Du Cheng looked back at the iron file rack where the file was taken off. It was full of case files that had not yet been investigated. In other words, these cases had not been solved. Du Cheng put down the file with the kraft paper cover, and reached for the cigarette case.The dusty fingers rubbed against the shiny tabletop, making a slight rustling sound. He wiped his hands casually on his body, took out a cigarette and lit it.The young archivist coughed, got up from her seat, and opened the window. The cold wind poured in, and the case file placed on the table was blown loudly.The female administrator's body trembled.Seeing this, Du Cheng put out his cigarette hastily, apologized repeatedly and left the file room. When he came to the corridor, Du Cheng thought about it and went to the criminal police brigade's office. Zhang Zhenliang was sitting at his desk eating instant noodles, when he saw Du Cheng coming in, he hurriedly got up and said hello: "Master, when did you come, have you eaten yet?" "No." Du Cheng threw the satchel on the table, "Make a bag for me." "How can I let you eat this." Zhang Zhenliang picked up his coat, "Let's go, let's go out and eat something good." "No, no, no." Du Cheng sat down on the chair and lit the cigarette again, "Instant noodles are fine - let's talk to you." Ten minutes later, two men, one old and one young, were sitting at the table, head to head, swallowing hot noodles.After eating, Zhang Zhenliang cleaned up the noodle bucket, and Du Cheng took out the medicine bottle from his bag, took out the pills, drank water and swallowed them.Zhang Zhenliang looked at him silently, poured another cup of hot water and put it in front of Du Cheng. "Come to the bureau to check the file?" "Yeah." Du Cheng put the file on the table between the two, "How did you find out about this case?" "You always thought that you caught the wrong person back then, and I was thinking that if the murderer really wasn't caught, then he might commit the crime again." Zhang Zhenliang pointed to the file, "It turned out that I discovered this." Du Cheng looked at him: "What do you think?" "Stop coming! I won't be fooled this time." Zhang Zhenliang leaned back on the chair, "You speak first." Du Cheng smiled: "This case is indeed very similar to the series of rape and murder cases in 1990." rape.Choke.Cutting up corpses with sharps.Black plastic bag with cross-shaped fastening, sealed with scotch tape.Body parts scattered around.No fingerprints or other traces were extracted. This is just like the method used in the series of rape and murder two years ago.However, Du Cheng still has question marks in his heart. "Resemblance?" Zhang Zhenliang knocked on the file, "It's not just a resemblance, the murderer did it." Du Cheng remained silent, lit a cigarette, and looked at the cover of the file thoughtfully. "If you think it's okay, I'll apply to the bureau for a new investigation." Zhang Zhenliang lowered his voice, "I don't care who I offend, and Duan Bureau may not object, after all, the old guys have retired, even if they lose face, it's not because of him Face." Du Cheng shook his head: "There are still doubts." "Suspicious?" "First, if you were a murderer and you already had a scapegoat, would you take the risk of committing another crime?" "This guy is a lunatic!" Zhang Zhenliang's eyes widened. "After the wind has passed, he can't control himself. It's normal to strike again." "If your deduction is correct, then why hasn't there been a similar case in City C in the next 20 years?" Du Cheng stretched out two fingers, "This is the second doubtful point." Zhang Zhenliang was at a loss for words, looked at Du Cheng blankly, and after a while, squeezed out a few words: "Is there a third one?" "Yes." Du Cheng opened the file and pointed to a certain page, "Look here." Zhang Zhenliang looked over subconsciously, and read aloud: "...the wound at the broken end is not neat, and there are many flaps on the wound wall..." "What does this mean?" Zhang Zhenliang did not answer, lit a cigarette, and his expression became serious. "The method of dismembering the corpse is unskilled." "This is the third doubtful point." Du Cheng closed the file, "Twenty-three years ago, after the murderer committed the crime for the fourth time, the margins of the corpse parts were neat and the walls were smooth—this bastard is already proficient at dismembering corpses, isn't it? Will the craftsmanship go backwards?" Zhang Zhenliang thought for a while, then suddenly shivered. "Master," he raised his head, his face already turning pale, "what do you mean?" Du Cheng sat back in his chair and looked at Zhang Zhenliang meaningfully. Luo Shaohua spent the entire Spring Festival holiday at home with his wife and daughter in a down-to-earth manner.This greatly improved the relationship between him and Luo Ying.Her daughter no longer paid any attention to his whereabouts. On the morning of the eighth day of the first lunar month after the holiday, Luo Ying even returned the car keys to him. Luo Shaohua was peeling eggs for his grandson Xiang Chunhui, when he saw the car keys thrown on the dining table, he looked up at Luo Ying. "You're not driving today?" "No, there is no place to stop." Luo Ying lowered her eyelids, "If you want to go out, just drive." After that, she picked up her bag and went to the hall to change her shoes.Just after going out, he turned back and threw a newspaper on the shoe cabinet. "Dad, today's newspaper." Luo Shaohua responded, put down the half-peeled egg, got up and walked to the shoe cabinet, and opened the newspaper to read. Seeing his concentration, Luo Ying felt both puzzled and amused, and said angrily, "This old man cares about state affairs." Luo Shaohua ignored her.Luo