Mermaid By the Shore Chapter 4

Ma Dongchen switched the bag to his left hand and carefully knocked on the dark grey iron door. Soon, there was movement inside the room, and a woman with a heavy nasal voice asked, "Who is it?"

Almost at the same time, the iron door was opened, and half of a swollen face appeared in the gap. Ma Dongchen forced a smile and leaned over: "Sister, I..."

The woman's facial features quickly distorted, and expressions of anger and sadness surged onto her face.

"Get out! I don't want to see you!"

After that, the woman was about to close the door. Ma Dongchen hurriedly put his shoulder against the iron door and begged, "Sister, don't be like this, let's talk..."

"What's there to talk about?" The woman's voice was already tearful. "Find my daughter first!"

"Big sister, calm down, we have something to discuss..." Ma Dongchen put one foot between the iron door and the door frame, "It's all for the children..."

"I don't care!" The woman was still yelling, but a hand grabbed her shoulder and pulled her aside. A gloomy-looking man appeared behind her and looked Ma Dongchen up and down.

"What are you shouting for? Let them in first."

Although the woman was very reluctant, she still stepped aside. Ma Dongchen breathed a sigh of relief, nodded to the woman, and squeezed in.

The man still stared at Ma Dongchen, his eyes lingering on the bag in his hand for a moment. Then he turned around and walked into the house on his own.

This is a two-bedroom house with two sunrooms. The interior is dimly lit and the items are placed in a mess, making the already small space seem even more cramped. The man walked to a crudely made homemade sofa, sat down, and took a cigarette from the small wooden table in front of him. The woman leaned against the washing machine in the corner, hugged her shoulders, and said nothing.

No one greeted Ma Dongchen. This made him standing there with his handbag in his hand, feeling quite awkward. Ma Dongchen thought for a moment, put his handbag at the man's feet, pulled a plastic chair over and sat down, taking out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off his head.

The man smoked half a cigarette and glanced at Ma Dongchen: "Any news about my daughter?"

"Lao Su, this is it," Ma Dongchen bent down and pulled the chair next to the sofa, "In the past two days, I have used all the connections I could find and contacted everyone I could contact..."

The man interrupted him: "Did you find it?"

Ma Dongchen didn't say anything, he just lowered his head and rubbed his neck repeatedly.

"Then don't say anything." The man put out his cigarette, stood up, and said to the woman, "Let's go to the police station."

"No, Lao Su, listen to me..." Ma Dongchen was anxious and grabbed the man's arm, "Didn't I come to discuss something with you?"
 
"What the hell is there to discuss?" The man shook off Ma Dongchen's hand. "Someone from the Song family came to persuade me to wait for another day. Fine, I waited. Someone from the Zhao family came again and asked me to wait for another day. Fine, I waited again. What are you discussing with me now? Asking me to wait? Can I wait that long?"

"I'm not asking you to wait. I'm asking you to work out a solution."

"How do we solve this?" The man's eyes bulged. "It's been almost three days, and my daughter has not been seen alive or dead. If you find Su Lin for me, we can discuss everything. If you can't find her, I'll have to report it to the police."

"Brother Su, let's not just think of the worst." Ma Dongchen swallowed his saliva, "I admit that my daughter did hit Su Lin. But she may not be in trouble. Maybe the child went out to relax..."

"BullSh!t!" The woman who had been silent all this time suddenly exploded, "My daughter is the most obedient and goes home after school. How could she run out to relax!"

"Maybe he was afraid to go home." Ma Dongchen hurriedly explained, "His clothes were torn, his schoolbag was lost --- that's also possible."

"Come on, stop talking nonsense here." The man waved his hand impatiently. "I just know that your daughter beat Su Lin, and then the child disappeared. A living person just disappeared without a clear reason. If you don't give me an explanation, I have to find an explanation."

After that, he called the woman: "Come on, put on your clothes, and go to the police station."

"Brother Su, Brother Su, calm down first." Ma Dongchen stepped forward and held him down. "We are all parents, and we are all for our children. Can you please listen to me?"

"You still Fcuking know that we are her parents?" the man yelled, "I raised her for seventeen years, and you guys ruined her. How the Fcuk can I stay calm?"

"Now no one can be sure that it was our child who killed your daughter!"

