Pandora's Box

He stared at me fixedly, motionless as if petrified.Time and space seemed to be frozen, and I gradually became a little at a loss in this suffocating silence.

After a while, he held out his hand to me hesitantly.

The cool, trembling fingers landed on my cheek, and then hesitantly moved to my shoulder, trying to confirm that I was a real entity.

I held my breath in this unreal, cautious touch.

His hands slid over my arms, and then he seemed to want to grab my palms, but he couldn't hold them, so he could only hang down tremblingly.Then his whole body seemed to be exhausted, his body softened, and he knelt down on the ground.

He fell in front of me like this, and I couldn't help but kneel down in a hurry.I saw that he didn't say a word, just hung his head, closed his eyes, as if he was completely out of strength.

I was suddenly scared, I put my hand on his back and called him: "Uncle Chen."

He hugged me violently, with a force that was out of proportion to his thin body.

I felt his violent trembling and heartbeat.The inside of my neck quickly became wet, which made my heart wet too.

Hate or love.

I don't know what that feeling really is.

I only know that I am like a lonely drop of water that has finally merged into the sea.

I don't know how long it took, but the light outside the window dimmed.

He let me go as if waking up from a dream, wiped his face indiscriminately, and said hurriedly: "Look, I forgot, have you eaten yet? What do you want to eat? I'll make it for you."

I was taken aback for a moment: "Ah, no need... just eat, I'll be leaving in a while."

I'm actually not ready to live in harmony with everyone.

As if he was guessing my mind, he immediately said, "Lu Feng won't come, he lives upstairs."

"..."

In an instant I could imagine their living conditions.That is of course reasonable and should be, and I don't need to have sympathy, but somehow, I feel a little bit uncomfortable.

It's as if I've robbed these people of their right to be happy.

But even if I have this power, this qualification, I don't feel happy about it now.

"Let's stay and eat," he said, "Is there nothing you like? I didn't buy much food today. I'll buy what you like. It will be very fast. Takeaway is also very convenient, and it will be delivered in a while." coming."

My heart became sore and soft, and I said, "Don't bother, I can eat whatever I want, don't order takeaway."

He made a series of promises: "Okay, okay, okay!"

His mobile phone on the table rang, and when I saw the name displayed on the screen, I tensed up like a furry cat.

I instinctively said: "Don't tell Zhuo Wenyang that I'm here!"

He was taken aback for a moment, then said, "Okay."

Then he connected the call: "Wen Yang... ah, I'm fine, I just feel a little uncomfortable in my throat, um, maybe I have a cold, it's okay. Oh, ok, got it, um, ok."

After hanging up the phone, he said, "Wen Yang has a celebration banquet today, so he won't be coming back for dinner."

"Hmm." I breathed a sigh of relief.

He didn't ask any more questions, and went to the kitchen to cook with the vegetables.

The ingredients for dinner are indeed relatively simple, even if they are far from the home-cooked meals I ate when I lived here.After cooking, he filled a large plate full of rice and vegetables and went out to feed some kind of large dog, and then came back soon.

There are only vegetables on the table, steamed eggs with minced meat, braised tofu in oil, and a little fried pork with chili.It suddenly seemed that when I was in Z Town, the daily food of local chicken and duck with fat fresh fish was a bit too good.

He kept picking up food for me and said, "Eat something first, and I'll buy you something delicious tomorrow."

We tacitly said that we didn't ask each other "how are you doing", just chatting about trivial daily life.

He told me about the new neighbors who moved in nearby, the extra stray cats downstairs in the community, and the fact that swallows built a nest on the balcony a while ago.I told him all kinds of anecdotes and joys in Z Town, the customs there, and my lovely friends big and small, and hardworking grassroots colleagues.

He listened attentively and seemed very happy.Probably because he vaguely outlined a very active and fulfilling life from my words.The period after I left them seems, in my exaggerated description, lively and full of hope.

And after I left, what was their life like?happy?Is it lively?

He didn't mention it, and I didn't ask.

But actually I feel it.

All that remains here, like this dimly lit room, and my heart, are trapped in the past.

After dinner, although he repeatedly asked me to sit and watch TV, I still cleaned up the dishes with him, wiped the table, and washed the dishes.Then he asked cautiously: "At night, do you sleep here? I just dried the quilt yesterday, and the bed sheets were only changed a few days ago."

I nodded: "OK."

"Okay, okay," he said hastily, "the network at home should be fine, see if you want to play games before going to sleep. But don't go to bed too late, do you want to eat preserved egg and lean meat porridge tomorrow morning? I'll go buy that one Your favorite fritters. Or fried condensed milk sitoshi?"

"Cook whatever you want, I'm fine."

"well."

That night I lay on the familiar bed, like a fish migrating into the deep blue sea, sleeping peacefully but not restlessly.

This space gives me the feeling of tranquility, but my heart cannot be calmed down.