Ying pouted at him and closed the door to go to work. After reading the front page while standing, Luo Shaohua turned to the local news again. After browsing through it, he was sure that there was no information he wanted, so he folded the newspaper and returned to the dining table. This is a habit he has developed recently. The first thing he does every morning is to check whether the morning newspaper is delivered to his door.Luo Ying felt it was strange, and asked several times, but was always answered vaguely and perfunctorily.Jin Feng remained calm, just paying attention to Luo Shaohua's expression when he was reading the newspaper. After breakfast, Luo Shaohua washed the dishes, served Jinfeng to take the medicine, and drove his grandson to do his winter vacation homework.He watched TV for a while, wandered around the living room a few times, and finally went to the balcony to smoke. The air is cold, and although there is still a faint smell of gunpowder smoke after setting off firecrackers, the atmosphere of the Spring Festival has disappeared.After a brief carnival, the city returned to its busy, anxious nature.Life has once again shown its indifferent face. Just like this cold climate, the warmth of spring and the blooming of flowers are still far away. After a few days of silence, the road downstairs became bustling again, even more congested.Looking at the row of slowly moving cars, Luo Shaohua could hear the sound of horns one after another, and became more and more irritable. He closed the window and was about to return to the living room, but when he turned around, he saw Jin Feng leaning on the door frame, looking at him. Luo Shaohua was taken aback: "Why did you come out? The wind is so strong, what should I do if I catch a cold?" He quickly stepped forward, hugged Jinfeng's shoulders, and brought her back to the living room. Helping her to sit on the sofa, Luo Shaohua wanted to go back to the bedroom to get the blanket, but Jinfeng held her back. "Shaohua," Jinfeng looked at the closed door of the north bedroom to make sure that his grandson would not hear, "let's talk." Luo Shaohua's body froze all of a sudden, and after a few seconds, he obediently sat opposite her. The husband and wife sat facing each other, they were speechless for a while, and in the end, it was Jinfeng who broke the silence. "Thirty-seven years have passed between us, haven't we?" "Well—married in 1977." "Yes, Luo Ying is thirty-six years old." Jin Feng smiled, "Hui Hui is eleven years old." "It's twelve now." Luo Shaohua couldn't help laughing, and turned to look at the north bedroom, "After April." "Yeah. You've been busy with work for so many years, but you've always taken good care of us." Jinfeng stretched out her hand and gently stroked Luo Shaohua's knee, "I'm not in good health, which has dragged you down." "You two, what are you talking about?" "Actually, I know you have something on your mind. Don't worry, Luo Ying and I can take care of ourselves and take care of Huihui. I have dragged you down for so many years..." "What did you say?!" Luo Shaohua suddenly raised his head, realizing that there was something in Jinfeng's words, "You misunderstood..." "You misunderstood." Jin Feng's face was calm, "I understand you, you were busy some time ago, it must not be a mess." Suddenly, a playful smile emerged from the corner of Jinfeng's mouth. "You sloppy old man, who else could have taken a fancy to you but me?" Luo Shaohua was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing, jumped up, and made a gesture to hit someone, but in the end he just patted Jinfeng on the face lightly. Jin Feng avoided with a smile.The old couple of more than 30 years made a fuss, causing Xiang Chunhui to poke his head out of the bedroom. "Grandma, grandpa, what are you doing?" "It's okay, we're just kidding around." Luo Shaohua scowled, but couldn't stop the smile on his face, "Hurry up and do your homework, or be careful when your mother comes back to clean you up." Sticking out his tongue to Chunhui, he retreated into the bedroom. Luo Shaohua turned around and smiled at Jinfeng: "You old lady, you have no shape. Look, did you make your grandson laugh at you?" Jin Feng smiled without saying a word, but her expression gradually became solemn. "Can you tell me what you're doing?" Luo Shaohua's smile subsided all of a sudden, and after a moment, he shook his head: "No—at least not now." Jin Feng seemed to be prepared for this answer, and there was no disappointment on his face: "Is this matter important to you?" "Important." Luo Shaohua thought for a while and added, "Very important." "Is there any danger?" "No." Luo Shaohua smiled, "Have you forgotten what I do?" "Well, I see." Jin Feng sat up straight, put her hands on her lap, let out a long breath, "Go." Luo Shaohua raised his head: "Huh?" "Go. Do what is important to you, otherwise you will not be safe." Jinfeng took the car key and handed it to Luo Shaohua, "I will explain to Luo Ying, don't worry, I will bring Huihui ,no problem." Holding the car keys, Luo Shaohua stared blankly at his wife. After a long while, he said slowly, "I will tell you after this matter is over." "Yeah." Jin Feng still had a calm smile on his face, "I'll wait." During these days, City C was calm and peaceful, except for the unlucky ones who were sent to the hospital because of excessive drinking or overeating, there were a few children who were injured by firecrackers.No one was murdered.The devil is also celebrating the new year. Luo Shaohua could only learn about City C in the past few days through newspapers, and the case that most concerned him did not happen, which somewhat comforted him.Therefore, when he walked into the Lvzhuyuan community, his footsteps were not