After coming out of her grandmother's house, Qiao Xinwei didn't know where to go. The world was huge, but there was no place for her.
In that fashionable and prosperous city, except for the meager maternal love that made her reluctant to let go, there were pain everywhere, and that meager maternal love was far from enough to withstand the pain. In that city, she
I don’t want to go there anymore.
She didn't want to leave her original hometown, but she was afraid that her grandma wouldn't be able to accept it if she knew these things. She had already lost so much, and she didn't want anything to happen to her grandma.
After a while, her belly will become pregnant. Although grandma is old, she is not confused. She has been here for so long but Jiang Hao never comes. Grandma will eventually know what happened.
She couldn't hide it, and she couldn't afford to gamble.
I took the bus to Linzhou, a small city ten miles away from my grandmother. She had attended high school here, so she was familiar with it.
Linzhou is a developed small city in the south of the Yangtze River. It is adjacent to the provincial capital and has convenient transportation. However, compared with those first- and second-tier big cities, Linzhou is still lagging behind.
She hadn't been here for six years. When she got off the bus, she was a little confused. She just relied on her past memories and walked along the road. She vaguely remembered what kind of street it was and where it led to, but many shops had changed and the street
, the roads and the community have been repaired, and there are many brand new places that she is completely unfamiliar with.
The first thing to do now is to find a place to stay.
She visited several communities and looked at several rental houses, but she was not very satisfied with them. She wanted to live here for a long time and did not want to have to deal with it in the future.
After comparison, she finally rented a small apartment on the second floor in an old community. There was no house in front without shade, and it was more convenient to go up and downstairs. Most importantly, the landlord was a kind-hearted old lady who lived across the street.
Auntie's children and grandchildren have all moved to the new city. This small apartment was the wedding room of her son and daughter-in-law. They lived there for four or five years. The furniture and appliances inside are all good, and the decoration is not bad.
The aunt is more talkative, and the look between her eyebrows and eyes when speaking is somewhat similar to Xiang Ling's. Qiao Xinwei looks at her particularly kindly.
"Girl, my house is really nice. I'm not willing to rent it to those messy people. I only want to rent it because I see you are a pretty girl."
Qiao Xinwei smiled and said, "Auntie, I will live here from now on. I plan to live here for a long time. I have found a place to live so I can find a job." She was a little hesitant to tell her aunt about the fact that she was pregnant.
I'm afraid if I tell her, my aunt won't rent it.
"Okay, this is also our fate. I live across the street. If you have any problems with the house in the future, just come to me. I'm usually at home at night."
"Okay, thank you, aunt."
"It's getting late. I see you're tired too. Please pack up and go to bed early. I'm leaving."
"Okay, aunt, walk slowly."
A strange place, a strange house, no matter how uneasy she felt, she could only feel like this. She walked into the bedroom, and there was a rectangular mark on the wall beside the bed, which should be the place where photos were hung. This suite was only fifty or sixty square meters.
Although the place was small, it was full of warmth. She thought that the hostess who lived here must be a woman of great quality and tender heart.
After finding a place to live, the next step is to work. Her savings are limited, so she can't just sit back and waste her money. Before she becomes inconvenient, she should find a job and earn whatever she can.
——
Three months passed in the blink of an eye, and Jiang Hao finally returned from the camp in the mountains. After three months of precipitation and experience, he lost weight and became darker, and his impetuous heart calmed down.
Turning on the phone, there were many messages, but after searching through them, there was no one from Qiao Xinwei. One of the messages was from a bridal shop - "Chief Jiang, do you really not want your wedding photos? If not, we will
It’s been dealt with separately.”
He looked at the time and saw that it was sent three months ago. Damn it, who said I didn't want it anymore.
He immediately called and said, "Mr. Han, it's me, Jiang Hao."
"Chief Jiang, you finally showed up. It's not easy to find you."
"What happened to my wedding photos?"
"Oh, let me explain this to you. When I called you that day, you said you would pick it up in the afternoon, but you didn't come for several days. Then I called you again and you turned off your phone, so I called your wife to ask.
She said no, and she turned off her phone again when I asked her. I didn’t know what to do.”
Jiang Hao sighed and asked, "Did she really say no?"
"Yeah. Chief Jiang, forgive me for talking, aren't you??" Mr. Han hesitated, "Hey, we have been friends for so many years, let me tell you straight, Xiao Tianai came to my place to order
She bought a wedding dress and dress, and she said she would treat me to a wedding banquet soon. I asked her who she was going to marry, but she refused to reveal it. Are you guys??"
Jiang Hao didn't know how to answer these two questions before and after Mr. Han. He only asked: "What about the wedding photos now?"
"Without your permission, I don't dare to deal with it casually. It's still in the store."
"Okay, I'll go pick it up after get off work."
"Hey, okay, then??"
