Chapter 21 Chapter 21

Back then, my mother fled to the mountains to avoid the troubles she caused and the bitter fruit of her indulgent emotions.I don't know if it was God's retribution or fate, but my daughter suffered the same ending.The heart-wrenching debt made her feel miserable... Holding Chen Xiaona's home address, the two took the train from Henan to Hunan. On the way, Zhang Qun's cell phone rang. It was her married sister who called, saying that her mother was hospitalized with illness last night and had been in emergency treatment for more than 10 hours, and asked her to go back as soon as possible.While crying, my elder sister complained that she is still like a crazy girl at such an age, stays out of the house all day long, can't count on her parents, and when her mother is sick, there is no one at home.Zhang Qun began to cry as he listened, "Sister, stop talking. I'll go back now, shall I?"

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Qun looked at Wu Bingbing helplessly and did not speak. Wu Bingbing said: "Don't get out of the car, sit directly in Guangzhou, and hurry back overnight! Your mother's illness is important. Here I will go to Hunan first, and follow Chen Xiaona's clues to investigate." Zhang Qun said: "I was supposed to go to the end with you, but—" "Don't say that, no matter how the next step of the investigation is, I will be very grateful to you if you find the longevity lock. You have been with me for so many days, and you have already found the clue, and I will continue to track it down."

Zhang Qun said: "Why don't you get off the car when you arrive in Hubei and look for your boyfriend? Didn't you say that he went to Shennongjia for an internship a month ago? After I leave, ask him to help you and accompany you to investigate?" "I didn't go to the internship, so I'm sorry to drag others away." "It's not someone else, it's your boyfriend! You need his help at a critical moment!" "He hasn't had a phone for two weeks. Maybe it's hard to find in the mountains?" Then, Wu Bingbing tried to call Guo Kai, but the phone kept disconnecting and was not in the service area.I don't know the phone numbers of other people, so I am really anxious.Later she called a female classmate who stayed in school.The boyfriend of the female classmate also went there for an internship.She told Wu Bingbing that the group of intern students lived in Fang County in northwestern Hubei, a county adjacent to the Shennongjia forest area.

In this way, when the train arrived in Wuhan, Wu Bingbing and Zhang Qun broke up and got off the train first.Zhang Qun continued to move forward in the car.Wu Bingbing changed trains from Wuhan to the west, and arrived in Xiangfan the next morning.There are still 150 kilometers from here to Fangxian County, and she took a long-distance bus again.There are mountain roads to go forward, and she is very excited along the way.Tall paulownia, Huashan pine, and tall fir trees pass by outside the car window.The chestnut, hawthorn, and wild cherry trees all over the mountains and plains reveal the colorful and different colors dyed by the autumn frost.Occasionally, a beautiful long-tailed pheasant will fly by the side of the road, and one or two macaques will poke their heads in the bushes not far away.

Wu Bingbing was in a good mood and didn't feel the bumps in the car at all, nor did she feel tired from the journey.As she walked and asked, she came to the guest house in Hongta Township, Fang County.The base camp of the internship team is here.There was only one sick girl guarding the luggage in the room. She said that the professor took everyone to live at the base of the Han tombs in Gaopai Village, Ben Township, and was investigating and researching those Han tombs.When she was about to call the teacher who was intern, Wu Bingbing stopped her after thinking about it, and said that she should let me go directly, and I would surprise them all!

When Bingbing walked to the base of the Han Tombs, it was already noon, and he saw a tent in the distance, probably taking a lunch break after eating, and there was no one outside the tent.She opened a nearby tent and saw two boys in the class. One of them ran out and said that it was great that she could come, and then she was going to take her to the professor.Bingbing said, don't be busy, let the professor rest, where is Guo Kai, I will find him first. After asking for a long time, the boy pointed his chin to the tent next to Guo Kai.Afterwards, Wu Bingbing thought, it's no wonder the boy hesitated to say anything, and it's no wonder he got into the tent immediately after telling her, because he didn't want to see an embarrassing scene.At that time, she was smiling, and when she crept into the tent with an amused posture, she saw Guo Kai sleeping with a girl.The two of them covered a quilt and hugged each other when they fell asleep...