as heavy as before, and he even looked leisurely. Walking to Building 22, he looked up to the window of Room 501, Unit 4.Because it was daytime, it was impossible to determine whether there was anyone in the room.Luo Shaohua thought for a while, then turned and walked towards the opposite building. Climbing to the sixth floor, Luo Shaohua stood in the corridor and took out his binoculars to peek at Lin Guodong's house.The interior furnishings are still the same, but a little messy.The laptop is placed on the desk in a closed state.Luo Shaohua moved the binoculars left and right, but there was no sign of any activity in the room. He went out? Luo Shaohua put down the binoculars and frowned, most of the relaxed mood just now had disappeared.In any case, it was still not reassuring that this guy was not within his surveillance range. He leaned against the wall and lit a cigarette.Judging from Lin Guodong's recent activity pattern, he should just go shopping for vegetables.Well, he'll be back in an hour.However, Luo Shaohua didn't know when he would go out, so all he could do now was wait. smoking.Move your body in a small range in the corridor.Occasionally take a sip of hot water from a thermos.Every twenty minutes, I used a telescope to check what was going on in Lin Guodong's house.Hearing someone's voice downstairs, Luo Shaohua would also hide behind the window and peek carefully.However, a full hour and a half passed, and Lin Guodong's house was still silent. Luo Shaohua began to doubt his own judgment: Did this bastard fall asleep—or died at home? That would be damn good.Luo Shaohua thought maliciously.He moved his already sore and numb legs, thought about it, and decided to go to the opposite side to find out the truth. Luo Shaohua put on the hat of the down jacket and tied it tightly with a scarf, exposing only his nose and eyes.He carried his satchel on his back, went downstairs quietly, walked slowly through the open space between the buildings, looked around, and quickly walked into the corridor of Unit 4 of Building 22. Climbing up to the 5th floor in three steps at a time, Luo Shaohua already felt slightly out of breath.He stood on the platform for a while, and after his heartbeat stabilized, he approached the iron door of Room 501 cautiously, lifted his hat, put his ears on the door, and held his breath. The room was silent, there was no sound at all.Luo Shaohua straightened up, silently looking at the iron gate in front of him.After thinking about it, he decided to take a risk—raised his hand, and knocked lightly on the door a few times. Almost at the same time, Luo Shaohua half turned around, ready to run downstairs quickly.However, after a few seconds passed, there was still no response from the room. Luo Shaohua breathed a sigh of relief - Lin Guodong was indeed not at home.However, the breath was quickly choked in his throat. In his heart, an irresistible impulse suddenly surged: what is it like on the other side of the door? What kind of life is Lin Guodong living? Luo Shaohua realized that except for the scene in that small window, he knew almost nothing about Lin Guodong's daily life.What did he eat, where did he sleep, what kind of books did he read, what websites did he visit, and during those long nights, did he sleep peacefully, or was he tossing and turning? The answer lies inside the iron gate. Luo Shaohua's breathing quickened.If one can understand all this, perhaps one can make the most reliable judgment on him—whether the twenty-odd years of confinement have domesticated Lin Guodong into a docile old man, or just made him hide his fangs and claws? If it turns out to be the former, then it could all be over. Unable to hold back anymore, Luo Shaohua took off the backpack from his shoulders, squatted on the ground, opened it, and took out two wires from a small metal box. He looked around and quickly inserted two wires into the keyhole.However, after only a few stabs, he heard the sound of footsteps coming from downstairs. Luo Shaohua stopped his movements and listened attentively.Soon, the footsteps were getting closer, and it seemed that they were not residents below the fourth floor.He cursed secretly, pinched the wire in his hands, picked up his backpack, and planned to leave first. To be on the safe side, Luo Shaohua decided to go downstairs, otherwise he would be very suspicious if someone came to live on the sixth floor.Just walked down half a floor, I saw a man carrying a big plastic bag, humming a song, walking up step by step. In an instant, Luo Shaohua's mind went blank. Lin Guodong was wearing a gray down jacket, black corduroy trousers, and cotton leather shoes, and passed Luo Shaohua in the corridor.He seemed to raise his head to look at Luo Shaohua, but he didn't seem to. The out-of-tune ditties he hummed without interruption, mixed with the clattering of plastic bags, instantly filled Luo Shaohua's ears. In the past twenty-three years, it was the first time that two people had such close contact.Luo Shaohua could even feel the strength from the opponent's shoulder.Passing through the clothes, the force carried diffuse black air and a sweet smell, as if it still had a sticky texture, clearly pulling Luo Shaohua's body. Less than half a second later, two people staggered past on the steps, one went up and the other went down.Without squinting, Luo Shaohua walked to the fourth floor stiffly, and heard the sound of shaking keys above his head.He tried his best to maintain a mechanical walking posture, until the open space outside the corridor appeared in front of him, and suddenly his whole body went limp. "It's him..." Luo Shaohua gritted his teeth and said to himself, feeling his mouth was already dry, "It can't be wrong..." After his legs