Chapter 22 Broken Moonlight
Tick...tick...tick...
In the toilet, the rusty faucet was closed, but water was still dripping from the pipe, falling to the ground, splashing and scattering.
Outside the living room, the key was put into the lock, and the person outside the door turned the lock, which got stuck several times before the old iron door was opened.
Luo Qinglin's consciousness floated in the air. He knew he was dreaming again, the same dream he had dreamed countless times.
He watched himself walk in from the door with a shaved head, wearing the uniform of the worst junior high school in the city, with blood stains and footprints on the clothes.
The boy shouted, "Mom, I'm back", but did not get a response as usual. The air was filled with a strong smell of rust. The boy's heart tightened. He put down his schoolbag and followed the sound of water to the bathroom.
Luo Qinglin wanted to tell the boy not to go in, but he was powerless and could only wait quietly for the past to reappear.
Because he was in the voice change period, the boy's screams were hoarse and low, like a broken speaker. He ran back to the living room in a panic, used the landline to call the police, called an ambulance, and contacted his uncle.
Everything seemed like a cursory review, with countless scenes flashing back quickly.
My mother’s wrists were cut to pieces, her long hair was wet like seaweed, her lips were bloodless, the hospital, the morgue, the cremation, the household registration was cancelled, the empty house, the diary filled with self-loathing in the drawer of my mother’s bedroom…
The loud voices gave Luo Qinglin a headache.
The man said: "She volunteered, I didn't force her."
The man's wife said, "Your mother is a seductress. She'd better die."
Officer Qiao said: "The diary is not evidence. I am sorry for the loss."
My uncle said, "If you don't fight with others and go home earlier, you won't miss the golden rescue time."
......
Every night, his mother's voice would come into his dreams, and in his dreams he would read the words he wrote most often in his diary, "I want to die, I want to die, I want to die."
Finally one day, the boy couldn't stand it anymore, so he secretly hid a machete and followed the man all the way to the stairwell. When the tip of the knife was only an inch away from the man's legs, he was knocked to the ground by the police.
The knife slipped from his hand and fell to the ground with a clang. He lay on the ground and struggled hard, like an ant in the mud, at the mercy of others.
At the police station, Officer Qiao said, "Have you forgotten what your mother wrote on the first page of her diary?"
【Always be kind and pursue light.】 】
The boy smiled bitterly and thought, how could he not remember? But the good-doer cut his wrists, lost his life forever, and his soul was shattered; while the evil-doer is still alive, with a happy family and a happy life.
The boy covered his head with his hands, yelled and collapsed, refuting every word the police officer tried to persuade him, until his uncle rushed over and slapped him in the face...
The man pretended to be magnanimous and wanted to let him go. He walked out of the police station and, despite his uncle's attempts to stop him, threatened the man viciously, telling him to be careful when walking at night in the future.
The boy pulled the hood of his hoodie to the top of his head and wandered among the dilapidated buildings covered with dirt. He was planning his next crime in his mind and was determined to kill the man with one blow and cut off his weapon.
Boom!
Boom! Boom!
When passing by a dangerous building, the sound coming from the dark corridor made the boy stop and he looked inside vigilantly. The corridor was pitch black, like an unfathomable black hole, and all the light from outside could not shine in.
The boy at that time didn't know that if he ignored the sound and continued to move forward, he would walk to eternal damnation under the sun and plunge into the abyss; but Luo Qinglin knew that the boy turned around, and although he walked into the dark corridor, he was walking towards a bright life...
-
Beijing, 8:00 a.m.
When he opened his eyes, what Luo Qinglin saw was not the ceiling as he had expected, but a pair of captivating fox eyes.
Jiang Yanyu was staring at him motionlessly, blinking his eyelids from time to time, causing his long eyelashes to flutter.
Luo Qinglin choked up a little, licked his dry lips, and felt a little embarrassed, "...What's wrong?"
"Do you remember," Jiang Yanyu asked, "what happened last night?"
Luo Qinglin leaned back uncomfortably, his head pressed tightly against the pillow, "What's the matter?"
"Xuan Chu is in trouble."
"What's wrong with her?" Luo Qinglin's face was full of worry, and his tone was full of confusion, as if he had no memory of what happened last night.
Jiang Yanyu frowned for a moment, then quickly relaxed, barely stabilizing his voice and saying, "She accidentally fell and got hurt, so all the plans for the third day of filming were cancelled, and the first filming has ended."
After saying this, Jiang Yanyu was still staring at Luo Qinglin's face, not missing any strange expression on his face.
Unfortunately, Luo Qinglin just nodded, without asking any more questions, nor did he think of calling to ask about his concern. "There are still two months before the next shoot... So what kind of work should I do next?"
Jiang Yanyu was silent for a moment, then moved his gaze to Luo Qinglin's left arm and answered irrelevantly, "Your left arm is fractured, doesn't it hurt?"
After being reminded, Luo Qinglin finally realized what was happening and raised his left hand, looking left and right at the plaster on his arm.
"It doesn't hurt."
After saying this, Luo Qinglin still lowered his head, staring at his arm blankly. He was wearing Jiang Yanyu's T-shirt with a wide collar, which made his neck look even thinner and more fragile, so that it could be easily controlled by others.
But Jiang Yanyu knew that no matter how thin or calm Luo Qinglin looked on the surface, deep down he would not allow himself to be manipulated by others.
Sighing helplessly, Jiang Yanyu hooked his shoulder and gently hugged him into his arms, "Don't pretend, you clearly know what happened last night."
