Mud beads

Liang Xia raised her hand to wipe away the tears on her face.

She stood at the door for a moment, waiting for the violent heaving in her chest to subside before speaking.

"it's me."

Yu Zhu loosened her grip on the bed sheet a little.

Liang Xia closed the door and did not walk to the bedside. Instead, she walked to the sofa by the window and sat down in the seat furthest away from Yu Zhu.

She looked at Yu Zhu for a while, then spoke first: "How does it feel to not be able to see?"

She quickly pursed her lips after saying those words.

The person on the bed turned their face at the sound, their empty gaze moving toward her, but finally landing on the white wall behind the sofa.

"It's alright." Yu Zhu smiled faintly. "It's just that sometimes I lose my sense of direction and get a little dizzy when I walk."

Liang Xia looked at that smile, and her eyes began to throb again.

She turned to look out the window.

Outside the window lies the old town behind the hospital ward. The buildings are low and densely packed, with clothes stiffened by the wind hanging on the balconies. Further away stand several unfinished high-rises, their glass curtain walls only half-installed, reflecting the setting sun in the distance.

"Yuejian Tetsu said you'll get better." Liang Xia's eyes didn't move; the setting sun reflected in them, making them a deep red. "He'll find you the best doctor."

Yu Zhu did not speak.

The ward fell silent again.

Outside the window, the sun gradually disappeared, and the light retreated from the glass. In the distance, only a faint sliver of purple remained on the horizon, embedded in the exposed steel and concrete tops of the tall buildings.

Liang Xia withdrew her gaze, and Yu Zhu spoke at the same time.

But before she could utter a sound, she only moved her lips and then suddenly choked up.

Even though she couldn't see, she still lowered her head, tightly pursed her lips, and her shoulders rose and fell slowly with her breath. After a moment, she raised her face again.

"Is he in pain?"

Liang Xia stared blankly at her, tears welling up uncontrollably again, silently streaming down her cheeks. Yu Zhu couldn't see them, and she was too lazy to wipe them away, letting the tears slide down her chin and flow into the collar of her coat.

"It doesn't hurt."

She thought it shouldn't hurt.

The truck, fully loaded with goods, crossed the center line due to driver fatigue, and its front end crashed into the side and front of the taxi in an instant.

There was no conspiracy, no scheme. In that small taxi, only Yu Zhu, held in Liang Dong's arms, miraculously survived. The rest died on the spot, not even needing to go to the hospital.

Liang Xia arrived at the court very early that day.

She sat on a bench in the corridor with her lawyer, holding a file bag containing materials in her arms. At first, she thought Liang Dong and Yu Zhu were stuck in traffic, but as the court date drew closer, she started making phone calls repeatedly.

No one answered.

The mechanical waiting tone rang repeatedly until the call was automatically disconnected. Her palms were sweaty, and the phone almost slipped from her fingers.

The court hearing date has passed, but they still haven't arrived.

When her phone rang again, it was the police informing her to go to the funeral home.

Liang Dong's cremation procedures were completed very quickly.

They had no parents, no relatives, no one to notify or wait for. Liang Dong was burdened with lawsuits before his death, so naturally he had few fans mourning him. The indicator light above the crematorium lit up, and a plume of black smoke billowed from the chimney. Several hours later, a man over six feet tall was placed into a small box.

Liang Xia carried it out of the funeral home, and even felt that it was lighter than the bag that Liang Dong used to carry when filming.

However, there are also good things.

When a person dies, the debt is wiped out.

Liang Dong's dramatic exit from the scene once again became a trending topic. Taking advantage of the shift in public opinion, his company released the full video of the fight and filed a lawsuit against the Yu family for "extortion." The public accounts and media outlets that had fabricated stories about him suddenly stopped attacking him, and the tone of the comments section changed drastically.

Her account received a lot of money one after another.

First came the settlement of contracts with the agency, then the transfers to agents, actors and directors I'd worked with, and some friends I hadn't contacted in a long time. The notes on the transfers said things like "Please accept my condolences," "Take care," and "This is just a small token of my sympathy."

The largest sum came from Toru Echizama.

He somehow got hold of her bank account and phone number. Shortly after the money arrived, the phone rang.

He asked her to come to the hospital to see Yu Zhu and complete this absurd performance.

You take someone's money and do their bidding.

Liang Xia sat for a while longer.

It was already dark outside the window. The lights were off inside, and the glass became a blurry mirror, reflecting the bed, sofa, and two people who were far apart in the ward.

