After noon on Monday, May 8.
Huang Jie sat on the sofa in the living room, staring blankly at the aunt wearing an apron.The apron on Fang Jiang was left by Sakie. Since it is a full-face apron with sleeves, it looks completely different from the previous shape when worn by the fat Fang Jiang.Although Fangjiang and Sakieda are sisters, they are very different in appearance, voice, physique and other aspects.
Maybe not as good as….Huang Jie suddenly had this idea.If there is a person who looks like a mother in the family, it will definitely make yourself feel uneasy.Not only that, but I will miss my mother even more than now.Huang Jie cried for a long time and kept beating his knees before finally accepting the fact that his mother was no longer alive.
What happens to a person after he dies?
In the past, Huang Jie once asked Sakie this question, which is not a question with far-reaching meaning.It was drizzling that day, and Sakieda and Osuke were holding umbrellas side by side, and were about to go to the department store to buy new shoes.At that time, Huang Jie had just entered the second grade, so it was three years ago.Three years ago was the period when Sakieda found out that the cancer cells in the body recurred again, but I don't know if it was before or after that.
Judging from Sakie's answer at the time, it should be later.
The original question was "what happens to a cat when it dies".From the other side of the road came a few elementary school students, stepping on the puddles on the ground while singing "Touching the Cat" (a famous Japanese nursery rhyme) with randomly changed lyrics.The tone-deaf singing gradually faded away, and Huang Jie could only understand part of the lyrics.
"What happens to a cat when it dies?"
Regarding Huangsuke's naive question, Sakie, who was holding an umbrella, tilted his head slightly, looking down at Huangsuke while thinking about how to answer.
"The cat isn't actually dead."
Huang Jie couldn't understand the answer.Sakie narrowed her eyes and continued to explain:
"The cat wasn't actually stepped on, so it didn't die. That song was a lie."
"Cheating?"
"Yes, deceitful."
It turned out to be a lie.The naive Huang Jie believed it.Since it is a lie, there is no need to ask what will become after death, even if it is known, it is meaningless.
The two continued to walk on the rainy road. At this time, another question appeared in Huang Jie's mind.A few years ago, Huang Jie had attended the funeral of his grandfather.Grandpa's death was not a lie, he really died.Including Yoichiro, Sakieda and all relatives said so.
What happens to a person after he dies?
After buying shoes at the department store and leaving the cash register, Osuke asked Sakie this question.This time, Sakueda immediately gave him an answer.
"It's gone."
When people die, they disappear.
It turned out that Grandpa had indeed disappeared.
"What will become of it when it disappears?"
After Huang Jie asked this sentence, Sakie turned to look at him, put his palm on his cheek, and moved closer.Whenever Sakueda intends to say something important to Huangsuke, she will always make such an action.When Huangsuke took out the kitchen knife to study without authorization, and when Huangsuke lied and didn't go to swimming class, Sakieda always warned in this way.
"After disappearing..."
This time, Sakueda only said a very brief sentence.
"There's nothing left."
Once gone, there is nothing left.
Sakie kept staring at Huangsuke.
Later, Sakieda and Huang Jie went to the bathroom.Because Sakie has not come out of the women's toilet for a long time, Huang Jie is very worried.When he walked towards the entrance of the women's bathroom and was about to call his mother, he saw Sakie walking towards him.Before Huangsuke could raise his head, Sakieda had already hugged her with both hands and pulled her over forcefully.Then, Sakie squatted in front of Huangsuke, wrapped his hands around Huangsuke's back, and buried Huangsuke's face in his chest.Huang Jie couldn't move, feeling very uncomfortable.He smelled the rain and heard Sakieda's breathing.Sakieda's breathing became more and more disordered, and Huangsuke had never heard such a rhythmic breathing sound.After a long time, Sakie finally regained his composure, and his breathing gradually became normal.Huang Jie thought to herself, is mother crying?He began to wonder if he had asked the wrong question just now, maybe he shouldn't have asked such a question at all.
Therefore, Huang Jie never asks this question again, no matter to whom.
Three years later, Sakie disappeared.After disappearing...
Sure enough, there was really nothing left.
Sakieda no longer exists anywhere, her body has been burned in the crematorium...
Suddenly, Huang Jie came back to his senses from the memory of the past.He thought of yesterday's wonderful experience.
What the hell is going on?
When meeting the Shuicheng family outside the crematorium, Hui Zeng squatted in front of Huangjie and moved her face closer to him.At that moment, a strange image suddenly appeared in front of Huang Jie's eyes, as if a movie screen suddenly jumped in front of his eyes.Because of that image, Huangsuke didn't even hear Aki's call.
what exactly is it?That image..., that wondrous image..., two sweaty bodies...
