ghost

In early March, just after the Waking of Insects, the temperature in City A still has the lingering aftertaste of winter. When the wind blows, the chill can permeate the body, even in the afternoon when the temperature is the highest. At the exit of the South Square of the North Railway Station of City A, the passengers leaving the station are still in a hurry, and no one wants to stop at this outlet.

A slender young man, following the departing passengers, passed through the exit gate.

The young man had a rather handsome face, with half-length hair tied into a short braid at the back of his head.A half-length woolen windbreaker was put on over the black shirt, and he walked out with long legs, and the hem of the clothes swayed slightly with his movements.He dragged the suitcase with one hand, and stuffed the discarded ticket into the pocket of the windbreaker with the other. Then he stopped not far from the exit and looked up at the road signs.Before he could see why, a gust of cold wind blew from the side, and the young man sneezed twice.

"...It's really cold." As he spoke, he sniffed, and raised his hand to button the windbreaker to the top. I can't say how warm it will be, but it's better than nothing.

Just as he finished buttoning his buttons, the phone in his pocket rang.He took out his mobile phone and glanced at the screen. The unfamiliar number showed that it belonged to City A.I moved my finger to the side, and was about to hang up, when I suddenly thought of something, paused, and then picked up the phone.

"Hello? Who is it?"

"Master Fang Xia, I'm Wang Ke. Mrs. Geng asked me to pick you up. I'm waiting for you at the parking lot in Area B of South Square."

It really is from the Geng family.

After writing down the license plate number reported to him by the other party, the young man—Fang Xia hung up the phone, looked up at the sign, and then turned and walked towards the parking lot.

Arriving at the parking lot in Area B of South Square, Fang Xia quickly found Wang Ke who came to pick him up—a young man in his early thirties, wearing a serious suit, standing outside the car waiting in the cold, She looks like the elite assistant of a big CEO in an idol drama.Fang Xia noticed him as soon as he entered the parking lot, glanced at the license plate number of the car next to the elite assistant, and immediately confirmed the identity of this person.

Fang Xia dragged the suitcase and walked quickly towards the other party.

As Fang Xia approached, Wang Ke also recognized him.The appearance is somewhat similar to that of the deceased original heir of the Geng family, with clear and handsome features, that is, the temperament revealed between the brows. I always feel a bit of a rascal, not as stable as the deceased original heir.

"Master Fang Xia." Wang Ke withdrew his gaze and took a step forward.

"Brother..." Fang Xia sighed, and patted Wang Ke's shoulder very familiarly, "I wanted to complain about you just now on the phone, the title of young master and old lady is out of touch with the times, and I have time to change it." Alright."

Wang Ke was taken aback for a moment, but didn't answer, he didn't know how to answer.He knew that Fang Xia's agreement to return to Geng's house was not voluntary, and from a certain point of view, it could be regarded as coercion.Feeling aggrieved, coupled with youthful vigor, will probably cause some emotions.He had imagined that Fang Xia would be cold-eyed when he saw him, or would be indifferent to answers, but he never thought that the first sentence the other party said when they met was this kind of nonsensical complaint.

"Brother, why are you in a daze? Help me open the trunk!" Fang Xia had passed Wang Ke and walked to the back of the car, knocking on the rear hood and tilting his head to call him.

Wang Ke recovered and helped Fang Xia put the suitcase into the trunk.After Fang Xia got into the car, Wang Ke got into the driver's seat and started the car.

Fang Xia was sitting in the back seat, leaning on the edge of the car window with his bent elbow, propping his chin with one hand, and casually watching the receding scenery outside the car window.

Fang Xia is a student of Dongchen Academy of Fine Arts in C City. This year, she is a senior. In two months, she will be able to take her graduation certificate and join the social dyeing vat.He has already found a job in advance, and he works as a teacher in a studio in C City.The studio provides board and lodging, and the salary is also good. He originally planned to save money like this for a few years, settle the maintenance fees given by the Geng family, and then completely cut off contact with the Geng family. Water does not violate river water.Who would have thought that the Geng family, who had never had any contact with him for so many years except for paying him child support before he became an adult, suddenly contacted him a week ago and asked him to go back and be the heir.

For an illegitimate child, this is tantamount to pie in the sky.A person who didn't even have the right to recognize his ancestors and return to his clan, suddenly gave him the title of a serious heir. What a great thing to be happy about!But Fang Xia refused, resolutely and without leaving any room for refusal. By the way, he also sneered at the other party very much, and Shi Shiran hung up the phone until the other party was so angry.

Before he was born, his father passed away in a car accident.When he was three years old, after his mother died of illness, the old lady of the Geng family, his biological grandmother, once told him who was holding his mother's urn that he had nothing to do with the Geng family, and that he would only give the urn to him every year in the future. Queshan Guanguan paid a sum of child support, and the old Taoist priest raised him on his behalf until he reached adulthood—it was like a kind of gift-like charity.

The illegitimate child is probably the original sin.Even if you don't want to be an illegitimate child, you have never thought about the property of the so-called big family, and you don't want to be a part of that famous family, but you must bear all the embarrassment and crimes.

When his mother was alive, in the eyes of the Geng family, his mother seduced his biological father, the head of the Geng family, for the sake of money and status, all because of his mother's greed. superior.But in fact, his mother never went to the Geng family until she was dying.And after his mother died, his illegitimate son was a stain in the eyes of the Geng family. His existence would tarnish their noble reputation, and it was best to die in any corner.

——However, who told him all this?

