Picking the stars

In the end, Pei Ji called her and Pei Yi's father Pei Yuan.

It took a long time for Pei Yu'an to answer, and her voice still woke up with a sense of sleepiness: "Pei Ji?"

"dad."

Pei Yuan paused, then spoke again, his voice a little more sober, and he was even more polite: "Why are you calling at this time? Is there something wrong?"

Pei Ji followed his words and glanced at the clock on the bedside, it was almost four o'clock in the morning.

The sleep lamp on the bedside emits a comfortable and soft light, and accompanied by Pei Yuan's slow voice of alienation, it appears serene and peaceful, as if Pei Yi's thrilling call was only what Pei Ji had imagined.

"What's so urgent?" Pei Yuan's voice came again. He said, yawning, and his sleepiness became a little deeper. It seemed that if Pei Ji didn't speak, he would not be able to hold it. Go back to sleep.

Pei Ji pondered his words and asked, "Where did Pei Yi go?"

"Xiaoyi?" Pei Yuan's voice increased, "What happened to Xiaoyi? Why did you suddenly ask like that?"

Pei Ji replied: "Just to ask, has she mentioned, what task is she going to do?"

Pei Yuan calmed down: "No, I haven't heard her say anything busy recently. You called this all night to ask, what happened?"

His speech was quick and fast, and a female voice appeared on the phone from far and near: "What's wrong with Xiaoyi? I heard you say Xiaoyi. Who called?"

Pei Ji heard that it was her mother, Zhao Yu. Pei Yuan and Zhao Xian whispered a few words.

The voice in the earpiece became Zhao Yu's: "Pei Ji, did you dream of something or a premonition? You are not a reckless child, there is nothing wrong, and you won't be able to call you at night."

Because of Pei Yi's professional relationship, her parents have been very nervous about her safety.

Pei Ji only thought for a second, and said, "Yes."

She and Pei Yi are twins, and Zhao Yu firmly believes that there must be telepathy between them. When they were young, they did several experiments. Of course, the experiment cannot be successful. Telepathy only exists between identical twins with similar genetics. She and Pei Yi are fraternal twins, and there is no such tacit understanding.

But Zhao Yu was still stubborn.

Hearing that Pei Ji gave an affirmative answer, she immediately became anxious, and left the sentence: "I'll ask." Then she hung up the phone.

Pei Ji just wants his parents to determine Pei Yi's condition, as long as they inquire, the goal will be achieved. The words Pei Yi said to her on the phone involved her personal preference and privacy, and her parents might not know it. It is better to keep it secret for Pei Yi.

She was holding the phone and leaning against the head of the bed, only then did she feel very sore in her eyes. She closed her eyes, raised her hand and rubbed her temples, planning to wait and squint for a while.

It is a pity that although the eyes hurt and the body feels tired, but the spirit is so clear that I can't sleep anymore.

After a few minutes, Pei Ji got out of bed and went to wash.

She has a regular life and sleeps well, but only if she can't disturb her. Once awakened, it is difficult to fall asleep again.

After washing, I walked to the study and stuffed a capsule into the coffee machine. The coffee machine made a squeaky sound. Ten seconds later, Pei Ji holding the cup, walked to the bookshelf, pulled out a book, and sat down behind the desk to read it.

The title of this book is "Disappearing Microorganisms" and it talks about the dangers of people's abuse of antibiotics. After Pei Ji saw this book three years ago, he thought it was a good popular science book on immunology and microbiology, and he put it on the shelf. When he needed to relax, he would use it to flip through it.

But today, this book has no effect. Pei Ji turned several pages and couldn't concentrate. She put the book aside and tapped the phone screen.

4:23.

Half an hour has passed since Zhao Xian hung up the phone.

Half an hour was enough for the parents to inquire about Pei Yi's leadership and colleagues, and did not call back, indicating that they did not inquire about any bad news.

This is a good thing.

But Pei Ji still felt uneasy when he thought of the dying tone of Pei Yi's phone call and the messy voice at the end of the phone.

She drank the little coffee left in the cup, and her tongue was wrapped in bitterness. The refreshing effect was good. Her eyes were sore and her head was swollen, but her brain became more and more clear.

Seeing that Pei Ji couldn't calm down even after waiting, he simply took the key and went out.

Even the lively streets of the city after four o'clock in the morning will be somewhat deserted. The street lights stood dimly and there was no one on the street. Only occasionally I drove a car that I didn't know whether it was late or early. After driving a long way, there was still a reverberating sound, silent and desolate.

There is a sense of barrenness after sunset and dusk.

In March last year, Pei Yi called her to inform her parents that they had bought a house and moved to a new house. By the way, she also told her the address of the new house, so as not to go home and go to the wrong place.

That was their last contact before today. After more than a year, they did not meet once, nor did they make a phone call. The relationship is so sparse that it can't even be called a general acquaintance.

