Because of work, I lived in the mountains with a beautiful female colleague for over half a year.
She liked to swim in the river, and I liked watching her swim in the river.
Moreover, she also liked it when I stood on the bank watching her swim.
She cooked delicious food, and I loved eating the food she made. It was like a fairy – like life.
Half a year later, I gained 50 jin. I gasped even when walking.
I thought love had come, but the female colleague said to me, “I fattened you up to use you as reserve food when the heavy snow blocks the mountains!”
1
I had just started working at that time and was assigned to a very remote station.
We had to cook for ourselves. Supplies were delivered every three days, with a full variety of fruits, vegetables, eggs, and milk.
The people at the station were either those about to retire or those who held nominal positions and drew salaries without doing any work.
The old – timers would come around every now and then, and they could only “bother” me, the new young guy.
On the first day I reported, the big brothers and sisters were so excited that they were almost crying. They dragged me to a small county town for a big meal.
After having enough food and drink, they sent me back to the station and then went home.
At night, when I was almost asleep, the director kindly sent a message:
“Just forgot to say, be sure to close the doors and windows tightly when sleeping at night. Be careful of wolves and wild boars!”
When I saw this, I sobered up from the alcohol, and my headache was gone!
The work at the station was very boring, just a waste of time, but fortunately, the scenery was nice, with mountains, water, and wild boars.
But after a long time, it was a bit unbearable. Imagine not seeing a living person every few days. That sense of loneliness was suffocating.
Every day, I was looking forward to the big brother who came to deliver supplies, just hoping to say a few words to a living person.
I stayed like this for half a year. The director said a new person was coming and asked me to take good care of her.
When I heard this, I was extremely excited. Now, even a female pig would seem pretty to me.
A month later, the director brought a girl. She had just graduated like me.
She was the seventh person on the station’s roster, and we all called her Xiaoqi.
As usual, after a big meal and drinks in the county town, they sent us back to the station.
However, this time, the director didn’t rush home but stayed with us for almost half a month.
Presumably, the director was afraid that I would have thoughts about Xiaoqi’s beauty and do something bad at night.
Now that I think about it, the director’s worry was completely unnecessary!
Am I that kind of person? It’s really judging the gentleman’s heart with the heart of a villain!
After the director left, only Xiaoqi and I were left.
Our daily routine was that I slept until 10 am in the morning, and Xiaoqi got up at 7 am to exercise.
We cooked and ate together at noon. For dinner, she lost weight and only drank soup, while I ate the leftovers from noon.
At first, the two of us talked normally. Later, as we got familiar, we became more relaxed.
We climbed mountains every day, fished in the river, or secretly slipped to the small county town for a stroll.
2
One night, Xiaoqi urgently knocked on my door, asking me to save her.
As soon as I opened the door, Xiaoqi rushed in and said she seemed to have seen a wolf!
I was terrified and quickly locked the door! Although I had never seen a wolf before, I didn’t dare to take it lightly at all.
Xiaoqi said that just now, she thought the moonlight was nice and the river water was beautiful, so she learned the scene in an ancient costume drama and took off her clothes to take a bath in the river.
Halfway through the bath, she suddenly found that something seemed to be staring at her, and the grass on the bank was constantly shaking.
She suddenly remembered that the director said there were wolves and wild boars nearby. She was so scared that she put on her clothes and ran back.
After she said this, I noticed that she was only wearing a nightgown, which was wet and tightly stuck to her body, showing her curvy figure.
I turned my head and couldn’t bear to look anymore. I said the river water was not clean after all and asked her to go to the bathroom to rinse and change into my short – sleeved shirt and shorts.
After taking a bath, she made a small request, asking if I could accompany her to the river to pick up her phone.
The two of us bravely picked up the phone, and then she blushed and asked if she could sleep in my dormitory for one night. She was really scared just now!
I thought about it and agreed!
After all, I was a decent person, and she also thought I was a decent person and wouldn’t do anything to her.
At night, she slept on my bed, and I slept on the floor. The two of us chatted and then fell asleep.
The next day, when I woke up, I found that she had rolled down from the bed at some point and was huddled in my arms.
She seemed to have changed. She was very nice to me.
She never made breakfast for me before, but now she started leaving breakfast for me.
To repay her, I accompanied her every time she went swimming in the river.
Like this, more than half a year passed on and off.
One day, the sister at the station looked at me meaningfully and asked if I was in a relationship with Xiaoqi.
I told her not to think too much. Even a rabbit doesn’t eat the grass beside its den!
But the sister said I was a circle fatter than before, just like a newly – married young couple!
I didn’t notice until she said so. I turned around in front of the mirror and indeed found that I was much fatter than when I first came. My belly was like that of a four – month – pregnant woman.
However, this was only because Xiaoqi’s cooking was too delicious. I ate three big bowls every time.
When leaving, the sister quietly told me to pay attention to safety, both work safety and… life safety!
She emphasized the words “life safety” very much.
I saluted her and promised to pay attention to safety!
3
At night, I sat on the riverbank, and she swam in the river.
The moonlight spilled on the river surface, and the river water sparkled with layers of rippling light.
She bobbed up and down like a fish. Her skin was smooth and fair, very attractive.
