can't go wild

Facing the sunset, Aino returned to the unfinished building again.

It was only a day since he left, and everything in front of him was still the same as yesterday, but in Aino's eyes, he felt very strange.The world is not the one he knows, and the old man is not just an old man with a weird temper. If people who come out of Luye must pass through a gate, Aino thinks that the gate should be called Rashomon.

Between real and fake.

Neighbors in the community saw Aino and greeted him warmly.This is Aunt Qian who lives in Building 2. She is over 60 years old and usually earns her living by picking up waste and selling vegetables. Half of the vegetable fields reclaimed in the vacant land of the community are her property.

"Xiaoye, it's rare to see you bring friends back. Where are your parents? Why aren't you here?" Aunt Qian was very pleased that Xiangye could find her parents back. Song Ling said a lot of distressing words for Aino.

"They went back first." Aino said.

"That's it, it's okay, let's take it slowly." Aunt Qian paid attention to Aino's expression, and she didn't know what bitter story she had made up, so she patted Aino's shoulder and said, "Come to my house later, today you, Mr. Cooking, don’t you like to eat his twice-cooked pork the most, come and take a bowl back. It just so happens that the light in my house is broken again, so you can show me if you can fix it.”

Aunt Qian is a warm-hearted person, except that she likes to order people to do small things for her, she has no other problems.Because Aino was wearing long sleeves, she didn't notice any injuries on Aino.

Aino nodded in response, bid farewell to Aunt Qian, and continued walking.

The weeds in the community have not been cleaned up, and snakes often come and go, especially when the weather is hot.Aino picked up a branch at random and used it as a pathfinding stick. The snake didn't see one, but it bumped into Huang Daxian.

Daxian was stealing melons in the vegetable field again.Everyone's life is not easy, so every time Aino encounters this kind of theft scene, he turns a blind eye.

The wild pigeons had no objection to this either, at most they stood nearby and made a "cuckoo" sound, and when Xiangye approached, they swarmed away again.

Such a large deserted community is rare, and it is the first time for Xing Zhou to experience such an "original ecological living environment". He watched Aino walk through it as usual, and he can probably understand why he experienced the accident last night. , can still keep calm.

Aino lives in Building 7, and he is the only resident in the whole building.Of course, there is no elevator in the unfinished building. He walks to and from the ninth floor every day, out of experience and vitality.When he was young, he once thought that the old man bought it on purpose on the ninth floor just to torture him, and he once thought of installing a hanging basket outside the building to realize automatic lifting.

Later the old man told him that it was because you were too weak.

Aino climbed up and down like this every day, but his physical fitness still didn't improve much.He was late for school because of climbing the stairs. All the teachers were sad and wept when they saw him. Aino became the only person in the school who was late and would not be punished to stand.

When the fake Shen Yanzhi and Song Ling came here to fool him, they also devoted a lot of sweat to this staircase. Thinking about it this way, Xiangye felt more balanced.

But today, Xing Zhou walked up to the ninth floor without changing his face, without even taking a breath.

Aino turned his head away, out of sight, took out the key and opened the door, only to see that the room was in a mess.Presumably it was too windy and windy last night, and the window was blown open again.The wind knocked the stove and the lamp down, the rocking chair was covered with leaves, and the rug was dirty and wet.

He likes that rug very much.Because the old man was poor and couldn't afford the decoration, the walls and the floor were simply scraped with putty, which was called a craft style.The carpet was bought by Aino from a second-hand market. The pattern resembles the simple totems painted on clay pots in the primitive society. I don't know what style it is.

Apart from the carpet, rocking chairs, stoves, and floor lamps were actually second-hand items that Aino had picked up from outside.Like ants moving house, he picks up some junk that others don't want, cleans, polishes, and then decorates his own home a little bit, for which he has learned a lot of miscellaneous skills.

Seeing this mess now, the pent-up energy in Aino's heart seemed to be vented in an instant.I don't want to sort it out, and I don't want to spend any more time on it.

It doesn't work.

He walked over in silence and picked up the broken ukulele that fell on the ground.His eyes fell on the window again. The reason why the window was blown open by the wind was probably because of the lock. Aino was busy dealing with fake parents a few days ago, so he didn't have time to fix it.

Fortunately, the other windows are good, so there is nothing to lose in the kitchen and bedroom.The water and electricity are also connected, except that the water is often cut off, and the voltage is not stable, so there is no major problem.

The room the old man used to live in had been converted into a utility room by Aino. He found the toolbox from it with ease, and said to Xing Zhou, "I'm going to Aunt Qian's house, you—"

He glanced at the messy living room again, and said, "Anything you want."

