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Devouring Original Sin
墨書 Inktalez
"What's your name?" The officer, wearing a police uniform, slightly plump with a round face, tried to look fierce as he asked seriously.
"Chen Yue," replied a cool, calm teenage voice.
"How old are you?"
"Eighteen."
Hearing the boy say he was eighteen, Li Caishu could no longer maintain his seriousness. He sighed and said, "Just turned an adult, why would you want to jump off a building?"
Chen Yue helplessly curled his lips and said, "I didn't want to jump."
Chen Yue had repeated all the way that he did not want to jump, but Li Caishu, who had personally brought him down from the rooftop, clearly did not believe him.
"Then why were you on the rooftop? Sitting on the railing? Enjoying the view?"
Chen Yue stared at Li Caishu with his dark eyes and said, "I saw red clouds."
"What? You can see clouds at night? Fire clouds?"
Chen Yue shook his head and told Officer Li in a mysterious tone, "Clouds like blood. They have eyes, but they are not open."
Li Caishu lowered his head as if in thought. After a while, he raised his head and said, "How about I take you to the hospital for an eye exam?"
"..." Chen Yue fell silent.
Li Caishu said, "Alright, I'll call your parents to come pick you up."
"..." Chen Yue still remained silent.
Li Caishu asked, "I've been wanting to ask you since the beginning, why don't you want to call an adult?"
"..." Chen Yue played dumb.
At that moment, another police officer entered the room. He seemed to be Li Caishu's superior—square-faced with a buzz cut, looking meticulous and very serious. He said, "What's going on? Why haven't your parents arrived yet?"
Li Caishu stood up and walked over to the officer, lowering his voice as he said, "This kid doesn't want to call home."
At this point, Chen Yue spoke up. He said, "I can go back by myself."
"That won't do?!" The officer raised his voice and said, "It's dangerous at this hour; an adult must come pick you up!"
Li Caishu patted the officer and leaned closer to whisper in his ear, "The family situation is probably not good; after all, he's a child with suicidal tendencies."
The officer pursed his lips and asked, "What should we do then? I'm not going home tonight; I'll be on duty at the station. Are you okay with taking him back?"
Li Caishu smiled and nodded. "Of course that's fine."
"Alright then, take him back. Old Lu is outside in the car; you two can ride in Old Lu's car."
Upon hearing that they were no longer insisting he call an adult, Chen Yue breathed a sigh of relief and stood up.
Li Caishu walked over to Chen Yue and put an arm around his shoulder as they headed toward the police station door.
Just before exiting, Li Caishu turned back and waved at the officer. "Captain Wang, get some rest!"
"Mm." Captain Wang nodded and waved them off to hurry along.
The road outside the police station was poorly paved; it was a bit damp now and quite slippery. As Chen Yue reached the car, he stumbled slightly and stepped into a muddy patch.
"Did it rain?" Li Caishu asked curiously.
A head poked out of the car, a cigarette clamped between its lips. With a square face, thick eyebrows, and big eyes, upon hearing Li Caishu speak, he took the cigarette out of his mouth and held it in his hand; he was likely the Old Lu they mentioned.
He said, "It hasn't rained; it's been humid these past couple of days."
Li Caishu opened the back door for Chen Yue to get in, then circled around and plopped down in the passenger seat, jokingly saying, "I’m sitting in your passenger seat; your sister-in-law won’t be mad, right?"
Old Lu brought the cigarette to his lips, took a deep drag, exhaled a cloud of smoke, then tossed the butt out of the window. He watched as it landed in the mud and extinguished before starting the car.
"Don't do what you did last time—throw an unopened pack into my car and just leave. Your sister-in-law wouldn’t be mad? I had to smooth things over for half a month after that," Old Lu said while driving, making a shocking remark.
Chen Yue lowered his head awkwardly.
Li Caishu patted Old Lu on the shoulder and laughed, "What are you saying? There’s still a child involved." Then she lowered her voice and added, "I didn’t do it on purpose! That was an accident!"
However, at that moment, Li Caishu's attempt to lower her voice seemed unnecessary; after all, the car space was small, and even if she spoke softly, Chen Yue could hear her clearly.
Old Lu glanced at the rearview mirror and asked Li Caishu, "How old is this child?"
"Eighteen," Li Caishu replied.
