The hall was quieter.

Only the middle-aged man, biting the apple one by one, chewing the sound.

Biting down hard, the middle-aged man stopped his movements, put down his hand, turned his head, and looked at the closed door of the hall.

“...... After my wife died, my mother passed away the following year. Before she died, at the bedside, she was still telling me that she must marry another one and have another male baby, so as not to let the Wu family cut off the incense...... Does it really have to be that important?"

The middle-aged man's eyes were in a trance, and he said,

"At that time, it seemed that everyone said this, and I seemed to have forgotten what my youngest sister had said to me when she died, and felt that it was right, that girls would belong to someone else's family sooner or later, and that only boys were really their own children, just like my parents treated my three sisters, and treated Rui Rui ......"

"I don't understand until now that everybody is saying that because it's been wrong for so long. ”

As he spoke, the middle-aged man lowered his head again, looked at the apple he had bitten in his hand, was silent, and continued,

"When she was 12 years old, she went to school and started junior high school, and from then on, I let her live in the school. From the time she went on to higher education, all the way to her ...... I didn't even take the initiative to call her, I didn't ask her about her life at school, I didn't care if anything happened to her at school......"

The middle-aged man spoke, and his voice couldn't help but pause,

“...... I don't know how she studies, how she lives, how she gets along with her classmates and friends, and what she likes...... She always tried to call home, but I never listened.

Every time, she was happy to tell me about the interesting things that happened to her at school, about her teachers, about her classmates, about her life...... It's like when she was a kid, I just walked away, and at that time, when I listened to it, I would just hang up the phone......"

Looking at the apple, the middle-aged man fell silent again.

Lian Ge glanced at the middle-aged man, didn't say anything, just waited quietly,

......

“...... It was also that year,"

The middle-aged man lowered his head and looked at the apple,

"It was my birthday, and I can remember her birthday because it was her mother's death day. But she always remembered my birthday, she remembered it from a very young age, and she never forgot it......

The year before, on my birthday, she didn't know how long she had saved up for the food I gave her, and on my birthday, she bought me a bag of apples, which I didn't eat or taste, and took them directly to the spiritual throne as an offering......

As he spoke, the middle-aged man paused before continuing,

"It was my birthday and Friday, and I was working in the next village to repair people's houses. I knew she was supposed to be back from school that afternoon, but I didn't go back early.

At that time, it was already late, and the main family was already busy preparing dinner, and we were also packing up and putting the finishing touches......

Just then, my phone rang, and it was an unfamiliar number.

After picking up the phone, she told me that she was the homeroom teacher of Rui Rui's school, and that Rui Rui had an accident at school and asked me to go to school as soon as possible.

I asked her what was the matter and she told me...... Rui Rui is dead......"

The middle-aged man still lowered his head, but his body trembled slightly, and he couldn't say any more.

The hall was quiet again.

......

“...... At that time, when I heard this sentence, my mind seemed empty, and I didn't know what I was thinking or what it was like. ”

After a long time, the middle-aged man raised his head, looked up, and continued,

"I don't know how I got to school, but I remember that when I got to school, Rui Rui was still lying at the door of the toilet, her body, her head, there was blood, her two hands clenched into fists, pinched together, squeezed very tightly...... Even if she's ...... I didn't let go, and in the clenched fist was a handful of torn and crumpled change, one, five, ten......"

"When I got to school, the three people who killed Rui Rui had already been caught, it was two girls, and a boy, the oldest boy was only a year older than Rui Rui, and he was still smiling at me when I was standing next to me, and he seemed to be very happy......

The middle-aged man spoke, his tone was calm, but the hand holding the apple was clenched tighter and tighter.

“...... After taking photos and investigating the scene, the police took me, Rui Rui, and the three brutes to the police station...... The police were interrogating the three brutes in the interrogation room, and the forensic doctor was in another room, performing an autopsy on Ruirui, and I was sitting at the door of the room, my mind still empty, not knowing what to think, not knowing what to think......"

“...... After the interrogation and autopsy, the police told me what had happened...... The three brutes were often in school, blackmailing and threatening some students, asking others to pay them 'protection' fees, and Rui Rui was also a target of their blackmail...... They said that they had blackmailed Rui Rui many times, and every time she was scared, Rui Rui would obediently pay the money...... But that day, the three brutes happened to notice that Rui Rui had money on her, so they blocked Rui Rui at the door of the toilet and wanted to blackmail, but this time, Rui Rui said that she would not give anything, so they held down Rui Rui twice, and the other person went to grab it, Rui Rui took the money out of her pocket, held it tightly with both hands, protected it under her, and said that she would not let go of anything.

The three brutes began to kick and slap with their feet, trying to get Rui Rui to hand over the money, but Rui Rui refused to hand over anything, and refused to let go of anything.

They just kicked Rui Rui to death with one punch and one kick. ”

The middle-aged man's hands clenched tighter and tighter, and his body trembled,

“...... I was angry, not just at these three brutes, but also at myself...... It's been so long, I've never known about it, and I don't even know if I hung up the phone when Rui Rui called to talk to me...... Rui Rui is so bullied, is it because she thinks that no one can protect her......

The middle-aged man's face was a little painful,

“...... I was wrong, I was wrong...... Rui Rui is my daughter, she is my daughter...... How am I, how am I ......"

"Smack!"

The other hand was raised, and the middle-aged man slapped himself hard, his face and eyes turned red at the same time, and his body trembled more and more, and he couldn't say any more.

In the hall, it became more and more quiet,

The breeze once again blew into the hall through the crack in the roof of the backyard wall, shaking the incandescent lamp and the shadows of the people under the lamp.

......

“...... When I came back from the police station, I went to Rui Rui's school and packed her things...... Her belongings were long, long-used cups, and the quilt cover, which had been washed and faded from home, was on the side of her pillow...... There are also three apples that are a little hairy, and on the apples, there is a notebook...... I flipped through the notebook, and it wasn't a diary...... It was written, and every time I called, she told me something, and every page was ...... But I've never heard the first thing......"

After a long time, the middle-aged man raised his head slightly, his body and voice still trembling,

“...... Flip to the last page, it says, 'Fruit cake' 138 yuan, plus an extra pear 148 yuan'

...... At that time, I didn't like to eat apples, I liked to eat pears. ”