Lin Chaoxi felt a chill all over his body, and in an instant he felt that the night was pitch black with no bottom in sight.
Old Lin sat on a stone bench, smoking with a calm expression, not showing too much sadness. Lin Chaoxi's heart gradually warmed up.
When Lao Lin said he was acquainting old friends, he was probably just acquainting old friends. Pei's mother was obviously not among them.
At the same time, she silently crossed out the titles of grandpa and grandma, and grandpa and grandma from the list in her mind.
"Who was that deceased old man?" she asked as she sat down opposite Lao Lin.
Lao Lin glanced at her, meaning that it seemed that she had too many questions today.
"Ah, are you hungry? I'll make you some noodles."
Lin Chaoxi stood up and said this. If Old Lin didn't want to answer, she certainly wouldn't ask any more questions.
"The former school guard."
Lin Chaoxi was surprised: "The school's security guard?"
"When I was in school, I worked part-time to earn money. I was in charge of mail delivery in the guard room. The living conditions were not good in those days, and the old man would occasionally give me steamed buns. The guard room was very cold in winter, but whenever I was there, he would light the stove and take me to warm myself by the fire. He was a very good person."
Old Lin briefly recounted his past with the old man, while Lin Chaoxi sat quietly opposite the stone table.
His recollection was brief, and after he finished speaking, the winter night fell into a long silence.
Lin Chaoxi could feel Lao Lin's emotions, including sadness, nostalgia, and unspeakable deep thoughts. But she didn't know what Lao Lin was thinking, and she didn't know why this past made Lao Lin smoke one cigarette after another.
They were in relative silence until the cold wind made her sneeze.
"It's cold, go back to your room." said Lao Lin.
"Then you should be alone and quiet."
Lin Chaoxi stood up obediently.
Lao Lin looked up and said, "I will go to Yongchuan in a few days."
In the dark night, everything was silent. Lin Zhaoxi thought of Hua Juan's call and turned to ask, "Are you going to attend the memorial service for the security guard?"
"My father's son called me. When he was sorting out his father's belongings, he found a letter he had written to me and wanted to send it to me. But I felt it was inappropriate for my father to send me a letter after writing it to me with great difficulty, so I decided to go and get it myself."
"When are you going? Can you take me with you?" Lin Chaoxi thought for a moment and asked tentatively.
"It's Yongchuan's custom to hold a memorial service tomorrow, but I haven't finished my stuff yet, and I'm worried about you going out given your health. So I talked to him and I decided to go there next Sunday, the seventh day after your death."
"Okay, will you take me with you then?"
"Can."
After hearing Lao Lin's answer, Lin Chaoxi breathed a sigh of relief, as if a huge stone in his heart had been lifted off his shoulders.
She was just about to start talking about Pei's mother, and at about this moment, a timeline flashed through her mind.
She has been counting on her fingers every day lately, and can instantly figure out when next Sunday will be.
December 21st was the day when Lao Lin had a car accident.
A great destiny descended from the sky in the dark night, carrying an irresistible will.
Lin Chaoxi was struck by lightning and didn't even know what was going on.
She was very sure that in the real world, Lao Lin fainted and was sent to the hospital in Anning, so she thought that the location of his car accident must have happened in Anning.
Dan Yongchuan
She never thought that Lao Lin would plan to go to Yongchuan on December 21st.
Lin Chaoxi's brain was working rapidly, recalling the past in the real world.
It seemed like she had also been coughing for a long time during the winter of her freshman year in high school, and the heart-wrenching feeling was still fresh in her memory.
In the real world, Lao Lin did postpone her trip to Yongchuan due to her health and chose December 21st.
As his thoughts slid into the abyss of darkness, Lin Chaoxi couldn't help but think of another possibility.
The car accident itself happened in Yongchuan. Is this the reason why Chen Zhu's father did not investigate the scene of Lao Lin's car accident?
She felt herself go completely cold.
Lin Chaoxi really wanted to write down e=mc^2 right now and go back to ask Old Lin in Strawberry World, where did you get into the car accident on December 21st?
But she also knew very well that when Old Lin woke up from the car accident, she and Chen Zhu's father, who was in charge of investigating the accident, repeatedly asked him about the details of the accident, but Old Lin could not answer anything.
There was no information or details about the car accident, which was the fundamental reason why she spent all her energy learning Python and writing a prediction program.
And now, all her efforts have been wasted because of this small change.
She really wanted to shout to the night sky like the protagonist in the TV series: God, you are fucking kidding me.
But at this moment, she could only force herself to remain calm again.
Because the man sitting on the stone bench, Lao Lin, is the man who, after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, smiled and said, "Everything in the world can happen to anyone, so it's no big deal."
It's no big deal. No matter how difficult the problem is, it can be solved. There is no need to despair.
Lin Zhaoxi kept repeating this sentence in his mind.
Under Lao Lin's surprised gaze, she sat back on the stone bench again. She knew that her face must look extremely ugly.
"What's the matter? What's going on next Sunday?" Lao Lin asked with concern.
