Silent Era - Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Lin Heng stared at the empty hallway for a moment. In that moment, he recalled Bai Sihuan’s timid look when he first entered the house, his doe-like eyes as he ate the fruit, and so many other things, including the old-fashioned scarf he had put on himself.
When Lin Heng pushed aside the servants and chased after him, Bai Sihuan had already boarded Bai Ying’s rusty bicycle.
Both Bai Ying and Bai Sihuan, dressed in tacky attire, looked like a similar breed. They and their bicycles weaved through this magnificent complex like ants crawling across a painting.
A quick look, a quick return.
Bai Ying knew the surroundings were a blessing she could never hope for in her lifetime. She pedaled with great effort, her face furrowed with sweat, her eyes fixed on the road ahead, yet her peripheral vision couldn’t help but capture the scenery that could have been hers.
She murmured softly, “He’s making it, he’s making it… My son has made it, I have to persevere…”
The bicycle clanked, and Bai Sihuan felt it was like Bai Ying’s backbone, swaying, crackling, supporting her.
He supported Bai Ying’s back and tilted his head to see Lin Heng running out of the house, chasing him, shouting “Brother.”
Bai Sihuan clutched his mother’s clothes, his expression calm, but the wounds on his body from Lin Heng’s beatings suddenly ached.
He remembered that his rustic scarf was still in Lin Heng’s hand; it was a birthday gift that Bai Ying had knitted for him.
He’d get it again when he had the chance.
Sometime later.
He silently recited these two words, “later.”
Old Pei rushed out to stop Lin Heng, and Lin Heng ultimately failed to catch up. From a distance, Bai Sihuan saw Lin Heng wiping tears from his eyes, as if he were crying.
But Bai Sihuan knew that was impossible; Lin Heng was the type who would never cry.
After Bai Sihuan returned to the old alley, the neighbors rushed out to congratulate him, as if they had seen a top scholar returning home.
Among them were several shirtless men, Bai Ying’s regular nighttime customers, who had come to take advantage of the situation.
One secretly told Bai Ying that Bai Sihuan looked a lot like him and asked if he was his son.
Bai Ying patted his chest and yelled, “Go away!” She urged him to clear his head. “When you came to me, our Yuancheng was already four. Don’t be so naive. A few years ago, when Sihuan was sick, I asked you for money, and you refused. I still remember that!”
Bai Sihuan watched his mother’s flirting with the married man. Something he used to be accustomed to was now, for some reason, no longer so.
Thinking of Lin Heng’s words, “Even the mistress’s name is so risqué,” he felt a mixture of emotions.
Bai Ying used the several thousand yuan Lin Huan had given her to buy her youngest son, Bai Yuancheng, a new schoolbag and some new clothes and shoes. She said Bai Yuancheng was going to a new school soon and needed some nice clothes.
Bai Sihuan said nothing and handed the remaining money to his mother, who took it without hesitation.
Bai Ying took Bai Sihuan away without hesitation, and the Lin family remained silent. Bai Ying refused to allow Bai Sihuan to attend junior high school. The high school principal personally came to the old alley to present Bai Sihuan with his scholarship and sign his enrollment contract.
Bai Ying took his scholarship, intending to use it to renovate the house. But months passed, and no work had begun, and the money vanished with it.
The high school was impossibly far from the old alley, forcing Bai Sihuan to live on campus. As a top-ten student in the city through independent enrollment and having skipped a grade, he was admired and respected by the students at this key high school.
People chatted enthusiastically about this brilliant student for a long time.
However, due to his inherent inferiority complex, Bai Sihuan never knew how to communicate. While his classmates admired him, few would talk to someone who spent their days buried in their studies.
One day after school, Bai Sihuan was about to go to the cafeteria for lunch when a classmate returning to the classroom grabbed his arm and said, “Hey, there’s a handsome boy at the cafeteria entrance holding a red scarf. He looks like he’s here to see you.”
Bai Sihuan wanted to retrieve the scarf, but he was afraid of seeing Lin Heng, or fearing that someone from the Lin family might be out to arrest him again. Without a second thought, he simply turned around and headed to the library, skipping dinner or evening study.
The next day after school, he looked out the window of his sixth-floor classroom and saw a familiar figure lingering at the school gate.
Bai Sihuan hurriedly packed up and ran downstairs to find her. Seeing her approach, Lin Xianyan smiled and said, “Yesterday, Ah Heng came here waiting for you for over an hour, but you didn’t show up. I was just trying to wait and see if I could run into you, and sure enough, I did.”
Bai Sihuan feigned ignorance and smiled. “So he’s been here before…”
“I’ve sneaked out a few times, but only yesterday did I find the right place, and I still haven’t seen him.” Lin Xianyan seemed to feel incredibly lucky. She glanced around and pulled a bulging envelope from her coat pocket, handing it to Bai Sihuan. “He asked me to give you this.” Then, sheepishly, she pulled out a thinner envelope. “This one’s mine, it’s less…”
Bai Sihuan quickly declined, “No, no!”
