Stay Safe

After Yin Xiaoli sent her the link, she did not forget to tease her maliciously: "As I said, what kind of props do you buy for such a big beauty in your family? No matter how good the props are, they are not as good as real people. It would be nice if you could touch it with temperature."

Muzhenxi returned her words to her and said solemnly, "I also warn you, don't make this kind of joke with me again."

Yin Xiaoli stuck out her tongue on the other end of the phone and closed her mouth embarrassingly.

Yin Xiaoli: "I'm busy, you can call me again if you have anything."

Wooden Pillow Creek: "Yeah."

The two hung up the phone, and Muxinxi clicked on the purchase links that Yin Xiaoli sent her, casually flipped through the description and comments, added two items to the shopping cart, and did not place an order.

She has a little bit of resistance to this, and she doesn't plan to use it unless she has to. Let's wait and see for a while. If she can't control the frequency of her spring dreams, she will try again.

It's not that there is no other way, Mu Zhenxi thought about it, deleted the name of the prop in the search bar, typed the word "Buddhist scripture", and then a series of scriptures popped up, she picked a few and placed an order. , will arrive in two days.

After all, there is a countermeasure. Wooden pillow Brook set the car on fire, held the steering wheel, and drove towards the company to be interviewed.

Xiao Jin patiently waited until three o'clock in the afternoon, when the interview in Muzhenxi started, before she got up from the desk and quickly entered the study. She didn't rush to get the key, but first took a picture of the desk with her mobile phone. Zhang photo. Then I dragged the stool and stepped on it to find the key. I also remembered the location of the key in my heart, lest Muxinxi find something wrong when he came back.

Squatting in front of the drawer, Xiao Jin's hands trembled uncontrollably, and after calming down, he let out a breath and slowly opened the lock.

Covering the top is the photo frame that Xiao Jin saw through the crack of the door that night.

Face up, Xiao Jin wiped his hand on the trouser legs before carefully holding out the photo frame that was far from the normal size.

Inside is a photo, one old and one young, the old lady is sitting on a chair, her face is kind, and she is still a little restrained towards the camera. A granddaughter in a white school uniform with a bright smile.

Mu Zhenxi had one hand hanging by her side, but the other hand disappeared. Only Xiao Jin knew that her hand was behind her grandmother's back and she was holding hands with her.

There were originally three people in this cropped photo.

She, Wooden Pillow Creek, Grandma.

During the summer vacation when the first year of high school ended, Muzhenxi was successfully promoted to the experimental class. Xiao Jin made an agreement with her before that if she could be admitted to the experimental class, she would have to take herself to her house. After the scores were announced and the latest class quota came down, Muxianxi fulfilled the agreement and took her to her home. She and her grandmother lived in a very old tube building. The combined bedroom and kitchen were not as big as Xiao Jin's cloakroom alone, and there was no separate bathroom. She had to go to the public toilet at the end of the corridor to take a shower or go to the bathroom.

Mu Zhenxi was worried, and had been paying attention to whether she showed a look of disgust.

Xiao Jin is really not used to it, especially the strange smell in the corridor, but her good upbringing allows her to deal with everything calmly, at least not to show it in front of others, especially the person in front of her is the one she likes. But soon, her attention was drawn to something else, a small photo album in a bedside drawer in Wooden Pillow Creek.

After obtaining permission, Xiao Jin took out the photo album, spread it on the table, and opened it with anticipation. The album is quite thick, but there are few photos in it, one hand can count them, the birth photo of Muzhenxi, and then I don't know if it is one or two years old, there are two photos, and then it is blank.

Xiao Jin flipped through the album in surprise: "What about the other photos?"

Mu Zhenxi put one hand on the table, and shrugged his shoulders in a very indifferent tone: "I don't like taking pictures."

Xiao Jin didn't say anything. He approached her, blinked his eyes, and said, "I want to take a picture for you, do you want to take a picture?"

Mu Zhenxi was stunned for a moment, bit his lip and said, "It depends on your mood."

Xiao Jin saw that she wanted to take a photo, and smiled. Next time she went to her house, she would hang a DSLR around her neck. She picked a sunny place and called Grandma Muzhenxi together. Under a tree in the front of the yard, I asked a neighbor to take a group photo of the three of them.

After the photos were developed, Xiao Jin went to find a photo frame to frame them, and gave them to Wooden Pillow Creek.

