Chen Ling's day passed quickly.
In the morning, he woke up, prepared breakfast for Yaxi, watched her eat it, and then washed the dishes.
After Yaxi left the house, he secretly followed her, walking about two hundred meters behind until he saw her safely enter the school gates.
It seemed that after applying medicine for her that night, he had a nightmare.
In the dream, someone bound her in the equipment room and whipped her.
She remained silent, her body covered in wounds.
When he returned to apply medicine, she refused, burying herself in his arms and crying, saying:
"It was... who did this."
The person in the dream couldn't form any audible words; Chen Ling didn't catch the name before he jolted awake.
Since then, he began having frequent dreams of Yaxi getting hurt.
Sometimes, in the dream, she merely pricked her finger on a needle, yet he felt an intense, unbearable pain throughout his body.
Afterward, he started escorting Yaxi to school.
His heart was never at peace, his physical sensations inexplicably tethered to Yaxi.
He couldn't grasp the cause but only wanted to return to school as soon as possible—to a place where he could see her and protect her every moment.
So he sped up his plans and went to meet Uncle Zhang again today.
They met as usual on the west side of the cement factory's vegetable market.
After buying groceries, he turned toward the west gate and spotted Uncle Zhang's car.
Uncle Zhang had already retrieved the private faxes of the eight main family members as Chen Ling requested.
Chen Youqi, originally sentenced to ten years, had his sentence reduced to eight.
The wife fled with private funds so swiftly that none of the implicated families managed to contact her.
All fingers now pointed at Chen Ling.
At the time of the incident, Uncle Zhang was busy dealing with the police and hadn't expected the cruelest person to be Chen Youqi's sister,
Chen Youning. She confined Chen Ling for two weeks and even broke his leg. Fortunately, Chen Ling was rescued by a classmate and was staying at that kind classmate's home.
"Young Master," Uncle Zhang said, genuinely concerned, "you don't need to rush. Take your time to heal. When Miss Zhao returns, she'll help you."
The "Miss Zhao" he referred to was Zhao Yue, the younger sister of Chen Youqi's wife and Chen Ling's former aunt.
Chen Ling sat in the passenger seat, showing no signs of defeat or despair, his expression calm. "I promised my classmate I'd return to school soon. Thank you, Uncle Zhang, for risking your safety to protect me." He then turned and bowed solemnly to Uncle Zhang. "If it weren't for you, Uncle Zhang, I don't know if I'd still be alive and well."
Uncle Zhang, nearly sixty years old and having served Chen Youqi as an insider all his life, had tears in his wrinkled eyes and couldn't bear to look at Chen Ling. "Ah, Young Master... As long as you're alive and healthy, I can rest easier."
Chen Ling understood, as though making a quiet promise. "Don't worry about me. Take care of yourself. I'll live well."
At least for the three years he had vowed to accompany Yaxi, he would live well.
"By the way," he asked, "did you bring what I asked for, Uncle Zhang?"
"Yes." Uncle Zhang was about to turn to the back seat, but Chen Ling stopped him and reached back himself, pulling over the paper bag with his fingertips.
Inside was the phone Uncle Zhang had retrieved from the Chen residence for him, along with a newly purchased SIM card.
"Don't rush Auntie Zhao to come back either. She loves her freedom, and I was never her responsibility—not in the past, and certainly not now. Her kindness to me is simply because she's good-hearted."
"But what will you do in the future, Young Master? You still have a long road ahead—college, work, marriage..."
Chen Ling smiled faintly, interrupting him. "For now, I can manage on my own. Don't worry about the future."
Especially since there might not be one.
In the afternoon, Chen Ling pressed Zhao Yue for repayment in their chat window.
Their last exchange had been two months ago when Zhao Yue went abroad.
Zhao Yue instantly replied with a bloody knife emoji, followed by three smiling emojis, scolding him:
—Only when you're about to die do you remember me? Might as well die completely, and I'll keep all the money.