love of life

"I just want to live well" said these words from Lin Zexi's mouth, his expression was a bit decisive and tragic, and he suddenly aged a lot, Gu Ming's heart was suddenly shocked.

"I'd better cook you another meal. I'll go out and buy some food." Lin Zexi walked towards the door, leaning on the wall with one hand and putting on shoes clumsily with the other.

Gu Ming looked at his slightly bent back, and felt a pang of sadness in his heart.When he reached out to open the door, Gu Ming walked up quickly and took his hand, "Don't worry about it, just eat whatever you want. Go and rest for a while, and I'll cook it."

Lin Zexi stared at him with wide eyes, with an expression of disbelief.

"I still know how to cook noodles." After speaking, Gu Ming went into the kitchen and got busy.

Lin Zexi sat on the sofa and watched his busy figure, and made up her mind to leave immediately.For the first time, they were not getting along as employer and employee, which made him feel at ease.Half a year passed in a blink of an eye, and the two lived under the same roof, and he knew Gu Ming's living habits like the back of his hand.Everyday life followed a fixed track, and this tranquility completely isolated him from the memory of the prison. In just 25 years, his life seemed to have experienced three lives and three generations.Before being imprisoned, in prison and during the past six months, the memories became clearer and clearer, so clear that only the memories of the past six months, about him, remained in his mind and heart.Life is like a dream, it's time to wake up from this dream.And he should go too.He is an unknown person, guarding a little bit of paranoia in his heart, insisting on staying in this city.He thought that after Xu Chengwei left, no one would trouble him anymore. He thought that five years of prison life was enough to repay the sins he owed at some point, but it just added to the entanglement between Gu Ming and Xu Zhe.No matter whether he is actively clinging or passively accepting, he can't escape the relationship in the end, and it's better to go clean.

With the help of a colander, Gu Ming finally scooped up the last few noodles in the pot, poured the pre-cooked egg soup into it, and it was done.He picked up the rag and wiped the soup spilled from the bottom of the bowl, and carried the noodles into the living room. "Come here and eat, I've made it." Gu Ming carefully placed the bowl on the dining table, and greeted Lin Zexi to come over for dinner, but he didn't even see anyone when he looked up.He searched all over the house, but there was still no one.He dialed his number, and the voice prompt was off.He walked into his room, opened the closet, and there were two sets of clothes neatly placed inside.But he knew in his heart that he really left this time.

Gu Ming sat alone at the dining table, took a bite of the noodles he cooked with his chopsticks.There is too much salt and no vegetables, it is unpalatable.He still stuffed it into his mouth one by one, except for the instant noodles, he couldn't remember the last time he cooked by himself.It was the first time he cooked food for someone else, and that person ran away ungratefully.All of a sudden he felt like a failure.After eating the bowl of noodles on the table, he threw the bowl of noodles left in the kitchen into the trash can together with the bowl, and then threw away the dirty bowls and chopsticks on the table.These things are no longer needed in this family.

In the next few days, Gu Ming spent time in takeaways and games, and the room and living room were also in a mess.He spent the day and night in the game, not allowing himself to be idle for a quarter of an hour, until sleepiness struck him, and he fell asleep.After more than a week of ignorance, until one afternoon, the greasy takeaway made him feel sick, and he rushed to the bathroom to vomit in a mess.He lay down on the sink and washed his face, but when he looked up, he was startled by himself in the mirror.The beard has grown a few millimeters, and it is densely crawling on the face, the hair on the top of the head is messy, the eyes are dull and there are deep dark circles, and the skin is yellow and rough.He frowned in the mirror, secretly unhappy.Didn't I live alone all these years?Why the past few days when he left, he turned himself into a dead house.He went back to the bedroom and drew the curtains and opened the windows to let the sunlight in. He turned off the computer, took a shower, shaved and changed, tidied himself up, called the housekeeping staff to clean up, and then went out.

Gu Ming felt that the sun was particularly glaring, as if nocturnal animals were exposed to the sun and were not used to it.He took out a pair of sunglasses from the glove box of the car, put them on, and drove away.As soon as the car drove out of the community, he suddenly felt that he had no direction.Most of the classmates were away during the summer vacation, and he didn't want to find someone to come out with.Before he knew it, he drove the car near the China World Trade Center.He just wanted to have a decent meal tonight.The moment he stepped into the shopping mall, a familiar feeling came over his face. VERSACE, Manji Dessert, ADIDAS, all the stores along the way were filled with memories of him and Lin Zexi. flustered.Unconsciously, Gu Ming retraced the route that day, and he didn't wake up until he entered the parking lot.With a dark face, he took the elevator directly from the parking lot to the fifth floor, and walked into a well-decorated Chinese restaurant.