"You still don't admit it? Fine." The man pushed Ma Dongchen away, "The Song family has admitted it - let the girl go to the police station with me."

"That was not what I meant..."

Suddenly, there was a sound from the other closed door, which seemed to be the sound of the bed shaking and shoes being put on. Ma Dongchen was stunned and stared at the door for a few seconds, his expression suddenly tense.

"Lao Su, who's in the room?" Ma Dongchen turned around, "Is Su Lin back?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Ma Dongchen ignored him and strode towards the room. The woman stood up and tried to stop him, but it was too late. She could only watch him open the door.

A small room appeared in front of Ma Dongchen. There was only a bed and a desk in the room. A sleepy little boy was sitting beside the bed, putting on football shoes.

Ma Dongchen was stunned. The woman closed the door first.

"You have two children in your family." Ma Dongchen said hesitantly, "Su Lin's younger brother?"

"No." The woman's expression was quite unnatural. "My sister's child came to stay for a few days."

For a moment, everyone fell silent. The woman stood in front of the door with her arms around her shoulders, as if she was afraid that Ma Dongchen would come in again. The man sat back on the sofa and picked up the cigarette box again. However, the cigarette was already gone. He crushed the cigarette box in frustration and threw it on the ground.

Seeing this, Ma Dongchen took out a box of Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket and handed it over.

The man looked at the brand on the cigarette box, hesitated for a moment, and finally took it. As soon as he put the cigarette in his mouth, Ma Dongchen lit it for him swiftly. The man took a deep puff of the cigarette, looked at the handbag at his feet, and threw the cigarette box back.

"Keep it for yourself." Ma Dongchen pushed the cigarette box back in front of him.

"Don't try to play tricks on me." The man blew out a smoke ring. "You have to have an explanation."

"Brother Su, I have a child too. If it were me, I would have to get this matter clear." Ma Dongchen sat down and unbuttoned his shirt. "If you want to report to the police, I have no objection. But it's noon now, and the police station has to take a lunch break, right? It's useless to go there now."

The man looked up at the metal alarm clock on the small wooden table: "I'll go this afternoon."

"Okay." Ma Dongchen rolled up his sleeves, "We have to get things done and eat. How about we have a bite together?"

As he spoke, Ma Dongchen took out two bottles of Wuliangye liquor and four packs of Zhonghua cigarettes from the bag at the man's feet. The man's eyes lit up when he saw the liquor. Then he looked away, but his tone softened.

"No more. I'm not in the mood to drink. Besides, there's nothing at home."

"That's easy." Ma Dongchen unscrewed the bottle of wine and turned to the woman and said, "Sister-in-law, just make something, smashed cucumbers or peanuts will do."

The woman glared at him and turned away.

"No, no!" The man suddenly became irritated, "Do you think I've never drunk alcohol?"

"That's not what I meant." Ma Dongchen still looked relaxed. "You can't drink, right? You look big and strong, are you Mongolian?"

The man was puzzled by the question and answered subconsciously: "No, I am Han Chinese."

"Is your sister-in-law also Han?"

"Han. What on earth do you want to say?"

"Nothing, just chatting." Ma Dongchen smiled, took out a wad of bills from his pocket and handed it to the woman, "Sister-in-law, why don't you stop working and go buy some cooked food or something."

"I'm not going!" The woman didn't even look at him, "I'm not spending your money!"

"Sister-in-law, let's not be angry. We haven't been able to eat or sleep well these past few days." Ma Dongchen pointed at the door behind her, "Even if the adults don't need to eat, don't let the children suffer."

The woman hesitated and turned to look at the man.

The man sucked on the almost burned cigarette B*tt and nodded.

The woman stamped her feet helplessly and reached out to take the money.

Half an hour later, the small wooden table was filled with cooked food such as braised meat, roast chicken, and fried peanuts. The woman cut a large plate and brought it into the small room. Ma Dongchen vaguely heard a small cheer, and then the woman came out, closed the door, pulled a chair over and sat at the door.
 
Ma Dongchen repeatedly invited her to have dinner with him, but the woman refused at first, and then simply ignored him, sitting alone in a daze, occasionally covering her face and sobbing.

The man didn't eat much, but just kept drinking. Soon, his face turned the color of liver and his eyes became blurry.

