with life

1.

A palette, several paintbrushes, several tubes of paint, a pair of tweezers, a bottle of hair oil, a comb, a large bag of cotton and gauze soaked in formalin, these are what Jiang Yao and her colleagues need to work s things.They are used every day to "make up" one corpse after another, so that the deceased who come here can bid farewell to their loved ones and the world with a clean and tidy remains. Yes, Jiang Yao is an embalmer.

As a woman, engaging in this seemingly taboo and mysterious profession is undoubtedly a very big psychological challenge for her.Girls, who is not afraid of legends of strange powers and gods, who will not think of strange past events when watching horror movies, and then scare themselves when walking at night or alone at night.

Jiang Yao was also afraid, afraid of seeing the hideous corpses, afraid of touching any part of them, afraid of walking in the dark after get off work or going to the bathroom alone.So why did she choose this job? She couldn't explain it herself. She only knew that after working hard to overcome the fear in her heart, she became numb to the life and death she encountered every day at work.If you are young, you have looked down on life and death early, so you don't care too much about these things.

Whoever was in the glory in life, everything behind him has been wasted.

In the afternoon, Jiang Yao and her colleagues had just sent away the body of a young man who committed suicide by jumping off a building. The unrecognizable appearance also made her heart tremble and her stomach twitched and twitched. Fortunately, she didn't eat anything, otherwise she would have vomited .

A body pick-up truck was parked on the slope of the morgue, and the rear cover was lifted. Two young men in black suits worked together to lift down a body wrapped in a yellow body bag and put it on a stainless steel body transport flatbed. On, opened the bag, revealing a young and beautiful face, it is a woman.They pushed the car to the anti-corrosion area to take photos to verify their identity, and then handed it over to the operator of the next process, the embalmer.

Two tubes connected with embalming liquid were inserted into the body of the body, and the face covered with gauze was also injected with a syringe. After completion, the body was pushed into the parking area and stored in a frozen environment.

Jiang Yao calmly stood aside and watched. In the next two days, she and her colleagues will change the clothes, put in the coffin, decorate the deceased, and complete the makeup and plastic surgery before the funeral. It's also easier, Jiang Yao likes it too.

Today's workload is a bit heavy, Jiang Yao got off work late at seven o'clock, and it was dark when she walked out of the funeral home.Usually at this time, she would drag her male colleagues to walk together, but today she suddenly wanted to strengthen her courage and walk alone in this slightly desolate area.The funeral parlor where she works is in the suburbs, and the traffic is good. There are three bus lines passing by, and there are quite a lot of people. If you go home alone, you don't have to worry about anything.

The sporadic people waiting for the bus in front of the platform were either playing with their mobile phones or in a daze, Jiang Yao walked over quickly, not wanting to be left alone because of slow legs and falling off the bus that might come at any moment.Against the backdrop of the street lamps, the wide asphalt road seemed a bit deserted, and the surroundings were completely silent, with occasional bursts of train whistles, and no annoying bugs could be heard in the weather of the twelfth lunar month. Jiang Yao turned her head to look at the end of the road. Hope the bus comes quickly so she can get home sooner.

Jiang Yao lives alone and has three German Shepherds at home. Because of her job, raising a dog can always make her feel more at ease. It's not that she is superstitious.Every time when she comes home, the dogs rush up to greet her, and she will feel that the exhaustion of the day has completely faded away, forgetting the corpses she has seen one after another, and breaking away from work.

If you are afraid at night, let the dogs sleep on the bed together, and she will be more at ease if you hug her.

When she was distracted, the lights of the No. 278 bus swayed from afar. Jiang Yao touched her pocket and took out the red bus card. The people waiting for the bus all crowded in front of her, waiting to grab the first one. boarding.

"Excuse me..." She was tapped on the shoulder, and a clear female voice rang in her ears, "Can you lend me two yuan, I don't have change for the car."

The woman wore a black coat that grew down to her calves, her waist-length hair was a little messy by the cold wind, and she wore an ordinary plain white scarf around her neck, which was tightly wrapped from head to toe, revealing only a delicate and glamorous face. The moment Jiang Yao turned her head, she was amazed by her beautiful face.In this cold and twelfth lunar month, the woman's face was morbidly pale, and those dark eyes stared straight at her, full of stiffness and rigidity, empty and empty.

She is so thin, and her outstretched hands are as pale as her face, her fingers have distinct joints, and they are a pair of cellulose and soft catkins.For some reason, the moment Jiang Yao saw this woman, Jiang Yao felt like she was possessed by a demon, and fell deeply into the deep pool of those black eyes. There was a kind of crazy, involuntary, fascination and familiarity...

Has she seen her?

Jiang Yao asked herself this question over and over in her heart, staring at the woman as if she was in a state of concentration, and couldn't move away, sweating while holding the bus card in her hand.On such a cold day, she felt so hot, as if a raging fire was ignited deep in her soul, and it was as if a cauldron of boiling water was tumbling wantonly, as if something was clamoring to vent...