Old Lu shook his head and said, "Not small anymore. If my son were... sigh, he should be about this age too." Then he looked into the rearview mirror and made eye contact with Chen Yue. "Young man, do you have a girlfriend?"
"No..." Chen Yue replied shyly. But in the next moment, he suddenly raised his head and stared out the front window, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
Li Caishu was startled by Chen Yue's sudden movement. Turning to see that something was clearly wrong with him, she asked, "What’s wrong?"
"It... opened its eyes," Chen Yue said with a trembling voice. Officer Li instinctively looked in the direction Chen Yue was staring at but saw nothing.
"It cried!" Chen Yue suddenly grabbed Li Caishu's hand as if seeking comfort and exclaimed in terror.
In Li Caishu's eyes was a calm sky; however, in Chen Yue's view, it transformed completely.
The pitch-black sky was streaked with blood-red clouds that seemed to have been blurred with paint; the transition from blood-red to night was incredibly natural as if they were meant to be together.
What had originally been two crossed lines on the clouds when Chen Yue closed his eyes now appeared like real eyes slowly opening.
Its pupils emitted a fierce white light as the blood-red clouds began to spread slowly as if melting away under that white light.
Drip, drip; it melted and fell to earth—a blood-red rain pattered against the car windows—only then did Chen Yue snap back to reality.
Originally mouthing words to Old Lu to suggest that Chen Yue might have mental issues, Officer Li also heard the sound of rain tapping.
Everywhere he looked was drenched in blood-red; red raindrops fell on the roof of the car and slowly slid down the windows, blurring their vision.
A giant bird rushed out from that white light straight toward Chen Yue's car.
In a split second, Chen Yue shouted, "Run!"
That shout alerted Li Caishu and Old Lu; they both opened their doors simultaneously and bolted out. Li Caishu rushed too quickly and nearly stumbled but managed to steady himself.
At the same time as he shouted, Chen Yue had already opened his door and dashed out.
The giant bird crashed into the front windshield of the car; its massive and hard beak shattered the glass instantly.
The giant bird seemed indifferent to whether it killed anyone; it merely glanced at the three people sprawled on the ground before flapping its wings and flying away without looking back.
Seeing the giant bird fly off, Li Caishu straightened up from his bent position and looked at Old Lu in shock. "What kind of bird was that?! Is there something like this in the city?!"
Old Lu didn’t answer Li Caishu’s question but turned to Chen Yue instead and said something unrelated: "You should ask him."
Li Caishu suddenly remembered something; her throat involuntarily swallowed hard as she turned her dazed gaze toward Chen Yue and struggled to ask, "Do you... know something?"
Chen Yue sighed and said, "I was also shocked when I saw that cloud because, regardless of day or night, rain or shine, it remained there unwaveringly, as if it had been watching us all along. Even though it didn't have its eyes open, I knew it was staring at me, and that feeling was quite eerie."
"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Old Lu scrutinized Chen Yue's face as if trying to uncover something.
Chen Yue turned his head away from Old Lu and focused on Li Caishu, speaking slowly, "Did I not say anything?" After finishing, he grinned silently.
Li Caishu thought to himself: This kid is really creepy.
Feeling that he lacked authority at that moment, Li Caishu straightened his back and confidently said to the two younger ones, "Who would believe that!? Something never seen before, so mysterious—would you believe it?!"
The last part of his sentence was directed at Old Lu.
Old Lu seemed to be taken aback by Li Caishu's assertiveness and awkwardly cleared his throat, saying, "I didn't say anything; why are you getting so worked up?"
The rain intensified, drenching the three of them completely. Chen Yue raised his hand to wipe his face, which turned a bright red from the cold, even hue. He said, "Let's go; my home is nearby. We should take shelter from this."
The rain carried a strong metallic scent that was quite nauseating. Not to mention being soaked in this red rain, Chen Yue felt like he was being pickled from the inside out, exuding a foul odor.
Chen Yue appeared to be a typical child from an ordinary family; more accurately, he seemed like a child from a poor family. His shirt had become threadbare and had several holes in it, and his jacket looked ill-fitting.
Normal families wouldn't let their children wear such tattered clothes.
However, unexpectedly, Chen Yue led them to the most upscale and expensive neighborhood in the city.
Chen Yue had been taken away by the police from school, and the security guard at the community seemed puzzled about why a police officer was accompanying him.
But the security guard clearly recognized Chen Yue and asked, "What happened?"