stopped shaking, he almost rushed into the opposite building with a gesture of escape.Walking quickly to the monitoring point on the 6th floor, Luo Shaohua took out the binoculars out of breath, and looked at Lin Guodong's home motionlessly. Lin Guodong looked as usual, and behaved as usual.Hang up the laundry, make tea, sit in front of the computer, smoke, turn on the computer.Slightly different from usual, the plastic bag he brought back did not seem to contain daily necessities, but a large stack of printing paper, which seemed to be some kind of manuscript. Lin Guodong put the manuscript next to the computer, studied it first, and then typed quickly on the keyboard.Occasionally, he would stop, open a thick English-Chinese dictionary next to him, look it up, and continue to repeat the same action. After peeping for more than half an hour, Luo Shaohua realized that Lin Guodong was translating documents. That is, he found a job. Lin Guodong's performance seems to indicate two things: first, he did not notice Luo Shaohua's stalking, at least he did not recognize him in the corridor; second, he has adapted and got used to the current life, and began to seek to maintain this kind of life . These signs show that Lin Guodong is now just an old man who wants to spend the rest of his life peacefully. However, Luo Shaohua could no longer trust his own judgment.The encounter in the corridor just now had given him too much stimulation, and he couldn't tell whether he was immersed in the impression of the past and couldn't extricate himself, or he still had a sensitive sense of crime.In any case, Luo Shaohua decided to continue to monitor Lin Guodong.Because any fluke and misjudgment may make the tragedy irreparable again. Therefore, Luo Shaohua stayed at the monitoring point opposite Building 22 until the sun went down, until Luo Ying called to ask him when he would go home.At this time, Lin Guodong had already had a simple dinner. During this time, apart from pouring tea and going to the toilet, he almost stayed in front of the computer, concentrating on translating the document.Perhaps because of the high mental tension, Luo Shaohua's physical strength has reached its limit.In addition, he didn't want Luo Ying to be overly suspicious of him again, so after careful consideration, Luo Shaohua decided to end today's surveillance. The shadow in the opposite corridor finally disappeared, and the reflection from the telescope was no longer visible.Lin Guodong slowly turned his head to the side, looking at the dark window.No one was there. He stood up and walked quickly to the kitchen.Through the small air window, you can see a road outside the community.He hid behind the storage rack, watching Luo Shaohua staggered out of the community, got into a dark blue Santana sedan on the side of the road, started it, and left.The dark red tail lights flickered all the way, and finally completely merged into the night. Lin Guodong suddenly began to breathe heavily, and his nerves, which had been tense for an entire afternoon, finally relaxed.He leaned against the rack, his chest heaving violently.After a while, he wiped the fine sweat from his forehead and staggered back to the room. The indoor lighting is soft, and there is a smell of instant noodles floating in the air.That was the dinner he just ate.Lin Guodong secretly thought it was funny when he thought of his seriousness and pretending to be nonchalant while eating noodles.Then, there was deep resentment. He sat in front of the computer again, staring blankly at the document on the monitor, where the characters were arranged in disorder, both in English and Chinese. "What the fuck!" "Bastard! You bastard!" "How long are you going to force me?!" ... This is the result of Lin Guodong "working" on the computer for a whole afternoon and evening. He tried his best to keep his face calm and his movements slow, but he was completely unable to concentrate on translating this manuscript.The resentment gushing out of his chest turned into vicious words and sentences, which he tapped on this document. He sighed, closed the page without saving, and reopened a new blank document. This is the first job he got after being discharged from the hospital.During the interview in the morning, the boss of the translation company repeatedly looked at him with gray hair and shabby clothes, his eyes were full of ridicule and doubt.An undergraduate degree from a prestigious university is still useful, even though it only comes in exchange for a trial contract of "try to translate a copy first, and hand it over to me before ten o'clock tomorrow morning". It seems that I have to stay up late tonight, otherwise I won't be able to finish my work.Although the salary is very low, Lin Guodong needs this job.Not only to maintain the current life, but more importantly, he needs to know who that person is. On the night of October 27, 1992, who was that ghost wandering in the night of City C? Lin Guodong rubbed his eyes, cheered up, picked up a manuscript, and read it word by word. It was a bid for a small business, full of flashy phrases and empty promises of service.He tried his best to convert those square characters into English words until a complete sentence appeared in his mind...Suddenly, he picked up the thick English-Chinese dictionary at hand and threw it viciously at the glass window! With a crisp sound of "crash", several criss-cross cracks appeared on the glass window, and finally, it shattered into several pieces. The cold wind immediately poured in, and the thick gray cloth curtains were rolled up.Among the flying gray, Lin Guodong saw his face reflected in the broken glass window, his face was distorted and his eyes were tearing apart.