Pei Ji thought about it for a while. From a young age to more than 20 years, what she said with Pei Yi probably did not have as much as the director of yesterday's variety show said to her.

With such a cold relationship, Pei Yi called her tonight. Pei Ji can't figure out why, even if there is something to be entrusted, it should not be entrusted to her.

Outside the community of her parents’ new home, Pei Ji was stopped by a security guard and registered as a visitor before letting her in.

At this time the dawn had come, the sun's light was trying to repel the darkness, but the darkness was still resisting desperately, the two sides were evenly matched, and the sky was half-bright and half-dark.

Pei Ji slowed down, paying attention to the house numbers outside the houses on both sides.

After driving for about five minutes, she found her parents' house.

The houses in the community are all built by the same real estate developer, and each one is similar to a copy of other houses, and has no personality at all.

But when Pei Ji got out of the car and walked outside the door, he still noticed some subtle differences.

A pair of wooden nameplates were posted on the door outside the parents’ villa. The nameplate reads "Pei Yi’s Home". Pei Ji remembers that this was a handwork when Pei Yi was nine years old. After he brought it home, his mother hung it on. On the door, for a period of time, whenever a visitor came, my mother would show it to the visitor, and then proudly praise it.

Now, after moving to a new house, it has not been abandoned.

Pei Ji stood outside the door for a while, and through the windows of the house, he saw that it was still dark and the lights were not turned on. The whole house seemed to be shrouded in dim sleepiness.

Pei Ji felt obviously relieved.

If something happened to Pei Yi, she would not fail to notify her family, Pei Yuan and Zhao Yu could not sleep peacefully.

That call might be Pei Yi's prank, or she was actually injured during the mission, but it was not serious. Pei Yi was too nervous and miscalculated the injury.

She sat back in the car, turned on the navigation, calculated the time to go to the research institute from here, and found that there was half an hour left, so she decided to wait another half an hour here.

What happened tonight was too turbulent for Pei Ji, who always liked to maintain the old order and hated accidental changes, but after calming down, Pei Ji quickly recovered his rhythm.

She didn't waste this half an hour. She took out the computer, read two new papers submitted by graduate students, and revised them. She rewritten the revised comments in a document, and then distributed it back.

At the last minute, Pei Ji closed the computer and put it in the passenger seat. When he was about to leave, the light on the second floor of the villa suddenly turned on.

Pei Ji moved for a while, and his attention turned to the house.

In two minutes at most, the door of the house opened, and a middle-aged couple opened the door in a panic expression. They even forgot to close the door with their hands and rushed towards the door in a hurry.

Pei Ji got out of the car.

Pei Yuan and Zhao Yu opened the door in a panic, and when they saw Pei Ji, they were all startled. Zhao Yu reacted first and said quickly: "Xiaoyi has something wrong, let's go to the hospital."

Pei Ji's heart sank suddenly, and panic occupied her heart for a moment.

They went to the hospital in Lincheng, and Pei Ji drove.

Pei Yuan and Zhao Xian clasped their hands together and comforted each other from time to time, but these comforts did not help. After a while, they would urge Pei Ji to drive faster and keep in touch with Pei Yi's colleagues in the hospital.

It was almost noon when I arrived at the hospital.

The lights in the operating room were still on, and a group of people in uniform stood outside. Seeing them coming, a middle-aged man headed toward them greeted them a few steps, shook Pei Yu'an's hand with a serious face, without greeting. , Said straightforwardly: "Still rescued."

Zhao Yu cried, and said repeatedly: "How can this be, how can it be like this."

Pei Yuan patted her on the back, and said to the middle-aged man, "What the **** is going on? Why is it so badly hurt?"

"Last night, a group of gangsters sneaked into the home of a rich man and wanted to kidnap the son of this family. When retreating, the nanny found out, and the nanny set the alarm. The gangsters planned for a long time, and they knew the surrounding environment well. Thoroughly, several retreat routes have been designed. The situation is very urgent and the manpower is very short. Pei Yi happened to be handing over a task in our bureau at that time, so he took the initiative to help."

Pei Yuan listened in a daze, Zhao Xian was already crying.

The middle-aged man was embarrassed, as if he couldn't bear it, turned his head and saw Pei Ji, recognized the famous immunologist, and called out, "Professor Pei."

Pei Ji looked at his parents, then set his eyes on him, nodded at him, and said hello: "Go on."

"Then, we set up a task force and formulated a detailed rescue plan, but there was an emergency in the process. Pei Yi wanted to protect the hostages..." the middle-aged man said slowly, carefully considering his words, as if he wanted to minimize it. Harm to family members.

Before he could finish his words, the door of the operating room suddenly opened and everyone surrounded him. Pei Yuan and Zhao Yu almost rushed past.

Pei Ji fell in the end. She saw the doctor take off the mask through the crowd and said: "I'm sorry, we did our best."

The crowd was still momentarily, and everyone couldn't react.

I don't know how long it took, Zhao Yu, who had a pale face, let out a scream: "Impossible!"

