Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
âAye!â Wen Wan sighed. I wish I was dead! She wanted to give up. This was not good.
In a boutique in Beijing, Dr. Chen was visiting Chen Ying and her brother.
âWhat do you think of Zhouâs recovery?â Chen Ying asked.
âHe is doing well and is very stable,â Chen Zhouchuan said with a smile. âAre you gonna leave tomorrow?â
âYes, Iâve told Ms. Song,â Chen Ying said.
She was going to take Chen Zhou to Wang Yaoâs village the next day. She wanted Wang Yao to cure her brother. She had applied for a long leave from Song Ruiping.
âI donât have much to do at the moment and want to travel around. How about going with you two?â Chen Zhouchuan asked.
Chen Ying though, I knew he came here for a reason!
Chen Zhouchuan normally wouldnât visit her for no reason. He even offered to see Chen Zhou.
âOK,â Chen Ying said.
âGreat, Iâll go with you guys tomorrow,â Chen Zhouchuan said. âWe old fellow! We are so happy today!â Chen Zhouchuan started to hum a tune.
âSis, who is this Dr. Chen?â Chen Zhou asked.
âSome old fox,â Chen Ying said with a smile. âLetâs go to pack up. We are leaving tomorrow.â
âOK,â Chen Zhou said.
Chen Zhouchuan was humming a pleasant tune while he was walking back home.
âWhat makes you so happy?â Li Shengrong came along with a bird cage in his hand.
âIt has nothing to do with you, walk your bird,â Chen Zhouchuan said.
âWhatâs wrong with you? You are so ill-tempered,â Li Shengrong said.
âOff I go!â Chen Zhouchuan walked away. He didnât seem to be keen on talking to Li Shengrong.
âStubborn old fellow!â Li Shengrong sighed and shook his head. He knew Chen Zhouchuan was still upset about what happened in his house last time.
Never mind!
It was nice and sunny the next day.
Chen Ying and Chen Zhou arrived in Haiqu in the afternoon. They didnât linger and took the bus to Wang Yaoâs village right away.
Chen Zhouchuan didnât come due to family issues. He was a bit upset to miss the opportunity.
Chen Ying preferred Chen Zhouchuan not traveling with them. It had started to get dark by the time Chen Ying and Chen Zhou arrived at the village.
âIs there any hotel in the village?â Chen Zhou asked.
âLetâs go to see Dr. Wang first,â Chen Ying said.
âHello, Dr. Wang,â Chen Ying greeted Wang Yao as she and her brother arrived at the clinic.
âHello, come sit down please,â Wang Yao said with a smile. He made them a pot of tea.
âHow have you been lately? Busy?â Wang Yao asked.
âNot really,â Chen Ying said.
âHas Zhou had any episode?â Wang Yao asked.
âNo, heâs been stable,â Chen Ying said.
âHow about dreams at night?â Wang Yao asked.
âHe doesnât dream as often as before,â Chen Ying said.
Since Chen Zhou started taking the decoction given by Wang Yao continuously, he had dreamed much less.
âGood,â Wang Yao said. He took a good look at Chen Zhou. âHe is fine.â
âDr. Wang, we plan to stay here for until Zhou is fully recovered,â Chen Ying said.
âThatâs a good idea,â Wang Yao said.
âBy the way, are there any houses for lease here?â Chen Ying asked.
Another person wants to rent a house! âIâll ask for you,â Wang Yao said.
âOK,â Chen Ying said.
Wang Yao called his father right away to ask about house rentals in the village.
âYou know what, there is a house available for rent,â Wang Fenghua said.
âThatâs great,â Wang Yao said.
Soon, the landlord came to the clinic. He had two houses in the village for rent. However, one of them had been used to swap with the apartment in the town center. Once the construction of the apartment had been completed, the house in the village would no longer belong to them. At the moment, they could still rent the houses out to grasp the last opportunity to cash in.
The house was tidy. Chen Ying and Chen Zhou were well prepared before they came to the village. They brought all the sheets and covers with them. All the stuff occupied three big suitcases. They were prepared to stay in the village a long while. They settled after paying two monthsâ rent.
âItâs been a long time since the last time we traveled this far,â Chen Zhou said. He was actually quite happy to leave Beijing. It was a nice trip for him.
âAs long as you are happy,â Chen Ying said.
âThey stayed here for treatment?â Wang Fenghua asked while having evening dinner.
âYes,â Wang Yao said.
