Chapter 36: Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

"Fine, if you say tomorrow, then tomorrow it is."

Qiu Yiyao took her backpack off the handlebars and let out a long sigh. "It seems I really am quite ill; I almost misunderstood Dad."

She lowered her head, blinking rapidly to force out a tear, and said in a tearful voice, "I said such hurtful things to Dad. He must be feeling terrible."

Bai Peiyu was not the type to dally with women, and seeing a girl cry in front of him made him feel somewhat at a loss. He opened his mouth, hesitating, unsure of how to comfort her, and finally just said stiffly, "Let’s go back. Uncle Qiu must be waiting anxiously."

The two drove home. The front door was not shut tight, and light leaked out from the gap. For a split second, Qiu Yiyao hesitated, but she soon pushed the door open and walked in as if nothing were wrong. She knew clearly in her heart that even if she could buy a ticket out at the station, she could not leave the town. Rather than confronting them head-on, it was better to play along with their wishes until she could find other survivors from her train carriage and escape together.

Qiu Shengming was sitting on the sofa watching television. Hearing the noise, he turned his head quickly. Seeing Qiu Yiyao enter, he stood up with a smile. "You're back, Yaoyao?"

Before he had even finished speaking, Qiu Yiyao rushed over and hugged him, crying, "Dad, I’m sorry. It was my fault. I’ve been mistaking hallucinations for reality." You can't catch a tiger cub without entering the tiger's den—whatever this was, she had to commit to the act and scare them into compliance first.

"Child, it’s not your fault." Seeing Qiu Yiyao say this, Qiu Shengming breathed a sigh of relief. He patted her back and said, "Don't blame yourself. If I had taken you for proper treatment from the beginning, your illness wouldn't have become this severe."

"Dad, if this illness can't be cured, what will happen to me in the future?" Qiu Yiyao cried bitterly, even letting her nose run.

Seeing snot drip onto Qiu Shengming’s shoulder, Bai Peiyu frowned slightly. He said, as if to comfort her or perhaps out of hope, "Don't let your imagination run wild. Who knows? You might get better one day."

Qiu Yiyao rolled her eyes at him internally: whether I’m sick or not is entirely up to what you say, isn't it?

The three chatted for a bit longer before returning to their rooms. The clock pointed to eleven. Qiu Yiyao lay on the bed, staring blankly at the pitch-black ceiling. She was trying to figure out how to sneak to the police station to find that middle-aged man who had been captured; he must know things she didn't.

Just as she was pondering, a faint sound of footsteps came from outside the window.

Qiu Yiyao grew alert. She sat up, her eyes fixed on the window. Yet, time seemed to freeze; the footsteps vanished, and the surroundings became so quiet that one could hear a drop of water hit the ground. Qiu Yiyao swallowed hard. She believed the person outside the window was there to monitor her, and she had to see who it was.

Who would have thought that as she tiptoed out of bed and took only a couple of steps, a silhouette was clearly cast upon the curtains. Judging by the long hair, it must be a woman. The woman looked around and was just about to reach for the window glass when a dog barked from somewhere.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

The barking was fierce and tinged with urgency. The woman pulled her hand back, and the silhouette instantly vanished from the curtains. Qiu Yiyao hurried to the window and pulled back the curtain to look outside, but there was no one there. She felt a bit discouraged, yet simultaneously confused. Since arriving in Moon Carp Town, she had seen a few people keeping cats, but she had never seen anyone keeping a dog. Where had this dog suddenly popped out from? Even stranger, although the barking sounded like it was getting closer, she never saw a dog pass through the alley.

But considering the town was already bizarre, Qiu Yiyao stopped fretting over such small details. She returned to bed and lay down, but she tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She picked up her phone and opened a group chat. She had previously found it strange why, as soon as she arrived here, her close friends seemed to have evaporated into thin air. Now, it all made sense.

Looking at the chat history from over half a month ago in the class group, scenes from when she was at school surfaced in her mind. Qiu Yiyao told herself that no matter what method she used, she had to get out. She would post her experiences online and tell everyone that this world was not the one they perceived—there were too many unknowns waiting for people to explore and verify.

She scrolled through the chat logs, and soon, drowsiness overcame her. She drifted off into a hazy sleep.

Early in the morning, while Qiu Yiyao was still dreaming, the sound of a child crying pierced her ears. She turned over and pulled the quilt over her head. "Who is it? So annoying."

Just then, Qiu Shengming's voice came from outside the window: "Congcong, what's wrong? Why are you here all by yourself? Where is your mother?"

"Mom... Mom is gone..."

Hearing Congcong's sobbing, Qiu Yiyao snapped awake: Li Zhen is gone? Thinking of the silhouette on the curtain in the middle of the night, could it have been Li Zhen? Even though it was just a shadow, the more Qiu Yiyao thought about it, the more she felt it was her.

She quickly got out of bed, and in her pajamas, she rushed through the back door to Li Zhen's house. Congcong was wearing a little vest and shorts, his arms faintly covered in dust, his small face streaked with tears. Seeing Qiu Yiyao approach, he threw himself into her arms, crying, "Yaoyao sister, Mom... Mom is gone..."

Looking at him, Qiu Yiyao couldn't bear it. No matter what, he was just a child; what did he understand? She stroked his head to comfort him. "Congcong, don't be afraid. Don't cry. Mom probably just went to buy breakfast and will be back soon."

But Congcong shook his head. "Mom said she would make me noodles today."

Li Zhen had always doted on Congcong and tried to satisfy his every wish. Now that she had left him all alone, it seemed something unpredictable must have happened. Qiu Yiyao glanced secretly at Qiu Shengming, only to see his brow furrowed, his head lowered in deep thought.

Qiu Yiyao couldn't help but feel suspicious. Aside from the people from her own train carriage, no one in this town was kind-hearted. Who had the ability to take Li Zhen away without a sound? Or rather, who could make her willing to abandon her son and leave of her own accord?

"Dad..."

She hadn't wanted to pay attention to it, but if the townspeople were turning on each other, that would be for the best—perhaps she could use this opportunity to escape. She wanted to tell Qiu Shengming about what happened that night.

However, before she could finish, Qiu Shengming interrupted, "Yaoyao, you stay here and take care of Congcong. I’ll be back soon."

He walked toward the end of the street, then turned back after a few steps. "Congcong, don't be afraid. Mom will be back soon."