"Mr. Barton, does that mean you have been wandering around before you came of age?"
Shade even took out his notebook and pretended to record it. The "child" across the table nodded slightly:
"It can be said that it was an unforgettable experience. After I turned eighteen, my body officially entered the prime of life from old age. My frail body became healthy and I was able to support myself. During this period, I encountered many things.
, strange, strange, and even incredible things. Putting aside this, in short, I was lucky enough to meet some scholars who were willing to help me."
Mr. Barton paused and leaned back slightly on the sofa. Shade concentrated his attention. The so-called "scholars" were most likely the [Truth Society].
"They taught me a lot and allowed me to look at the vast world from a new perspective. Although I don't agree with the beliefs and ideas of most of them, I even sometimes think they are crazy."
He raised his eyebrows, not knowing what he was thinking of:
"But those scholars are indeed my benefactors, there is no doubt about this."
Shade nodded, pushed away the cat's outstretched paw with his left hand, and drew the pen tip across the pages of the notebook:
"Since you are with scholars, why didn't you become a scholar? Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything else. It's just that the profession of scholar is very respected."
Mr. Barton smiled bitterly and shook his head, his expression making his huge face even more terrifying:
"Being a scholar also requires qualifications. I can only be regarded as a non-staff member at best."
He sighed:
"In short, with the help of those scholars, my condition has improved a lot. I met them when I was twenty-five years old, and the treatment began to be effective when I was thirty-two years old, and my 'youth speed' has obviously slowed down a lot.
.During this period, when my body became five or six years older than you look, I met the love of my life."
Speaking of this, a smile finally appeared on his lips.
"Oh? Can you elaborate on this section?"
Shade said with a smile, and Mr. Barton nodded:
"Do you mind if I smoke a cigar?"
Shade looked at his cat and reluctantly nodded:
"Please feel free to do so."
Then he picked up the cat and held it in his arms to provide it with the safest breathing environment.
Mr. Button pulled out the cigar box from under the coffee table, cut off both ends with a special drill-type cigar cutter, lit it, and took a deep breath. The brass-colored cigar cutter looked like a pocket watch, and he knew it was not a cheap product.
"That happened in the city of Artek, the capital of art. I was asked by scholars to do some work in that city. Because I had free time at work, I occasionally went to the Rhodes Casino. That was the summer of 1845, yes.
, I remember very clearly that the summer that year was extremely hot, and I even thought that the metal pipes in the sun would melt. That summer, I met a girl in a red dress in a casino."
His tone was full of wistful memories.
"A girl I met at the casino?"
Shade asked, then shook his head:
"If it were in a love story, it would most likely not be a comedy."
Mr. Button laughed self-deprecatingly, holding a cigar between his thick fingers:
"Yeah, but it was just a glance at that time, and I was attracted by her eyes. I don't know if it was the restlessness of my body, or my lonely soul longing for love. In short, I knew that my heart was moved. It was a feeling that is difficult to describe.
When I saw her in the crowd, I knew she would be the love of my life."
Shade would not comment on this.
"What's next, a romantic story?"
"Yes, it's a very romantic story. When we first met, I didn't talk to her. Then I met her again in a casino. She was selling people things that were not suitable for appearing in your book. I mustered up the courage to invite her.
Go have a drink at a pub. A serious pub.”
After taking a puff of his cigar and then coughing, Mr. Button seemed to have something wrong with his lungs:
"Mr. Watson, I know what a gentleman like you who comes from the upper class thinks - a girl who appears in an underground Rhodes casino will not come from a good family. But so what?"
He looked up at the ceiling:
"Pubs, restaurants, opera houses, small hotels, our respective apartments, the major art galleries in the city, the Art Clock Tower in the center of the city, and the Gurus Racecourse outside the city. There are too many memories, too many memories
, I still can’t forget the scene of her riding that maroon pony, laughing heartily on the spring meadow, and I can’t forget the scene where we sat on the lawn together in autumn when the leaves were falling, eating sandwiches and talking about life.
I don't care about her past, and she doesn't care about my identity. We spent three years together, and they were probably the happiest three years of my life."
This middle-aged man who looked like a child had a heartfelt smile on his face.
"As usual, the story has reached a turning point?"
"Yeah, and the twist is ridiculous."
Joey Barton put the cigar in his hand on the ashtray on the coffee table and looked at Shade opposite:
"Mr. Watson, please guess what happened next?"
"Well, the scholars transferred you away from Artek City, and you have to leave your lover?"
"No, no, I'm just a casual casualty outside the staff. I won't receive that kind of order. I mean a request. And even if she is transferred, she can go with me."
Mr. Barton shook his head.
"That is, that girl discovered the secret of your rebirth, and she can't accept this kind of thing?"
"No, it's just three years, and my appearance has not changed much. In fact, I have already told her about it."
He looked at Shade:
"She doesn't mind, yes, she doesn't mind at all. She is even willing to take care of me all the time. Even if I become a baby without thoughts and consciousness, she is still willing to take care of me."
Mr. Button closed his eyes and took a deep breath:
"No need to guess, yes, no one could have guessed that fate would be such a joke - death would come to her."
"die."
Shade stopped the pen in his hand:
"I'm sorry to hear that, but the cause of death was."
The corner of Mr. Button's mouth twitched:
"I went out on a rainy day in the summer, sprained my foot and fell in a puddle, and then broke my neck. Fate always likes to joke, isn't it?"
Shade took a deep breath:
"If this was a story, the ending really sucked."
"Yes, I sometimes think that I would rather she had been murdered, or died of disease, or some other conspiracy that I don't know about. But it was an accident, a ridiculous accident. I can't even find anyone to resent. , or to take revenge on someone.”
"So, what happened next?"
Shade asked.
Mr. Button raised his hand to hold his chin. There was no sadness in his eyes, but an incomprehensible sense of loss:
"She had no parents or family, so I was responsible for her funeral. After that, I took her ashes and traveled around the Old World to achieve what we had hoped to accomplish.
Mr. Watson, just now you asked me about my attitude towards death. Although I gave a very optimistic view, it was only in the face of my own death. I can accept death calmly when it comes to me, but until now, I still Unable to accept her passing."
He covered his mouth with his right hand and exhaled through his nose:
"All mortals are mortal. This world is really fair. Three years ago, in the autumn of 1850 in the universal calendar, I returned to Middleburg and decided to stay here. The city of art is really sad. I I’m afraid I’ll never go there again in my lifetime.”