Although Ma Dongchen urged him to drink frequently, he just took small sips. Most of the nearly empty bottle of Wuliangye liquor went into the man's stomach.

Seeing that the man's glass was almost empty, Ma Dongchen opened the package of another bottle of wine and raised his hand to twist the cap. The man barely kept his eyelids open and reached out to stop him.

"Stop drinking." He shook his head as if it weighed several thousand pounds, and spoke incoherently, "Don't drink anymore."

"It's okay. I can tell you didn't drink enough." Ma Dongchen filled the man's cup and raised his own. "Come on, let's have a drink!"

He raised the glass to his lips, but found that the man didn't move, his bloodshot eyes staring at him.

"Brother Su, you..."

"Stop trying to get close to me. Who is your Big Brother Su?" The man suddenly waved his hand and knocked over the wine glass in front of him. The strong aroma of wine instantly filled the small room.

The woman jumped up from her chair and looked at the man nervously.

Most of the wine was spilled on Ma Dongchen's pants. He didn't say anything, just put down the glass, took out a handkerchief and wiped it silently.

"Do you think I don't know what you're thinking?" The man looked at Ma Dongchen with a half-smile, "You want to get me drunk so I can't go to the police station?"

"No. That's not what I meant." Ma Dongchen put down his handkerchief and forced a smile at him. "It's just a drink. Brother Su, you think too much."

"You got me drunk today, can you get me drunk again tomorrow?" The man knocked on the table, "Can you get me drunk every day?"

"I can come drink with you every day." Ma Dongchen's expression became serious, "As long as this matter can be resolved."

"Fcuk! I know you're rich." The man curled his lips, a complex expression of disdain and resentment on his face, "Your rich kids are human beings, but our poor kids aren't? A 17 or 18-year-old girl is only worth the price of a bottle of wine?"

"I'm just giving an example." Ma Dongchen leaned forward, "Brother Su, I have the sincerity to solve the problem."

"Sincerity is useless!" The man coughed up a mouthful of phlegm and spat it on the ground. "None of you three are telling the truth. You just told me to wait for a while! Okay, you guys can fool us ordinary people. Let's see if you dare to fool the police!"

Ma Dongchen was about to argue when he saw the door of the small room open. He turned his head subconsciously and saw the little boy sticking his head out, holding an empty plate in his greasy hands.

"Mom, I want some more pork head." The little boy held out the plate to the woman, "And chicken."

The woman looked back at Ma Dongchen uneasily, then walked over to take the plate: "Okay, you go in first, I'll get it for you."

Ma Dongchen grabbed the remaining half of the roast chicken from the table and said, "Here, give it all to the children."

The woman took it, looking a little embarrassed, and pointed at the messy table: "You guys should eat something too, don't just drink - don't let him drink anymore."

After saying that, the woman pulled the boy into the small room.

Ma Dongchen watched the door close, turned around, took a cigarette from the cigarette box, handed it to the man, and lit one for himself.

"Brother Su, it's not easy for you either." Ma Dongchen carefully observed the man's expression, "With two children, it must be quite stressful, right?"

The man had slumped back on the sofa, his eyes half open and half closed.

"Damn it, for this guy, I gave up my job as a skilled worker and became a loader. Why? I earn more." The man panted and scratched his chest with his hand. "The kid doesn't even have a household registration, and can't go to school. He has to let his sister tutor him at home."

At this point, the man suddenly sat up and looked at Ma Dongchen fiercely: "What do you think we should do if his sister can't be found now? I used to have both a son and a daughter, but now, what should I do?"

Ma Dongchen flicked the ash from his cigarette: "Well, let's talk about this."

"What are you talking about?" The man slapped the sofa hard. "I just want to know where my daughter is!"

"There are only two possible outcomes to this situation." Ma Dongchen raised a finger. "First, Su Lin is afraid to go home now. No matter what the reason is, she will come back in a few days."

"And the second one?"

"Second," Ma Dongchen raised another finger and paused, "She can't come back."

The man stared at Ma Dongchen blankly, as if his alcohol-anesthetized brain had difficulty understanding the meaning of these words. A few seconds later, he suddenly jumped up and grabbed Ma Dongchen by the collar.

"Fcuk!" the man yelled hysterically, "What did your daughter do to Su Lin?"

