Chapter 698: I Really Love You All

"What do you mean by 'big family'?"

"Although it's just a small family now," Wan Bobo smiled bitterly, "but I'll definitely find a way to bring more people in, no matter what evil forces they belong to. As long as we, the people with 'Qing Xiang,' stick together, they won't dare to do anything to us."

After thinking for a moment, Gu Yu Gege pointed at me and said, "As long as I can be with this little brother, I'm willing to join."

"Of course! Of course!" Wan Bobo looked very happy.

And so, on the eighth day of that chaotic ordeal, Gu Yu Gege joined us.

Following Wan Bobo's plan, he intended to continue searching for people who carried the scent of "Qing Xiang."

However, adults' plans often go awry. Over the next two days, despite searching with Siwei Jiejie and Gu Yu Gege, they didn't find anyone else with "Qing Xiang."

According to them, most people here had already died, making it impossible to locate the remaining "Qing Xiang" individuals.

In a state of utter panic, we reached the tenth day.

This was the "Zhong Yan Zhi Ri" that the adults had spoken of.

Siwei Jiejie and I held hands as we stood outside. I watched in horror as she turned to dust right before my eyes. My heart ached terribly, and I cried out in agony.

I never imagined anything in this world could make me feel so devastated—not even being away from my parents for ten days.

Then it was my turn. I began to disintegrate starting from my legs, but strangely, it didn't hurt at all. Next went my stomach, then my hands.

Finally, I felt myself floating up into the air, and then it was as if I fell asleep, completely unaware of what happened afterward.

When I opened my eyes again, I was sitting in the classroom, with Xu Jiahua standing nearby as punishment.

I stared around wide-eyed, desperate to figure out what was going on.

Why was I back? Had I escaped?

"Xu... Xu Jiahua?" I turned and called out.

"What's up?" Xu Jiahua whispered from where he stood. "Are you crazy? You dare talk during the homeroom teacher's class?"

Seeing him alive and well in front of me, my tears started flowing uncontrollably.

I could actually smell the scent on Xu Jiahua. He was dressed in dirty clothes, but his scent was clean.

In contrast, the homeroom teacher, though dressed neatly, had a dirty scent.

After listening to him speak for a bit, I realized this was the day before the earthquake.

Not only had I come back, but I'd returned to the previous day. I could smell the scents on everyone and even detect the impending "earthquake." Everything would happen again tomorrow afternoon.

But what could I do?

After school, I wandered home in a daze. Everything was just as before—the floor was littered with broken dish fragments, A Ba was snoring on the couch, and my desk lamp was still broken.

I set my backpack on the ground, slowly walked over to A Ba, cleared away some of the nearby dish shards, sat down against the couch, and gently rested my head on his shoulder.

A Ba, I'm so scared.

I had a terrible dream, and I missed you so much.

"A Ba," I whispered, "I want to talk to you. Can you hear me?"

But A Ba just kept snoring; he couldn't hear me. The smell of alcohol on him was strong, but it felt oddly cheerful, as if he were having a pleasant dream.

Tomorrow morning, I'd have to go to school, and I didn't know if I'd die there like last time. I just hoped to talk to A Ba and A Ma before that. If I ended up back in that red city, I might not see them for another ten days.

No matter how I called him, he slept soundly, so I had no choice but to get up and leave the room.

Tonight, I didn't want to do my homework. I wanted to see A Ma.

After walking for about ten minutes, I found a brightly lit, smoky mahjong parlor in the alley.

The people inside were talking loudly, almost like they were arguing.

I pushed the door open, and a few people glanced at me before pretending not to see and continuing their mahjong game.

Among the crowd, I spotted A Ma right away. I missed her so much.

She had a bruise near her eye and was sitting at a mahjong table, excitedly playing her tiles while muttering, "Three Bamboo, Three Bamboo."

When the tile was revealed, she seemed disappointed and cursed, "Damn it, no one loves it," before throwing the tile on the table.

I slowly made my way to A Ma. It had been ten days since I'd last seen her.

"A Ma..." I called softly.

"A Xiong?" She glanced at me, then quickly turned back to her tiles. "What are you doing? Don't you have homework? ... Pong!"

"I don't want to do homework; I want to see you." I dragged a small stool over and sat down next to her. "A Ma, I want to talk to you..."

"Talk? That deadbeat dad of yours never says a word to me all day... Six Wan! You bastard, always talking to me while I'm playing cards. What sin did I commit?"

"Then I won't talk." I smiled a little. "A Ma, I'll just watch you play."

"Are you out of your mind?" She kept drawing tiles from the table without looking at me. "Damn it, an eight-year-old coming to learn mahjong from me, Nine Lock! Watch out, or you'll grow up to be a good-as-garbage person like your dad."

I held back my tears as I looked at A Ma's back.

A Ma, do you know?

I'm about to go on a journey.

I'm heading to a terrifying place, where I might not see you for ten days, or I might die there completely.

You always say it would have been better if you hadn't had me. If I really die, would you be happier than you are now?

"A Ma," I called again.

"What is it?" she replied loudly.

"Tomorrow afternoon, could you not stay at home?"

"Fine, I guess I can't even go home now." She drew a tile, saw it wasn't what she wanted, and cursed again, "This is killing me. Oh, what a caring son you are."

"Promise me, A Ma." I stood up, smiling at her. "I'm leaving now, A Ma. I really love you."

Thank you for bringing me into this world.

But I've done something wrong and have to go to prison for it.

A Ma, if I make it back, I'll talk to you a lot. Will you listen then?

I met a really wonderful sister, and I love her just like I love you.

The next afternoon, in the stuffy and cold classroom, the earthquake struck as expected.

As soon as the teacher stumbled out, I jumped up and grabbed Xu Jiahua's hand.

"Xu Jiahua! Run!"

He hadn't even processed what was happening before I pulled him out of the classroom.

I couldn't let Xu Jiahua die.

The whole building was shaking violently, making a tremendous noise. The glass shattered, and cracks appeared in the walls.

"Xu Jiahua! I'm sorry!"

I shouted in the swaying hallway.

"What?"

"I'm sorry!" I yelled while running, laughing as I did. "I said 'I'm sorry'!"

I was grinning widely; I didn't know why I felt so happy, even though I was about to die. I was truly happy.

Even if I was going to die, I had to say "I'm sorry" to Xu Jiahua.

"You're crazy!" Xu Jiahua scolded. "Since when does a little brother say sorry to his big brother?"

The wind rushed past our ears as we kept running.

I'd never run in the hallway before because the teachers forbade it. I always had to carefully follow the rules and disciplines every day.

I really wanted to run in the hallway; I really wanted to shout "I'm sorry."

Before the ceiling collapsed, Xu Jiahua and I ran with the wind, our feet pounding on the shaky ground, feeling a freedom I'd never known before.