Devil’s Warmth

The midday sun was directly above their heads, as the boy sat quietly on a rock amongst the bush.

Bei Yao couldn’t help but laugh at him, suffocating that cicada was hilarious, yet awkward. She thought that he probably remembered that one summer, Chen Hu brought the kids in the neighbourhood to catch some cicadas on the trees. Upon catching it, he’d tie it together with a string. It’ll then buzz while flying. The kids liked it a lot.

Bei Yao liked to join in on events like this. On the other side, Pei Chuan, who was “socially awkward”, never tried such things.

He suffocated the cicada with his hand.

He must’ve gripped hard.

Bei Yao was chuckling, her eyes were filled with tears of joy. She was afraid of angering him, so she didn't bring this matter up herself. Indeed, Pei Chuan had excellent survival skills. Hence, their lunch was settled.

The announcement was made, “Survival day two. Remaining seven, three disqualified.” This time around, no names were mentioned.

Bei Yao took a glimpse of her watch and said, “Pei Chuan, let’s drop out.”

“Huh?”

Bei Yao coughed gently, “Staying in the forest is inconvenient. There are mosquitoes at night, and in the day, scorching sunlight. The most crucial part, the t-toilet…”

“...”

In addition to this hot weather, there was no place to shower. Probably, only the rich who hadn’t experienced such natural environments like Jin ZiYang would find this interesting.

Without hesitation, Pei Chuan pressed his red rescue button.

Soon, a teacher brought them out.

The teacher saw how clean Bei Yao was, only a sleeve of her shirt was torn. A pile of food was seen beside her, and she also managed to find a tent. She did have the ability to hunt for the treasure, yet, chose to drop out on the second day. Nonetheless, the teacher kept this to himself.

“I’ll bring you both out.”

Right beside the forest was the place for them to stay. The chateau even had a fancy water fountain and koi pond. Bei Yao took a quick shower and rested well for that night. The food provided at the chateau was scrumptious.

So far, five were disqualified.

Bei Yao only knew Pei Chuan and the boy who they call Ji Wei.

Ji Wei was somewhat pissed, doubting his life. He was tricked by Jin ZiYang. He brought his passion and anticipation along for the study session but never expected it to be a survival camp. Nonsense. He almost got a heat stroke and fainted on the first day!

Fast forward to the fourth day at noon.

Jin ZiYang finally came back. The five choked when they first saw him.

Resembling a homeless person, yellow and black bruise patches covered his body. His usual neat, casual hair was messy like a bird’s nest. Bits of facial hair could be seen, making him look spiritless and sloppy. Countless big red bumps from insect bites could be seen on his exposed arms.

Young master Jin had his head low and sighed. However, he saw Pei Chuan sitting there and sipping tea, and immediately got infuriated. “What the f**k! Chuan bro you dropped out!”

Pei Chuan frowned, “Stay away from me. You stink.”

Jin ZiYang, a guy, almost had his tears rolling down. Initially, he couldn’t find a tent on the second night and wanted to drop out. However, he thought, what if Zheng Hang and Chuan bro are still participating? If he dropped out, he'd bring shame to his name. Hence, he put his life on the line and made it to the fourth day. He never expected Pei Chuan to drop out so early!

In comparison, he was like a dumb*ss.

However, after a shower, Jin ZiYang soon returned to his former self—Zheng Hang is still participating! A real warrior faces their awful life upfront, and he can’t afford to quit.

After counting the people, only three of them were present.

Jin ZiYang scratched his head, “What’s happening, how is Wei Wan still participating? No way, she’s just a girl, how is she still doing this?”

Bei Yao was confused too.

Pei Chuan said nothing. He tapped the table, half-closed his eyes.

In addition, the teacher-in-charge spotted this unusual case. However, the dot representing Wei Wan was moving around all these days. No help signals were sent out either.

Up until last night, her dot stopped moving and stayed so in the morning.

The teacher-in-charge sensed the anomaly and hurried to the forest to find Wei Wan. She was spotted lying on the ground.

Her clothes were torn and tattered, and her face was covered in filth. Several insect bites had made her face swollen.

Wei Wan was dressed light. Her body gave off a strong stench. The teacher-in-charge couldn’t be bothered about this, and hastily brought her to safety.

Jin ZiYang was dumbfounded, “What happened?”

“Hungry and tired, fainted. No worries, no big issues.”