On the surface of Wooden Pillow Creek, he just thanked him politely and restrainedly, but when he got home, he put the photo frame on the table at home and wiped it every day. Although the Tongzilou is dilapidated, it faces south, and the sun is very good. The three smiling faces in the photo are illuminated more and more brilliantly by the sun.

…

Now the self in this photo has been cut clean.

Xiao Jin rubbed the old and the young in the photo with her fingers. Grandma always worried that Muzhenxi would be isolated at school and bullied by her classmates because of her parents. She was worried that she would not be able to make friends. It was the first time that Muzhenxi brought her classmates home. Very happy, he went to the vegetable market specially, made a table of dishes, and two plates of meat that almost never appeared on the table. Xiao Jin had eaten all the delicacies from mountains and seas, but he will always remember that meal.

Grandma likes a clean and gentle girl like Xiao Jin very much. She likes it from the bottom of her heart. She often does her needlework while educating Muxianxi to her. Xiao Jin is good here and there, and she wants to learn more from her.

Mu Zhenxi is very respectful to her grandmother, she is thoughtful and patient, her eyebrows and eyes are gently curved, and she says that she is good and good, and she does not have the rebellious mentality of other children of this age when they face the nagging of their elders. On the other hand, Xiao Jin would turn around and excuse Muzhenxi with a smile: "Grandma, I'm really not as good as you said, that is, be nice in front of you."

Grandma said in surprise, "Really?"

"Yeah." Xiao Jin pointedly looked at Wooden Pillow Creek, and said in a high tone, "I often bully Xiaoxi in private."

Mu Zhenxi was thin-skinned, understood her deep meaning, and immediately lowered his head.

Grandma looked at the two of them, smiled and said nothing. Later, she asked the red-faced Wooden Pillow Creek to pick vegetables.

She regards herself as her second granddaughter, from the colorful ropes and egg pockets for the Dragon Boat Festival to the winter sweaters. Every time she gives it to the wooden pillow stream, she always prepares a copy for Xiao Jin, all of which are hand-woven by her grandmother. .

Although my grandmother didn't say it explicitly, Xiao Jin always felt that she knew the relationship between herself and Muzhenxi.

A tear fell on the surface of the photo frame, melted away, and landed on Grandma's kind face. Xiao Jin wiped the water away with her fingers.

It's a pity I didn't get to see her for the last time.

Xiao Jin suddenly raised his head, forcing back the raging tears in his eyes.

She took this incomplete photo with her mobile phone, put it back in the drawer, restored it to its original state, closed the door gently and exited.

Grandma's death is a hurdle in Muzhenxi's heart that will never be overcome. If there is one person in the world who knows how deep the relationship between Muzhenxi and grandma is, that person is Xiao Jin. If she could choose, Xiao Jin believed that Muzhenxi would not hesitate to trade her life for her grandmother's health. But so far, Muzhenxi has never mentioned her grandmother. It's not that she has forgotten it, but that she has always buried this matter in her heart and does not let anyone touch this restricted area.

As one of the half parties, Xiao Jin dared not touch it easily.

Muzhenxi can lightly mention the failure of the college entrance examination that year, and can say the fact that they have broken up with pain but restraint, but can't reveal any word about her grandmother, even this photo frame is locked in the drawer, keeping it a secret. Xiao Jin couldn't imagine what it would look like when the calm appearance was broken, and a wooden pillow stream that was ignited, detonated, and hysterical would look like?

She can't take risks.

Xiao Jin covered her warm eyelids with her fingers and threw herself on the bed weakly.

How to do?

The phone rang.

Xiao Jin looked at the caller ID, sniffed, and picked it up: "Cousin."

Cousin Lu Ling was stunned when she heard the voice: "Do you have a cold?"

Xiao Jin followed her words and admitted, "A little bit."

Lu Ling said: "There has been a lot of flu recently, so pay attention to rest."

Xiao Jin said, "I will."

This cousin, Lu Ling, is five or six years older than Xiao Jin. She is a strong woman. She travels frequently and is very busy with her work. She didn't talk to her much, and cut to the point: "You said you have something important to ask me, what is it?"

Xiao Jin sat up, considered the words, and slowly probed: "Do you have the contact information of my parents?"

Lu Ling's tone was very natural: "Yes, what's wrong?"

