Chapter 49.2 Returning Hometown
The day and night on the train finally passed, and the surrounding scenery gradually changed, from vast plains to undulating mountains, with dense forests stretching as far as the eye can see. In the morning and evening, you could see a thick fog covering the mountain top.
With a screech, the train came to a stop.
Song Qingluo exited the train car with Lin Banxia and their luggage. After walking out of the station, he saw the small town that had been described by Lin Banxia.
Over the past few years, this small town had undergone great changes. Most of the low-standing buildings had been transformed into tall buildings, and the renovations had been done well.
It would take more than an hour to take a bus from the county seat to Lin Banxia’s home, so Lin Banxia went to a nearby station to buy a ticket.
“The changes are quite big.” Lin Banxia sighed, “These places used to be factories, but now they have changed.”
“Where did you study before?” Song Qingluo asked.
“In a small school in our county.” Lin Banxia said, “At that time, I had good grades, so the head teacher helped me apply for a student scholarship. On weekdays, I would sometimes work in a nearby shop, and I was doing well.”
Song Qingluo said: “Is that school still there now?”
“Yes.” Lin Banxia said, “My sister should also be going to school there.” He looked at the surrounding scenery with a confused expression. In just a few years, the surroundings had changed too much. He could only distinguish how the place looked in the past from some subtle changes.
The bus would leave every twenty minutes. If it was full of people in advance, they would go immediately, but now everyone’s living conditions were getting better and better, and more and more people had cars, so there were not too many people taking buses. After Lin Banxia got on the bus, he chose a seat by the window and sat down. Song Qingluo was beside him, looking around with interest. It was Friday afternoon, and school was over so many students were getting into the bus one after another. The students were all wearing blue and white school uniforms, and they all looked youthful. It was just that Lin Banxia and Song Qingluo were really incongruent with the simple styles around them, especially Song Qingluo, with his expressionless handsome face. Although it seemed difficult to get along with him, there were still many little girls who quietly glanced at him and even whispered in a low voice.
Song Qingluo’s expression did not change. He was obviously used to the attention paid to him by the people around him. However, Lin Banxia was a little uncomfortable and fidgeted in his seat. Song Qingluo did not ask him what was wrong and instead took a candy from somewhere. The candy was handed to Lin Banxia.
Lin Banxia tore open the candy wrapper and stuffed it into his mouth. He suddenly felt dumbfounded and said, “Why is the candy also cola flavored?”
Song Qingluo didn’t think anything was wrong: “Isn’t it delicious?”
Lin Banxia said: “It’s delicious…it’s just…why do you like Coke so much?”
Song Qingluo said that he didn’t know either.
With candy in his mouth, Lin Banxia saw the conductor get on the bus and count the number of people, then tell them to fasten their seat belts, and then the driver started off. Because there were so many students, the bus was noisy.
Song Qingluo asked casually: “How long does it take to get there?”
“It used to be four hours.” Lin Banxia said, “I don’t know if the road has been repaired now.”
“Where are you going?” As soon as Lin Banxia said this, a childish voice came from beside him. Song Qingluo turned around and saw a little girl with a ponytail. The girl had a round face. Her oval face, with all her hair slicked back, looked rounder. She tilted her head curiously and looked at Lin Banxia and Song Qingluo. Behind her sat her timid companions, who seemed surprised that she dared to talk to a strange man, they reached out and tugged on her sleeve.
The extroverted little girl just pretended that she didn’t feel anything and continued to ask: “Where are you going?”
Lin Banxia said: “We are going to Diangupo…have they built a road there?”
“It’s been repaired. The road was repaired a few years ago.” The little girl said, “Are you from here?”
Lin Banxia nodded and asked, “Are the schools and hospitals still in the town?”
At that time, there was a junior high school and a hospital in Diangupo, but because of its remote location, the facilities were very simple.
“Hospital and school?” The little girl touched her slicked-over hair, “The school is gone, and the hospital has also moved to another place. How many years has it been since you came back?”
Lin Banxia smiled bitterly: “It’s been a while…”
The little girl said: “No one goes to the school; it has been abandoned for a long time. As for the hospital, it is right at the entrance of the town. You can reach it with just a few steps after getting off the bus.” She looked at Lin Banxia and Song Qingluo curiously, “You guys. Are you two coming back to visit relatives?”
Lin Banxia responded vaguely. Song Qingluo looked at him and found that Lin Banxia’s fingers on his knees were involuntarily twisted together, and they were pale and bloodless. It seemed that since the moment he returned here, Lin Banxia felt extremely uncomfortable.
The little girl didn’t notice Lin Banxia’s strangeness, and was still introducing what she knew excitedly, saying that the town was rich now, all the houses had been renovated, and they were no different from those in the city, and that a large park had been built…
Lin Banxia was still listening in the front, but he was a little distracted later. It was not until he was patted lightly by Song Qingluo that he came back to his senses and asked: “You said the high school in this town disappeared? When did it disappear? ”
“It was several years ago,” the little girl said.
“Where are the students?” Lin Banxia originally remembered that his sister went to high school in the town, but now someone told him that the high school was closed.
“I don’t know, maybe they went to the city.” The little girl said, “Are you feeling uncomfortable? Why do you look so bad?”
Song Qingluo said softly: “He is a little tired, let him rest first.”
When the little girl heard this, she sighed obediently.
Lin Banxia was indeed feeling a little uncomfortable. He just thought he was tired. He chewed the cola candy in his mouth into pieces with a slight force and swallowed it in a panic. Seeing that his expression was wrong, Song Qingluo stretched out his hand to touch his forehead. Unexpectedly, his head was cold and even covered with a cold sweat.