Jin ZiYang stepped in for a closer look and was taken aback by the pungent odour. “Where did Wei Wan even go, she reeks…”

Thankfully Wei Wan was not awake yet, or else she’d explode from anger.

The teacher-in-charge explained, “When we found this student, her watch was broken, which was why help couldn’t be sent. However, the magnetic stripe card was not broken. Her status stayed as ‘healthy’ in the database. Strange, this is the first time in so many years that a watch could go broken. How did this happen?”

Pei Chuan watched from a corner, curled his lips coldly.

At this moment, the last two students came back.

When Zheng Hang first came back, he took a step back upon encountering the strong odour. He frowned and realised it was Wei Wan. He was unlike Jin ZiYang who had no morals, but was still shocked, “Wei Wan? Wei Wan?”

Wei Wan didn’t wake up and was sent to the hospital.

The first person she saw as she awakened, was a boy staring into the azure sky from the window.

Pei Chuan was dressed in all black. Despite being under the August sunlight, he gave off cold vibes. The boy was tall, and he was turned back. Wei Wan’s pupils contracted.

She almost shouted and pounced forward, “Why must you harm me this way? WHY?”

Wei Wan rushed forward. He did not stop her.

Only when something cold was pressed against her waist, she did not dare to move.

It was a stun gun.

Wei Wan raised her head to look at him in disbelief. He smiled, “Do you know what to say?”

-

Facing her caring groupmates’ stares, Wei Wan locked her fingers tight, “I- I fell, the watch hit a stone, so it was spoiled.”

After this line, her eyes landed on another girl uncontrollably.

A girl in her mid-teens, pure and wonderful.

Bei Yao thought she had no grudges against Wei Wan. She brought a bowl of porridge to put secretly beside her bed when Wei Wan’s emotional state returned. Bei Yao didn’t like her, however, she had no reason to dislike her. If she were to be in her shoes, getting stuck in a forest for five days, no doubt she’ll be afraid.

Wei Wan was shaking badly, on the verge of breaking into tears.

The person she wanted to be with before, was actually a cold-hearted, diabolical devil. He was afraid of exposing his real self to his dearest girl. Hence, a threat must be used.

Wei Wan at this point held no jealousy towards Bei Yao. Is it Bei Yao’s fault? No, she has done nothing wrong.

The latter was even unlucky, having attracted a creep.

Wei Wan finished the porridge and closed her eyes to rest. Anything related to Pei Chuan, she spilled no words.

Upon the day of leaving, the mountain had a drizzle, then rain started pouring not soon after. Umbrellas were distributed here and there, with no particular order.

Pei Chuan tucked both hands into his pockets, strolling under the rain.

“Pei Chuan----” Bei Yao cupped her hands around her mouth, calling him out with a smile. He turned back.

At this time, the mountains were blanketed by a foggy curtain of rain. She held a transparent umbrella, rushing towards Pei Chuan.

The boy who wore prosthetics was so tall. She tip-toed, doing her best to shelter him from the rain.

A gentle fragrance from the girl drifted towards him. He was distracted for a second.

That’s right, he was not alone.

He took over the umbrella, held it for her.

Bei Yao said, “We can board the bus soon. Don’t be in the rain, you’ll get sick.”

Young Pei Chuan was always ill, so she was afraid of him catching a fever suddenly.

However, she might not know that the grown-up him seldom falls sick.

The boy’s jet black hair was already wet. Bei Yao was so worried. If only she ran faster, he wouldn’t be half drenched.

The bus finally arrived and drove towards the city through a shaky journey.

Wei Wan left the bus in advance. As if her soul was lost, she had no spirits and her face was as white as ivory.

Bei Yao stared at the former’s back from the window, slowly fading into the distance, and frowned slightly.

Suddenly, she had the urge to prove something.

The neighbourhood was nearby. Summer flowers were blooming at the edges of the flowerbed. Bei Yao noticed Pei Chuan came back.

“Bei Yao.”

“Yeah?”

“September,” he paused before asking, “Let’s go to school together?”

Bei Yao was left dumbfounded for a moment. She could still remember a time, a year ago, he left her alone during the wee hours of a rainy, September morning. Yet, she held no grudges against him, and nodded her head with a smile, “Sure!”

His eyes were seen light with joy.

Going upstairs, Bei Jun who almost turned four was sent to kindergarten.