“Take it!” Lin Xianyan shoved the two envelopes of money into his pocket, not letting him take them out. “You deserve it.”
Bai Sihuan clutched the two envelopes tightly in his pocket, gratitude, embarrassment, and shame welling up, and his head drooped again.
“I told you not to give up so easily!” Lin Xianyan patted his shoulder again in encouragement, then turned and said, “I’m leaving!”
After Lin Xianyan left, Bai Sihuan opened the envelope Lin Heng had given him. Inside, besides a wad of money, there was a note that read: “Eat well, idiot!”
Bai Ying had miscalculated slightly. Although the school had waived Bai Sihuan’s tuition and accommodation, he still had to cover his food expenses and annual bookkeeping fees.
Given Bai Sihuan’s family situation, he should have been able to apply for a scholarship. However, there was a child from a more difficult family who needed the money, and someone else said his father was Lin Huan, who didn’t need the extra money. So, the scholarship was completely out of his reach.
The money Lin Heng and Lin Xianyan had given Bai Sihuan was found by Bai Ying the day Bai Sihuan returned home. She confiscated it, pointed at Bai Sihuan, and yelled, “I’ve raised you for all these years, and you’re still hoarding so much money? The day before yesterday, your school called again, demanding your college entrance exam fees. I gritted my teeth and borrowed money from a neighbor to pay for it, and you, on the other hand, hid it for yourself. What were you planning to do?”
Bai Sihuan didn’t give the money to his mother this time, knowing she would spend it on the wrong things. Sure enough, that day, Bai Ying took the money, went out, and returned drunkenly, cigarette in hand, with a few sets of clothes for Bai Yuancheng. The money was nowhere to be found.
A few days later, Bai Sihuan told Bai Ying that he wanted to participate in a math competition and needed to pay. Bai Ying scolded him, “No money! What little money you have! I already paid for you!”
The school fees were piling up, and Bai Ying couldn’t pay a penny.
Bai Sihuan had received a generous scholarship, but it was squandered by Bai Ying within six months. Now the family couldn’t afford a single decent sum.
She didn’t have a decent job, and occasionally stayed overnight at the homes of single men or those whose wives were away, bringing home food and some cash. But now that she was older, she had fewer customers, and the amount she could earn wasn’t as much as before. Because of her bad temper, she had fallen out with many regular customers, cutting off many of her sources of income.
Thinking of Bai Sihuan going to college in two years, with the even heftier tuition and fees, and Bai Yuancheng’s future expenses, Bai Ying felt she couldn’t sustain it. Perhaps she wouldn’t make it this far.
The clothes were still the same, the bag still the one with the loose threads. Bai Ying slowly packed Bai Sihuan’s luggage, pulled him out, and said, “It’s not that I don’t want you, it’s just that I can’t afford to support you anymore.”
She still rode her rusty Phoenix bicycle from dusk until dark, escorting Bai Sihuan out of the old alley. This time, Bai Sihuan didn’t resist. He let her lead him like a puppet, dragging him back to the Lin family’s main gate.
Bai Ying smirked as she escorted Bai Sihuan back, explaining that he had been young and ignorant back then, and that she had waited for him at home for a long time, but no one showed up to pick him up. Now, she had no choice but to bring him back herself.
Cheng Sutang refused to let them in. Standing at the doorway, she said the same thing she had said to Lin Heng: “What do you think the Lin family is? You can come and go as you please? You think it’s a recycling station? Even recycling stations don’t allow you to throw things away or take things back!”
Bai Ying stood outside the gate, flashing an ingratiating smile that Cheng Sutang couldn’t see, and shouted from afar: “This is your son from the Lin family, and this is also your son!”
“How funny!” Cheng Sutang sneered in disdain.
Bai Ying grabbed Bai Sihuan by the clothes and pulled him towards her, admonishing him: “Call me Mom, something nice, admit your mistake, and ask your Mom to let you in. Hurry up!”
Bai Sihuan pressed his lips together, refusing to utter a word.
Cheng Sutang sneered, then returned to the house, slamming the door shut and telling the maid outside not to open it for them.
Bai Ying, enraged, slapped him a few times and cursed, “Just stand there by yourself. I’m not going to care about you anymore!”
Bai Ying rode her bicycle back in shame, saying she really wasn’t going to care anymore.
Bai Sihuan stood at the gate for half an hour, until his legs went numb. Then he thought about where to go. He could go to the bookstore near the school. The owner was kind and might let him stay for the night. He could work there and maybe even stay there.
Just as he was about to turn around with his numb legs, the door opened. The maid came out and said to Bai Sihuan, “Young Master Heng wants you to help him with his homework.”
