Chapter 14 No Knock at the Door
I spun my pen, restless, and kept looking at the door. My heart hung high.
Grandma kneaded dough. The clock ticked in slow circles. I barely dared to breathe. Only after the hands passed nine did I begin to hear my own heartbeat, little by little.
This time there was no blackout. And no knock.
The killers never came to the door.
That proved the address had worked. The one who started it was Xia Lin!
I rushed over and hugged Grandma. Her hands were full of flour. I startled her badly.
"What's with you tonight, jumping at everything? Go check—"
"Check the Exam Admission Ticket, the pens, the eraser. I've already checked them countless times."
Grandma wouldn't sleep with me. She said she was afraid she'd snore. I clung to her arm and wheedled.
"Then sleep a little. Even a little is fine."
"You child. Why are you so clingy tonight? Nervous before the exam?"
I leaned on her shoulder and hummed under my breath, trying to hold down the sob in my throat.
"It's nothing. I had a nightmare while reading. I dreamed... I dreamed that on the way to the exam, I ran into bad people, and I missed the test."
Grandma hurried to spit three times.
"Dreams go the opposite way. Our Songsong is blessed by heaven. Grandma talks to the Buddha for you every day."
I pulled the quilt tight and rested my head on Grandma's shoulder, feeling a solid happiness I had never known.
I passed out from exhaustion. I didn't sleep a wink all night.
The next day, I ate the Number One Scholar pastries Grandma made, waved goodbye in high spirits, and boarded the exam bus.
The moment I got on and sat down, I found the teacher's expression looked very off.
The classmate beside me, face deathly pale, said to me.
"Did you know? Xia Lin's family... last night they were wiped out by thugs!"
"They said it was people who broke out of prison. They killed her and her mom!"