Bei Yao was somewhat hesitant. Still, she dialled the number she recorded on the registration booklet.

After some time, the opposite party responded, “Hello?”

“Hello Wei Wan, I’m Bei Yao.” Bei Yao was somewhat hesitant. She should not suspect him, however, Wei Wan’s change of attitude was too strange. The latter liked to stick around Pei Chuan, however after describing her accident, she never even glanced at him.

Bei Yao gently asked, “Your watch, did Pei Chuan break it?”

The opposite party paused for quite some time. Wei Wan ended the call.

Bei Yao’s heart sank. She still remembered that year in secondary school, she thought Pei Chuan had made his first friend outside the circle. Although upset, she was still happy for him. Unexpectedly, she saw the big yellow dog rushing towards to bite Pei Chuan and Shang MengXian.

At that time, her mind was filled with anxiety and terror. However after some thought afterwards, Grandma Zhou locks her gate every day, and Pei Chuan knows it as well. So how did the dog dash out?

She thought the child she protected all this while just couldn’t escape his trauma, and forgot the paper had him nicknamed ‘Devil’.

What a terrifying nickname.

She couldn’t protect him, and he still moved onto that path slowly.

This was like looking at a treasure which one protected for years and staring at him getting stained, yet nothing could be done. She thought he had friends, living the life he liked, moving towards happiness.

-

Bai YuTong said, “Mom, why is he always like this? Arrogant, leaving out of the blue, and returning out of nowhere again.”

Cao Li was also angsty, “Can you stop bothering him and do your homework? Your results are hitting rock bottom, just wait for your high school national exam!”

Bai YuTong was so crestfallen, “I’m just worried about our future. You see, Uncle Pei can’t even control him. Pei Chuan’s clothes got torn again; he probably took part-time at a shabby place again.”

“Watch your words! How many years must you learn to be good! Pour him a glass of water right now!”

“Mom…”

“Go!”

Bai YuTong was burning with fury inside, yet she couldn’t disobey and brought a glass of water to Pei Chuan.

She knocked on the door for quite a while. A frigid voice replied, “What?”

“I got this water for you.”

The boy’s voice was insouciant, “No need.”

The door didn’t even open for her. Bai YuTong left with the water in fury.

Pei Chuan removed his prosthesis and laid on the bed.

His limbs felt somewhat sore. Overworking will give it a lot more burden every time. Every shot of pain reminded him clearly that he wasn’t a healthy, normal person.

Technology is advancing each year, and prosthesis technology is becoming better. After a few years, it could achieve realistic prosthesis, with electronic controls to make it as realistic as with sensory.

Yet there is no technology to make them grow back again.

-

With the start of September, rarely the rain was seen only at night. Primary, secondary, and high school all started their semesters.

Pei Chuan recalled his promise with Bei Yao and arrived early at the bus stop at quite some distance from the neighbourhood. This promise arrived one year late.

He stared at the greyish sky. A thunderstorm would arrive soon.

The weather produces rains non-stop every September. Because he returned beside her, he felt assured, surprisingly.

However, the bus towards the Sixth High arrived one by one. Bei Yao was nowhere to be seen.

The light in his eyes slowly faded.

The phone started ringing, to which he picked it up almost instantly.

A girl’s voice could be heard, “Sorry Pei Chuan, I can’t come today.” She was apologetic and remorseful, “I have something going on.”

The boy’s glance was cold, his reply was unruffled, “Okay, what’s going on?”

“T-this is hard to say.”

I see.

He said, “Take it slow, I’ll wait for you.”

“But, I really can’t make it today.” Bei Yao was anxious, “Can you go to school first?”

Why can’t she make it? Was it because of last year, I made you wait under the rain for the entire morning? Then, can I wait for you the entire day?

The next moment, a cheerful voice of a boy was heard on the opposite side of the call, “Bei Yao, help.”

The call ended.

Pei Chuan pulled on the side of his lips. The boy over there sounded really bright and positive. Even when the voice heard was not as crisp as hers, it was still different than his deep voice.

It started raining cats and dogs.

Pei Chuan pressed his lips tight and stepped forward into the rain.

However, under the greyish sky, other than the rainwater splashing in all directions, that girl never appeared to shelter him in the umbrella.

This is probably the first time the knife of growing up brought him a wound that caused dull pain.