Chapter Ninety-Five: Leap from the Cliff

The next morning, Cheng Yao received a call from Tong Bin.

By then Tong Bin was sober again. He only remembered drinking with Cheng Yao the night before, skewers in hand, and meeting Cheng Yao’s friend, Boss Le. When he opened his eyes that morning and found himself sleeping comfortably at home, he assumed Cheng Yao had taken him back.

Cheng Yao rubbed at his temples and told him what had happened the night before. “...I left early. Boss Le was the one who brought you back.”

“Oh, I see. Then do you have Boss Le’s number? I’d like to call and thank him.”

Cheng Yao agreed, hung up, and sent Tong Bin Boss Le’s contact information. In reply, Tong Bin said he already had Boss Le added as a friend in his phone, probably from when he was drunk the day before.

“You ran into Boss Le again last night?” Bai Xiao came over with a cup of hot milk. “Headache from drinking too much?”

Cheng Yao smiled.

He had barely drunk at all, and with the effect of that injection from the Monster Clinic, he had not felt drunk in the slightest. The headache now was from a sleepless night, from an entire night of restless thoughts. Even after waking, his mind was still full of tangled disorder.

Lowering his eyes, Cheng Yao took a sip of milk. His gaze shifted to Bai Xiao across the table. He paused, set the cup down, and asked, “Where’s your ring?”

Bai Xiao’s hand, holding the spoon, stopped in midair. Her eyes flicked down, and she cried out in surprise, “Oh no!”

Her left ring finger was slender and long, the skin pale and smooth, and the wedding ring that had once sat there was gone.

Bai Xiao set down the spoon and instinctively looked over the tabletop, then under it. She ran to the kitchen and circled through it, then went into the bathroom and bedroom.

The Glasswood Destiny

Cheng Yao followed her into the bedroom. “Did it fall outside?”

“Did it drop on the way?” Bai Xiao grew anxious, looking as though she wanted to rush out and search at once.

“Don’t worry. If it’s lost, we’ll just buy another one,” Cheng Yao said soothingly.

Bai Xiao rolled her eyes. “You think money’s burning a hole in your pocket or something? That thing was expensive... I’ll keep looking. It must be in the house. Maybe it fell off when I was washing my hands.”

Then she added, “Let’s eat breakfast first. After breakfast, turn on the taps and check. It could only have fallen off when I was washing my hands or taking a shower. If it went down the shower drain...” She spoke with mounting concern, first hurrying to the bathroom to look, even gesturing at the drain as she examined it. “It shouldn’t have fallen through here. It must have gone down the sink.”

The shower drain and the kitchen drain both had filters installed, and such a large ring could never pass through those narrow gaps. Only the sink drain was wide enough for the ring to slip away.

After breakfast, Cheng Yao and Bai Xiao unscrewed the pipes beneath the sink and inspected them carefully.

The two of them worked up a sweat, and water spilled all over the floor, but they did not find the ring.

Cheng Yao stayed in the bathroom mopping the floor while Bai Xiao brought out the vacuum cleaner and carefully swept every inch of the floor, the sofa, the bed. She vacuumed every corner, even checked the dustbin of the vacuum itself, but still found no trace of the wedding ring.

After a whole day of searching, Bai Xiao was dejected.

Cheng Yao comforted her for a long while before she finally sighed and managed to pull herself together.

The day passed in the search for the ring.

Night settled heavily, and the room sank into absolute darkness.

Cheng Yao lay flat on the bed, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. His eyes were closed, but beneath the lids his pupils moved restlessly.

The bedding beneath him and the quilt over him trembled faintly.

Beside him, the person next to him sat up soundlessly, straight and stiff, like a puppet pulled by invisible strings. The movement was completely unlike the way a human body ought to exert itself.

Bai Xiao turned her head, glanced at the window, then looked at Cheng Yao, who was still asleep.

She raised her hand and traced his brows and eyes through the air.

Cheng Yao suddenly opened his eyes.

Bai Xiao’s hand froze.

