Shen Wangjing found a vehicle that night and took Shen Yuxing to the hospital in town. After a whole night of emergency treatment, his life was saved.
But Shen Yuxing's high fever persisted for three days and nights, and he was still groggy after he woke.
That fever wiped out most of his memories, a condition known medically as retrograde amnesia.
He forgot how Shen Dayong had struck him again and again with a carrying pole that afternoon, trying to beat him to death. He forgot how he had thrown himself forward and clung desperately to Shen Dayong's legs, refusing to let go. He forgot how many miles of mountain paths his older brother had carried him along.
Only one hazy fragment remained in his mind: his brother had hidden some money, and his brother was leaving this family.
When he woke, he saw Shen Wangjing sitting beside his hospital bed, his eyes red, still wearing the same clothes from three days before. The collar and chest were covered in dried, blackened mud and bloodstains.
Yet Shen Yuxing shrank into the blankets, clutching a corner with his fingertips, and asked quietly, "Where's your money, Wangjing?"
Shen Wangjing paused, then said, "The money's gone. I'll earn more."
Shen Yuxing asked no more.
But that thorn sank deep into his heart.
He changed a great deal after leaving the hospital. He no longer clung to his brother as he used to, and he spoke less. He would suddenly lose focus while reading, and sometimes he would jolt awake in the night.
He never mentioned what had happened that day again, and neither did Shen Wangjing.
From then on, the brothers' unspoken understanding turned into a strange kind of silence.
Shen Wangjing had always thought Shen Yuxing had been badly frightened, and that