Aoba Office

"Yes, that's what my mother said. I just listened and didn't ask. If I had known she would be like this, I should have asked." When Qian Lan said this, her eyes became wet.

Guo Yujie patted Qian Lan's back reassuringly and said comfortingly: "Aunt Qian, don't think too much about it. Maybe Director Zhou saw this because he missed his wife."

"Well, okay, let's not talk about this anymore." Qian Lan pressed the corners of his eyes and asked us to sit down. "Before you asked about that place, I really didn't know. I just heard my mother said it before. Two sentences. When I found the photo album this time, I thought of you."

Qian Lan went into the house and took out a photo album.

I don't know why, but when I looked at the photo album, I subconsciously thought of the photo of Ren Min having a problem in the "Omen of Death" incident.

The photo album is an old-fashioned small book, filled with small plastic bags, which fit two photos back to back. The album is as thick as two fingers and is filled to the brim.

Qian Lan had already opened the photo album, flipped through several pages, stopped and handed it to us, "Look, this is the group photo taken, right in front of the office."

As Qian Lan said, this is a group photo. Director Zhou in the photo is what she looked like twenty years ago. There are three young people standing next to her, two men and one woman. The two men are 1.8 meters and 1.8 meters tall. Of the nine heights, one is stronger and the other is leaner. The former is Liu Miao and the latter is Ye Qing. The woman has a slender figure, long hair shawl, and a soft temperament. I could recognize them because I had seen their figures in dreams and videos, but I had never seen their faces before, and I didn’t see them this time either.

"Why are you so embarrassed..." The thin man started to speak, but then stopped.

Qian Lan said: "There was a problem with exposure. The cameras were not good at that time."

There was something wrong with the exposure of the photo. The entire right half was pale and only the outline of the person could be seen. The three people from Qingye are standing on the right, and Director Zhou is on the left. As a result, the appearance of these three people is naturally completely invisible.

"My mother kept the photos, which were kept at the bottom of the box. She hasn't taken them out for many years. There are some problems with the photos..." Qian Lan apologized and turned a few more pages, and there was another photo of Director Zhou and Qingye. group photo.

This time it was not an exposure problem, but the photo was improperly stored and moldy. The entire photo was blurred, and only the Aoba brand could be discerned.

I'm a little confused about why Qian Lan called us here.

Just these two photos really don't provide any clues.

Chen Xiaoqiu took the album and wanted to take the photos out, but found that the photos were stuck in the bag and stuck to the photos on the back. Chen Xiaoqiu let go, looked at Qian Lan and said, "It's impossible to repair a photo like this."

Qian Lan was a little disappointed, "I thought it could be repaired with current technology."

Chen Xiaoqiu flipped through a few pages and said, "This photo seems to be the most moldy."

"Yeah. Everything else is fine."

Other photos are not brand new. Some are yellowed, overexposed, and there were problems during the shooting, with several scenes superimposed in one photo. But only in Aoba's two photos, no one's face can be seen at all.

I knew that this was Ye Qing's move. The government's Archives Bureau could not find any information on Qingye. In all the videos, the appearance of the five people was mosaic. Even in my dreams, their true faces did not appear. Director Zhou's photos are certainly no exception.

Chen Xiaoqiu returned the photo album to Qian Lan.

Qian Lan apologized: "I thought I could help you."

"Aunt Qian, you are too polite. It's nothing." Guo Yujie said.

"Then... if the person can't be found, what will happen when the house is demolished?" Qian Lan asked curiously.

"We can only post announcements. If we can't find anyone within a certain period of time, we will deal with them directly. When they show up, they can come to the government to receive demolition compensation." I briefly explained to Qian Lan.

Qian Lan asked again: "I heard from people in the community that they saw a person who used to work in this office come to the community."

"We have contacted the other party, but he is not the property owner, he is just an employee, and we don't know where the others are." I lied.

Qian Lan said "Oh" and looked at us with some embarrassment.

"Aunt Qian, what's the matter with you?" Guo Yujie asked proactively.

"Well, it's a bit..." Qian Lan was very embarrassed, "People in the community must have asked you. When can the demolition start? That house cannot be sold at the moment, so it can only be kept. In my hand...I am either in a hurry to get money, or I keep thinking about that house and feel very panicked. So many things have happened..."

My heart moved and I asked, "I heard Director Mao say last time that something happened in the community one night. Someone was so frightened that he fell and was sent to the hospital."

"Yes. That day, my mother suddenly wanted to move." Qian Lan looked frightened. "I also saw a figure that day, just inside my mother's house."

"Shadow?" I asked in surprise.

"I don't know if it was just fancy. The lights in the room were not turned on at that time. My mother was sleeping on the bed, and I saw someone sitting next to the bed. I didn't think much about it at the time. I walked over and turned on the light. Everything seemed to be there. I didn't see it. My mother was sleeping, but she suddenly sat up and said she was moving." Qian Lan pressed her chest, "I even suspected that she was possessed by a ghost. But nothing happened after that..."

"That sounds scary." Guo Yujie touched her arm.

Qian Lan nodded repeatedly, "So I was thinking about moving away at that time. But it happened to be demolished..."

Naturally, it is more cost-effective to sell a house without waiting for demolition compensation. Furthermore, the water pipe burst soon after that, and no one would be willing to buy the house except for real estate speculators and other demolishers. The transaction price can be imagined.

I was thinking about what the shadow of the man was, and suddenly I heard footsteps outside the door.

I didn't care at first, but Guo Yujie was still curious and asked what other people had encountered that day. Qian Lan knew a lot. Most of them saw figures like her. Their voices gradually became distant, and the footsteps became clearer.

My heartbeat was unknowingly synchronized with the footsteps, and my breathing seemed to be timed to match the sound.

leather shoes? sports shoes? It doesn't seem like anything.

I could tell that the owner of the voice was going upstairs, stepped up the steps, and stopped at the door of Qian Lan's house.

My mind was caught by the sound, and I subconsciously turned my head and looked in the direction of the door.

The sound of the door opening was very long, there was no sound of the door lock turning, only the hoarse sound of the door moving inch by inch. A foot stepped in, and then the slow footsteps sounded again.

The person who came in was wearing black clothes of unknown style, a black hat, and black shoes. He had a pale, ordinary face that made people turn around and forget about it.

My heart suddenly rose to my throat.

The man in black seemed to be unable to see anyone else, and neither could anyone else. He walked straight to the room where Director Zhou slept, stretched out his hand, and pushed open the door. The door was pushed open without even turning the doorknob.

I can see Director Zhou just right from my side. She lay peacefully on the bed, breathing evenly.

The man in black occupied the bed and looked down at Director Zhou.

Director Zhou suddenly opened his eyes, sat up straight, turned his waist, put his bare feet on the ground, and stood up straight again. His old body made no unnecessary movements during the whole process.

The man in black stepped aside, and Director Zhou took a step towards the outside of the house.

Date errors in previous chapters have been corrected. Thank you everyone for pointing it out.