The summer breeze blew gently, and the cicadas chirped incessantly.
“Has everyone found a good future!” Li Haochen looked in the direction of his middle school, shaking his head, feeling a mix of helplessness and unwillingness!
“Mussels, oh mussels, she said she’s allergic to you!” Li Haochen picked up a bunch of mussels and said with a wry smile.
“Oh…”
Li Haochen flipped over a mussel, only to find a small sea urchin clinging to its bottom. One of its long spines had pricked his right index finger.
“Even you are mocking me?”
Li Haochen tossed the small sea urchin aside, pulled out the broken spine, and a trace of blood emerged.
Li Haochen sucked on the wound and spat, then ignored it.
*Clang~*
Li Haochen placed the mussel in his left hand and curiously reached out with his right to pick up a round bead that had just rolled onto the ground, holding it up to the sun.
A tiny bit of blood seeping from the small wound on his index finger was absorbed by the bead.
“Huh, why is the bead glowing… Ah…!”
“Mmm…!”
Li Haochen scratched his throbbing head, his eyelids slowly lifting.
“Why am I at the beach?” Li Haochen closed his eyes and shook his head. “Could it be that the water pressure from diving for too long is making me hallucinate?”
Li Haochen opened his eyes and looked at the sandy reef and the sea before him, a wave of anxiety washing over him.
“It’s not a hallucination? This… what in the world is going on?”
Li Haochen grabbed a handful of dry sand, looking at the unfamiliar sea, lost in thought.
“I remember, after the bead started glowing…!”
Li Haochen sprang up, his eyes wide. He was utterly shocked and stated with certainty, “The bead, it must have been the bead…”
Li Haochen excitedly followed the beach towards the highest reef. It wasn’t so much a reef as a colossal rock, like a mountain.
It took him a full half-hour to reach the summit. Looking down, all he saw was endless seawater surrounding this massive reef and a mile-long stretch of beach. It was barren and devoid of any life.
Li Haochen spent the entire day exploring this barren island. Besides himself and the bunch of mussels that had entered this secret realm with him, he found no other living creatures. He didn’t even see a single snail by the edge of the reef. His initial excitement and thrill had long been drowned out by the desolation of the place.
“Why is there nothing here?”
After thinking for a while and finding no explanation, Li Haochen gave up on dwelling on it. He walked over, grabbed the bunch of mussels, and placed them in a crevice at the base of the reef.
“This way, it’s not entirely without life. You all can settle here from now on, hehe!”
After placing the mussels, Li Haochen brushed the sand off himself, looked around, and frowned, hesitating.
“How do I get back?”
Li Haochen looked at the sky and, with a thought, called out, “Out.”
*Clang~!*
“Oh, you scared me to death! Haochen, why did you appear behind me so suddenly!” Li Suli patted her chest, breathing a sigh of relief, still shaken.
Li Haochen scratched his head, a little embarrassed. “Aunt, sorry, I didn’t see you just now. Why did you come over?”
Li Suli went up and tapped Li Haochen’s forehead. “Are you out of your mind, kid? Look at the time, it’s time to eat. If you don’t hurry, your uncle will start rambling, hehe!”
“Ah… Aunt, you go ahead. I… I’ll come after I wash up!”
“Alright, hurry up! If those mantis shrimp get cold, they won’t taste good!”
After Li Suli left, Li Haochen looked at the old wall clock.
“Only five hours have passed since I entered the bead until I came out? But I must have spent more than ten hours inside. Could the time inside be twice as fast as outside?”
Li Haochen suppressed his urge to investigate further, quickly washed up, and carrying the remaining few pounds of mussels from his harvest, headed to Li Dehai’s house.
When Li Dehai saw Li Haochen carrying something over, his expression immediately changed, and he said sternly, “Haochen, take this back later, understand!”
“Uncle… I…”
“Haochen, don’t mind this stubborn old man. Come, come inside to eat. Take these mussels back later and sell them tomorrow!” Li Suli came over and pulled Li Haochen into the house.
“Haochen, quickly, eat while it’s hot. Uncle was a bit anxious earlier, don’t take it to heart.” Li Desheng placed a steaming plate of mantis shrimp in front of Li Haochen, his expression softening.
“Uncle…!”
Li Haochen knew that Li Dehai and the others were doing this for his own good, and he felt a surge of emotion, his eyes slightly reddening.
Li Dehai patted Li Haochen on the shoulder.
“Haochen, what’s in the past should be left in the past. Live your life well.”
“Mmm…!”
…
“Haochen, come here!”
After dinner, Li Dehai called Li Haochen to the small living room and handed him a well-wrapped plastic bag from his pocket.
“There’s thirty thousand yuan in here. Take it to pay off the debts for Dexin and Dezan uncle first. With the rest, go back and repeat the year for school, don’t waste it. Our Li family has finally produced someone with such knowledge, we absolutely cannot let it go to waste, understand?”
Meanwhile, Li Suli in the kitchen looked at Li Dehai, her words caught in her throat before she swallowed them back, sighing with a helpless expression as she continued washing the dishes.
Li Haochen’s heart trembled, and he immediately pushed back the heavy plastic bag. “Uncle, I can’t. I can earn money now. Brother is preparing for marriage, I…!”
Li Dehai pushed it back again and picked up the water pipe beside him, taking a deep puff.
“Haochen, your brother’s wedding is still some time away, no need to rush. You’re still young, you can’t be in debt.”
Li Haochen knelt on the ground and hugged Li Dehai, tears streaming down his face like a broken dam, but silently.
“It’s very late, go back and rest.” Li Dehai rubbed Li Haochen’s forehead.
Li Haochen clutched the plastic bag tightly, but felt suffocated, the weight too immense.
After Li Haochen left, Li Suli came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron, and sat beside Li Dehai with a worried expression.
“Your husband, Haoyang’s matter…!”
Li Dehai pinched a small pinch of tobacco and stuffed it into the mouthpiece.
The flint and metal wheel of the lighter sparked with a *hissing* sound, and the water filter in the pipe gurgled.
Li Dehai took a few puffs, looked at the starry night sky, pushed himself up by leaning on his knees, and checked the clock.
“At this time, there should be squid fishing!”
With that, he put away the water pipe, swiftly put on his seafaring clothes, and picked up a searchlight.
“Don’t wait for me later, go to sleep early. We have to check the traps tomorrow morning.” Li Dehai stopped at the threshold. “Don’t worry, Haoyang’s marriage will not be looked down upon by anyone.”
Li Suli wiped the tears that were welling up in her eyes.
“Your husband, be careful…!”
“Mmm…!”