Lin Ruoxi was very glad that the man did not throw away her things.
The clothes were still in their original bags, which Tang Hongxuan had brought back from her school. They were placed under the wardrobe in the cloakroom.
After breakfast, she found a long pleated half-sleeved white shirt and put it on a pair of half-worn eight-quarter jeans. She also casually picked up her hair with a rubber band and tied it into a ponytail.
braid.
The person in the mirror looks sick, with a pale complexion and a lifeless look. His brows are lightly knitted together, and the corners of his eyes and brows are filled with a look of sadness that cannot be resolved.
How can I go home to see my mother like this?!
She walked out of the cloakroom and ran to the dressing table next to the bed. There were all kinds of jewelry and makeup that the man had asked people to prepare for her.
Lin Ruoxi took out a box of light pink blush, applied it with a brush, and evenly applied it on her cheeks and cheekbones. Then she applied lipstick on her lips.
He closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths slowly, patted his cheeks, and forced a smile.
She sighed in the mirror. This was the best she could do. If her mother asked, she would just say that there were no seat numbers on the train and she was tired from standing.
Then he grabbed his big rucksack and walked out.
But when she opened the door, Lin Ruoxi paused again because she accidentally glanced at the scar on her wrist.
He couldn't help but frown.
When she looks bad, she can put on makeup, and when she's in a bad mood, she can force a smile, but what about this scar...
After thinking for a while, he turned back and dug out a jade bracelet that looked the least valuable among a lot of jewelry boxes and put it on his hand.
But Lin Ruoxi didn't know that the "least valuable" bracelet in her opinion cost at least a million. It was Laokeng glass jade that Tang Hongxuan specially ordered from Myanmar according to the size of her wrist.
…………
The more than ten hours of train ride made me sleepy.
The weather in City A and City C are two completely different feelings.
The air humidity in City C is high and the rain is relatively frequent. The summer in City C is hot and sticky. But City A is different. It is a typical summer in the north, with thin clouds and sufficient light. Especially standing under the sun
Taking a photo is like being burned by fire, not only hot, but also burning and painful.
I haven't been back for half a year, and the town still hasn't changed much. It's backward, but it also retains its relatively primitive innocence and simplicity.
Lin Ruoxi got off the bus near the long-distance bus station in the center of the town, and then transferred to the bus home.
Sitting in the last row of seats on the bus, Lin Ruoxi turned back and looked through the glass, and sure enough, the car she came in was missing.
She just felt that Aken would not completely keep her out of sight, but she could not imagine how he would stare at her. She couldn't figure it out, so she simply stopped wasting her brain cells and closed her eyes.
repose.
The place where Lin Ruoxi lives is relatively remote.
There is an open space on one side of the bumpy concrete road. On the other side is a group of low bungalows. On the east side are three small buildings with only four floors. The walls are dark and the bricks and tiles are old. They are obviously very old.
Her family lives in the last building. Enter the first building door from the left, on the third floor, and turn west.
When she walked to the door of the building, Lin Ruoxi thought about making a call at home first, but after rummaging through her bag for a long time, she realized that her mobile phone was not inside. It seemed that she had changed clothes on the new day and had not been seen since. Maybe she had lost it somewhere.
, I can’t say for sure. But fortunately, the key is still there.
The big iron gate was right in front of her, and even the mottled paint and rust stains on it were familiar to her. But Lin Ruoxi suddenly felt a sense of emptiness and uneasiness in her heart. It was not very strong.
, but it’s like a vine, circling and entwining bit by bit, getting tighter and tighter.
My hands were shaking uncontrollably, and after inserting the key several times, I could accurately insert the key into the keyhole, and finally it fell to the ground with a 'pop'.
Lin Ruoxi bent down to pick it up, then raised the corners of her mouth with a helpless smile.
In just a few days, it seemed like decades had passed. Unexpectedly, now, she was even timid to go home. She was afraid, afraid that her mother would be worried when she saw her looking so haggard, and even more afraid that her mother would know that her daughter had suffered like this.
The unbearable situation was a blow and the old illness relapsed.
Lin Ruoxi closed her eyes and took a deep breath, calmed down her mind, and then successfully inserted the key and opened the old hidden lock.
The door shaft made a "creak, creak" sound, which was a bit harsh.
"Mom, I'm back."
Lin Ruoxi closed the door behind her, tried her best to put on a happy face, and shouted crisply. However, no one answered.
"Mom, I'm back."
What answered her was still silence in the room.
Lin Ruoxi felt a sudden panic in her heart. Then she comforted herself by thinking that this time was just after 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and most likely her mother had gone to the vegetable market.
