Chapter 42:

It was not yet dusk when Zhang Man came out of Li Wei's house. She planned to go back to sort out the questions she had done and prepare.
The wind outside was very strong, there was no rain or snow, but there was some damp moisture. The billboard on the roadside was blown to one side by the strong wind, and it was fragile as if it were about to collapse in the next second.
She looked up at the dim sky and tightened her coat.
It has only been sunny for a day, and there will probably be another blizzard tonight.
The bus drove very fast, and the driver's master seemed to be going home from get off work before the blizzard, but he still didn't catch up-before he arrived at the station, the sky began to snow heavily without any buffering process.
Zhang Man got out of the car, put on a down jacket and hat, and walked from the station to the community. The most terrible thing about winter in City Z is not rain or snow, but strong wind.
The sea breeze was whizzing, she was a little unstable, so she had to squint and walk quickly, wanting to go home quickly.
But before she got downstairs, she heard noisy voices and heart-piercing crying. In such a snowy day, it was like an ice skate that pierced the tranquility.
Zhang Man frowned, speeded up his pace, walked to the next unit building, and found that there was already a circle of people downstairs at this time, and a police car with a red light was parked outside the crowd.
Her temples jumped up and she squeezed in through the crowd with great effort.
Among the crowd, crying and breaking down were a family of three, two young people, and an old man—the old man was very familiar with her, she was the grandmother who lost her granddaughter in her previous life.
Zhang Man's heart was tight, his scalp was numb, and he had a very bad premonition.
Sure enough, the next second, she heard the hoarse, heart-piercing cry of the old grandma.
"My nanny, my nanny was snatched away, and the man wearing a hat took my nanny from my arms... I didn't catch up with her... I was crying all the time. It's grandma... the traffickers who are dying, the kid snatchers, should go to hell..."
She cried so heartbreakingly. An old lady in her sixties and seventies, gray-haired slumped in the snow, wailed in spite of it, and she saw the tears of several women with children next to her.
This kind of pain of losing a loved one is something that people have been unable to restrain so far.
Next to the old lady, the woman who looked less than thirty was probably the child's mother. With messy hair and pale face, she sat on the ground, ignoring the heavy snow in the sky, crying as if she was about to lose her breath.
The slightly calmer man next to the two, with red eyes choked up, told the police next to what happened.
Zhang Man's heart was pounding.
Why did it still happen? She thought she had reminded it, it should, it won't happen again.
The people in the surrounding communities talked a lot.
"Oh, this old lady is so pitiful. I heard that she took the child out to buy vegetables today. She had been holding it in her arms, but she was robbed by a man in a hat on the way back."
"Tsk tusk tusk, you said that the current human traffickers are too rampant, stealing children can't be changed into robbing, I think I dare not take my granddaughter out."
"I'm telling you, don't tell the truth. This family probably offended the Bodhisattva. Some time ago, when I went out with Granny Zhou, she kept babbling that children cannot be put in a stroller. It’s easy to be carried away. As a result, she was held in her arms the whole time, or she was snatched away. Do you think this is poisonous?"
"Don't mention it, it's all fate, nothing in fate, no touch, some in fate, can't escape."
What is not in fate, cannot be touched, and what is in fate, cannot escape.
A violent wind suddenly hit, and dense snow fell from the sky, falling on her hair and clothes, and one or two pieces fell on her bare neck.
Zhang Man's scalp exploded, and in the ice and snow, the chill passed from every pore on her neck, causing her to shiver.
The dense goose bumps, at this moment, crawled all over her arm.
She suddenly realized that many things can be changed without thinking that she has the ability to change.
...
After Zhang Man left, the boy sat on the sofa and watched quietly, holding the safety token she gave him.
I haven't felt this way for a long, long time. I don't do anything, but I don't feel bored. Instead, every corner of my heart is warm.
He remembered the serious expression when the girl handed him the safety charm just now.
She seems to be serious about many things.
In the afternoon she did the question, and he watched it by the side. She frowned and thought about those questions. The drafts and notes were made clearly. Her font was delicate and round, and she worked the paper at a time, even turning over. On this page, you can clearly see the traces printed on the next page.