When she came ashore, she sat beside me and said she really wanted to stay here forever, away from the noise of the city.
I said she was too idealistic. After a long time, she would naturally get tired of it.
She looked at me with a resentful look in her eyes and said she had always wanted to find a place to live in seclusion. She also asked if I would like to.
I joked that if there was electricity, the Internet, and express delivery, I would definitely go with her!
4
I was getting fatter and fatter. I even gasped when getting into bed.
I took out the weight scale that I hadn’t used for ages. When I stepped on it, it showed 190 jin.
I was shocked, and Xiaoqi was also shocked. I only weighed 140 jin when I first came. I had gained 50 jin in these half – a – year.
She said whether we should go to the hospital for an examination to see if I got sick.
I was terrified and quickly went to the hospital for various examinations. The doctor said I just had excessive nutrition.
I thought so too. I ate meat, eggs, and milk every day and didn’t exercise, so I naturally got fat.
Under Xiaoqi’s coercion, I started to lose weight. I got up early every day to do exercise with her and only drank soup at night, but there was still no effect.
She liked to swim in the river every night and even dragged me to swim with her, saying that swimming in water was the least harmful to the knees.
I couldn’t swim, so she taught me.
Slowly, I learned and swam behind her.
When I looked up at her again, she was gone!
I was anxious and quickly shouted her name in the water, but there was only the sound of the flowing water around, and there was no reply from her at all.
I returned to the shore and shouted her name again at the position where she was just now.
But the more I shouted, the more scared I became. My legs were shaking non – stop because there was no sign of her in the entire river!
I was completely terrified and quickly called the director, trembling and saying, “Xiaoqi… is gone!”
The director exploded on the other end of the phone, asking me how she was gone. He was most afraid that we would be eaten by wolves!
I said that at night, we were swimming in the river. She was swimming in front, and I was swimming behind. But as we swam, she disappeared!
The director paused for a long time and asked me to wait in place. He would bring people over immediately!
Half an hour later, the director came with the local rescue team.
I pointed to the position where Xiaoqi disappeared, trembling, and said she disappeared here.
The director saw a small whirlpool in the river by the moonlight, and his face became even uglier.
The rescue team set up an inflatable boat to search on the river surface, and the director and I searched along the riverbank.
While searching, the director told me that this river often drowned people. It looked clear, and the water flow was not fast, but there was a small hydropower station upstream, and it often adjusted the power output in summer.
The more he said, the more scared I became. The water level of the river tonight was obviously a little higher than before.
We searched all night, but there was no result.
The director said that when it was dawn tomorrow, he would use all his resources to find Xiaoqi!
5
Early the next morning, the big brothers and sisters at the station, as well as the police and firefighters, all came.
The police questioned me in detail for a long time and also asked if there were any conflicts between us.
I said our relationship was very good, and there couldn’t be any conflicts. Besides, if I had any improper thoughts about her, I would have done it long ago!
The police thought my answer was strange, and I also thought it was strange why I would say such a thing.
I suddenly thought that Xiaoqi once told me that she always wanted to live in seclusion here. Could she have taken this opportunity to secretly hide in the mountains?
When I finished speaking, everyone looked at me with a strange look.
The search and rescue team said that if Xiaoqi really had an accident, the body was most likely to appear in the river channel of the downstream county.
The county built several inflatable dams in the river channel for landscaping. When the body swelled and floated up, it would be blocked.
The director’s face was very dark. He was about to retire in half a year, and at this moment, it was obvious that he felt like dying.
He used his connections to fully inflate all the inflatable dams in the county’s river channel, preparing to intercept Xiaoqi’s body.
But in the afternoon, good news came. It wasn’t that Xiaoqi’s body was intercepted by the inflatable dam, but things belonging to Xiaoqi were found on the other side of the river!
We rushed over in a hurry and saw Xiaoqi’s swimsuit hanging on a tree branch. There was also an empty bottle of mineral water and a few small bread bags on the ground.
Everyone was excited and speculated that Xiaoqi came ashore here, changed into clean clothes, replenished her energy, and then entered the mountain.
The director’s classmate thought for a while and said it was not impossible. After all, she had said such an idea before.
A group of people prepared and then started to search in the mountain.
The mountain was not a scenic area. The roads were not developed and were very rugged. Sometimes, there was no road at all.
I was fat and out of breath, falling behind the team.
Half an hour later, I realized a serious problem.
I seemed to be left behind!
I called the director and asked them to wait for me.
The signal in the mountain was bad. The voice on the other end of the phone was full of static, and I could only vaguely hear the director asking me to go back to the station and wait for them.
I remembered that when entering the mountain, we were walking up the mountain. I turned around and started walking down the mountain, but the more I walked, the more I felt something was wrong.
I didn’t see the familiar river channel, nor the houses of our station. I only saw a gully covered with dead leaves.
I was stunned. A serious problem was in front of me!
I was fucking lost!
And even more terrifying was that the sun was setting, and the darkness in the distance was approaching with fear!
6
A huge sense of fear quickly spread from my back to my whole body.
The reason why humans are social animals is largely because of the fear of the unknown, especially the unknown risks in the dark.