Unclothed body...
"Ah Huang, what's wrong?"
Fang Jiang was looking at Huang Jie.He hurriedly raised his head and shook his head.
"nothing."
"Really all right?"
Fang Jiang looked down at Huang Jie worriedly for a while, and finally walked back to the kitchen.Fang Jiang, who has been living in this house for the past few days and takes care of everything, is scheduled to return to his hometown in the countryside in Fukushima tonight.
"Dad, can I go out for a while?"
Huang Jie asked Yoichiro.Yoichiro was sitting on a chair in the kitchen, sipping tea made by Fang Jiang, his back in shirt seemed to be much thinner than before.
"Ah Huang, where are you going?"
Before Yoichiro asked, Fang Jiang spoke first.
"Just walking around. Do I have to stay home?"
"Occasionally, some condolence guests will come to the door, Ah Huang had better say hello to them..."
Fang Jiang said while observing Yoichiro's face.Yoichiro curled his lips, showing a slightly troubled expression.
"Don't you want to stay at home?"
"Hmm. Not really."
Huang Jie answered honestly.
"why?"
"I do not know either."
This is a lie.
Since this morning, people who were unable to attend the vigil and farewell ceremony have come to visit one after another. Most of them are people Sakieda knew at work.They would always say something like "You have to work hard" or "Cheer up" to Huang Jie, which made Huang Jie feel very uncomfortable.He really doesn't know what oil to add?Why do you have to cheer up when your mother is dead?
"Go!"
Yoichiro put on a smiling face, narrowing his eyes under the glasses.
"Thank you Dad!"
Huang Jie got up from the sofa and walked out of the living room. "Ah Huang, this!" Fang Jiang called to stop him when he was putting on his shoes at the door.
"Just keep this phone with you."
Fang Jiang handed him a mobile phone with satellite positioning function.About a year ago, there was a period when elementary school students were often harassed. Yoichiro and Sakieda were quite worried, so they bought this mobile phone for Osuke.But Huangjie is rarely used, and often forgets to bring it when going out.
"Come on, put it in your pocket."
Huang Jie stuffed the phone into his pocket and walked out of the house.On the public corridor, looking out to the glistening sea in the distance.Huangsuke's home is on the fifth floor of an old ten-story apartment building. It takes about ten minutes by bus from Hiratsuka Station on the Tokaido Line to the seaside. Therefore, Sagami Bay can be seen clearly from the public corridor.
Take the elevator to the first floor and walk aimlessly on the street.The gentle sunlight casts short shadows on the asphalt road, and the breeze with the aroma of the sea passes by the nose.
"Huang Jie?"
Looking back, Hui Zheng was standing in front of him in a light gray suit.As soon as Huang Jie saw her, his heart twitched violently, and his mind was full of the images he saw outside the crematorium yesterday.
"good afternoon."
"Good afternoon. Where are you going?"
"I don't want to go anywhere in particular..."
Huang Jie dare not meet Hui's eyes.
"A walk?"
"Yes, take a walk."
"It's work time, and my client happens to live nearby."
I heard Sakieda mention before that Kei's occupation is an insurance salesman.
"Is my teacher Mao at home?"
"Yes. However, occasionally guests come over."
"Well, it's really hard work."
Hui squatted down in front of Huang Jie, and moved her face closer to Huang Jie.The black hair that had been hanging down her shoulders fell down her face.Huang Jie couldn't help shrinking his upper body back a bit, Hui was quite puzzled.
"Huang Jie...is it alright?"
The death of Huangjie's mother and his abnormal attitude are both worrying for Hui.
"It's okay, I'm fine."
Huang Jie looked at Hui and took another step back.Kei felt even more astonished and frowned.
At this moment--
The image appeared in front of Huang Jie's eyes again, exactly the same as what he saw yesterday.That wonderful image that never appeared in memory.
It was a bright room.The vision in front of him was partially blocked by vertical pillars.On the other side of the pillar, two figures were wriggling, two sweaty naked bodies writhing slowly.Huang Jie could not see their faces.However, there was another face to be seen.Beside the two figures lying horizontally, there is a face looking towards Huang Jie.Who the hell is that person?His black bangs were neatly trimmed just above his eyebrows, making him seem like a boy.Could it be yourself?Is your face reflected in a window or mirror?No, there was no pillar in front of the boy.I was locked up, but the boy was free.Then, the field of vision began to move, and the gaze turned to the palm of my hand, holding a square glass bottle in my right hand.what is this?What's in the bottle?Huang Jie had an ominous feeling.What's in the bottle is a very bad thing, and the person holding this thing...
