14 years time difference

The taxi turned right and drove into a narrow street. The old atmosphere diffused through the half-closed windows, and the noisy voices flooded in. The cries of street vendors were mixed with bargaining, quarreling, and old men playing chess. When reasoning slowly, the road is narrow, there are many cars, and pedestrians are bustling. When the speed slows down, these sounds will naturally pour into the car window.

Lin Zhique sat in the back row, holding the phone, unconsciously swiping the phone screen repeatedly, unlocking, turning off, and unlocking again.

Outside the window is an old residential area with low-rise buildings and vendors everywhere, even on the roadway.

The last time she came, it was at least 8 years ago. When she came again this time, Jincheng was changing with each passing day. The taxi drove all the way, and suddenly turned from a modern metropolis into such a street that was smothered by smoke and smoke. The folded folds exist leisurely.

It's mid-March now, the days are short, and it's almost dusk before 3 o'clock.Lin Zhique's phone rang, and it was the appointed real estate agent: "Miss Lin, I'm sorry, I'm here to show clients the house, so I might be a little late."

The taxi honked its horn halfway, and the naughty little boy flew past the window with his schoolbag in his hand.

Then came another call.

She glanced playfully at the flashing name on the screen: Du Zhian.

The other end of the phone came straight to the point, "Hello, Zhi Que. This is Zhi'an. Have you returned to Jincheng?"

"I'm in Jincheng, but it's not 'back', and Jincheng is not my home." Lin Zhique raised her chin, which she would unconsciously raise when she was full of guard.

"...whatever you want. Dad asked you to go?"

She hummed briskly, "Yes, he said the house is sold and I'll share half of the money."

"...You are really father and daughter. Has it been a month since Grandpa passed away? Are you in such a hurry to sell the house?"

"Isn't it better than you guys kissing each other? What's the matter? Is the eldest daughter so rare about this half-old house?"

"Let you go..." The other side choked on a swear word, "Lin Zhique, can you speak well? What kind of concubine, you have to resist me, and don't insult your mother like this."

The taxi drove to the intersection and stopped. The driver carefully looked through the rearview mirror at the ugly faces of the passengers in the back seat.

Lin Zhique thought to himself, Du Zhian, are you tired of playing the role of a lady who knows the basics every day?But she didn't say a word, she just held up the phone with a sullen expression on her face.

Du Zhian seemed to sigh softly on the other side: "Then, the house is sold, what about those old things? Grandpa, grandma, and aunt's belongings..."

"Throw it away." Lin Zhique interrupted simply.

"Throw it away? At least leave one or two..." Du Zhian's tone became urgent.

"Well, when the buyer confirms, the intermediary will ask someone to come and throw it away. You can also come back to pick it up before handing over the house. Will you come back? If you don't come back, don't point fingers at me. People cannot be resurrected after death. A dead thing can't become alive after 100 years, so you might as well care more about the living people. And strictly speaking, those are your grandparents and aunts, and I don't know them well."

"...I can't go away recently, the studio is very busy, my house is being renovated, and I have to prepare for the wedding..."

"Then congratulations in advance. Your new residence has entered the household, and my house payment has entered the account. Our old Du family's good things have come together."

The driver waited for a long time, and finally interrupted Lin Zhique's call uncontrollably: "Beauty, the turn here is one-way, you can walk over by yourself, and you will reach the gate of the community in a few steps."

"Okay." She glanced at the outside of the car and agreed flatly, "I'll hang up. See you at the wedding. Of course, if you invite me." She paid and got out of the car.

The road surface of the street is uneven, there is sewage from time to time, and the pedestrians are messy. Lin Zhique quickly detours past the old man pushing the stroller and the elementary school students playing in a ball. Fast, without squinting, every moment is like she is walking through the crowded lobby of an office building during the morning rush hour.

The turn is Meixi South Road.The community she visited was also very old. The old gatekeeper looked up at her, opened his mouth as if he knew her, but closed his mouth again without saying a word.

