Chapter 7 We seem to have met somewhere before

  After burying Huang Pizi, my father and I went down the mountain and came straight to Da Hei's house. We saw Da Hei lying on the bed motionless. My father took his pulse again. Da Hei's mother anxiously asked how he was doing. My father slowly shook his head and said that although his life was saved, he couldn't wake up for the time being. Da Hei's father asked why this happened to him. My father said it was probably because Da Hei had been frightened out of his wits and lost his soul. If Da Hei wanted to wake up, we had to find his soul back.

  But where can his soul be found?

  My body was originally not recovered, and after the big black thing, by nightfall, my illness relapsed again, lying in bed and fainting continuously.

  It was probably around midnight when I woke up, feeling dizzy and blurry in front of my eyes. I heard my father talking to someone, the person's voice was hoarse, it seemed like he said that someone in his family was ill and needed my father to go over there.

  I rubbed my eyes, and slowly but surely, things became clear before me. I saw my mother lying beside me, covered with a thin blanket, her face looking very haggard, as if she was still worried about me even in her dreams. And my father was standing outside the door talking to someone. It wasn't until then that I got a good look at the person, who was wearing white clothes, had long hair, and a deathly pale complexion. When I looked at him, he also turned his gaze towards me, and I felt a sudden tightness in my chest. His eyes were very dark, like two incredibly deep black holes, and for some reason, they filled me with a sense of fear. Moreover, he was taken aback for a moment, and a hint of surprise flashed across his face. Fortunately, he quickly looked away, because my father had agreed to go see the patient with him, and he said as much before walking towards the room.

  My eyelids were heavy, and I couldn't help but close my eyes. I heard the sound of my father coming in; he stood by the bed for a while. My mother woke up, and Father said there was an emergency and he had to go out. My mother murmured, "So late... Can't it wait till tomorrow morning?" Father said the patient couldn't wait, and then he left. My mother followed him out of the door and stood in the doorway for a long time before coming back in.

  I felt very tired and fell asleep again in a daze.

  When I woke up, it was already the second day in the early morning, and the sky had just brightened. My mother was already burning fire. I put on my clothes and got out of bed. When my mother heard me getting up, she came over and asked, "Child, you're up? How do you feel? Is there anywhere uncomfortable?" I said it's fine, just a little pain in my eyes, then asked, "Has Dad not come back yet?" My mother said no, and I asked again who the person was who came last night. My mother originally wanted to go open the door, but when she heard me say this, she stopped and turned around to ask, "Last night? Who?" I said it was the person who came to call Dad to treat his illness. A complex expression floated across my mother's face as she said no one came last night, then came forward to touch my forehead and asked, "Child, did you have a dream?"

  It doesn't seem like Mother is lying, did I really have a dream last night? Or am I having hallucinations because of this strange illness? But I remember very clearly, everything I saw last night was extremely real, absolutely not a dream.

  Because of this, when my father came back, I didn't directly ask him who the person was that came last night. Instead, I asked him indirectly about the patient he went to see last night and what illness they had. My father said lightly that it was just a minor illness and that some herbal medicine would be fine. I asked why he had to go at night then? My father said the patient was very anxious, and then seriously told me: "As a doctor, no matter if it's a big or small illness, as long as the patient needs you, you have to rush to their aid without hesitation! Do you understand?" I said I understood, but still didn't figure out who the person that came last night was, and felt uneasy in my heart.

  I always feel that the person last night was not simple, and I don't understand why my mother told me that no one came last night. Did she really not see that person?

  After having breakfast, I went to Dahei's home. This kid was still lying in bed. I called him several times, but he didn't react at all. Dahei's father was at home watching him, while his mother had gone to Lichun Village, saying she would take his birth date to ask Li Shenniang to calculate it.

  In the morning, Old Man Wu and Wu Lele surprisingly came. They were here to thank me and my father, and they even brought gifts. Because of what happened between Wu Lele and me that night, I felt very embarrassed, so I lay in bed pretending to sleep, deciding not to see her to avoid awkwardness for both of us.

  Mr. Wu was shocked to hear from my mother that I had become seriously ill after marrying Wu Lele in spirit and had been getting better and worse, and said that although Wu Lele had woken up, she had also been dizzy for the past few days and only fully recovered today, and as soon as her illness got better, Mr. Wu brought her to thank us and wanted to see me. My mother angrily said: "He is still lying in bed, go take a look."

