The scenes in the dreams changed one after another. Sometimes it was when I was five or six years old and still had two ponytails. Sometimes it was when I was seventeen or eighteen years old. Those dreams were so real that it seemed as if I was taking myself through life again.
But no matter what time it was, it was always gloomy for Su Nianmei.
She has been unhappy since she was born.
I was born in an earthquake and both my parents died. When I was five or six years old, I gradually regained my memories. The living room of our house was crowded with people every day, and relatives came to collect debts from my grandmother.
Noisy and bustling.
There was also the sound of something falling.
Every time this happened, her grandmother would put a handful of candy in her pocket and let her go play by herself outside the door.
She sat under the tree at the door, dangling her feet until the candy in her mouth had melted, then she jumped off the bench and buried the candy wrappers under the tree.
Grandma said, "Trees are spiritual."
She clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and made a wish to the tree. Who would have thought that this habit would last for more than ten years.
The first wish she made was that all the noisy people in the house would disappear.
As she grew up, her way of making wishes changed. She would write down all the unhappy things on a piece of paper and bury them one by one.
Things like "grandma is sick and has no money for treatment", "every morning someone is waiting in that alley to block her and ask her for money"...
There are big things and small things.
But what’s strange is that these problems were inexplicably resolved one by one later.
When I was seventeen or eighteen years old, my life was finally on track. I was admitted to university smoothly, my grandmother's health gradually improved, and my life became smoother.
Who would have thought that in 2022, when I was 28 years old, an earthquake would change my life again.
I dreamed so much that I felt a little dazed.
She sat in the yard, looking at the distant sky through the gaps between her fingers. There were large patches of white clouds. She remembered the metaphors she learned in elementary school: the clouds were like cotton, cats, dogs, and people.
Like everything in this world, except myself.
After a long time, she could no longer tell what was real and what was fake. She couldn't tell whether she was the current Su Nianmei or the Su Nianmei from her previous life.
A gust of wind blew by, and under the scorching sun, she actually felt a little cold and pulled her shirt closer.
The leaves above my head were rustling.
Gu Xiaobao was kicking and stomping the iron ring in the yard, and the sound of his footsteps was "clacking". Su Nianmei closed her eyes, feeling a little groggy.
"Mom!" Gu Xiaobao's voice rang in her ears, but it was like a thunder, which made Su Nianmei open her eyes.
The little guy was sweating all over from running, his face was flushed, and his chest was heaving up and down, "Uncle is here."
Just as Su Nianmei was about to stand up, Gu Baiting walked into the yard.
He sat on a small stool under the tree, and without any hesitation, he picked up the cup and poured himself a cup of tea.
Su Nianmei lay there without moving, and the bamboo rocking chair rocked back and forth.
Gu Baiting took a sip of tea. He had just deliberately asked Gu Xiaobao to wake Su Nianmei up. He didn't know what conflict his eldest brother's couple had. His eldest brother called him specifically and asked him to find out what his younger sister-in-law was thinking and comfort her, but before he could even find out, he was turned down.
In fact, Su Nianmei didn't ignore Gu Baiting on purpose. Gu Baiting was her brother-in-law and older than her. She didn't know how to address him for a moment, so she simply didn't call him. She squinted her eyes and continued to pretend to be half asleep.
Gu Xiaobao stood next to Su Nianmei and shook Su Nianmei's hand.
Seeing that Su Nianmei was about to wake up, he said awkwardly: "Sister-in-law, my eldest brother is still as busy as ever!"
Su Nianmei half sat up and looked at Gu Baiting. After he got drunk last time, Gu Baiting seemed to be avoiding her intentionally. After that meeting, they never saw each other again. She didn't know how he came here today.
It was dim that day, and she felt that Gu Baiting and Gu Xichao looked a bit alike. The more she looked at Gu Xichao, the clearer his appearance appeared in her mind. The more she felt her heart was burning, so she covered her face with a palm-leaf fan, as if to block the sun, it felt cool.
Gu Baiting saw that his attempt to test the waters had failed, so he thought that he could always comfort and relax, so he changed the subject and said, "Sister-in-law, have you been to Qing Province?"
Su Nianmei glanced at him and said, "Hmm?"
Gu Baiting saw that there was a good chance, and said with a smile: "We have taken on a big client this time, and we are going to discuss cooperation. Why don't you bring Xiaobao with us? You have finally finished the exam, and you should go out and relax."
Su Nianmei moved the fan down a little, revealing a pair of eyes. She said in a voice that was neither cold nor eager, "If we go out with you, won't your elder brother be anxious when he comes back?"
Gu Baiting said: "When the time comes, just give my eldest brother a call to let him know."
Su Nianmei continued, tempting: "What if I don't want him to know?"
Su Nianmei was also a little upset. Why could Gu Xichao just be a hands-off boss once he left home, not caring about his family or even sending any news? She had to wait for news from him at home like a little wife.
Gu Baiting was stunned. He thought something big had happened, but when he heard this, he laughed.
His narrow and long eyes narrowed. His sister-in-law seemed much more interesting than the first time he met her.
"Sister-in-law, don't worry. All of our caravan members will go with us. We can keep this a secret from my eldest brother."
