Chapter 12: Accident

“It’s me, Xiao Ci,” came the familiar voice over the phone, sounding very nervous, “Xiao Ci, why is the door lock changed at home? I’m at the door, please open it for me quickly!”

Ming Hui?

He’s back now, after making creditors come to the door to move stuff, playing hide and seek himself?

Ming Ci’s mental state was already precarious, and hearing this old jerk’s voice again stirred up his just-calmed emotions. His tone instantly turned icy, “I’m not at home.”

“It’s only a little after six now, how could you not be home?”

Ming Hui, afraid to disturb the neighbors in the building, didn’t dare to knock loudly on the door, so he could only plead in a low voice over the phone.

“Your dad’s asking you ah, Xiao Ci, please open the door, I just need to come in and get something, then I’ll leave right away, Xiao Ci, I…”

Without waiting for him to finish, Ming Ci hung up the phone directly.

It was noon.

Ming Ci, holding a garbage bag, opened the door and found no one in the hallway.

Of course, Ming Hui was avoiding his debt, afraid of meeting acquaintances. How could he be waiting at the door for half a day?

Ming Ci locked the door and calmly went downstairs. He threw away the garbage, washed his hands at the nearby sink, and prepared to go to the noodle shop near the community for lunch.

Just as he took a few steps, a figure suddenly appeared in the shade of the greenery by the path.

“Xiao Ci!” Ming Hui popped his head out sneakily and called out to him in a low voice, “Xiao Ci, it’s me.”

Ming Ci was a bit surprised, not expecting Ming Hui to still be around, lurking in the neighborhood. He saw him look around cautiously, making sure there were no familiar faces nearby, then hurriedly ran out.

As Ming Hui approached, Ming Ci could clearly see his current appearance.

His eyes were bloodshot, he had stubble, his clothes were not very clean, and he reeked of heavy smoke and alcohol, looking disheveled and miserable.

As soon as Ming Ci saw him, his anger surged, and without a word, he lifted his foot and walked away.

“Xiao Ci, don’t go!” Ming Hui hurried to catch up, blocking his way, “Wait.”

Ming Ci said coldly, “What are you coming back for? Didn’t you let the creditors take everything away? What else is there to take?”

“I…” Ming Hui felt extremely embarrassed but spoke in a soft tone, “Xiao Ci, Dad has been in trouble these days, being chased by creditors. You don’t know those people, they’re ruthless and would do anything. I have no choice.”

Ming Ci remained silent, looking at him with indifference.

“Xiao Ci, do you have any money on you?” Ming Hui swallowed hard, stuttering, “Can you lend Dad some?”

Ming Ci’s breath paused, his pitch-black eyes staring directly into his, “So, you only came back home to ask me for money?”

“Xiao Ci, consider it a loan to me, okay? I know your school gave you a bonus—”

“I’m curious.” Ming Ci interrupted him, “Did you ever consider that by bringing the creditors to the door, they might attack me? If they had stabbed me to death, who would you ask for money now?”

“…” Ming Hui froze for a few seconds, avoiding his gaze with guilt, then argued in a hoarse voice, “Boss Wu and them aren’t like that, they wouldn’t dare to actually use knives.”

He paused, then grabbed Ming Ci’s arm, “Xiao Ci, please, I’m begging you on behalf of Dad. I know you have at least twenty thousand yuan on you. Lend it to me so I can lay low out of town for a while. When I start working in Nanzhou later, I promise to pay you back all the money, okay?”

When disappointment accumulates to a certain extent, numbness sets in.

Hearing his father’s words, Ming Ci didn’t feel much emotion. He just found it ridiculous.

“You don’t need to think about it, I won’t give you a penny.”

With that said, he forcefully shook off Ming Hui’s hand and walked away.

“Xiao Ci, Xiao Ci…”

Ming Hui, who had been drinking heavily and staying up late these days, was physically exhausted and struggled to keep up from behind, panting heavily, “Xiao Ci! Dad is begging you, Ming Ci!”

Ignoring him completely, Ming Ci briskly walked out of the side gate of the community.

“Ming Ci!” Ming Hui, seeing him walking faster and faster, couldn’t help but pant and curse, “Heartless white-eyed wolf, are you trying to kill your own father?!”

Ming Ci didn’t want to argue with him outside, so he remained silent, didn’t turn back, and took advantage of the three seconds left on the green light to run across the street.

“Wait for me! Can’t you listen to my plea, Ming Ci!”

Seeing the traffic light turn red, Ming Hui was both angry and anxious. He directly crossed the flower bed, cut through the lanes, holding his breath, forcibly dragging his obese body to catch up with Ming Ci, grabbing his clothes.

This was still at the intersection. Ming Ci’s heart tightened instantly, and he sternly shouted, “Let go!”

“I’m your father, you can’t ignore me!” Ming Hui firmly held onto his collar, his face red and his neck thick as he yelled, “You’ll only be happy when I’m forced to death, right?!”

Screech!!

Ming Hui’s words were drowned out by the screeching brakes. Everything happened very quickly. The driver of the heavy truck caught a glimpse of the two figures, panicked, honked the horn, slammed on the brakes, but it was too late. In the blink of an eye, it was about to run over them—

In that split second, if Ming Hui could react, he could have rolled on the ground, perhaps avoiding the wheels.

However, right before his eyes, a bloody giant hand suddenly reached out from Ming Ci’s chest, like a bloody ghostly hand reaching out from the underworld, scaring him so much that he went weak all over and stumbled and fell.

The roar of the car engines echoed in his ears, but Ming Hui’s mind stopped, frozen in place, as he watched Ming Ci’s upper body being grasped by the giant hand, falling backward into the flower bed.