Xiao Jin made an excuse and said, "I didn't know what I pressed on my phone last time, and I lost a lot of numbers. Can you send me their numbers?" Xiao Jin thought to himself, didn't they break up? Or does Lu Ling not know about her family?

The phone dinged, and Lu Ling sent her two numbers.

Lu Ling asked, "That's all?"

Xiao Jin said, "No, there are other things."

Lu Ling said, "You say it."

Xiao Jin said, "Cousin, do you know that I went back to China during the summer vacation of 2008 nine years ago?" Xiao Jin didn't give much hope when he asked. After all, she and Lu Ling had an age difference. When she was in high school, Lu Ling was almost graduating from university, and she was far from being close to her cousins ​​of the same age, even if she might meet during the festivals, but Lu Ling's words made her hair stand up all over her body.

Lu Ling said: "I know, you live in my house, to be exact, my house at the time."

Xiao Jin: "???"

She immediately asked, "What happened then? Can you recall some details?"

Lu Ling frowned: "Why do you suddenly ask this?"

Xiao Jin calmed down his excitement a little and said, "Don't ask so much, this matter is very important to me, but it's been too long, I can't remember it clearly, you try to recall as much as possible."

Lu Ling was inexplicable, but still said, "Okay, I'll try my best."

Lu Ling recalled intermittently.

In 2008, Lu Ling had already worked, but she did not move out at home. When she came home from get off work one day, she found that there was one more person at home. Her reaction was the same as when Xiao Jin's classmate Wan Jing saw her, she didn't recognize Xiao Jin at all. It's more like a walking dead than a living person. Until her mother, who is Xiao Jin's aunt, pulled her aside and whispered to her, "This is your cousin Xiao Jin, who is seriously ill. She will rest at our house for a while."

Lu Ling could barely glimpse the traces of her former cousin.

She asked her mother why Xiao Jin didn't go back to her own home to recuperate when she returned to China. Her family didn't have a house, and what about her parents?

Auntie said that she didn't know the reason. It seemed that Xiao Jin didn't want to go back, and even refused to see her parents. Her parents were also weird. They seemed to be a little afraid of Xiao Jin and only let her have a good rest at her aunt's house.

Her parents came once, but they didn't dare to enter the door. They only spoke to the aunt carefully outside, and told her to pay attention to Xiao Jin's safety.

Lu Ling had to go to work during the day, and only saw Xiao Jin at night. Xiao Jin didn't like to talk, and she didn't have a good rest. Sometimes she knocked on the door to bring Xiao Jin a glass of milk, and she would see her hands on her knees. Sitting on the bay window, looking at the outside motionless, his eyes were red and swollen, and there were traces of crying.

Most of the time, Lu Ling left after delivering the milk. One time, she couldn't bear it, so she stayed to sit with her for a while, trying to enlighten her, but Xiao Jin kept her mouth shut and took the initiative to order the eviction.

After staying at her house for about a month or two, Xiao Jin left and never came back.

Xiao Jin extracted a key point from it: "You said my parents are afraid of me?"

Lu Ling said: "Yes, it may be a quarrel, but I don't know what kind of quarrel can make such a quarrel."

Xiao Jin asked: "Is there anything else? Apart from resting at your house, have I gone out?" According to Wan Jing, she should have gone to Wan Jing, so besides Wan Jing, where else did she go? Where, or who else have you seen?

Lu Ling shook her head: "I don't know about this. I'm only at home at night. Maybe my parents know about the day. Do you want to ask them? I'll give you my phone number? You've been abroad for so long, and they changed your number, so you'll be fine too. do not know."

By now, Xiao Jin is already "starved for food", and it is very important to have a little information: "Okay, give it to me, I will ask myself."

Xiao Jin entered a new text message with the phone number of her aunt lying in it.

Xiao Jin called her aunt.

Auntie didn't hear her voice, Xiao Jin was still stunned for a few seconds after reporting to her family auntie, and then stumbled and said, "It's Xiao Jin, it's been a long time since Auntie, are your parents okay?"

Xiao Jinhu said, "It's good."

Auntie chatted with her awkwardly: "...that's good, when are you free to have a meal together."

Xiao Jin didn't talk to her much, a junior and an elder had nothing to say, especially Xiao Jin guessed that she should not have contacted these elders in these years, and she was very unfamiliar.

