Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The area around the hospital was much quieter at night than during the day.
Although the man had kept his voice down, Qin Zhiâai had clearly heard him.
Stunned for a moment, and without considering what his words really meant, she looked up, but before she could see his face he had already released her arm and left.
She turned around and only managed to catch the back of a man wearing a black down jacket.
Qin Zhiâai stood by the road for some time before returning to her senses. Striding toward the entrance of the hospital, the manâs words echoed in her mind. âLeave Hui Shi.â
Is someone playing a prank on me, or was that a threat? A warning?
Qin Zhiâai abruptly stopped in her tracks.
First, I was abducted at the annual party. And then my mother is in a traffic accident. Is this just a coincidence?
Rattled by her own thoughts, she turned her head and stared for a long time at the spot where the man had bumped into her. She eventually returned to her motherâs room.
...
When Qin Zhiâai returned, her mother was already asleep, and she didnât wake her up.
It wasnât until the next day, as Qin Zhiâai and her mother were strolling in the hospitalâs backyard, that she had the opportunity to ask her, âMum, howâd you get into that accident?â
âI was square dancing with a few friends at the plaza in our neighborhood, and when I was preparing to head home a motorbike just ran me over.â
âWho called for the ambulance? Was it the person who knocked you down?â
Upon hearing Qin Zhiâai mention this, her mother became agitated. âAunt Zhang was the one who called for the ambulance. The man on the motorbike didnât slow down and in fact sped off after he ran over me!â
How abnormal for someone to not even check on someone after hitting them with a vehicle...
Qin Zhiâaiâs arm trembled slightly as she held onto her motherâs elbow.
Her mother had continued to rattle on for some time before she noticed Qin Zhiâaiâs reticence and called out, âXiaoâai?â
Receiving no response, she turned around and saw Qin Zhiâai staring straight ahead, looking distracted. Stopping in her tracks, she called out again, âXiaoâai?â
Snapping back to reality, Qin Zhiâai smiled gently at her mother. âMum, please be more careful in the future.â
...
Qin Zhiâai wasnât sure if she was overthinking but, after having heard her motherâs description of the accident, she remained uneasy throughout that night.
In the subsequent days, she was always on guard and perpetually worried that some odd incident would occur again.
After two weeks had passed, her mother was discharged from the hospital. Because nothing had happened to her family or herself during that time, Qin Zhiâai gradually began to breathe easier.
...
There was less than a week until Chinese New Year.
Although sheâd only need to work for another three or four days before the long Chinese New Year holiday, she was too embarrassed to ask Xiaowang for more time off work. On the second day after her motherâs discharge, Qin Zhiâai purchased her train ticket to return to Beijing.
When Qin Zhiâai was lining up for the security check at Hangzhou East station, someone suddenly shoved her forward and, like she had experienced with the man that night in front of the hospital, a voice whispered close to her ear, âLeave Hui Shi immediately if you do not want your mother to be hospitalized again.â