Chapter 20 (2/2)
“He came to ask me about Wei Cai.” Chen Nian spotted a huge patch of pale blue Veronica Persicas, and bent down to pluck a few heart shaped fruits.
“What exactly did he ask?”
“He……” Chen Nian pondered over the incident with Zheng Yi, “He seems to be onto something.”
Bei Ye: “Oh.”
Chen Nian pa.s.sed him a bunch of Veronica Persicas, “Do you know how to play with these?”
Bei Ye retrieved the Veronica Persicas from Chen Nian, and used his thumb and his index finger to pinch the fruit. With a sharp crack, the fruit exploded from within.
That night, Bei Ye didn’t have much to say. However, Chen Nian didn’t mind in the slightest – after all, the both of them were originally quiet people who exchanged very few words. After dinner, Chen Nian revised her homework for a fair amount of time before crawling into bed.
Ever since she moved into Bei Ye’s home, Chen Nian slept extremely soundly. In the middle of the night, she vaguely felt Bei Ye open his window – the night breeze blew into the room and grazed her skin gently. It was more comfortable compared to the electric fan.
After some time, Chen Nian was once again roused by the sound of water coming from within the bathroom. Chen Nian sat up on the bed groggily, and glanced at the bathroom. A beam of soft, yellow light shone from within the bathroom, effectively tearing the darkness of the room apart. Rubbing her eyes, Chen Nian staggered towards the bathroom and peered within. She recognized Bei Ye instantly. Bei Ye was topless, and seemed to be was.h.i.+ng something vigorously in the basin.
The youth’s hair was entirely drenched, and water droplets fell from his hair as his body shook with the force he exerted whilst was.h.i.+ng the unknown object. His fringe fell over his eyes, effectively serving as a cover for any emotion that his eyes potentially betrayed.
“Bei Ye……” Chen Nian’s gentle voice rang out quietly.
Bei Ye froze momentarily before whipping himself around, effectively covering the unknown item with his body. His dark, silent eyes stared at her piercingly.
“What are you doing?” Chen Nian asked, confused.
“……”
After a few moments of silence, Chen Nian took one step into the bathroom.
“Hey!” Bei Ye’s voice was filled with warning.
Chen Nian stared at him obstinately.
“I’m was.h.i.+ng my undergarments.” Bei Ye smirked, “You want to come take a look?”
Stunned, Chen Nian stared at him wordlessly for a few minutes. After a few minutes, she came to a sudden realisation, and hurriedly lowered her head and ran back to the bed in embarra.s.sment.
Bei Ye let out a silent sigh of relief. Using his long legs, he easily shut the bathroom door. Turning back to glance at the basin, he discovered that the dark red liquid that was originally in the basin had already been washed away by the water that was flowing from the running tap.
Bei Ye turned off the lights in the toilet and crawled back into bed. Chen Nian lay on the bed, the white moonlight gently illuminating her frail physique. Knowing full well that Chen Nian wasn’t asleep, Bei Ye gathered her gently in his arms, his arms encircling her waist. His body fitted tightly with hers, as though the both of them were two bows that fitted each other snugly.
Chen Nian caught the distinct scent of beer, and asked him in her quiet manner, “You went drinking?”
“A little.”
Turning herself round to face him, Chen Nian wrapped her arms around Bei Ye and returned his hug.
The two youthful bodies hugged each other tightly, their dark, black eyes gazing at each other. They could feel each other’s every single breath – their bodies s.h.i.+vered with mixed feelings of fear and antic.i.p.ation, their bodies entire in sync with each other.
Bei Ye grazed his nose over her dark brows, her long eyelashes, and the tip of her nose. On reaching her lips, he slowly pressed his own lips against her, quiet and gentle.
The cool night breeze grazed over their skins, causing a s.h.i.+ver to run up their spines. Chen Nian returned Bei Ye’s kiss, slowly but pa.s.sionately.
The soft clothing that originally hid Chen Nian’s body from view gradually began to loosen. The body of the youthful girl was like a slab of smooth, yellow b.u.t.ter. He ran his fingers up her spine, as though he was caressing a precious pearl.
The two youths hugged each other tightly, as though they were the only measure of sweetness and happiness left in each other’s world.
At the end, the two youths began to tire, and fell asleep in each other’s embrace.