She grabbed the doctor's white coat, her eyes were fierce, as if she was trying to fight people, but she didn't know who to fight.

Everyone stopped her, and Pei Yuan called her name, asking her to calm down, but he couldn't hold it anymore. In just one or two minutes, he seemed to be exhausted and ten years old.

There was arguing and crying heartbreakingly.

Pei Ji was out of the crowd, out of place.

She still can't recover a little bit, so she didn't save it?

The blood all over her body seemed to be frozen, and she felt cold all over. She thought of her little time with Pei Yi, and thought that a long time ago, when she went to college, Pei Yi suddenly came to see her.

That year, when she was sixteen, she almost finished all the college courses, but Pei Yi was still in high school. She suddenly appeared in front of her, and when she called her name, Pei Ji almost didn't react, but Pei Yi smiled like a spring blossom, as if she was in a good mood. He reached out and grabbed her hand and said, "It's been a long time since you Going home, I will come to see you."

This was the first time that Pei Yi took the initiative to find her, and it seemed to be the only time in her impression. Pei Ji was holding a stack of books and originally wanted to go to the library to check materials. Being interrupted by her, she naturally changed her schedule and took her to sit in a small tea bar in the school.

Pei Yi was very excited that day and happily said to her: "I plan to be a policeman, what do you think?"

Pei Ji thought it was good, so he nodded and said, "Okay."

But she did not ask why Pei Yi suddenly had the ambition to be a policeman, why she suddenly came to her that day, and did not ask why she chose a career choice ambition such a major life event, she would come to ask her opinion.

Obviously their relationship is cold, and they have not been close since childhood.

These questions, Pei Ji never had a chance to get answers, just as she could no longer know why the last words were so important, she would tell her.

In the operating room, Pei Yi's body was pushed out, and the person at the door of the operating room was separated from the middle. Zhao Yu cried and threw on Pei Yi's body: "Xiaoyi! Look at mom, you look at mom!"

Pei Yi's body just shook, she couldn't hear or see it.

Pei Ji stared blankly outside the crowd, and there was an unspeakable dullness in his heart, as if there was something she had owned for many years and had been accustomed to, was taken away by the birthplace, and could never be found again.

Pei Ji raised her hand and touched her face. Her hands were wet and cold. At some point, she was already crying like her parents.

At the end of June, the heat was already mercilessly hot, and the scorching sun hung high in the sky, fiercely hot.

Pei Ji stood downstairs in a residential building and looked up. The sun was dazzling, and she blocked the light with her backhand, silently counting the floors, floor by floor, counting to the seventeenth floor, stopped, looked for a while, then stepped forward and walked through the door.

This is Pei Yi's residence.

At this time, three days have passed since Pei Yi passed away.

In the past three days, the condition of his parents has been very poor, Pei Ji can't go away, and the whole process of Pei Yi's funeral. She doesn't understand the rituals of funeral treatment. Fortunately, a professional funeral and interment company is here to give her advice so that she won't make mistakes.

After the funeral, Pei Ji asked Pei Yuan for the address and spare key here, and he came directly.

Take the elevator to the seventeenth floor and stop outside the door number 1701. She was sure to look at the number plate again before raising her hand to knock on the door.

She originally wanted to convey Pei Yi's last wishes to the girl named Song Er at the memorial service, telling her that no matter what difficulties she encounters in the future, she can ask her for help, and she will do her best to help.

She paid attention to the registration book of the memorial service from time to time, but until the end, she did not see Song Er's name appearing on the registration book.

Pei Ji felt something was wrong, so he came over.

The door did not open, and no one answered.

After waiting for a while, Pei Ji knocked on the door again.

Still no one answered.

Pei Ji thought for a while, took out the key and opened the door.

The cold air rushed towards his face, and the appearance of the house was shown in front of Pei Ji's eyes.

It's clean and concise. Sofas, coffee tables, TVs, bookshelves, and other furniture. But almost all furniture is round or oval in shape, and large pieces like bookshelves are covered with soft cloth at the corners. The ground was covered with a thick layer of carpet, which was too thick, and it sank slightly.

Standing at the entrance of the hall, Pei Ji glanced at it and felt that the layout here was a bit strange and uncoordinated. Like the children’s room where toddlers live, they are worried about him falling and bumping, adding a layer of protection to the furniture and the floor.

She took a step in and closed the door with her backhand.

A door opening sound came from a room on the left.

Pei Ji followed the voice and turned his head and saw a girl.

The girl walked out slowly, with her hand on the doorknob, her body slightly sideways, towards the door, her lips curled up, her voice filled with joy: "Are you back?"

At this moment, Pei Ji understood why the layout of the living room was so strange, and also why Pei Yi was so uneasy, and asked her to agree to take care of Song Er before she died.

Because Song Er is blind.

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

Haha, I didn't expect it, he was blind.

I said to Pei Ji.

Haha, I didn't expect it, this chapter is so long.

I tell you.