Wu Bingbing backed out silently, weeping as she walked, and staggered back to the place where she got off the car when she came back. Without even asking a question, she jumped into a car bound for the county seat. When the car drove away from the small town, she looked back and saw a group of people at the end of the long street, chasing them from a distance.That is the professor and her classmates.But she didn't want to stop, so she buried her head down, hugged her knees and cried, the louder she cried, the whole car looked at her... Wu Bingbing went to Hunan alone.Guo Kai called her cell phone again and again, and she finally answered it in the car.Guo Kai explained to her that he didn't betray her on purpose, that he was bitten by a poisonous snake in the mountains, and it was the girl who took drugs for him with her mouth, and then took care of him for a few days and nights, and he was very grateful to her.She took the initiative to chase him and made him unable to control it. He was sorry for her.She hung up the line before she finished listening, and turned her face out of the window with tears in her eyes.

Wu Bingbing came to Hengyang City, according to the address written down by the nurse Hongsheng, she first found the work unit of Chen Xiaona's father Chen Chaolin.This is a large mechanical engineering company. An old man sitting in the communication room said that Mr. Chen was transferred to the Three Gorges Project, which was at the construction site in Yichang, Hubei.When asked where Chen Gong's family lived, the other party told her that she was in a certain community. Wu Bingbing asked and found the neighborhood.Because Gu Hongsheng also provided that Chen Chaolin's wife is Duan Hong, who works in the City Academy of Painting.So, she told the security guard in the community that she was looking for Chen Gong's wife, Duan Hong.

Unexpectedly, the security guard glared at her and said that Teacher Duan had passed away three years ago. Wu Bingbing asked in astonishment: "You said his wife Duan Hong... died?" The security guard nodded. "Yes, Mr. Chen rarely came back after that." "How many children in Mr. Chen's family?" "Like one?" "Daughter?" "It's a daughter." "Is it called Chen Xiaona?" "I don't know her name, but she keeps coming here." "Where does she live?" "She got married and went out to live. She doesn't know what unit the man is in."

"Okay then, thank you." Wu Bingbing was a little at a loss.Chen Xiaona does exist, her family is also real, not a fictitious name, Chen Xiaona is not Wang Xiaoyue, she may just look alike, there is no need to investigate. When she just turned to leave, the security guard said again: "The daughter of Chen Gong's family seems to work in the Friendship Shopping Mall. Go straight ahead from here and pass two intersections. Where can you find her if you have something to do?" "She's at the mall? Is she a clerk? Isn't she?—" "It's a salesperson. Once she helped Mr. Tian on duty bring things."

