The Three-Life Stone

"Call her when you get home. The signal on the high-speed train is not good."

"She may not answer, so I'll notify her first. If she doesn't answer, I'll send her a message so that I don't forget again." Sui Rou listened quietly to the WeChat ringtone "Young You" which lasted for a long time. When she thought the call would automatically hang up because no one answered, the person on the other end pressed the answer button.

"Hey, Tuanzi, what's up?"

"Yaro, there's a variety show interview you want to participate in?"

"This..." The person on the other end of the phone hesitated for a while, "Forget it, I have social phobia."

"The round-trip fare will be reimbursed, there will be compensation for lost work time, and there may even be extra bonuses~" Sui Rou said the conditions with a playful smile and a beaming expression. Yu Le looked at the adorable appearance of his wife and couldn't help but twitching his lips.

"Is that so... Can I think about it for a while?"

"It's okay, take your time to think about it. We are still on the high-speed train returning from Yunnan. When you have made up your mind, we can go to City S together."

"Thank you, Tuanzi..."

For some reason, Suirou felt a little sad when she heard this thank you. She pretended to be calm and said cheerfully, "Why thank me? We are old classmates. You can think about it slowly. The signal of the high-speed train is not good. I will hang up first."

Sui Rou put her cell phone on the table, then stretched out her left hand and opened and closed it twice. Yu Le's right hand clasped Sui Rou's hand, and their fingers naturally intertwined and interlocked.

Feeling the warmth from her left hand and the feeling of being held tightly, her somewhat anxious heart finally settled down a little. She leaned on Yu Le's shoulder, looked at the scenery outside the window, and fell into a deep sleep unknowingly.

She slept very soundly, and the train was running steadily, so Yu Le was able to protect her and prevent her from falling over. It was the first time he saw Sui Rou sleeping so soundly. In his opinion, Sui Rou might have been very excited in the past two days and was a little tired from running around.

In Suirou's dream, she became a little girl. She made faces at a dull and silly man: "Daddy, shame on you."

She asked a gentle and dignified woman: "Mom, what does my godmother look like? I want to draw her."

She drew a picture on the scroll, clearly painting it stroke by stroke, but she couldn't see the woman's face in the painting. In the blink of an eye, the painting went into a brazier and burned up...

She wanted to grab something, but there was nothing.

Then she dreamed that she returned to the real world... dreamed of attending an interview... and then..., she suddenly woke up.

She looked around blankly. She was on the high-speed train, Yu Le had fallen asleep, and the train was two stops away, but she felt as if she were in another world. Everything around her was so strange and yet so familiar.

Just then, the alarm on Yu Le’s cell phone rang. The sudden sound broke the silence and once again startled Sui Rou’s tense nerves.

Yu Le slowly opened his sleepy eyes, rubbed them, looked at Sui Rou who had a dazed look on her face, and asked with concern: "What's wrong, Tuanzi?"

Sui Rou came back to her senses, took a deep breath, and forced a smile: "No, I was just startled by your alarm clock. I actually slept for so long, all the way."

Yu Le gently patted Sui Rou's shoulder and comforted her: "Maybe this trip out has made you a little tired, just take a good rest."

Suirou nodded, closed her eyes, and tried to recall the dream she had just had, but her mind was blank. She murmured to herself, "I seem to have had a dream, but I don't remember it..."

Yu Le smiled, hugged Sui Rou in his arms, and said gently: "Never mind, it's just a dream. Don't think too much, maybe when you wake up, everything will become clear."

Suirou's mood gradually calmed down. However, she did not fall asleep again. She quietly leaned in Yu Le's arms and looked out the window. The scenery outside the window flashed by like a movie, but Suirou's heart was always shrouded in a shadow. She always felt that she had forgotten something very important, or that something big was about to happen.

This feeling of uneasiness became stronger and stronger, making Sui Rou unable to calm down. She prayed secretly, hoping that everything was just her overthinking.

She opened her phone to check the time, and saw a message from Yangyu in the notification message. She immediately sat up and unlocked her phone, forgetting all the uneasiness she had just felt.

「Yam: Okay, let’s go together.」

"Taro: When?"

Three days later, at the X City Railway Station, Sui Rou rode her electric suitcase to a woman in a black vest and said, "Xiao Yang."

Yang Yu smiled when he saw Sui Rou: "You guys are here. The bus will leave in half an hour. Let's sit together for a while."

She carefully held Suirou's arm. She didn't know why, but she felt as if her heart was being squeezed. She leaned against Suirou tiredly and said, "I'll borrow you for a while. Your husband won't be jealous, will he?"