"Huangjie, what's wrong with you?"
"nothing."
Huang Jie barely squeezed out a voice to answer.He didn't dare to look at Hui's face anymore, and turned his back to Hui.
"Ah, Huangjie..."
Ignoring Gu Hui calling behind him, Huang Jie quickly left there, wandering around in the alley, feeling his heart beating wildly.How is this going?Why did I see that strange image yesterday and today?Huang Jie has met Kei many times.Kei often comes to look for Sakieda at home, and Hiyosuke also sees him every time he visits the school, but he has never seen such images in the past.
Could it be that the brain is not normal?
Could it be sick?
Huang Jie wandered around for a while, and returned to the apartment with heavy steps.
On that day, he kept thinking about that strange image in his mind.
The next morning, Huang Jie who woke up in bed was taken aback, felt the inner thighs were icy cold, got up hastily to see, sure enough, he wet the bed.
Huang Jie quickly turned to look at the door, which was closed.He pricked up his ears and listened carefully, but there was no sound, it seemed that Yoichiro was still sleeping in the dormitory.
He picked up the glasses next to the pillow and put them on, tiptoed out of bed, took off the wet pajama pants and underwear, quickly removed the mattress cover, hugged them all in his arms, and sneaked out of the room.The door of the next room was still closed. That room was originally the parents' bedroom, but now it has become Yoichiro's personal bedroom.Huang Jie, who was naked from the lower body, walked through the living room, walked to the dressing room, opened the lid of the washing machine, threw all the clothes and bed sheets in, and pressed the start button.Then I hurried back to my room and put on new underwear and pajamas.But after thinking about it carefully, wearing pajamas that don't match will be suspected, so I decided to change even the pajamas on top.
"Why do you do laundry at this hour?"
Just after changing into pajamas, I saw Yoichiro poking in from the door.Huang Jie hastily made up an excuse:
"I also... want to help with housework."
Upon hearing this, Yoichiro said with a lot of emotion:
"Mom will be very happy if she hears this..."
Huang Jie, who was thankful that the bedwetting was not found, nodded perfunctorily.
"maybe……"
Suddenly, Huang Jie remembered something Sakieda once said.
"Among the second-grade students, one student suddenly wets the bed..."
Sakie is a psychological counselor at an elementary school in Tokyo.This job was introduced by Tian Di, and his duty is to listen to the complaints of students or parents and solve their troubles, and sometimes the objects even include school teachers.Since she is a psychological counselor, it is reasonable to say that what she hears at work cannot even be disclosed to her family members, but Sakieda still occasionally tells Huangsuke about her work experience.
"The child's younger sister was born two months ago. He was originally concerned by his parents, but now the parents have shifted their focus to his younger sister."
"What does that have to do with bedwetting?"
"Because he was afraid that his parents would be snatched away, and hoped to attract their parents' attention by wetting the bed."
"So he did it on purpose?"
"He didn't do it on purpose. Even without that consciousness, the body will behave arbitrarily. Humans are such animals."
Is it because of this that you wet the bed too?Are you afraid that your father will be taken away by others?But I don't have any younger siblings, who will snatch Yoichiro away?
Huang Jie thought and thought, but at this moment he couldn't think of an answer.
The week alone with Yoichiro passed without incident.Huang Jie was very afraid of wetting the bed again, and always tried not to drink water before going to bed.Perhaps the prudence worked, and the staining of the quilt no longer happened.
At noon on Saturday, Yoichiro suddenly went out.Huang Jie was quite surprised, not knowing where Yoichiro had gone.In the evening, Yoichiro came back with a large square package.
"What's that? A chopping board?"
"It's a painting. I bought it in a department store."
Yoichiro unwrapped the wrapping paper on the living room table.It was a ghastly strange painting, displayed in a wooden picture frame. In the painting, the man covered his ears with his hands and opened his mouth. Above the man's head was a red sky.The strokes of the whole painting present a strange distortion.Huang Jie felt as if he had seen this painting.A small rectangular piece of paper is taped to the glass at the edge of the frame and written in pencil - Edvard Munch (1893)
"Ah, this painting was introduced in the art textbook. Did you buy it?"
"Of course it's a reproduction. It's a color print."
"So it's not true."
It's right to think about it, how can a painting that is qualified to be published in a textbook be sold in a department store.
"Do you want to hang this picture in your home?"
Looking at this terrifying painting, Huang Jie couldn't help asking worriedly.Yoichiro nodded first, then shrugged and said:
"Don't worry, Dad will hang it in his room."
