In the afternoon, there was only one assembly language class, a large lecture for three classes from the computer science department. To avoid Du Yunlong and Gu Sixin, Du Cheng intentionally sat in a secluded corner of the computer lab.
After class began, Du Cheng noticed Gu Sixin frequently searching for him, but each time she looked his way, Du Cheng managed to hide behind the computer desk partitions. Du Yunlong, sitting next to Gu Sixin, seemed to have spotted where Du Cheng was and, intentionally or not, blocked some of Gu Sixin's view, so she never found him throughout the entire class.
After class, Du Cheng didn't rush to leave. Instead, he stayed in the computer lab because he didn't own a computer, making the department's computer lab the only place he could use one. So, usually, after class, Du Cheng would stay in the computer lab until the administrator cut the power.
By the time Du Cheng left Futian Academy, dusk was already setting in. Streetlights flickered on promptly at six o'clock. Du Cheng, carrying the backpack he'd left at school that morning, walked along the street towards F City First Hospital.
Du Cheng's destination was F City First Hospital, because the person dearest to him—his mother—was there.
Du Cheng's mother had entered a vegetative state when Du Cheng was seventeen, after falling down a flight of stairs. She had been bedridden for four years, showing no signs of waking up. (Nota: "Become a vegetable" es un modismo correcto, pero "entered a vegetative state" es un poco más formal y se traduce de forma más fiable).
The high medical expenses were covered by the Du family, as Du Cheng couldn't afford them. Therefore, when Du Yunlong mocked Du Cheng, Du Cheng could only choose silence. This was the only time he had ever asked the Du family for money, or rather, asked his equally unfortunate father for money.
After picking up some food from the hospital cafeteria, Du Cheng took the elevator directly to the sixteenth floor of the hospital.
Thanks to the Du family's intervention, the hospital had arranged a private suite and a nurse for Du Cheng's mother.
When Du Cheng pushed open the door, the nurse was carefully and gently washing Du Cheng's mother's face with a warm towel.
The nurse's name was Su Hui, a seasoned nurse, known for her meticulousness and responsibility. She had been utterly devoted to caring for Du Cheng's mother for the past four years. (Nota: "Seasoned veteran" es redundante, ya que ambos significan "con experiencia").
"Du Cheng, you're here."
Seeing Du Cheng push open the door, Su Hui greeted him, her face, now etched with some wrinkles, filled with a caring smile.
"Aunt Hui, aren't you off work yet?" Du Cheng's face showed a faint smile. Only when facing the Du family did Du Cheng appear so cold.
"Hmm, almost. I figured you'd be here soon. There's nothing else to do, so I'll just wait for you to arrive before I leave." Su Hui rinsed the towel in her hand, then, glancing at the takeout box in Du Cheng's hand, she frowned and said, "Eating fast food again? At your age, you need to eat nourishing things, especially since you're still in school. How about this, I'll treat you to something good outside to help you build up your strength." (Nota: "Replenish your body" es correcto pero suena muy clínico/literal).
"No need, Aunt Hui, next time. You should go home now." Du Cheng knew about Su Hui's family situation. They weren't poor, but they weren't wealthy either. She had two children in school, one in college and one in high school, and they needed a lot of money.
Su Hui seemed to know what Du Cheng was thinking. She looked at him with a touch of affection and said, "Silly child, a meal doesn't cost much. How about this, tomorrow I'll bring you something nourishing from home to eat."
Du Cheng knew that Su Hui had always treated him like her own child, often bringing him homemade tonics. He couldn't refuse, so he could only nod in agreement.
Seeing Du Cheng agree, Su Hui then pushed the nursing cart and left.
Du Cheng quickly finished his fast food. After washing his face in the ward's bathroom, he sat by the bedside.
Ever since his mother fell into a vegetative state, Du Cheng had been searching for ways to awaken her consciousness. Among all methods, the only one he could manage was to talk to her, to use familial love to awaken her. So, every day, Du Cheng would make time to come to the hospital and talk to his mother.
"Mom, I got fired from my job again today. Du Yunlong is still the same; as soon as I find a new job, he's the first one to sabotage it."