Then, a crack—

The heavy wheels rolled over him!

At the intersection, the honking of horns was incessant, and the traffic gradually came to a standstill, with horrifying bloodstains trailing dozens of meters.

The heavy truck finally came to a halt. Ming Hui was crushed beyond recognition, shattered into pieces, flesh and blood blurred.

Ming Ci sat down in the flower bed by the roadside, the crimson giant hand had long since returned to a small mark, lurking on his chest. Due to the positioning and blind spots of surveillance, besides Ming Hui, no one else saw what just happened.

The gruesome scene of bloody limbs and fragments came into view, Ming Ci’s mind was almost blank, a sense of confusion overwhelming him.

He tried to stand up, holding onto the railing next to him, but his body felt inexplicably weak, devoid of strength.

“What happened up there?!”

“A person was run over by a heavy truck! Call 110 quickly! Don’t block the intersection!”

“The person was crushed into several pieces, scared to death… The traffic police are here…”

The chaotic noise mixed together, Ming Ci felt as if the sounds were coming from a distance, vague and indistinct, unable to make out clearly.

He widened his eyes, slowly looking towards the severed body connected to the head, meeting the unblinking eyes, and for a moment, his pupils contracted sharply.

Ming Hui… is dead?

At this moment, Ming Ci’s mind only held this one simple and straightforward thought. His body stiffened, his fingers gripping the railing until they turned white, motionless.

The shrill sound of police sirens rang out, and the arriving police officers quickly pulled out the isolation tape. Someone came over, grasping Ming Ci’s arm, helping him up.

“Hey, how do you feel? Are you injured anywhere? Can you say something?”

The traffic police shouted loudly in his ear. Seeing no response from him, he immediately waved to the emergency medical team, “Over here! Check to see if he’s injured from the impact, quickly!”

“I’m fine…” Ming Ci’s eyes still gazed at the ground, his voice light and drifting, “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure you’re fine? Let the doctor examine you first, in case of internal injuries…”

“I dodged it, didn’t get hit by the car.”

Ming Ci shook off his hand, staggered for a moment, but quickly regained his footing, stepping towards the blood-stained road.

“This is the scene of an accident, you can’t come over here, step back, step back!”

Ming Ci seemed as if he couldn’t hear anything, walking forward like a zombie, his gaze fixed on the horrifying severed body.

“Ming Ci, he’s dead.”

Only the words of the monster pierced through his brain, crystal clear.

“Ming Ci, your heart is racing again.” Its tone revealed undisguised excitement, even exhilaration. “You’re getting hotter, so fragrant!”

Ming Ci’s heart felt like it was being clenched by invisible hands, struggling wildly, while a strong wave of nausea rose from deep within his throat, turning everything in his field of vision into mottled and distorted colors.

“…”

His lips trembled slightly, a faintly distorted sound escaping through tightly clenched teeth.

At that moment, a man suddenly wrapped his arm around Ming Ci’s shoulder from behind, simultaneously covering his eyes, pulling him backward.

“Don’t go over there! Don’t look, Ming Ci, listen to me, don’t look!”

The man held Ming Ci tightly, his voice sounding stern and calm at first, but with a tremor that he couldn’t contain.

Not far away, the traffic police maintaining order turned to see them, immediately shouting sternly, “This is the scene of an accident! Unauthorized personnel are not allowed in, what are you two doing? Get out of here!”

As a neighbor, the man already disliked Ming Hui, but witnessing the gruesome death of someone he knew had a profound psychological impact on him.

Moreover, he had a hot temper to begin with, and now being reprimanded by the traffic police, he yelled without hesitation, “Who’s unauthorized personnel? Are you clear about that? That’s his father over there! When even his own father looks like that, what’s wrong with his son wanting to take a look? Is it illegal?!”

The traffic police were momentarily stunned, their tone softened slightly. “We need to protect the scene, conduct investigation and gather evidence. Family members are not allowed to enter indiscriminately. Please go wait by the police car for now—”

“Got it!”

The man impatiently interrupted the traffic police, guiding Ming Ci outside the isolation zone.

He released Ming Ci’s shoulder, sitting him down heavily on the roadside steps, took a deep breath himself, then said to Ming Ci, “If you want to cry, just cry. Don’t hold it in, it’s not good for you.”

Ming Ci slowly lifted his head, his face devoid of color.

“Uncle Tan,” his pupils unusually dark, lacking any glimmer, “I’m fine.”

Their eyes met, and the man felt a strange palpitation, involuntarily looking away.

He took out a cigarette, lighting it up, his eyes on the police car parked not far away. As he smoked, he said, “Your father, I’ve known him for so many years. To be frank, his death isn’t a bad thing.”

Ming Ci’s throat tightened, but he deeply lowered his face, biting his finger hard, no sound escaping his mouth.

Only the rapid, heavy breaths, impossible to conceal.

The man probably realized that no matter how despicable Ming Hui was in life, saying such words to Ming Ci in this situation was truly heartless.

He flicked away the cigarette butt, patting Ming Ci’s shoulder. “You have a long life ahead of you. Look forward. Don’t be too sad, try to take it easy.”

Ming Ci remained silent, his teeth biting into his finger, leaving behind bloodstains but showing no sign of letting go.

He didn’t want to lose control, didn’t want to reveal a distressed and helpless appearance, and most of all, didn’t want to shed a tear for Ming Hui.

Repeatedly, he thought to himself:

Yes, that’s right, it’s not a bad thing that Ming Hui died… He’s just an old bastard, it’s not a bad thing he died… Stay clear-headed, no sadness allowed, no…

Yet, at this very moment, the monster came asking him again, “Ming Ci, what is sadness?”

“Why did this human say, ‘You’re sad’?”