Chapter 101. Metamorphosis.

Wen Yun rushed to the airport overnight to pick up Chen Du.

The plane landed at 2 am, and as if specially to welcome him back, the heavens arranged for a torrential downpour, which began crackling just as he emerged from the cabin door. The rain smashed like a fist against the glass walls of the stacks, thumping and banging like a drum on the heart.

Seeing her son after half a month, Wen Yun shed tears almost instantly.

She had never seen Chen Du like this before – his clothes were brand new, but his face was ashen. A bag hung alone in the crook of his arm, and his lips were so dry and cracked that he looked like he hadn’t had a sip of water in the past half a month. It was clear that not a drop of rain had fallen on him, but he was even more muddy than a muddy chicken. Disillusioned, exhausted, and looking dishevelled.

Even before she tried to pull him, Chen Du raised his arm, lifting his bag onto his shoulder and avoiding her hand. Wen Yun’s expression immediately became even more defeated than his.

He spoke with his expression blank, not calling her mother, “I’m back.”

Wen Yun covered her mouth, almost ready to cry again. Her hand lowered as she forced out a relieved smile, “Good, it’s good to be back.”

The sky was like a torn face as it rained heavily. The black sky was sunken into a layer of darker and deeper shadows. Under the gloomy dome, a bright red car was driving on the highway. Wen Yun drove and took Chen Du to the hospital first.

The tyres splashed two rows of water as it turned off from the airport and sped into the city lane downtown. Because of the low terrain, the road was full of water. Half of the wheels were immersed in water, so the travel was slow.

The two people in the car did not say a word. The atmosphere was deadly silent, and time passed like the lingering death 1 Death of a thousand cuts. An old form of capital punishment in which a person would be cut one thousand times in a precise, methodical manner over a period of time, which served as both torture, humiliation, and punishment. It was usually metted out for crimes such as treason, matricide, patricide, or mass murder. The humiliation came from the fact that it was considered an unfilial act to alter the body in any form or fashion, as it meant that their spirit would not be whole, and thus, could not properly entire the afterlife. Chen Du’s head turned out of the car, and he maintained this position for an hour and forty minutes. Except for the occasional sliding up and down of his throat knot, he looked like a finely carved but weathered sculpture.

Chen Jinan’s condition continued to worsen. Since that day, when he made his mind known to Wen Yun, he had expressed his regret and guilt. His cowardly and ridiculous confession of life was considered to be complete. He thought it was complete, and his survival became more and more unlikely. When Chen Du entered the ward, he could be described as dry and lifeless, with only one breath left.

When he saw Chen Du, his lax eyes lit up, and he opened his mouth to say something. But I don’t know whether he couldn’t say it or he was smothered in oxygen, but Chen Du didn’t hear any sound, as if a mime was being staged in front of him.

He was also part of the pantomime, but he kept a subtle sense of dislocation. He stood at the border between light and darkness, overlooking the world’s life, old age, sickness, and death in all their diversity and impermanence. He was thinking of Chen Jiashu, whose parents had died in the true sense of the word and whose only family was him, but he could not find her.

Chen Jinan died suddenly and inevitably. He died at 5 a.m., an hour before the doctors and nurses came to check and add medication, and Wen Yun and Chen Du were resting in the small suite of the ward for a short time. Everyone was asleep. He silently lost his heartbeat.

That’s good; it saves her 2 Wen Yun from crying again. Chen Du really didn’t want to see her cry. She became extra vulnerable when she cried, and without her husband, she had to use her son as a pillar of support. But he himself was shaken and depressed; how could he have the strength to support the suffering of others?

Chen Du’s father was involved in a car accident half a month ago and was buried in a low-profile funeral yesterday after failing to save his life. There was no funeral, only a simple memorial service. This was the version circulating in the outside world, and it was indeed part of the truth. While the other part of the truth was that he had been abroad for half a month eloping with his sister, Chen Jiashu.

These things were unknown to the outside world; no one knew about them. During that time, that beautiful dream was stifled in the Maldives.

Chen Du was absent from school for half a month, but when he returned, he received no punishment and rightly received a great deal of sympathy and care – everyone unspokenly avoided any talk of that half month, his drawers were always full of encouraging letters and snacks, and his usual good grades were worshipped by the rest of his classmates as the god of exams. Life got back on track, and everything continued in the same direction, weekly exams, monthly exams, finals, and the tight schedule of schooling.

Time immersed in Yŭ Shuî 3 2 of 24 solar terms. Yŭ Shuî means Rain water. It starts on February 19th and runs until March 5th. The remarks for it are: There is an increase of rainfall from then on. The solar terms are based on the sun’s position in the zodiac. They were created by farmers in ancient China to guide their agricultural activities. They correspond to changes in climate, natural phenomena, agricultural production, and other aspects of life, even to this day.