Xiao Jin: "Auntie, I just wanted to ask about what happened nine years ago. I lived in your house for a month or two, do you remember?"

The aunt replied: "Remember to remember."

Xiao Jin: "Did I go out during the day and where did I go, do you know?"

The aunt sighed and said, "It's been so long, how can I remember it. How is your condition? Is your leg better? When I asked your mother before, she said it was cured."

Xiao Jin was disappointed and said perfunctorily, "Well, it's already fine."

The aunt said again: "That's good."

Xiao Jin chatted with her for a while and then hung up.

She looked down at her phone, and now there was only one clue left of her parents. She had 110,000 unwillingness in her heart, so she had to copy one of the numbers and press the dial button.

beep-

beep-

Xiao Jin listened to the voice inside with no expression on his face.

The phone is on.

No one spoke, only the sound of breathing on the other side.

for a long time.

The person over there murmured, "You..."

A burst of intense emotions suddenly rushed to Tianling Gai, Xiao Jin's chest rose and fell violently for no reason, his eyes quickly turned red like bloodshot, and he immediately hung up the phone.

No more calls from there.

The room was as quiet as if nothing had ever happened.

Xiao Jin forcefully threw himself onto the bed and covered his face with a pillow.

***

"Your company's philosophy is in line with mine, and I am looking forward to future cooperation." Muzhenxi smiled and shook hands with the art director standing in front of him.

The art director smiled and said, "I also look forward to seeing you show off your skills here and collide with different sparks of inspiration. I don't know if Miss Mu is in a hurry to go back? If you are not in a hurry, can I show you the working environment in the future?"

Wooden Pillow Creek nodded.

This game company is a top-ranking company in China, and its scale is more than ten times larger than the one Muxianxi previously worked for.

Originally, she was arranged to take over an old project with mature operation and stable income. She got familiar with it for a while, but Muzhenxi refused. She already has a comprehensive understanding of the domestic game market, especially mobile games. She does not want to do that kind of pure waste. A matter of time and effort. The director didn't think she was arrogant, but admired her temperament. Geniuses are always a bit arrogant.

Muzhenxi visited the company for a while, looking at the time, and wanted to go home to cook for Xiao Jin, but the art director offered to invite her to dinner, under the name of welcoming new employees.

Muzhenxi couldn't refuse, so he sent a message to Xiao Jin: [I have interviewed at the new company, I have dinner with my colleagues at night, I may go back later, there are ingredients in the refrigerator, you can make something to eat, or order takeout]

Xiao Jin didn't reply.

Wooden Pillow Creek glances at his phone from time to time.

The art director over there had already closed the office door, stepped on stiletto heels, smiled gracefully, and made an inviting gesture towards Wooden Pillow Stream: "Let's go."

Wooden Pillow Creek had to put away the phone.

The director has a lot of unique insights into the current situation of the industry. He speaks well and speaks generously, which makes people feel very comfortable. Muzhenxi was talking to her, and then he concentrated on it, forgetting the time.

The two said goodbye at the door of the restaurant and drove home.

Mu Zhenxi fastened her seat belt, raised her hand to squeeze her eyebrows, and took out her phone from her bag. Xiao Jin never replied to her news. Muzhenxi dug out Xiao Jin's number from the address book, tapped it with his finger, paused before pressing the dial button, retracted his finger again, and threw the phone into the storage table.

Xiao Jin didn't eat dinner. In the dark bedroom, she was lying on the bed with her hands on her face. She had been in this position for three hours. She had a mobile phone with a bright screen in front of her, and she lay quietly in the screen. The message that Wooden Pillow Creek sent her.

There was a sound from the door, Xiao Jin locked the screen of his mobile phone, and quickly closed his eyes.

Wooden Pillow Creek turned on the lights in the living room, looked left and right, and saw no one from Xiao Jin.

It's past ten o'clock at night, are you sleeping?

Xiao Jin pricked her ears and listened to the movement outside. The footsteps were not far or near. After about a few minutes, footsteps approached. She took the time to take two deep breaths in succession, and then maintained an even inhalation and exhalation frequency. , The eyelashes try to avoid shaking.

Wooden pillow creek gently pushed open the bedroom door, fumbling with his hand on the wall beside the door, his palm slowly down, hardly making any sound, and turning on the room light.

