Chapter 16

When Qiao Zhenzhen ran into the office, the homeroom teacher was just about to sign the withdrawal form. Without a second thought she rushed forward and tore the application to pieces.
Everyone in the office was startled. The bald man beside her raised an eyebrow and stepped forward, but before he could speak the teacher acted quickly to block him and scolded, "Qiao Zhenzhen, how can you tear up a teacher's document? Go back to class!"
"Teacher, you can't sign this!" Qiao Zhenzhen said, her brow knitting.
Ever since Chi Shen had come to blows for her, the bald man had taken a dislike to her. Even knowing who she was, he sneered, "You little brat know nothing, don't stand in the way, get out of here."
Qiao Zhenzhen ignored him and continued talking to the homeroom teacher: "He beats and abuses him. You can't trust a word he says. Do you remember the wound on Chi Shen's head? He did that."
"Don't talk nonsense, "
"You dare say it wasn't you?" Qiao Zhenzhen glared at him fiercely.
The bald man was momentarily taken aback, then grew arrogant again. "I'm his father. I'll discipline him however I like. Who are you to meddle in our family business?!"
The homeroom teacher frowned. "Mr. Chi, assault is against the law, even if it's your own child, you can't hit him."
"Yes, yes, just sign it so I can get back." The bald man leaned in bootlickingly; a strong smell of fish and sweat hit her instantly.
The teacher frowned and stepped back to speak when her phone suddenly rang. Qiao Zhenzhen glimpsed the caller ID, it was the senior-year coordinator.
The teacher checked the display, stepped outside with the phone for a few minutes, and when she returned her brow was tightly furrowed. "Chi Shen's parent went to the supermarket to print another withdrawal form. Qiao Zhenzhen, go back to class."
She looked up at Qiao Zhenzhen. "Don't make me repeat this a third time."
Seeing the ugly look sweep over Qiao Zhenzhen's face, the bald man sneered and turned away with a triumphant smirk.
Qiao Zhenzhen chased after him at once. "You know something, tell me what's going on. Where is Chi Shen? Why isn't he at school? What did you do to him?"
"Can you stop following me? Follow me one more step and I won't be polite!" the bald man threatened.
Qiao Zhenzhen's face darkened. "If you don't tell me, I'm calling the police right now!"
"Call then! Go on and call!" the bald man lost his temper completely. "Arrest me, arrest your dad too, let's see what you can do!"
Qiao Zhenzhen froze. "What does my father have to do with this?"
The bald man sneered. "Go ask your dad. If Chi Shen gets into the city's top three next year he can get a 500,000-yuan scholarship. If your father hadn't put up more than that, do you think I'd let him withdraw?"
A chill went through Qiao Zhenzhen's heart.
Seeing she still blocked his way, the bald man folded his arms and taunted, "To be honest, I've already taken the money. His withdrawal is decided. If you've got the guts, try and stop me for the rest of your life."
The late-summer heat was fierce; the sun beat down until people's heads swam.
A cold sweat broke out across Qiao Zhenzhen's palms as she watched the bald man hurry past her toward the supermarket.
She wanted to stop him, but she had to admit: unless Qiao Jian returned the money of his own accord, he would arrange Chi Shen's withdrawal. Forcing Qiao Jian to change his mind would take time; the immediate priority was to find Chi Shen.
She took a taxi to the snack street.
The snack street was bustling in the late morning; whatever a shop sold, there were customers at the door. Only the fish stall at the very back stood empty.
When she saw the shuttered door with a sign that read "Low-price transfer," a bad feeling rose in her chest. She hurried to the owner of the neighboring shop and asked, "Excuse me, when did this place close?"
The owner finished packing chicken for his last customer, then sat down on the stoop at the shop door. "I don't know," he said.
Qiao Zhenzhen frowned, pulled three hundred yuan from her bag, and bluntly repeated the question: "When did they close?"
The owner immediately accepted the money eagerly and even fetched her a stool. "They closed yesterday afternoon. Liu Guifang said they'd made dirty money and weren't doing business here any more, she was packing up to go back to her hometown to retire."
"Did the whole family leave?" The metal shutter was locked from the outside; there shouldn't be anyone inside.
Sure enough, the owner waved his hand. "They're all gone. When I opened this morning I saw Liu Guifang with a few of her brothers, pushing her own son, bound, into a car. He probably didn't want to go back, so she forced him into the car."
"Poor kid, his hands were raw from the rope. That woman has no heart; if he's not her own she really goes all out, no mercy at all."
Qiao Zhenzhen picked up on the emphasis in his words. "What did you say? Chi Shen isn't her biological child?"