Everyone loved him, but to no avail. He lost the one he loved the most during this cold and rainy season.

The school flower 4 The most beautiful girl in the school was gone.

It was said that Chen Jiashu, a second-year student, has left to study abroad. Her father’s car accident had caused her a great deal of psychological trauma. She did not want to stay in the country, so she simply went abroad to study, so that she could apply for university earlier – that was what Wen Yun told the school, and that was what they all said.

The black swan, who was so stunning, flew away, and the dreams of the youngsters were shattered. There were no new photos of Chen Jiashu uploaded in the forum, so they began to dig into the grave of her and Dai Yining’s grievances and resentments. After seeing Dai Yining’s vicious deeds and wicked heart, everyone recognised her true face. They stopped showing friendly gestures to her and avoided her one after the other. Dai Yining had no face to see. She had a complete breakdown and changed schools in tears.

After she changed schools, there was still talk about her. People blamed Dai Yining for Chen Jiashu’s departure, so even after Dai Yining left, she was still dragged out every now and then to flog her corpse. Because Chen Du was related to Chen Jiashu, when they talked about these things, gossiping students always glanced at him, intentionally or unintentionally.

Sitting in the last row, Chen Du was aware of the glances cast around him but remained indifferent. Many people asked him which school and country Chen Jiashu had gone to, “Is it America? Or Canada? The European side of the exam is not very easy to pass, right? Hey, don’t be so stingy, just reveal which state she’s in, okay?”

His answer was always, “I don’t know.” If he was asked too many times, he would simply shut up and not answer, so the whole school spread the word that he had a bad temper and was always angry and mean. But the girls ate it up, putting their heads together with peachy eyes and complimenting him on how much more handsome he looked with his stinky face. This caused the boys next to him to look disdainful, so they went up and fought with the stinky boys who bad-mouthed Chen Du. After Chen Jiashu left, her aura of public opinion more or less fell on Chen Du.

But Chen Du didn’t know anything about it. He was too busy writing programmes for competitions and exams. He did countless things every day, numbing his nerves by relying on his workload. He moved out of his home and lived at school like Chen Jiashu. He relied on himself for clothing, food, housing, and transport.

Wen Yun could do nothing about him – Chen Du didn’t need her money, didn’t listen to her, and didn’t respond to her shouting and baiting. He moved away from home and chose to be independent. When she had had enough, she returned to her mother’s home with Chen Jinan’s ashes in her arms to heal her wounds. The relationship between mother and son gradually deteriorated in an irreversible direction.

He was nailed to death by something. Chen Du could feel this clearly at times. He was in the parting, but always lived in the night before the parting. Where there had been two people, then only himself, and without anyone to wake him up, he slumbered. He slept that way and lived in eternal nothingness, like an indefinite imprisonment.

There was nothing to be done. This thing that nailed him was called fucking love.

“It’s a lot of hassle to leave the country. A visa or passport or something has to be obtained at least six months in advance. Chen Jiashu only had half a month. How can she just go? The embassy is not run by her family?”

“She went abroad for a break, right! I said, you’re still so angry when she’s already gone. Be careful and accumulate some good virtue.”

“What the fuck did I say? I’m being sensible. Aren’t you guys curious about how she left?”

With a snap , Chen Du raised his hand and closed the window. Those people’s voices were blocked outside, and the person who was the leader of the gossip didn’t expect Chen Du to be inside. He was startled and immediately became a little embarrassed.

“Ouch!” Lin Feng, who was originally posted on the wall, was also given a shock by him closing the window. “What are you doing?”

“What are you doing?” Chen Du asked him in return.

“I’m eavesdropping.” He simply put on an open and honest face, “You don’t say anything when asked, and you don’t allow people to be curious. Hey, don’t you think you’re a bit too controlling?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Oh, okay.” Lin Feng shrugged his shoulders, Chen Du was preparing for the second year exams. His appearance was perverted during the exam, but then, he has been a bit perverted 5 referring to all the work and competitions he has been doing recently recently. As a buddy, Lin Feng of course generously expressed his understanding, “Let’s go for the exams, sister control.”

Chen Du stared blankly at the air for a while and suddenly came up with a sentence without thinking, “I love her 6 He said wǒ ài tā using ài which is generally not used to express familial love. It’s used as a heavier form of romantic love, contrary to wǒ xǐhuan nǐ, which means I like you . However, it is more commonly used as I love you rather than wǒ ài nǐ. Hence Lin Feng’s subsequent reaction. .”

“…… Ha?”