A room of light poured into her eyes, and the woman sleeping curled up like a cat on the bed.

Wooden Pillow Creek watched silently at the door for a while, then lifted his legs and walked in.

Xiao Jin was still wearing the clothes of the day, obviously she had never taken a shower. Wooden pillow stream had a headache, she pushed Xiao Jin's arm twice and whispered in her ear: "Wake up, take a shower and then go back to sleep. ."

"…"

"Xiao Jin?"

"…"

"Xiao Jin."

"…"

no respond.

Muzhenxi turned her over resignedly, took off her socks, pulled the quilt beside her to cover her, and let out a long sigh.

That breath sighed all the way into Xiao Jin's heart, who was pretending to be asleep.

Immediately afterwards, I heard the other party's troubled self-talk: "How can you completely give up?"

Xiao Jin's eyelashes trembled uncontrollably.

Wooden Pillow Creek immediately fell silent, tucked her quilt, and crept out.

The lights dimmed and the door closed.

Xiao Jin opened his eyes in the dark and stayed up all night.

Before going to bed at night, Muxinxi was frightened, and finally no longer had strange dreams, and woke up refreshingly in the morning. When he knocked on the door and told Xiao Jin to get up and run, his voice was much louder.

"Get up." Wooden Pillow Creek called out as he approached the door, and the door was opened from the inside as soon as his hand was halfway up.

Wooden Pillow Creek took his hand back and greeted her: "Good morning."

Xiao Jin was depressed: "Good morning."

Muzhenxi pointed to the door and said, "I'm going out."

"Yeah." Xiao Jin scratched his hair and said, "I didn't sleep well last night, I have to catch up later."

Muzhenxi saw the bloodshot in her eyes and said, "Go to sleep, do you need to bring you breakfast?"

"No, thank you, I'm going to sleep until noon." Xiao Jin slowly closed the bedroom door in front of her.

The good mood of the wooden pillow stream all morning turned into nothing because he didn't have a spring dream.

The proprietress of Wang Ji Breakfast saw that she was alone, glanced behind her, and asked Xiao Jin, "Where's the little girl who came with you these two days?"

Muzhenxi removed the chopsticks, mixed the soup powder and side dishes in the bowl, and said lightly, "She's not coming."

The proprietress was quite regretful: "Why didn't she come? I think she is quite interesting."

Wooden Pillow Creek was silent.

There is no need to wait for her to answer, the proprietress herself went back after sighing, and continued to work in full swing.

Habits are a terrible thing. It has only been a few days, and Muzhenxi already feels that eating breakfast alone is a very lonely thing. She thought about things, and walked back slowly along the lake. There were those small stones on the road. She kicked lightly all the way, entertained herself, and the smile gradually filled the corners of her lips.

There were a few students in school uniforms beside them, who were probably going to school, and gave her several glances. Wooden Pillow Creek turned the stone and kicked it into the lake, looked at the students, the students looked at each other, tugged at each other's sleeves, quickened their pace, and scurried away.

Wooden Pillow Stream: "???"

What is this world, does she look like a strange aunt?

Muzhenxi couldn't help but turn on the front camera of his mobile phone to take a picture of himself. There was no broken face in it. What happened to those students?

Wooden pillow creek sent a message to Yin Xiaoli to complain about what had just happened.

Yin Xiaoli replied with a series of "hahahaha", and then said that she was pretending to be tender, which scared the students, and told her to remember the duty of a twenty-eight-year-old aunt, not to be so naive in front of children.

Wooden Pillow Creek replied: I'm only eighteen.

Yin Xiaoli continued hahaha, saying that you are happy.

Yin Xiaoli was using her method, intentionally or unintentionally, to remind Muxianxi of the fact that she was no longer young, and she couldn't stand the pain in her relationship again.

Muzhenxi chatted with her all the way to the door of the house, then put away the phone and unlocked the door, as if there was no one like Xiao Jin at home, Muzhenxi didn't take a look at the bedroom, went into the study, and opened the computer and software.

Xiao Jin really slept until noon, got up to wash, bathe, eat, and slept full and refreshed. She seemed to have reached some kind of tacit agreement with Muzhenxi, and Muxianxi vaguely felt it, but she hoped that this was not another time for Xiao Jin to play on the scene.

In the afternoon of the same day, Muzhenxi took Xiao Jin to the hospital again for a head MRI.