The waiter came over with a menu with a smile on his face and asked, "Sir, how many people are there?"

"Just me." Gu Ming said in a blunt tone.

"Okay, sir, our restaurant has a special set meal for one person, one meat, one vegetarian, one bowl of rice, it only costs 68 yuan, which is very cost-effective. Do you want to try it, sir?" the waiter enthusiastically recommended.

"No need, I'll order a la carte." Gu Ming said while flipping through the menu.

"Okay, sir, what do I need?"

"Sweet and sour pork ribs, squirrel mandarin fish, boiled beef, stir-fried lily with celery, sliced ​​cucumber soup, eggplant sandwich, and a cold lettuce." Gu Ming ordered seven or eight dishes in one breath, and the waiter at the side was stunned halfway through Living.

"Sir, are you one? The dishes in this shop are all in generous portions, and these are a bit too much." The waiter stopped the pen in his hand and reminded.

Gu Ming threw the menu on the table angrily, and said, "If I can't finish eating, I'll pack it up. Have another glass of freshly squeezed orange juice."

"Oh, yes. Sir, please repeat the dishes just now." Seeing Gu Ming's face getting worse and worse, the waiter bit the bullet and asked again, and then quickly wrote and drew on the menu.

After seeing off the chattering waiters, Gu Ming sat quietly in the corner, scanning the store.This restaurant opened about half a year ago. He had heard others recommend it more than once, saying that the dishes here are very authentic and the chef is famous.He still can't believe it, he can't find anyone in the whole city who cooks as delicious as him.

The first cold dish was served, cold lettuce, the appearance is very good, the chef's knife skills are good, the lettuce is shredded finely, sprinkled with green onion and white garlic, it looks very refreshing.Gu Ming couldn't wait to pick up his chopsticks and taste it. The taste was very refreshing, but it was different from what he remembered.The second dish is stir-fried lily with celery, which is thickened and lacks the umami flavor of the ingredients.Although the sweet and sour pork ribs are tender and crispy, the sweetness is a bit high, the squirrel mandarin fish is a little sour, the cucumber sliced ​​meat soup is too oily, and the eggplant clips are fried too crispy.It all tasted good, but he just wasn't satisfied.At this time, the manager of the restaurant came over. "

"Sir, are you satisfied with today's dishes?"

"Average. I would like to ask, is this cold lettuce used white vinegar or lemon juice?" Gu Ming asked after taking another bite of the cold dish.

The manager said with a smile: "This gentleman is a gourmet at first glance, and the lemon juice is added here. Although it takes a lot of effort, it tastes refreshing." At this time, the waiter brought up freshly squeezed orange juice.The manager took the glass and poured it for Gu Ming and handed it to him: "Try it, sir. This orange juice is made from oranges imported from Australia. It's quite sweet."

Gu Ming picked up the cup and took a sip, it was a bit sweet and greasy. "Is there any sugar in this?"

"Don't worry, it's 100% freshly squeezed, with absolutely no additives. If you don't believe me, we can bring it to the dining table and squeeze the juice for you face to face."

"No, I'll just ask."

"Okay, then I wish you a pleasant meal, and call me anytime you need anything."

Gu Ming was alone guarding the table with no appetite at all.Objectively speaking, the taste of this dish is really good, but it is not the taste in his memory.Even with the same ingredients, there are differences in the dishes made by apprentices taught by the same master.How can I be so stupid, I can't even figure out the reason.He smiled self-deprecatingly, finished the meal like a storm, paid the bill and left.

As soon as Gu Ming walked out of the restaurant, the phone rang. He took it out and looked, and there was a name on it, Liu Xin.It was the private detective he had been looking for a few days ago. He was so confused these days that he almost forgot about it.

"Hey, didn't you agree for three days before? It's been more than a week." Gu Ming asked immediately as soon as he answered the phone.

"Master Gu, are you making fun of me? I answered your call that day, and I contacted you on time three days later, but your call has not been connected. For your matter, I made a special trip to Guangzhou. It cost more than 2 yuan, and I didn't even confiscate any deposit, can you understand the feeling that I can't contact you?" The other end of the phone complained endlessly.

"Come on, what's the matter?" Gu Ming asked impatiently.

"The investigation of the things you entrusted is almost done, and it is not much different from what I expected. However, you have not answered my calls for the past few days, and my informant continued to provide me with a very useful piece of information, which may be of interest to you. " Liu Xin said mysteriously.

"What information?"

"Young Master Gu, you know the old rules, one by one knot. We entrusted the previous one first. This information is not within the scope of the last investigation. If you want it, you have to charge additional money."

"Okay, you send me the introduction and catalog of the materials first, and if they meet my requirements, I will send you the money."

