The time of the city

For the past two weeks, Nan Feng had been tormented by severe headaches every day. The piercing pain felt like countless steel needles pricking his head, but as the pain wore on, forgotten memories began to piece themselves back together bit by bit.

On the last day of his lockdown, Nan Feng sat on the carpet, his neck resting against the corner of the carved coffee table. He held a pen and wrote the words "Mo Yu" on the last page of his notebook.

The pen tip paused for a long time before slowly lowering it. His fingers unconsciously rubbed the words he had just written, as if he wanted to carve the two words into his skin.

"Grandpa, I hate you so much," he suddenly said in a hoarse voice, "Why did you take away my most precious memory and even tamper with it? You hurt Mom and you hurt me. You only used us as stepping stones."

At this moment, the sound of the electronic lock unlocking could be heard from the entrance. The moment the security door opened, Nan Feng instinctively raised his hand to block out the light, but was met with only a palm full of damp twilight.

"Boss Qiao, half a month is up."

Nan Feng didn't look up. "Thank you for your hard work. Go away. I want to stay a little longer."

He turned on his phone, stared at He Qingqing's location for a long time, then put on headphones and played the recording stored in the necklace.

Hearing the voice in the recording, he clenched the carpet tassels with his drooping hands: "He Qingqing, you are very cruel. No matter what role you played in this, I will not let you go."

The sycamore leaves outside the window rustled in the wind, and the handwriting on the notebook became blurred in the light and shadow.

……

"Xiaoyu, please stay one more night." Lin Xiao pulled Mo Yu's hand and acted coquettishly.

"Xiaoxiao, I have to go back, otherwise my brother won't be able to find me when he comes back."

Qiao Mu walked over and blocked her way: "Mo Yu, please consider moving to City B."

Mo Yu walked around him and said, "I won't go to City B. This is my home. I'm going back first."

As she got out of the car, she heard a slight noise in the bushes to the right. Mo Yu squatted down and saw a furry head pop out and meow.

"Mantou!" She picked up the cat in surprise. "Where have you been these days? Look at you, you've become skin and bones. Let's go find your brother. He must be very happy."

Mantou rubbed against her arms and let out a few soft cries.

Mo Yu ran home with the cat in her arms, but stopped when she saw the luggage neatly placed at the door.

She tried to press the combination lock, but it showed an error.

Mo Yu panicked and banged on the door. "Brother, I won't leave. Let me in. I found Mantou. She's hungry now. Let's feed her, okay?"

Ni Jiamu poked his head out from the second floor, his fingers gripping the railing. He was still wearing his thick cotton coat, which deflated in the wind.

"Mo Yu, since you don't want to choose, then I'll make the decision for you. The moving company will be here soon, and you can go to City B with them."

"Brother, I won't go. You open the door first and we can talk." Mo Yu raised her head and shouted. The leaves of the sycamore tree fell on her body and the tears on her eyelashes were blown crooked by the wind.

"It's settled." Ni Jiamu covered his stomach and turned around, his figure swaying in the twilight.

Mo Yu held up the cat and said, "Brother, look at Mantou. This is the kitten you brought home."

Ni Jiamu paused for a moment and said, "I don't want the cat, and I don't want you either." Then he staggered into the room.

"Mantou, what should we do if our brother doesn't want us?" Mo Yu wiped her tears and wrapped the cat with a scarf.

In the room, Ni Jiamu stared at the surveillance footage, his heart aching so much that he couldn't breathe, and his stomach ached at the same time. He trembled as he pulled out the medicine bottle and poured the painkillers into his mouth.

But before he could swallow the medicine, he felt nauseous and vomited out the medicine with blood in it.

He held onto the trash can, trembling all over, looking at the mess on the floor. His reflection in the glass window looked extremely miserable.

He stood up by holding on to the table, but his legs were so weak that he fell to the ground again after taking two steps.

His bones hurt from the fall, and he lay flat on his back, staring at the ceiling: "Will I be able to live until New Year's Eve?"

It started to rain outside. Mo Yu tucked the cat into her arms and knocked on the door again: "Brother, it's raining, let us in, Mantou will catch a cold."

After knocking for a long time, the door didn't open. She slid down to sit on the floor, the cat in her arms stirring restlessly, and the knocks on the door became softer and softer.

Ni Jiamu was awakened by the sound of rain and struggled to open the door.

"Ni Jiamu, I hate you. I will never come back." Mo Yu yelled at the people upstairs, then rushed into the rain with the cat in her arms.

Hearing this, Ni Jiamu fell down again after just standing up: "It's good to hate me, just hate me."

Mo Yu was walking in the rain, and passers-by looked at her strangely.

She was soaked to the skin, and the cat in her arms was also a little wet. Tired of walking, she squatted on the side of the road and gently stroked the cat: "Mantou, you are sad too, aren't you?"

Suddenly the rain stopped. Mo Yu looked up and saw Leng Xiyan standing behind her, holding an umbrella for her and supporting her slightly bulging belly with her other hand.

Leng Xiyan saw Mo Yu staring at her belly, and she chuckled and said, "It's not Jiamu's. I'm married to Lin Haoqing."

Mo Yu nodded and turned to walk into the rain again. Leng Xiyan grabbed her and said, "You're all wet now. Go to my house to change clothes and take a hot shower. I also have something to say to you."

Mo Yu thought that she had nowhere to go now, and Ni Jiamu probably wouldn't see her when she returned, so she nodded and followed Leng Xiyan into the car.

As soon as Leng Xiyan opened the door, Lin Haoqing rushed out, "Yan Yan, you are back, you want a kiss..." The last word "kiss" was stuck in his throat after seeing Mo Yu's face.

Lin Haoqing tugged at his bunny pajamas and called out, "Mo Yu."

Leng Xiyan: "Haoqing, Xiaoyu got caught in the rain. I'll take her home to take a bath and change clothes. Also, this kitten might be sick. When you go out later, take it to the hospital."

Lin Haoqing responded, took the cat and quickly ran upstairs.

"He's usually like this. It's a bit embarrassing for you to see him."

Mo Yu curled her lips, "You are very happy."

"I feel very happy too. Xiaoyu, go take a shower and I'll find some clothes for you."

Mo Yu came out of the shower and dried her hair. Leng Xiyan was carrying the dishes to the table. "Xiao Yu, you came out just in time. Come and eat."

Leng Xiyan pushed the glass of orange juice toward Mo Yu. "Haoqing went to a friend's house, and Xiaomao was sent to the hospital. It's just the two of us having dinner tonight."

Mo Yu murmured "hmm" softly and sipped the juice from the cup.

"I'm glad you're okay." Leng Xiyan's eyes were filled with tears. "The thing I regret most this year is instigating you to help you escape."

Mo Yu was the same. What she regretted most was leaving her family behind and running away without a care in the world.

Leng Xiyan continued, "Jiamu must be very happy that you are back, Xiaoyu, Jiamu loves you very much, you can try to accept him."

Mo Yu used a straw to stir the orange juice until it frothed. "He hates me."

"I believe that anyone can hate you, but Jiamu can't possibly hate you."

"Do you know why I gave up Jiamu? It's because I found that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get into his heart. He would only have you in his heart for the rest of his life. Of course, after I let him go, I'm living a very happy life now."

Leng Xiyan looked at the wedding photo on the wall, the ring on her ring finger gleaming.

The sound of rain gradually subsided, and water droplets from the trees dripped onto the glass, blurring the shadows of the two people into blurred outlines.