If Bai Sihuan remembered correctly, Lin Heng should be in the third year of junior high this year. In just two years, Lin Heng, once nearly as tall as him, was now a head taller and much more muscular. He’s still growing and will likely grow taller. Bai Sihuan, on the other hand, has remained this thin and frail for years.
The moment he saw Bai Sihuan, Lin Heng’s eyes lit up. Karen, who was lying next to him, even stood up, her tongue hanging out, and wagged her tail at him.
Lin Heng quickly retracted his outward joy, looking away. He coughed twice and said, “I don’t know how to do this problem. Can you explain it to me?”
His unfocused gaze darted around, finally landing on Bai Sihuan.
Bai Sihuan was silent for a moment, then said, “Oh!” and walked over to sit beside him, helping him with the final math problem.
Bai Sihuan only spent less than half a minute before picking up a pen and writing down his solution on a piece of scratch paper.
Lin Heng’s mind wasn’t on the problem at all. He pondered for a long time before finally asking a question he’d been holding in his heart: “When I went to your school looking for you, I didn’t see you. Why did Ah Yan see you the moment I arrived?”
Bai Sihuan answered almost without thinking: “She went at a good time, and you didn’t.”
“Is that all?”
“That’s all.”
Bai Sihuan wrote out three solutions.
Lin Heng glanced at them, then, without trying to figure them out, said, “Tell me about them.”
At that moment, Bai Sihuan saw the perfect test paper tucked into his math book. His mouth dropped open, but he joined in the performance and explained the problem to him.
The day after Bai Sihuan returned, Lin Heng brought a pile of high-end clothes to his room and dumped them on his bed. “These are for you.” Before he could refuse, Lin Heng added, “They’re not specially for you. I just can’t fit into them anymore.”
At lunch, Lin Heng asked Cheng Sutang, who had just started eating, “Mom, I want my second brother to join us.”
Cheng Sutang took a piece of cucumber, tasted it, and said to the servants, expressionless, “Go get him to join us.”
This was Bai Sihuan’s first time at the Lin family dinner table.
Lin Heng offered the seat next to him, wanting him to sit, but Lin Xianyan smiled and waved at him first.
Watching Bai Sihuan sit next to Lin Xianyan, Lin Heng’s face suddenly turned cold. Putting his chopsticks on the table, he said, “Mom, my second sister’s eating is making a lot of noise.”
Cheng Sutang swallowed her rice and ordered Lin Xianyan, “Go eat outside.”
Lin Xianyan’s smile froze. He glared at Lin Heng and left, rice bowl in hand.
Bai Sihuan watched Lin Xianyan leave and suddenly felt uneasy, as if wanting to get up and follow her.
Lin Heng reminded him, “Sit down at the table, eat well, and don’t look around.”
When it was time to shower that evening, Bai Sihuan habitually wanted to go to the first floor. Lin Heng stopped him, “The first floor is Karen’s only room now. Don’t fight with her. Go to my room.”
Bai Sihuan only said “Oh” obediently and went to Lin Heng’s room to shower.
Bai Sihuan was soaking in the large, foamy bathtub when Lin Heng walked in with a towel.
Hearing the sound of Lin Heng stripping off and getting into the tub, Bai Sihuan nervously bent his knees. Noticing Lin Heng approaching, he moved to the side.
Lin Heng placed a warm towel against his back: “Don’t move. I’ll rub your back.”
Bai Sihuan’s nerves tensed, and he truly didn’t dare move.
Lin Heng rubbed his back gently, gently and gently. A warm mist lingered between them, blending with their rising body temperatures.
Bai Sihuan suddenly felt breathless, his breathing becoming rapid.
The two of them sat in silence for an unknown length of time before Lin Heng suddenly brought up something Bai Sihuan had long forgotten: “Did it hurt when I hit you back then?”
Bai Sihuan’s rapid breath caught, as if the air had suddenly cooled, and his chaotic thoughts instantly found their place.
His voice cracked, and he offered the explanation he hadn’t had time to offer that year: “I didn’t steal your girlfriend…”
“Steal my girlfriend?” Lin Heng chuckled, seemingly amused by the reason. “Do you think that’s why I lost control?”
“…No, what else?”
Lin Heng took a deep breath, increased the pressure on his back, and asked, “Why didn’t you fight back?”
Bai Sihuan whispered, “I couldn’t hit you, and I didn’t dare…”
Lin Heng found his excuse hilarious. What kind of man is that?
“No matter what I do to you, you won’t fight back?”
He lost his grip, and the towel fell between Bai Sihuan’s legs. Bai Sihuan jumped as if something had been touched, splashing water all over Lin Heng’s face.
Lin Heng wiped the water from his face and slowly picked up the towel that had fallen into the water. “Why the big reaction? It just happened to fall in by accident.”
Bai Sihuan’s face flushed. Not wanting to shower with him anymore, she quickly ran behind the screen to change.
Lin Heng stared at Bai Sihuan changing clothes on the screen, his eyes reflecting the crystal light, their light flickering.