Cheng Yao turned slightly and looked at her.

“Why aren’t you asleep?” Cheng Yao asked gently.

“You’re not asleep either?” Bai Xiao put down her hand and countered.

“Mm.” Cheng Yao sat up and leaned against the headboard, stretching out a hand toward her.

Bai Xiao nestled into Cheng Yao’s arms.

“Are you still worrying about that person?” Bai Xiao asked in a muffled voice.

Cheng Yao did not answer, only let out a weary sigh.

“Don’t think about it so much,” Bai Xiao said softly.

“What about you? Why aren’t you sleeping?” Cheng Yao asked.

Bai Xiao’s voice remained low and muffled. “Tomorrow let’s go buy a ring.”

Cheng Yao laughed, the motion shaking his chest and reaching Bai Xiao’s ears.

Bai Xiao gave his chest an annoyed slap and muttered, displeased, “Have I gotten thinner? Is that why the ring didn’t stay on my finger and just fell off?”

“Shouldn’t you be happy if that were true?”

“If you were the one saying it, then I would be happy.”

“If I said it, you’d definitely accuse me of being unserious and not taking the wedding ring seriously.”

“Hmph...”

“All right, all right. Stop thinking about it. Go to sleep,” Cheng Yao soothed, patting Bai Xiao’s back lightly, like someone comforting a child, only a little awkwardly.

Bai Xiao laughed. She sat up from Cheng Yao’s arms and tucked herself back beneath the covers. “You should sleep too. Don’t keep thinking about those things. If it really comes to it...” She pulled Cheng Yao down with her. “Then we’ll just move. Out to the countryside, where the fields are right outside the door.”

“You don’t even know how to farm.”

“Then I’ll grow some flowers.”

“You know how to grow flowers?”

“How hard can that be?”

“Ha. Sure. Like keeping fish, just replace them with new ones every week.”

“Don’t look down on me.”

As they talked, their voices gradually grew softer.

“Go to sleep.”

“Mm. Good night.”

He told himself not to think about it, but Cheng Yao still could not escape his anxiety.

As soon as the mall opened, he accompanied Bai Xiao to buy a new wedding ring. This time, neither of them went after a diamond ring. On the way back, however, Cheng Yao deliberately took a detour.

“You’re going to Dad’s place?” Bai Xiao asked in confusion.

“I want to stop by the Monster Clinic,” Cheng Yao answered.

The Monster Clinic appeared and vanished like a ghost, capable of showing up anywhere. Still, Cheng Yao had grown accustomed to its storefront near his father-in-law’s residential complex.

Only this time, that spot held nothing but a wall.

Cheng Yao was a little disappointed.

He did not know whether the doctor did not want to see him, or whether the doctor had other patients.

Bai Xiao gave it no further thought. “If it’s not there, then let’s go home.”

Cheng Yao nodded, but the matter still lingered in his mind.

Once they got home, he called Boss Le.

The person most familiar with the Monster Clinic and its doctor was undoubtedly Boss Le.

When the call connected, Cheng Yao had not even had time to speak before Boss Le cut in first.

“Xiao Cheng, this call comes at just the right time!” Boss Le said excitedly. “Do you have your uncle’s contact information? Do you know where the wheelchair at your father-in-law’s place is?”

Cheng Yao blinked. “Oh... you need a wheelchair? I can bring it over for you.”

“It’s not for me. It’s for Uncle Zhang. You remember Uncle Zhang, right? Hey, just bring the wheelchair downstairs first. It’s the one from Uncle Cheng’s father-in-law’s place, right? I’m waiting downstairs.”

Boss Le was as warm and cheerful as ever.

At the mention of “Uncle Zhang,” Cheng Yao was startled for a moment, then quickly agreed.

He told Bai Xiao, and she was surprised too.

“Really...” Bai Xiao hesitated. “You’re going now?”

“Mm. They probably need it urgently. I’ll go right away,” Cheng Yao said, slipping his shoes back on after taking them off only a short while ago. “Don’t wait for me for dinner. If anything happens with Old Zhang, I’ll help out.”