Jiang Hao said in a low voice: "Don't ask too much about other things, and don't spread rumors."
"Yeah, I understand."
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Hao raised his head and took a deep breath. Things must be dealt with one by one. The case must be analyzed clue by clue. Don't be impatient or anxious.
When I got home, the house was dark. I turned on the lights and the room was bright, but it was still very quiet. Jiang Hao moved the photo to the living room and placed it carefully on the floor.
There was a thin layer of dust on the coffee table, and the once vibrant flowers and plants on the balcony were now reduced to pots of dead leaves and twigs. It was not that he had never lived alone, but once he got used to living with two people,
If you leave him alone, his heart will feel empty.
He took scissors, cut off the rope outside the photo box, and then slowly opened the photos layer by layer. The largest photo was exposed, and he looked at it with sad eyes and heartache.
In the photo, he was wearing a military uniform and she was wearing a white wedding dress. There was light snow in the sky. They looked at each other and smiled. The happiness at that moment was frozen. It was so good.
There were also beautiful photo albums, which he flipped through one by one and recalled over and over again, as if those things happened yesterday.
For more than three months, one hundred and three days, he missed Qiao Xinwei every moment. He didn't know how many days it would take before he could see her again.
"Hey, Xiao Fang, is there any news from Captain Shen?"
"Chief, there has been no news since my wife went to Jiangnan. Captain Shen said that he would contact his colleagues there to help find her, but there is no news yet."
"What do you mean no news?!"
"Commander, don't worry. Captain Shen said that it would be better if there is no news. That proves that she is still in Jiangnan. Think about it, you have to use your ID card to fly, train and stay in a hotel. If there is no record, it means that the wife has not gone anywhere."
Jiang Hao was silent, looking down at Qiao Xinwei with a bright smile in the wedding photo. He had such a beautiful smile that he had ruined it all.
"Chief, you should go to bed early. We have to have a meeting tomorrow. We have followed Zhou Xiaoyi's clue correctly. If you continue to deal with Xiao Tianai, we might be able to solve the case."
"You kid think easy, how can it be that easy? Okay, let's talk about it tomorrow."
"Hey, okay, I'll see you tomorrow, chief."
After hanging up the phone, there was silence in the living room again.
——
Qiao Xinwei found a job as a librarian in a district-level library in Linzhou. She was a temporary worker and lived a relatively easy life with books.
Although the librarian usually only needs to collect books, she has to put these collected books back on the bookshelves one by one.
Sometimes there are so many books that it takes most of the day just to sort them out, especially on weekends, when I am so tired that I have no time to rest.
As the days passed, she could not hide her growing belly. Even if she wore loose clothes, she could not hide her growing belly.
"Xiao Qiao, how many months have you been alive?"
Qiao Xinwei lowered her head and said sheepishly: "It's been five months, Director Cai. I'm sorry. It's my fault for not explaining it in advance, but I can still work. It doesn't matter."
Director Cai is a middle-aged woman in her forties. She has also given birth to a child and knows how hard it is to be pregnant for ten months. "No, it's not convenient for you to climb high in your situation."
"I can. Don't you think I'm quite flexible now? Many pregnant women work until they give birth."
Director Cai said worriedly: "Xiao Qiao, it's not that I don't want you to work, I want to change your job. You are still flexible now, but you won't be able to be flexible if you continue."
Qiao Xinwei smiled and said, "Okay, Director Cai, I will follow your arrangements."
"Just collect the books and sort them into categories. Just put them on the bookshelf and let others do it."
"Okay, thank you, Director Cai."
"No, please pay attention to yourself."
"kindness."
As time went by, her belly became bigger. Female colleagues who had good things often talked about her behind her back. She was a single and pregnant woman from other places who was not bad looking. She came out to make money with a big belly. She had no husband and no family. Could it be that she was a surrogate mother?
?
Sometimes Qiao Xinwei would hear a few words in her ears. She was helpless. The mouth was born on someone else's body, so let them talk.
The biggest advantage of being a librarian is that you can read books in your free time. Books are good things, and there is no harm in reading more. She has read more books here than she did in four years of college.
One day, she had just finished eating and was cleaning up when the doorbell rang.
"Who is it?" Normally no one comes to her place, let alone it being so late, she suddenly became more vigilant.
"It's me, Xinwei, please open the door."
It was the landlord, Aunt Qin, "Here we come." She quickly opened the door.
As soon as the door opened, Aunt Qin stood at the door and stared at her belly. She really didn't notice it before. Although she lived across the street, she went to work early and came back late every day, and rarely met each other. It was hot now, so she wore
With less clothes, her belly is obviously bigger.
"Aunt Qin, let's talk after you come in." Qiao Xinwei was worried about what would happen if the landlord evicted her and told her to move now.
Aunt Qin had no expression on her face and walked in silently.