Memory inheritor

Chapter 207 Scars

Chapter 207 Scars (Part 2)

"Yeah, why don't you listen to me? It makes you look stupid!" Zhang Shuqiu said, slapping the table. "Do you remember the time I yelled at you here?"

Wei Hongsi nodded: "Yes, of course I remember. You even tore up the newspaper that published my essay."

Zhang Shuqiu pouted: "Don't be so petty! I later found another newspaper and cut out your essay!"

Wei Hongsi asked, "So you're the one who slipped it into that novel?"

Zhang Shuqiu waved his hand: "Don't interrupt. I'm asking you, why didn't you listen to me when you were little? Do you think I would harm you?"

Hearing that her tongue was slurring, Wei Hongsi went along with her, saying, "Then can you tell me why you want me to appear a little stupid?"

"Because something terrible will happen." Zhang Shuqiu's eyes showed terror. "I saw my dad take a little kid to the underground storage room in the back of the neighborhood, and later that kid really became mentally disabled. There was another kid, and then he disappeared!"

Wei Hongsi asked, "Are you talking about things from our childhood?"

Zhang Shuqiu didn't answer him, but continued, "I'm afraid my father will take you to that place too, I'm afraid you'll become a real idiot, I'm afraid you'll disappear. That day I saw my father take you to the neighborhood behind the house, and I was terrified."

"I followed you, and I saw you go into that warehouse. I waited for a long time, but you didn't come out, so I went up and knocked on the door. I knocked and knocked, and then my dad came out. He became very, very fierce."

As she spoke, she suddenly stood up and pulled up her T-shirt to cover her head.

Wei Hongsi was startled by her sudden action and tried to stop her, but it was too late. Fortunately, she was wearing a bra underneath, so he quickly said, "Put your bra down."

Zhang Shuqiu turned around and said, "Brother Hongsi, look, my dad beat me really badly!"

Wei Hongsi's outstretched hand, which was about to pull down her clothes, froze.

A foot-long scar was visible on Zhang Shuqiu's back, clearly an old wound from many years ago, still bruised and gruesome. It's truly hard to imagine how that little girl endured such pain back then. How old was she then, seven or eight?

"It still hurts now. Whenever it rains or the wind blows, my back aches and throbs. It hurts so much, Brother Hongsi."

Wei Hongsi took a deep breath and pulled the clothes covering Zhang Shuqiu's head down. Seeing that her hair was messy, he tidied it up with his hands and then gently pressed her shoulder to help her sit down.

Zhang Shuqiu sat on a small chair, picked up a can of beer from the table, poured the remaining beer into his mouth, and then shook the empty can at Wei Hongsi.

Seeing that she was dazed and confused, Wei Hongsi didn't offer her any more drinks. Instead, he asked, "Have you ever read a book called 'The Story of Time'?"

Zhang Shuqiu stared blankly for a moment, then asked, "Brother Hongsi, have you ever met my mother?"

"No. Have you seen her?"

"I must have seen her when I was very young, but I don't remember it."

Wei Hongsi nodded slightly. He had heard his older brother say that no one, whether neighbors in the same community or his father's colleagues, had ever seen Uncle Zhang's wife. It seemed that everyone had known Zhang Zi since he was a single father.

Zhang Shuqiu shook his head and said with a smile, "I thought I would never remember what my mother was like again, but then I dreamed about her. I knew then that she was in my mind."

Wei Hongsi was startled and asked, "What did you dream about your mother's appearance?"

Zhang Shuqiu frowned and thought for a moment, then asked in a questioning tone, "What does my mother look like? I don't think I know!"

She's about my age now, but what does she look like?

Wei Hongsi said, "Don't rush, think about it slowly."

Zhang Shuqiu shook his head: "I can't remember. My mother is gone again. She might really be dead."

Wei Hongsi then asked, "Is your mother a writer?"

"I don't know." Zhang Shuqiu shook her head again, then suddenly stared blankly, covered her mouth, got up and ran to the bathroom. Wei Hongsi then heard the sound of vomiting.

After a while, when the vomiting stopped, Wei Hongsi went over and knocked on the door: "Are you alright?"

Zhang Shuqiu said, "I'm fine, don't come any closer, I need to use the restroom!"

Wei Hongsi went to wait in the living room. After about ten minutes, when he heard the sounds of flushing and washing up had stopped, he went over and knocked on the door.

The door opened quickly, and Zhang Shuqiu's head popped out. He grinned foolishly and said, "Brother Hongsi, I feel so dizzy. I want to lie down for a while."

Wei Hongsi stepped aside, and Zhang Shuqiu staggered out, pushed open the door to another room, walked to the bed, and collapsed onto it.

Wei Hongsi was just wondering whether to help her lie down properly when he saw Zhang Shuqiu wriggle a few times like an eel and then lie down on the bed. She even pulled a towel over her stomach as if it were an instinct and she didn't need anyone to take care of her.

He stood at the bedroom door for a while and found that Zhang Shuqiu was not asleep. She would open her eyes from time to time to look around, as if to confirm where she was. She did this several times before finally closing her eyes.

