Scheming

1989. It was a time of unstable sunshine when my mother got lost on her way to the hospital and gave birth to me in a cemetery late at night.

People say that a life as cheap as a dog's at birth will later become that of a dragon or a tiger.

But after I was born, I would always fall inexplicably ill. Even major hospitals couldn't do anything about me. I had so many critical illness notices that I stacked them up and bound them into a notebook.

To help me survive, my mother visited many people and tried all sorts of folk remedies and secret prescriptions. Finally, she found a fortune teller.

The fortune teller said that I had been targeted before I was even born. Born in a yin year, on a yin calendar date, at a yin hour, in a yin place, with a yin ghost assisting in the delivery, I was naturally filled with heavy yin energy, attracting vengeful spirits. He also said that this kind of fate was called "Yin Corpse Ghost Fate," and there was no cure. Even with all efforts, I would never live past seven years old. After death, I would be raised by the malevolent person into a "Blood Robe Little Ghost" to harm others.

My mother was stunned. Thinking that I would become a ghost to harm others after death, she felt goosebumps all over her body. She hurriedly begged the fortune teller for help. The fortune teller initially felt compassion, but after calculating with his fingers, he immediately packed his bags and fled as if on wings.

My mother cried and fainted several times. Finally, she remembered Grandma, who could exorcise ghosts and cure illnesses.

Grandma was a renowned Immortal Aunt. During the Cultural Revolution, when all "monsters and ghosts" were being purged, she had fled into the deep mountains and forests to avoid persecution, disappearing without a trace.

My mother was stubborn. She immediately picked up the critically ill me and followed the old path Grandma had taken into the deep mountains and forests for three days and three nights. She suffered greatly, but thankfully, heaven took pity, and she finally found where Grandma lived.

Grandma took me, her grandson, from my mother's arms, her eyes teary with joy. But then she calculated with her fingers and immediately stomped her feet and cursed.

"What little beast dared to harm my precious grandson's life!"

My mother thought she was scolding her and was so scared she fell to the ground, crying uncontrollably. Of course, that's what my mother described later. Given Grandma's calm demeanor, whether it was true or not is unknown. However, every time she embellished the story, I would be filled with admiration for Grandma's powerful aura, which might also be why I liked being close to her.

Realizing I had been cursed, Grandma immediately set up an altar. However, this wasn't to exorcise ghosts or cure my illness, but to "take it upon herself" to arrange a child bride for me.

Regardless of whether Grandma's method was right or wrong, I no longer suffered from disasters or illnesses and lived a peaceful life.

Many people might say I am ungrateful, even using the word "took it upon herself." You must understand that in this day and age, there are plenty of people in their thirties and forties who haven't had a girlfriend. You, a kid who hasn't even grown hair, already have a wife, so what are you dissatisfied about?

Actually, I have my reasons. My "child bride" is not what most people imagine. It's not that she's not pretty or has aged, but rather that I've never even seen her all these years!

But Grandma said: she has always been by my side.

Later, when the neighbor installed a metal satellite dish, we could receive several TV channels. After watching many historical dramas, I gradually understood what a child bride was.

A child bride was a distorted arranged marriage in the old days where common people who couldn't afford to raise their daughters would sell them to be wives for the children of wealthy families. The age difference was usually large, like a wife or a sister. However, the children who married child brides were usually well taken care of.

But the child bride I married was invisible, which was truly bizarre!

At seven or eight years old, I felt that since I had a Sister Wife, you should at least let me see her, right?

So I pestered Grandma, asking many questions about the invisible Sister Wife. However, Grandma would always smile gently while looking at the empty space beside me, leaving me utterly confused.

So, one time, unable to bear being tripped and with no one to help me up, I jokingly said to Grandma: "Grandma, you say I have a child bride, my lawfully wedded wife, but in reality, I've never even seen her. When I fall, no one helps me. It's just a name without substance. If I find someone I like in the future, I'll marry her as my true wife!"

I remember Grandma's expression changed immediately. She hurried me to stop talking nonsense, saying that even if I found someone I liked, I could only take her as a concubine, not marry her.

Being stubborn, I naturally wouldn't agree: "If I can only take a concubine and not marry, what girl would be willing to be my concubine?"

The usually quiet Grandma was taken aback by my stubbornness.

But soon I paid the price. A gust of cold wind suddenly blew around me. Looking back, I was so scared I almost died, and I quickly ran to hug Grandma.

Finally, Grandma made me say "I was just joking," and the eerie feeling subsided.

From then on, I truly began to feel the presence of something invisible around me, and I couldn't sleep well for many days.

As for the first time I saw her, I think it was when I went to the town to study at the age of twelve.

The summer weather in the south was exceptionally hot, and the small town felt like a steamer. After school, we children liked to take our schoolbags and go swimming in the nearby rivers and streams.