"Is it useful to argue about this now?" Ma Dongchen pushed him away without any hesitation. "No matter what the result is, I will give you an explanation!"

"Anonymous!" The man stood up shakily. "I'm going to the police station now. If he's alive, I want to see him. If he's dead, I want to see his body, too!"

"Lao Su!" Ma Dongchen grabbed him, "As long as you don't report it to the police, I will give you a child!"

The man's eyes widened: "What the hell did you say?"

"You heard me right!" Ma Dongchen looked straight into his cloudy eyes, "I will give you a child."

Gu Hao went to Xiyuan early in the morning. This is one of the earliest commercial cemeteries in the city. It is located in the suburbs and has inconvenient transportation. There is one suburban bus in the morning and one in the evening. After getting off the bus, it takes another half an hour to walk to the cemetery.

Tai Zhiliang's tombstone is in the second row, fifth column of Area C. When he arrived at his old friend's resting place, Gu Hao was already out of breath, and his left hand was hurt by the heavy bag. He sat down opposite the tombstone, looking at the smiling photo of Tai Zhiliang, and first cursed: "You old boy, just torture me."

The sun had risen, and the heat was rising between the tombstone, the grass, and the pine and cypress trees. Gu Hao pulled up his collar and fanned himself. When his breathing calmed down a little, he was sweating again. He struggled to get up, took out white wine, paper money, cigarettes, fruits, roast chicken and other offerings from his bag, and placed them in front of the tombstone one by one.
 
The cemetery was quite clean, and it was obvious that it had just been swept. A bunch of slightly wilted flowers were placed next to the tombstone. Gu Hao smiled, thinking that Tai Wei was a really obedient little monkey.

Gu Hao opened a pack of cigarettes, lit one and placed it on the base of the tombstone, then lit one for himself. He sat opposite the tombstone, lowered his head, and smoked silently.

There is nothing to say. Everything that needs to be said has been said over the past few decades. Just sit with your old friend. Gu Hao suddenly thought that if he died first, Tai Zhiliang would definitely talk endlessly in front of his grave, and maybe even perform a set of military boxing on the spot.

The two of them, one is taciturn, the other is eloquent; one is slow, the other is energetic; one is mature since childhood, the other is always full of passion and curiosity about the world.

However, these two people became best friends. How good were they? They fell in love with the same girl.

In the early 1960s, Gu Hao and Tai Zhiliang were soldiers in the same Xinjiang border defense unit. The two were of similar age and from the same city. As they were fellow villagers, they kept in touch more often. One year during vacation, Gu Hao and Tai Zhiliang returned home together and were invited to give a report at a primary school. Gu Hao didn't want to go, but Tai Zhiliang was very enthusiastic and finally dragged him there. At the report meeting, Tai Zhiliang had a good chat with a brigade counselor named Du Qian, and they even exchanged mailing addresses. Unexpectedly, after the two returned to the army, Du Qian really wrote a letter to Tai Zhiliang. Tai Zhiliang was so excited that he jumped up and down and immediately started to write back to the girl. However, he held the pen and looked at the manuscript paper. After a day of holding back, he only wrote the six words "Dear Teacher Du". In desperation, he had to ask for help from Gu Hao, who had graduated from high school. Gu Hao initially refused outright, but since it was related to his comrade's "lifelong happiness", and Tai Zhiliang's constant persuasion, Gu Hao was forced to write a letter for Tai Zhiliang. If you write a letter, you will get a reply. Tai Zhiliang shamelessly came to him again and again, and Gu Hao started dating Du Qian "together" with him. This absurd relationship lasted for more than half a year, until Gu Hao found that he was pouring out his feelings to other people's girlfriends more often in letters, and he realized that something was wrong. What's worse is that Tai Zhiliang also noticed it. The two of them got along awkwardly for a while, and when they were ready to have a formal conversation, the self-defense counterattack broke out.

The troops they were in were thrown into the war. With the enemy at hand, the love between the young and the young could only be put aside. No matter how awkward the relationship was, they had to share life and death on the battlefield. During a siege, a grenade fell at Gu Hao's feet, and he was shooting at the enemy without noticing. Tai Zhiliang flew over and knocked him down. Gu Hao was safe and sound, but Tai Zhiliang had six more shrapnel in his body. Fortunately, he was rescued in time and saved his life.