Wu Bingbing was confused. Chen Xiaona graduated from university. More than ten years ago, the state provided assignments. There were few people majoring in fine arts. She should be assigned to a college or an art unit. How could she be a salesperson? She followed the route pointed out by the security guard and came to the Friendship Mall.She was even more puzzled when she was pointed to the busy little woman at the grocery counter.The Chen Xiaona in front of her was short and fat, with turmeric skin, she was dozens of miles away from Wang Xiaoyue's image, how could even Gu Hongsheng recognize them wrong? "You—is your name Chen Xiaona?" "Yes! Who are you? What do you want from me?" "Have you ever studied at Xidu Academy of Fine Arts?" "Hi, no, that's Wang Xiaoyue you're talking about." "What? Do you know Wang Xiaoyue?" "What a fuss. Of course I know her." "That's great, that's great..." "Who are you? Her classmate?" "Yes, we are classmates." Waiting until Chen Xiaona got off work, Wu Bingbing followed her to her house.She lived in a very spacious apartment and seemed to be well off and content.Her husband who worked at the tax office hadn't come back yet, but her son who was in primary school screamed and starved to death as soon as he entered the door. Chen Xiaona immediately went into the kitchen to get him something to eat.Wu Bingbing also hurriedly took out the things she bought on the road, and asked the little guy to open it first to fill his stomach.She then went into the kitchen and chatted with Chen Xiaona while helping.Chen Xiaona has a straightforward personality, and she works neatly. She doesn't delay in talking amidst the clanging of pots, pans, pans and spoons, and her speech crackles like firecrackers. "It's all my mother, she likes to meddle in those nonsense things. She started teaching art at the university, and then transferred to the painting academy, and ran around the country painting. I was still young and was often thrown at home. That autumn she went to the Taihang Mountains , Sketching in Wangwushan, lived in the valley for more than two months. When she came back, she said that she met a girl in the mountain village who was good at painting, talented and spiritual, so she wrote her home mailing address. He also said that when he grows up, he would look for her and recommend her to be admitted to the Academy of Fine Arts, so that she might become a great painter. This is just talk, the past is past, and even my mother has forgotten it. I never thought that there would be a year of winter, She suddenly received a letter from that little girl in the mountain village, in which she said that her life experience was very miserable, that there was only one old woman in the family, and she had no money for her to go to school, so she was promised to someone else, who didn't want her to study, She had no choice but to learn it secretly. She didn't forget the teacher's instructions at the beginning, and she was admitted to the university to study fine arts, but after only a few months, the man she was engaged to made trouble in the school, and she was persuaded to leave by the school. Then the man Take her back, often locked in the house and not allowed to go out, let her be his wife and have children. She said that she was not reconciled, and thought about running out every day and re-entering the university. Said that she likes painting and hopes to be a A painter. She hopes that the teacher can help her, help her escape from this big ravine, escape from the tiger's den and wolf's den, and she will be grateful for the rest of her life." Wu Bingbing asked: "Did your mother write back to her? Did you help her?" Chen Xiaona said: "My mother is soft-hearted, of course she will help her. My mother didn't think of an idea how to help her at first, so she wrote back to her first, saying that she hoped that she would not lose her class or painting, and she would take the college entrance examination next year. I applied for a university far away from my hometown, and said that she could recommend the university’s teachers to her. There was no response after the letter was sent. Unexpectedly, two months later, she suddenly came to the door. Although the clothes were very old, the road was messed up She is full of travel and dust, but she doesn't look like a little girl, she is a great beauty. Now that she has come here, you know, my mother is a natural philanthropist, and she likes her from the bottom of her heart, so she stays at home and recognizes her Be a goddaughter. From then on, she went out to paint during the day, reviewed her homework at night, and prepared for the college entrance examination in the fall according to the plan her mother gave her. Later, her parents recognized her as a daughter. She is beautiful, sweet-mouthed and can talk. I became my mother’s darling, and I seemed to want a child. Because before that, I was sick and hospitalized for more than a year, and I couldn’t catch up with the class. I was absent from school in the first year of high school, which disappointed my mother. Later, Xiaoyue proposed to change the name again and again. To follow my father's surname, my parents called her Chen Xiaoyue from then on. I didn't expect to apply for the exam in the fall of the next year, and asked to bring a household registration book to register. My mother thought it over and asked her to use my name. She did very well in the college entrance examination. My mother found someone for her and was admitted to Xidu Academy of Fine Arts. From then on, she used my name. My grades could not keep up and I didn’t have a college entrance examination, so I had to take the recruitment examination and entered the mall as a salesperson.” "Chen Xiaona...I'm sorry, how long has Wang Xiaoyue been at your house?" "It's