That day, Zhang Yi Dan and I, along with six or seven other children from the next class, went to the river near Huang Dong's house to race, as suggested by Huang Dong.

Zhang Yi Dan, like me, was a child from Grandma's Xiao Yi Hamlet. His original name was Zhang Yuan Yi. Because he was a bit cheeky as a child and always liked to run around naked, his friends noticed that one of his testicles was particularly large and covered the other, so they nicknamed him Zhang Yi Dan. However, he didn't mind and even took pride in it.

His somewhat foolish personality also had its advantages, allowing Zhang Yi Dan to make many friends in the same grade.

I was the opposite. I inherited my mother's somewhat stubborn nature, but under Grandma's upbringing and influence, I was more patient and steady in my actions. Therefore, as a mature child, I didn't have much in common with my peers.

However, Zhang Yi Dan was very sharp. From his childhood experiences, he knew that I was famously lucky and always turned danger into safety, so he always liked to hang around with me. Of course, swimming was something he couldn't leave me out of.

We passed through a dense orchard and arrived at the river not far from Huang Dong's house.

This stream was a branch from Vietnam. The water flow was calm but wide and deep, but it couldn't stump us children who were good swimmers.

As soon as we arrived, everyone stripped naked.

I was about to take off my clothes and go into the river when I felt a cold wind blow from behind me. I shivered instantly.

This situation hadn't happened many times since I became sensible, but each time, it made my hair stand on end and put me on alert.

But I watched two or three children jump into the water, playing joyfully in the calm surface. Even with my good temper, I was getting impatient from the heat.

Zhang Yi Dan was completely naked and pulled at me, urging me to get in the water: "Tian Ge, let's go too!"

If I had felt a cold wind behind me before, I would have turned and left immediately. But today, I was unhappy. At twelve or thirteen years old, teachers said this was the rebellious phase. Why couldn't I be willful just once?

Huang Dong, the leader of the children from the next class, saw the supposed leader of Zhang Yi Dan's class calling me "Tian Ge" and looked down on my hesitation to enter the water: "Xia Yitian, what's wrong? Can't you swim? Or are you a coward afraid of death?"

"Huang Dong, are you looking for trouble? My Tian Ge is afraid of death?" Zhang Yi Dan said, glaring, but he still glanced at me cautiously.

I thought I couldn't back down. I hesitated and looked back, then took off my clothes and followed Zhang Yi Dan into the water. However, I didn't start swimming immediately but stood in the knee-deep water, watching them play.

"Damn it, this kid is actually afraid of death, right, Brother Dong? Brother Dong is braver."

"Heh heh, no need to ask." Huang Dong glanced at me disdainfully and led the other children to swim further into the deeper water. He also turned back and said, "Zhang Yi Dan, are you scared just because it's not your turf? Dare you team up with your Tian Ge to race us across the river?"

"Idiot, dare to race across the river with my Tian Ge?" Zhang Yi Dan was annoyed. He was known in the village as a "Flying Water Fish" and swam very fast. I was also a good swimmer, and the two of us had never lost a river race together, so he immediately agreed to race us.

I was about to leave with Zhang Yi Dan when a strange force suddenly pulled me. I could even feel a cold hand distorting the underwear I was wearing.

I reached back with both hands to cover my backside, which was about to be exposed, but with a rip, my underwear almost tore apart. Angered, I turned to curse whoever was messing with me, only to look behind me and see nothing there.

But when I looked back, I immediately saw a red figure on the water's surface behind me, pulling me. However, the water was rippling from us kids playing, so I couldn't see her clearly, but it was enough to scare me.

I immediately tried to grab Zhang Yi Dan and stop him from going further. "Yi... Yi Dan, don't go any further. Quick, get back to shore."

Zhang Yi Dan, who had been about to go in, saw my ashen face and immediately ran over. "What's wrong, Tian Ge? Are you okay?"

"I feel like something's not right. Don't you think this river is too quiet?" I made up an excuse and looked around the riverbank, not seeing anything that would stop me from going into the water.

Xiao Yi Hamlet didn't have many people, and Zhang Yi Dan knew about Grandma's deeds, so he listened to me without question. He immediately said fearfully, "Tian Ge, then what did you see?"

"I don't know, but we should get out of the water right now," I repeated.

"Hey, classmates! Everyone get out of the water with me!" Zhang Yi Dan immediately waved to the two remaining classmates.

"Haha, everyone from Class 138 is a coward!" Huang Dong immediately mocked us when he saw everyone from our class get out.

"You said you'd compete with us in a water battle? What a joke, go home and drink milk," Huang Dong's companions also jeered at us.

Although the two classmates looked down on me a bit because of this, they didn't dare to object to Zhang Yi Dan and quickly got onto the riverbank.

I ignored the mockery. Once I was on shore, the chilling feeling subsided quite a bit. I panted and looked back at the river, only to see a pair of pale hands beneath the water not far from Huang Dong, floating and sinking as if surrendering.