Twenty-first day (1) Big love little love

  It's another peaceful day, and it seems a bit sinful to say so at this time. It always gives me a feeling of turmoil outside, while I am safe and sound inside.

  But today was really calm, the students didn't make any trouble and didn't go out either, they just stayed in their rooms quietly. After I got up this morning, I went to Xia Ai's room for a look around, there was nothing going on, I was worried that Da Ai might come looking for me, so I didn't dare stay in Xia Ai's room for long.

  I lied to Xia'ai, telling her that two policemen were looking for me about something and asked her not to go out. It's chaotic outside right now.

  Xiao Ai is really obedient, she hasn't gone out much in the past few days and can actually bear with it.

  I returned to the room, waited for a while, and heard a knock on the door. I opened it and found two police officers standing at the door with a pair of handcuffs in their hands.

  Officer Liu said, will you fight with the landlord?

  The Korean police officer continued, "They're all students, and some of their classmates have even died. We don't dare to mess with them either. Just grow up a bit, are you going to play or not?"

  Officer Liu said, it's so boring that I'm about to suffocate. In this desolate and remote place, there is nothing at all. The TV signal is sometimes good, sometimes bad.

  I didn't dare say no, so I let two people in. The three of us set up a stall and played for half a day until lunchtime when we finally dispersed.

  The Korean police officer seemed reluctant and asked if they should continue after dinner.

  I said, let's take a break at noon, it's rare to have some rest time.

  The Korean police officer nodded and said, "Alright, take a nap."

  The three of us came out of the room, I went downstairs to cook and came back up to accompany Xiao Ai for dinner. Xiao Ai heard our voices playing cards and said to me, "You guys play again this afternoon, let me see, it's really too boring", and she poured water for us.

  I smiled and nodded, but in my heart I was muttering to myself, not about Xia Ai, but about Da Ai.

  After Da Ai left yesterday, I didn't see her again and don't know if she returned to the hotel. She didn't come find me all morning, and at lunchtime, there was no sign of her, it's as if she never stayed in this hotel.

  I didn't dare go down and ask because I don't know what name Dà ài registered under. Now both Dà ài and Xiǎo ài think they are called Aì Fēng, it would be awkward for the two police officers to find out.

  After dinner, I pretended to take a nap and went back to my room. I opened the window, and my intuition told me that Da Ai would climb in through this window again.

  But I was wrong, I heard a light knock at the door, as if a cat was scratching my door. The door opened and Big Love flashed in, smiled at me and said in a low voice, "Little Love didn't know you were here."

  I nodded, and Da Ai let out a sigh of relief, saying, "I returned to town yesterday and just arrived."

  I said, has anyone seen you?

  It doesn't matter what they say, after all, they don't know who I am.

  I let out a sigh, and Big Love sat down on my bed saying, "I'm too tired, I'll take a nap." The people at home will arrive tomorrow, no matter what, they must help me deceive Little Love.

  I nodded and looked at her lying on my bed, turning over to look at me, with a smile in her eyes. She said, it's been so many years since we last met, you really have grown up now.

  As soon as I heard it, it was a big sister's tone of voice. I smiled and said, you are too, now more beautiful than before.

  Dà ài xiào zhe shuō, wǒ yǐ qián bù piào liàng me? Bù piào liàng dào nǎ lǐ dōu yǒu gè gēn pì chóng?

  Translation:

  Big Love smiled and said, wasn't I pretty before? Not pretty to the point where there's a follower everywhere?

  I said, it was just my ignorance when I was young, and my aesthetic view had not matured yet.

  She pouted and said, what about now? Am I not pretty enough?

  I nodded and then hastily shook my head.

  Big love says, haha, you say I'm not pretty enough.

  I said no, it's not like that, you look beautiful now, both of you sisters are so beautiful, really.

  Dà ài shuō, hái xíng, nǐ de shěn měi guān hái kě yǐ. Xiǎng dāng nián zán men zài yī qǐ duō kuài lè, hái shì ér shí hǎo. Xiàn zài, ǎi, zhè xiē nián yě gòu dào méi de bù shì.

  I thought of Er Baozi and them, sighed and said, who knows how this kind of thing happened to us.

  Dae loves to say that sometimes I think, if you don't believe in fate, it won't work. At a young age, who would have thought that those things happened? Have you seen Xiao Pang and Er Duzi?

  I said, went, Xiao Pang he still... nothing, looks like not too fat either.

  Big Love said, I hope they will get better. In the past few years, both Little Love and I went to see her, it was after that, Little Love became like this. Some things are really hard to explain, Little Love always says there is a woman in a red dress who has been bothering her, asking her to tell me that I should come and get married. I told her, why not find me directly? It's all just an illusion. As a result, Little Love was determined that I wanted to get married, finally it became she herself wanting to get married, and then she became me.

