Having just arrived at the Song Family home not long ago, everyone was still emerging from their exhaustion when the sky had already dimmed.
As the usual matriarch of the household, Song's Mother Liu Shuxiang was currently distraught because of her eldest son, Song Yuantao, and had no time to prepare any food. Father Song was never involved in cooking, Song Yuan Yao was still a young girl, and Song Tianxin, startled, followed her closely, making her unreliable in the kitchen as well.
Therefore, Xu Xiuxiu had to take up the responsibility of cooking. However, it was already late, and after sitting on a train all day, she was incredibly tired, so she quickly made some noodles. Fortunately, everyone understood, and after a hurried meal, they all left the table. Xu Xiuxiu had finished cleaning the dishes when she noticed the night growing darker and then suggested taking Song Chengguang back to her own house.
"Stay at home tonight!" Song's Mother, looking weary and slightly apologetic, addressed Xu Xiuxiu, "You said before that you wouldn't come home for the Mid-Autumn Festival, so I didn't tidy up your house. And now your elder brother has had an accident. Your house has been sitting empty for a while, and I guess it's probably musty by now. It wouldn't be good to stay there." She thought that, anyway, there was room in the house, so it would be better for Xu Xiuxiu and Song Yuanhuan to stay there.
"No, I'll go back to my own place! If it's been empty for this long, it might be getting run down. A house needs to be lived in." Xu Xiuxiu preferred her independence, and with the family in turmoil, she thought it best to stay in her own house with Song Chengguang, thus she kindly declined Song's Mother's offer.
"Well, okay then!" Song's Mother, having little energy to persuade Xu Xiuxiu and seeing her determination, said nothing more.
Taking Song Chengguang, Xu Xiuxiu then left the house.
In the night, Xu Xiuxiu walked ahead while Song Yuanming, with visible reluctance, followed behind carrying the luggage, his face bearing the helpless demeanor of a young man forced to take on a man's responsibilities. "Yuanming, thanks for helping your sister-in-law with the luggage," Xu Xiuxiu politely expressed her gratitude.
"Hmm." Song Yuanming, his head bowed and watching his moving toes, responded coldly with a tense mumble.
Knowing he was annoyed with her, Xu Xiuxiu said nothing more and, cradling Song Chengguang, walked to the familiar mud walls and a slightly rusted iron gate because of the wind and sun, stopping there.
"Yuanming, you unlock it!" Xu Xiuxiu passed the key she had just received from Song's Mother to Song Yuanming.
He took the key and unlocked the door. Perhaps due to not being opened for some time, the keyhole was somewhat rusty and the key was not easy to turn. Clenching his cheeks, Song Yuanming exerted some force to finally dislodge the lock and key together, pushing open the door and walking in first to turn on the light and drop the luggage inside, "I'm going back now," he said, and then turned to leave.
Xu Xiuxiu did not try to stop him, listening as Song Yuanming shut the front door from outside before she gently placed the already asleep Song Chengguang into the wooden bed.
The autumn season brought a chill during the night.
Xu Xiuxiu had wanted to open the windows to air out the long-unopened room, but seeing that Song Chengguang was already asleep and fearing he might catch cold, she decided against it. Instead, she went out to the courtyard to fetch a basin of water inside, then carefully dabbed at the sleeping Song Chengguang's sweat with a wet towel, also washing up a bit herself.
The moon was full, and the night deepened.
Xiuxiu's exhausting day ended as she lay on the bed and quickly fell into a deep sleep. She didn't know how long it had been when she vaguely felt someone pushing open the door. With bleary eyes, Xiuxiu lifted her heavy eyelids. Using the dim moonlight filtering in from outside, she saw a blurred figure.
Boom—
Xiuxiu was immediately startled awake, her drowsiness instantly vanishing. Although she had been with Song Yuanhuan for some days, she still hadn't completely figured out his temperament. However, she was extremely familiar with his figure, and it was clear that the figure now was an unknown man, definitely not Song Yuanhuan.
Yet the figure was already standing inside the room, slowly approaching the bed with extremely light footsteps.
Lifting his foot and setting it down again, Xiuxiu watched intently the slight movement of the legs, feeling as if those moving steps were pressing tightly on her throat, making it impossibly heavy to breathe. Clenching her teeth, Xiuxiu reached out to hold Song Chengguang, reminding herself with the last of her protective instincts.
In the next instant, the space before her eyes brightened incredibly, light filling the timeless space drastically different from the tense darkness she had experienced lying on the wooden bed in the room just moments before. Lying next to the living spring water, Xiuxiu hugged Song Chengguang, gasping for breath.
Who was that man?
Was he the thief she had fiercely beaten with a stick last time? Why did he happen to show up on the night she returned? Was he from the village, or someone very familiar with the Song Family?
Lying on the ground, Xiuxiu felt her mind in utter disarray, feeling like she had narrowly escaped death. This was the first time in her life she found herself grateful to fate for allowing her this space.
...
When Xiuxiu emerged from the space carrying the still-sleepy Song Chengguang, dawn had already broken, and there was no one in the wooden house. All the furniture remained untouched, the only exception being the white mosquito net Xiuxiu had tucked into the corner of the bed before sleeping the previous night; it had been pulled back slightly.
This was the only certain proof that Xiuxiu hadn't been hallucinating last night and felt her heart inevitably rise to its peak—a sensation of being watched from the shadows was truly unsettling.
After washing up at home with the groggy Song Chengguang, the two headed next door to the Song family for breakfast where congee was being served, made early by Song Yuan Yao. Mrs. Song was in bed with a headache due to worries over her eldest son's issues, her unwell body resting in the room, while Father Song had eaten early and left, saying he was going to talk business at the brick kiln factory.
At the dining table sat only Xiuxiu and Song Chengguang, Song Yuan Yao, Song Yuanming, Niuniu, and Song Tianxin.
"Auntie, I want to eat steamed buns," Tianxin, not fond of porridge, had spent the night with her aunt and had been coaxed out of bed early this morning. Seeing the white porridge and pickles on the table clearly decreased her appetite. Noticing that the usually stern grandfather wasn't at the table, she boldly turned to Song Yuan Yao to express her discontent, as her mother and aunt Song Yuan Yao would usually try to satisfy her if she ever mentioned wanting to eat something specific on normal days.
While the Song family wasn't wealthy, they cherished their eldest granddaughter very much. However, her desire this time was something Song Yuan Yao couldn't fulfill, leaving the girl to frown lightly, "Tianxin, why not have porridge today? Your aunt will get you the pickled long beans you love to eat, and I can add lots and lots of sugar to your porridge." Children loved sugar, and sweet porridge was a favorite among the young ones.
"But Niuniu wants to eat steamed buns," Song Yuan Yao's gentle coaxing failed to appease her. The little girl was hanging her head low, thumbs fiddling with each other, "Niuniu also wants her mommy." The last sentence was said in a small voice, as if she had subtly realized mentioning her mother might upset people.