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墨書 Inktalez
I watched Soybean through the glass. Aside from being able to see his face clearly, everything else was obscured; behind him lay a stretch of darkness.
His head just barely reached the height of the window.
But what secrets could a little kid possibly have? Still, seeing Soybean out there made me feel uneasy, especially since it was still early spring. Although it wasn't necessarily cold during the day, the nights were quite chilly. If Soybean caught a cold out there, Third Uncle would definitely hold me responsible.
So I said to Soybean, "If you come in to talk, I'll give you some money." With that, I pulled out a ten-dollar bill.
To my surprise, Soybean didn't seem interested in the money at all. Instead, his expression darkened as he chewed on something in his mouth, as if he wanted to say something but found it difficult to speak.
I extended the ten dollars towards him and said, "Soybean, if you don't want this money, I'll just throw it away." But he still didn't react. So I tossed the bill onto the ground, thinking that sometimes kids like to sulk.
When the money hit the ground, I deliberately turned away, expecting Soybean to bend down and pick it up. However, when I turned back around, I found him still staring at me intently.
His face had grown even more pallid; there was not a hint of color left.
I called out to him, but he ignored me. I thought he must be angry. "Soybean, don’t be mad; I’m just playing with you," I said.
Yet his expression remained stiff. I began to worry that he might be freezing.
At just eleven years old, if he got sick from the cold, I would feel responsible. I reached out and touched his cheek; he didn’t flinch. But in an instant, I withdrew my hand because his skin was ice-cold.
Oh no! This was bad! Without hesitation, I rushed outside, completely forgetting the woman’s warning.
I circled around to the back of my house; my room was the last one in the building, so its window faced the rear.
But when I reached the window, Soybean was already gone. The light from inside spilled out into the darkness, casting a colored hue over the dirt below.
"Soybean," I called out, but there was no response.
The ten yuan that had fallen to the ground was already gone. I looked around but didn't see him anywhere. I thought to myself, could it be that Soybean picked up the ten yuan and ran away?
Our village isn't far from town, and since there’s an internet café in town that isn’t monitored, many minors often sneak in to play online.
I wondered if this kid really took my ten yuan to go online!
Just as I was pondering this, someone suddenly tapped me on the back. Startled, I turned around quickly and found Soybean standing behind me.
Soybean looked pale. At that moment, I was blocking the light from my house, casting my shadow over his.
"Where did you run off to just now?" My voice was a bit strained because I had indeed been startled by Soybean, but I didn’t want to show it; that would be too embarrassing.
Soybean still didn’t say anything.
"Come on, you little rascal, stop keeping secrets. Tell your big brother what it is, and then I'll take you inside to sleep." It was still a bit chilly outside.
I took a deep breath and reached out to pat Soybean's head.
But to my surprise, Soybean dodged away and slowly said, "Big brother, the secret isn’t here."
"Then where is it?" Although Soybean seemed a bit odd at that moment, I didn’t feel any suspicion.
I pulled out my phone to check the time; it was already a quarter past early morning.
"Forget it, let’s go back and sleep! If you have a secret, we can talk about it tomorrow during the day." As I spoke, I reached for Soybean's hand. The moment I grabbed his hand, a cold sensation shot through me.
I intended to pull Soybean into the house, but unexpectedly he shook me off and ran away, calling out, "Big brother, if you want to know the secret, come with me!"
The sound echoed in the vastness of the night, carrying a haunting quality.
The night was boundless, and as I watched Soybean's figure begin to fade from my sight, panic surged within me. I immediately took off after him, but my old injury slowed me down considerably.
Yet, Soybean remained within my line of sight. As I ran, I called out his name, but he seemed completely oblivious to me.
That little rascal, playing this kind of game with me at night! Once I catch him, I won't hesitate to give him a good thrashing.
Life in the countryside is nothing like the bright lights of the city; once night falls, darkness envelops everything. Aside from the lights in our homes, the outside world becomes nearly invisible.
I turned on my phone's flashlight.
I soon realized that the little brat was indeed heading toward the town, likely planning to spend the night gaming at an internet café.
Kids these days can get so absorbed in their games. I thought it was time for me to step in and teach this little rascal a lesson on behalf of Third Uncle.
Once we reached the internet café, I'd make sure to scare him with some tough gaming—hopefully, that would deter him from sneaking out at night in the future.
Pain shot through my foot again, causing me to slow down even more.
After about a quarter of an hour of chasing, I noticed that Soybean had changed direction. He was now heading toward a stream used for irrigation in front of the village.
"Soybean!" I called out from behind, but he ignored me completely. In desperation, I even tried using Grandpa Mao's name to lure him back, but it had no effect.
We were nearing the stream when suddenly my phone rang. Before I could press the answer button, it began ringing on its own.
"Stop right there. Don't chase any further."
I stared blankly at my phone, thinking that it was doomed; it wouldn't even accept calls anymore, but I could still hear voices. At this rate, my balance would run out before I knew it!
Standing here, I could already hear the sound of the flowing river.
The voice on the phone repeated, "Don't chase anymore," and then the call ended. I stopped in my tracks, watching Soybean continue to run ahead.
One hand tightly gripped my phone, and in this dark environment, my palms began to sweat.
Suddenly, I froze, unable to move forward.
"Soybean, stop running. Big brother wants to go back to sleep," I called out.
To my surprise, Soybean seemed to hear me this time and halted. I was getting a bit tired from chasing, panting heavily as I thought about how running around outside at this late hour was quite enough.
"Soybean, come here quickly. Big brother will take you back to sleep."
At that moment, we were only about twenty or thirty meters apart, but my phone's flashlight barely illuminated four or five meters ahead. So I couldn't see Soybean's expression at all.
I was a bit out of breath.
"Soybean, stop messing around and come back with me. Otherwise, big brother will get angry."
The night was dark and hazy; we couldn't even see each other clearly.
But to my astonishment, Soybean replied, "No, I'm not going back. I can't go back." Saying that, Soybean actually started walking forward again.
My heart raced with anxiety as I called out once more, but this kid ignored me and turned back toward the riverbank. However, his pace had slowed down now.
He walked step by step.
I watched Soybean walk ahead, and the pressure in my heart began to rise. I found myself in a dilemma and sighed.
I thought to myself, kids these days are really rebellious!
I made up my mind to catch up with him. Once I did, I would just carry this kid back; it was too much trouble for a night like this.
However, after taking a few steps, I remembered what my dad used to say: never walk with your eyes closed.
Suddenly, I felt a bit flustered as I followed Soybean closely behind.
It was now the season of March and April, the time for sowing and irrigation. The river's dam must have been blocked, and the water level should be quite high.
It could easily drown one and a half adults. I still couldn't shake off my worries about Soybean.
Taking advantage of the fact that Soybean didn’t know I was following him, I quickened my pace. I was only about ten steps away from him when it seemed like he suddenly sensed my presence. He abruptly picked up speed.
This was driving me crazy! Frustrated, I began to "threaten" Soybean from behind in a stern voice, but that little rascal seemed to get even more energized.
Finally, he stopped on the dam.
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