Sometimes, when I only want to take a one – hour lunch break and wake up to find that it’s already dark, I always feel flustered and uneasy.
Later, I learned that this is the instinctive alertness to potential dangers that humans still retain after a long process of evolution.
And now, at this moment, I was tightly surrounded by this sense of fear.
Being in this desolate mountain, I was full of fear of unknown creatures.
Although I knew that there might not be wolves or wild boars here, the unknown things made me feel even colder.
Local people rarely enter this mountain area, let alone at night.
I looked at my phone. Sure enough, there was no signal. I should have brought the satellite phone with me.
I tried to walk back up the mountain, but my body was too fat, and several attempts failed.
By the afterglow of the sunset, I noticed that the valley seemed to be flat, like an old river channel.
I thought to myself that maybe walking along the river channel could lead me to find a way out.
However, when I opened the phone map, I almost threw the phone to the ground in anger – no signal!
I started to calm myself down and think about how to find my way back.
I remembered that the road to the station was in the east – west direction, and the old river channel I was in now was in the north – south direction.
If I went up the mountain from the south, then walking in the south direction along the old river channel might lead me back to the road to the station.
I shook the soil out of my shoes and started walking along the old river channel.
The more I walked, the happier I became because I seemed to hear the sound of flowing water. As long as I found the river, there must be a road not far away!
However, just when I was secretly happy, something that made my hair stand on end happened – I saw the North Star!
This meant that the direction I was walking was not south at all, but I had turned a corner and was walking north again!
Even more terrifying was that something seemed to be following me not far behind.
I slowly turned my head and looked. By the reflection of the moonlight, several pairs of green eyes were staring at me!
I was so scared that I let out a scream and started running forward. There was a rustling sound behind me, following closely.
Suddenly, I felt my body lighten, and I fell into a pit.
There were several animals, I didn’t know what they were, circling outside the pit. I didn’t dare to climb out, fearing that they would tear me apart.
I was so tired from this day’s tossing and turning, especially since I hardly slept after Xiaoqi disappeared from the river last night.
I didn’t know what the director and the others would think when they returned to the station and found that I was also missing, but I believed he must feel like dying!
In a daze, I don’t know when I fell asleep, and the animals by the pit also left at some point.
7
When I woke up, I found that the bottom of the pit was full of water.
Looking up, it was raining in the sky. The river water accumulated in the old river channel began to pour into the pit.
I quickly stood up and prepared to climb out, but the soil on the edge of the pit had already been wet by the rain and became thin and sticky. There was no place to exert force at all.
I knew that shallow water could drown people, and a shallow pit could also drown people!
I couldn’t wait until the pit was filled with water and then try to swim out because then I couldn’t get out at all.
I could only chisel a notch in the edge of the pit bit by bit and then climb out with difficulty.
After surviving, I lay on the ground, covering my face and gasping for breath.
It was already dawn, but the sky was overcast, and raindrops hit my face.
My phone got wet and couldn’t be turned on. I didn’t know what time it was.
I stood up and looked at the old river channel again. I still didn’t know which way to go.
The road was dark and slippery at night, and I couldn’t remember the way I came last night.
The only way in front of me was to go up the mountain because the old riverbed was starting to flood.
I found an easy – to – climb hillside and climbed up, hoping to reach the top of the mountain to see if I could see the station or the river.
Unfortunately, it was foggy all around, and I couldn’t see anything.
I was hungry and tired, and I picked up wild fruits on the way and was about to put them in my mouth.
I was eating and crying. Where the hell was this!
Where are you, Xiaoqi!
And just as I was about to swallow, a voice came from behind.
“Don’t eat that!”
I was startled by this sudden voice, and the half – eaten fruit in my hand fell to the ground immediately.
There are only two possibilities for a human voice to suddenly appear behind in the wild mountains: one is that it’s not a human, and the other…
I stood there stiffly, trembling all over, not daring to move at all.
I was afraid that, like in my hometown, a yellow – weasel would suddenly pop up and ask me, “Do I look like a human or a god?”
After a long time, the voice didn’t sound again. I mechanically turned around.
My mind went blank immediately — there was no one behind me at all!
The huge sense of fear almost made me faint. All kinds of horror stories filled my mind in an instant.
Just then, a familiar face appeared in front of me.
I wondered if I was hallucinating because of the great pressure, and I reached out to pinch that person’s face.
The face was cold but elastic. It was Xiaoqi! It was really her!
She was looking at me coldly in a raincoat.
I was extremely excited. In these few days, I had experienced almost all the worst things in my life!
I stood up straight and hugged her tightly, crying and saying,
“Xiaoqi, I finally found you. Do you know how I’ve been through these days! I thought you were drowned!”
Xiaoqi wasn’t as enthusiastic as before. Instead, she coldly pushed me away.
I grabbed her and wanted to go down the mountain, but she still didn’t move at all, like a complete stranger.
Or rather, like a zombie without a trace of blood.
I was anxious and asked Xiaoqi, “What’s wrong with you? Are you possessed? Why aren’t you talking?”
Xiaoqi was annoyed by my questions and shouted loudly that she didn’t want to go out at all!
I was stunned and murmured, asking her why. Who was in this mountain?