The trees in the community are tall and lush, and have been planted for many years, covering most of the community in the shade.As the evening approached, there were no people in the community. Probably this kind of old community lived mostly in old people's homes, and everywhere was quiet, except for a certain household on the first floor with its windows open, and the sound of range hoods and opera came out.

Unit 3, 502.Relying on his vague memory many years ago, Lin Zhique walked downstairs to unit 3 while identifying the mottled numbers on the building.

Last month, her grandfather passed away, and she came to Jincheng this time to sell the old house here.

Her father, Du Shen, left home when he was young, and studied and started a business in East China. She was born and raised in East China. She doesn't know a word of Jincheng's dialect, and she doesn't have much affection for every brick here. Before the age of 13, she did not know her grandparents, nor did she know any relatives from her father's side. Her surname was Lin, not Du. Before the age of 13, she called her father "Uncle Du".

After the age of 13, when her grandparents came to East China, they stopped by to visit her a few times, but since she was 19 years old, they have never visited her again.

It was also in that year that she came to Jincheng for the last time.

Came to attend my aunt's funeral.

After my aunt died, my grandmother was sick and sent to East China for treatment, but to no avail, she died of illness soon after.Grandpa guarded the old house alone for 8 years.

There was no elevator in the building, so she went up the stairs. Most of the people living in the building were old people, and the sound of the TV in several households was so loud that it came through the door.Arriving at the 5th floor, there is House 02 on the right side, and 501 on the opposite door still has a couplet with safe access and exit, while the door of 502 is empty.She took out the house key from her satchel and glanced at her watch, it was 5 o'clock in the afternoon.The lock was well maintained, and she opened the door without difficulty, entered the room, and closed the door behind her.

The house is very tidy, and you can tell it is a nice family at a glance. The layout is comfortable and warm. There are woven blankets on the sofa, flowers on the balcony, and the old-fashioned TV is maintained as new. There is a DVD player and a home stereo next to it. There are a few apples in a glass basin, and a few bags of potato chips next to it.

It's hard to imagine that grandpa still likes to eat this kind of food.

The house is on the top floor, and it is a duplex structure. Behind the low cabinet in the entrance is a narrow wooden staircase.

A pair of white canvas shoes were suddenly lying on the floor of the entrance, and the shoe cabinet was half-opened. Someone probably knocked them out of the shoe cabinet accidentally.

The sound insulation of the house is not very good either, there is a faint sound of water from a neighbor's house, and there is an out-of-key singing: "Saury, the taste, the cat and you—"

Lin Zhique took out his mobile phone and wanted to make a call to the agent who was late, but the upper left corner of the screen read "No Connection".

Her impression of this place was really average.

There were two photos placed on the TV cabinet, and she saw the young Du Shen, and Du Zhian's mother and daughter at a glance. The family of three stood by the river, with a towering tower behind them. When he was a child, Du Zhian was dressed like a The princess, holding her father in one arm and her mother in the other, is so happy that she can't help but show her teeth and claws.

Another, framed in another frame, is of younger grandparents, and a young girl laughing with two rabbit teeth.

Walking a few steps inside, there are also several photos of this girl on the low cabinet beside the dining table. The younger ones, with exaggerated blush on their cheeks, stand under the banner of the "Art Show"; the older ones , holding a basketball; there are even bigger ones, holding up the admission notice, laughing out the back molars...every one is smiling, smiling so much that her eyes are almost invisible, she looks carefree A worried child, like a happy fool rolling in the mud, grows up with love and care.

This is the first time Lin Zhique has looked at these photos carefully.Just through these photos, through this person's smiling eyes, she can imagine how warm and happy this house used to be, like a noisy and hot haven.The owner's family only had a daughter when they were nearly forty years old. After the eldest son left home, the daughter was the only jewel around them in their lives.She could even imagine the young girl swinging her schoolbag and pushing open the door, kicking her canvas shoes here and there, laying on the sofa, and shouting at the kitchen, "I'm back! What's for dinner?"

