The fool

Li Meihe shook her head frantically. "I don't know, I don't know. I just wanted to help Liangzi. I wanted to find whoever killed her. I really don't know..."

With that, she broke down sobbing.

It wasn't until evening that Li Meihe finally calmed down.

She gathered all the players around the dining table, holding the photo frame that had driven her mad the day before.

"This is a photo of me and Liangzi."

As she spoke, her eyes seemed filled with endless sorrow.

Then she reached out and slowly stroked the other girl in the photograph. "Liangzi was an orphan. Grandma Cheng found her in the Reed Marsh and brought her home. Grandma Cheng said she hoped Liangzi would always be kind and have a conscience, so she named her Cheng Liangzi."

"We were about the same age and lived in the same village. We were even in the same class at the elementary school in town, so naturally, we became close friends.

But Liangzi was different. A fever damaged her brain when she was little, and her mind stayed at the age of three forever.

Our classmates called her a fool, but she never got angry. She smiled at everyone she met.

We went to school and came home together every day. A few years passed like that, until one day in sixth grade, Liangzi stopped coming to school. I went to find her, only to see that she... she... was pregnant..."

Li Meihe began crying again. Her tears dripped onto the photo frame, landing right on Cheng Liangzi's beaming face. Like a layer of mosaic blur, they made that smiling face indistinct.

"I didn't know what to do..." Li Meihe wiped the tears from her face and continued. "I was terrified, but Liangzi was still smiling the same way.

She said, 'Meihe, I might not be able to go to school anymore. What should I do...' I didn't answer her then. I ran away. I couldn't face Liangzi like that..."

An Nian handed Li Meihe a tissue and asked, "What happened after that? Did you ever see Liangzi again?"

Li Meihe shook her head. "Afterward, I got into a middle school in the city. My family bought a home there too, and I never went back to the village.

I regret it so much. The next time I heard anything about Liangzi, it was news of her death. If only I hadn't run away, if only I'd stayed by her side... would Liangzi still be alive... It's all my fault..."

"It's not your fault!" Zhong Mingnan said indignantly. "That Old Man Luo must have gotten Liangzi pregnant! He's out of his mind. He even hugged Lin Xue that day and called her Liangzi!"

At the sudden mention of her name, Lin Xue seemed to snap back to her senses. Her face was utterly bloodless, and her lips trembled as though she felt unwell.

Thinking he had reminded Lin Xue of what happened that day, Zhong Mingnan hurriedly apologized. "Sorry, I didn't mean to."

He was at a loss, unsure how to comfort her. Lin Xue shook her head. "Sorry, I'm not feeling well. I'll go get some rest."

Everyone understood.

By the time Li Meihe finished her account, it was getting late, and everyone planned to go back and rest.

An Nian helped Li Meihe up, still offering words of comfort.

Yin Chao remained where he was and suddenly called out, "Li Meihe, aren't you going to wipe your photo frame?"

Li Meihe paused, then raised her sleeve and wiped her tears off the frame, as though handling her most cherished treasure.

She looked up. "Thank you. I didn't notice just now."

Yin Chao told her there was no need to thank him. "Oh, and shouldn't you wipe the dust off the frame too?"

Li Meihe hurriedly checked the frame, turning it over several times. Finding no dust, she gave Yin Chao a puzzled look.

He waved a hand. "Sorry, the light's too dim. I saw it wrong."

Li Meihe ignored him and turned to leave.

Only after everyone had left did Luo Lingyue ask, "Is there something wrong with her?"

Yin Chao shook his head and stood up to leave as well. "I don't know. Not yet. But at least that frame doesn't seem all that precious to her. She had to check it over and over just to see whether it was dusty."

The wind was still loud on the second night, though the singing had grown a little quieter.

Yin Chao slept a little more soundly. He began dreaming again-or rather, experiencing Empathy.

On a country path, a little girl in a red dress was chatting and laughing with a companion beside her.

Suddenly, someone ran up behind them, wearing a red dress of the same color and a similar style. She called out happily, "Meihe! Meihe! Wait for me!"

The little girl ahead stopped and turned around. She froze for a moment when she saw the girl wearing a dress so much like hers.

Then she complimented her. "It's so pretty, Liangzi. You look really pretty in red."

Liangzi lowered her head shyly.

The companion beside Meihe laughed too. "Meihe, you two look like sisters!"

Li Meihe suddenly stopped smiling. She turned and walked away, her face expressionless.

The scene changed abruptly to what seemed to be a secluded corner by a wall.

A group of children around twelve or thirteen had surrounded a girl in a red dress and were mocking her loudly.

"You're actually wearing the same dress as Meihe!"

"Yeah, have you got no shame?"

"Meihe only kept quiet because she's kind. A fool like you doesn't deserve to be her friend!"

"Do you know how she sings that song?"

Someone brought it up, and the others began to sing.

"The sun shines overhead, the flowers smile at me, the birds say, morning, morning, morning-why does a fool need to go to school..."

"Fool!"

"Fool!"

They called her a fool over and over. The girl surrounded by them had eyes full of fear, yet she still struggled to force a smile.

The scene shifted again, this time to an abandoned warehouse. An older girl brought Liangzi there.

Liangzi was still wearing that red dress, though it was much more worn. Yin Chao thought some time must have passed since the previous scene.

The older girl pointed to the woven sacks spread across the floor. "Take off your clothes and lie down there."

Liangzi resisted a little, waving her hands in refusal.

The girl grew angry. "Do you still want to be friends with me or not?"

Sure enough, she knew exactly how to manipulate Liangzi. At those words, Liangzi stopped resisting.

The girl took the opportunity to hide among a pile of junk nearby.

Yin Chao's viewpoint shifted outside the warehouse. Before long, a boy arrived, holding an old-fashioned keypad phone.

Yin Chao moved closer and saw the messages on its screen.

Du Hong: Let's meet up at that little abandoned warehouse. I'll be waiting.

The boy replied: I'm here. Where are you?

But there was clearly no further reply, so the boy entered the warehouse.

Before long, Liangzi's stifled sobs came from inside.

Yin Chao thought Du Hong must be the older girl from just now. But why had she done this?

He couldn't figure it out.

The scene continued to shift, taking him outside a dilapidated house. Time seemed to be fast-forwarding as he watched different men enter and leave the little house.

Most were elderly or middle-aged. Among them were familiar faces-the deranged Old Man Luo and his son.

The last person to enter the house was Li Meihe. She stayed inside for a few minutes, then turned and ran out.

Yin Chao saw her brace herself against the corner of a wall and vomit violently, but he couldn't make out her expression.

Later, Yin Chao's viewpoint shifted inside. He saw Liangzi give birth to her child in the cramped, damp little house.

The baby's cries pierced the darkness of the sky, bringing a glimmer of light.

The first ray of morning sunlight fell across Liangzi's face through a gap in the crumbling house.

She smiled. Looking at the baby brimming with life, she smiled with pure joy.

Yin Chao's dream ended there.

Rubbing his forehead, he sat up in bed. This was the first time he had suffered a headache after a dream.