After a long time, she calmed down her tone and told me.
She said that she just wanted to take this opportunity to disappear from this world forever. Living in seclusion in the mountains was her dream.
That night, she saw a whirlpool in the river. She was familiar with that river and knew there was nothing under the whirlpool.
Then she dived in, swam underwater for a long time, and landed in a dense forest on the other side of the river. She changed into the clothes and items she had prepared in advance.
At that time, while eating bread to replenish her energy, she watched me frantically looking for her from a distance.
She was going to clean up the trash, but when she found me getting closer and closer, she quickly hid in the mountains.
This time, when she saw me eating poisonous fruits, she hesitated for a long time and finally couldn’t help but make a sound to remind me.
She wanted to leave quietly after reminding me, but she was afraid that I would faint and die in the mountains, so she showed up.
After hearing what she said, my brain with 4G + 125G memory seemed to crash, and it went blank.
“Xiaoqi, but you still haven’t said why you want to run into the mountains and why you don’t want to go down?” It was a long time before I came to my senses.
Xiaoqi didn’t say anything either. She just looked at the fog in the distance. After a long time, she let out a soft sigh.
She wanted to drive me away, asking me to find my own way down the mountain and tell others that I had never seen her.
But now, it was raining in the mountains, the fog was thick, and the roads were slippery. I simply didn’t know how to get out!
9
There was no other way, so I had to follow Xiaoqi to the cave where she lived in seclusion.
The entrance of the cave wasn’t big, but the inside was spacious and dry.
There were items, bedding, and some simple living supplies in the cave.
I was curious about how Xiaoqi found this place and when these items were moved in.
Xiaoqi ignored me and went to the side of a simple stove at the entrance of the cave. She added a few pieces of firewood and lit a fire.
The wind outside blew in. Passing through the stove at the entrance, the cave became much warmer in an instant.
At this moment, I realized that my nerves had been too tense in the past two days, and I had forgotten the cold. My body couldn’t help shivering.
Xiaoqi gave me a set of clothes to change into. When I looked at it, it was the shorts and short – sleeved shirt I gave her last time.
When I took off my pants, I found that my knees were bloody and stuck together, swollen high. It seemed that I had fallen into the pit yesterday.
I tugged at it hard, and it hurt so much that I couldn’t help crying out!
Xiaoqi turned her head to look at me. I was embarrassed and quickly covered my lower body.
She still looked at me coldly, without any expression. She pointed to the medicine box beside her and asked me to deal with it myself.
After I dealt with it and changed into dry clothes, I sat by the stove to warm myself.
The kettle on the stove was steaming and soon boiled.
Xiaoqi poured me a cup of water and handed it to me. I took a look. The water was yellow. I smelled it and there was a smell of traditional Chinese medicine.
I asked Xiaoqi what it was.
Xiaoqi didn’t look at me. She was using a wooden stick to turn the firewood in the stove.
“Drink it. It won’t poison you. There are herbs in it, for calming the nerves. Your nerves have been highly tense these two days, and you got caught in the rain. Now that you’ve relaxed, you’re likely to get sick.”
I was surprised. I couldn’t tell that Xiaoqi had such skills usually.
I took a sip. It was a bit bitter, with a sweet aftertaste, and it seemed a bit sour.
It seemed like wild jujube kernels, or like arborvitae seeds. But this season and this place don’t produce wild jujube kernels.
“Don’t guess. It’s poria cocos and longan pulp. I just boiled it with rainwater.”
I looked at her in surprise. She seemed to be able to see through my mind.
After drinking the herbal water and eating three pieces of baked cakes, I felt much better.
But then, drowsiness came over me. My head was dizzy, and I fell asleep with my eyes closed.
10
In a daze, I was lying on the mattress laid in the cave.
Xiaoqi was still sitting beside me expressionlessly. The fire at the entrance of the cave flickered with the wind.
“Do you know why you gained 50 jin in just half a year?”
I didn’t know. I wanted to ask her why, but my throat was tight, and I couldn’t say a word. I could only make a “woo – woo” sound.
Xiaoqi smiled, and her face gradually became ferocious.
“That’s because I put hormones in your food. I want to fatten you up as my reserve food for living in seclusion. When the heavy snow blocks the mountains, I’ll eat you, hahaha.”
Her expression was evil. Her beautiful face showed rows of fangs, turning upwards vigorously!
I was terrified and struggled hard to make a sound. Finally, I woke up with a scream!
I was breathing heavily, and my sweat had already soaked through the bedsheet.
But after looking around, I became nervous again. The cave was dark, only the fire at the entrance was glowing a little red. The pattering sound of rain was still coming from outside the cave.
For someone like me who is afraid of the dark and has a bit of claustrophobia, this is undoubtedly a kind of torture!
I swallowed a mouthful of saliva and called out softly, “Xiaoqi? Xiaoqi? Are you there?”
I called for a long time, but there was no response in the cave except for my echo.
My heart was in my throat, and I was a little crazy.
I remembered that once when I was doing an MRI, when my head entered the circular device, I felt like I was locked in a coffin. Coupled with the continuous “tick – tick – tick” sound of the machine, the feeling of suffocation reached its extreme!