"Come on, let's chat on WeChat." After speaking, the other party hung up the phone.

When Gu Ming returned home and turned on his phone, Liu Xin sent him an outline and table of contents on WeChat.He glanced at it roughly, and the information was quite detailed, covering everything from Lin Zexi's family background to his imprisonment.He transferred the money through WeChat, and 2 minutes later, Liu Xin sent the complete information, which was seventy or eighty pages long.Gu Ming couldn't stop opening the information once, and finished it in one breath like reading a novel.At that time, Xu Chengwei was interested in Lin Zexi and often pestered him. During one entanglement, he clashed with Wang Yijie and injured Wang Yijie by mistake.The Xu family wanted to protect Xu Chengwei. At that time, Wang Yijie was seriously injured and needed a large sum of money for surgery. The Xu family seized this opportunity and threatened Lin Zexi to take the blame for him.After the accident, Lin Zexi was locked in the police station and never came out again. He heard everything told by others.At that time, Wang Yijie's mother came to the police station to find him and begged him to save her child.Under the begging of the Wang family and the coercion of the Xu family, Lin Zexi agreed as soon as his heart softened.At that time, the Xu family told him that when Wang Yijie was cured, they would definitely ask the judge for a lighter sentence, and he would be fine within a year at most.After he signed the confession, the Xu family and the Wang family disappeared without a trace. His parents, who were not well-off in the first place, ran all the way from the northeast to guard him for two or three months. He still couldn't confess to them that he was The fact of being gay doesn't mention anything culpable either.After he pleaded guilty, his parents were completely disappointed and returned home.The closed concept and conservative interpersonal relationship in his hometown made his parents suffer. After three years in prison, his parents died one after another.Lin Zexi didn't expect that the court sentenced him to seven years. He thought about appealing, but his confession was ironclad evidence. At that time, Xu Chengwei and Wang Yijie had long since disappeared.He is a man who has been abandoned by everyone.

This is the so-called truth that Lin Zexi knows, but this is only one of the two documents.Gu Ming finished reading the rest of the documents with a dark face, and sat quietly smoking half a pack of cigarettes.

Gu Ming put out the last cigarette, and called Liu Xin: "Where did Xu Chengwei and Wang Yijie go?"

"Xu Chengwei was sent by the Xu family to study in the United States, and Wang Yijie went to Australia. I heard that Xu Chengwei has been clamoring to go back to China, but his family rejected them for various reasons. He is currently studying in the United States. He is studying in the United States, and he should not be studying in the near future. Will come back. There was no news of Wang Yijie as soon as he arrived in Australia."

"Help me keep an eye on these two people, and notify me as soon as there is news of returning to China."

"Okay, no problem. This kind of business is charged on a per-person basis. The monthly subscription is [-], and the annual subscription is [-]. Which one do you think you choose?"

"Liu Xin, you have made a lot of money from me these years, and it's just a matter of having two more names for you."

"Okay, okay, I won't mention this fee, just treat it as a gift with the order. But I see that you pay so much attention to this Lin Zexi, I have information in my hand that you must be interested in."

"Do you know where he is?" Gu Ming asked.

"Huh? He's not at your house?" Liu Xin was stunned for a moment.

"You still have the nerve to say that you are a know-it-all, but he doesn't know where he is, and he came to ask me for money?"

"You're not right. I always thought he was still at your house, so I didn't investigate his whereabouts, but it doesn't mean I can't find out. How? Want to find out his whereabouts?"

"Tell me about your information."

"Since he's not here, it's meaningless to sell this information alone. I'll give it to you for free. If you think it's good, you can entrust me to help you find him. Lin Zexi was targeted by Xu Zhengwen. In fact, Xu Zhengwen They have sent people to beat him several times. Not because of Xu Chengwei, but because of Xu Zhe. It is said that when Xu Zhengwen heard that Xu Zhe was also entangled with him, his face turned blue, and he gave orders to the underworld to teach him a lesson."

"I know about it. Before he disappeared, I saw the wounds on his body. That's why he left this city. Can you tell me something I don't know?"

"Leave? I haven't found any record of his leaving here. There is no record of buying train or plane tickets, or car rental records, unless he left on foot."

"No? You mean he didn't leave the city? Then where did he go?" Gu Ming's heart sank suddenly.In the past few days, he has been immersed in Lin Zexi's leaving without saying goodbye. If he didn't leave on his own initiative, where is he?

"If you ask me now, I can't answer you, 3 yuan, within three days, I will definitely give you the answer." Liu Xin promised on the phone.

"Just one day, you found me and I will give you 5 yuan." Gu Ming said impatiently.

"One day." Liu Xin hesitated, "A day and a half, give me a few more hours of sleep, and I will give you the answer before noon the day after tomorrow."