Yoichiro didn't intend to hang this painting in the living room or kitchen, which made Osuke really relieved, but still had a bad feeling.Why did Yoichiro buy such a painting?Why would the house, which had just lost Sakie, deliberately decorate it with such horrible paintings?Huang Jie was about to ask, Yoichiro had already stood up holding the picture frame and walked into the room.Huang Jie secretly peeped from the door, and Yoichiro compared the picture frame on the wall of the room, thinking about where to hang the picture.Sometimes he nodded slightly, and sometimes he seemed to be muttering in his mouth.Seeing Yoichiro's behavior, Huangsuke really didn't dare to speak, so he left the door and went back to the living room.For a while, the appearance of that painting was lingering in Huang Jie's head.A man with his ears smashed and his mouth open, a red sky, a distorted landscape.
That night, when Huang Jie was sitting in the corner of the living room staring blankly at Sakie's posthumous photos, the phone rang and "Shuicheng Family" was displayed on the screen.What does Uncle Shuicheng want me to do?Although the number of Uncle Shuicheng's home and mobile phone is recorded in the phone book, he has almost never called or answered it in the past.
"Hey?"
"Ah, Huangjie? I'm Shuicheng."
It turned out that Yaji called.
"Ms. Nishio in your class wants to ask you, will you come to the sports meeting tomorrow?"
"what……"
Huang Jie completely forgot about the sports meeting.But why is Aki calling?
"Why is it a teacher?"
"what?"
"Why didn't the teacher call to ask, but..."
Huang Jie faltered and got up.Huang Jie always called her "Aki" when she was a child.But since I entered the third grade, I don't know why, and I suddenly feel embarrassed to call it that.Ever since I had this feeling, Huang Jie never once called Aki's name properly, but always used vague words such as "in your class" or "do you watch that program at home?" Even the word "you" feels inappropriate to Huang Jie.Huang Jie wanted to call her "Shuicheng" or "Shuicheng classmate" like other students, but she was afraid that changing the name suddenly would make her feel strange, so she never dared to take action.
"Do you want to ask why I called?"
"Yes, why?"
"Of course I'm worried about you and want to know how you are now, so I deliberately find an excuse to call you."
Yaji has been a straightforward child since before.
"...Huangjie, are you alright?"
"fine."
"If possible, I hope you can come to participate in tomorrow's sports meeting. You haven't practiced the school year group dance for a week, so you may not be able to participate, but you can participate in relay races and other events. If you exercise, you may feel better. Teacher Nishio also said that he has already made arrangements, such as horseback riding and fighting, as long as you come, you can participate, and if you don’t want to come, someone else will make up for it. Will you come? "
"let me consider it……"
"come on."
Before hanging up the phone, Huang Jie told her "Maybe I will go".
"Dad, I want to participate in tomorrow's sports meeting."
Huang Jie walked into Yoichiro's room, and Yoichiro, who was originally sitting on a chair facing the desktop computer, turned the chair to face Huang Jie.The painting bought in the evening was finally hung on the wall next to the desk.
"The call just now was from Yaji, right?"
Yoichiro said with a playful smile.
"yes."
"She's worried about you and wants you to go to the sports meeting, right?"
Just listening to Huang Jie's conversation here, I can understand everything, which is amazing.
"Okay, then dad will help you too."
Yoichiro stood up from his chair, clapped his hands on his chest, and said:
"Since it's a sports meeting, you should bring lunch, right?"
"Yeah, no nutritious lunch."
"OK, Dad will get up early to make bento."
"Let's do it together, and I'll help too."
"That's a good idea. Let's make onigiri for the main meal."
"What about the side dishes?"
"Scrambled eggs."
"Meatballs."
"Potato Salad."
"awesome."
"That's the decision."
Huangsuke and Yoichiro raised their right hands at the same time, and stretched out their thumb and index finger to make an "L" shape beside their faces.This gesture is a common signal used by the father and son, but when to use it, Huang Jie himself is not very clear, and Yoichiro is also vague. "Agree", "understand", "don't worry"... can be used in almost all situations. It is convenient to put it nicely, but it is meaningless to put it badly.
"Dad originally planned to finish the report tonight, but since we have to get up early tomorrow, let's forget it."
Yoichiro turned to the computer and put his hand on the mouse.
"Dad, what are you writing?"
Osuke looked over Yoichiro's shoulder to the screen.On the screen is a lengthy horizontal article. Although it is written in Japanese, there are English proper nouns everywhere, making the whole article seem like a big fill-in-the-blank question.The article title is.Of course, Huang Jie didn't understand what that meant.
"Today, Dad went to the hospital to check on the patient's condition... There is a patient whose condition is quite difficult."