Du Cheng looked back at the iron file rack where the file was taken off. It was full of case files that had not yet been investigated. In other words, these cases had not been solved. Du Cheng put down the file with the kraft paper cover, and reached for the cigarette case.The dusty fingers rubbed against the shiny tabletop, making a slight rustling sound. He wiped his hands casually on his body, took out a cigarette and lit it.The young archivist coughed, got up from her seat, and opened the window. The cold wind poured in, and the case file placed on the table was blown loudly.The female administrator's body trembled.Seeing this, Du Cheng put out his cigarette hastily, apologized repeatedly and left the file room. When he came to the corridor, Du Cheng thought about it and went to the criminal police brigade's office. Zhang Zhenliang was sitting at his desk eating instant noodles, when he saw Du Cheng coming in, he hurriedly got up and said hello: "Master, when did you come, have you eaten yet?" "No." Du Cheng threw the satchel on the table, "Make a bag for me." "How can I let you eat this." Zhang Zhenliang picked up his coat, "Let's go, let's go out and eat something good." "No, no, no." Du Cheng sat down on the chair and lit the cigarette again, "Instant noodles are fine - let's talk to you." Ten minutes later, two men, one old and one young, were sitting at the table, head to head, swallowing hot noodles.After eating, Zhang Zhenliang cleaned up the noodle bucket, and Du Cheng took out the medicine bottle from his bag, took out the pills, drank water and swallowed them.Zhang Zhenliang looked at him silently, poured another cup of hot water and put it in front of Du Cheng. "Come to the bureau to check the file?" "Yeah." Du Cheng put the file on the table between the two, "How did you find out about this case?" "You always thought that you caught the wrong person back then, and I was thinking that if the murderer really wasn't caught, then he might commit the crime again." Zhang Zhenliang pointed to the file, "It turned out that I discovered this." Du Cheng looked at him: "What do you think?" "Stop coming! I won't be fooled this time." Zhang Zhenliang leaned back on the chair, "You speak first." Du Cheng smiled: "This case is indeed very similar to the series of rape and murder cases in 1990." rape.Choke.Cutting up corpses with sharps.Black plastic bag with cross-shaped fastening, sealed with scotch tape.Body parts scattered around.No fingerprints or other traces were extracted. This is just like the method used in the series of rape and murder two years ago.However, Du Cheng still has question marks in his heart. "Resemblance?" Zhang Zhenliang knocked on the file, "It's not just a resemblance, the murderer did it." Du Cheng remained silent, lit a cigarette, and looked at the cover of the file thoughtfully. "If you think it's okay, I'll apply to the bureau for a new investigation." Zhang Zhenliang lowered his voice, "I don't care who I offend, and Duan Bureau may not object, after all, the old guys have retired, even if they lose face, it's not because of him Face." Du Cheng shook his head: "There are still doubts." "Suspicious?" "First, if you were a murderer and you already had a scapegoat, would you take the risk of committing another crime?" "This guy is a lunatic!" Zhang Zhenliang's eyes widened. "After the wind has passed, he can't control himself. It's normal to strike again." "If your deduction is correct, then why hasn't there been a similar case in City C in the next 20 years?" Du Cheng stretched out two fingers, "This is the second doubtful point." Zhang Zhenliang was at a loss for words, looked at Du Cheng blankly, and after a while, squeezed out a few words: "Is there a third one?" "Yes." Du Cheng opened the file and pointed to a certain page, "Look here." Zhang Zhenliang looked over subconsciously, and read aloud: "...the wound at the broken end is not neat, and there are many flaps on the wound wall..." "What does this mean?" Zhang Zhenliang did not answer, lit a cigarette, and his expression became serious. "The method of dismembering the corpse is unskilled." "This is the third doubtful point." Du Cheng closed the file, "Twenty-three years ago, after the murderer committed the crime for the fourth time, the margins of the corpse parts were neat and the walls were smooth—this bastard is already proficient at dismembering corpses, isn't it? Will the craftsmanship go backwards?" Zhang Zhenliang thought for a while, then suddenly shivered. "Master," he raised his head, his face already turning pale, "what do you mean?" Du Cheng sat back in his chair and looked at Zhang Zhenliang meaningfully. Luo Shaohua spent the entire Spring Festival holiday at home with his wife and daughter in a down-to-earth manner.This greatly improved the relationship between him and Luo Ying.Her daughter no longer paid any attention to his whereabouts. On the morning of the eighth day of the first lunar month after the holiday, Luo Ying even returned the car keys to him. Luo Shaohua was peeling eggs for his grandson Xiang Chunhui, when he saw the car keys thrown on the dining table, he looked up at Luo Ying. "You're not driving today?" "No, there is no place to stop." Luo Ying lowered her eyelids, "If you want to go out, just drive." After that, she picked up her bag and went to the hall to change her shoes.Just after going out, he turned back and threw a newspaper on the shoe cabinet. "Dad, today's newspaper." Luo Shaohua responded, put down the half-peeled egg, got up and walked to the shoe cabinet, and opened the newspaper to read. Seeing his concentration, Luo Ying felt both puzzled and amused, and said angrily, "This old man cares about state affairs." Luo Shaohua ignored her.Luo Ying pouted at him and closed