about a year or so." "Has she been in touch with your family since then?" "Yes. She went to school for four years, and then stayed in school for a few years. She often wrote letters to her mother. Then one day she disappeared suddenly, and there was no news of her. My mother wrote to the school to ask, a person surnamed Ma The letter from the professor said that he was Xiaoyue's husband and said that Xiaoyue committed suicide a few months ago. My mother was very sad and had a serious illness. Mom was thinking about her when she died a few years ago. Tell you something To be honest, I don't like Wang Xiaoyue. She is too scheming, and she can get others to help her wherever she goes. It turns out that she wrote that between her and those men, she fell in love with one and the other. I don’t even bother to look at it.” "Is the letter from her to your mother still there?" "Yes. After my mother passed away, when I was packing things, I found that my mother had put her letters in bunches. Some time ago, I went to my mother's place to look for information, and there was a stack of letters on the bookshelf. She wrote it after she was assigned to the school. It seems that she didn’t write any letters after that. I glanced at it and put it in again.” "Are you sure it's still there?" "It should be, in my mother's study." "Great. Can I see the letters? Is there a picture of her?" "Just a letter to you. There is also a photo of her, which was taken not long after she came to my house." In this way, after eating at Chen Xiaona's house, Wu Bingbing went with her to the family courtyard where she had been in the morning, walked into her mother's tidy and orderly room, and saw the stack of her graduation assignments. There were seven or eight letters written later.She flipped through it briefly, and one of the letters was dated the month before she disappeared.Then, Chen Xiaona took out her mother's album for her to watch.When she saw the photo of Wang Xiaoyue inside, Wu Bingbing was suddenly surprised and excited - this is clearly Jiang Lan's appearance when she was young, this is clearly the Jiang Lan in her early years... Wu Bingbing left Hengyang, Hunan, and took a long-distance bus to the northwest for Chengdu, Sichuan.She wants to investigate the details of Chen Xiaona who stayed in Xidu Academy of Fine Arts after studying. Her cell phone rang, and she saw that it was Guo Kai calling again.He had explained clearly two days ago, and she also understood this man who couldn't stand the temptation of a woman, so what else is worth talking about.She didn't answer, but the call kept ringing stubbornly.Dering, ringing... Deringing, ringing—the sound reminded her of those nights at school when Guo Kai stood downstairs and called her name, insisting that she go downstairs to meet her.get ring ring ring -- She pressed the call button and held the phone away from her ear. "Hey, Bingbing, where are you?" Guo Kai said on the other end of the phone, "Did you hear that?" Bingbing finally said slowly: "Listen, do you have anything else to say?" "Are you all right? I'm suddenly worried about you—" "No need! Tell me what you have to say." "As long as you're okay. I want to tell you that something happened to the girl—dead." "Don't play games with me! Why should I curse her to death, as long as you are happy." "She really died. She died the night before, the day you left. We had a quarrel, and she went to sit on the hillside alone at night, and didn't come back until midnight. When I found her, I found her dead at the foot of the mountain. I don't know if he rolled down the hillside or was chased down by a wild animal, but his whole body is wounded...he died!" "Really dead—?" Wu Bingbing took a deep breath in shock. "It's dead." Guo Kai said on the phone. "Just died after I left the day before yesterday?" "On that night..." "How could it be—?" She looked around, and the car was full of strange faces.She had a guess, but she didn't dare to say it.Could it be that Jiang Lan did it?Could it be that ghost has been following me? "Who knew this would happen, even her family said she shouldn't be too hard on it." "You called? Didn't you suspect that I killed her?" "How could it be! She can only blame herself. I didn't want to tell you about this, but after thinking about it, I still didn't feel at ease. I was always worried about you, so I called you. I know I hurt you, you must It's more painful than her, I'm afraid you won't be able to think about it—" "No. By the way, was she suicidal that day?" "Ghost knows. It's just a few quarrels. Who would have thought that she would be so small-minded." After hanging up the phone, Wu Bingbing suddenly became cold for no reason.Looking at the rapidly passing hillsides and trees outside the car window, and the sleeping passengers in the long-distance car, she felt a kind of fear and fatigue that penetrated into the bone marrow. On the way, Wu Bingbing opened the backpack, took out the stack of letters Chen Xiaona gave her, and read each letter carefully.Among them, the inside information disclosed in two letters attracted her special attention.The content is as follows—— The letter was trembling in his hand, Wu Bingbing felt sore in his heart, and tears flowed down unconsciously. At this time, the train suddenly wowed and rushed into the cave, and the cold wind enveloped her face.She suddenly felt lonely and helpless like falling into an abyss, her whole body was numb like freezing, and her heart was unspeakably empty and cold. In the darkness, it seemed as if a hand stretched out from behind, stroking her head and shoulders, and seemed to be soothing her gently.She felt an unspeakable grievance, and she fell down on the tea seat in front of her and began to cry.The crying became louder and louder, turning into an unstoppable wail...