That night, when I was getting ready to go to bed, I finally received a reply from An Lan.
She said to me: "I received the video. It shouldn't be easy to get Yang Man to tell the truth, right?"
"It's not easy, it's easy. I just found a key that can unlock her secret."
"What secret?"
"It's a long story, and I can't explain it clearly on WeChat. Simply put, Yang Man is not as simple as we seem. She has a child who is now ten years old."
"ah???"
Looking at the three question marks An Lan replied to, I knew she was as surprised as I was at the time.
I said to her directly in voice: "It's quite complicated anyway. I'll explain it to you slowly after you come back, but Yang Man is trustworthy."
"She is quite good. When she worked as my assistant before, she completed the work assigned to her very well every time. You said she betrayed the company, but I didn't believe it at first." An Lan also replied in voice.
I hadn't heard her voice for several days, but when I suddenly heard it, the longing in my heart became even stronger.
I continued to speak: "An Lan, I miss you. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve. Can you come back?"
"Do you want me to come back?"
"Of course, I hope." I said without hesitation.
"But even if I buy a plane ticket now, I won't be able to come back until after the Spring Festival."
"It doesn't matter, as long as I can see you during the Spring Festival."
This time, An Lan replied after a while: "It depends on the situation, maybe I can't leave, because there is no such thing as Chinese New Year abroad, and I'm still negotiating with YM Group."
I was a little disappointed, but I could understand her, so I said, "Okay, but can you send me a selfie of yourself every day, okay?"
"You can have this."
"Now, send me a selfie of you right now so I can have a good dream."
"Now? I just got up."
"This is the most real thing!"
Two minutes later, I finally received a photo from An Lan, which was her selfie.
The background should be in a bedroom. She was wearing pajamas and standing by the window sill. The sun just shone on the side of her face, and she looked absolutely beautiful.
My mood suddenly brightened, and even when I saw her photo, I could be happy for a long time.
I also took a random selfie of myself lying on the bed and sent it to her.
She replied with a funny emoji and said: "It's time for you to shave."
"Don't you think this is more sexy and manly?"
"I don't like men with beards. They look dirty."
"Okay, okay, I'm going to shave it off now."
"It must be very late over there, so go to bed early and do it tomorrow."
Before I could reply, she sent another WeChat message asking: "The room you sleep in is your and Zhou Mo's new house, right?"
"Yes, but I have always kept a distance from her. She lives in the next room."
"Well, you'd better be nice to others. If I were her, I wouldn't want to sacrifice so much in exchange for your cold treatment."
I understand what An Lan said. In fact, I have been getting myself into a state. When the day we divorce, we can be candid with each other.
After I finished chatting with An Lan, I looked at her photos for a while, then put down my phone and fell asleep.
At noon the next day, Zhou Mo and I had a simple lunch and then went to the supermarket to purchase many ingredients for the New Year's Eve dinner, including fish, meat, various seafood and braised vegetables.
Zhou Mo said that her mother and uncle would also come to the house for dinner tonight, so she bought a lot of things, and started cooking the New Year's Eve dinner when she got home.
I am in charge of the chef, and Zhou Mo helps me. We have a tacit understanding like a couple who have lived together for a long time.
As night gradually fell, a burst of firecrackers sounded outside the community.
Logically speaking, fireworks are not allowed in urban areas, but on such an important day as New Year's Eve, some people still took risks to stir up the atmosphere.
Someone took the lead, and after a while, the sound of firecrackers came intermittently again.
Zhou Mo said to me at this time: "How about we go out to buy some fireworks after the New Year's Eve dinner."
"Isn't it forbidden to set off fireworks and firecrackers in urban areas? Let's not follow suit."
"This can't be called complicity. The Chinese New Year must have a Chinese New Year atmosphere. Don't you think the flavor of the New Year is getting weaker and weaker now?"
I smiled, nodded and replied, "Okay, I'll listen to you."
"I remember when I was a kid, they would buy me lots and lots of fireworks every Chinese New Year, so that I could play with them all at once. I was timid at that time, so my dad would light them and I would watch from the side."
"Do you miss your dad?"
Zhou Mo suddenly sighed and said, "Yes, I think of him every year at this time, especially the two years after his death. I was in a daze. Only now do I accept the fact that he is no longer here."
I suddenly fell silent because her words reminded me of some unhappy things.
If I am really diagnosed with gastric cancer, then there is not much time left for me, but after my death, will there be someone like Zhou Mo who misses me?
My silence made Zhou Mo realize that something was wrong with me. She turned to look at me and said, "Why are you silent all of a sudden?"
Only then did I come back to my senses and said with a smile: "No, I just suddenly remembered something."
"Do you miss your parents too?"
"My parents died too, and I can't even remember them."
After Zhou Mo was silent for a while, he said, "I'll go back with you in two days."
"Going back to where?"
"Your hometown! Go and offer a stick of incense to your parents."
"But I don't even remember where they are buried. I even know where my hometown is."
Zhou Mo rolled his eyes at me and said, "You have amnesia but you are not dementia. Doesn't your birth address appear on your ID card?"
When Zhou Mo said this, I instantly felt embarrassed. I scratched my head and said with a smile, "That's right, I suddenly felt stupid."
As soon as I finished speaking, Zhou Mo's cell phone rang. She took out her cell phone and said to me: "My mother called. I guess they have arrived."
Zhou Mo answered the phone while talking, and then ended the call after answering twice, and said to me: "We are really here, they are downstairs. I will go down to pick them up."
"good."
If you are not the owner of our house, you cannot enter the elevator. The elevators are activated with access cards.
So it is more troublesome when guests come to the house, and they need to go downstairs to pick them up.
After a while, Zhou Mo took her mother and uncle to her home, and I immediately walked out of the kitchen and went outside to greet them.
The first words I said when we met were of course Happy New Year. After sitting them down on the sofa, I went back to the kitchen to cook.
Zhou Mo's mother soon came to the door of the kitchen, with a smile on her face, and said to me: "Xiao Chen, thank you for your hard work! Is there anything I can do to help?"
"It's not hard, Mom, just sit down and rest, it will be fine soon." I echoed with a smile.
Zhou Mo also said: "Mom, go out and have a rest. This year's New Year's Eve dinner will be prepared by me and Chen Feng, and you and your uncle will eat ready-made."