white restricted area

"My sister and I were young at the time, and we were still afraid of death, not to mention that it was our younger brother who died, so we started crying too. After a while, the village police came and concluded on the spot that my cousin died from lack of oxygen. Die, it is very likely that the quilt is too heavy, and he can't breathe. A child will die easily. They say this is called 'quilt syndrome', and then ask, who covered him So many quilts?"

Xia Huai was silent for a while again, Yin Shun thought he was speechless recalling that painful scene, turned his head to the side, only to find that he was drinking orange juice, probably because he talked too much and his mouth was dry.

After drinking the last drop of orange juice, Xia Huai handed back the empty bottle to Yin Shun, and continued, "Uncle and aunt usually pay attention to these things, and they only dare to cover him with a small quilt. Of course, they would not make such a mistake. After that After a long time, I stood up and said that I was afraid that he would be cold, so I covered him with my quilt. My mother slapped me on the spot, and I still feel the pain from that slap."

After saying these words, Xia Huai was stunned, he never thought that these words would come out of his mouth so smoothly.I used to think that it took a lot of courage to say these words, but I didn't expect that it only took a few seconds to move my mouth easily, and the process was said.

But that's not the end of the story: "That's when a drunken retired police officer stumbles in, deliriously shouting 'the kid must have been smothered! Smothered alive! Anyone here has Might come in and suffocate him!"

"No one listens to the old drunken police officer. We are all neighbors in the neighborhood. There are small conflicts at ordinary times, but no one offends anyone too much. I didn't see anyone enter my house during the banquet. Who would do such a thing? The police officers in the village solved the case that day, and my cousin was the one who..." Xia Huai couldn't go on talking.

Yin Shun saw the redness in his eyes, and his heart ached slightly.

"At that time, I was too young to bear legal responsibility. The police said a few words and it would be fine, but the gossip of the villagers couldn't resist after all. They called me a murderer and said that my mother had a disaster. I My younger sister is also always being bullied at school.

"Later, our family of three left the village and lost contact with everyone in the village, including my uncle and aunt. Aunt Xiang, that is, your mother, suggested that we develop in Haidao City before returning to her hometown, saying that the people here are more advanced in thinking and will not Laughing at single moms with kids.

"When I first came to Haidao City, life was very difficult. My mother was very strong. She took care of our two children by herself and did all kinds of work, but sometimes she still couldn't pay the rent and often took us wandering around.

"This is not the worst time. When Xiao Nan was 17 years old, she had a car accident and lost her leg. Our whole family felt like the end of the world had arrived."

Xia Huai looked at the dark sky, and the bitterness of those years welled up in her throat.

Yin Shun made a move, wanting to hug him, hesitated for a long time, but never made that movement.

Swallowing down her saliva, her throat hurt, Xia Huai said: "Fortunately, that year Haidao City formed a non-profit joint organization for the disabled, and my sister became the object of their help.

"They helped Xiao Nan apply for government funding. After that, Xiao Nan performed well in the organization and was hired by them as an administrator of the disabled activity center, earning some income. I was admitted to university after the college entrance examination. My mother refused, so she secretly went back to her hometown, sold the only house my father left her, and used all the money for my college education.

"After I graduated from university, I became an assistant police officer by chance. Although the salary is not much, I have my own source of funds. My mother finally doesn't have to work so hard."

"Since you refuse to take the police recruitment exam, why haven't you changed your job after so many years?" Yin Shun felt strange.The salary of the police assistant is only one to two thousand a month. Since Xia Huai graduated from university and her family is so miserable, there is no reason not to change to a job with a higher salary.

Xia Huai thought for a while, then said with a faint smile, "Like it."

He didn't dare to speak his mind, he didn't dare to say why he chose this job.

He often thinks of what the retired police officer said back then, and he often thinks, maybe what the old police officer said is true, and maybe one day he can clear up his grievances.But every time that dream haunted him, he felt that everything was an illusion and could never be realized.

A sinful person always wants to wash away his stigma, but he cannot completely deceive himself.

"Auntie...why did she get sick later?" Yin Shun wanted to know more and everything about Xia Huai.

Xia Huai sighed: "Two years ago, on the day of my cousin's death, my aunt came to the door somehow. She and my mother had a big fight, and during the dispute, my mother was pushed down. After being rescued in the hospital, it turned out to be what it is today.”

Xia Huai who said all this actually didn't feel much better, but the pressure in her heart was unexpectedly not so heavy.He was lucky, lucky to have someone to confide in tonight.

Yin Shun saw clearly the secret hidden under the haze in Xia Huai's eyes: "So all along, you thought that your cousin died because of you, and everything that happened in your family today was indirectly related to you?"

"This is a fact."

"That's not true." Yin Shun retorted.He had a stomach full of words that could deny this conclusion, but when the words came to his lips, he didn't know which sentence to say first.

The sound of footsteps on the stairs disturbed the atmosphere of the two.

Yin Shun and Xia Huai looked towards the stairs together.I saw a blanket moving upwards, and a slippery-headed person was hidden under the blanket.