Suirou and Yule looked at each other, and both of them showed a helpless smile. Neither of them spoke, but just stared at Yang Yu in front of them quietly. At this moment, Yang Yu seemed to have turned into a child, or a well-behaved and cute kitten.

Shen Xingzhi recently encountered a case of school violence, and he went to the home of the person involved to understand the case; Yu Zhaozhao came alone to the old house where Shen Xingzhi once lived to take a look around, and she planned to renovate it according to her own ideas.

"I'm in a small town in the summer..." The phone rang, and Yu Zhaozhao swiped to answer it: "What's up?"

"Mom, in a couple of days, Tuanzi and I are going to participate in a variety show interview in S City. Do you and uncle have time to go and watch it together?"

"Okay, let me know when the time is confirmed."

After hanging up the phone, she opened WeChat and found Zhiyu’s profile picture.

[Yu Zhaozhao: You are still busy, it will probably take a few more days, don’t work too hard]

【Zhi Yu: Tell me, what’s the matter】

[Yu Zhaozhao: Can’t I look for you if there’s nothing wrong? ]

[Zhi Yu: You know that when I’m busy, I usually leave a message to tell you something, or I’ll call you when I’m almost done with my work, so I guess based on the way you talk, you’re probably sending me a message to tell me something]

【Yu Zhaozhao: Haha, really】

【Zhi Yu: Tell me what’s going on. I have time to listen now】

[Yu Zhaozhao: It’s nothing, I just want to ask how long this case will take, and if you have time in the next two days]

【Zhi Yu: It’s almost time. I miss you】

Yu Zhaozhao's heart skipped a beat when she was caught off guard. She was always moved by such simple words, no matter when or how old she was.

[Yu Zhaozhao: I miss you too]

【Zhi Yu: I will hug you when I get back】

[Yu Zhaozhao: My husband is busy now. My soul is with you, waiting for your return]

Yu Zhaozhao looked at the message, closed her eyes and raised the corners of her lips, imagining him typing and saying these words. She missed him so much, but she supported him.

She looked outside the yard and saw a girl's mother mumbling something. She walked to the door and got closer to hear what was said.

It seemed that the little girl had done something wrong, and her mother wanted to hear what happened. I don’t know if the little girl couldn’t remember it clearly or didn’t know how to describe it, but she kept saying “then...then...” intermittently.

After hearing this, her mother got angry and pushed the girl: "Why did I give birth to something like you who can't even speak clearly." Then she walked away to buy groceries.

The little girl cried as she walked to the corner and squatted on the ground. Yu Zhaozhao walked over with some distress and squatted beside her, keeping a distance, speaking as if to the floor or to the little girl: "Actually, you are very good. It doesn't matter if you are not understood, as long as you know that you are very good."

"Are you talking to me?" The little girl looked up at Yu Zhaozhao with innocent eyes.

"Well, I know you're a very good child. Your mother may be a little impatient and may not know the right method, but I don't want you to deny yourself because of what she said."

"Why are you so far away from me, why not a little closer?"

"Everyone has a safe distance. When I'm not familiar with you, it's not good to get too close."

"what about now?"

"Aren't you afraid that I'm a bad guy?"

"Don't be afraid, I don't think you are."

"Then do you dare to follow me?"

"Where to go? Not if it's far, but I dare to go. It's just that my mother only has so much time to buy groceries."

"Want to go to the cake shop in front?"

The little girl's eyes sparkled, as if she saw a delicious cake through the glass window. She swallowed and said, "No, no reward without merit."

"Desserts can make people happy. You don't need to repay me. As long as you are well, that's the best reward. If you really want to do something, then pass on this kindness."

The girl's heart was moved. She looked back and saw her mother bargaining at the pork stall. She finally nodded.

"Are you really not afraid that I will sell you out for a cake?"

"I don't know why, but I just think you're a good person. Don't worry, I won't run around with anyone else."

Yu Zhaozhao felt as if she was being educated by a child and couldn't help but burst out laughing. She didn't know that her smile was sweeter than the cake in the girl's heart, like a sunflower, shining into the girl's heart.

Perhaps in every moment of inferiority in the future, she will remember her aunt’s smile and the sweetness of that cake.

At that moment, Yu Zhaozhao seemed to have reconciled with the childhood self she was taught by her mother. Everyone has times when they are denied and not understood. It turns out that helping others is like helping yourself. She felt particularly relaxed when she walked out of the cake shop and returned to the old house.