And what made me even more crazy was that I didn’t know what time it was!
It seemed that I had fallen into a different – world space.
I groped around, trying to crawl out of the cave to see, even if there was a glimmer of light. But when I climbed to the entrance of the cave, I was completely disappointed!
It was still pitch – black outside the cave, only the endless sound of rain.
I started groping for the firewood on the ground, wanting to make the stove burn brighter to make the cave brighter and give myself a sense of security.
I was groping around on the ground randomly, but I couldn’t find it no matter how hard I tried.
Just when I was about to go crazy, I touched a bare human foot!
11
“You’re awake…”
A human voice sounded in my ear.
I was so scared that I let out a scream, and my body shrank back, almost knocking over the stove. Sparks splashed on my back, making a hissing sound.
It was Xiaoqi. She had been in the cave all the time, quietly watching me.
She turned on a night – light, and the cave became much brighter in an instant.
I asked her, “Why didn’t you answer when I called you just now?”
Xiaoqi said she didn’t want to answer.
I was instantly angry. “What do you mean? Do you know how dark it is in this cave? If something that science can’t explain comes out, we’re both doomed!”
Xiaoqi wasn’t angry either. She was like a dead person, just looking at me indifferently.
I asked her what time it was. Xiaoqi looked at her phone and said it was 2 am.
I let out a slight sigh of relief. Knowing the time made things easier.
They say one should have a sense of time. It’s not that you can control time, but that time reminds you what to do.
I felt like I had slept for a long time, from being brought back to the cave by Xiaoqi in the morning until midnight.
My phone had been smashed to pieces. I wanted to borrow her phone to call the director and the others.
At this moment, they should be very anxious. I needed to tell them that we were still alive and ask him to rescue us quickly.
But Xiaoqi disagreed, saying she wouldn’t go back!
I was anxious. “Xiaoqi, don’t be silly. What are you doing in this mountain? Why do you have to live in seclusion here? Have you suffered any grievances? If you have, tell me!”
“You won’t understand. I’m already tired of this world, tired of the hypocritical people.”
“I know. Then let’s go down the mountain and talk. No matter what grievances you have, I’ll help you solve them! When winter comes, staying in the mountain is a dead end!”
She was instantly angry, her eyes red, and she shouted, “No, I want to stay in the mountain. Whether I live or die, it’s none of your business!”
I felt that she was crazy, completely crazy, and not thinking like a normal person. I wanted to snatch the phone and forcefully take Xiaoqi down the mountain!
When Xiaoqi wasn’t paying attention, I got up and pounced on her. But Xiaoqi seemed to be on guard. Just as I was about to get close to her, she kicked me away.
My knee was injured, and I was fat. I lost my balance and fell to the ground.
Then she pounced on me, straddled me, and her fists rained down on me. She was also cursing while hitting, as if venting her long – pent – up emotions.
She usually looked thin, but her fists were powerful when she swung them.
I was in pain and tried my best to block with my arms. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I used all my strength to turn over and push her away. But she fell to the ground and actually got up again and continued to fight with me.
Ten minutes later, Xiaoqi used a “figure – four leg lock” to subdue me completely.
“Do you admit defeat! I’m asking you, do you admit defeat!”
“I admit defeat. Let go. It hurts!” I slapped the ground.
After Xiaoqi let me go, we were both so tired that we were lying on the ground, gasping for breath.
“Xiaoqi… Why do you have to hide in this crappy cave? Let’s go down the mountain.” I gasped, my eyes swollen from the beating and almost unable to open.
“You… Don’t worry about it… When your leg gets better, go down the mountain… You can’t solve my problems.”
“No, tell me. What problems can’t you solve…” I slightly turned my head and looked at her with one eye.
“Do you really want to know?” She also turned her head to look at me and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth.
I nodded.
She hooked her finger, asking me to bring my head closer so she could tell me.
I moved my body and tried to stretch my neck towards her.
She smiled, a smile curving her lips. She raised her palm and chopped it down towards my neck.
12
I don’t know how long I slept again. When I woke up again, the entrance of the cave was filled with morning light.
After the fight with Xiaoqi last night, every part of my body was in pain, my legs, waist, neck, and even my eyes.
In short, I was completely subdued by her. I secretly decided that I would never have a close – combat with her again in the future.
I dragged my painful leg and slowly moved to the outside of the cave. The sky outside seemed to be torn open. The gray sky was still drizzling, and the distant mountains were faintly visible in the fog, only their outlines could be vaguely identified.
I stretched out my hand to catch a few drops of rain and used them to wipe my face. The rain was bitterly cold.
Just then, Xiaoqi came back. She was wearing a raincoat and holding something in her hand. She walked slowly out of the fog.
“You’re awake…” she said softly.
My body instinctively shrank back, and then I nodded. I was still a little afraid of her in my heart, for fear that she would attack again.
She entered the cave and casually threw two rabbits on the ground. The two rabbits still seemed to have a little vitality left, their hind legs twitching slightly.
“Where did these come from?” I asked in surprise.
“I caught them in the traps I set yesterday.” She replied while taking off her raincoat. There was a purple – blue mark on her back, obviously injured by me yesterday.