âWhatâs wrong with him?â Wang Fenghua asked.
âThe young manâs got issues here.â Wang Yao pointed to his head.
âTumor?â Wang Fenghua asked.
âNo, heâs got mental illness,â Wang Yao said.
âI see, but he looks fine,â Wang Fenghua said with surprise.
âHeâs fine at the moment. He hasnât had an episode for a months. No, actually more than a month,â Wang Yao said.
âSo, his condition is intermittent,â Zhang Xiuying asked.
âSort of,â Wang Yao said.
It was very quiet in the village at night. Chen Zhou sat in the courtyard by himself looking at the sky. The sky in the village looked higher than the sky in Beijing.
âSis, you mentioned Dr. Wang prefers to stay here. Is it because itâs so quiet here?â Chen Zhou asked.
âThatâs one of the reasons,â Chen Ying said.
âAny other reasons?â Chen Zhou asked.
âHeâs got a hill to look after here,â Chen Ying said.
She had been to Nanshan Hill. She had never seen such a hill before. Now thinking back, Nanshan Hill seemed to have a soul.
âCan you take me to the hill tomorrow?â Chen Zhou asked.
âYou can only see it from distance,â Chen Ying said.
âOK,â Chen Zhou said.
Both Chen Ying and her brother had a good sleep that night. It was maybe because they were tired a long trip or because they were relaxed. Or, maybe it was because the village was so quiet.
In another house in the village, some people couldnât fall in sleep. It was Professor Lu and Wen Wanâs son.
What had happened during the day really terrified them. Wen Wan almost died. Although Wang Yao saved her using two magical decoctions, she could die any time. She could fall asleep and never wake up. Therefore, Professor Lu and Wen Wanâs son couldnât sleep while Wen Wan had a few naps.
âYou guys can go to sleep,â Wen Wan said powerlessly as she looked at the two men. âIâll be fine tonight.â
âDonât worry about us, Mom, weâll sleep soon,â her son said.
âYes.â Professor Lu nodded.
âIâm really fine. I feel better after taking the decoction,â Wen Wan said.
âThatâs good, you should continue to rest,â Professor Lu said.
Wen Wan closed her eyes since it seemed that she couldnât convince the two men to go to sleep. She was really tired. She almost died during the day. It was as if she had had a weird dream and woke up exhausted. The two decoctions she took had astonishing effect. Apart from being tired, all the other symptoms had reduced. She felt warmer and more comfortable. The warm feeling came from the center her body and traveled to all her organs and limbs.
Gradually, Wen Wan fell into sleep. Her breath was steady.
âUncle Lu, Iâll stay here. You can go to sleep,â Wen Wanâs son said.
âAre you OK by yourself?â Professor Lu was still concerned.
âIâll be fine. Iâll let you know if anything happens,â Wen Wanâs son said.
âOK, Iâll sleep for a while. We will take turns,â Professor Lu said.
âIâll be fine. Donât worry,â Wen Wanâs son said.
Professor Lu went to sleep in another room. Wen Wanâs son continued to sit next to his mother. Professor Lu came back two hours later.
âCome on, go and have a rest. Iâll watch your mom for a while,â Professor Lu said.
âIâm really fine. Donât worry about me,â Wen Wanâs son said. âYouâve only slept for two hours.â
âThatâs fine,â Professor Lu said.
âOK.â Wen Wanâs son eventually failed to convince Professor Lu to go back to rest. He went off to take a nap.
They took turns to watch Wen Wan overnight. Wen Wan had a good sleep. She looked better the next morning.
âOh no, you two didnât sleep last night!â Wen Wan was concerned about the two men.
âWe are fine,â her son said.
âYou two should both go rest,â Wen Wan said.
âOK,â her son said.
Since she seemed to be fine, the two men went to rest.
Professor Lu fell into sleep right away. He was exhausted and getting old. His energy was limited, unlike Wen Wanâs son.
In a different house, Chen Ying and Chen Zhou had a simple breakfast before going out. They planned to have a walk in the village. The air in the village was very fresh in the morning. Both Chen Ying and her brother were delighted.
âNice air,â Chen Zhou said.
They went onto the path leading to Nanshan Hill as they walked.
âLet me show you Dr. Wangâs hill,â Chen Ying said.
âOK,â Chen Zhou said.
Although it was spring, the hills around Nanshan Hill still looked deserted. After passing a hill, Nanshan Hill was in front of them. It was covered by well-grown plants and looked alive.