After each formula, she drew a small circle. Inside the circle are neatly arranged numbers.
In her problem-solving process, she didn't have too many fancy skills and clever ideas. Most of them were based on the most basic and reliable problem-solving ideas, and proceeded in an orderly manner—as if they could cure OCD.
In fact, the two of them are completely different to some extent. She is different from his inattention. Although she is quiet, she has her own love for the world.
She will do everything she can, in a small living circle, to do everything well.
Such a girl suddenly broke into his life like this, causing him to doubt her authenticity from time to time.
To him, it was like winning the jackpot.
He put the safety charm in the chest pocket of his pajamas, close to his heart.
But the next moment, he thought of the girl who said seriously, let him find a safe and hidden place at home and don't lose it.
The boy shook his head, stood up with a smile, and walked into the bedroom.
A hidden and safe place...
He opened the closet, and in the bottom corner, there was a mahogany box with a code lock—it was brought to him by the way when his grandfather sent someone to hand over his father’s inheritance. He said it was the most important thing in his life. He hasn’t opened it for so many years.
The password is his birthday.
0110.
He opened the mahogany box and a stale smell came over it.
He put the bright yellow safety charm into the box, originally wanted to close it, but suddenly became interested.
The teenager turned on the light in the room and spread the box on the bedside table.
There is not much in the box.
The most conspicuous one above is a close-carved wooden comb, which has changed from the original purple-red color of the wood to the purple-brown after precipitation due to the passage of time.
The comb teeth are not dense, but the wood is hard, and the intact red sandalwood is carved with delicate plum blossoms. The wood wax is shiny, and after so many years, it still exudes a refreshing sandalwood fragrance. The back of the comb was bent and a character was engraved on it.
"fennel".
The young man was slightly startled, it was Janet's name.
He put down the wooden comb and picked up a yellowed photo.
The photo is in plastic, with the date written in the gilded font on the upper right corner, and the font is slightly off. He carefully identified it and found that it had been seventeen years since now.
In the photo, there is a man and a woman, both look at the best age.
The man is dressed in a straight suit, handsome and energetic. He is wearing sunglasses and hugging the smiling woman beside him.
The woman was dressed in fashion, with a plain white dress in the camel-colored windbreaker, and a black and white polka dot silk scarf around her neck. The long slightly curly hair and the yellowing of the photos make her look like a modern girl who has turned around from a European street corner in the last century.
However, the most important thing is that under the woman's dress, the towering belly is hard to ignore, and her chin is slightly rounded.
The background of the photo is the Seine River hidden in the white mist, and the Eiffel Tower can be seen behind the two.
Unlike the changing times and human beings, those buildings have been standing there for ten, decades, or even hundreds of years, welcoming the first sunrise of every day.
A corner of Li Wei's heart sank slightly. It turned out that Janet looked like this when he was young, which is a little different from now.
He closed his eyes and thought about what Janet looked like now, and suddenly felt a little hard to remember. He shook his head. It seems that he still needs to contact Janet more after a while. It has been a long time recently and he didn't think of her.
There are still several things in the box-a heavy golden lock, which he should have worn when he was a child, and two strands of hair tied together.
Knot hair for couples.
At the bottom of the mahogany box, there is a book of children's English books with a little curled edge, which was probably used for enlightenment when he was a child.
The young man carefully pulled out the reading.
The cover is a special color for children's books, with an exaggerated swash written "Benny the Lion" and a colorful English title. Under the headline, a cute little lion turned his head to face forward, and raised his front hoof, making a "yeah".
He was funny in his heart. It turned out that when he was young, he had read such innocent books.
He thought of Manman again.
I don't know if she had read similar books when she was a child, or whether she was reading the warm children's stories with her voice.
When I think about it, my heart is itchy, I can't wait to pinch her face in the next second.
While thinking about it, the boy opened the "Benny the Lion" and turned to the first page at will.
It is indeed very enlightening. Every English sentence is accompanied by a Chinese translation and a line in Chinese pinyin.
Very suitable for children to watch.