After the war, the conflict between the two men was resolved. He gave her her life, not to mention that she was not in a relationship. Gu Hao withdrew automatically. Soon after, they were both discharged. After returning to their hometown, Tai Zhiliang and Du Qian no longer needed to send letters, and the secret of the letter was kept for the time being. Tai Zhiliang went to the Public Security Bureau, and Gu Hao went to the security department of the fiberglass factory. Tai Zhiliang and Du Qian finally got married, and gave birth to Tai Wei a few years later. Gu Hao remained single until retirement.

Single, but not alone. Gu Hao has always been a frequent guest at Tai Zhiliang's home, and Tai Wei has long recognized him as his godfather. If Tai Zhiliang had not once made a slip of the tongue after drinking and revealed the fact that Gu Hao had ghostwritten for him, perhaps this special relationship would have lasted forever. Since then, the frequency of Gu Hao's visits to Tai Zhiliang's home has dropped sharply. Tai Zhiliang and his wife probably knew the reason why Gu Hao had been single, and began to look for someone to introduce to him. However, Gu Hao was as stubborn as a rock, and he would not meet anyone no matter what the other person's conditions were. As a result, Tai Zhiliang's old friend's marriage became a thorn in his side, and he could not let it go until he died of illness.

Gu Hao left the cemetery at noon. The suburban bus would only run once in the evening, and he couldn't wait, so he hired a tricycle from a farmer who was going to the city to sell vegetables, and then took the bus when he got to the city.

It was already afternoon when he got home. After walking all the way in the sun, Gu Hao felt much more comfortable when he walked into the cool corridor. He took out his key while walking up the stairs. As soon as he opened the outdoor door, he saw a middle-aged man in a white shirt walking out of Room 101 opposite.

"Don't see me off, don't see me off." The man turned his back to Gu Hao and waved towards the room, "Brother Su, let's make a deal now. I'll go back and..."

The man suddenly noticed Gu Hao behind him, swallowed the rest of his words, just nodded to Gu Hao and hurried out.

Gu Hao held the key and glanced at the half-open door of Room 101, just in time to see the tear-stained face of the hostess opposite. In less than a second, the door closed.

The corridor was quiet again, with a hint of wine and meat. Gu Hao, who had been hungry for a long time, sniffed and began to think about what to eat to fill his stomach. He inserted the key into the lock and turned it halfway, when he suddenly thought of something. After entering the door, Gu Hao threw his bag on the bed and turned to the kitchen.

On the stove in the public kitchen, two plates were placed together. Gu Hao lifted the top plate and saw two cold fried eggs lying neatly at the bottom. Gu Hao thought for a moment, turned on the gas stove, heated the two fried eggs in a frying pan, and ate them while standing in the kitchen.

It tasted a little better than yesterday. Gu Hao washed the dishes, put them in the cupboard, and went back to his room. When he passed the door of Room 101, he couldn't help but take another look. The dark gray iron door was still closed, and a woman's crying voice could be heard faintly from inside. Gu Hao wanted to go over and listen, but he felt it was inappropriate. After hesitating for a while, he chose to go home.

After brewing a pot of tea and lighting a cigarette, Gu Hao sat on the bed, fanning himself slowly. For a moment, he was absent-minded. After a long time, Gu Hao realized that he was still thinking about the girl next door - the girl had not come to eat fried eggs for the third day.

The story begins a month ago.

Early one morning, Gu Hao woke up from severe abdominal pain. He thought he would be fine if he just held on, but the pain in his lower abdomen became more and more severe. Gu Hao struggled to the hospital, but fainted from the pain before the doctor came to check on him. After waking up, the doctor asked his family to come to the hospital. Gu Hao had no choice but to call Tai Wei. Hou Zaizi rushed to the hospital and took him for a lot of tests, and finally confirmed that it was kidney stones. The doctor recommended surgery. Gu Hao thought about it and didn't agree. Because he had no children, if he was hospitalized, Tai Wei would definitely be involved. In the end, he chose conservative treatment, just prescribed a few boxes of medicine and went home. A few days later, Tai Wei got a folk remedy for treating kidney stones from somewhere - eat two fried eggs a day.
 