Before sleeping, Bei Ye suddenly opened his eyes and asked Chen Nian, “Where’s the keys to your house?”
“It’s in my bag.”
“I’ll send you home tomorrow. I’ll help you s.h.i.+ft your books back as well. This place is simply too small.”
“Alright.”
……
6 more days to graduation exams.
The pa.s.sing of time began to feel arduous and painful, and an uneasy sense of restlessness began to settle over the entire student population.
Except Chen Nian. Chen Nian remained calm as ever, her heart at peace as she continued her revision slowly and methodically. During cla.s.s time, the students engaged in animated discussions about the latest television series and the ever-mysterious raincoat man in order to divert their attention from the upcoming examinations.
Chen Nian munched on her gummy bears whilst she packed her table. Her desk was almost entirely empty by now, with only a few reference books left in the small corner of her desk.
During the afternoon break, Chen Nian hurriedly headed towards the entrance of the school gates. Spotting Bei Ye from a distance away, she flew down the steps and began to run towards him. Similarly, Bei Ye had just begun to run towards her when a police car drove up beside her. Zheng Yi stepped down from the police car. It was clear that he was looking for her.
Chen Nian tore her gaze away from Bei Ye. Without sparing Bei Ye a single glance, she lowered her head and sat in the police car.
Upon reaching the police station, Zheng Yi brought Chen Nian into the interrogation room.
As Zheng Yi hadn’t managed to string a complete sentence within his head, he went to pour a cup of water for Chen Nian and himself. As the water began to fill the cup, the jarring witness testimony rang in his head, “…… there were several people walking past who saw them beat that girl up. They stripped her of her clothes and dragged her around, parading her for all to see. There were innumerable people who stood by, watching the debacle unfold……”
The icy cold water began to overflowing, jolting Zheng Yi back to reality. The rest of his colleagues remained outside the interrogation room. He alone went in to question Chen Nian.
Chen Nian was dressed in her school uniform. She sat quietly in the interrogation room, waves of loneliness and isolation rolling off her frail body. Her head was lowered, and she seemed extremely tired.
Zheng Yi pushed the cup of water towards her, “Chen Nian?”
“Yes?” She raised her head and gazed at him.
She wasn’t nervous; neither was she confused. This made Zheng Yi even more uncomfortable – he simply didn’t know where to start, “What’s going through your mind right now?”
“Right now? It’s about time, I reached home.” She p.r.o.nounced each syllable slowly and clearly.
“Home?”
“Yes.” The girl nodded her head. “If I, wasn’t here; I would have, been home.”
She lowered her head once more, twisting her fingers into a knot. It appeared that Chen Nian no longer had anything to say.
Zheng Yi: “……”
“Chen Nian,” He exhaled deeply, “Wei Cai and her group of friends – what exactly did they do to you?”
“Wei Cai?”
“Yes.”
“She hit me. A single slap.”
“What else?” Zheng Yi persisted, “What happened after that?”
“I forgot.” Chen Nian shook her head from side to side. “I don’t……remember.”
She returned his gaze, her eyes wide with confusion.
Zheng Yi was at a loss for words, and turned back to gaze at his colleagues standing outside the interrogation room. When his gaze returned to Chen Nian, Chen Nian was staring at the blazing afternoon sun outside the window, her brows slightly furrowed. She was muttering to herself under her breath, “After lunch, it’s time for an afternoon nap. Sprinkle water, near the bamboo mat.”
Zheng Yi rose from his seat and walked out of the interrogation room, shutting the door behind him.
Senior Yang: “Selective memory loss? Its a form of self protection after suffering an extreme attack – should we locate a psychologist to counsel Chen Nian?”
Xiao Yao: “You mean you want to awaken Chen Nian’s memory?”
Senior Yang: “Luo Ting left the scene early; when she left, Wei Cai and a few other girls and boys which she didn’t recognize were still abusing Chen Nian. The suspect could very well have been part of the group that was abusing Chen Nian. Although Luo Ting doesn’t have any impression with respect to those guys, perhaps Chen Nian would have some form of impression of them.”
“That’s true.”
“She’s about to take her graduation exams.” Zheng Yi interjected all of a sudden.
“Ah?”
“She’s about to take her graduation exams.” Zheng Yi repeated once more, his voice forcefully ringing out in the silent hallway.