Aino strode out, he was afraid that if he stayed any longer, he would be tempted to throw those things down the stairs, and even scold his mother.Xing Zhou stood by the window and looked down, and saw him kicking stones while walking.

There was a stone that was probably too in the way of the road, and he couldn't kick it anymore. Xiangye got up with strength, put down the toolbox, picked it up, and threw it into the nearby stream with a "plop".The water splashed in all directions, startling a flock of birds.

Then he clapped his hands again, picked up the toolbox, and continued to walk forward as if nothing had happened.

Xing Zhou witnessed the whole process, and at this moment, the slightly lively voice sounded in his headset again, "Boss, have you arrived in Jiangzhou? Where are you staying? Do you want me to book a hotel for you? Let me tell you There are a lot of delicious food in Jiangzhou—”

"Send me a window."

"what?"

"Dimensions of 1.5 meters by 1.8 meters."

"Oh, oh oh, I made a note." The other side was in a trance, "No, boss, what do you need windows for? Are you camping outside? But a window is not very useful."

"Send it to Aino's house."

"Is that so...Boss, you knocked over someone's window again and broke it???"

"Cass."

"exist!"

"Quiet."

The earphones finally recovered, and after a long time, the voice came again, "What color border do you want?"

Xing Zhou glanced at the furnishings in the room: "Black."

Cassia: "Black is good, black is very cool. But didn't Aino's cell phone fall into the lake? Boss, would you like to help him buy the cell phone too? He must have no money to live in a rotten building. There is no cell phone next time." If he is captured, I won’t be able to locate him. Buy a mobile phone. It’s very convenient to buy a mobile phone. Then give him a phone number and install an anti-eavesdropping software. Let me tell you that I have recently taken a fancy to a new one. Its performance is particularly good. Great photography and…”

Take off the headset, the world is clean.

On the other side, Aino was repairing light bulbs in Aunt Qian's living room.

Uncle Zhao was cooking in the kitchen, and Aunt Qian was doing needlework in the living room.She was chatting with Aino while she was doing it, and she talked about Xing Zhou, "Hey, Xiao Ye, does your friend have a date? Do you remember that Aunt Wang in the nearby community, she has a daughter... ..."

At first, Aino just listened, and after hearing Aunt Qian talk further and further away, he said that Xing Zhou had a date.

Aunt Qian was rather regretful. When she saw Xing Zhou, she felt that he was a public servant. With his righteousness and stature, he was either a soldier or a policeman.

Half an hour later, Aino came out of Aunt Qian's house with dinner in a small bamboo basket.It was already late at this time, he looked at the setting sun in the distance, and then looked back at the second building where Aunt Qian was located.

The lights were on on the fourth floor of Building 2, and there were silhouettes of people on the window. Aunt Qian and Uncle Zhao were sitting and eating.

Aino looked up for a long time, he didn't know if he would have a chance to come back again, and be tainted with a little bit of ordinary human fireworks.He touched the back of his neck subconsciously. Although he didn't know where the bone used as a key grew, as long as it existed, it would keep reminding Aino: You can't go back.

The setting sun stretched his shadow long, and the twice-cooked pork was going to be cold soon, so he came back to his senses and continued walking home.

Maybe that's not home anymore.

Thinking that he had to face the mess all over the floor, Aino couldn't help but feel a tinge of frost on his brows, but when he opened the door, warm light poured out, covering him completely.

The room has changed drastically, the floor has been tidied up, and the floor lamp has been lifted up, glowing and glowing in the corner.The ukulele was hung on the wall, and the strings were still broken, but they were wiped clean.

Xing Zhou was sitting on the rocking chair. He took off his windbreaker, rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, and was using Aino's small pokers to stir the charcoal fire in the stove. The light from the fire shone on his face, adding a bit of softness.

He looked up to see Aino and said, "New windows will be delivered soon."

Aino opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Xing Zhou was baking potatoes, which he found in the corner of the kitchen, with fresh mash.He saw Aino came to stand in front of him, and he held the potato with his tongs and asked, "Do you mind?"

Aino's voice was hoarse, "Why did you do this?"

Xing Zhou: "I'm used to it."

Aino: "A habit?"

Xing Zhou: "Everyone in the crime arrest department is just like you."

No relatives, no reason, the whole world is home.

Xing Zhou didn't say this, but Aino was smart enough to guess it.Not everyone can do the work of the Anti-Murder Division. With Lu Ye's weird methods, one carelessness will endanger the family.

Xing Zhou is ten years older than Xiangye, and has seen a lot, how could Xiangye's thoughts be hidden from him.After all, he is still young.

