Yu Donghai's legs were not in good condition, and it was not easy for him to earn money. Thus, he had to carefully budget. He could not afford to take a taxi home, so he took a bus with Yu Huang. On the way, they had to take the subway.
Today was Saturday, and the bus was packed with people. When Yu Huang supported Yu Donghai and squeezed into the bus, there was no empty space at all.
A young man who was playing online games was sitting at the front. He was about thirteen to fourteen years old. Originally, he was playing games with his head lowered, but a walking stick had appeared in his line of sight. The young man raised his head in surprise. His gaze first caught a glimpse of Yu Donghai's empty pants, then he saw Yu Donghai's appearance clearly.
The young man turned off the game, stood up and said to Yu Donghai, "Sir, come sit here!" The young man was in the period of his voice changing, and his voice sounded a little strained.
Yu Donghai did not insist. He thanked the youth and sat down on the chair. Yu Huang stood next to Yu Donghai's crippled leg, while the youth stood next to Yu Donghai's other leg. He leaned against the metal pole and continued to play the game.
Yu Huang was curious as to what game was so fun, so she curiously took a few more glances. Yu Donghai saw that Yu Huang was staring at the child's phone, and thought that she was also craving games, so he said, "Wine, study hard. When you get into university, I'll buy you a game console!"
Yu Huang was amused. "I don't want to play it."
At that moment, the boy's game was interrupted by a phone call. He picked up the phone and asked the person on the other end, "Da Jun, have you found an internet cafe? Hurry up, my game affinity is getting married to me today, so I can't mess things up! Alright, call me when you find it."
After hanging up, the boy started playing games. Before the game ended, his phone rang again.
He stared at the phone and hesitated for a few seconds before picking it up. He said in an impatient tone, "Mom, I said that I have to catch up on lessons today. I'm on my way to the teacher's house. Okay, don't worry."
The young man was very experienced in lying. One could tell that he was a child who often lied to his mother.
Yu Huang looked at the youth's dark eyes and suddenly felt a dull pain in her head. Following that, a chaotic scene appeared in her mind.
She saw a burning internet cafe. The fire was fierce, and the boss shouted for everyone to escape from the fire. Everyone stood up in a panic and ran towards the stairs.
In the midst of the panic, a young man was pushed from behind. He rolled down the stairs and was trampled under the feet of the crowd who were running for their lives.
One step, then another…
In the end, the scene was fixed on the dying boy's face. He died with his eyes open as he stared in a certain direction. That shocking and distressing gaze made people feel pity for him.
"We've arrived at Wu Tong East Station."
The sound of the bus arriving at the bus stop woke Yu Huang up and shattered the images in her mind. She looked at the young man's face in astonishment. The face in front of her was exactly the same as the face she had imagined!
Yu Huang's heart was in turmoil.
What did she see?
Was it her imagination?
Or was it what would happen next?
When the young man heard the reminder, he stuffed his phone into his pocket and turned to leave. At that moment, Yu Huang suddenly grabbed the young man's arm from behind. The young man turned back and looked at her with a baffled expression. "Miss, why did you grab me? I'm at my stop."
Yu Huang looked at the young man's youthful yet handsome face, and the image of him on the verge of death flashed before her eyes. She sighed, then lowered her head and said to him, "I see that you've been suffering from a fiery inferno recently. If you want to live, don't go to the Starry Sky Net Cafe."
Upon hearing these words, the youth felt that Yu Huang was mentally deranged. He looked at Yu Huang and Yu Donghai with mixed feelings while thinking that this family was really pitiful. With a crippled father and a mentally challenged girl, how hopeless were their lives?
Looking at Yu Huang with pity, the youth thanked her insincerely, "Thank you!" With that said, he hopped off the bus and quickly disappeared.
Yu Donghai told Yu Huang, "Let's get off at the next stop and take the train to Line 3."
"Yeah, sure."
-
After getting off the bus, the youngster received a call from his good friend Da Jun.
Da Jun said on the phone, "F*ck, it's the holidays today. The internet cafe that I often go to is full. There's still space in the Starry Sky Network across the street. Do you want to go?"
When he heard the words' Starry Sky Net Cafe', the young man suddenly stopped in his tracks. The words of the young lady on the bus seemed to be ringing in his ears again. He could not help but feel scared.
How did that lady know that he was going to Starry Sky Net Cafe?
Da Jun did not hear the youngster's reply and shouted, "Deng Weidong? Didn't you hear me?"
Deng Weidong composed himself and asked Da Jun, "What is that internet cafe called?"
"Starry Sky Net Cafe, right? Not only is this internet cafe lousy, but it's also quite expensive. Ten yuan for an hour! Even highway robbery isn't that expensive!"
It really was Starry Sky Net Cafe!
"Why don't we do it here? I'm not short of money!" Da Jun was about to go to the front desk to get two computers when he heard Deng Weidong say, "Forget it, Da Jun, let's go somewhere else. I remember that there's a new internet cafe called Dole nearby. Let's go there today."
"That works too."
After hanging up, Deng Weidong could not help but look back at the bus stop.
The bus had already left, but Deng Weidong was still suspicious.
After buying two bottles of mineral water, Deng Weidong walked into the internet cafe. When he found Da Jun, Da Jun had already turned on the computer for him.
Deng Weidong shared a bottle of mineral water with Da Jun. As he logged into the online game, he complained to Da Jun, "I met a lunatic in the car just now. She said that my life has fiery infern recently and warned me not to go to the Starry Sky Net Cafe
if I want to live."
Da Jun was stunned when he heard this. Then, he laughed out loud. "Weidong, did you really believe her, so you asked me to change internet cafes?"
Deng Weidong also felt that he was out of his mind.
"Nonsense!" He blushed slightly and retorted in a low voice, "That internet cafe has been open for a few years. The environment is not as good as this one. I can't stand the dirty and messy environment."
"Yes, yes, yes!"
Deng Weidong and Love Affinity were married under the witness of his friends, and he happily sprinkled wedding candy. He opened the bottle of mineral water and took a sip. Suddenly, he heard someone shouting, "Fire! There's so much smoke!"
Upon hearing this, Da Jun turned around and shouted, "Where's the fire?"
Someone replied, "At the street behind, and it seems to be the Starry Sky Net Cafe!"
Hearing this, Deng Weidong froze, and Da Jun's face also revealed surprise and bewilderment.
Da Jun looked at Deng Weidong. When he saw Deng Weidong's expression, it was as if he had seen a ghost. He stuck out his tongue and licked his lips. He whispered, "No way, is the Starry Sky Net Cafe really on fire?"
Deng Weidong rubbed his face before saying, "Let's go and take a look!"
When the two of them arrived at the Starry Sky Net Cafe, the fire in the internet cafe had yet to be put out. The fire engine had already arrived and was rushing in with a water pipe.
A group of people surrounded a tree to watch the commotion. Deng Weidong pulled Da Jun closer and saw a young man lying on the ground while bleeding from his nose. The young man was on the brink of death. He seemed to be in great pain, and his expression was distorted.