The three of them cried for a long time, holding the little person as if they were a family of three.
After a long while, Chen Dongyang was the first to calm down and gently stroked Zeng Hui's hair.
"Be good. Push him in first. Let's get the paperwork done and leave here."
"Only by getting the papers can we send him to a warmer place. If you truly care about him, let's do this quickly, okay?"
Zeng Hui wasn't truly mad. She knew that lingering would only be a meaningless delay. The child was gone, and no matter how reluctant she was, the necessary procedures still had to be completed.
After a moment of composure, she and the staff pushed Dou Bao into the morgue.
The moment the door closed, Zeng Hui once again threw herself into Chen Dongyang's arms, crying her heart out.
In short, it was a very sad day.
Zeng Hui's tears hadn't stopped from morning till night.
Chen Dongyang completed the hospital procedures and accompanied the vehicle carrying Dou Bao to the funeral home for cremation.
In the afternoon, he and Zeng Hui walked out of the funeral home holding a small urn.
There weren't many relatives or friends for them in this city. The incident happened so suddenly, and no one else knew. It was just the two of them throughout the entire process.
At such a time, it inevitably reminded Zeng Hui of how Dou Bao's father had passed away, Dou Bao's birth, and how she and Chen Dongyang had relied on each other.
They couldn't even hail a taxi. Seeing Zeng Hui crying, her strength failing, and on the verge of fainting at any moment, Chen Dongyang arranged for a car from the funeral home staff and took her to Dou Ya's rented apartment.
Dou Ya wasn't home from work yet, so the apartment was empty. Chen Dongyang placed the urn, tidied up the bed he used to sleep in, and let Zeng Hui rest.
"Are you hungry? I'll get you something to eat."
Zeng Hui no longer wanted to cry. Her eyes were vacant, staring at the floor.
Hearing his words, she grabbed his arm, afraid he would leave.
"I'm not hungry, I don't want to eat. Don't go."
Seeing her fear, Chen Dongyang understood her feelings and patted her hand.
"Okay, I won't go. Don't worry. But not eating isn't an option. I'll get you something simple."
"No, I won't eat. You can't go."
Chen Dongyang had no choice but to stay. "Then you rest for a while. I know you're tired. I'll stay by your side and watch you."
Zeng Hui was so afraid he would leave after she fell asleep; she dared not sleep.
"I won't sleep. Don't go. Chen Dongyang, please don't abandon me, okay?"
"I won't. I promise you, I will never leave you."
"Then sleep with me. You sleep on the inside."
Chen Dongyang knew she was feeling insecure. Since he had no intention of leaving anyway, he lay down on the inside as she asked.
Zeng Hui lay down beside him, her face pressed against his chest, but she still felt uneasy.
"What if you leave after I fall asleep?"
Chen Dongyang promised again, "I won't leave. I said I wouldn't leave, and I won't. If you don't believe me, you can tie me up."
Zeng Hui actually believed him.
She propped herself up with her arm and slowly sat up, scanning the room. She spotted a worn-out towel.
She took the towel, bit it open with her teeth, tore it into two halves, and tied them into a long rope. She tied one end to Chen Dongyang's arm and the other end to her own wrist.
Chen Dongyang remained like a puppet all along, letting her do as she pleased.
Once it was tied, Zeng Hui felt relieved and closed her eyes, leaning against him again.
"When we wake up, can we go back to our hometown? I really love a tree on the mountain there. I used to play on it all the time when I was little. How carefree it was! I want to place Dou Bao there. Let him always be in the sun, always carefree."
Chen Dongyang agreed and gently patted her with his free hand. "Sleep."
Perhaps it was because Zeng Hui was too exhausted, or perhaps Chen Dongyang had given her enough security, but she soon fell asleep.
Chen Dongyang, however, could not sleep.
His mind was like a runaway train, replaying Tian Tian's voice over and over.
"Chen Dongyang, let's break up..."
He felt as though his heart had been shattered into a thousand pieces, with holes everywhere.
Besides desolation and powerlessness, he felt nothing.
He kept his eyes open, lost in thought, until Dou Ya returned from work and pushed open the door. She first noticed two pairs of shoes on the floor and looked surprised. Then, looking at the bed, she saw Chen Dongyang and Zeng Hui lying together.
The scene was too bizarre, and her mouth opened, about to scream. Chen Dongyang made a shushing gesture at her.
Dou Ya, with an expression of surprise mixed with curiosity, tiptoed closer.
"Brother Chen, you two are..."
Chen Dongyang closed his eyes and whispered, "You should go out and stay somewhere else tonight. I don't want to talk right now. We can talk another day."
When he was in a bad mood, his aura was quite intimidating. It was clear that he and Zeng Hui were not in any romantic relationship.
Although Dou Ya was very curious about what had happened, she dared not ask further. She nodded and tiptoed out again.
Zeng Hui drifted in and out of sleep, often calling out Dou Bao and Chen Dongyang's names in her dreams. Chen Dongyang gently patted her, coaxing her back to sleep again and again, finally enduring until dawn.
Zeng Hui opened her eyes. First, she saw his stubble, then his dark circles, and then she looked at his arm that was tied up.
"I'm awake. Have you been awake all night?"
Chen Dongyang didn't want to say much else.
Having stayed in the same position for over ten hours without moving, besides heartache, his whole body ached now.
"Didn't you say we were going back to our hometown? Let's get up now that you're awake."
The two of them took turns going to the bathroom and tidied themselves up a bit. Chen Dongyang found a backpack, put Dou Bao's urn inside, and went downstairs with Zeng Hui.
Perhaps she had accepted reality, or perhaps the grief from yesterday had exhausted too much of her energy, but Zeng Hui had recovered quite well today. She even proactively asked Chen Dongyang if he wanted to eat anything.
Chen Dongyang had no appetite, but seeing that her complexion had improved slightly, and not wanting to dampen her mood, he nodded.
Zeng Hui smiled and went to ask the owner for two bowls of douhua and five yuan worth of fried dough sticks.
Although the smile was stiff and awkward, it at least represented that she was moving forward, right?
The two of them mechanically ate their breakfast, and Chen Dongyang took her to the train station.
Sitting on the train, Zeng Hui leaned on his shoulder, watching the scenery flying past the window, and softly recounted her past to him.
How she had studied alone from a mountain village to the county town, how she had left home to study alone, and how she had embarked on a plane to the United States alone.
"Back then, I was so happy. I thought my future was bright and I was full of confidence. But now, after going in circles, I'm still the same penniless person."
Chen Dongyang listened, looking out at the scenery, and thought to himself, wasn't he the same?
Four years ago, he was a carefree, foul-mouthed, and lively rogue in the United States.
Only four years had passed, yet he felt like a dying man now.