Huang Jie kept silent to urge Yoichiro to continue talking.
"That person's disease is Capgras Syndrome, which is a rare disease. People with this disease will treat the people close to them as someone else in disguise.... Just like Dad The young female patient in charge, she kept saying that someone pretended to be her parents. She said that although the two people looked exactly like her parents, they were not her parents."
After Yoichiro explained with concern, he shrugged and said:
"...a strange disease, isn't it?"
Huang Jie didn't know how to answer, so he finally nodded.
"Okay, since I want to make bento, I have to buy some vegetables, why not go now."
So, Huang Jie and Yoichiro walked through the night streets and came to the supermarket.While discussing, the two searched in the store, paid the money and walked out of the store, Huang Jie looked back by chance, a row of yellow square lights in the dark night looked like some kind of traditional market.Thinking about it carefully, this was the first time he came to this supermarket at night.
At ten o'clock in the evening, Huang Jie went to bed, but he suddenly realized that he hadn't gone to the bathroom yet, so he crawled out of the bed again, so he couldn't wet the bed again.Huangsuke, who walked out of the room, saw Yoichiro standing by the kitchen counter, about to put a light blue pill into his mouth.
"What kind of medicine is that?"
"Huh? Oh, I'm going to sleep after taking medicine."
The appearance of Huang Jie seemed to startle Yoichiro.
"It's the so-called sleeping pill. In the hospital, I asked Teacher Tian Di to prescribe it. In fact, I haven't been able to sleep well recently. I always can't fall asleep until it is almost dawn."
"Did you fall asleep at dawn?"
Since the father and son did not sleep in the same room, Huang Jie never found out.Today, yesterday and the day before yesterday, when Huang Jie got up, breakfast was put on the table.So, those breakfasts were made by Yoichiro after staying up all night.
"However, I can sleep well tonight."
Yoichiro smiled slightly, and drank the water in the glass.
"When necessary, you should take medicine obediently, and you can't be brave."
May 14th, the day of the sports meeting.
In the class relay race held in the morning, Huang Jie was chased by three runners in a row, lost his glasses on the way, and was overtaken by the fourth runner when picking up his glasses. His performance was horrible.There are five classes in the fifth grade. In other words, Huang Jie fell from the first to the last.However, the policy of this school's sports meeting is not to rank the students when they reach the finish line, so Huang Jie doesn't particularly mind the result. Instead, just like Aki said on the phone last night, after exercising hard, the mood changes. Much more comfortable.
Lunch break started at 12 o'clock, Osuke and Yoichiro sat down on a cushion in the corner of the campus, and opened a lunch box to eat.Three rice balls per person, plus three boxes of side dishes.
The campus is very lively, full of the voices of children and adults. There are huge square corrugated cardboard hanging from the windows of the school building. I don’t know which grade made it. Seven of them are connected together, and each cardboard has a Japanese character written on it. The pseudonym, which spells "みんなガンバレ" (come on everyone).However, the text seems to have been cut and pasted on molded paper, and the two dots of the voiced sound fell off, and it became "みんなカンハレ".
"Why is there no ranking in the relay race?"
Yoichiro asked while eating the scrambled eggs made by Osuke.He avoided the ketchup-smeared part.
"I don't know why. It's been like this since last year. It seems that the principal said that everything should not be ranked."
"Isn't such a thought... strange?"
"why?"
"Even if there is no ranking in the elementary school sports meeting, you will definitely be ranked in the society in the future, right? It doesn't matter whether it is a company or a hospital. Education, performance, treatment performance, etc. will all be used as judging criteria."
"I see." Huang Jie's mood sank slightly. "Sure enough, it's best to take the first place in everything."
"No, that's not what Dad meant. How should I put it..."
Yoichiro thought for a moment, then said:
"For example, several people are running forward together on the same road, and there is a killer chasing them. In this case, who is most likely to be killed?"
"The slowest man."
"That's right, the person who runs the slowest will be stabbed in the back by the killer. But those who run in front of this person can escape while the killer is killing."
"Indeed."
"However, Huangsuke..." Yoichiro looked at Huangsuke and said, "What if the murderer hides at the end?"
"Will the first runner be killed?"
"That's right, the first person to run to the finish line will be killed. But no one knows where the killer is hiding beforehand, because no murderer will tell others where he is hiding."
Huangsuke seemed to understand what Yoichiro wanted to express.
"Rankings exist in every corner of the world, and sometimes rankings are necessary for the convenience of doing things. But the person who gets the first is not necessarily the most popular, nor is it particularly great."