"Uncle? Why are you here too?"

The landlord wore a blanket and came to the roof, his tongue trembling from the cold: "I heard the sound of you two opening and closing the door, I was woken up and couldn't sleep, come up to get some air."

There are three people who can't sleep on a roof, and they can't breathe through it.

The landlord shivered for a while, and asked Xia Huai: "Are you having nightmares again?"

Xia Huai was startled: "How do you know?"

The landlord sneered and said, "It's not once or twice. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I could hear it upstairs."

Shocked and embarrassed, Xia Huai asked, "Then why haven't you mentioned it before?"

"I just want to hear," the landlord's teeth chattered, "to see how long you can howl at a time, and what you can say when you howl."

Xia Huai was speechless, Yin Shun glanced at the landlord.

The landlord said: "Well, let me recommend you an old Chinese doctor, who is very powerful. You can ask him to prescribe some Chinese medicine, and you will be fine."

Xia Huai didn't want to bother, and was about to decline politely, but Yin Shun jumped ahead of him and asked, "Where is it?"

The landlord said: "It's opposite to Yude Middle School on Shan'e Road."

Early the next morning, Yin Shun took Xia Huai to see the old Chinese doctor.

Yude Middle School is not far from them, there is no direct bus, and taxis are a waste of money. Xia Huai wanted to ride a battery car to go there by herself, only to find that the small battery has not been used in the past few days, and the small battery is dead.

Yin Shun pulled out his bicycle and said, "Come up, I'll take you."

There are two pedals on the back of Yin Shun's bicycle that people can stand on, which Xia Huai got on them back then.Now if he really wants to stand behind here, he feels a bit against the traffic rules.

Yin Shun looked at the time and said, "It's [-]:[-], the traffic police probably haven't woken up yet."

Xia Huai was persuaded by him, stepped on the pedals on the back of the bicycle, and Yin Shun rode away with a swipe.

After middle school, Xia Huai never let anyone ride her on a bicycle.He grabbed Yin Shun's shoulders, his face was hit by the howling wind, and his nostalgia was strange and fresh. kind of enjoyment.

Ten minutes later, the two arrived opposite Yude Middle School.

In a row of unopened stores, there is a very small clinic with an open door. An old Chinese doctor with white hair is sitting in it wearing reading glasses, bowing his head and remembering something.

After parking the bicycle, Yin Shun and Xia Huai walked into the clinic one after the other.

The old Chinese doctor asked who was the doctor, and Xia Huai said, "It's me. I usually don't sleep well, so someone recommended me to come here."

The old Chinese doctor was stunned for a while, understood something, and said, "I'm not used to the presence of people other than patients when I see a doctor. Another boy, you go outside and wait."

Yin Shun understood that he was talking about himself, reluctantly walked out of the clinic, and looked at Xia Huai outside the clinic.

The old doctor closed the glass door, Xia Huai took the initiative to talk about his symptoms, the old doctor interrupted him, and asked directly: "Have you ever killed someone?"

Xia Huai was sluggish, and in an instant, her pores were dilated, her hairs stood on end, and cold sweat broke out all over her body.

The old Chinese doctor didn't seem to be asking this question for fun. He said seriously: "If you have something, don't hide it from me. Keep it from me. I can't prescribe medicine for you."

Xia Huai's fingers trembled slightly: "I..."

The old Chinese doctor stared sharply at Xia Huai with slightly protruding eyes under the presbyopic glasses: "You have. In your perception, you have killed people."

"..." Xia Huai felt as if her body had been emptied, and she was too stiff to move.

The old Chinese doctor got up and went to the medicine cabinet, found some medicine wrappers, and said while grabbing the medicine: "Many murderers in the past couldn't sleep at night, so they came to me to prescribe medicine. Do you know why they all came to me? Because I never Let the patient's secrets out. Some of those people have not been caught yet."

Xia Huai hooked the corner of her mouth with difficulty: "Are you joking?"

The old Chinese doctor packed the medicine quickly: "Ha. Is my joke okay?"

Xia Huai frowned, with a very ugly smile.

A bag of traditional Chinese medicine flew in front of Xia Huai, and the old Chinese doctor sat back at the table and continued to write: "One prescription is cooked three times, and you drink it three times a day. Don't forget it. If you miss it once, it will have no effect."

Xia Huai wanted to pay, but the old Chinese doctor said, "I don't make deals with people who have killed people. You can go."

Xia Huai came out of the clinic with an ugly pale face.Yin Shun came up and asked concerned: "What's wrong?"

Xia Huaiqiang smiled and said, "It's nothing, the thought of drinking traditional Chinese medicine makes me want to die."

Yin Shun took the medicine and looked at it: "Did the doctor say how to drink this medicine?"

Xia Huai numbly repeated what the doctor said just now: "One dose of medicine is divided into three times, drink three times a day, don't forget it, if you miss it once, it will have no effect."

Yin Shun silently remembered it in his heart.