Xiaoqi turned to ask me if I could kill rabbits because we were going to have rabbit meat for lunch today.
I quickly waved my hands and refused, saying that I had never even killed a chicken, let alone a rabbit. And I was born in the year of the rabbit and never ate rabbit meat.
Twenty minutes later, Xiaoqi had roasted the rabbits. I carefully took a bite and couldn’t help exclaiming, “It’s so delicious!”
She told me that if we only ate rabbit meat every day, we would starve to death sooner or later.
When I heard this, the meat in my mouth suddenly became hard to swallow.
“The fat content of rabbit meat is too low. If you really want to live in seclusion in the mountains, you must supplement enough fat.” She explained.
“Then how can we supplement it?” I asked curiously.
Xiaoqi looked at me and a mysterious smile curved her lips.
I suddenly remembered that when I was in a daze before, she seemed to have said that she would fatten me up and use me as “food” in winter. Now it seemed that I was going to be her source of fat?
Thinking of this, I was terrified, and my voice trembled as I asked her, “You don’t mean me when you say supplementing fat, do you?”
She laughed, an evil laugh. She raised her eyebrows and said, “Guess?”
“Don’t be like this. My fat is not delicious, and I… I… I’m still sick!” I said, looking at the dagger stuck in her waist and involuntarily swallowing a mouthful of saliva.
Xiaoqi suddenly burst out laughing, patted my thigh, and said she was just joking with me. She only ate high – quality fat and told me not to worry.
“Okay, don’t be angry. Hurry up and eat. It’ll get cold in a while. If you’re not full, I’ll cook you a bowl of noodles, haha.” She said.
I knew this wasn’t a funny joke. I was a bit unhappy, but I didn’t dare to be really angry, for fear that she would lock me with that figure – four leg lock again.
13
Xiaoqi and I lived like primitive people. During the day, she went out “hunting”, and I waited in the cave.
At night, I would tell her stories to lull her to sleep.
I found that she lacked a lot of security. Every time she woke up in the middle of the night, she would curl up in my arms like a kitten. I stroked her head, without any improper thoughts in my heart.
She always talked in her sleep. Most of the time, she cried and shouted, “Don’t leave me.”
Every morning when I woke up, I would ask her what dream she had at night and why she was so excited. But she always didn’t answer and got angry, asking me not to ask nonsense.
One day, Xiaoqi brought back a lame wolf. I was so scared that I shrank into the corner of the cave and asked her where it came from.
She stroked the wolf’s head and said that this wolf was probably the offspring of a female wolf and a dog from the foot of the mountain. It couldn’t integrate into the mountain group. She sighed that it was so pitiful. With a bad birth, it wasn’t accepted by society and could only wander alone.
Xiaoqi said she wanted to give it a new name and let it start a new life. We discussed for a long time and finally decided to call it “Rainy Day” because the day we found it was exactly a rainy day.
Although the name was a bit casually chosen, Rainy Day seemed very happy. It felt recognized, and after wandering for half its life, it finally had a group willing to accept it. It wagged its tail excitedly and licked our faces.
Rainy Day really had the potential to become a domestic dog. During the day, it would follow Xiaoqi out “hunting”, and at night, it would consciously sleep at the entrance of the cave. At the slightest sign of trouble, it would prick up its ears and assume a defensive posture, being very alert.
A few days later, my knee had almost recovered, and I could basically go out for activities.
Xiaoqi asked me to go down the mountain and find a good hospital to take an X – ray. She was worried that I might have sequelae.
I disagreed and asked her to go down the mountain with me. This time, she had to listen to me no matter what!
She was firm – minded and refused to go, saying that she came out of the mountains and also wanted to go back to the mountains!
I cursed her, asking if she was crazy. This wasn’t going back to the mountains but going back to the mountains to die!
We had a big fight again, and Rainy Day whined beside us, trying to persuade us.
“You’re right. I’m going back to the mountains to die. I’ve already died once when I came out of the mountains. Now I don’t mind dying again!” Xiaoqi roared angrily, and at the same time, a bolt of lightning crashed down from the sky, as if echoing her.
She calmed down her tone a bit and told me to go down the mountain quickly. She had checked the weather forecast and it was going to rain heavily soon. If I didn’t leave, I might not be able to leave.
Moreover, the food was not enough for two people to share now. If this continued, I could only wait for death with her.
I still wanted to persuade her, so I also softened my tone and was about to say, “Well, why don’t you guide me down the mountain? I’m afraid I’ll get lost again.”
At this moment, Rainy Day suddenly became alert, then started pacing restlessly in the cave, and finally began to bark wildly.
Xiaoqi told Rainy Day to be quiet because she wanted to talk to me.
As a result, Rainy Day became even more anxious and bit our sleeves, trying to pull us outside.
Xiaoqi was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized and shouted, “Not good! The cave might collapse!”
I was shocked and hurriedly asked her, “Why would the cave collapse? Isn’t this the seclusion place you carefully selected?”
Xiaoqi pulled me while shouting, “There’s no time to explain. Run quickly!”
I limped and ran out in a hurry. It started raining outside the cave again. We stepped on the muddy mountain road and ran towards the top of the mountain.
