prefer silence

"Interview me?" Yuan Dahua straightened his back, "Comrade reporter, are you joking?"

"Of course not." Chen Zheng said, "Since your younger brother Yuan Sihua has no way to answer the question, I hope to learn some relevant information from you."

"After all, we also paid 6000 yuan for the interview, and if we don't ask anything, we will be deducted the bonus."

When it came to money, Yuan Dahua had an embarrassing expression, "Well, what do you want to ask? I really don't know about my brother's illegal activities. We haven't contacted for many years. I only read the news at that time. knew he had become a fugitive."

"Don't worry, we just want to know about Yuan Sihua's growth experience and his current situation, so we won't embarrass you too much."

Chen Zhengsha opened the notebook in a serious manner, and typed the first question.

"How many brothers does Yuan Sihua have?"

"Three, he is the fourth eldest and the youngest in the family. He has been mischievous since he was a child, but our family loves him very much." Yuan Dahua looked at the dull man on the small bed with regretful eyes. I was very sad for my brother, "He will become like this, none of our family thought."

"Then what kind of character has he been since he was a child?"

"He is just an ordinary kid, lively and playful, but when he grows up, he becomes more rebellious and doesn't like to study."

Seeing that their conversation was getting better, I interrupted them with a dry cough, "Excuse me, Mr. Yuan, I want to borrow your toilet, look..."

"Oh oh oh." Yuan Dahua pointed in the direction with his finger, "Walking to the innermost part is the toilet."

"OK, thanks."

I went straight to what Zhiqian Yuan Dahua's wife said was "her son's room".

I carefully pressed the doorknob, and the door was unlocked!

Pushing open the door little by little, the first thing that catches the eye is a wall full of certificates, all of which have a common name—Yuan Jie.

Floral curtains printed with vines, neatly stacked books, and squarely folded quilts.The room is cold, but the traces of its owner who once lived here are very obvious.

A half-drawn chair, a half-inked fountain pen on the table, and a high school graduation photo.

The thin photo was randomly placed beside the desk lamp, I twisted it up, and quickly rummaged through the dense crowd of people, trying to find a familiar face.

The first row...no.

Second row...no.

The third row, from left to right... In the fifth row, a boy with a handsome face showed a youthful smile to the camera.

This photo was taken seven years ago.

Yuan Jie's smile, spanning seven years, was taken into my memory through my tearful eyes, overlapping with the immature face of a young child.

Since then, they have been grouped together.

My brother is equal to Yuan Jie, and Yuan Jie is equal to my brother.

……

"Thank you for your cooperation. That's about all we ask."

Chen Zheng put the notebook and recording pen into the bag while talking, Yuan Dahua said "ah" in doubt, "It's so fast, comrade reporter, it's only a few minutes... your half hour is still useless When it's over, do you want to ask my brother again?"

"No need, Mr. Yuan." I glanced in Yuan Sihua's direction again, and he curled up quietly into a corner at some point, with no sadness or joy on his face, just immersed in his own world.

"We have gained a lot today, thank you." I smiled lightly, and said with deep meaning, "Why didn't your son come back to celebrate the New Year with you this year?"

"Young people are busy, busy." Yuan Dahua said haha, as if he wanted to send us out, "Go slowly, comrade reporter. My brother can't live without people, so I won't send you off."

The roofs of the village are white and the dead branches are lonely, but there is not much sense of bleakness. There are people returning home everywhere here, and the Spring Festival couplets and window grilles are full of joy.

The villagers of Yuanjia Village ate dinner very early, but at five o'clock, they heard adults yelling at the playful children to go home for dinner.We left the cheers of the village far behind and got on the bus to the high-speed rail station.

On the way, Chen Zheng sent me the conversation file he had recorded.

"Yuan Sihua is an older bachelor and has never been married. Yuan Dahua is very shy about his son's affairs. As long as he gets involved in a little bit, he will immediately change the subject, which is very cunning." Chen Zheng said helplessly, "I didn't ask much. I didn't dare to ask more questions, for fear of being suspected by him, if he insisted on asking us to show our press credentials, then both of us would be in trouble."

"Brother Zheng, Yuan Dahua said that before and after his younger brother was arrested, the police came to his house to search, why didn't anyone find anything wrong?"

"It's just dark under the lights. Children's faces will inevitably change as they grow up. Also, they can take the time to temporarily send the children away to avoid the limelight. Many methods are feasible, as long as the police are not suspicious and don't think about it. , they successfully concealed it.”

I murmured: "It would be great if he hadn't been lost back then, if someone found out that he was at Yuan Dahua's house back then, if he had been there, maybe my parents wouldn't be in the situation they are today... ...I don't know if he has been living well these years..."

"Yuan Yuan, there is no if." Chen Zheng held my hand and said seriously, "If Yuan Jie hadn't lost it, you wouldn't have come to Li's house, and we wouldn't be neighbors. You're not the only parent Son, but I only want you alone. Forgive my selfishness, if I could turn back time, I hope everything will be the same, you still live next door to me, and we still grow up together."

"You don't have to feel guilty, you have nothing wrong with you, your parents' affairs have nothing to do with you, don't take other people's faults on yourself."

"Then, I'll try my best not to feel guilty." I thumped my heavy chest, and fell on Chen Zheng's body, "Let me lie down for a while, I'm tired."