"In F City, the Du family is powerful and influential, and who wouldn't fear their power? Thankfully, I also have Du Yunlong to thank for his so-called cleverness. How could he know that because of his interference, those bosses who fired me could only settle my wages first, and sometimes even pay me a little extra..."
"Also, Mom, do you remember that girl I told you about last time? Her name is Gu Sixin. Actually, I really like her. Her smile makes me feel so warm, so warm."
"Mom, Sixin invited me to her birthday party today. I really want to go, I really do."
"But I still declined her invitation, because I know that she and I are not from the same world, at least not yet. Her family background is no worse than the Du family's. If I, a poor boy, were to go, I would embarrass her."
Mentioning Gu Sixin, Du Cheng's expression grew a bit dim, a bit lost. Fortunately, his experiences from childhood had made his heart very, very strong.
"Mom, when will you wake up? If you wake up, then we'll go somewhere else. We can't afford to provoke the Du family, but we can always hide from them. When you wake up, let's go to Dali. Dali is truly beautiful..."
As Du Cheng spoke, he massaged his mother's hand muscles. When he ran out of things to say, over two hours had quietly passed. He softly turned off the ward light, picked up his backpack, and walked out of the ward.
▂▂▂
Du Cheng currently lived in an old residential area called Shangbuting in Chengguan, where the buildings were old wooden houses, making it the oldest part of F City.
Shangbuting was far from the hospital and also far from Futian Academy. Walking there would take at least fifteen to twenty minutes, and in between lay a long, wide Ring City river, separating the old Shangbuting from the bustling modern city.
On one side of the river, lights blazed, and pedestrians and vehicles streamed back and forth, while the other side appeared somewhat dark, with only a few dim yellow streetlights and hardly any pedestrians in sight.
Du Cheng walked this road back and forth every day. Although the streetlights were dim, he was very familiar with the road conditions. Following the Ring City river, he knew that at the end of it was Shangbuting.
As he walked along the cement path beside the Ring City river as usual, Du Cheng recalled Gu Sixin's invitation earlier today. Du Cheng knew he really wanted to accept, but there was no way. He, Du Cheng, didn't even have a formal suit to wear for such an occasion, let alone attend a banquet.
A bitter smile appeared on Du Cheng's face. He shook his head, as if trying to dispel the bitterness in his heart.
Just then, Du Cheng suddenly felt a sharp pain on his head, as if he had been struck by a hard object.
In pain, Du Cheng quickly reached up to touch his head. His hand felt warm and damp, and when he pulled it down to look, it was stained with blood.
"Who threw something at me?"
Du Cheng's first reaction was that someone was playing a prank on him, or someone was looking for trouble. He was a cripple, and sometimes mischievous children would throw stones at him, and even some young people would do the same. Du Cheng had, in a way, grown used to it.
However, when Du Cheng looked around, he found that there was not a single person, let alone a ghost, along the entire riverbank.
Unable to find anyone, he could only look for the 'weapon.' Du Cheng turned his gaze to the rough cement pavement and quickly found the 'weapon' that had injured his head, about two meters in front of him.
It was a black ring, not very noticeable in the dark, but it was still easy for Du Cheng to spot on the relatively clean road.
The ring had a peculiar, asymmetrical rhomboid shape. Its body was entirely black, completely different from common gold or silver rings, giving it a very mysterious feel.
Picking up the ring, Du Cheng noticed that it felt somewhat warm, like warm jade, and lacked any cold metallic texture. On the black body of the ring, there were also tiny patterns etched, which looked like densely interconnected circuits.
"What kind of ring is this? Why is it so strange?"
Du Cheng looked around again, and after confirming that there was no one else, he muttered to himself in confusion.
Driven by curiosity, Du Cheng carefully examined the ring in his hand, then slipped it onto his left index finger.
The moment Du Cheng put on the ring, he suddenly felt as if countless tiny needles hidden within the ring were deeply piercing his index finger. The excruciating pain almost made Du Cheng cry out.
Du Cheng could clearly feel that the ring was absorbing his blood and had fused tightly to his finger. No matter how hard Du Cheng tried, he couldn't take the ring off.
Just as Du Cheng was utterly bewildered, another strange scene unfolded.