"Can you?" the woman asked again.

The clear and ethereal voice floated in her ears, so unreal, Jiang Yao came to her senses, the bus was already very close, she nodded, raised the bus card in her hand, "Yes, I will help you swipe the card."

"Thank you."

The car stopped, and the people rushing to the front rushed up. Jiang Yao saw that there were many seats in the car, which were quite empty, and waited patiently until the last one got on the car. .”

The woman didn't answer, and followed her into the car with her body. Jiang Yao pressed the card and swiped it first, then picked it up and swiped it a second time, looking back at the woman following behind her, it seemed like she was done. As if on a major mission, he walked towards the seat in the carriage.She wanted to invite that woman to sit with her, but the driver stopped her, "Beauty, you just swiped a bit more."

"what?"

"Let's take this bus for the first time. It costs two yuan, not four yuan. Remember next time." The driver is a warm-hearted man with an honest and honest face, thinking that Jiang Yao is used to taking the four-yuan long-distance bus on this road Remind her with a smile.

Then the car door was closed and started, Jiang Yao was puzzled, she obviously signed up for two people, but she didn't allow her to think too much, the woman had already passed her, her slender fingers put her arms around her, and said softly: "Then There are two seats on the side."

"oh oh…"

Without thinking about it again, Jiang Yao seemed to be dazed, listening to the woman's words and following her to the back of the carriage.

As the car started to speed up, the desolate scenery with street lights outside the window slowly receded. Normally, Jiang Yao was used to looking out the window in order to pass the boring four or ten minutes, but today she always wanted to look at the woman beside her, as if there was something wrong with her. An invisible attraction was grabbing her attention.The woman sat very quietly, looking straight ahead, with black hair covering half of her side face, only her slender eyelashes were exposed, her small and straight nose, and her thin lips painted with rust red. The scarf was too big, even her Her chin was covered, but even so, it was difficult to hide the gentleness of her beautiful face outlined by her exquisite facial features.

Occasionally, a street lamp shone in, and the light was full and quickly dimmed. The woman's face attracted Jiang Yao in this flickering environment, making her inexplicably crazy, inexplicably fascinated, unable to stop...

Probably because she noticed her gaze, the woman turned her face slightly and turned her gaze. This action caught Jiang Yao off guard and blushed, and it was too late to avoid her gaze. The two emotions collided, and the sense of familiarity surged again. .Jiang Yao always felt that she knew this woman, and had a very close and familiar relationship with her, but she couldn't recall it after exhausting her memory.

"My name is Chuning."

The woman spoke, introduced her name, looked at Jiang Yao with a serious expression, and there was some hope in her stiff and dull eyes, and when she saw the confusion in Jiang Yao's eyes, she seemed to be tainted with a layer of sadness The desperation, the subtle changes are too fast, too fast for people to see clearly.

Seeing that Jiang Yao didn't respond, Chuning lowered her eyes and lowered her eyelids. She couldn't see her expression clearly in the dark environment. She reached into the coat pocket and moved slowly, not knowing what she was digging for.Jiang Yao realized belatedly, "Oh...my name is Jiang Yao, you can also call me Yaoyao, I am..."

Dazed, Jiang Yao was about to sneak out and tell someone about her family history, and she didn't care that the other party was just a stranger, but she saw Chuning took out a ring from her coat pocket, took her hand, and put it in the palm of her hand .

Her hands are so cold.

As soon as Chuning's hand touched Jiang Yao, the coldness deep in the bone marrow came out from the pores of her whole body, and the coldness reached her heart. She must have a poor physique and weak foundation, and her hands and feet tend to get cold in winter.Jiang Yao's feeling like this is entirely thanks to her father who is a Chinese medicine doctor. Her family is a medical family, and her parents "combine Chinese and Western medicine".

The ring lay quietly in the palm of Jiang Yao's hand, and the base held a huge gemstone with faint blue luster. It looked very valuable, but the temperature was as cold as Chuning's hand.

"I owe you two dollars. I will pay you back tomorrow." After she finished speaking, she glanced at Jiang Yao with a gloomy look in her eyes. The bus just stopped at a certain stop. She stood up, wearing a black coat. With a burst of leisurely fragrance.

Chuning got out of the car.

Under Jiang Yao's dumbfounded gaze, the precious ring just lay in her palm, but the owner of the ring left neatly, disappearing into the night behind the platform like the wind, Jiang Yao didn't even have time to call her...

When she got home, she opened the door, and Jiang Yao's friends rushed towards her, shouting happily. She put down her bag, knelt down, and touched their heads one by one. Take off your shoes and enter the house.There are still unfinished dishes on the dining table, and there is no need to put them in the refrigerator this season. Jiang Yao opened the refrigerator and took a look. The food reserves are sufficient, and there are enough vegetables and fruits.The dogs followed behind her every step of the way, jumping up and pawing her from time to time. It seemed that the dog food put out in the morning had been eaten and they were already hungry.

