Why is the system taking my request to photograph a cosplayer seriously?

Chapter 237 Pema's Fearful Past

The two walked out of the valley, and the sun was already high in the sky.

Baima tied the yak to the motorcycle handlebars, climbed back onto the back seat, and hugged Ding Heng.

The motorcycle slowly and steadily drove back, and Baima didn't say much along the way.

Back in front of the tent, the old herdsman Dorje saw his yaks in the distance, and the worry on his face finally disappeared.

He quickly came forward, thanked him repeatedly in Tibetan, and then peered inside—there was only one.

Baima jumped out of the car: "Uncle Dorje, there's another one that got bitten by a bear."

Dorje's expression changed drastically, his lips trembled twice, and he unconsciously gripped Ding Heng's sleeve tightly.

"A bear? You encountered a bear? Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

At this time of year, bears are hunting frantically, fattening up for winter and preparing to hibernate and reproduce. They don't even try to avoid people and livestock when they encounter them.

"It's nothing, it's nothing."

Bai Ma said casually, "The bear probably ate its fill and saw that the people had walked far away."

She didn't reveal the amazing story of Ding Hengfei kicking the Tibetan bear, simply glossing over it.

Dorjee looked at Pema, then at Ding Heng, and saw that the two young men were indeed unharmed, only their clothes were covered in dust.

His heart, which had been hanging in suspense, was put at ease. He kept muttering "Thank God" and "Thank goodness," then turned around, crawled into the tent, and pulled out a bag of dried meat to give to them.

Bai Ma declined briefly, but ultimately couldn't refuse the old man's kindness and accepted it, stuffing it into her jacket pocket.

Back in Baima's courtyard, the sun was already directly overhead.

The sun on the plateau is particularly intense.

Yixi Cuo has not returned yet.

The huge house was quiet. Inside, the bronze statues of guardian deities glared fiercely in the setting sun. The wind blew the prayer flags, making a fluttering sound.

Pema sat down on the stone steps in the courtyard, stretched out her legs, and looked back at the sky.

Ding Heng sat beside her, unscrewing his leather bag and continuing to drink.

"What should we eat for lunch?"

"We should have instant noodles at home, that'll do."

Bai Ma's two short legs swayed up and down as she hesitated whether to ask Ding Heng about his strength.

Ding Heng spoke first: "What were you thinking about in the valley just now?"

"Um----"

Baima was caught off guard.

She gazed at the cloud drifting slowly across the sky for several seconds before speaking.

"Brother, have you forgotten? My father was killed by a bear."

Ding Heng's fingers hovered over the lid of the leather bag.

Bai Ma's tone wasn't heavy, but Ding Heng could still sense her unease.

The moment the bear pounced, Baima's first reaction wasn't to run, but to push herself away.

At that moment, all she could think about was her father's death.

Fearing history would repeat itself, they subconsciously wanted Ding Heng to leave first.

Ding Heng felt both heartache and warmth.

"How old were you back then?"

"Six years old."

Pema began to tell the story.

"My family used to live in a few mud-brick houses with a fence around the yard that would sway precariously in the wind. My parents lived in the house on the east side, and I lived in the house on the west side. The main room was in the middle, and the stove was built in the corner. In winter, we burned cow dung for heating, and the whole house was filled with smoke. There was also a Tibetan mastiff in the yard back then. It had a loud voice, but it was also very old. It passed away when I was ten years old."

The girl's gaze shifted from the clouds in the sky to the distant mountain ridge, as she tried to recall the hazy past.

"In those years, my mother had almost mastered Mandarin, and the village committee would ask her to help when needed. Perhaps feeling that he couldn't control my mother and was resentful, my father started drinking heavily."

"When he drinks, he throws things and curses. He curses my mom for being restless, for wanting to run away, for complaining that she thinks he's poor—"

Baima's tone remained flat, as if he were reading a text.

"The day the incident happened—Mom mentioned to Dad that she wanted to go to Rizhao City to find work. Dad exploded when he heard this, slammed his fist on the table and cursed her for wanting to go out and cheat on him, saying all sorts of nasty things."