However, the next second, the warm smile on the boy's face suddenly solidified.
"A long, long time ago, a little lion lived in the forest. His name is Benny. It is a happy little lion. It has the gentlest mother in the entire animal kingdom, Janet, and the smartest friend. Nick. Their story begins now."
...
The book slipped from his hand, and the boy staggered and sat on the head of the bed, his face pale, his brain buzzing.
A page of yellowed readings, like a key that has been forgotten by the years, opened the door of his memory that has been covered in dust for many years.
The boy's thoughts became extremely chaotic and out of control, and two vague human faces flashed into his mind at this moment.
"Only, mother will fly to Vancouver tomorrow morning, you don't need to send me off."
"Mom made you a meal, baby, eat it, it's your favorite dish."
"That's not the case. Quantum entanglement does have this kind of super-distance effect. As long as you accept this foundation, the next derivation will be a matter of course..."
"This girl is your girlfriend? She's pretty."
They kept talking in his ears, and the buzzing voice was like a bell, causing him to have severe tinnitus.
The heating in the house was adjusted to the most appropriate 23 degrees, but the boy shuddered.
He tried to convince himself.
Janet went to Vancouver, yes, she immigrated when he was young. There is also Nick, he will carefully answer for him every time he encounters difficulties in learning, the best partner.
But the next second, there was a creepy voice in his heart, questioning him deep in his soul.
Who is Nick? Is he someone you met in the orphanage? Or is it your classmate in school?
Who is Janet? Is your mother's English name really Janet?
If they really exist, why have you felt so lonely for so many years? Why do you eat alone, sleep alone, and do everything alone every day?
Why were they not there when you were hung by your father on the clothes pole on the balcony? Why were they not there when you were abandoned by Grandpa? Why are the earthworms not there when someone is stuffed into your collar?
Where are they when your life is occupied by large-scale darkness?
The two figures in his mind became more and more blurred. In the end, he could only see two pale and hollow faces without facial features.
It's like a ghostly shadow coming out of Shura hell.
The young man suddenly remembered a fragment that he had completely forgotten before.
He remembered that he seemed to call and order two dishes one day. When the takeaway brother arrived, he was late for more than an hour. He delivered the takeaway to him, hoping that he would not complain to their store.
He remembered that he opened the takeaway, poured the two dishes into two porcelain plates, and threw the takeaway box into the trash can.
He remembered the day when he pulled off the pen cap and wrote his mother's name on the letter of apology.
He still remembers the dark and empty corridor when he sent Nick out the other day.
The voice-activated light in the corridor will light up as long as someone walks by, but it didn't that day. He beckoned to the darkness, and then closed the door.
"what!"
At this moment, the young man had a splitting headache, and he hugged himself in pain and trembling.
Who are they?
Who is he?
His eyes were flushed, bloodshot filled his eyes, and his brain gradually became unconscious.
He stared at the big bed and the empty room beside him with open eyes in fear. The cold and gloomy furniture seemed to yell at him.
"Fake, we are all fake, in fact you are also fake."
He staggered backwards, and sat up nervously when he fell into the soft mattress.
All are fake, everything in this world is all fake.
He felt like he stepped on the air, fell into the cliff of ten thousand feet, his body and consciousness fell uncontrollably.
"No, no, don't..."
The boundless darkness and fear completely overwhelmed him at this moment.
In despair, the boy suddenly thought of the girl in his arms that he could kiss.
Her lips, with real touch and intoxicating fragrance, once made him want to stop.
Yes, yes, Manman, he still has Manman.
Man Man would not lie to him, she had embraced him under his umbrella, just now, in the afternoon, under the desk, in his arms, kissed him warmly and young.
The juvenile's flustered heart rested a little, as if grabbing a straw.
He stood up, tremblingly took his phone out of his pocket, and hurriedly flipped into the phone book.
I saw the only number that exists.
He shook his hands and wanted to click in, but in the next second, he thought of the words she had said.
"Nick, hello, this is Zhang Man."
"Boom—" The phone slipped from his hand and smashed to pieces.
Blizzard is coming.