I don't know if this folk remedy works, but it's convenient. Besides, Tai Wei sent another five pounds of eggs, and it would be a waste if I didn't eat them. Gu Hao fried two eggs for himself every night as a midnight snack. One day, he was watching the Chinese team's football game at home, and he got hungry. While frying the eggs, he heard Song Shixiong's voice coming from the TV in the back room: "The ball went in! The Chinese team tied the score..."

Gu Hao hurriedly turned off the fire and ran into the house to watch the replay. When he returned to the public kitchen, he found that the two fried eggs in the pot were gone.

Of course, the fried egg wouldn't run away on its own. Gu Hao looked at the door of Room 101 and had an idea in his mind.

The Su family moved in about two years ago. Although they had been neighbors for quite some time, they did not have much contact at first. First, Gu Hao lived in the factory most of the time and rarely went home; second, the four members of the Su family usually stayed at home and rarely went out. Even if they met, they would just nod and say hello. After Gu Hao retired and stayed at home, he gradually got to know this family.

The head of the household, Lao Su, worked in the loading and unloading team of the fiberglass factory. His wife, surnamed Yang, was unemployed and a housewife. They had two children. The older one was a girl, nicknamed Linlin, who was in high school. The younger one was a boy, about twelve or thirteen years old. He had never been to school and stayed at home all day.

After spending a long time together, Gu Hao was quite dissatisfied with some of the practices of the Su family. This is an old residential building. The two families share a kitchen, and the water and electricity bills are shared equally, but the gas tanks are used by each family. Logically speaking, there are four people in the Su family, and Gu Hao is a bachelor. If you talk about who pays more for water and electricity, it is obvious at a glance. Gu Hao is not a person who likes to care about things, and he just lets it go. But Old Su and his wife are people who can't get enough of taking advantage, and often steal his gas tank when Gu Hao is not around. There were two times when Gu Hao accidentally ran into them, and they said that their gas tanks were out of gas and they borrowed it temporarily. If it were just these little things, Gu Hao could still understand. After all, the old Su family's income is not high, and the couple is under great pressure in life. But their attitude towards the two children really made Gu Hao unbearable.

There is no doubt that the little boy was born out of wedlock. Under the current family planning policy, this child is an undocumented illegal resident and could cause his father to lose his job at any time. However, for Old Su, this is the only child that allows the Su family to continue. It goes without saying that the couple dotes on him, and basically gives him whatever he wants. A child from a working-class family is spoiled. In comparison, the eldest daughter's status in the family is much lower. The girl is tall and thin, with a pale face and a malnourished look. After returning home, she does homework and housework, and she is rarely seen talking. The little boy always wears new clothes and pants, but the girl always wears old school uniforms. The girl is quite polite, and occasionally when she meets him, she bows and calls him "Uncle Gu". I saw her wiping tears in the kitchen a few times, and I don't know if she was angry with her parents or bullied by her younger brother.

Needless to say, the egg incident was definitely done by that lawless little boy. Gu Hao remained calm on the surface, but secretly decided to teach this kid a lesson. The next night, Gu Hao fried two more eggs and deliberately made the pots and pans squeak. After frying the eggs, he turned off the gas and the kitchen lights, walked to the outdoor door, and said loudly, "Lao Zhang, wait a minute, I'll be there soon." He opened the door and closed it again. Afterwards, Gu Hao quietly slipped back home and stuck to the door to listen to the movement in Room 101.

A few minutes later, the iron door across the street creaked. There were footsteps. The lid of a pot was opened. There were chewing sounds...

Then, there were the sounds of "Ouch" and "Pah, pah, pah".

Gu Hao was happy. "You little B@st@ard, I added three tablespoons of salt, it's so salty that it's going to kill you."

He opened the door, walked a few steps to the public kitchen, and turned on the light.

Instantly, the orange light came on, but the smile of a successful prank froze on the corner of Gu Hao's mouth.

The eldest daughter of the Su family was like a frightened little rabbit, covering her eyes with one hand and holding a bit of fried egg in the other hand.

Gu Hao was stunned and asked hesitantly, "Why is it you?"

The girl didn't answer, nor did she need to. She moved to the stove and put the fried eggs back into the pan, covering her eyes with her hands. After a moment, her shoulders began to tremble, and sparkling tears began to flow from between her fingers.

