Void Jigsaw Puzzle

Just as Hou Chang was about to teach his disobedient son a lesson, his cell phone rang.

She had to answer the call, even though the caller ID showed a strange unfamiliar number, but she didn't want to miss any call.

Every call is a potential business.

Among her three jobs, one is a regional courier.

Due to the rugged terrain of Kunlun City, many people are unwilling to run errands and deliver things themselves, so express delivery services that run errands for others have emerged. Moreover, these are often regional businesses because if the journey requires running too far, even if the price is very high, there may not be anyone willing to do it for you.

It was really tiring, and there was no means of transportation available. Although many people, including her, remembered various types of vehicles, such as bicycles, electric vehicles, and cars, she had never seen any of them in Kunlun City.

The call was connected, but it didn't seem to be fully connected.

There was a very ethereal voice coming from the other end of the phone, but she couldn't hear it clearly.

After calling "Hello" several times in a row, she felt a little annoyed. She was already out of breath from climbing the stairs and talking, and now she received this prank call.

To make matters worse, her son was tugging at her clothes, urging her: "Mom, didn't you say you were going to be late? Then why don't you walk while answering the phone? Don't just stand there."

Hou Chang hung up the phone, shook his son off, and continued walking up: "Alright, alright! Let's go!"

The evening math tutoring class happened to be scheduled for an exam, so it lasted half an hour longer than usual. Hou Chang waited on a chair outside the tutoring class, bored.

She has completed two of the three jobs today, and the remaining regional courier doesn't seem to have much business today.

She was carefully thinking about what had happened that day. After she calmed down, she felt a sense of unreality, as if life had just jumped out of her in an instant.

In her mind, she was a happy full-time housewife with a wonderful family. Her husband, Guo Ling, held a successful mid- to senior-level management position at a large corporation, earning a good income. But today, she hadn't found any trace of Guo Ling. Even before returning home, she doubted his existence. This whole day's travels only made her doubt the pampered life she remembered.

"It's like living in a parallel world. It's so unreal..." she muttered to herself.

My son did not lie about military intelligence. He really did not attend class properly, so when the exam was over, he walked out with a sullen face, followed by the cram school teacher.

"Mother Guo Chang, your Guo Chang has been a little absent-minded lately. He doesn't listen well in class and doesn't study seriously for exams. Today's exam wasn't difficult, but he didn't finish it..."

The teacher kept on lecturing, but Hou Chang didn't listen to what he said next. She just felt like he was annoying like a fly.

After a few final words, she pulled her son over and left the classroom.

It was already nightfall. The cram school was located halfway up a mountain. The already insufficient street lights were unable to shine up due to the terrain, leaving the road in front of the cram school pitch black.

In the darkness, Hou Chang suddenly wanted to cry.

Son Guo Chang knew that he had made his mother angry, so he didn't dare to breathe or say a word. He just stared with his bright big eyes, trying to see his mother's expression clearly.

At this time, Hou Chang's phone rang again, and the ringtone was particularly crisp in the dark.

Hou Chang looked down and saw that it was still the strange and unfamiliar number from the afternoon.

"Hello! What are you doing?" She picked up the phone and vented her anger.

However, no one on the other side argued with her, and they were still in a very ethereal state. To her, it was like a punch on cotton.

"Are you guys having fun? You only know how to bully me!" Hou Chang was a little overwhelmed. He yelled into the microphone again in a crying voice and was about to hang up the phone.

"Mom, don't be sad, I'm here..."

At this moment, she heard a timid voice coming from the darkness.

Hou Chang could no longer control his emotions, hung up the phone, then hugged his son and burst into tears, his cries echoing around the mountainside.

It took a long time for her to dry her tears. After venting her feelings, she felt calmer. She looked at her son tenderly and said, "Are you a little hungry? Mommy will take you for a midnight snack."

Guo Chang nodded obediently: "Yeah!"

The mother and son carefully walked down the stairs in the dark and finally reached the light. Relying on her memory, Hou Chang took her son up and down the slope twice and came to a place where night snack stalls were concentrated.

Hou Chang ordered two bowls of wontons. Watching her son devour them with such relish, she suddenly felt a sense of relief: "Why do I push him so hard? Shouldn't I push myself even harder?"

With their stomachs satisfied, their moods naturally lightened. Hand in hand, they walked home slowly. Along the way, there were no more strange phone calls, but there were no more courier orders.

As she approached her home, Hou Chang suddenly felt uneasy. Was the perfect husband she remembered waiting for her at home? Would he tell her, "Everything today was just a dream..."

However, when she opened the door, she realized she had overestimated her thoughts. The house was completely empty, not a soul was there. The slippers she had hastily thrown onto the porch when she left that morning were still in the same position they had been.

Everything in her memory didn't exist in reality, not even a trace or clue. Hou Chang's mood inexplicably darkened. Thinking that today was only her first day as a full-time housewife transitioning to a working woman, she had already exhausted all her energy. She couldn't imagine how many more days she could hold out.

"If today is indeed a dream, a nightmare, then let it pass quickly. Tomorrow morning, when I open my eyes, everything in my memory will come back..."

Before going to bed, Hou Chang lay alone on the big bed in the bedroom, praying carefully in the dark.