Aoba Office

This strange fear feels like it is covered by a veil and is not so real.

I seemed to be scared, but also a little unimpressed.

I feel like my mind is drifting away, but my thinking is very clear.

It took me a long time to ride my bike back home from work.

I stood under that streetlight for a long time.

When I got home, I found that my brother and sister-in-law were all there, and their family members were also sitting around the table. The baby was placed in the bedroom, with the bedroom door open, and his sleeping face could be seen at a glance.

"Why did you come back?"

"Is there something going on in the unit? I heard..." The elder brother hesitated.

I can't hear it. Thinking of the severed hand, I shuddered.

One dinner, I ate absentmindedly.

I noticed the same thing happened to the family at the table. Everyone seems to have something on their minds.

Late at night, after the child cried twice, changed diapers and fed milk, the whole family became quiet.

The guests have already left.

I touched the window and found no one on the opposite floor.

I waited for a while, feeling a little unable to stay any longer, so I changed my clothes and tiptoed downstairs.

There was only a bicycle parked by a neighbor under the streetlight.

I don't know whether I am disappointed or happy. Probably more disappointed.

Suddenly, a figure emerged from behind the streetlight pole.

The foreigner saluted me, "Good night, Mr. Zhao."

I forgot to breathe for a moment.

"It seems that you have already thought about it." The man said, showing me a kind smile, and stretched out his hand, gesturing for me to follow him.

I hesitated for a long time, but he kept his posture unchanged.

I finally gritted my teeth and walked towards him.

My heart was beating wildly, with some untimely excitement. There is something I want to say, but I don’t know where to start.

That feeling of everything being veiled came back.

The man didn't look back at me, he just walked forward without saying a word.

His footsteps were a little loud in the night, but my footsteps were muffled.

Just like this, I walked out of this alley, turned two more turns, and saw a familiar courtyard.

I remember it being an empty property. I heard that the owner of the house went abroad many years ago and moved away. Some say he is an intellectual, he is a university scholar, some say he is a businessman and has made a lot of money, and some say his daughter married a foreigner and followed him abroad.

All kinds of rumors made this courtyard become extraordinary.

The courtyard door no longer has the big lock it used to have.

The man opened the door and made another inviting gesture.

I walked in and saw scenery I had never seen through the courtyard wall.

The tall ginkgo trees have towering crowns, and the whole yard seems to be covered with a yellow velvet carpet.

I was shocked and looked back at the courtyard wall.

Such a tall ginkgo tree cannot be covered by a small courtyard wall.

The man closed the wooden door without bolting or locking it.

He walked past me, stepping on the soft ginkgo leaves, making a squeaking sound under his feet.

I stood for a while before following him.

The leaves are thick and as soft as a blanket. I stepped forward one step at a time, and suddenly felt a gust of wind blowing by.

The wind was not strong, but the leaves were rustling and falling one after another.

The leaves on the ground were swept away and cleared out, revealing the stone-paved ground.

I squinted my eyes, waited for the wind to stop, and looked around again. All the leaves were gone.

My forehead felt cold. When I looked up, I found snowflakes falling.

I was surprised again.

"Mr. Zhao." The man called and stood at the door waiting for me.

I walked over a little uneasily.

Inside the door is a reception room with bright and clean windows. The furniture is all made of wood, and the style is very classical, but it is Western-style furniture.

The man made tea, which was also black tea. We also prepared snacks on three-layer porcelain plates with beautiful flower patterns printed on them.

"Please use it." The man pushed the plate.

I didn't move and turned to look out the window.

Snow has fallen heavily outside the window, like the leaves that were fluttering before, but now it's snowflakes.

It was very warm inside, as if the heater was on, making it impossible to feel the cold outside.

The man didn't urge me to eat. He stood up and took out a thick book from the cabinet next to me.

That book looks old.

The cover is brown and the paper inside is slightly yellowed. The entire book is about the size of a fourteen-inch notebook and as thick as the width of a hand. There were also gilt and curly characters on the cover, but I didn't understand them.

I instinctively wanted to remember what I saw, but the idea that just came to me made me a little stunned.

Notebook...what notebook?

Just as I was wondering, the man came over with a notebook and ink and a quill in his other hand.

He pushed away the dessert plate and spread the book in front of me.

There are tables drawn on the paper of the notebook, the dates are easy to read, and the names are in various languages.

From top to bottom, there are about twenty signatures on the left page. The rest are all blank.

Looking at the handwriting, the date and signature in the middle column are written by one person, and the rightmost column is the real signature.

"Mr. Zhao, this is not the first time I have done this business. I have an excellent reputation. If you have any doubts, you can also talk to my past customers." The man said.

This is another typical devil's tone.

demon?

I was stunned again.

"As long as you sign your name, your nephew can share your life span. This is a one-shot deal and there is no going back on it. You don't have to worry about me hurting you and your nephew. But you, please think clearly. Are you willing to share my life span with you? Your nephew? A person who is not related to you..."

"I treat him as my nephew! My mother and brother treat him as my own biological children!" I subconsciously retorted.

"I'm sorry, I was rude." The other party apologized sincerely, "So, do you agree to this transaction?"

Recent events flooded my mind.

The sudden death of the chef, the baby's pink face, the sad faces of the family...

"Have you ever looked for my brother or the others?" I asked.

"Of course. However, they are very hesitant." The man smiled and put his hands on the table. "It was just a newborn, their first child. They were suspicious of me, and their feelings for the child were not that strong. They They can have more children. They may not even grow old together. They may get divorced before then."

I immediately thought of my biological mother, the woman who remarried immediately after my father died.

I felt humiliated and heartbroken.

But besides this negative emotion, I am still a little confused.

I don't seem to have too strong emotions about the whole thing, nor should I.

"Now that I have contacted you, you are the one with the strongest willingness. If you refuse, I can only give up this business. That lovely child... What a pity..." The man spread his hands.

These words seemed to ignite some emotion in my heart. I thought about the past again and memories came to mind. I still remember how my adoptive father agreed to adopt me. It was only because of his comradeship that he came to visit his biological father more often after his death. When he heard about his biological mother's remarriage, he saw himself playing alone in the mud, dirty and uncared for, and his stomach growled with hunger, so he picked him up and took him home.

I looked at the row of signatures on the book. I reached forward and turned. The man didn't stop me.

From the densely packed names, I seemed to see dedicated people and deep love.

I exhaled and grabbed my quill.

I'm not used to using quill pens, but this pen is like a pencil and writes very smoothly.

I signed my name in the latest space.

The pen and ink fell on the paper, and in an instant, I saw a flash of red flash across the handwriting and then disappear. What finally appeared was pitch black writing.

The notebook and pen were taken back.

The man wrote the date and the baby's name in the first two columns in front of me.

"That's it." He put down the pen, closed the book, and put his hand on the cover.

For a moment, I felt my head was dizzy, and the next second I felt sharp pain.

I blinked and found that the man had already put away his things, opened the door, and was about to send me away.

I walked out of the room and saw the silver-covered courtyard.

The sun falls in the courtyard, and the snow melts at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Green buds sprouted from the dead branches, and in the blink of an eye, the tree crown turned lush and green. Clusters of colorful wild flowers also grew in the gaps between the stone slabs in the courtyard, and the fragrance of flowers overflowed.

I felt like my mood suddenly brightened. On the other hand, my heart became extremely heavy again.

The man walked me out and the door opened. There were two worlds inside and outside the door.

It was still dark outside the courtyard, but when I looked back, I only saw the garden full of spring light.

The courtyard door slowly closed.

The moment it closed, the spring light disappeared.

I saw the charred land, the red light, human bones and dead bodies hanging on the dead trees...

Please give me a monthly pass~

Say good night~

o(*￣▽￣*)o