After speaking, Yoichiro stared at the spoon in his hand and said:
"I wish I could teach people these concepts in elementary school..."
The announcement of "Please take your trash home" came from the school building's radio, and the noise from the surroundings came to my ears again.
"By the way, where is Aki?"
Yoichiro craned his neck to search among the crowd.
"Have Shuicheng and Hui come to cheer for Aki?"
"Ah, they don't seem to be here. I heard that they are very busy at work."
This morning, Huang Jie once saw Ya Ji.At the opening ceremony held on campus, Aki, who was wearing a sports suit, was next to Huangjie's row, but Aki seemed absent-minded and not very energetic.Her tone on the phone sounded the same as usual yesterday, but today she is a different person.
"Then she must be very lonely by herself? Do you want to invite her to have lunch together?"
Huangsuke and Yoichiro stood up on the mat, looking around.Just in time, Huang Jie saw Ya Ji was about to cross the campus alone.The white arms and legs exposed from a pair of short-sleeved shorts make Aki stand out even from a distance.Huang Jie originally wanted to call her, but didn't know how to address her, so he patted Yoichiro's arm and pointed in Aki's direction.
"Did you find it? Ah... it's really there. Hey! Aki!"
In terms of a male voice, Yoichiro's voice is on the high side, and it is a wind instrument similar to the Andes culture in South America, with more exhaled sounds and vaguely pronounced high notes.Aki turned his head and took a look here.At that moment, she seemed to hesitate, but finally decided to come over.
"Yaji, thank you for calling Huangjie yesterday."
"Ah, you're welcome."
Yaji shook his head lightly, a light blue headband protruding from behind his bangs.The headband is handed out at opening ceremonies and is a different color for each school year, with fifth grade being light blue.Huang Jie also wore a headband of the same color on his head.
"I heard that neither Shuicheng nor Hui can come here today?"
Aki nodded and said:
"They all have to work."
"It's Sunday, it's really hard. Aki, would you like to have lunch with us?"
"But... I..."
Aki avoided Yoichiro's gaze and took a step back.
"Well, what's the matter? Are you feeling unwell?"
Yoichiro put his hand on Aki's shoulder.At this time, Yaji suddenly shrank his body and closed his lips as if he had been scalded by something hot.The originally fair face lost its blood color and looked abnormally pale.What happened to her?Huang Jie was a little surprised.In the past, the friendship between Yaji and him was obviously no different from that of father and daughter.
"Aki... ah..."
Aki turned around, ignored Yoichiro's call, and ran towards the school building.The thin and white feet are gradually moving away from the urban-style campus.Huangsuke, who was confused, turned his head to look at Yoichiro, wanting to meet him, but he didn't turn his head, the eyes under the lens kept staring at Aki's back.
Soon, the sports meeting entered the afternoon process, and Yoichiro also returned to the auditorium.
Huang Jie was sitting in the refueling area of the class chatting with a few friends, and at this time saw Ya Ji walking out of the school building.Aki's sportswear has been replaced by casual clothes.Full of doubts, Huang Jie couldn't help standing up and walking towards her.
"... Are you going home?"
Aki is wearing a red checked skirt and a light pink short-sleeved top.Shaking the collar of her blouse with one hand, she nodded.
"I'm not feeling well. I just went to the health room, and the health teacher said I had a cold."
"I see, do you have a fever?"
"Well, it's quite hot. The teacher told me to go home quickly."
That being said, Aki's cheeks were indeed slightly flushed.
"However, even if we go home, Uncle Shuicheng and Aunt Hui won't be there, right?"
"It doesn't matter, anyway, I'm often at home alone..., you are going to participate in horseback riding in the afternoon, right? Come on!"
Yaji pulled the sports backpack on his shoulders, waved and said "goodbye", and walked towards the school gate.
"What did Shuicheng say?"
Huang Jie returned to the cheering booth, and his classmate Xiao Shan asked.Xiao Shan is different from Huang Jie, he has experienced a voice change period, his voice is quite low, he is nearly ten centimeters taller than Huang Jie, and his hairstyle is also like high school students who say that the forehead hair is blown up slightly.
"Oh, she said she had a cold."
"She's going home."
"Well, she's going home."
Xiao Shan curled his lips slightly, showing an expression of "so that's it".He often makes this expression, and it looks like a mature adult in the eyes of others.Huang Jie also tried to make the same expression in front of the mirror in his dressing room, but it was not the same thing at all.
"Huangjie, are you and Shuicheng childhood sweethearts?"
"Huh? Ah...does it count? We have played together since we were young. My father and her father are friends, and my mother and her mother are also friends."
"That's not childhood sweetheart? Dad and mom are friends..."