The memory seems to be a little fuzzy, after all, it happened when I was a child.

Fang Xia doesn't have any good feelings for the Geng family, let alone a sense of belonging by blood.If possible, he would like to completely break off his relationship with the Geng family after paying off the alimony given by the Geng family - anyway, neither side wants to see the other.

However, the day did not fulfill everyone's wish.

The old Taoist priest who adopted Fang Xia was named Ma Guangping, and his Taoist name was Aragonite. In addition to being Fang Xia's caretaker, he was also his master.Although it was said that he took over and raised him after receiving money from the Geng family, he was really kind to him. Fang Xia always disliked his master in various ways, disliked his long-winded, superstitious, and meddling, but in his heart he He regarded Ma Guangping as his father.He would agree to return to Geng's family just for Ma Guangping.

Ma Guangping, who has always been in good health, suddenly fell ill and was diagnosed with a cerebral thrombosis. He needed an operation as soon as possible and needed a large amount of medical expenses.However, Queshan Temple in Q City is actually a very poor small Taoist temple. On weekdays, it relies on Ma Guangping and Fang Xia's two senior brothers and three people to rub their faces against the rituals of other Daoist temples. The entrustment and subsidies from the Taoist Association barely maintain the operation of the Taoist Temple.Although Fang Xia's two senior brothers are not orphans, their families are only ordinary-income families. To raise such a large amount of surgery fees, not counting the expenses required for follow-up treatment, relying on the efforts of the three senior brothers, obviously It's not something that can be done in a short period of time, but their master can't wait that long.

In desperation, Fang Xia had no choice but to compromise with the Geng family—he obeyed the Geng family's request and returned to the Geng family, and the Geng family was responsible for helping Ma Guangping's medical expenses.

Wang Ke drove out from the North Station, drove all the way into the urban area, passed through the bustling city center, and then turned into the suburbs where there are many ancient buildings.

White walls and black tiles, high ridges and flying eaves, stacked courtyards on multiple floors, and the typical Huizhou ancient architectural features, highlight the city's strong historical heritage. This is where the Geng family's old house is located.This is Fang Xia's second visit to City A in his memory, and the first time was when his mother brought him here before she died.He didn't remember much when he was young, but his mother kept telling him how to please his grandma on the way here, so that the ancient building where the Geng family was located left a deep mark in his memory, and after 20 years, it still left an impression on him.

The car stopped at the gate of Geng's house, Fang Xia refused Wang Ke's help to carry the suitcase, carried the suitcase by herself, and followed Wang Ke into the gate of Geng's house.

Walk into the exquisite brick-carved gatehouse, pass through the vestibule, and follow the open corridor around the patio.move forward.When they arrived at the second quadrangle room, Wang Ke led Fang Xia into the hall on the left side of the courtyard.The hall space of this entrance is slightly smaller than that of the first entrance, and a room is separated on one side as a tea room.Wang Ke lightly knocked on the tea room door twice, pushed open the door after hearing the answer, and signaled Fang Xia to go in alone.

Fang Xia handed the suitcase to Wang Ke, and walked into the tea room smoothly.

The tea room is not big, and the layout inside can be seen at a glance.On the left side of the entrance, close to the wall, occupying a corner at right angles and vertically, there are two antique shelves.On one side, there are wooden carvings and porcelain ornaments on the antique shelf, and on the other side, there are only two rows of books and nothing else.On the right—that is, directly facing the Bogu shelf for displaying ornaments, are two wooden lattice windows.The window was closed tightly, and under the window was a platform at the height of an adult's calf. On the platform, there was a square low table and a set of tea sets in use on the low table.Sitting on one side of the low table was an old man with gray hair.She was wearing a jacket with red embroidered crochet on a black background, her hair was neatly coiled behind her head, and her eyes were dark and dark.There are different shades of wrinkles on the face, among which the deepest lines are the two nasolabial folds extending downward on both sides of the nose, giving people a harsh and difficult feeling.

No need to guess, this old lady who seems to be very difficult to get along with is Fang Xia's grandmother by blood, the previous head of the Geng family, and the old lady who is the head of the family-Geng Wenqiu.

When Fang Xia looked over, he happened to meet her gaze.

Fang Xia rubbed her nose and walked over.

"What should I say? Or should I call you grandma first?" Fang Xia stood still in front of Geng Wenqiu and spoke first.

"For the matter of returning to the Geng family as the heir, you don't seem to be as reluctant as you initially were." Geng Wenqiu said.

"Isn't my return to Geng's family the only condition you put forward for my master's medical expenses? Since I agreed to this transaction, it would be too hypocritical to show reluctance on my face." Fang Xia shrugged, "Or would you like to change the conditions? How about letting me repay the medical expenses twice in the future? Once you go out and you go in, you can make a lot of money!"

"The Geng family is not short of money." Geng Wenqiu said.

"It's not too much money! Don't you think about it?" Fang Xia suggested sincerely.

"Considering canceling this deal and refusing to pay for Ma Guangping's medical expenses?" Geng Wenqiu squinted at him.

"The deal has already been concluded, it's so troublesome to change it!" Fang Xia immediately changed the subject, as if it wasn't him who suggested Geng Wenqiu to change the conditions.

Glib and smooth, follow the wind to make the rudder.

Geng Wenqiu looked away from Fang Xia, pointed to the seat on the other side of the low table and said, "Sit down."

The author has something to say:

This is a story about a little hooligan who has reformed for many years but does not know how much he has changed.