At this time, running towards the top of the mountain was the safest. When we reached the top of the mountain, we saw that there were continuous rocks falling from the entrance of the cave on the halfway up the mountain.
I asked again, “Wasn’t this cave carefully selected by you?”
Xiaoqi said, “When we were at the foot of the mountain, you were following me every day. I didn’t have time to find a suitable cave. Now it has been raining continuously for so many days, and it’s inevitable that it can’t hold up!”
I said, “If I had known you were going to live in seclusion, you should have called me to go to the mountain with you to choose. I used to study geology. Although I haven’t passed the geotechnical engineer exam for many years, I’m good at choosing caves!”
Xiaoqi gave me a white look and scolded me for being a hind – sighted person.
14
The rain was getting heavier and heavier. We took shelter under a big tree. Rainy Day pricked up its ears and paced around us alertly.
Xiaoqi shivered and sat on a big rock, hugging her knees with both hands. I took off my coat and held it above her head to block the raindrops falling through the gaps in the leaves.
After a long time, Xiaoqi looked up at me. “Do you know why I’m living in seclusion in the mountains now? You may think I’m unreasonable, almost crazy!”
She paused. “But this is my true thought, and I’ve only told this thought to you.”
I looked down at her, and a raindrop slid across my face.
I said, “Then tell me. For such a long time, actually, I’ve also been wondering why. Why would a young person with a great youth have such a strange thought? In my eyes, it’s almost morbid.”
Xiaoqi smiled, a bitter smile. She turned her head and looked at the overlapping mountains shrouded in fog in the distance.
Xiaoqi said that she was born and raised in the mountains. At that time, her father worked outside all year round, and there were only her mother and her at home.
Her grandmother didn’t treat their mother – daughter well because she was a girl. The only time her grandmother came to their house every month was when her father sent money. Her grandmother would take most of the money, saying that she was saving it for her mother, fearing that her mother, a woman, would spend it recklessly.
And every time her father came back, he would have a big fight with her grandmother. Her grandmother said that she was doing it for her father’s good. He worked outside all year round, and she was afraid that her mother would mess around if she had money.
After her grandmother said this many times, her father got really angry and issued an ultimatum that if her grandmother talked nonsense again, he would tear her mouth apart.
Slowly, after Xiaoqi’s 18th birthday, she counted the days and looked forward to her father’s return. Because her father had promised her that when she got the admission notice, he would take their mother – daughter to live in the city.
But as the days passed, her father didn’t come back.
One day, her mother suddenly looked flustered, covering her chest and saying to her, “My dear, why is my heart beating so fast?”
And her grandmother and uncle, who had celebrated her birthday, didn’t come either. She heard from the neighbor that they had rushed to the provincial capital early in the morning.
Three days later, her grandmother came back with her father’s belongings. Her father had a mining accident, and the boss was willing to pay compensation for a private settlement.
Her grandmother and uncle signed the agreement without hesitation and came back with the money in a hurry three days later.
Entering the door, her grandmother threw her father’s belongings on the table and then left 50,000 yuan.
Her mother hugged her father’s belongings and cried bitterly. Xiaoqi cried even more heartbreakingly and fainted several times.
A few days later, her mother recovered a bit. Despite her grandmother’s obstruction, she took Xiaoqi to the mine and found out that the boss had compensated 500,000 yuan, and her grandmother and uncle had embezzled 450,000 yuan.
When they came back and asked her grandmother for the money, her grandmother said that this was the money her son got with his life. Her mother would remarry sooner or later with her daughter, and giving them 50,000 yuan was a great kindness.
Her mother and Xiaoqi couldn’t fight against her grandmother and uncle. They were also taken away their house and driven to a dilapidated house on the mountainside.
At this point, her mother was so heartbroken that she completely lost her mind. One night, her mother accidentally fell down the mountain.
By this time, Xiaoqi’s eyes were red, and it was hard to tell whether the water on her face was rain or tears.
I felt sorry for her and gently stroked her head, sighing and comforting her.
But Xiaoqi wiped the water on her face, turned to look at me, and said, “You don’t need to comfort me. They killed my mother, and I won’t let them have an easy life!”
I was stunned for a moment, feeling that her story wasn’t over yet. “Then… what happened later?”
Xiaoqi smiled, a gloomy smile. “Guess where they are now?”
15
What Xiaoqi said next made my hair stand on end.
I could never have imagined that a weak – looking girl actually killed her whole family!
Xiaoqi said that with the help of kind – hearted villagers, she cremated her mother. She knew that her mother had no more attachment to this place.
She buried her mother’s ashes on the mountain opposite the place where her father had the mining accident, so that her mother could be closer to her father.
After doing all this, she returned to the mountains alone and pushed her grandmother, who was picking mountain products, down the mountain.
She thought that all this was caused by her grandmother. If it weren’t for her grandmother wanting to buy a house in the county town for her uncle to get married, her father wouldn’t have worked so hard in the mine, and her mother wouldn’t have gone crazy and accidentally fallen down the mountain.
Xiaoqi didn’t rush down the mountain but waited for her uncle to drive back.
At night, when her uncle was driving in a hurry along the only mountain road into the village, she used a wooden stick to pry a big stone that she had prepared on the top of the mountain down.