Before he finished speaking, Xiao Shan showed a little hesitation.Perhaps it was because he remembered that Huang Jie's mother had just passed away.Huang Jie doesn't like being viewed with special eyes by others, so he took the initiative to answer:
"Why do you ask about this?"
"No, don't you think Shuicheng is cute?"
Huang Jie was taken aback when his classmate said such words lightly.
"Is there anyone she likes?"
"Huh? I don't know, we never talk about it."
"Then what do you talk about? Home affairs?"
"No, I don't talk too much about family affairs."
For some reason, Yaji doesn't like to talk about her family affairs.Yoichiro and Sakieda often talk about Shuicheng and Kei to Huangsuke, but Huangsuke seldom hears Aki talk about her parents.Even if Huang Jie took the initiative to mention it, Ya Ji would use two or three simple sentences to change the topic.
"Just chatting about school or a TV show or something."
"What kind of TV programs does Shuicheng like?"
"I don't know too well. I haven't watched most of the programs she mentioned. She seems to like to watch some late-night programs."
"That's right, you go to bed at about ten o'clock every day."
"Yeah, it's my habit."
"So, you don't know much about Shuicheng either."
Xiao Shan said while avoiding Huang Jie's gaze.Even Huangsuke, who is inexperienced, can feel that Koyama likes Aki.For some reason, Huang Jie suddenly felt disgusted by Xiao Shan's mature profile, this was the first time he felt this way.
Suddenly someone yelled "みんなカンハレ" out of nowhere, causing the surrounding crowd to burst into laughter.
"Do you want to buy a popsicle for Aki?"
Yoichiro stopped suddenly and said.At this time, the sports meeting was over, and the father and son were on their way home. It was past five o'clock in the afternoon, and the sky was still bright.
"When you have a cold, you should really want to eat ice, right?"
So, the two walked into the convenience store and randomly picked three popsicles from the freezer.Yaji's house is only five minutes' walk from Huangjie's apartment.About two years ago, Mizuki bought a newly built apartment there, and Osuke followed Yoichiro and Sakieda to visit with housewarming gifts.That apartment is more spacious and grand than the apartment where Huang Jie's family lived.
After paying at the cashier and walking out the door, Yoichiro stopped suddenly.Huang Jie bumped into his waist and almost fell down.
"What's wrong?"
"It's nothing, it's just...um...?" Yoichiro tilted his head slightly, and asked, "Huangsuke, did you turn off the gas after Dad heated up the meatballs this morning?"
"There should be..., eh, wait..."
This morning, two people who are not used to cooking are in a hurry to make a bento.It wasn't until the last moment that the two thought that there were still frozen meatballs, so they hurriedly took out the whole bag of meatballs from the refrigerator, and Yoichiro put the bag in boiling water to heat it.Later, when he cautiously took out the whole bag of meatballs from the tumbling boiling water, Huang Jie on the side smiled and said:
"Isn't it easier to turn off the fire first and then take it?"
So far, Huang Jie still has an impression.Then, after the two put the meatballs in the bento box, they went out.At that time, it was almost too late to catch up with the assembly time of the sports meeting, and both of them were very flustered.Did you turn off the stove after all...
"When you say that, I'm a little uneasy."
"yes……"
Yoichiro handed the plastic bag containing the popsicles to Osuke, and said:
"Huangjie, can I trouble you to send this to Yaji? It's better for Dad to go home early and have a look."
Huang Jie froze for a moment, shook his head and said:
"I'll go home and Dad will bring her the popsicle."
"Do you think this is better? Dad has no objection."
Perhaps it was because of the strange things I talked to Koyama today, Huang Jie suddenly felt very embarrassed to be alone with Aki.
"Give me my Popsicle and the keys to the house."
Huang Jie took the popsicle and key from Yoichiro, said goodbye to him, and returned home in three steps.
The fire was well shut.
Sure enough, too much heart.With a sigh of relief, Huang Jie picked up the soda-flavored popsicle and bit it off. By the way, he took out the dirty sportswear from the backpack, and threw it into the washing machine together with the laundry that was originally placed in the dressing room.At this time, the mobile phone placed at the bottom of the backpack rang, and it was Yoichiro.
"Huang Jie, how is it? Is the fire off?"
"Shut up well."
"Great, that's good, that's good."
Yoichiro laughed loudly.
"Have the popsicles been delivered yet?"
"Not yet, Dad is still in front of their apartment."
There was the sound of a car passing by behind.
"Tell her to take care for me."
When Yoichiro returned home, the fully automatic washing machine had just rang an electronic bell to complete the homework, and forty minutes had passed since the call.
