6 Chapter 6: Double Eel Rice

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"Ah? Did you dial the wrong number?"

As if possessed, Chen Yuan called out for his aunt, catching the person on the other end off guard, almost causing them to hang up.

"No. Auntie, hello, I am Xia Xinyu's classmate."

"If you're her classmate, why are you calling me aunt?"

The person on the other end was a middle-aged woman, and from her voice, you could tell she was the kind of senior teacher who wore glasses and had an expressionless face. Although it was a simple question, Chen Yuan could sense the authority of "if you can't answer, you will die" in her tone.

However, quickly, the woman changed the subject herself: "Classmate, why are you the one calling me? What's happened to Xinyu? Is she alright?"

The woman suddenly became worried, and her tone urgent.

This was enough to suggest that the things Xia Xinyu had recently experienced could drive her to contemplate suicide.

"She's fine, it's just that she hasn't gone to school for a few days. I live close to her, so I... I asked the school teachers for auntie's number to inquire about her situation."

Since her parents are both out of town and she studies in Xia Hai, the school would definitely contact her aunt for any issues, so this lie shouldn't have any loopholes.

"Fu Xiumei gave you my number? If she had something, why didn't she ask me directly?"

Fuck, I forgot she's a teacher at that school!

"Teacher Fu said..."

"This is indeed a sensitive matter, she probably didn't want to ask too much."

The woman on the other end reasoned it out herself and did not suspect that he was lying.

"Yes, I saw Xia Xinyu today, she looked very distressed, as if her soul were not in her body."

"You saw her? Can you tell her to come to my house? I'm very worried about this child; she's been introverted since she was little."

"May I ask..." Chen Yuan began, suspecting something, but still couldn't help himself from asking, "Back in her hometown Jingnan, did something happen?"

After a long pause, the woman on the other end responded: "Last week, her parents encountered a landslide while coming down the mountain."

"..."

His heart tightened, Chen Yuan closed his eyes.

He, couldn't stand to listen anymore.

"Xinyu is an only child, she must go back for the funeral. But when she heard the news, she hung up the phone. I went to see her a few days ago, I wanted to take her to my place to live and then take her back to Jingnan, but she simply refused; she wouldn't go anywhere. Ah, I had no choice but to request leave for her from the school. If you can see her again, you must tell her, her aunt is very worried about her." The voice on the other end was so anxious that it almost broke, not at all like a seasoned senior teacher.

"Okay, Auntie, I will," Chen Yuan reassured her.

After hanging up the phone, Chen Yuan's expression grew serious.

A more desperate story than he had imagined.

It was a landslide, and both her parents were gone.

He could imagine how much Xia Xinyu, upon hearing this news, must have wished it was all a dream. But the pillow wet with tears every night and the dim, empty room that greeted her each morning would remind her of the harsh reality. Then, the pain would come flooding in like the tide, and she couldn't muster the strength to go back home to organize her parents' funeral, to toast her relatives one by one, to show she had the resolve to carry on alone.

The only relief from sorrow seemed to be suicide.

If it were me, I would die too.

...

When she opened her eyes, Xia Xinyu saw a tear on her eyelashes.

Suddenly, her lips quivered, and a surge of sourness rushed to her nostrils. She buried her head in her quilt, and began to sob again.

Last night, she had a dream that her parents were in the hospital, and the doctor told her that both needed to stay for a long time. At that moment, she was so happy.

Because it meant they hadn't died and were still being rescued.

Yet it was this very thought in the dream that reminded her once again that her parents had died in the landslide, there had been no chance for rescue.

So, the dream was false.

Within the dream, she recognized the truth.

And so, in the dream, she also discovered the pattern—

The end of a dream is waking up.

She was afraid of waking up, but the gradually clearing consciousness and the light slanting through the gap in the curtain forced her to wake up.

To face this cruel reality with open eyes.