They had been neighbors for many years, and Old Zhang had long since become an age-crossing chess companion to Cheng Yao’s father-in-law. Over the years, he had helped the old couple many times. Now that he needed something, Cheng Yao could not possibly stand by and ignore it.

Bai Xiao did not seem to care much about it. Her impression of Old Zhang was probably still stuck at “when he was alive.”

Cheng Yao paid no mind to her attitude and hurried out.

At the base of his father-in-law’s building, Cheng Yao saw Boss Le. Without much greeting, he took out the key and opened the door first.

As they went upstairs, Boss Le sighed. “...He was taken to the hospital the night before yesterday, and he’s being discharged tomorrow, so he’s in a hurry for the wheelchair. There are quite a few wheelchairs in this compound, but everyone else is using theirs, so I thought of Uncle Cheng.”

Cheng Yao asked with concern, “How did he end up in the hospital?”

“He fell and broke a bone. They put him in a cast. It’s not serious. I just went to see him this morning, and there wasn’t much by way of external injury, so buying a wheelchair specifically would be a waste. Borrowing one is enough. But Uncle Zhang doesn’t seem to be in good shape. I heard he’s been talking nonsense these past couple of days. Aunt Wang said the doctors examined him and found no stroke, no dementia either.” Boss Le also sounded puzzled by this.

Cheng Yao took out the wheelchair his late mother-in-law had once used. His father-in-law had never needed it, and his mother-in-law had only used it for a period after one year’s fall injury before it was stored away. Before he passed, even the father-in-law had lent it to an old neighbor in the compound, who returned it after use.

Cheng Yao found a rag and wiped the dust from the wheelchair.

“Let’s go. Which hospital is he in?”

“The Eighth Hospital.”

“The Eighth Hospital?” Cheng Yao was surprised again.

The nearest hospital to them was not the Eighth Hospital, and orthopedics was not what it was known for.

“He fell in Riverside Park. The ambulance took him straight to the Eighth, which was right next door. Very close,” Boss Le said.

Cheng Yao’s steps faltered. “Uncle Zhang fell in Riverside Park the night before yesterday?”

“Yeah.” Boss Le did not think there was anything odd about that.

Silently, Cheng Yao loaded the wheelchair into Boss Le’s car, and the two of them made their way to the Eighth Hospital.

Old Zhang was in the emergency ward. His leg was in a cast and suspended. He looked dispirited, his face rather pale.

Aunt Wang sat by the bed idly scrolling on her phone. Only when she heard Boss Le greet her did she look up and bloom into a smile, the wrinkles on her face bunching together.

“Thank you so much, Boss Le! You even went to feed Precious this morning and helped borrow a wheelchair! Ah, I told Arui before that the old man just broke a bone and didn’t even need a plate; the doctor said it wasn’t serious, so buying a wheelchair would be too wasteful...”

Boss Le nodded in agreement.

Cheng Yao’s gaze fell on the hospital bed.

Old Zhang had his eyes half-closed. He looked at no one, his brows drawn tightly together, as if deep in thought.

Aunt Wang noticed Cheng Yao behind Boss Le. She was startled. “Is this Xiao Cheng’s nephew?”

Boss Le nodded and introduced him. “Yes, this is Uncle Cheng’s nephew. Uncle Cheng isn’t out traveling? I asked Xiao Cheng to open the door and take out the wheelchair.”

“Oh, oh. Then thank you, young man.” Aunt Wang said gratefully, “You look so much like your uncle. Ah, no, your great-uncle, right? I remember Xiao Cheng is the younger brother.”

The old Zhang on the bed suddenly shuddered, instinctively turned his face away, then showed a conflicted expression. Slowly he turned his head back and opened his eyes.

He met Cheng Yao’s gaze.

Old Zhang swallowed hard and, frightened, shut his eyes again.