"Hey, I'll serve you dinner in a while."

She took off her jacket and trousers and threw them into the washing machine. She went into the bedroom wearing only a close-fitting sweater, and took a change of underwear to the toilet to take a shower.This is a habit she has maintained for many years, and it is also related to work. Regardless of whether it is hot or cold all year round, she always washes the clothes she wears outside after work, and puts on clean ones the next day, just like completing a ceremony. It won't be troublesome for a long time.

There are "dog toilets" and peeing mats for the three dogs in the toilet. After taking a bath and feeding them, she has to "shovel shit" and take them downstairs to throw them away.Jiang Yao has never felt that dealing with these things is cumbersome. Dogs are her closest friends. This is not a symbolic meaning or a metaphor, but a fact.

Thinking of those so-called "friends" becoming more and more alienated because of her work, she felt helpless and sad. Over the past few years, her old classmates have all married and had children one after another, and she has hardly been invited to countless weddings and full moons.According to her own thinking, even if someone invites her, she probably won't go. She doesn't want to be talked about, and she doesn't want to cause trouble.

A person who deals with corpses all day long would feel bad for anyone else, right?So instead of being coldly looked at and incomprehensible by friends, it is better to be with loyal partners day and night.

After some tidying up, Jiang Yao was able to calm down and make dinner for herself. She heated up the dishes from the night before, cooked rice, and ate hastily. During this process, she managed to stop thinking about the corpses she had handled for the nth time. …

Oops!

Jiang Yao remembered that the ring that Chuning pledged to her as a mortgage was still in the coat pocket, and it had been turned over by the washing machine many times, and it was all dried up.She hastily rushed to the balcony to get out her clothes pocket, touched the cold metal ring with her fingers, took it out and put it under the lamp for a closer look, it was intact.

thank goodness...

She breathed a sigh of relief, spread the ring in her palm like a baby, returned to the sofa and sat down.A boring music program was playing on the TV, and the dogs were lying on the sofa and watching TV with her. Jiang Yao felt uninterested and focused on the ring.

Faint light flows in a pool of deep blue water. The shape of ordinary water droplets seems to melt in her palm at any moment. It is icy and cool, but not freezing. People are the same melancholy.Through the hidden blue light, she seemed to be able to see Chu Ning's eyes, the woman's empty gaze, when looking at her, suddenly became angry, with various emotions changing, obscure.

Those eyes fascinated her, the sense of familiarity, the melancholy atmosphere that enveloped the woman, as if there were endless things she wanted to say to her, but she couldn't say them.Holding the ring in her hand, Jiang Yao was gradually fascinated, and some fragmentary images inadvertently flashed in her mind, the fragments of kissing and entanglement with a woman, very fragmented and detailed, some of which were only for a moment.

And that woman, if Chuning was substituted, it made her feel more familiar, and she felt an impulse in her heart, she wanted to hug and kiss...Chuning.

The ring didn't seem to be able to cover the heat, and it was still cool in Jiang Yao's hand. She hugged the dog as if dreaming, and lay on the sofa, letting the shadows in her mind overlap and become chaotic...

Waking up the next day, Jiang Yao found that she had just been lying on the sofa all night, the ring was still tightly clutched in the palm of her hand, it was still so cold, and the dogs were lying around her, and when she woke up, they woke up too. up.

"Mom, I'm going to be late!"

Looking at the time, it was past seven o'clock, and Jiang Yao didn't have time to regret her carelessness, so she got up and ran back to the bedroom to change clothes.Putting on a clean coat, she came out, turned off the TV, poured a certain amount of dog food into the three dog food bowls, and then she hurried out with a piece of bread and a bottle of yogurt.

I wasn't that sleepy last night, and the TV was loud. It was cold at night and I didn't cover myself with a quilt. Even if I really fell asleep, I would wake up, but she fell asleep until dawn without knowing it, and didn't even turn off the TV. , One was not woken up and the other was not woken up by cold.

After getting on bus No. 278, the car was very empty in the morning. As soon as Jiang Yao got up, she rushed to the seat she sat in last night, and couldn't help but think of Chuning again.The scenery outside during the day is very good. On the way there is a country park where you can see flowers and plants. Jiang Yao put her hand in her pocket and covered the ring. While looking at the scenery outside the window, she recalled what happened last night.

Chuning said that she is still here today, does she want to pay back the two dollars?

In fact, she didn't think it was necessary, it was just two coins, she didn't care, but there was an impulse deep in her heart that drove her to look forward to seeing Chuning, with her waist-length hair, slender body, and pure catkin, And those deep and complex black eyes...

The author has something to say:

Need a little time code words, so the first seven chapters will not be posted soon T_T