on track.

Staying in school, he seemed to be isolated from the horrible things that happened last night, and could no longer feel any coldness or malice.

In this dilapidated teaching building, he lived a repetitive, dull and regular life day after day. He was already familiar with everything and there would be no waves.

But as the sun outside the window moved westward, Ran Qing in the classroom became inexplicably nervous.

An inexplicable anxiety, uneasiness, and fear...as school time approached, he became restless.

Last night his father said he would pick him up at the school gate after school.

At the school gate...

Ran Qing swallowed and couldn't help looking at the clock on the wall.

When was the last time we met?

It had been so long that he had forgotten the last time they met.

I can't even remember my father's face. Will I not recognize him when I see him later?
(End of this chapter)