the door to go to work. After reading the front page while standing, Luo Shaohua turned to the local news again. After browsing through it, he was sure that there was no information he wanted, so he folded the newspaper and returned to the dining table. This is a habit he has developed recently. The first thing he does every morning is to check whether the morning newspaper is delivered to his door.Luo Ying felt it was strange, and asked several times, but was always answered vaguely and perfunctorily.Jin Feng remained calm, just paying attention to Luo Shaohua's expression when he was reading the newspaper. After breakfast, Luo Shaohua washed the dishes, served Jinfeng to take the medicine, and drove his grandson to do his winter vacation homework.He watched TV for a while, wandered around the living room a few times, and finally went to the balcony to smoke. The air is cold, and although there is still a faint smell of gunpowder smoke after setting off firecrackers, the atmosphere of the Spring Festival has disappeared.After a brief carnival, the city returned to its busy, anxious nature.Life has once again shown its indifferent face. Just like this cold climate, the warmth of spring and the blooming of flowers are still far away. After a few days of silence, the road downstairs became bustling again, even more congested.Looking at the row of slowly moving cars, Luo Shaohua could hear the sound of horns one after another, and became more and more irritable. He closed the window and was about to return to the living room, but when he turned around, he saw Jin Feng leaning on the door frame, looking at him. Luo Shaohua was taken aback: "Why did you come out? The wind is so strong, what should I do if I catch a cold?" He quickly stepped forward, hugged Jinfeng's shoulders, and brought her back to the living room. Helping her to sit on the sofa, Luo Shaohua wanted to go back to the bedroom to get the blanket, but Jinfeng held her back. "Shaohua," Jinfeng looked at the closed door of the north bedroom to make sure that his grandson would not hear, "let's talk." Luo Shaohua's body froze all of a sudden, and after a few seconds, he obediently sat opposite her. The husband and wife sat facing each other, they were speechless for a while, and in the end, it was Jinfeng who broke the silence. "Thirty-seven years have passed between us, haven't we?" "Well—married in 1977." "Yes, Luo Ying is thirty-six years old." Jin Feng smiled, "Hui Hui is eleven years old." "It's twelve now." Luo Shaohua couldn't help laughing, and turned to look at the north bedroom, "After April." "Yeah. You've been busy with work for so many years, but you've always taken good care of us." Jinfeng stretched out her hand and gently stroked Luo Shaohua's knee, "I'm not in good health, which has dragged you down." "You two, what are you talking about?" "Actually, I know you have something on your mind. Don't worry, Luo Ying and I can take care of ourselves and take care of Huihui. I have dragged you down for so many years..." "What did you say?!" Luo Shaohua suddenly raised his head, realizing that there was something in Jinfeng's words, "You misunderstood..." "You misunderstood." Jin Feng's face was calm, "I understand you, you were busy some time ago, it must not be a mess." Suddenly, a playful smile emerged from the corner of Jinfeng's mouth. "You sloppy old man, who else could have taken a fancy to you but me?" Luo Shaohua was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing, jumped up, and made a gesture to hit someone, but in the end he just patted Jinfeng on the face lightly. Jin Feng avoided with a smile.The old couple of more than 30 years made a fuss, causing Xiang Chunhui to poke his head out of the bedroom. "Grandma, grandpa, what are you doing?" "It's okay, we're just kidding around." Luo Shaohua scowled, but couldn't stop the smile on his face, "Hurry up and do your homework, or be careful when your mother comes back to clean you up." Sticking out his tongue to Chunhui, he retreated into the bedroom. Luo Shaohua turned around and smiled at Jinfeng: "You old lady, you have no shape. Look, did you make your grandson laugh at you?" Jin Feng smiled without saying a word, but her expression gradually became solemn. "Can you tell me what you're doing?" Luo Shaohua's smile subsided all of a sudden, and after a moment, he shook his head: "No—at least not now." Jin Feng seemed to be prepared for this answer, and there was no disappointment on his face: "Is this matter important to you?" "Important." Luo Shaohua thought for a while and added, "Very important." "Is there any danger?" "No." Luo Shaohua smiled, "Have you forgotten what I do?" "Well, I see." Jin Feng sat up straight, put her hands on her lap, let out a long breath, "Go." Luo Shaohua raised his head: "Huh?" "Go. Do what is important to you, otherwise you will not be safe." Jinfeng took the car key and handed it to Luo Shaohua, "I will explain to Luo Ying, don't worry, I will bring Huihui ,no problem." Holding the car keys, Luo Shaohua stared blankly at his wife. After a long while, he said slowly, "I will tell you after this matter is over." "Yeah." Jin Feng still had a calm smile on his face, "I'll wait." During these days, City C was calm and peaceful, except for the unlucky ones who were sent to the hospital because of excessive drinking or overeating, there were a few children who were injured by firecrackers.No one was murdered.The devil is also celebrating the new year. Luo Shaohua could only learn about City C in the past few days through newspapers, and the case that most concerned him did not happen, which somewhat comforted him.Therefore, when he walked into the Lvzhuyuan community, his footsteps were not as heavy as before, and he