Chapter 104 - 104 104 Joy of moving to a new home Grief of losing a child

Words : 1426 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

104: 104: Joy of moving to a new home, Grief of losing a child 104: 104: Joy of moving to a new home, Grief of losing a child Rural residences were mostly self-built single-family homes. They were either two or three-story buildings, surfaces covered with white tiles, very square, and surrounded by a three-meter-high concrete wall with an iron gate welded on. Most households also raised chickens, dogs, or other livestock and pets in their yards. Not very aesthetic, but spacious enough. The house of Song Hu was one of these homes. When Lu Li arrived near Song Hu’s house, the two iron gates, normally tightly shut, stood open. Only a few scraps of red paper remained from the Spring Festival couplets that had been torn down. A van, adorned with a white cloth, was parked by the wall. A few middle-aged individuals stood at the car spot, cigarettes pinched between their fingers, enveloping themselves in smoke. White spirit money littered the ground like mold spots, turned into clumps by the damp frost. Lu Li pushed the door open, stepped out of the car, and entered the yard under the scrutinizing gaze of the local residents. About a dozen figures scattered around the yard, dressed in plain colors. The younger generation wore hemp and mourned, while those of the same age tied white cloth around them. The living room had been temporarily converted into a mourning hall, with a black wooden coffin placed on a stand in the middle. According to local customs, the burial could not occur until after the seventh day. Today was exactly the seventh day. Dressed in a black coat, Lu Li did not draw attention. He looked around and walked towards a middle-aged couple at the entrance of the living room. “Hello, I am a colleague of Song Hu. This is his house, right?” The couple looked startled, and Song Hu’s father quickly reacted warmly, “Hello, hello, you must be his supervisor, right? Oh, it’s such a bother for you to come all this way.” Lu Li did not explain but simply accepted the assumption. He glanced into the mourning hall, paused slightly at the portrait, then turned back and asked, “What happened to Song Hu?” At once, Song Hu’s mother’s eyes reddened, and she began to choke up. With a long sigh, Song Hu’s father said, “It’s all our fault. It’s been cold these days and Song Hu moved the old stove to his room because he found it damp. We’ve had that stove for decades and it didn’t cross my mind to intervene. However, he closed all the windows while using it and ended up...” The old man sighed deeply, looking a decade older. “Please accept my condolences.” Lu Li’s expression shifted subtly, as if trying to show sadness or pity but found he couldn’t quite manage it. “May I offer some incense?” “Yes, of course, come inside with me,” the old man responded, leading Lu Li into the mourning hall and preparing the incense sticks without turning back. “You’re representing Song Hu’s colleagues to pay respect, right? Thanks for keeping him in your thoughts.” “Of course.” Lu Li looked towards the coffin, its surface gleaming with lacquer. He sensed a ghostly presence. The presence wasn’t strong, and it was unclear whether it could even be called a ghost. While Lu Li was still uncertain about the nature of the presence, a slight sound suddenly came from inside the coffin. The coffin lid shifted, revealing a dark, seemingly bottomless interior. Lu Li, glancing up at the old man burning incense, laid his palm on the coffin cover and surreptitiously forced it back into place bit by bit. Once the coffin was sealed again, he withdrew his hand. The old man, having lit three incense sticks, turned and handed them to Lu Li. “Just place them in the incense burner; you are a supervisor, no need for formalities.” Lu Li nodded, took the offered incense, and placed them in the burner. The photograph portrayed Song Hu at the age of twenty-three or twenty-four, a young and honest man. The old man beside him, over fifty, had nearly white hair. White-haired sending off the black-haired. Declining the old man’s invitation to stay for a meal, Lu Li gave one last deep look at the tranquil coffin and left Song Hu’s house. The old Xiali car started, reversing thirty or forty meters before stopping and shutting down at the roadside. Lu Li did not leave. The sensed ghostly aura was not an illusion, something unknown had definitely happened inside that coffin. Today was the seventh day, and if Lu Li was not mistaken, Song Hu’s ghost would appear at midnight. This was a distance that allowed him to sense the ghostly presence without being noticed by Song Hu’s family. In the quiet car, Lu Li sat silently, waiting. After a while, a black sedan with the word “agent” printed on it arrived and parked outside a civilian house next to Song Hu’s home. A family of three and a golden retriever got out of the car. The agent, dressed in a suit, turned off the engine, then got out and, with a smile plastered on his face, opened the metal gate and went inside with them. About ten minutes later, the family and the agent reappeared from behind the gate. It seemed they had agreed on something, and they left in the car. The speed at which the family moved in was unexpected. By the afternoon a few hours later, the moving company’s van had already arrived. The little girl, holding the golden retriever, cheered and ran through the metal gate. The movers started unloading furniture from the back of the van, one piece at a time. Bookshelves, a refrigerator, a piano, a workstation. Items not typically found in an ordinary household were carried through the front door by the movers. The couple stood by the door, speaking softly. Soon, an argument seemed to arise, and the intermittent sounds of their quarrel were carried over by the wind. “...I’m putting you through so much...” “...the child... her schooling... a few hours...” “...it’s the same... I didn’t want to move here either...” Squeak squeak— Lu Li rolled down a crack in the car window, and the voices suddenly became much clearer. “I just feel this house is very chilly. Haven’t you felt it? Beibei doesn’t even dare to run around.” “That’s just your imagination, honey. It’s been raining all season, and a room that’s been unoccupied will naturally be a bit cool. Didn’t we bring an air conditioner? Beibei is a dog, it’s normal for her to be scared in a new environment.” The husband placed his hands on his wife’s shoulders, looking earnest, “Listen, but I believe everything will be fine. Sooner or later, an orchestra will notice me, a pop star will choose my song, trust me, okay?” “...Yeah. I don’t mind all that; it’s just the child...” “I know... I understand...” The husband embraced his wife, and the couple clung to each other, seemingly reconciled. Lu Li withdrew his gaze and paused briefly in front of Song Hu’s house nearby. To the left, a celebration of moving in; to the right, the sorrow of losing a child. He rolled up the window and leaned back in the seat, closing his eyes for a nap. An hour later, the moving company had finished, and the family of three walked hand in hand through the metal gate, waving the truck goodbye. ... “The lighting in the corridor is so poor.” Although Han Lan had come to accept her circumstances, it didn’t mean she wouldn’t complain about them. “All big houses are like this,” Wu Zihao said cheerfully next to her, suddenly looking around. “Where’s Beibei?” The daughter joyfully bouncing ahead pointed toward the dim corridor ahead: “It’s up there. Beibei, Beibei!” “Woof!” Around the corridor bend, some ten meters from them, the golden retriever Beibei was tearing at a piece of peeling wallpaper. “Woo—” Beibei bared its teeth, revealing a ferocious side. Behind the torn wallpaper, a dark, withered arm appeared on the wall. “Beibei! Beibei—” The voice of the little owner echoed down the corridor and Beibei’s ears perked up; he turned and ran off. The quiet, deserted corridor. From behind the torn bit of wallpaper, the dark, withered arm slowly retreated back.

Chapter 104 - 104 104 Joy of moving to a new home Grief of losing a child

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