After the crying had subsided, Xia Xinyu, with red eyes, picked up her cellphone. She saw that her aunt had called her several times and there were many unread messages on QQ, from her classmates.

Most of them were from girls she was close to, but there was one boy.

[Wen Boheng: Why aren't you coming to class? Are you sick?]

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[Wen Boheng: I've done the recent notes for you. Where do you live? I'll deliver them to you.]

This boy was one of the boys in the class, sitting in the row behind her. Although Xia Xinyu had never been in a relationship, she knew he liked her.

Actually, it's something that girls can usually tell.

Despite not being close, he often initiated a greeting on QQ, this subtly strange behavior, probably was his way of showing affection.

However, Chen Yuan liking her was something she had not noticed at all, not until the moment before he confessed. She couldn't see the slightest hint of it.

After all, every time they met before, other than the normal exchange of gazes, he wouldn't look at her more than necessary.

If there really was affection, it shouldn't be like that, right?

Upon reflection, what he said must have been a 'stopgap measure,' realizing she had attempted suicide, so he wanted to delay a little, to wait until she walked out of this predicament before explaining the reason to her.

So the serious rejection from her yesterday, it really was narcissistic …

Thinking of this, the embarrassed Xia Xinyu gave her own cheeks a hard slap, "Next time, I absolutely can't drink again."

No, there won't be a next time.

After she cooks that meal for Chen Yuan ... she will die again.

Aside from the vomiting and dizziness upon waking up, this way indeed isn't too painful.

After getting out of bed, Xia Xinyu saw that iron basin.

The charcoal inside had been extinguished with water.

The situation yesterday must have been like this — Chen Yuan smelled something unusual, then knocked on the door, she didn't respond, so he broke in, opened the window for her, and when he came in, he tried to carry the iron basin out, and that was when his hand got burned, later on, having no other choice, he lifted her off the bed.

Thinking about it now, she must have really scared him yesterday.

She really owed him an apology.

"If a person's soul exists after death, before being taken away by Black and White Impermanence on the seventh day, I'll watch over his home for seven days as repayment," Xia Xinyu thought of the only way she could repay Chen Yuan.

Speaking of which, Chen Yuan should have already gone to school by now.

It's already half-past seven, the time she usually arrived at school.

Even if Chen Yuan was a good person, he wouldn't take leave just for her sake, to make sure she wouldn't attempt suicide again ... what am I thinking.

Although she was thinking this, she still went to the door and pushed open the loose door.

Then, she saw a box of food placed on the ground.

This! Isn't this the Beef Steak and Eel Rice?!

Xia Xinyu recognized at a glance that this was the delicious best-selling product displayed on the supermarket counter nearby.

Of course, she didn't know if it was tasty because the selling price of 78 made it only a desire for her until she became a salaried member of society.

But since so many people were buying it, it must be delicious.

"How ... how did this appear at my doorstep?"

Squatting down, her eyes almost shining as she looked at the meal, Xia Xinyu struggled for a while before picking it up.

And then, she saw a note underneath it.

Picking up the note, there was also a key underneath.

It was leftover from yesterday, on sale for half price in the morning. I've left my key at the door, eat half of it and put the rest in the fridge. Also, you can stay at my home during the day before you change the lock — Chen O.

Even though he wrote so many words, why did he abbreviate Yuan to just O …

Holding the bright-colored, thin and crispy Beef Steak and Eel Rice, embarrassingly enough, Xia Xinyu almost started salivating.

No, this is meant for someone else to eat, I can't take half of it …

But he said to leave half of it for him.

Wouldn't it then become leftovers?

Let's eat it together in the evening.

But …

I really want to eat it.

It must really want to be eaten by me, too.

After much internal conflict, Xia Xinyu brought the Beef Steak and Eel Rice into her home and then opened the landlord's small fridge: "Sausages, eggs, cucumber, plum strips for eight yuan ... I'll take the meal to school before the last morning class ends."