  It seems that Mother has been harboring resentment about this matter all along. This is not surprising, as my strange illness originated from the ghost marriage, and she naturally wants to blame it on the Wu family.

  Old Mr. Wu and Wu Lele both came in, stood before my bed for a while, I didn't dare to open my eyes, heard Old Mr. Wu sigh heavily, saying it was his fault, hoping nothing would happen to me, you could tell he felt very guilty.

  I actually felt much better at this time, and my body was basically fine. Seeing Wu Lao Ren like that, I was worried that my mother would say something blaming me, and I couldn't bear it, so I thought of opening my eyes to comfort Wu Lao Ren. Suddenly, I heard Wu Le Le ask: "Is he the one who married me in spirit?" I was startled, and quickly closed my eyes tightly again.

  Old Wu said: "Right, it's him. If it weren't for this child, you wouldn't have woken up." Wu Lele responded with an "oh" and suddenly added another sentence: "I think I've seen him somewhere before."

  I was stunned for a moment, what did she mean by this? It seemed like she didn't know me before.

  Father said: "Xiao Dao is studying in County Fourth Middle School, are you two from the same school?" Wu Lele said she was in First Middle School and had not seen me at school but in her dreams.

  "Ah, kids, now that you two are married, you're officially my daughter-in-law!" Wu Lele said: "This...this doesn't count, it's just a formality. Your son Yang Xiaodao is so handsome, he must have a girlfriend already, I'm not worthy..." Mother burst out laughing, saying "You child really knows how to talk!"

  After my parents and Old Wu went out, Wu Lele stayed alone, I felt that she was standing in front of the bed staring at me.

  I thought to myself, if you want to look then go ahead and look, anyway I'm too embarrassed to face you, that night's matter was really embarrassing.

  Suddenly Wu Lele asked: "Dare you be even more handsome?"

  I didn't answer her because I'm already handsome enough.

  Then Wu Lele asked: "Dare you open your eyes?"

  You think you're not afraid of embarrassment, I'm a boy and I'm still afraid? Open your eyes, just open them.

  Wu Lele was indeed staring at me, her complexion looked much better, not so pale, and even had a rosy glow. When she saw that I opened my eyes, her eyes suddenly widened, as if she had discovered something new, in order to eliminate the awkwardness in her heart, I casually asked: "Beauty, haven't we met somewhere before?"

  "Are you awake?" Wu Lele said: "I also feel like we've met somewhere before."

  Looking at her, without any pretence, I suddenly thought, could it be that she didn't know anything about what happened that night? Maybe nothing actually happened that night and it was just a dream of mine.

  As soon as they heard my voice, my parents and Old Man Wu came in. Old Man Wu asked me a lot of concerned questions and thanked me for "waking up" Wu Lele.

  After Old Man Wu and Wu Lele left, my mother said: "That girl is quite pretty, she's from the same school as Xiao Dao?" My father asked: "What do you want to do?" My mother smiled and said: "It would be fine for our Xiao Dao to marry her."

  I'm still so young, just graduated from high school, and my mother is already arranging this broken thing for me. Alas, the goddess in my heart is actually Zhong Ling'er.

  In the afternoon, my father received a phone call and told my mother that he had to go to Lichun Village. An elderly person was seriously ill and he had to rush there immediately. Then he rode his motorcycle away. Until dusk, my father still hadn't returned, and his mobile phone was turned off. Lichun Village is about 40 minutes' drive from our village. I told my mother that I would go pick up my father, but she wouldn't let me go. So I jumped on the motorcycle and slipped away.

  Actually I wanted to go to Li Village to see Zhong Ling'er.

  When I was about to arrive at Lichun, I saw an old man in front of me on the road. He walked very slowly and with difficulty. As it was getting dark, I stopped my car beside him and saw that he was around 70 years old, with white hair, a black mole on his left cheek, and a pale yellow complexion, as if he had been seriously ill. I asked him where he was going and offered to give him a ride. He was startled when he saw me, and after a while, he said: "Okay, thank you, thank you!"

  As the old man instructed, I stopped the car in front of a newly built building. After getting out of the car, the old man thanked me again and said: "You took me for one ride, I'll bless you for life." Then he walked into the house without looking back.

  I felt inexplicably, just about to go to Zhong Ling'er's house to ask about my father, and inadvertently discovered a motorcycle parked not far away, exactly the same as the one my father rode.

  Is Father treating patients here?