When the pearl goes out, the family will fall with it.

This girl was her young aunt, her father's sister, and the lost daughter of her grandparents. She looked at her smile and silently called out her name in her heart.

Dusi people.

When she died, she was only 27 years old, just as old as Lin Zhique now.

No matter how you look at these photos, you can't imagine the girl's final ending.

There is no dust on the photo, I think it must be wiped often, the girl's smile is shining brightly, Lin Zhique stared at her for a long time, always felt that she looked like she would live a long life.

She still remembers that year at the funeral, she stood next to her grandma, her voice was hoarse from crying, and she was the only one who heard her, grandma said, that circle would eat people.

Yeah?Lin Zhique looked at Du Siren, who was younger than her in the photo, and thought silently.Is that circle eating you?

Her aunt, Du Siren, was a singer during her lifetime.She should have acted, but she can't remember clearly.In short, not a particularly popular artist.

She rarely saw her, only a few times since she was a child.

She didn't like her either, and when she was in middle school, she was even teased by her classmates for "singing like a duck quacking".

Lin Zhique walked to the dining table and sat down. On the table were several brightly colored and old-fashioned leaflets, which were crumpled. She glanced at them. The huge titles on them read "Love Music Exclusive Title", "2005 Love Female Voices" ", "If you want to sing, you can sing...".

Even grandpa still keeps this kind of thing.

In 2005, it was the time when all-people star-making became popular.That year, the singing talent show "Loving Female Voices" became popular all over China, and Du Siren made his debut as a singer from this show.

Unlike the assembly line idols that have gradually become industrialized in recent years, there was no threshold for becoming a star in that year. You don’t need to be really good at singing, you don’t need to be able to dance, you don’t even need to be exquisite and beautiful enough, you just need to ...you can do it if you dare.

It's already 2019, and these leaflets have not faded. Lin Zhique suddenly felt a little strange. The house has been vacant for nearly a month. How could there be no dust...

The room suddenly became very quiet.

She realized that the sound of water and singing from the neighbor's house had stopped.

Her whole body became alert.

Suddenly there was a light humming sound upstairs, and the creaking sound of the stairs behind the porch, Lin Zhique was startled, turned around and stood up quickly, grabbed a vase at hand, and shouted: "Who! "

A pair of white and slender legs protruded from the side of the stairs. The person was so frightened that she collapsed on the stairs with half of her face exposed. She was a girl, very thin, tall, and trembling. Trying to escape, trying to get up several times failed.

"Who are you?" Lin Zhique shouted.

The other party looked like he was about to cry.

"You, you, let me go! I'll find my mother's gold bracelet for you!"

"What did you say? What are you doing in someone's house?"

The other party replied in a jerk, "This is my home..."

Seeing that Lin Zhique had no intention of killing anyone, Xu Shi finally stood up tremblingly while holding on to the handle of the stairs, and took advantage of the trend to walk down a few more steps.

Lin Zhique walked forward, but she immediately took a few steps back in fright.

As the sun set to the west, Lin Zhique happened to see her face clearly.

There is an indescribable strange feeling, as if I have seen it somewhere.

She seemed to have just taken a shower, wearing a close-fitting white T-shirt and cotton shorts, with a dry and slender figure, short middle-length hair that was wet, and a pair of round almond eyes, fair and cute, very young.

She pulled down the towel hanging around her neck and covered Yimapingchuan's chest—as if Lin Zhique would do something to her—then stammered: "You, you, sister... who are you? Didn't you go to the wrong door? You go now, I won't call the police! Really!"

Her voice also had a strange sense of familiarity. It was Mandarin with Jincheng's accent, and the tone was soft.

Lin Zhique looked around, Du Zhian's obnoxious appearance was placed on the TV cabinet, her eyes scanned the other photos, the young girl was still smiling so hard that she couldn't see her eyes.

Lin Zhique woke up suddenly.so similar.She looked up at the girl on the stairs.

how can that be possible?

She stared at him, and after a while, said:

"You... just show me a smile?"