Chapter 14 Chapter 14 Suicide

Around ten o'clock at night, the husband did not return.The phone rang in the hallway.The babysitter had already fallen asleep, and Nobuko walked out of the living room, unable to guess who was calling at this time.Of course it won't be the husband, no matter how late he is or stays away, the husband will never call and tell Xinzi.She picked up the phone. "I'm Yanchuan." The other party didn't speak immediately, so Xinzi greeted him first. "Sorry." A man's voice.After a short apology, I hung up the phone. Nobuko returned to the living room to continue reading her book, an introductory book on "limnology".The young man I met by chance when I returned to Changgang last time knew about this subject, and it was always unforgettable afterwards.This subject, as the youth said, is not widely known.It can be seen from the fact that only one or two related books have been published.

The summer lectures are about economics, but she also has a strong interest in knowledge in her unknown fields, which is a deep-rooted habit.Holding the book, she would think of the scene of going to school under the scorching sun every day. At this time, the long-lost figure of Asano Tadao appeared in front of her eyes.Some time earlier, he had disappeared from his consciousness.She thought of the tall, lanky figures strutting forward in the school corridors, and the group of fellow attendees moving in the dimly lit corridors. I don't know when, autumn comes quietly. After Nobuko read three pages of "Limnology", she heard the phone ring again.She put down the book and went into the corridor again. "Hey!"

The other party was silent. Nobuko called again, but the other party was still silent.really weird!Suddenly there was a sound of the phone hanging up.Xinzi put down the phone and thought, she must have dialed the wrong number.Probably the other party heard the wrong voice and thought they dialed the wrong number.It seems to be the same person as last time. She went back to the living room and read another page or two.But the strange thing is that I can't read it anyway, and I always feel that the phone is still ringing, and I can't calm down. At this time, there are still two or three hours before my husband returns home.Twenty minutes later, as if to confirm Nobuko's premonition, the phone rang again.Nobuko was hesitant. Perhaps he had dialed the wrong number the first two times, but would he dial the wrong number the third time?Nobuko didn't get up immediately.

The phone rang at regular intervals, and there was the sound of the partition being opened.The phone kept ringing, and Cheng Zi, who had already fallen asleep, woke up again.Only then did Xinzi stand up, came to the corridor, and ran into Chengzi. "Don't worry about it," she said. "Go to sleep! I'll answer the phone." "Yes. I'm sorry." Cheng Zi cowered in her pajamas and went back to her room. Nobuko picked up the phone. "Hello..." The other party was silent again, this was the third time.Nobuko was not so angry as he was a little uneasy. "Hello!" She greeted again, thinking that if the other party didn't speak again, she would put the phone aside.

"...Is it Yanchuan?" The man's voice was low and hoarse. "Yes." Nobuko was quite unhappy. "...I'm Asano." The voice didn't sound like it, I've heard his voice on the phone before.This time, he didn't expect it to be him before he declared his family, and his voice was much hoarse than before. Nobuko wanted to talk because he was just remembered.But Xinzi couldn't speak, worried that he would make another summons.Since returning from Nagano, he has been silent. "Hi!" Asano called out in a low voice. "It's Nobuko, right?" Asano had never called him that before, and always called him "Shiokawa" instead of calling him by his first name.

Nobuko held her breath. "...I'm really sorry." Asano said suddenly.Xinzi didn't know what to say for a while, and the reason why he felt sudden was because he only said this sentence. Around eleven o'clock the next morning.Hong Zhi finally did not go home.Nobuko stayed in the living room. "Ma'am, call." Cheng Zi came to summon. "that one?" "The other party didn't say his name, but only said that Madam would understand as soon as she heard it." "Who is it?" Xinzi tilted his head wondering. "An elderly woman."

"Oh?" Anyway, listen to the phone first. "I'm Yanchuan." Xinzi reported his name. "Is it Mrs. Yanchuan?" The other party confirmed it. "it's me……" "I'm Asano's mother." Xinzi was deeply surprised and startled, so the voice belonged to her loyal husband and mother, and she heard it when she visited her home last time.However, the voice on the phone was not as solemn and steady as it was then. "It's been a long time since I've greeted you, how rude you are." After Xinzi finished greeting, the other party didn't answer.Nobuko felt something was wrong.

"My faithful husband died at seven o'clock this morning," she said suddenly. Xinzi didn't know what to say for a while.That sentence did reach her ears, but she suspected she had heard it wrong. "Excuse me, what are you talking about?" However, her heartbeat suddenly accelerated. "My loyal husband died at seven o'clock this morning." The same sentence was repeated on the phone, with the same tone. "Ah? Asano is dead?" She asked back. "I'm sorry to trouble you." The mother's suppressed voice trembled. "Suddenly... have you got a sudden illness?" Xinzi suddenly heard a murmur.