“Are you okay?” Song Qingluo asked in a low voice.
“It’s okay, I’m okay.” Lin Banxia said. “I’m… fine.” He clutched the bag in his hand and forced himself to calm down, “It’s just a bit cold.”
Song Qingluo looked up at the air conditioner above their heads and made sure it was turned off.
“Alas.” Lin Banxia said, “Maybe it’s been too long since I’ve been back, so I’m nervous.” He lowered his eyes, looking depressed and sad, “I haven’t visited my parents’ graves for many years, just because I didn’t want to return.”
Song Qingluo asked: “Are you afraid?”
“I don’t know either.” Lin Banxia said, “Logically speaking, no matter how badly my aunt and uncle treat me, I shouldn’t react like this…” He leaned on his seat, a little confused.
Song Qingluo did not comfort Lin Banxia, but stretched out his hand and gently pressed it on Lin Banxia’s forehead. The warm palm of his hand brought a steady stream of heat to Lin Banxia’s body, making the bone-chilling cold fade away.
The bus started and headed towards the town.
Three hours later, the bus finally arrived at its destination and stopped at the station in the small town. Lin Banxia picked up his luggage and got out of the car with Song Qingluo. The little girl who talked to them just now also got off the car here, and Lin Banxia asked how to get to the hospital.
“It’s right next to the bus stop.” The little girl pointed, “There, do you see it? It’s right there.”
Lin Banxia looked up and saw a white building. Indeed, just as the little girl said, the town has changed a lot in just a few years. The dilapidated buildings in his memory had all been transformed into tall towers, and the muddy paths underneath had been built into wide avenues. The whole town smelled strange, almost nothing like the hometown Lin Banxia remembered.
According to what his uncle said on the phone, his aunt should be at the hospital in the town now. He only had to take out his mobile phone and make a call to get the answer.
However, when his phone was in his hand, Lin Banxia hesitated. Song Qingluo waited for a while and suddenly said: “Shall I do it?”
Lin Banxia hesitated for a moment, then handed over the phone.
Song Qingluo pressed the number directly, and Lin Banxia asked curiously: “Do you remember the phone number?”
Song Qingluo said: “I wrote it down when your uncle called you last time.”
Lin Banxia felt that he should say something, but when his words reached his lips, what came out was. “Oh.”
The call was quickly connected, and his uncle’s accented voice came from the other end. He thought it was Lin Banxia, and he kept complaining. Song Qingluo couldn’t understand, so he interrupted him directly: “I am Lin Banxia’s friend. Which room of the hospital are you in now? We are already in town and will be there soon.”
Maybe because his tone didn’t sound friendly, Lin Banxia’s uncle immediately stopped talking and said: “Building three, room 6-8, are you really… back?” For some reason, he who had been so aggressive just now became very cautious.
“Well, see you later.” Song Qingluo hung up the phone.
“Let’s go.” Song Qingluo said, handing the phone to Lin Banxia again.
Lin Banxia nodded, and the two of them headed towards the hospital.
The hospital in the town was relatively small, and the inpatient department only had one building. It was already afternoon. The elevator rose slowly and soon reached the sixth floor. Song Qingluo walked in front and saw room 6-8. At this time, the door of 6-8 was open. Song Qingluo walked to the door and saw two middle-aged people, a man and a woman, inside. The woman was lying on the bed, seeming to not be in a good condition. The man was sitting next to her, holding a lunch box in his hand, and feeding her the food.
Lin Banxia was about to go in but stopped at the door.
After careful calculation, he and his uncle and aunt had not seen each other for almost ten years. When he saw their faces again, his heart did not waver at all, as if he had seen a stranger. He thought he would be sad, but he didn’t have any unnecessary emotions.
When his uncle saw Song Qingluo who came in first, he was stunned for a moment. It wasn’t until he noticed Lin Banxia behind Song Qingluo that his expression relaxed. He called Lin Banxia loudly and waved to him to tell him to come in and sit down. Full of hypocritical and exaggerated smiles. He even wanted to step forward and help Lin Banxia get his luggage, but Song Qingluo stretched out his hand and stopped his movement: “No need.”
The uncle glanced at Song Qingluo and originally wanted to say something, but Song Qingluo’s aura of keeping strangers away was too strong. In the end, he just shrank his neck and whispered softly: “Okay, okay, you sit down.”
Lin Banxia sat down next to him and saw his aunt who was dying on the hospital bed. It seemed that her condition was indeed not good. He said, “Aunt…what’s wrong with her?”
“She had a cerebral hemorrhage and collapsed suddenly.” His uncle said, “They managed to save her in the hospital, but she ended up with hemiplegia. The doctor said we still need to observe her.” He rubbed his hands and smiled, “I haven’t seen you in so many years. You have grown so much.”
Lin Banxia glanced at him and hummed softly.
“Have you eaten?” His uncle asked, “If you haven’t eaten, ask my boy to bring some.”
“No need.” Lin Banxia said, “I’m not hungry.”
“Okay.” Uncle said, “How are you doing? When you were a child, I remember that you were very thin. As soon as you ate, you would…” When he said this, he suddenly stopped talking, obviously remembering something.
Lin Banxia’s face had no expression, leaving only a calmness that was almost indifferent. He said lightly: “Yes, when I was a child, I was greedy and never had enough to eat.”
The author has something to say:
Lin Banxia: I’m so nervous going back to my hometown.
Song Qingluo: Don’t be nervous, I’m here.
Lin Banxia: Shouldn’t you be more nervous when you bring a man back to your hometown?
Song Qingluo:………………
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