I tried to pull my father away, but my mother dragged me into the inner room. Then I heard a loud crashing sound outside, and my mother was blocking the doorway, preventing me from going out. After that, there was no more noise, so I peeked out the window and saw my mother kneeling in front of my father, crying, her forehead covered in blood.

That evening, I was applying medicine to my mother's wound. She asked me if I felt it would be better without my father. I was young then and didn't understand what was going on. I felt that my father was wrong, so I kept nodding.

Bai Ma's story ended abruptly, leaving Ding Heng feeling uneasy.

"Pema".

He called out softly, about to say a few words of comfort, when Baima spoke again.

"Brother, do you know when a mother bear is at her craziest?"

She asked and answered her own question.

"Around July or August, the mother bear will lead her half-month-old cubs out to forage for food. At this time, the mother bear is not afraid of people. If anyone gets close, she will rush and pounce on them. So every year during this season, herders will prepare bear protection measures at home and make sure to close the doors and windows tightly before going to bed at night. But the morning my dad went out, my mom actually brought back a bear cub from outside."

Baima's voice began to tremble: "Logically speaking, a mother bear should stay by her cubs' side at all times, so I still don't know where my mother got the cubs from—afterwards, my mother killed the cubs, wrapped them in sheepskin, and hid them in a pile of cow dung to cover up the smell."

The next day, Dad was going to the county town. Mom made him some rice cakes, packed a pot of butter tea, and even added two extra pieces of milk curd. Finally, she handed him a package, saying it was for lambs that a restaurant wanted, and asked him to deliver it to the county town. Dad didn't ask any questions, just picked up the package and left.

Baima's speaking speed began to increase.

"My father had just left an hour ago when I suddenly heard him knocking and shouting urgently. I ran to the door to open it, but my mother suddenly rushed up from behind, picked me up, and hid in the warehouse. She covered my mouth tightly, and I couldn't breathe. I wanted to scream but couldn't."

Her voice got lower and lower.

"I heard my father shouting outside the door, shouting very pitifully, and there was also the howl of a mother bear. By the time the people who came arrived and killed the bear, my father was already dead. They found the body of a bear cub in my father's bag, and they all said that he had drunk too much and even dared to steal a bear cub, so he deserved to be punished."

My mother didn't cry or make a fuss. She quietly arranged my father's funeral, scattered his ashes at the foot of the distant snow-capped mountains, then packed her things and went to Rizhao City, leaving me in the care of my uncle and aunt.

Pema calmed down completely, feeling relieved as if a great burden had been lifted.

"Brother."

"Um.

"You said—my mother—"

Bai Ma hesitated and couldn't say it, but Ding Heng understood what she wanted to ask.

"Pema".

"Um?

"Your mother has had a tough time."

Ding Heng pulled the girl into his arms to comfort her.

Qu Zhen is no ordinary person; she has come this far.

It is truly a miracle that such a ruthless and powerful woman could emerge from this wild and desolate plateau.

Ding Heng continued, "Bai Ma, do you really think you're the one who ruined your father?"

Bai Ma neither nodded nor shook her head, but simply buried her face in Ding Heng's chest as usual.

"Brother, I often dream about Father. In my dreams, he gets angry at me, questions me about why I didn't open the door, and scolds me for being heartless like Mother. He tries to pinch me, and every time he's about to reach me, I wake up in fright."

Ding Heng ran his fingers gently through Bai Ma's hair, finally understanding why Bai Ma dared not return to her hometown.

"Did you have another dream last night?"

"I've been doing this every day since I returned to Tibet. Except—"

"Besides what?"

Baima buried her head even deeper.

"Except for that day in the car, when you held me while I slept."

Ding Heng's fingers stopped.

"Shall I hold you while we sleep tonight?"

Bai Ma raised her head and met Ding Heng's gaze.

Her clear, round eyes held not only surprise but also a girl's shyness.

"Is this okay?"

"OK.