Su Nianmei took down the fan, patted Gu Xiaobao's head, and asked, "When do we set off?"
Gu Baiting said, "Tomorrow afternoon at the earliest."
Gu Xiaobao covered his head and heard the two people saying "tell" and "don't tell". He was confused, but he laughed again. He knew that he could go out and play.
After arriving in Kyoto, this is his first summer vacation. The little guy is usually almost bored at home, and this time he finally gets the chance to go out and get some fresh air.
Gu Xiaobao's whole body was emitting bubbles of joy.
In comparison, Gu Xichao's life was much more difficult.
After finding out the result on his birthday, Gu Xichao has been feeling uneasy. He is happy about the result, but doesn't know how to face Su Nianmei.
He closed his eyes and the number "2" appeared in front of him.
This is his secret and no one knows it.
In his previous life, he got married at the age of 28. He thought he would have a complete family and live a happy life. However, his young wife committed suicide before he returned from the mission.
Xiaobao had a fever during that period and no one took care of him. When he was found later, the rescue was ineffective and he was dead.
He happily returned home after completing his mission, only to learn the news that his wife and son had died.
At the age of 28, he suddenly looked much older.
After taking care of the funeral, Gu Xichao retired from the army.
After retiring from the army, he caught up with the trend of reform and used his half-life savings to start a business, but ended up losing everything.
In his life, he had worked as a repairman, a tiler, a long-distance driver, a sand dredger, and had worked in several industries. He had been rich, noble, poor, and in difficulty.
My parents lived in my hometown and never had a grandchild. My only younger brother was sent to prison for committing a crime.
He seemed alive, yet dead.
His heart seemed to never beat again. He had no feelings and no love. Living in a muddle and existing in difficulty.
When he was forty, a serious illness took his life.
When he opened his eyes again, he arrived in the year 2000 - seven years after his death.
That was his first year in the future, 2000.
When he was at his lowest, a little girl gave him a candy. The little girl was pink and tender, and she held a red strawberry candy in her hand and put it into Gu Xichao's hand.
At that time, the child was only about five or six years old. She was wearing a small floral skirt, had two ponytails, and had a cute smile.
In a soft and sticky voice, she said, "Brother, sugar is sweet, it won't be bitter after you eat it."
Looking at that smile, he somehow thought of Gu Xiaobao and his family, and he had the courage to survive in this strange world.
He relied on his previous experience to make a living while working as a maintenance technician, and he didn't care how much money he made.
He thought that as long as he was alive, it would be fine, but he didn't understand why he was alive.
His body was stuck at 28 years old. More than a decade had passed, and he hadn't aged, not even a wrinkle.
For fear of causing misunderstanding, he moved to different places.
One day, he happened to pass by an alley and saw a few hooligans blocking a little girl.
The girl was cornered.
Gu Xichao noticed the red mole behind the girl's ear at a glance, and he recognized that this was the little girl who handed him the candy.
He saved the little girl, and the little girl always wanted to thank him, but Gu Xichao avoided her.
Because he felt that he was a monster, he was like an ominous person, and he shouldn't bring his misfortune to the little girl.
The little girl waited in the alley where they met every week. Gu Xichao couldn't bear to see her, but he didn't show up.
But he couldn't let it go in his heart.
Later, the little girl may have forgotten him, but he was still secretly paying attention to the little girl.
He wanted to repay the favor.
Having been treated maliciously by the world for a relatively long time, every bit of kindness he received made him feel warm.
He discovered that the little girl had a habit of making wishes and would bury the pieces of paper under the old tree outside the house every morning.
In the middle of the night, Gu Xichao would quietly dig out the note, read it, and then bury it back.
No matter how trivial the matter was, he tried his best to help the girl fulfill her wish.
He seemed to have found the meaning of his existence. When he saw the girl happy, he was happy too. When he saw the girl sad, his heart ached.
As they got to know each other better, he found that his heart began to beat slowly, and he seemed to be falling in love with the girl.
However, the age difference and his own strange identity made Gu Xichao choose to keep silent and even avoid Su Nianmei.
He secretly watched the girl get into college, become a civil servant, and have a successful career, and he was ready to leave completely.
The little girl encountered an earthquake.
To the little girl, he was just a passerby, but to Gu Xichao, the little girl was his light.
If the light disappears, what is the meaning of living?
But he did not die. When he opened his eyes, he returned to the time when he was 28 years old.
The number "3" in front of me turned into the number "2".
He didn't know what would happen in the future. He thought that this was a chance to start over, and he should forget the past and live an ordinary life.
He wanted to stop things before they got too bad, he wanted to divorce his wife, and he wanted to start his life over again.
He rushed back to the hospital early just to divorce his wife, but when he saw his young wife, Gu Xichao felt that his young wife was the girl he would meet in the future.
He set up a trap and slowly confirmed his guess.
Now that his conjecture has been confirmed, he is at a loss. He doesn't know how to face Su Nianmei. He loves her, but it seems like he has deceived her.
A few days ago, I asked Gu Baiting to help me check on my wife, but there has been no news.
Gu Xichao finally couldn't hold back and went back home.
As soon as he returned home, there was a note on the dining table. After reading the contents of the note, Gu Xichao's mind buzzed.
The author has something to say: There is foreshadowing in the previous article~
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