A month later, the baby boy was transferred to Mrs. Bian's house.
Mrs. Bian's husband had not yet returned. She had no children and felt lonely, eagerly waiting for her turn to come soon. She bought many toys in advance.
On the way home with the baby, she was so happy that she jumped like a child.
When they got home, she gave him building blocks to play with. He tried a few times but kept knocking them over and lost interest quickly.
Mrs. Bian put away the building blocks and handed him a ball instead.
He kicked it clumsily and couldn't aim properly. Soon he didn't want to play anymore.
Mrs. Bian then took out an art book for him.
He flipped through it and focused on it longer than before. Later, he threw the book aside as well.
Mrs.Bian put away all of his toys and said to him: "From now on, I am your mother; you have to be good." If you are good, I will buy whatever you like." At night, following Mrs.Li's instructions ,she placed a chamber pot under his small bed and told him: "If you need to go potty at midnight remember this pot?" The baby seemed more interested in Mrs.Bian's computer; he ran up repeatedly towards its keyboard trying to fiddle with it using his little hands.
As darkness fell,Zhang Gu grew tired from typing so much,and went outside into the yard for some exercise.
The western sky still had a faint blood-red color.
He occasionally glanced at Mrs. Bian's yard. The lights were not on in her house, probably to avoid mosquitoes. In the twilight, he saw a pair of eyes silently watching him through the dark windows of Mrs. Bian's house.
He felt a bit horrified, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be that baby boy.
He had seen this look once before, on the night of the blackout when he realized he had left him again. He felt that this gaze was very complex, not like that of a baby's eyes.
Zhang Gu avoided the complicated gaze and continued to stretch his arms and legs. He thought maybe he was too suspicious. Perhaps all this was because he had heartlessly abandoned him before, causing unrest in his soul...
After a while, Zhang Gu looked up again and saw that the baby was still looking at him through the darkened window.
To be honest, deep down inside,Zhang Gu felt somewhat afraid of this infant whom he discovered first.
He tried to avoid him as much as possible but became more scared when doing so.The gaze of the baby flashed before his eyes constantly.
The farther you are from a gaze,the more elusive it seems;
The farther you are from a heart,the more inscrutable it appears;
The farther you are from a shadow,the more ghostly it feels.
Suddenly, Zhang Gu wanted to get closer to this baby boy.
He thought there must be some misunderstanding between them regarding this immature child. He wanted to approach his crying and laughing moments,eating habits,and bowel movements,to understand his temperament,his childishness.He wanted to get close with who he really is,to shatter this illusion which made him sleepless night after night .
However,he didn't have enough courage even for once.
This morning, Zhang Gu went to the market to buy groceries. On his way back, he saw Mrs. Li and Mrs. Murong waiting for a bus at the small town bus station. Mrs. Li greeted him: "Buying so many delicious things, treating your father-in-law?" Zhang Gu replied: "A few friends are coming over to my place for drinks. Where are you going?" Mrs. Li said: "We're going to the city." Zhang Gu prepared all the food and drinks in advance.
In the afternoon, his friends arrived including Feng Jing who was among them.
While drinking, Zhang Gu asked: "Did they find out what caused the power outage that day?" Feng Jing said: "Where can we go to check!" The whole town only had Zhang Gu stubbornly believing that there was a connection between the power outage and the appearance of a baby boy.
His friend asked: "I heard that on the day of power outage you found a baby boy?". Zhang Gu replied:"Yes, what's wrong with it?" Friend said:"Nothing much.I just heard that this baby never cries and is rarely seen." Friend two said:"Could it be a robot? With timed explosives inside its belly..." Friend three said:"You sound like something from an ancient manuscript - babies, timed bombs, Plum Blossom Party (a secret society), Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge...blah blah blah."
Zhang Gu interrupted them: 'Stop talking nonsense. That's a pretty pitiful child.' Feng Jing said, 'It reminds me of an online friend I recently met named Forever Baby.' Zhang Gu's heart sank - Forever Baby?
Feng Jing continued,"She is very pretty". Friend two added,"Nowadays girls pretend to be young - look at her name" Feng Jing responded,"She told me she became friends with me because my name attracted her attention". Friend one asked,"What's your name then?" Feng Jing replied,"Three minus one equals what?" Friend three said,"Nowadays men pretend to be profound - look at his name!"
That day, they drank a lot and sang songs. Zhang Gu forgot about the annoying gaze of the baby boy and joined in with everyone's revelry. He sang: "Without saying a word, standing still like an earthy clay statue, my life is set against a fiery red background.
I want to fight the sky, I want to battle the earth, I want to pick up my weapon and smash out a pile of comedy.
I want to sing, I want to kiss you, I want to step into heaven and live on the moon.
My heart is as clear as crystal while my courage is sharp as sword; this life is destined to be short.
Brother please generously lend me some wine so that I can make a fool of myself boldly.
Sister please give up your chastity and hold my hand so that flowers in this world will turn bright red..."
After Zhang finished singing,Feng Jing said:"There's one line in those lyrics which isn't good luck.It should be changed into 'This lifetime can live until 99'..."...
It wasn't until dark when everyone finally dispersed.
Zhang Gu has a high alcohol tolerance, but he was starting to feel a little drunk. He lay in bed and thought about the song he had just sung: 'This life is destined to be short...' He felt a bit unlucky.
He then remembered the baby boy and felt uneasy. A robot?
Suddenly, in his drunken haze, he saw the baby boy appear before him! He shuddered and sat up straight.
Mrs. Bian rushed in with the baby boy in her arms.
"Zhang Gu, please help me take care of my child," Mrs. Bian said urgently. "My mother-in-law is having a heart attack and I need to go to the hospital to take care of her. Mrs.Li and Mrs.Murong have both gone into town. It's an emergency!"
"I'll do it, no problem," Zhang Gu replied repeatedly.
Mrs. Bian put down the baby boy and hurriedly went back out to get a bottle and bag of milk powder.
What could Zhang Gu say? That he was afraid of this child?
The fact that they had taken in this orphaned baby out of kindness meant that there was no relation between Mrs.Bian or himself with this child; couldn't he even look after him for one night? Moreover, when someone is sick, neighbors are better than distant relatives; how could he stand by as a young man while she faced difficulties alone as a woman whose husband wasn't home?
From any angle you looked at it from, Zhang Gu couldn't refuse her request. So despite his fear inside him, he still said "no problem."
"Thank you," Mrs.Bian said before turning around and leaving.
Now only Zhang Gu remained with the baby boy - like fate had arranged it so quietly...
It was very quiet - so quiet that you could hear needles drop on the ground.
The baby boy sat quietly on Zhang Gu's bed.
Zhang Gu glanced at him and he was looking back at Zhang Gu. It was the first time they had been face to face like this.
The baby boy looked carefully into Zhang Gu's left pupil, like an ophthalmologist. Zhang Gu shuddered - he immediately knew that it wasn't a baby's gaze!
Zhang Gu avoided his gaze and tried to say something, but didn't know what to say.
There were two ways of speaking:
One way is to speak softly like you would to a baby: 'Cha, be good. Don't make a fuss here with Uncle. Let Uncle hold you...' Zhang Gu feels that he can't bring himself to use this tone because he knows instinctively that the other person is not a baby. He senses that beneath his infantile exterior lies another person - an evil adult. With only the male infant and Zhang Gu present, his gaze seems to reveal this fact as well. They both understand this huge secret through their eye contact.
The other way was for Zhang Gu to simply lift up the veil and negotiate directly with him: "I know you're not a baby; I don't know what you are or what your intentions are in this world, but I just want to ask you one thing: What do you want?" However, In front of him was after all a baby who couldn't even speak, and if he asked him with such a stern face, he himself would feel terrified...
Finally, Zhang Gu slowly walked to the drawer and took out a harmonica, handing it to Cha while whispering, "Cha, play with this." - he used the same tone as when speaking to a baby. This proved that no matter how confident he was in his intuition, ultimately his trust in the baby was greater than his suspicion. Cha stopped looking at Zhang Gu's left pupil and took the harmonica but didn't know how to play it. Zhang Gu tried playing it a few times before giving it back to him. He attempted to play but played poorly.
At this moment, Zhang Gu felt like a baby again.
After some time had passed, Zhang Gu set up a wire bed for him in one corner of the room - he didn't want to sleep with him. Then tentatively helped him undress saying: "It's late; let's go to sleep." He looked at Zhang Gu and put down the harmonica.
Perhaps trained by two mothers before coming here, he was obedient and allowed Zhang Gu to undress him before lying down quietly under the covers. Before sleeping, Zhang Gu placed some cushions under his bed so that he wouldn't fall off during midnight.
Zhang Gu turned off the lights and darkness engulfed them both.
Outside, that dog started barking again outside their door: "Woof! Woof! Woof!" But Zhang Gu didn't know whose dog it was or had ever seen it before; every night though without fail its barks could be heard from outside their door.
He and that infant were now sharing one room together.
Fear surged through Zhang Gu's heart as he felt like this world was floating aimlessly around him; wanting something stable but finding nothing.
He held his breath tightly while closely monitoring any movements made by that infant who remained silent like an enigma.
After some time had passed since they entered their room for bedtime routine earlier on tonight, the dog outside stopped barking. The room became even quieter.
Zhang Gu listened intently, focusing all his attention on any sounds he could hear: "Crack..." faintly came the sound of wood splitting; "Swoosh, Swoosh..." there were insects crawling on the wall; "Thump, Thump, Thump..." mice running around; "Hoo Hoo..." pigs snoring in their pens; and finally a soft bubbling sound coming from a water jar...
Zhang Gu was extremely exhausted as drowsiness hit him hard. He wanted to close his eyes but suddenly heard another voice in the darkness - it was that infant making strange noises like cooing and babbling.
This inexplicable baby language filled Zhang Gu with immense fear causing him to lose all sleepiness.
The infant soon fell silent again without any breathing sounds either - everything went completely quiet once more.
Zhang Gu held his breath while continuing to listen for anything else that might happen next. After some time had passed though, he couldn't hold out anymore and closed his eyes again.
In a daze, he heard the baby boy start making sounds again: wu wu yi yi mo mo, this time with more syllables and sounding a bit like reciting scriptures.
Zhang Gu's heart was once again occupied by fear - what if the baby suddenly spoke in his dream... Thinking of this, Zhang Gu's body shuddered with goosebumps.
He didn't dare to move and his ears were stretched out as big as a rice bowl.
After a while, the infant stopped making any sound again.
At this time, it was already the middle of the night. Zhang Gu was very, very sleepy. As soon as he relaxed his attention a little bit, his eyelids stuck together and he slipped into a dream...
In a daze, he heard the strange sound coming from the baby boy again. However, he had already slipped into the depths of his dream and never floated back up...
He had a dream where he saw the infant slowly sitting up. His heart started racing and he wanted to ask him, 'What are you doing?' But he couldn't make a sound, so he just stayed in bed and observed his next move.
He thought the baby would come over to him, but it didn't. Instead, the baby picked up his portable music player and fiddled with it in the darkness.
Suddenly, he began crying. His voice was particularly unpleasant, like that of a wild cat.
Didn't this baby never cry before?
Didn't this baby never cry before?
Didn't this baby never cry before?
Zhang Gu was now terrified to the point of no return. He wanted to quietly jump out of bed and escape but his body felt like it was under anesthesia - he couldn't move at all.
The next morning, when Zhang Gu woke up, that infant had already woken up too. He lay in bed playing with the harmonica while muttering various syllables.
Mrs. Bian arrived; her eyes were red from lack of sleep.
"Did he cry?" she asked as soon as she entered.
"No, he's been good," replied Zhang Gu.
"I'm really sorry for troubling you!" Mrs. Bian said quickly while dressing Cha efficiently at the same time.
When she walked out the door holding the baby boy, Zhang Gu noticed that the baby boy turned back and glanced at his portable music player.
Mrs. Bian left while holding the baby boy. Zhang Gu started to wash up, had a simple breakfast, and rode his bike out to go to work.
Today he still listened to that song: 'My heart is as clear as crystal while my courage is sharp as sword; this life is destined to be short...'
Suddenly, the music in his Walkman turned into a strange and mournful baby's cry: "Wuwa-wuwa." Zhang Gu was startled and almost fell off his bike. He remembered clearly that he had bought this cassette six months ago at a small town audio store, listened to it countless times, and there were no problems. Until yesterday afternoon when he listened to it from beginning to end again, there was no such sound.
So who recorded it?
There is only one possibility: last night, after he fell asleep, the baby boy used his Walkman to record his own terrifying crying...
He wondered if the dream he had last night was real? But then again, how could he not be awakened by such piercing cries? Could it be that the baby took his Walkman outside quietly?
Zhang Gu shuddered.
When he arrived at work, he was absent-minded all day long. The mayor asked him several questions but got vague answers. He kept fiddling with the cassette tape in his hand and kept thinking about what happened. If things weren't made clear soon enough, he would continue to feel uneasy.
Finally, he decided to tell Mrs. Bian about this matter.
When he returned home from work, he saw Mrs. Bian playing on the swing with the baby boy in the yard. He shouted to her from outside the yard: 'Sister-in-law, come here for a moment, I have something to tell you.' As he shouted, he observed the baby's eyes and there was no special reaction; he was very focused on playing.
Originally, Zhang Gu wanted to voice his suspicion about that child, but all the words were swallowed back when they reached his lips. He only mentioned the matter of the portable music player once, in a very low voice.
Mrs.Bian didn't understand why:"Is something like this possible? You suspect..." Zhang Gu felt embarrassed:"I just thought maybe that kid cried last night and randomly pressed the record button on my recorder, recording his crying into the cassette tape..."
"We have never heard this child cry once and we are all surprised by this. It is impossible that it was his crying voice. You must have made a mistake." Mrs.Bian said firmly.
She added: "A one-year-old baby who cries in the middle of the night, grabs a recorder at random, and presses the record button... How could such a coincidence happen!" Zhang Gu smiled dryly and said: "Maybe I made a mistake myself." At this moment, he glanced over Mrs.Bian's shoulder at her baby boy who was looking back at him from the swing with an indescribable look in his eyes.
The inexplicable crying of the baby has never been explained.
Zhang Gu had no choice but to wash away that terrifying sound. The crying lasted for more than ten minutes, taking up the time of two songs. After that, Zhang Gu went about his daily routine without any disturbances.
It seemed like everything was fine. However, the shadow in Zhang Gu's heart did not dissipate and grew heavier like a dark cloud.
Finally, Zhang Gu attributed that terrifying sound to a prank played by one of his friends - he had to convince himself with various reasons; otherwise what would he do?
In fact, each of us is very good at deceiving ourselves. In our lifetime, we don't know how many times we have deceived ourselves and therefore missed out on many opportunities to seek the truth.
After some time passed, Zhang Gu gradually forgot about this inexplicable incident.
We often forget things and live happily as a result.
But sometimes it's not like that. One day, when Zhang Gu had completely forgotten about this matter, he went to work and just walked out of the door wearing his headphones. Suddenly, he heard a strange and piercing baby laughter from the headphones. He was extremely frightened and quickly took off the headphones and threw them on the ground!
He looked towards Mrs Bian's house subconsciously where the child was quietly watching him through the window...
Zhang Gu once again concluded: all of this must be caused by him!