"Do you want to eat?" Xing Zhou stuck a baked potato on his chopsticks.

The feeling of being read through his mind is very awkward, Aino thinks that he has covered it up very well, any loss, anger, or sadness is like a mosquito bag in summer, as long as he doesn't scratch it, no one will know that he can't stand the itch.

It's awkward and hypocritical.

Aino directly took the chopsticks from Xing Zhou's hand, but looking around, he remembered that there was only this rocking chair at home.The other chairs were too old and were chopped up by the old man directly after his death.

Xing Zhou got up to make way for him, such a tall man, squatting there and fiddling with a small stove, actually made Xiang Ye feel a sense of guilt.But after thinking about it, he is the patient, and he should sit in this only chair.

But as soon as he sat down, he heard a strange voice coming from beside him.The voice was vague, as if someone was shouting, but he couldn't hear clearly, and there was also some kind of salsa voice mixed in, which made Aino immediately think of the scene a few days ago, and his hair stood on end, "Who?!"

"I, it's me!" The voice was clearly heard this time, but Aino recognized you, so he stood up immediately and locked the source of the voice——

It was a wireless headset on the arm of a rocking chair.

Xing Zhou explained: "The liaison officer of the murder arrest department, Jue Ming."

Jue Ming shouted: "What a liaison officer, I am clearly an elf living in the headset!"

Because the voice was coming from the headset, he had to shout extremely loudly. After a few slams, he almost fainted from shouting, and was choked on saliva, coughing crazily.

Xing Zhou didn't take offense when he saw it, and he ignored it.

But Jueming regained his breath and began to think again, Aino subconsciously picked up the headset and listened to a few words, and then heard something extraordinary, "... Is that Aino? Is it Aino? Hello, hello, first time meeting Please take care of me. Don’t listen to our boss’ nonsense, I’m not Cassia, I’m an elf. The boss’s name is not Xing Zhou, but his surname is Tian, ​​and his single name is the word snail. He is the most well-known in our elf world..."

God damn snail girl.

"Hello? Hello? Are you still listening? This is a secret you can't tell, you know? If you tell the snail, you will leave, and you will lose a kind electronic elf..."

Because Aino brought the headset closer, Caesar was no longer speaking as loudly as before, so Xing Zhou didn't hear it.He was roasting potatoes with a normal expression, and heated the food that Aino had brought back on the stove.

Aino decides to keep this a secret for the elf.And after such a fuss, he felt inexplicably much more relaxed. Looking at the baked potatoes in his hand and smelling the aroma, he also had a bit of appetite.

The dinner went smoothly, and no one talked to the elf, who was just talking to himself over there.

Aino really wanted to ask, are snails a big appetite?Aunt Qian not only gave the twice-cooked pork, but also a plate of green vegetables, plus two big bowls of thickly pressed rice, all of which were gone now, even the baked potatoes were eaten.

Aino didn't eat much, so he stopped eating chopsticks very early, while Xing Zhou's expression remained the same, and he couldn't tell whether he was full or not.

"Do you want to live here with me?" Aino asked.Although I cultivated a small piece of land downstairs to grow potatoes, I may not be able to support you.

Xing Zhou looked at him, as if he was wondering why Aino, who seemed quite smart, would ask such a stupid question.

Aino also reacted, he felt that his mind might be confused by a momentary emotion, or his soul was polluted by the elf in the headset.

But Xing Zhou still gave him the steps, "I will stay and protect you."

Aino: "What about the matter in the north? You don't need to go there to deal with it?"

Xing Zhou: "Leave someone over there."

In other words, besides Xing Zhou, the little elf Jueming, and Shuangsha, there should be other people in the criminal arrest department.Aino didn't feel guilty, he remembered that there was an old camp bed in the utility room, so he went to the utility room with Xing Zhou to move the bed.

Aino was barely considered a wounded person, and heavy work like moving the bed would not be his job. He wanted to find out if the old man had left any clues, so he rummaged in the neatly organized glove box.

"What is that?" Xing Zhou suddenly looked over.

"The old man's drawing book." Aino replied subconsciously, and then got stuck.He looked down at the drawing book spread out in his hands, and his eyes fell on the painting——

The decaying grass is in the sky, which is a barren plain.

Under the gray and white mist, a red ocher gate stood tall.The door was open, or it only had a door frame at all. The gray mist was constantly surging, and occasionally there were a few rays of skylight flickering, making people wonder what was behind that door.

"Luye." Xing Zhou said in a deep voice.

The author has something to say:

Aino: I was so angry that I threw stones.