She changed her slippers and picked up the teapot on the table in the living room, but she was suddenly stunned...it was empty! She lowered her head and looked carefully, and found that there was a thin layer of dust on the table, as if no one had cleaned it for a long time.
.
The boundless emptiness in my heart came out again, and then slowly spread. My mother has always been a careful person. Although she is in poor health, she is still strong. Although the family is not well-off, she takes care of everything properly.
.The home in Lin Ruoxi's memory was small and shabby, but it always had bright and clean windows.
She raised her head and looked around at the deserted room. She could no longer be optimistic... Could it be that her mother had a heart attack again?! She looked at the two pieces of clothing casually placed on the sofa. She was clearly walking in a hurry, which made her even more...
confirmed her guess.
In a panic, she ran towards the phone on the cabinet next to the sofa in two steps, without even realizing it, her knees hit the corner of the stool.
However, Lin Ruoxi was disappointed again. The sweet female voice only repeated one sentence in a cold and mechanical manner: "Your phone has been shut down..."
The receiver fell from her hand, and Lin Ruoxi let out a choked sigh, then grabbed her bag and ran out of the house without caring.
The town is a place with extremely conservative folk customs. In that era, Lin Ruoxi's mother's early experience was even more despised by people. Lin Ruoxi's grandfather's family believed that their daughter had embarrassed them and made them lose face, and they could not hold their heads high in front of everyone.25
Years ago, she cut off all contact with Lin's mother. However, Lin Ruoxi's father was from out of town and had no relatives here. In addition, he went there early, and all relatives and friends had long since stopped contacting him.
Over the years, the only person who had contact with her family was one of Lin's mother's brothers, Lin Ruoxi's uncle.
So at this time, the only thing Lin Ruoxi could do was to go to her uncle's house to find out.
…………
My body was extremely weak, but I felt a little out of breath after running a few steps.
Lin Ruoxi hurried downstairs, and as soon as she stepped out of the door, she staggered. She leaned forward, and just as she was about to fall, a tall man in a suit and leather shoes appeared in front of her, and reached out to support her in time.
She lowered her head and gasped, and was about to say thank you when she heard the person speak first, "Ms. Lin, are you okay?" Shang Suan's familiar voice turned out to be Aken.
Lin Ruoxi looked up, slightly surprised, "Why are you here?"
"I've been by your side." Aken held her arm just in time and helped her stand up straight. Then he looked at her frightened face and asked, "Miss Lin, has something happened?"
"My mother... cough cough..." Lin Ruoxi said in a hurry. She was out of breath as soon as she opened her mouth and couldn't stop coughing.
"Ms. Lin, don't be impatient and tell me slowly what's wrong with your mother."
"My mother, my mother is not at home." She spoke with difficulty while coughing.
"Don't panic. Did you go out? Maybe you'll be back in a while."
"Impossible, the house has clearly been unoccupied for several days." Lin Ruoxi choked up in anxiety, "I'm afraid she has a heart attack, but what should I do..." She took a breath and walked around the person in front of her to go out again.
rush.
"Ms. Lin!" Aken turned around and strode to follow. He stopped her with his hand and turned his eyes to the roadside. "Where are you going? I'll see you off."
Lin Ruoxi stopped and followed his gaze. Sure enough, a black car was parked on the side of the road. It was a very ordinary Honda, but it was not the Mercedes-Benz she was riding in. She was slightly confused, but she couldn't care less. She wiped her tears.
She took the lead and strode over, "Go to my uncle's house!"
The black car drove away. The driver did not ask for the address, but rushed to her uncle's house in a familiar way.
But she was too preoccupied on the road, and she was frightened and anxious, so she didn't notice the details. When the car stopped downstairs, before Lin Ruoxi had time to think about it, she saw her uncle's figure walking out of the building door, his footsteps hurried as if he was anxious.
"Uncle!" Lin Ruoxi called out, pushed open the car door and rushed out, running all the way to catch up, "Uncle! Uncle!"
The person in front paused and stopped. When he turned around, his face was still a little surprised, but in an instant it turned into anger and fierceness. Just when Lin Ruoxi had just reached him and had not yet stood still, she raised her head.
His hand slapped her in the face.
Lin Ruoxi was hit hard and almost fell to the ground. She didn't bother to cover the pain, she just looked at the person in front of her with disbelief on her face.
But the next second, her uncle's words struck her like a bolt from the blue, making her unable to react for a long time...
"Shameless girl, you're so capable and you hugged a rich man's son-in-law, what are you doing here?!"