Qiao Zhenzhen wanted to ask more, but the priority now was to find Chi Shen, so she swallowed her questions and asked the owner where his hometown was.
"I don't know that," the owner said. He seemed to realize she wasn't a friendly visitor; with his face turned away he began to be evasive.
Qiao Zhenzhen kept her expression blank and laid out several one-hundred-yuan notes.
The owner's eyes lit up; without thinking he rattled off a rough string of directions. Qiao Zhenzhen turned and left, got into a taxi outside the food street, and headed for the address he'd given.
Chi Shen's family home was in the neighboring county, not far from the city, about an hour by taxi. But the owner had only specified which village and nothing more, so she could only get off at the village entrance and search house to house.
In both her past and present lives she had lived in the city; this was the first time she measured a village with her own steps.
The late-summer heat was fierce; her short sleeves were soon soaked with sweat, and stray hairs stuck to her temples, but she dared not stop. Every time she felt like resting, the shopkeeper's words flashed through her mind,
"That kid's hands were chafed raw by the rope."
Qiao Zhenzhen went from house to house, from the east end of the village to the west, searching from noon into evening.
By the time the sun set the sky had clouded over and rain threatened, yet she still hadn't found Chi Shen's home.
"Where are you..." she muttered, sitting defeated by the roadside; her legs felt as if filled with lead, aching and heavy, her heart clenched. Just as she was about to give up, an irritable string of curses came from not far away,
"Go look over there, you little bastard, if I find him I'll beat him to death!"
When Qiao Zhenzhen recognized Liu Guifang's voice she gave a start; her leaden legs suddenly found strength. She slipped along the wall toward them and drew closer to listen to the swearing.
After listening in fragments for a while, she finally understood: Chi Shen had run away!
Her heart leapt; she pulled herself together and avoided them, determined to find Chi Shen before they did.
She had only just managed to walk through the village once, nowhere near as familiar with it as the locals. Fortunately she didn't find anyone, and they hadn't discovered any trace of Chi Shen either.
Darkness fell; the clouds rumbled with a heavy, close thunder, almost pressing down overhead.
The downpour could come at any moment.
Xiao Ba, who'd been quiet all day, suddenly spoke: "Host, maybe Chi Shen has already gone back to City A."
Qiao Zhenzhen paused; it made sense. She wanted to head back into the city at once, but hesitated: "What if he hasn't gone back?"
Since learning she was in a novel's world, she feared any twist of fate. The thought that Chi Shen might be just out of reach while she turned away and left made her feel as if a boulder sat on her chest.
"Go back and look; if you can't find him, come back. Either way we have his family address now, if he's captured again we can still rescue him," Xiao Ba suggested.
Convinced, Qiao Zhenzhen hauled herself up, leaning on the wall. As she walked out of the village she couldn't help but look around once more; hearing no response from Chi Shen, she left with repeated glances over her shoulder.
She had been in the village for more than ten hours. By the time she returned to the city the storm had arrived, lashing the taxi windows. Sitting in the car, she went back to the food street hoping to find him there, but once again she was disappointed.
"...In weather like this, where could he have gone?" The taxi threaded through the city's streets; Qiao Zhenzhen leaned against the window, watching the lightning and thunder and murmuring.
Unconsciously she'd checked every place Chi Shen might go; finally she went to the school.
It was already past ten. All the school's lights were out, the gate locked; the street lamps along the road seemed ruined by the storm. Darkness reigned everywhere. Qiao Zhenzhen sat in the car and, seeing this, dropped her head in disappointment. "Let's go, driver."
"Where to now?" The driver didn't even brake; the taxi drove straight past the school gate.
As the car neared the corner, a muffled clap of thunder cracked. Qiao Zhenzhen shot up. "Stop!"
The taxi braked sharply; the tires screeched against the wet road. Qiao Zhenzhen leapt out and plunged into the rain, running toward the school without looking back.
Autumn rain is always cold; in an instant it soaked her to the bone. She shivered as she dragged her exhausted body forward. When she neared the school gate she instinctively slowed, roughly wiping the rain from her face, forcing her eyes open against the downpour and straining to look toward the corner beside the gate.
In the corner, Chi Shen crouched on the ground, pale as a revenant against the flashes of lightning. Rain ran from his black hair down over skin that seemed vampire-pale.
He stared at the splashes at his feet; after a long moment, as if sensing something, he lifted his head slowly.
At the moment their eyes met, a thunderclap exploded nearby. Qiao Zhenzhen looked into his rain-wet eyes and couldn't help but smile; the conversation from the night before surfaced in her mind,
"See you tomorrow. Remember to wait for me at the school gate."
"...Okay."
He had agreed, so no matter the obstacles, he would come to keep his promise.