Chapter 3 Chapter 2 The Unknown Girl

Just at this moment, Zhu Ertong, the neighbor across the street, opened the door and walked out of his house. There are only two families of Su and Zhu living in the small courtyard.Zhu Ertong is short, fat, bald, and wears glasses with shallow myopia. He is a painter and works as an art editor and photographer for China News Agency.He pushed his bicycle down the steps from the veranda, and inadvertently saw the "uninvited guest", and felt flustered.In contrast, the girl is still calm; a smile flashed across her face, she had a little expression, and then nodded and said: "Excuse me, does Mr. Su Guanlan live here?"

She spoke the standard "Mandarin", with a soft and pleasant tone, like a gurgling spring falling into a deep pool.Su Guanlan heard her words.The girl asked about him, obviously knew him, must have come to see him.So…… On the other side, Zhu Ertong avoided the other party's shining eyes and stuttered: "Oh, are you asking Professor Su Guanlan? Yes, yes, he, he lives there, here, there." The painter pointed to the room The main room with the lights on, "He has been abroad for a long time, I heard he will be back soon, he should be home today." The girl followed Zhu Ertong's gesture and looked this way: "Thank you!"

"Oh, no thanks!" The painter still avoided the other party's gaze, pushing his bicycle and walking straight towards the gate in the corner of the yard. The girl restrained her smile, still like a white marble statue, dignified, indifferent, and expressionless.She stood still, her eyes seemed to be able to penetrate the doors, windows and walls of Su's house. Su Guanlan still couldn't remember who this unexpected guest was.His eyes suddenly touched Kramskoy's oil painting "Unknown Girl".The young countess in the picture is reserved and beautiful, and is condescendingly casting a cold glance at him.The background of the picture is the "White Night" of Petersburg in winter, the grayish-yellow sky and the hazy figures of tall buildings and pavilions.The professor finally discovered how similar the female guest in the small courtyard outside the window was to the "unknown girl" on the screen: her beauty, her nobility, her extraordinary appearance...

Su Guanlan turned her gaze out of the window again.He saw that the statue-like female guest had vigor, warmth, expression, her face became softer, her eyes sparkled, and she was staring at the pots of bluegrass standing under the veranda... The professor suddenly realized: "Ah, it's her!" The girl seemed to feel the coolness of the late autumn evening.She seemed to shiver, and tightened her windbreaker.This casual movement made her look slimmer and more charming, adding a touch of charm.After thinking for a while, she finally started to walk towards this side; after stepping up the steps, Kui Kui stopped, stood silently, and put her hands into the pockets of her windbreaker.The light overflowing from the doors and windows of Su's house was everywhere, and the girl's statue-like face was coated with a faint light green.

Guan Lan likes to eat roast duck.There is no roast duck in the jungles of Vietnam, he must have been hungry for a long time!Ye Yuhan specially rushed to "Quanjude" at noon today to order one, and brought it back in a wide-mouth thermos bottle with a full set of green onions, pancakes and sweet noodle sauce in the afternoon.A few stewed vegetables and cold dishes, plus smoked cabbage and tofu fried by Mistress Ye, steamed dumplings with rice, steamed buns, red bean porridge, etc., were all on the table, steaming hot.Although it is not a delicacy, Ye Yuhan's housekeeping skills are just that, and Su Guanlan has never paid much attention to food and drink, and she is very content with roast duck.Of course, there must be wine.I happen to have a bottle of red wine that has been preserved for many years at home.Su Guanlan usually does not drink alcohol, but she often drinks red wine or champagne during festivals.

After everything was set up, Ye Yuhan asked her husband to come out for dinner.Called once, but there was no response; called again, still no response.She walked over, pushed open the door, and saw that Su Guanlan was motionless, staring out the window blankly. "Guanlan, what's the matter with you?" Ye Yuhan yelled again, but her husband was still in a "frozen" state.Something special must have happened in the yard, she thought.Without much hesitation, she turned around and walked through the hall, walked to the door, and opened the door. The host and the guest were stunned at the same time!Ye Yuhan might be even more astonished.But she didn't have time to think about it, almost instinctively wiped her hands with her apron, smiled kindly, and nodded in greeting: "You——"

"Oh, may I ask, Mr. Su Guanlan, do you live here?" "Yes, he lives here. Are you looking for him? Please come in, please come in." Ye Yuhan turned sideways and pointed to the room: "Look, the freshly prepared meals are still steaming! Please come in and have dinner together." The door is open.The hall has an unobstructed view in front of the guests.The table was indeed full of food and steam, but the chairs were empty. "Thank you," the girl shook her head in a soft voice. "It's all at the door, let's eat with us, it's a common meal." Ye Yuhan was very earnest, but she didn't go back to the house to call Su Guanlan.She knew that her husband had seen the female guest clearly, but she did not understand why he insisted on refusing to show up. There must be some reason, some extraordinary reason.

"No, thank you, it's time for me to leave." The girl said firmly, and she turned around while speaking. "Oh, look at you! No matter how important it is, if you go into the house and sit for a while, it won't delay you." The guest stopped talking, but just looked away from the dozens of pots of orchid grass, and walked down the steps slowly.Ye Yuhan was a little helpless, a little overwhelmed, and didn't even know whether she was staying or seeing off guests.Before she knew it, she had involuntarily accompanied the guests down the steps and onto the green brick floor.She was very polite, very earnest, and she was still saying something to stay, but even she felt a little confused.After a while, she walked through the small courtyard with the guests and came to the gate.

The girl crossed the high bluestone threshold, stopped again, turned around, and looked at the quiet courtyard with a cold and bewildered expression.Everything seems to have come to a standstill, time and space no longer exist.The ancient capital is immersed in the boundless twilight, and thick purple clouds are piled up in the western sky.The girl's marble statue-like head and neck were plated with a layer of bronze, as if only two eyes were alive, gleaming and unfathomable. "Are you really unwilling to come in and sit around?" Ye Yuhan was making the last effort. The guest's lips moved, as if to say something, but finally remained silent.

"May I ask," added the hostess, "where is your home?" "Home..." the girl murmured.She seemed unfamiliar with the word. "Yes. Turn around and let him see you." "I don't have a home," the guest's voice was soft but trembling, "I never had a home." As Ye Yuhan listened, she felt her heart being squeezed hard. "Excuse me, you," the guest had already started walking, but stopped, and stared at Ye Yuhan again, "Are you Su Guanlan's wife?" "Yes." Ye Yuhan became more and more at a loss.

A sudden gust of cold wind made the crabapple trees in the courtyard tremble; countless fallen leaves rolled and rustled on the green brick floor.The guest tightened her windbreaker as if afraid of the cold, and closed her eyes; when she raised her eyelids again, the brilliance in her eyes disappeared, leaving only deep, dim and endless sadness... "How happy you are!" the girl said to herself, her voice was as soft, deep and trembling as the crabapple trees and fallen leaves in the cold wind.Suddenly, she opened her eyes wide and looked up, as if searching for something among the twinkling cold stars, and as if awakened from a deep sleep; she nodded to the hostess, then turned and left, and quickly disappeared at the end of the alley .