Lin Chaoxi forced himself to speak at a steady pace: "A few days ago, Huajuan called me and said that Pei Zhi's mother's health was too bad and she was admitted to a hospice hospital in Yongchuan."
"So you want us to visit Pei Zhi when we go to Yongchuan?"
"Yes, if we have to wait until next weekend, I'm afraid it will be too late, so can we go to Yongchuan earlier some other day?"
Lin Chaoxi tried his best to keep his voice calm, but clenched his fists tightly under the stone table, waiting for Lao Lin's answer.
Lao Lin pondered for a while and said, "Let's go to the memorial service tomorrow. You can take a day off and we can go see Pei Zhi."
Lin Chaoxi almost didn't remember how he walked back to the house.
She only felt her knees go weak and her whole body tremble the moment the door closed.
Now, she has changed the time when Lao Lin goes to Yongchuan, but will this change the occurrence of the car accident?
She didn't know the answer.
——
December 16th, six days before Lao Lin’s car accident.
Lin Chaoxi, carrying her schoolbag, and her father took the train to Yongchuan.
High-speed rail has reduced the travel time from several hours to just over an hour.
Yongchuan Station was crowded with pedestrians carrying large and small bags.
The whole space was filled with all kinds of voices, the smell of smoke, and polluted air.
Lin Chaoxi got off the train, walked forward a few steps, and took Lao Lin's hand.
It's a long way from the train station to Yongchuan Funeral Home.
They took bus No. 202 from the train station, got off at Yongchuan University Town, passed through the university town, transferred to bus No. 218, changed buses in the suburbs, and took a special line to the funeral home.
Lin Chaoxi carefully noted down every route they took, every bus they took, and the time required for each journey.
If she couldn't change the fact that Lao Lin would come to Yongchuan on December 21, then she had to come up with a completely new plan in less than a week.
——
The memorial service for the old man was not big, but there were a lot of people.
Some of them were dressed in suits and looked like celebrities, but there were also ordinary workers or teachers. There were men and women, young and old, and the small mourning hall was packed with them.
The leader of Yongchuan University who is in charge of retired employees' affairs read the eulogy on the stage, holding a manuscript.
He said that Zhang Daming was a very ordinary school worker and had been a janitor in the communication room of Yongchuan University before his retirement.
Comrade Zhang Daming loves to help students at work. He sponsors a poor college student every year and is deeply loved by teachers and students.
He was a staff member, enjoying a pension, and lived a happy life in his later years. He even fell in love with calligraphy and won the first prize in the literary and artistic competition for retired employees of Yongchuan University.
Lao Lin was not considered a relative or friend of the old man, so when the school leaders read the eulogy, they stood silently at the end of the crowd.
Lao Lin's expression has always been very calm and indifferent.
Through the gaps between the crowd, Lin Chaoxi saw the peaceful face of the old man in the reception room lying in the coffin.
Listening to the eulogy, Lin Chaoxi silently outlined the whole picture of Master Zhang's life in his mind.
She didn't know what kind of time Lao Lin and this old man spent thousands of years ago, but the old man who made Lao Lin willing to come and see him off in person must be a very good person.
Towards the end of the memorial service, the old man's son finally had time to say a few words to them.
They stood at the flower bed outside the mourning hall, shaded by the dense camphor trees.
"Thank you for making this special trip."
"My father has not been in good health this year, so he wrote a lot of letters like a memoir. All the letters are in the car. When the ceremony is over, please come with me to the parking lot."
When the old man's son mentioned "a lot", Lin Chaoxi thought it referred to the thickness of the letter. But when she and Old Lin walked towards the parking lot after the memorial ceremony, they found that there were many people walking with them.
After the memorial service, many people have gotten to know each other. The sociable ones began to exchange business cards, and some began to exchange their professions and names, but Lao Lin did not talk to anyone.
The old man's son took them to the parking lot and behind a white SUV.
The trunk slowly opened.
He took out a cardboard box and put it on the ground, and the people gathered in front of the SUV let out low gasps.
The carton was opened, and the old man's son took out letters one by one and called out the names one by one according to the names on them.
"Wang Liang."
"Xu An."
"Liu Pengpeng."
Those whose names were called stepped forward and took the letter addressed to them, just like a teacher handing out homework at school.
The letters were either thin or thick, but each person's name was clearly written in block letters on the envelope.
There was the rustling sound of letters being opened in the parking lot, but no other sound was heard.
Lin Chaoxi stood in the crowd. Although the environment was eerily quiet, she felt that the sun was very warm today.
"Lin Zhaosheng."
Lao Lin's name rang out.
He stepped forward like everyone else and took the letter addressed to him.
But unlike others, Lao Lin did not open the letter immediately, but put it directly into his arms.
He nodded to the old man's son, turned and left.
Lin Chaoxi was still immersed in the atmosphere of opening the letter in the parking lot. She turned around and saw that Lao Lin had already left, so she quickly jogged a few steps to catch up.
"Aren't you going to open the letter?" she asked.
Lao Lin looked up at the sky, then looked at her deeply and said, "Let's go."
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