Maybe God had eyes. Coupled with her uncle’s poor driving skills, the rolling stone hit the front of her uncle’s car precisely.
Her uncle couldn’t dodge in time, and the car with him crashed down the mountainside.
After doing all this, she didn’t feel scared at all. Instead, she was extremely calm, even a little happy.
That night, she slept extremely soundly. She hadn’t been this calm for a long time.
During the four years of college, she graduated smoothly through part – time jobs.
On the day of graduation, everyone was looking forward to a new life, but she became more and more anxious. She even dreamed that her deceased father and mother were standing on the halfway up the mountain, waving to her.
When she learned that our company was looking for people to work at the mountain station, she resolutely came here.
After arriving at the station, seeing the mountains and rivers that were the same as those in her hometown, she felt that she had come to the right place. The idea of living in seclusion in the mountains became even more urgent.
Xiaoqi thought that this was the end of her life and also the starting point of her life.
After Xiaoqi told me all about herself, she felt much better. Maybe it was because the secret she had buried in her heart for many years had finally been told.
I looked at Xiaoqi, feeling mixed emotions in my heart. I didn’t know what to say.
Suddenly, I felt that this world was so… How to describe it? I just couldn’t find a word to describe my feelings.
Maybe it was bad, or maybe it was chaotic!
Xiaoqi said to me, “I’ve told you my secret. You mustn’t tell anyone else.”
I sighed and nodded, saying that I wouldn’t tell others.
Xiaoqi smiled when she heard my answer and said that she actually didn’t put medicine in my food and never thought of using me as a reserve of fat.
The reason why I was so fat was purely because the food was too good and I didn’t like to exercise.
She stood up, with a relaxed expression and even a smile on her face.
At this moment, the rain actually stopped! The sun appeared in the sky, and the fog in the distance was beginning to dissipate.
“Okay, the story is over. I should go back now.” she said.
I quickly asked her, “Where are you going back in such heavy rain?”
Xiaoqi said that her parents’ belongings were still in the cave, and she wanted to go back to get them.
I was anxious and said, “I’ve told you the cave could collapse at any moment. It’s suicidal for you to go back!”
She said that she would come back after getting her parents’ belongings, and now that the rain had stopped, there shouldn’t be a big problem. She asked me to wait for her in place.
I still wasn’t reassured and firmly held her back, not letting her go.
She turned around, looked at me affectionately, and reached out to gently wipe the rain from my face.
“Chen Jie, wait for me to come back. I’ve thought it over. After getting the belongings, we’ll go down the mountain together. You can find a new job, and I’ll turn myself in.”
I stood there, asking her to be sure to come back.
She nodded seriously.
16
Xiaoqi went down the mountain with Rainy Day, and I stared intently at the direction she was going.
But after waiting for a long time, I didn’t see Xiaoqi come back.
I suddenly felt something was wrong. I picked up a branch on the ground and limped hurriedly towards the cave.
The closer I got to the cave, the more flustered I became.
“Boom!” A loud noise came from the halfway up the mountain, followed by an echo in the mountains.
I shouted that it was not good, threw away the branch, and stumbled towards the cave.
At this moment, the scene in front of me drove me completely crazy!
The cave had collapsed, and the trees on the cave also collapsed, forming a small depression.
I knelt on the ground and kept pulling out the stones, shouting Xiaoqi’s name loudly.
Until my fingernails all turned over, I still couldn’t open the entrance of the cave.
At this time, the fog in the mountains had completely dissipated. Not far away, I could actually vaguely see the direction of the station!
It was so close to me, yet so far away.
I ran to the station for help. When the director and the others saw me suddenly come back, they were so surprised that they couldn’t speak.
“Chen… Jie? You’re really still alive?”
I said, “What do you mean? I’m alive and well. Hurry up and save Xiaoqi. She’s buried in the cave!”
But!
Everyone searched for several days but couldn’t find the collapsed cave I mentioned, not even the collapsed place.
I was not reconciled. I took people and walked along the route of the first time I entered the mountain according to my memory. I even found the earthen pit in the old river channel, but I just couldn’t find Xiaoqi’s cave.
How could this be? Did I get lost again, or did I really remember it wrong?
Seeing this, the director contacted the drone rescue. Even the big tree on the top of the mountain where Xiaoqi and I took shelter from the rain was found, but still, the collapsed cave couldn’t be found.
17
The director told me that from the time I got lost in the mountains to my appearance, a total of one month had passed.
I was stunned for a long time because in my memory, only seven days had passed, and I had counted the days carefully every day.
The director turned on his phone and showed me the news.
“The continuous rainfall for a month has ended. Experts say that this rainfall is the longest and has the highest precipitation in the local area since meteorological records began, a once – in – a – millennium event.”
I looked at the director, feeling that there was an illusion of time.
A few days later, I took a car and left the station, staying away from this place forever.
I looked at the gradually receding mountains and fell asleep in a daze.
In my dream, Xiaoqi and Rainy Day stood on the halfway up the mountain, smiling and saying, “Chen Jie, thank you!”
I shouted her name and was about to chase after her, but she and Rainy Day slowly disappeared into the fog.
(The End)