  I'm telling you, don't be afraid, actually... I've also seen that woman in a red dress.

  Dà ài lèng le yī xià shuō, shén me shí hòu?

  Translation:

  Dai Ai was stunned and asked, when?

  I said, I received a call from you, but it wasn't you, it was Xia Ai pretending to be your phone, telling me that we were getting married and asking if I would come back. That night, I had a dream about a woman wearing a red dress. If this is just a coincidence, how could it be so coincidental?

  It's said that the ancient village was once called Red Robe Village, referring to a sculpture of a woman wearing red robes. When we were young, adults would tell scary stories and this image has been deeply rooted in our subconscious ever since.

  I said, but I left early, I don't know and I don't remember hearing such a story.

  I've told you everything, don't be so feudal and superstitious. You may not remember, but your subconscious mind might, right?

  I nodded and thought that Dà ài was indeed a firm materialist woman of the new era. Suddenly, I remembered something and asked, "You just mentioned Hóng Yī Cūn."

  Dà ài shuō, duì ā, gǔ cūn yǐ qián jiào hóng yī cūn, suǒ yǒu rén dōu zhī dào, nǐ bù zhī dào ma?

  Translation:

  Really? Yes, the ancient village was previously called Red Clothes Village. Everyone knows that, don't you know?

  I shook my head and said, how much do you know about the village's history?

  I don't know much, it's all old news. We young people aren't interested in those ghost stories. But I've been here longer than you and heard more stories than you have, so what do you want to ask? I'll see if I can answer you.

  I then told the story I remembered about a woman who jumped into a well and became a flesh Bodhisattva, Dài said, your story is quite different from what I heard.

  I said, what version is yours?

  Dai Ai said, first of all, it was a case of drowning oneself in the river, which is the Qing River above us. Drowning in the river is different from drowning in a well, and at that time, the body was not found. However, before drowning, she had made a vow, saying that within seven days, she would return, her body would not rot, to prove her loyalty. Then on the seventh day, her body really floated up, right there in the river, with a lifelike expression. And then the rest of the story is similar to yours, she was worshipped by the villagers in a temple, and the village was renamed Hong Yi Village.

  I said, return in seven days?

  Don't take it seriously, the story isn't always told that way. The seven-day soul retrieval plot has been done to death.

  What's wrong?

  I shook my head and said, nothing, just thinking of something.

  Dà ài shuō, rén ā, hěn duō shí hòu jiù shì zì jǐ kǒng huànɡ zì jǐ, wǒ kàn nǐ yě bié hú sī luàn xiǎnɡ le, xiǎo ài jiù shì yī gè lì zǐ……

  Before she finished speaking, there was a sudden knock at the door. Xiaoyi's voice came from outside, "Are you asleep?"

  I hastily jumped up, opened the window, and quietly said, "Are you coming? Why do I feel like I'm having an affair?"

  Let me just say this, wait a minute, I'll put on some clothes.

  He pointed at the window and climbed up onto the windowsill again, then came down and said in a low voice, "I took the ladder away yesterday."

  I was stunned for a moment, pointed to the door, and Da Ai hid behind it. I opened the door, and Xiao Ai poked her head out and said, "I heard there were voices in your room."

  I said, I'm talking in my sleep, what did you hear?

  Xiao Ai said, "Nothing, I'm disturbing your rest. I've been thinking about you a lot and wanted to come over and chat with you."

  I was stunned for a moment, and then I remembered that Xiao Ai still thought of herself as Da Ai. In her mind, her younger sister had already gone mad and disappeared in this ancient village.

  I said, let's go to your room and talk, in a while two police officers will come looking for me to play cards again, at that time... it won't be easy to explain.

  After finishing, she pushed Xiaoyi out with her whole body and arrived at her room. Xiaoyi said, "I don't know where Xiaoyi went."

  I said, otherwise we can go look for it? I feel like you're not particularly worried either.

  Xiao Ai said, I'm really not too worried, it's not that I don't care about her, it's just that this crazy illness of hers isn't a big deal, she's just like a normal person, maybe even more so than me at times.

  I let out an "oh" and said, what's wrong with Xia Ai?

  Xiao Ai said she was crazy, thinking she was me, and always thought she was Da Ai. Moreover, after going crazy, she became the most determined materialist fighter, and she didn't believe any of the things I said, convinced that I was Xiao Ai, and it was me who had gone crazy. I really couldn't do anything about it, so I brought her back to this village, wanting her to see the real village, see the strange things that exist here, and then let her escape from my delusions. But when we got here, she disappeared.

  My mouth is dry and my voice is shaking a bit, I say, what has Xiao Ai become?

  Dà ài says that she thinks of herself as Dà ài, and is a firm materialist Dà ài, thinking that I am the crazy Xiǎo ài.

  I shivered, so which one is actually Da Ai? Which one is Xiao Ai?

  Are they two crazy or am I crazy?