even looked leisurely. Walking to Building 22, he looked up to the window of Room 501, Unit 4.Because it was daytime, it was impossible to determine whether there was anyone in the room.Luo Shaohua thought for a while, then turned and walked towards the opposite building. Climbing to the sixth floor, Luo Shaohua stood in the corridor and took out his binoculars to peek at Lin Guodong's house.The interior furnishings are still the same, but a little messy.The laptop is placed on the desk in a closed state.Luo Shaohua moved the binoculars left and right, but there was no sign of any activity in the room. He went out? Luo Shaohua put down the binoculars and frowned, most of the relaxed mood just now had disappeared.In any case, it was still not reassuring that this guy was not within his surveillance range. He leaned against the wall and lit a cigarette.Judging from Lin Guodong's recent activity pattern, he should just go shopping for vegetables.Well, he'll be back in an hour.However, Luo Shaohua didn't know when he would go out, so all he could do now was wait. smoking.Move your body in a small range in the corridor.Occasionally take a sip of hot water from a thermos.Every twenty minutes, I used a telescope to check what was going on in Lin Guodong's house.Hearing someone's voice downstairs, Luo Shaohua would also hide behind the window and peek carefully.However, a full hour and a half passed, and Lin Guodong's house was still silent. Luo Shaohua began to doubt his own judgment: Did this bastard fall asleep—or died at home? That would be damn good.Luo Shaohua thought maliciously.He moved his already sore and numb legs, thought about it, and decided to go to the opposite side to find out the truth. Luo Shaohua put on the hat of the down jacket and tied it tightly with a scarf, exposing only his nose and eyes.He carried his satchel on his back, went downstairs quietly, walked slowly through the open space between the buildings, looked around, and quickly walked into the corridor of Unit 4 of Building 22. Climbing up to the 5th floor in three steps at a time, Luo Shaohua already felt slightly out of breath.He stood on the platform for a while, and after his heartbeat stabilized, he approached the iron door of Room 501 cautiously, lifted his hat, put his ears on the door, and held his breath. The room was silent, there was no sound at all.Luo Shaohua straightened up, silently looking at the iron gate in front of him.After thinking about it, he decided to take a risk—raised his hand, and knocked lightly on the door a few times. Almost at the same time, Luo Shaohua half turned around, ready to run downstairs quickly.However, after a few seconds passed, there was still no response from the room. Luo Shaohua breathed a sigh of relief - Lin Guodong was indeed not at home.However, the breath was quickly choked in his throat. In his heart, an irresistible impulse suddenly surged: what is it like on the other side of the door? What kind of life is Lin Guodong living? Luo Shaohua realized that except for the scene in that small window, he knew almost nothing about Lin Guodong's daily life.What did he eat, where did he sleep, what kind of books did he read, what websites did he visit, and during those long nights, did he sleep peacefully, or was he tossing and turning? The answer lies inside the iron gate. Luo Shaohua's breathing quickened.If one can understand all this, perhaps one can make the most reliable judgment on him—whether the twenty-odd years of confinement have domesticated Lin Guodong into a docile old man, or just made him hide his fangs and claws? If it turns out to be the former, then it could all be over. Unable to hold back anymore, Luo Shaohua took off the backpack from his shoulders, squatted on the ground, opened it, and took out two wires from a small metal box. He looked around and quickly inserted two wires into the keyhole.However, after only a few stabs, he heard the sound of footsteps coming from downstairs. Luo Shaohua stopped his movements and listened attentively.Soon, the footsteps were getting closer, and it seemed that they were not residents below the fourth floor.He cursed secretly, pinched the wire in his hands, picked up his backpack, and planned to leave first. To be on the safe side, Luo Shaohua decided to go downstairs, otherwise he would be very suspicious if someone came to live on the sixth floor.Just walked down half a floor, I saw a man carrying a big plastic bag, humming a song, walking up step by step. In an instant, Luo Shaohua's mind went blank. Lin Guodong was wearing a gray down jacket, black corduroy trousers, and cotton leather shoes, and passed Luo Shaohua in the corridor.He seemed to raise his head to look at Luo Shaohua, but he didn't seem to. The out-of-tune ditties he hummed without interruption, mixed with the clattering of plastic bags, instantly filled Luo Shaohua's ears. In the past twenty-three years, it was the first time that two people had such close contact.Luo Shaohua could even feel the strength from the opponent's shoulder.Passing through the clothes, the force carried diffuse black air and a sweet smell, as if it still had a sticky texture, clearly pulling Luo Shaohua's body. Less than half a second later, two people staggered past on the steps, one went up and the other went down.Without squinting, Luo Shaohua walked to the fourth floor stiffly, and heard the sound of shaking keys above his head.He tried his best to maintain a mechanical walking posture, until the open space outside the corridor appeared in front of him, and suddenly his whole body went limp. "It's him..." Luo Shaohua gritted his teeth and said to himself, feeling his mouth was already dry, "It can't be wrong..." After his legs stopped shaking, he almost