"Come back... is she okay?"
"Well, I'm more energetic than I imagined, and I should recover soon."
When Yoichiro spoke, he avoided Huangsuke's sight.
"Why so late?"
"I'm going to buy dinner."
Yoichiro reached out to lock the door, and with the other hand he held up the supermarket shopping bag and shook it.Huang Jie looked into the bag, and there were fried pork cutlets and fried dumplings inside.
以微波炉将买来的熟食加热之后，凰介与洋一郎各自在餐桌前坐了下来。电子锅里还有做饭团没用完的白饭，两人各添了一碗。超市买来的熟食中，饺子皮的包法与咲枝的包法不同，猪排的面衣也裹得很厚，不过味道还不差。
“不过，亚纪常常一个人看家，实在很可怜。水城每天都在大学待到很晚，惠似乎工作也很忙哩。”
“对了，前几天我遇到惠阿姨，她说客户刚好住在这附近。”
“嗯，这也是有可能。惠是个很优秀的业务员，应该到处都有她的客户吧。”
此时，凰介想起了见到惠时眼前浮现的奇妙景象，那个不存在于记忆中的景象。两具裸体、挡在眼前的柱子、手上的方形玻璃瓶、凝视着自己的小男孩、没有被关起来的小男孩……
“爸，我以前应该没有兄弟吧？哥哥或弟弟。”
洋一郎原本举着筷子，此时停下了动作，诧异地看着凰介。
“当然没有，你是货真价实的独生子……。怎么？你看见小男孩的幽灵吗？”
“不是啦，只是……”凰介随口敷衍：“我只是这么希望，有个兄弟应该挺有趣的。”
“是啊，爸小时候也很羡慕朋友有兄弟姐妹。其实生下你之后，我们本来打算再生一个，但是你妈的工作很忙，爸的病人也越来越多，一直找不到时机。”
洋一郎观察凰介的神色，问道：“寂寞吗？”凰介回答：“也不会。”便移开视线。
洗完餐具、洗好了澡，凰介感觉身体有点沉重，心想，会不会是感冒了？亚纪也说感冒了，该不会是流行性感冒吧？为了保险起见，凰介从医药箱中取出感冒药吃了一颗，接着回到自己房间，翻阅相簿打发时间。以前，晚上总是坐在客厅看电视，但自从咲枝过世之后，凰介便完全失去看电视的兴致了。看见有人大笑、有人被杀或有人住院的画面，都会让凰介的心情变差。洋一郎也一样，不再碰电视了，想必理由与凰介相同吧。
将近十点时，凰介在更衣间刷牙，看到洋一郎站在厨房，手中又捧着浅蓝色药锭。
“今天也要吃药吗？”
“是啊，多亏这个药，爸昨天睡得很好。酣乐欣（Halcion）的效果实在很强。”
酣乐欣似乎是那种药的名称。
“我们明天都得重新振作起来。爸在医院努力工作，你在学校努力念书。”
洋一郎喝了一口水将药吞下，转头面向凰介，以手指在脸庞比了“L”的手势。凰介也放下牙刷，比出相同的手势。
接着，凰介回到房间，将眼镜放在枕边，爬进了被窝。不只是因为吃了感冒药的关系，或是在运动会太疲累，只不过片刻之间便感觉睡意来临。被窝里的冰冷空气与自己的体温逐渐融为一体……，手脚的感觉逐渐消失……，可是，不知过了多久，凰介的意识又朦胧地转醒。耳里听见国道上的车声、某人的大吼“还不就是这么一回事”，以及好几个人的大笑声。大概是有几个醉汉正走过公寓前吧。此时，他突然想起，刚才忘记把洗好的衣服拿出来晒了，现在还放在洗衣机里，早上得把那些衣服拿到阳台上晒才行，绝对不能忘了，绝对不能忘了……。Huh?what is that sound凰介似乎听见不知从何处传来微弱的机械启动声，好像是某种风扇旋转的声音……
但是，他的意识又逐渐模糊，马上进入了梦乡。
在梦里，惠出现了，她穿着黑色衣服，就是在母亲被火化的那个地方遇到时，她身上的那套衣服。在梦境中，惠以苍白的脸孔看着凰介，接着诡异地笑了。整张脸只有嘴唇两端往上翘，那个笑容非常奇妙。惠问凰介：“害不害怕？”凰介点点头回答：“害怕。”
好害怕，害怕爸爸被抢走……
接着，惠的脸越来越瘦削，双颊凹陷，眼窝陷落，喉头浮起青筋。
最后，惠在凰介的面前死去了。
Notes:
Notes: