Chapter 29 Five Plums

Chapter 29 Five Plums

Qiu Shengming returned close to two o'clock.

Qiu Yiyao sat on the sofa, an idol drama playing on the TV, but she had no interest in watching it, her eyes fixed tightly on the door.

When she saw the familiar figure appear, she hurriedly got up to meet him.

"Dad, you're finally back. I've been worried."

Qiu Shengming patted her shoulder to comfort her: "There's nothing to worry about. It was just a little fox. I took it back up the mountain. Don't worry, it won't come and scare you again."

But Qiu Yiyao still found it strange: "But my bag was clearly zipped shut. How did it get inside?"

"As long as it didn't hurt anyone, that's all that matters. You don't need to worry about the rest."

Qiu Shengming placed the bag on the sofa: "I'll wash this bag later. That little guy made it dirty."

Hearing this, Qiu Yiyao grabbed the bag and headed for the bathroom: "It's okay, I can wash it myself."

Listening to the sound of running water from the bathroom, Qiu Shengming wore a troubled expression. He sat down at the dining table without even bothering to reheat his meal. He picked up his bowl and took a couple of bites, swallowing without chewing much.

Outside, the sky suddenly turned dark, a muffled thunderclap echoing through the clouds, signaling the imminent arrival of a heavy rainstorm.

"Sigh!"

Qiu Shengming let out a heavy sigh and poured the remaining food in his bowl into the trash bin.

...

The rain fell heavily, the sky gray and gloomy with no signs of letting up.

Qiu Yiyao stood at the entrance, raindrops landing on her body, but she seemed oblivious, her eyes fixed on the Watch Shop across the way.

Someone was standing at the door talking to Old Qin, waving their arms around with an agitated expression.

Qiu Yiyao had an idea. She turned and went to the kitchen, taking several plums from the basket and heading towards the Watch Shop under her umbrella.

Old Qin smiled happily when he saw her.

"Yiyao is here!"

"Mm-hmm, the plums at home are ripe. I brought you a few."

Qiu Yiyao smiled, putting down her umbrella and placing the plums on the table: "My dad picked them this morning. They're very sweet."

As she spoke, her eyes kept glancing at Old Qin's leg. Seeing his left leg slightly bent and not touching the ground, his entire body supported by his right leg,

"Old Qin, your leg... I heard it's been more than two months. How is it recovering?"

At these words, Old Qin reached out and lightly patted his leg, laughing bitterly: "At my age, as long as my leg hasn't fallen off and is still attached to my body, I'm still a whole person. Whether it's lame or not doesn't matter."

"Young lady, you don't know? Our Old Qin used to be the sprinting champion of the town. No one could catch up to him," the middle-aged man said loudly.

"Really? What a pity."

"Not really," the man leaned closer to Qiu Yiyao, speaking mysteriously: "Who knows, maybe it will suddenly get better one day?"

Qiu Yiyao was taken aback, but then she saw Old Qin waving a palm leaf fan and hitting the man on the head, his face crinkling with laughter, enough to crush a mosquito.

"Haha, thanks for the good wishes. I hope I can walk briskly again soon, ha ha ha..."

They both burst into laughter.

Old Qin laughed without any regard for his image, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, blood streaks between them, abrupt and eerie.

"Old Qin, your teeth are really good. My grandmother lost most of her teeth at your age."

Before Old Qin could speak, the middle-aged man interjected: "Your Old Qin may look old, but he's still young at heart."

At these words, Old Qin suddenly stopped laughing and hit him again with the palm leaf fan.

The man seemed to realize something from this blow, a flash of awkwardness passing through his eyes. He looked around: "Oh, the rain has lessened. I should go back. The old woman is waiting for me at home."

He picked up the umbrella on the ground and rushed into the rain.

"Yiyao, come here. Grandpa wants to show you something."

Qiu Yiyao turned around. Old Qin had somehow already stood at the entrance to the inner room, beckoning her over.

For some reason, she felt that his half-hidden face in the shadows was a bit eerie.

"Come quickly."

Perhaps seeing that she hadn't moved, Old Qin's voice suddenly changed, becoming sharp, just like that night.

And his originally smiling face turned grotesque in an instant: "I told you to come over."

Qiu Yiyao's scalp tingled, a chill creeping up her back. She wanted to go home, but her legs moved involuntarily towards the inner room.

"This is bad. Am I having hallucinations again?"

She wanted to struggle, to shout, but no matter what she thought, her body couldn't be controlled, as if it belonged to someone else and she was just a soul inhabiting it.

When she reached Old Qin, he suddenly gave a strange smile: "Let me show you something good."

He bent down, grabbing his leg and pulling hard, and the leg came off at his tug.

"Can you see? Can my leg recover? Will I be able to run again?"

Staring at her leg, dripping with blood, Qiu Yiyao felt the world spin before her eyes.

...

When she woke up, she was indeed back in bed once more.

Was it an illusion? Or a dream?

She rubbed her temples, got out of bed, and left the room. Qiu Shengming was in the kitchen preparing dinner.

"Dad, when did I go to sleep?"

Without looking up, Qiu Shengming replied, "You went back to your room after hanging up the bag. You must have gone to sleep then. What's wrong?"

"I dreamed about Grandpa Qin, but it didn't feel like a dream, it felt so real."

"A dream about him? What's so great about dreaming about some old man?"

Qiu Yiyao remained silent. She noticed five plums sitting in a red basket on the small table next to the fridge.

In her dream, she had given those five plums to Grandpa Qin.

"I dreamed about giving him plums."

"Our Yiyao is such a good girl." Qiu Shengming glanced back at her. "Try one; they're quite sweet. If you like them, I'll pick some more."

Qiu Yiyao agreed and picked up a plum, then suddenly her expression changed. "Dad, when did you pick these?"

"This morning. Didn't you see them in the room?"

Qiu Shengming started frying, adding as he did, "Once the rain stops, I'll pick a few more for Sister Zhen..."

The sizzling sound of vegetables hitting hot oil drowned out his words.

Looking at his busy back, Qiu Yiyao felt a strange sense of unfamiliarity for the first time.