Cheng Yao withdrew his gaze and answered Aunt Wang’s question. “Yes, Cheng Yao is my uncle.”

Aunt Wang did not notice Old Zhang’s reaction. She beckoned Boss Le and Cheng Yao to sit and asked them to wait a while.

“Arui will be here in a bit. Sit and wait, all right?” Aunt Wang began to complain, mainly explaining things to the uninformed Cheng Yao. She had already told Boss Le all this in the morning. “This old man’s fall really couldn’t have come at a worse time. Arui’s car was sent in for repairs. It was parked perfectly fine, and then a chunk of wall came loose from upstairs. Luckily no one was nearby... His mother-in-law got sick last month, and the two of them kept her company in the hospital for more than a week. After she was discharged, they still had to run to the hospital twice a week for infusions. And his younger brother-in-law was just in a car accident too. The adults are mostly fine, but the child broke his hand, had a pin put into his arm, and the stitches still haven’t been removed...”

Old Zhang and Aunt Wang had only one son, while their daughter-in-law had a younger brother. Everything had happened at once, and their son and daughter-in-law were a little overwhelmed.

Aunt Wang sighed repeatedly. She had originally thought the in-laws’ side was simply having bad luck, never imagining that misfortune would also reach their own home.

“...No wonder the old man’s been thinking all sorts of things,” she said, glancing at Old Zhang, who was pretending to sleep.

“Is Uncle Zhang all right?” Cheng Yao asked.

Aunt Wang shook her head. “He’s fine. The night before yesterday, as soon as he was brought in, they did a whole lot of tests. They kept testing him through the day too, and the reports are all out now. He just twisted his foot and broke a bone. He only scraped a bit of skin when he hit the ground.”

Old Zhang had no chronic illness and was in robust health. The night before yesterday, after running around for half the night, he let his guard down, his foot gave way, and he fell. He passed out, but in truth it was only that moment of weakness that twisted his ankle. There was some external injury, but his body was otherwise fine.

Only, after waking, he had not seemed quite right, as though he had suffered a grave illness.

The hospital, seeing his age and the fact that he had been unconscious, treated it like a major emergency and ran him through a full battery of tests. When all the indicators came back normal, their attitude changed at once. They would not keep him occupying a hospital bed.

Aunt Wang also felt that Old Zhang had simply frightened himself.

She told Cheng Yao, “That stubborn old thing opened his eyes and grabbed my hand, saying he might die, that he’d seen a ghost, that he’d seen someone who ought to have died.”

On the hospital bed, Old Zhang gave a violent shiver, opened his eyes, as if trying to stop her, but once again met Cheng Yao’s gaze and stiffened in fear.

With her back to Old Zhang, Aunt Wang went on describing his strange behavior over the past few days. At the end, she added, “He’s gotten stuck in a rut... After waking, he also said that many years ago, when we went on a trip to Dragon Peak Mountain, he saw that leader jump off the cliff from the summit. There were so many tourists crowded around there. If someone really jumped, how could no one have seen it? I was standing right beside him climbing the mountain. I didn’t hear or see anything at all.”

Cheng Yao seemed to be lost in thought.

Old Zhang kept his eyes open and said nothing in rebuttal. Only his gaze darted away, too afraid to look at Cheng Yao.

“Why did Uncle Zhang think that man jumped off the cliff?” Cheng Yao asked gently.

Aunt Wang said irritably, “How would I know? He must have had a fit of delusion.” Then she noticed that Old Zhang was awake. “You’re up? Boss Le was here this morning already. He even helped feed Precious, and he borrowed the wheelchair from Xiao Cheng. Xiao Cheng’s nephew even brought it over himself.”

Old Zhang remained silent.

“Uncle Zhang, why did you think that person jumped off the cliff back then?” Cheng Yao asked again.

Aunt Wang looked at Cheng Yao in confusion.

Boss Le was puzzled as well.

Old Zhang moved his lips and answered slowly, “The way he looked then... the way he looked then...”

It was the look of someone who had lost all will to live, someone determined to end his life.