The person in his arms remained silent, so Jiang Yanyu continued, "That person is in the police station, and Xuan Chu will not accept the settlement."
As soon as he finished speaking, the cold air from the bedroom air conditioner blew onto Luo Qinglin's back. The chill was quite strong and made him shiver slightly.
Jiang Yanyu lifted the quilt with one hand, covered Luo Qinglin's back, and wrapped him in his arms.
The soft quilt draped over his body soothed Luo Qinglin's shivering a little, but he remained silent and did not talk to anyone.
Jiang Yanyu bent his right arm, stroked the back of his neck that was exposed outside the quilt, patted him gently and said, "If you don't want to say it, forget it. Tell me when you want to say it."
The warm heat penetrates the skin on the back of the neck, travels all the way to the internal organs, and flows into the blood.
"I..." Luo Qinglin paused for a moment and finally said, "I know what I did, but I don't remember anything."
"You know, but you don't remember?"
"Well, I only remember that I jumped out of the window and saw a man pressing on Xuan Chu. I forgot what happened afterwards. It was like being drunk and having a blackout."
"Then how do you know what you did?"
Luo Qinglin pressed his lips into a straight line, his head flashing back with the screams, pleas for mercy, insults, and dying gasps of different men.
The sounds are chaotic, with no logic or order.
These sounds have no visual images, and they are like auditory hallucinations lingering in my ears.
But Luo Qinglin knew that this was not a fantasy, but an established fact that had actually existed. He couldn't see or remember it just because he was sick.
"I know, because the result already exists and cannot be changed." Luo Qinglin said it ambiguously.
But Jiang Yanyu knew what he meant. She stroked the back of his neck and asked, "So it was the same that time too. You didn't remember anything, and only knew what happened when others told you?"
Luo Qinglin's dreams always ended with the scene of the young man walking towards the corridor, and then he would wake up immediately because he had no memory of what happened afterwards.
When the teenager woke up in the police station, with his hands and face covered in blood, he heard the police officer's words "You saved those girls, but you face charges of intentional injury" and his uncle's words "You almost killed someone, you lunatic!", only then did he piece together the facts from the fragmented words.
"So this time, you also concluded that you used a knife to cut the man's genitals, right?"
Luo Qinglin huddled in the warm embrace and trembled, absorbing the remaining heat, fearing that in another second he would be treated as an antisocial and violent monster and be pushed away, abandoned, and driven out.
"But you didn't have a knife last night. You kicked him and made him swear never to do it again," Jiang Yanyu said as he suddenly laughed, "You were so cool at the time, hahahaha. Xuan Chu and I were stunned."
The three words "super cool" sounded fake and frivolous with a Taiwan accent.
The hearty laughter filled the bedroom, and it got louder and louder. The vibration in Jiang Yanyu's chest was transmitted to Luo Qinglin's chin, making his cheek numb.
"What are you laughing at?" Luo Qinglin raised his head in confusion and poked his head out from under the quilt like a little bird breaking out of its shell.
"I'm laughing at you for being so cool, so handsome, so handsome, so handsome, do you understand?"
The laughter didn't stop. Jiang Yanyu's smile was like honey dipped in powdered sugar, and his eyes were shining with sparkling light, twinkling like the stars in the sky.
The flowing starlight fell into Luo Qinglin's eyes, burning his eye sockets moist, his nose slightly sour, and his heart also sour.
Sniffing, Luo Qinglin lowered his head again, rested his head on Jiang Yanyu's chest, hid back in the warm embrace, and muttered softly: "Elementary school student, so fake."
The laughter didn't last long, gradually becoming quieter until it stopped.
Jiang Yanyu smoothed the hair in his hand and reminded, "Mr. Luo, we haven't practiced this morning."
"What do you want to ask?"
"Mr. Luo, do you have someone you like today?" Jiang Yanyu leaned close to his ear and asked.
"I don't know." Luo Qinglin tightened his fingers and grasped the quilt beside him. His answer was ambiguous, but it seemed to reveal the answer.
Jiang Yanyu raised the corner of his mouth and said with a smile: "Mr. Luo, you can think about it slowly and tell me when you have thought it through."
“Is there a time limit?”
"What?"
“Is there a time limit for thinking?”
Jiang Yanyu chuckled and replied, "No, but don't think too long, or I won't be able to wait."
"good."
Luo Qinglin inhaled the mint scent lingering around him with longing, and finally made a decision in his heart. Before they were halfway through the wedding, he had to make his feelings clear. No matter whether the final outcome was good or bad, whether Jiang Yanyu's love was genuine or just for fun, he would accept it calmly.
Jiang Yanyu moved his gaze to the bedroom door, passed the corridor, turned into the study, and the smile on his face slowly disappeared.
In the study drawer were several yellowed neurological medical records and the doctor's diagnosis - "post-traumatic stress disorder."
-
At the same time, in an old residential building in Lincheng.
Chen Qixin, wearing a neat suit, climbed up to the eighth floor with rapid breathing and knocked on the iron door of 804.
After a while, the iron gate opened, and a middle-aged woman in an apron opened the door. She had a gentle temperament and her hair was tied up with a pearl fishtail clip.
Chen Qixin gave a friendly formal smile and was polite.
"Hello, ma'am. I have something to ask Officer Joe."
The author has something to say:
Jiang Yanyu: I laughed, I was pretending. I just want to make my wife happy.
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