Li Caishu worried that the security guard might misunderstand and affect Chen Yue's situation, so he said, "We're just helping the kid get home."
"Oh," the security guard replied with realization.
"By the way, officer," the security guard continued, "that red rain earlier had a strong smell of blood. The people coming into the community now look like they’ve been covered in blood just like that murderer."
The rain had stopped; it lasted only for a short while—coming quickly and leaving just as fast.
Li Caishu asked, "Was it just rain? Were there any... strange animals?"
"Nope, just this weird rain," the security guard replied.
Old Lu spoke up: "Don't worry; this rain is a normal weather phenomenon. Just treat it normally."
"Oh," the security guard nodded in understanding.
Li Caishu and Old Lu followed closely behind Chen Yue as they wandered around until they reached the bottom of an apartment building.
Chen Yue patted his pocket but found nothing. He awkwardly said, "I forgot to bring my apartment key; let's wait for a bit."
Sure enough, after a while, someone came out of the building, allowing Chen Yue and the others to slip inside.
Once in the elevator, they pressed for the seventeenth floor. Soon enough, the elevator doors opened.
Chen Yue aimed his key at the lock but couldn't turn it. He pulled it out again to inspect it before reinserting it with force. This time he confirmed that the door was locked from inside.
He glanced at Li Caishu and Old Lu; both were looking at him awkwardly. Suddenly feeling emotional, Chen Yue knocked on the door.
After a long wait, the door finally opened. A girl around fourteen or fifteen years old appeared wearing a uniform from Experimental Middle School.
"Brother?" Chen Yue smiled at her warmly and said, "Xiao Jia."
Then he pulled out two milk candies from his pocket and handed them to Xiao Jia.
"Thank you, Brother!" Xiao Jia smiled sweetly.
At that moment, a man rushed out of the kitchen, his face dusted with flour. He quickly pulled Xiao Jia into his arms, as if Chen Yue were some kind of monster.
Seeing the two police officers following Chen Yue, he asked, "What trouble have you gotten into this time?"
Li Caishu hurriedly replied, "The child is quite well-behaved; we were just helping to bring her back."
The man scrutinized Chen Yue, who was covered in blood, clearly unconvinced. He had been at home all evening with the curtains drawn, so he was unaware of the chaos outside.
He took the candy he had just given to Xiao Jia and handed it back to Chen Yue, saying, "Today, Uncle's daughter is staying over. With only two rooms, it's not convenient for you to stay. How about I transfer some money to you so you can rent a room for a while?"
As he spoke, he pulled out his phone. Just as he touched it, he paused and awkwardly smiled, saying, "Sorry about that, Yueyue. Uncle just remembered that Xiao Jia wants to sign up for dance classes this summer, and we don't have enough money."
With that said, Chen Yue understood everything and smiled as he replied, "It's okay, Uncle. I have money."
Then Chen Yue asked again, "How is my mom...?"
"She's doing well; she hasn't finished work yet. You should hurry and go home; she won't be happy to see you. Uncle speaks bluntly; don't take it to heart," Xiao Jia's Dad said.
Before Chen Yue could respond, the man closed the door. At that moment, Chen Yue heard him say to Xiao Jia, "How many times have I told you? That Chen Yue is no good; don't talk to him!"
The door had poor sound insulation, and Chen Yue could hear their conversation.
"That's not true! Brother Chen Yue is a good person!" Xiao Jia retorted.
"His biological father is a rapist! How can he be any good?! His own mother doesn't want him! Haven't I told you what he's done at school? He almost got expelled!"
"He still wants to come back and sleep here; today you're here, but I'm afraid he'll follow in his father's footsteps and do something shameful."
"Even if you're not here, I wouldn't let him in. He's like a dog that can't change its ways; why doesn't he just go die?"
Chen Yue couldn't listen anymore. He released the doorknob and turned away, saying, "I'm sorry; I think I need to leave."
Li Caishu noticed that Chen Yue was clearly upset and suggested, "Why don't we hide in the car for a bit? Although the front windshield is a bit shattered, it still works fine for blocking the wind."
Chen Yue nodded.
The three of them got back into the car.
Old Lu said, "This rain feels off; I need to call Captain Wang."
Dingling! Li Caishu's phone rang. He picked it up and saw it was Captain Wang.
He answered the call, and on the other end, Captain Wang anxiously said, "Where are you?! Did you return that child? Something bad has happened!"
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