Chapter 58: The Gloomy Midnight

For this ten-yuan bill, he had endured such bitter agony.

Xiang Yu had already packed her schoolbag and all her everyday clothes, and retrieved the ten-yuan bill she had hidden inside the barrel of a ballpoint pen.

Xiang Hao happily accepted the ten-yuan bill, and eagerly pressed on, "What about my other four hundred and ninety?"

Xiang Yu looked at him coldly. "When Mom and Dad bring you to the market town, sneak over to my school and find me. I'll give it to you then."

Xiang Hao quickly agreed, "It's a deal, a promise is a promise, whoever breaks it is a pig!"

Xiang Yu gave a cold hum, staring at him with a dark, gloomy gaze. "Go to sleep quickly. If you wake Mom and Dad up and I can't leave, your money goes down the drain. The moment I get a chance, I'll beat you half to death before running away!"

Xiang Hao shuddered. "I won't, I won't, we've agreed on it. I won't go back on my word, and don't let Mom and Dad know that you were the one I let go."

Having dismissed Xiang Hao, Xiang Yu shouldered her old schoolbag, grabbed a tattered duffel bag, and slipped quietly out of the front door.

She did not look back even once.

She never wanted to return to Kapok Village again—a place that filled her with sorrow, anger, and utter helplessness.

Even with the bright crescent moon hanging in the sky, in the eerie dead of night, the road leading to the town was completely devoid of human warmth, looking like a monster with its jaws agape.

It felt as though it might awaken at any moment, suddenly snap its jaws shut, and crush a person to powder, leaving them forever buried in eternal darkness.

Xiang Yu kept her spine straight as she walked with mechanical steps.

Every now and then, a crow would let out a shrill, bizarre cry, one or two unidentifiable small creatures would suddenly dart through the grass by the roadside, and clusters of dark shadows lurked all around.

All of this made Xiang Yu's heart pound with terror.

Yet compared to the agony within her heart, these fears were not enough to stop Xiang Yu's resolute determination to escape in the dead of night.

A journey of one hour took Xiang Yu nearly two full hours. She fell twice, scraping both knees.

By the time she reached the town streets, she was practically soaked through, her skin cold and clammy.

It was all cold sweat.

The empty, pitch-black streets were also frightening, but compared to that desolate, lifeless highway, Xiang Yu felt much more at ease, knowing at least that there were countless people sleeping soundly all around her.

In the pitch-black midnight, she did not know where to go, nor did she dare to enter the town's only internet cafe that stayed open 24 hours.

She did not want to become the center of school gossip once more tomorrow. Having lived another lifetime, she was all too aware of the influence her face held.

Nor did she wish to be caught by the disciplinary teachers who occasionally frequented internet cafes to round up students, thus ruining the image she held in her teachers' eyes.

Building trust was far more difficult than destroying it.

She walked up to the entrance of the police station, set down her luggage, and pulled out a long-sleeved shirt to cover herself. Curled up tightly right there in front of the police station doors, she rested with her eyes half-closed, hugging her schoolbag.

The next day, as the sky grew faintly bright, Xiang Yu was fully awake.

Tidying herself up and brushing her hair anew, she hurried off to school with her luggage.

She had the key to the dormitory. Last week, after falling out with her parents, she had explained the situation to her head teacher, Mr. Zhang, who—taking into account that she was about to graduate—had given it to her.

Otherwise, students were not permitted to stay in the dormitories over the weekends.

The elderly couple who looked after the dormitory building downstairs had just woken up.

Seeing Xiang Yu standing at the entrance, carrying her luggage with an exhausted expression and wearing her schoolbag, they paused in surprise.

"Child, you aren't allowed to stay here on weekends."

Xiang Yu nodded. "Grandma, I'm Xiang Yu from Class 2, Grade Three. Mr. Zhang approved it; he should have given you a heads-up."

The old man behind her patted his forehead. "Ah yes, yes, Mr. Zhang did mention it to you. But how come you didn't stay here last night and are only arriving now?"

Xiang Yu forced a polite smile. "Things were a bit hectic at home. Starting today until the high school entrance examinations are over, I won't be going back."

The elderly couple nodded. "It's a good thing you came early. We were just about to head back to our old house for a look and wouldn't be back until tomorrow morning.

I'll let you hold onto the main gate key for the day so you don't get locked out when you go out to eat.

Make sure you don't lose it, or we'll have to change the whole lock."