Because I didn't sleep very deeply, I noticed that the door opened quietly a few times.It was Cheng Yichen who secretly opened the door to see me, as if wanting to make sure I was still there.

This night I fell asleep and woke up for a while, and when I woke up completely the next day, I realized that I still overslept—it was already 09:30 by the time.

I got up quickly, opened the door and went out, only to see Cheng Yichen sitting in the living room waiting.Seeing me, he immediately stood up and said, "Are you up? I have cooked the porridge. Let me warm it up for you. Brush your teeth first, and I will fry the sidose for you right away. The freshly fried ones are delicious. Let them cool down." It won't be crispy anymore."

I said "all good", he executed "boil all", and I don't know how to appease his nervousness.

After washing up, I sat down to eat breakfast. This amount was enough for several, and I rolled my eyes.

Cheng Yichen sat by the side and watched me eat, looking satisfied, and then said: "Let's go out for a stroll, the weather will be hot soon, I'll buy you a new quilt. By the way, you still don't want to see Wen Yang Is it? Then I told him not to come over for a while..."

I said, "Uncle Chen."

He smiled and said, "Huh?"

"Don't help me think so much, I don't want to live here long."

He froze, the smile and the blood color quickly faded from his face, and he returned to that kind of bewilderment.

He asked: "What's the matter? Did you not sleep well last night, and I was quarreling with you?"

"No," I said, "I'm going to buy a house myself."

"Hey?"

"I can't think of any good financial management, and I don't want to depreciate, so I'd better buy a house."

"Huh?" He was stunned, "But, but, where did you get the money? The house in T city is not cheap... You want to buy it in T city, right?"

"Yes, I have a sum of money. At that time, I..." I hesitated, and said, "My father gave it to me."

"..."

Cheng Yichen didn't speak for a while, I saw his lips trembling slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn't say anything, he just nodded his head repeatedly, as if he was about to laugh, and the circles of his eyes gradually turned red.

Finally he said: "Okay, okay, my brother, hey, how much did your father give you? Is it enough? We will go to the real estate agency to see if there is one we like. If the budget is not enough, I will help you." Think of ways to."

After saying that word, I suddenly felt relieved, and I smiled and said, "Yeah!"

We literally went out to look at houses.And the process was surprisingly smooth, and it happened that there was a house in the community that fit the budget and was urgently sold.The owner originally decorated it as a wedding room, but after finishing the installation diligently, he unexpectedly made a fortune, so he was very motivated to sell this set, and wanted to increase the money to replace it with a better one in the downtown school district. A house, thinking about preparing for the future children in one step.

Therefore, the interior decoration of the house is brand new, tasteful, bright and comfortable, and practical. You can feel the hopeful and wholehearted vision of the original owner.

Cheng Yichen went to inspect it and came back, and communicated with me: "This south-facing house has good ventilation and lighting, and the layout is square. There is no problem of water seepage, and the pipes are not blocked..."

"It looks good, so let's make a deposit."

Cheng Yichen was a little surprised: "Hey? You are faster than me to buy groceries, don't you want to look at other things?"

I shook my head: "No, it's enough to watch a suitable set. I feel that I have a destiny with it. Fate is the most important thing."

Cheng Yichen smiled: "That's true. Predestined relationship is the most important thing, as long as you like it."

I expressed my intention and asked the intermediary to invite the seller to come over for an interview. The intermediary was overjoyed: "You are a straightforward person, you have vision!"

The seller also happened to be available and came without us waiting long.

The other party was a very gentle and polite young man.After chatting for a few words, I found out that he also graduated from T University. Cheng Yichen immediately introduced that we are actually alumni, and that his hometown is in City X. Cheng Yichen also said that the two of them are fellow villagers.

With the blessing of being a fellow alumnus, and because I can buy it in full cash, which can solve his urgent need to change houses, my brother is a real person, and he took the initiative to lower the price for me.So we quickly made a deposit, signed a contract of intent, and made an appointment to go through the transfer procedures in a few days.

When I walked out the door, I felt that I was different, and my whole body was full of down-to-earth energy. After all, I will soon be a mature social person with a house and a car (bicycle)!

Cheng Yichen looked at me with a smile: "Xiao Jing has really grown up."

"Really……"

"I used to think that you were still a little bird with half-feathered feathers." He gently grabbed my hand and said, "Now you are about to fly out of the bird's nest."

I said, "But I still have to stay in the den for a few more days."

He smiled and said, "You can stay as long as you want."

After walking a few steps, I called him again: "Uncle Chen."

"Ok?"

I said: "Wait a few days, I have completed the formalities and moved out, you can let Lu Feng come and live."

He stopped and looked at me very surprised.

I pretended to be relaxed and said, "Otherwise you'd be too tired from running up and down. You're not in good health, so you need someone to take care of you."

"..."

"Okay?"

He didn't speak, just held my hand tightly.