Gu Hao panicked and tried to comfort her in a panic: "Don't cry... I don't blame you."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Gu." The girl burst into tears, "I just finished my evening study... I didn't eat..."

Gu Hao frowned: "Where are your parents?"

"I took my brother to visit grandpa and grandma's grave." The girl cried breathlessly, "I'm hungry... I'm sorry."

"You yesterday too?"

"Yeah." The girl buried her head deeply, "I thought it was what you left over."

Gu Hao was silent for a while and threw all the eggs in the pot into the trash can.

"Go wash your hands." Gu Hao turned on the gas stove, "Wash your face too, you're crying like a kitten."

The girl burst into laughter, hummed with a tearful voice, and went back to her room obediently.

When they returned to the kitchen, there was already a plate on the stove with two steaming fried eggs on it. Gu Hao pulled a chair over and motioned for the girl to sit down.

"Fry some more steamed bread slices?"

"No, no." The girl couldn't wait to pick up the chopsticks, "This is good - thank you, Mr. Gu."

"What are you thanking me for? I shouldn't have teased you." Gu Hao also sat down and lit a cigarette. "I thought it was your brother who did it."

"He won't." The girl smiled, "My mother will do it for him."

Gu Hao snorted and said nothing.

The girl looked at Gu Hao's face carefully and said, "My parents are very good to me. My brother is still growing up."

"You are not?" Gu Hao flicked the ash off his cigarette. "How old are you? Aren't you also a child?"

"I'm the older sister," the girl answered seriously, "A sister should give in to her younger brother, right?"

"Eat it quickly." Gu Hao didn't comment and pointed at the plate, "It won't taste good if it gets cold."
 
In the small kitchen at night, under the dim light, an old man was smoking silently, and a girl was eating fried eggs with big mouthfuls. Life is just like this.

Soon, the two fried eggs were eaten up in the girl's stomach. She cleaned the plates, chopsticks and frying pan with swift hands and feet, and bowed deeply to Gu Hao.

"Thank you, Mr. Gu."

"It's just two eggs. What's there to thank me for?" Gu Hao thought for a moment, "What time do you finish your evening study?"

"Nine o'clock." The girl looked confused. "What's wrong?"

"Come over after evening self-study." Gu Hao pointed at the stove, "I'll fry eggs for you."

"No, no. That would be too much trouble for you." The girl waved her hands repeatedly, "Besides, my parents would scold me if they knew."

"You won't keep it from them?" Gu Hao frowned. "It's settled. I'll put it on the stove, and you can eat and leave. No need to wash the dishes, and don't make too much noise."

"Then..." The girl bit her lip, with an expression of embarrassment and expectation on her face, "Uncle Gu, what can I do for you?"

"Not yet." Gu Hao smiled, "I'll tell you when I think of it."

"Okay." Perhaps because she was full, the girl's pale face had a blush. She waved to Gu Hao, turned around and ran back to Room 101.

In this way, the old and the young had a secret of two fried eggs. They were silent and tacitly understood each other. Gu Hao fried four eggs on time every night, ate two of them himself, and covered the other two with a plate and placed them on the stove. In the morning, the plates were washed clean and placed in the cupboard. I don't know how the girl washed them carefully and tried not to make any noise that would be discovered by her parents.

Occasionally, Gu Hao would find freshly picked wild flowers on the door handle. Needless to say, he knew that this was a little thought from the girl.

This tacit understanding lasted for a month, until that rainy night.

Gu Hao thought about it, and didn't come back to his senses until the burnt cigarette hurt his fingers. He threw away the cigarette B*tt in a hurry, smiled bitterly and shook his head. Yes, what does it have to do with me? Not liking fried eggs anymore, being blamed by parents - these may make the girl stop coming to the public kitchen. How can an old man like me understand the thoughts of a girl of this age? This is good, they are not related to each other, and I can save two eggs.

Gu Hao lay back, leaning comfortably on the bed, and began to think about what to eat in the evening and how to pass the rest of the long day.

His mind wandered, he was carefree and lazy. However, what Gu Hao didn't realize was that he had been staring at a wine bottle on the desk. Inside was a bunch of wild flowers that were beginning to wither.