Wei Hongsi turned to leave when he heard Zhang Shuqiu say, "Brother Hongsi, I'm coming to see you, you didn't know, did you?"

"Hmm, I really don't know." Wei Hongsi turned around again, walked to the bedside, and saw that Zhang Shuqiu still had her eyes closed.

All I heard her say was, "I'm so sad that you don't recognize me anymore. But seeing you going to school and working so well makes me so happy."

""

Wei Hongsi wasn't sure if she was talking in her sleep, so he asked, "Why did you come looking for me?"

Zhang Shuqiu said, "Because you are the ray of light I saw in the darkness! Without you, I might have died long ago."

"Brother Hongsi, I'm so scared. When I got home that day, I saw that person going through my things. He said he was my dad. He took Mom's books and your whistle—"

"I thought we were both fish that slipped through the net, that no one would pay attention to us anymore. So what if you don't know me? It's fine as it goes on. But why did he come looking for me? I'll never put my keys under the doormat again—"

"I knew he would definitely come looking for you, but I didn't expect him to follow me to find you. I didn't mean to, Brother Hongsi, please don't blame me, okay?"

"He's dead, he's dead, he's dead too—will anyone come looking for us?"

Zhang Shuqiu's voice grew softer and softer until she finally started snoring.

Seeing that she had fallen asleep, Wei Hongsi left the bedroom and sat down on the sofa in the living room. After pondering for a moment, he felt that some information could be verified with Zhang Shuqiu after she woke up, so he didn't tell his older brother yet.

He didn't know how long Zhang Shuqiu would sleep. It wasn't even three in the afternoon yet, so there was still plenty of time. He took out a book he carried with him from his backpack and started reading.

About an hour later, noises came from the bedroom.

Zhang Shuqiu came out and saw Wei Hongsi in the living room, and said in surprise, "Ah, what are you doing here?"

Wei Hongsi closed the book and said, "I see you've had too much to drink, so I'll wait a bit."

"Oh, I'm fine," Zhang Shuqiu said, and went into the bathroom.

After using the restroom, she came to the living room and gave Wei Hongsi an apologetic smile: "I'm so sorry, I drank too much. Did I make a fool of myself?"

Wei Hongsi asked, "Do you remember what you said?"

Zhang Shuqiu said, "I might talk nonsense when I'm drunk, please don't mind it."

Wei Hongsi looked her over for a while and said, "You have a scar on your back."

"Huh?" Zhang Shuqiu instinctively pressed down on his clothes. "You were peeking at me!"

Wei Hongsi said, "Do you think so?"

Zhang Shuqiu smiled awkwardly and said, "This is from when I was little, I accidentally got burned by the stove. Sigh, why am I telling you this when I'm drunk?"

Wei Hongsi said, "I have some questions I'd like to ask. Would you be willing to answer them?"

Zhang Shuqiu was silent for a moment, then said, "You're so serious. I'm sober now, and I don't have the same impulse I had when I first saw you. If you want to ask me anything, how about letting me get drunk again?"

Wei Hongsi sighed and said, "Then forget it. Alcoholism is not good."

Zhang Shuqiu said, "That's right. I haven't written anything today yet. Ugh, my head is starting to hurt. I'll probably be writing until well past midnight. I can't keep you company!"

As she spoke, she walked to the workspace, sat down in the ergonomic chair, opened the typing software, pondered for a moment, and then began typing away.

Wei Hongsi walked to her room and looked around for a while. Perhaps he had written an interesting part, because Zhang Shuqiu started chuckling as she typed.

Wei Hongsi shook his head and said, "Then I'll go first. Take care of yourself and remember to eat."

Zhang Shuqiu waved without turning his head: "Goodbye."

After a while, she heard the sound of a door closing from the living room. She stood up, ran out to check, and saw that Wei Hongsi had already left. She breathed a long sigh of relief.

She picked up a bag of shrimp chips from the coffee table, tore it open, ate some, then put the bag down, wiped her fingers on her clothes, and went back to her computer, put on her headphones, turned on some music, and continued typing.

Her fingers danced rhythmically across the keyboard. She was very satisfied with this passage, and a smile couldn't help but appear on her face as she wrote it.

But as she wrote, her fingers slowed down, and a wave of sadness welled up from the bottom of her heart. She could no longer hold back, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

She clenched her fists and pressed her lips tightly together, trying not to cry out. The tears flowed freely for a while before finally subsiding, but her mind felt completely blank, incapable of any further thought.

She opened the drawer on her right, took out a paper cutter, slowly pushed out the blade, and moved the blade towards her wrist.

It shouldn't hurt too much, right? After all, there have been experiences that were even more painful than this.

As she was thinking this, she took a deep breath and was about to swipe the PIN when the phone on the table suddenly vibrated twice.

She was startled, nearly dropping the paper cutter. She placed the knife on the table, picked up her phone, and saw a message from Wei Hongsi: "Want to come over for dinner tonight?"

Seeing this message, the corners of her mouth gradually turned up, and she replied, "No, I'm going to write 20,000 words today!"

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