rushed into the opposite building with a gesture of escape.Walking quickly to the monitoring point on the 6th floor, Luo Shaohua took out the binoculars out of breath, and looked at Lin Guodong's home motionlessly. Lin Guodong looked as usual, and behaved as usual.Hang up the laundry, make tea, sit in front of the computer, smoke, turn on the computer.Slightly different from usual, the plastic bag he brought back did not seem to contain daily necessities, but a large stack of printing paper, which seemed to be some kind of manuscript. Lin Guodong put the manuscript next to the computer, studied it first, and then typed quickly on the keyboard.Occasionally, he would stop, open a thick English-Chinese dictionary next to him, look it up, and continue to repeat the same action. After peeping for more than half an hour, Luo Shaohua realized that Lin Guodong was translating documents. That is, he found a job. Lin Guodong's performance seems to indicate two things: first, he did not notice Luo Shaohua's stalking, at least he did not recognize him in the corridor; second, he has adapted and got used to the current life, and began to seek to maintain this kind of life . These signs show that Lin Guodong is now just an old man who wants to spend the rest of his life peacefully. However, Luo Shaohua could no longer trust his own judgment.The encounter in the corridor just now had given him too much stimulation, and he couldn't tell whether he was immersed in the impression of the past and couldn't extricate himself, or he still had a sensitive sense of crime.In any case, Luo Shaohua decided to continue to monitor Lin Guodong.Because any fluke and misjudgment may make the tragedy irreparable again. Therefore, Luo Shaohua stayed at the monitoring point opposite Building 22 until the sun went down, until Luo Ying called to ask him when he would go home.At this time, Lin Guodong had already had a simple dinner. During this time, apart from pouring tea and going to the toilet, he almost stayed in front of the computer, concentrating on translating the document.Perhaps because of the high mental tension, Luo Shaohua's physical strength has reached its limit.In addition, he didn't want Luo Ying to be overly suspicious of him again, so after careful consideration, Luo Shaohua decided to end today's surveillance. The shadow in the opposite corridor finally disappeared, and the reflection from the telescope was no longer visible.Lin Guodong slowly turned his head to the side, looking at the dark window.No one was there. He stood up and walked quickly to the kitchen.Through the small air window, you can see a road outside the community.He hid behind the storage rack, watching Luo Shaohua staggered out of the community, got into a dark blue Santana sedan on the side of the road, started it, and left.The dark red tail lights flickered all the way, and finally completely merged into the night. Lin Guodong suddenly began to breathe heavily, and his nerves, which had been tense for an entire afternoon, finally relaxed.He leaned against the rack, his chest heaving violently.After a while, he wiped the fine sweat from his forehead and staggered back to the room. The indoor lighting is soft, and there is a smell of instant noodles floating in the air.That was the dinner he just ate.Lin Guodong secretly thought it was funny when he thought of his seriousness and pretending to be nonchalant while eating noodles.Then, there was deep resentment. He sat in front of the computer again, staring blankly at the document on the monitor, where the characters were arranged in disorder, both in English and Chinese. "What the fuck!" "Bastard! You bastard!" "How long are you going to force me?!" ... This is the result of Lin Guodong "working" on the computer for a whole afternoon and evening. He tried his best to keep his face calm and his movements slow, but he was completely unable to concentrate on translating this manuscript.The resentment gushing out of his chest turned into vicious words and sentences, which he tapped on this document. He sighed, closed the page without saving, and reopened a new blank document. This is the first job he got after being discharged from the hospital.During the interview in the morning, the boss of the translation company repeatedly looked at him with gray hair and shabby clothes, his eyes were full of ridicule and doubt.An undergraduate degree from a prestigious university is still useful, even though it only comes in exchange for a trial contract of "try to translate a copy first, and hand it over to me before ten o'clock tomorrow morning". It seems that I have to stay up late tonight, otherwise I won't be able to finish my work.Although the salary is very low, Lin Guodong needs this job.Not only to maintain the current life, but more importantly, he needs to know who that person is. On the night of October 27, 1992, who was that ghost wandering in the night of City C? Lin Guodong rubbed his eyes, cheered up, picked up a manuscript, and read it word by word. It was a bid for a small business, full of flashy phrases and empty promises of service.He tried his best to convert those square characters into English words until a complete sentence appeared in his mind...Suddenly, he picked up the thick English-Chinese dictionary at hand and threw it viciously at the glass window! With a crisp sound of "crash", several criss-cross cracks appeared on the glass window, and finally, it shattered into several pieces. The cold wind immediately poured in, and the thick gray cloth curtains were rolled up.Among the flying gray, Lin Guodong saw his face reflected in the broken glass window, his face was distorted and his eyes were tearing apart.
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