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墨書 Inktalez
"Leader, I'm wronged!" Yang Chen raised his hands to show his innocence. "Did I pout?"
"You did pout, and you pouted quite high! If I hadn't reacted in time, you would have kissed me."
Oh no...
Yang Chen rubbed his head and pretended to be confused. "I think I bumped my head; I don't remember what just happened."
"Don't remember?" Tai Man raised her fist. "Then let me help you recall."
Ah...
Yang Chen let out a cry, his face contorting.
"Still pretending? You're doing a good job of it."
But Yang Chen wasn't pretending; his face twitched together. "My, my foot."
Seeing the beads of sweat on Yang Chen's forehead, Tai Man realized he might not be acting after all. She quickly stood up. "What's wrong with your foot?"
"It seems I twisted it just now."
Yang Chen moved slightly and cried out in pain.
Tai Man became anxious and flustered. "What should we do now? I'll call an ambulance."
However, when Tai Man picked up the phone, she found there was no signal. She figured they needed to get out of the Cave to get a signal. She didn't want to leave Yang Chen alone in case a venomous snake showed up, which would be troublesome. "I'll carry you out."
"Leader, I..."
"Don't talk, just listen to me!" Tai Man wouldn't let Yang Chen speak and lifted him onto her back, heading outside.
Having practiced Taekwondo since childhood, Tai Man was quite strong. Carrying Yang Chen wasn't too difficult for her, and before long, she had him outside the Cave.
Tai Man carefully set Yang Chen down and prepared to make a call for help.
"Leader, you don't need to find someone to rescue me. I just twisted my ankle; I can handle it myself," Yang Chen suddenly said.
Tai Man, who was about to dial 120, froze. Her expression shifted from worry to horror as she shouted, "Yang Chen, you idiot! Why didn't you say so earlier? You had me worried!"
"I... I wanted to say it inside, but you wouldn't let me," Yang Chen replied timidly. Tai Man looked a bit frightening, as if she were ready to eat someone.
Tai Man had indeed interrupted Yang Chen, and in her moment of panic, she forgot that Yang Chen had medical knowledge. Still, she felt quite displeased. "If it weren't for the fact that you just saved me, I would have kicked you down the mountain."
"Thank you for not holding a grudge against me, Leader," Yang Chen said with a cheeky smile as he leaned against the wall and sat up straight, taking off his shoes to examine his swollen ankle.
Seeing Yang Chen's ankle was swollen, Tai Man grew concerned again. "Can you handle it yourself?"
"Don't worry. I'll realign the bone first and apply some herbs; it'll reduce the swelling quickly," Yang Chen replied, exhaling deeply before lifting his left foot and twisting it forcefully.
With each twist, he cried out in pain. After several attempts, Yang Chen touched his ankle and confirmed that the bone was back in place before panting and wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"Leader, help me up," Yang Chen extended his hand.
Tai Man stepped forward to support him. "Can you walk like this?"
"I can walk slowly. If you're worried, you can carry me."
"Dream on!"
With Tai Man assisting him, Yang Chen slowly walked down the mountain. On the way down, he picked some herbs to apply to his ankle.
"Let's check it again when we get back to the county."
"No need. Besides, I don't want to go back to the county right now; I want to go home for a bit." Yang Chen revealed a pitiful look in his eyes. "Leader, I've been busy following you around for a while now. I haven't had much time to rest even on weekends, and it's been months since I last went back home."
"Is your home nearby?"
"It's about an hour's drive from here."
Yang Chen's hometown is in Minhua Village, located in Heisha Township under Hualin County, which isn't too far away.
Since Tai Man arrived in Hualin, he hadn't returned home. Now that they were almost at Yang Chen's doorstep, it would be quite unreasonable not to let him go back. He agreed, "Alright, you guide me, and I'll drive."
They drove past the township and two villages before entering Minhua Village. Minhua Village isn't very large; due to its remote location, there aren't many residents—only a few dozen households.
"There aren't many young people left in the village now; only some elderly folks remain. I've always wanted my mother to come with me to the county, but she says she's not used to city life and prefers staying in the countryside. Actually, she's afraid of being a burden to me," Yang Chen said with a sigh, pointing to an alley ahead. "Turn into that alley up ahead."
The car turned into the alley and stopped in front of a large black gate that was rusted and worn.
"This is my home."
Yang Chen opened the car door and got out with a limp. When he reached the gate, he found it locked, indicating that no one was home.
"It seems like no one is home. You didn't think to call ahead before coming back," Tai Man remarked.
Yang Chen muttered, "I was trying to surprise my mom. Even if no one is home, I can still get in."
He squatted down at the corner on the right side of the gate where there was half a red brick. Lifting the brick revealed a set of keys lying underneath.
"My mom hasn't changed this habit!" Yang Chen said, shaking the keys as he stood up. "When I was a kid, my parents would leave the keys under the brick when they went farming or foraging in the mountains. They were worried about losing them if they carried them around, and it made it easier for me to get in even if no one was home when I came back from school."
"Aren't you worried about thieves finding out and stealing something?" Tai Man asked.
As Yang Chen unlocked the gate, he explained, "The people in the village are simple and wouldn't steal from others' homes. Real thieves wouldn't be interested in our things anyway, so there aren't any thieves around."
With the gate open, Yang Chen motioned for Tai Man to drive the car into the yard.
The courtyard was divided into two parts; one half was a vegetable garden filled with cucumbers, green beans, chili peppers, and other vegetables, while the other half was a clean and tidy yard where herbs were drying.
"My mom must have gone up the mountain to gather herbs. She's in her fifties and never makes it easy for me!" Yang Chen took out his phone to call his mother.
After a while, his mother finally answered.
"Mom, where are you?" Yang Chen asked.
"I'm at home tidying up the vegetable garden. Are you still so busy with work? Make sure to eat on time and don't wear yourself out," she replied.
Yang Chen glanced at the vegetable garden. "I'm right next to our vegetable garden. How come I can't see you? Have you learned to become invisible?"
Huh?!
On the other end of the line, his mother fell silent for a moment before exclaiming, "Son, you're back home? I'll head back right now. Aunt Zhang, Xiao Chen is back, so I won't be going with you all. I'm going home first."
"Don't rush, Mom. Please take your time."
"I know, I'm on Xishan Mountain. It will take me a while to get home. If you're hungry, just eat some cookies." Every mother in the world seems to think their child will starve.
"Got it, Mom. Just take it easy. I'm not leaving today," Yang Chen reminded her before hanging up. "Every time I call, I remind her not to go up the mountain to gather herbs, and she always agrees so well on the phone."
What an untroublesome mother!
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