She pulled out a tissue from the side table, wiped her face dry, straightened her clothes, and stood up.

"I'm leaving."

Yu Zhu's fingers moved slightly on the blanket.

"Where to?"

"south."

Yu Zhu did not ask any further questions.

Liang Xia turned and walked out.

As she gripped the doorknob, she turned back.

Yu Zhu sat in the darkness, her head bowed, her shoulders slumping down like the sky outside the window.

"Liang Dong has his own path to walk," Liang Xia concluded.

A crack finally appeared on Yu Zhu's pale and calm face.

Liang Xia closed the door before tears fell from those unfocused eyes.

Moth

After nightfall, Toru Echiza arrived at the hospital as usual.

He knocked on the door twice as usual, and as usual, he was met with silence.

After pushing the door open and entering, he took off his coat and draped it over the armrest of the sofa. He first set up the small table, and then placed the lunchboxes on it one by one.

"The leave of absence procedures are complete." He bent down to unscrew the lid of the insulated box. "The school will retain your student status, so it won't affect your return to classes. Several specialists reviewed your test results today, and the ophthalmologists and neurosurgeons will have another consultation. As long as you cooperate well with the treatment, there's a high chance of your vision recovering."

Yu Zhu lay motionless on the bed.

Toru Echizen pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Your teachers and classmates wanted to visit you, but I turned them down. You probably don't want to see too many people right now either."

As he spoke, he placed the bowl and spoon on the table and pushed them into their designated positions.

"Liu Zhengyang doesn't have many classes lately. If you're feeling bored, you can ask him to come over."

After he finished speaking, he took out a cell phone from his pocket.

The phone was new, with a small, silver body, half screen and half buttons. He turned on the sound, turned up the volume, and then pulled Yu Zhu's hand, which was outside the blanket, towards him.

Her fingers were cold.

Koshima held her hand for a moment, then slowly guided it to touch the edge of the phone and down to the keyboard. There was a raised area in the middle of the number five, making it easier to locate when not in sight.

"Mobile phones can be controlled by voice or by pressing buttons."

His fingers guided her downwards.

"The bottom left is the dial pad. Press and hold one to call me. The second is Liu Zhengyang."

Yu Zhu neither pulled away nor responded. She let Yue Jianche hold her hand and guide her through the keys one by one.

"Press and hold this key to speak, and it will find what you want to search for."

He placed his phone beside the pillow and slowly let go of her hand.

"You can tell me what you want."

Upon hearing this, Yu Zhu finally reacted.

She slowly raised her face toward him and moved the corners of her mouth.

"I want you to get out."

Koshima Toru remained expressionless.

He gazed at her silently, his sharp brows softening, his lips straight and restrained. After a moment of silence, he rose, picked up his coat from the sofa, and headed for the door.

The door was gently closed.

The latch did not close completely, and a very narrow gap popped out.

Moth

A few hours later, Yu Zhu got out of bed.

She touched the bed railing, slowly sat up, and then groped her way out along the bedside table.

She had already memorized the approximate locations of everything in the room.

Four steps forward is the foot of the bed. Turn right and walk along the wall until you reach the bathroom door.

She didn't want to call a caregiver.

As she approached the restroom, she suddenly felt a gust of cold air creeping up her bare ankles.

Yu Zhu reached for the doorknob; the door wasn't closed properly.

In the utter silence, the low murmur of conversation at the nurses' station drifted down from the end of the corridor.

"Sigh, what a pity."

"Indeed, mainly because he's too young. I saw online that he's not even twenty years old, right?"

"Hmm, she seems to be only nineteen."

Yu Zhu slammed the door shut.

The sound stopped abruptly.

She leaned against the door, pressed her hands tightly against her chest, and began counting her breaths.

One.

two.

three.

......

Her chest heaved faster and faster, and she soon began to lose track of the count, her breathing becoming labored.

eleven.

twelve.

Liang Dong received treatment on the other side.

Thirteen.

Does he feel pain?

It doesn't hurt.

fifteen.

it's a pity.

The main problem is that they are too young.

twenty.

Twenty-one.

Liang Dong has his own path to walk.

Liang Dong has his own path to walk.

Liang Dong has his own path to walk.

......

Suddenly, a mottled railway track appeared at the end of the void. The sleepers were spaced one after another, with pale green grass growing between them.

Yu Zhu took a step toward the direction of the railway extension.

My heart is pounding loudly.

Soon, she started running along the railway.

Until his body hit something hard.