He pulled her into his embrace but because of their sudden separation, the old man lost his balance and fell. His head hit a stone on the ground.
Xiaolei's eyes widened as she saw blood beginning to pool around her grandfather's head.
Chen was hugging her like he was trying to protect her but the turn of events was really unexpected. Little Xiaolei was terrified as she pulled away from Chen and held her grandfather's head. She tried covering his wound with her hand but it wouldn't stop bleeding.
"Grandpa!" she yelled, scared to death, thinking that he was dead. Thankfully, her grandfather opened his eyes and asked her to press on his wound harder to stop the blood from gushing out.
And then… they heard another gun shot from below.
"The police are here." The old man said, and Xiaolei now looked at Chen with wide eyes. Her lips started trembling. She didn't know what to do. These turn of events were too much for her young self.
"L-leave!!!" she began yelling at Chen. The boy looked shocked. He just stood there, frozen, as if he couldn't accept what she just said.
"Who is that? Is he the killer you are always meeting here?!" Her grandfather trembled in fear and anger. Thankfully, the blood from his wound caused him to become unable to open his eyes at that moment so he couldn't see Chen's face.
Little Xiaolei flinched at the old man's words. She wanted to tell Chen to run away because the police were coming but her grandfather was here. If he knew that she was helping him, she was sure that after this, they would send her back to the city and she would never see him again. Thus, the only thing she could think of to do at that moment was show her grandfather a lie and make him believe that she would never come back to the woods ever again.
"I told you, leave!!! Please leave me alone. I never want to see you ever again! Go away!" she cried. She had to make him leave before the police arrived.
By then, Nine and Ten had arrived. They too, looked bloody, literally looking like they just came from a deadly battle.
"Let's go! The police are here." She read Ten's mouth as he held Chen's shoulder, trying to pull him away. But Chen refused to leave and just stood there, his eyes never leaving her.
Chen took a step closer, ignoring the approaching noise. They could now hear that the police were very close by.
Shaking her head, little Xiaolei cried even louder. She had to do something. She had to send him away.
"No! Don't come any closer. Please!! Go away! Go away! Go away!" Her tears were falling heavily with the rain. Her heart was aching badly.
But the boy didn't stop despite him staggering as he moved closer to her.
"No! Don't come, I told you, go away! I never want to see you ever again!! Did you hear me?" little Xiaolei could feel her body going numb. Why? Chen-ge, you have to go! They will catch you, they will hurt you!
Nine and Ten attempted to take him away again but Chen pushed them aside. He continued to move closer to her. But at that same moment, Xiaolei could now hear people coming. The police were here.
Xiaolei felt like her heart was about to burst. It was pounding extremely loudly in her ear. The fear she felt in her bones made her scream at him at the top of her lungs.
"Don't come any closer! Go away!!! I- I HATE YOU!! I hate you, so go away!!!" Xiaolei was too desperate that she didn't care what she was saying anymore. The only thing she could think about was to make him leave and hide and not let anyone catch him. But her words were like bullets piercing through the boy's heart, killing the light of life in his eyes.
Chen stood frozen, his eyes turned flat black and then his feet staggered backwards. Nine immediately moved and pulled Chen by his arm. He started stepping backwards, his eyes still glued to her as he slowly disappeared from her eyes. When he was finally gone, Xiaolei cried her eyes out.
And then, the police arrived and immediately began chasing them.
…
The next day,
Little Xiaolei woke up at the Snowflakes Village Clinic. Her grandparents left her with the nurse because they had to bring her grandfather to a bigger hospital downtown.
Her grandfather wanted her to go with them but the girl promised to be good and wait for them at the clinic. So after asking the nurses to tend to her wounds and sternly telling them not to let her out of their sight, they finally left.
As soon as they were gone, little Xiaolei passed out due to exhaustion.
"Is everything alright now, darling?" a nurse asked her.
"I'm alright." She lied, smiling at her. She didn't want the nurse to pay attention to her. So even though her body was aching and she felt feverish, she did her very best to act like she was perfectly fine.
Gladly, the nurse didn't touch her. She noticed that this wasn't the nurse who tended her wounds last night.
"Big sis, where is the miss nurse that was with me last night?" little Xiaolei asked.
"Oh, she will come tonight. I'll be the one to stay with you during the day."
"I see."
Later that day, Xiaolei had observed that the village seemed so peaceful, as if nobody knew about the ruckus that happened yesterday. She also realized that the nurse that was watching her right now really didn't have any idea about what happened to her as well as the stern command her grandfather left with the other nurses yesterday.
So after eating her lunch, little Xiaolei walked towards the nurse.
"Big sis, can I go home?"
"No, darling. I was told to watch you here until your grandparents come to pick you up."
"I'm just going to pick my bag. I want to do some homework here while waiting for them. I promise, I'll be back right away."
"Okay, I'll call someone to accompany you."
"No, I'm fine big sis. I'm really strong now and our house is just right there. I promise, I won't take long."
"Okay, fine. Be careful not to slip on your way, okay?"
"Mm. Thank you, big sis."
As soon as she stepped out of the clinic, little Xiaolei hastily headed towards their house. When she arrived at their backyard, she didn't waste a moment and headed towards the forest.
She went straight to the ruin in the meadow.