"No, he didn't get sick, he committed suicide." "Suicide?" Xinzi felt the voice in his ears suddenly magnified in his head, and he didn't know what to say, so he was at a loss for words. "Loyal husband has caused you trouble, so let me inform you. The family will keep watch tonight." The phone hung up. Nobuko stood beside the telephone, her knees trembling.It's unbelievable that Tadao Asano committed suicide.However, from another perspective, it is not without warning.Since Tadao had been silent since his return from Nagano, Nobuko had begun to forget him.However, his silence has led to such results.Tadao Asano did not forget her, the process of his silence was the process of deciding to commit suicide.

In an instant, all the images of Tadao Asano flashed before Nobuko's eyes.The pictures during the summer lectures, the pictures at his home, and the pictures of seeing off guests for a walk.Asano who traced himself to Yumura Onsen in Kofu... this person committed suicide? ! She returned to the room and sat there for a long time.Loyal husband's mother made a phone call to inform her, do you think she was the cause of her son's suicide?The tone of the phone call was unusual. In this way, last night's phone call was an unusual Asano's voice.The bell had rang twice before, and it must have been Asano.

"I'm sorry." Said the third phone call.Her voice was hoarse, it was a declaration of farewell to Nobuko.The first two silent phone calls must have been hesitating, unable to make up his mind to say goodbye to her... But what did he mean by "I'm sorry" at the end?Is he apologizing because he pestered Nobuko who didn't accept his love? Asano Tadao is an excellent young scholar, but he is too simple.Nobuko was thinking, how could Asano Tadao's mother hate her?My mother said on the phone that the family would be on vigil tonight, which might mean stopping me from going.Relatives and friends must have gathered around his body.The meaning of the loyal husband's mother may be that it is inappropriate for Xinzi to come.But it could also be read that the dead son loved Nobuko, and she should at least come and see during the vigil.The mother's contradictory psychology was revealed in the trembling tone of astonishment. Nobuko came back to her senses and called the florist to order a bouquet.When sending a pure bouquet, she resolutely decided to sign it as "Nobuko".Not writing her husband Shiokawa's surname is Nobuko's minimum compensation to Asano. At seven o'clock in the evening, Nobuko was ready to go to Asano's house.Change into mourning clothes and put the rosary in the handbag.Out of the foyer, the pre-booked taxi was waiting outside. At this moment, her husband's blue car taxied in and stopped.The husband who didn't come back last night is considered early today.Hongzhi seemed quite surprised to see his wife standing in front of the hall, and he was quite surprised by the mourning dress. "What happened?" the husband asked. Nobuko lowered her eyes. "Asano is dead." "Asano?" The husband also seemed unable to accept it immediately. "He is my correspondence teacher!" "Ah?" The husband exclaimed shortly. "That Asano?" He was startled. After all, Nobuko failed to immediately explain that Asano committed suicide. "I don't know too well. Asano's mother called to inform me that I'm going to watch the night now." "..." Hongzhi stood dumbfounded, watching his wife get into the car without blinking. "Nobuko," the husband chased after the car. "When did Asano-kun die?" "This morning." "Is there something wrong?" The husband looked serious. "No contact, no news, no idea." "Hi!" the husband continued. "Is it suicide?" "..." Nobuko's chest rose and fell violently, and her husband also realized that Asano committed suicide. This may be due to his special intuition about the relationship between Asano and his wife.Nobuko can't tell the truth, she has both protection for Asano Tadao and resistance to her husband. "I'll find out when I go and have a look." He asked the driver to close the door.The car left, and the husband stood where he was. Xinzi had mixed feelings in the car, and his heart was overwhelmed.She was thinking about this man who had fallen in love with her even to Nagano, a man she had never seen before.Although there is no reason to repay this love, Nobuko still burst into tears when she learned that this person committed suicide.This is a pair of orphans and widows. How can they bear to meet his mother when they go now? When the car arrived outside Asano's house, Nobuko got off the car a little far away.After many days, he walked into the courtyard gate of his house again, and a black-framed wooden sign with "Ji Zhong" was hung on the door.Two or three neighbors stood there looking into the house, and the lights were brightly reflected on the glass windows. Xinzi opened the wooden lattice door, and the strong scent of thread rushed into his nostrils. The hall was full of visitors' shoes and clogs. Before Nobuko could speak, a woman in a black suit and skirt walked out of the room.This is Yasuko Kusama. Although she never had a friendly conversation with her, Nobuko still remembered this young woman. She was always looking at her longingly from somewhere. She had a round face, big eyes, and was very beautiful.But now Taizi's plump and round cheeks have collapsed, as if she was five or six years older. "Please don't move." That means don't come into the house.Yasuko went down the steps and put on her shoes. "Excuse me, please go outside and talk." Together to the dim yard, Yasuko suddenly turned around. "Shiokawa Nobuko..." She fixed her eyes on Nobuko and said strongly. "We don't welcome you here!" "what?" "I love Tadao Asano very much. You were the one who killed him. Go back! In consideration of Tadao's mood, the bouquet you entrusted to him is placed beside his pillow..."