In the hall,

Lian Ge looked at the middle-aged man, his tone was calm, and he asked out loud.

The voice fell,

The middle-aged man walking towards the backyard paused in front of the door leading to the backyard and slowly turned around,

"Young man, you are ......"

Looking at Lian Ge, and then at the closed door of the hall, the middle-aged man opened his mouth, his eyes revealing doubts and other emotions.

"I'm a guinea pig who is really hungry for your apple, brother, and I have to come back and bother you. ”

Lian Ge smiled slightly, glanced at the mouse on his shoulder, and replied.

The middle-aged man followed Lian Ge's words, glanced at the guinea pig, and then looked at Lian Ge again,

“...... You haven't walked there, boy. ”

When Lian Ge heard this, he smiled slightly, but did not answer,

"Just now, you saw it all?"

"I saw it all. ”

The words fell, and the middle-aged man looked at Lian Ge and fell silent.

Lian Ge didn't say anything more, and waited quietly.

In the hall, it was quiet again, only in the TV that was still on, there were some voices from time to time,

......

“...... Who are you, young man?"

The middle-aged man looked at Lian Ge for a long time, and then asked out loud again,

"Passers-by. ”

Hearing this, the middle-aged man looked at Lian Ge and paused again, turned around, and walked towards the dining table.

Picking up the remaining apples, the middle-aged man walked back to Lian Ge and handed the plate of apples to Lian Ge.

Lian Ge watched the middle-aged man come closer, turned his gaze, and glanced at the mouse on his shoulder.

The mouse instantly jumped off Lian Ge's shoulder, jumped onto the plate, picked up an apple with his forelimbs, kicked it, and jumped onto Lian Ge's shoulder again.

Squatting on his shoulders and standing on his forelegs, the mouse held the apple, but did not eat it.

Glancing at the mouse again, Lian Ge turned his gaze back and looked at the middle-aged man,

The middle-aged man paused again after the mouse took the apple, and then in silence, took the plate, returned to the table, and put it down,

When I turned back, I turned off the old TV.

In the hall, it became more and more quiet,

“...... Sir, sit down. ”

Walking back in front of Lian Ge, the middle-aged man looked at Lian Ge, and after being silent, he pulled a stool from the side and put it on Lian Ge's side.

Glancing at the middle-aged man, Lian Ge retracted his gaze and sat down on the stool,

The middle-aged man also paused for a moment, then sat down on a stool at the dining table.

......

“...... Mr. ......"

After a long time, the middle-aged man opened his mouth to say something, but after all, he only called out, and then fell silent again.

Lian Ge glanced at the middle-aged man, turned his gaze, and looked through the door leading to the backyard.

In the backyard, it was still dim, only the light reflected in the hall illuminated the part, which was slightly brighter.

"Why didn't you do it just now?"

Looking at the backyard, Lian Ge asked in a calm tone.

When the middle-aged man heard this, he was silent and didn't respond, but he also looked at the backyard.

"My brother likes Yunyun a lot, right?"

didn't turn his gaze back, Lian Ge said again,

Hearing this, the middle-aged man was silent, his gaze moved up slightly,

“...... She is a lot like my daughter...... In the past, she was trying hard to please me, just like Yunyun......"

The middle-aged man said, pausing again, moving his gaze again, looking at the sunlight reflected through the gap in the roof of the backyard, his eyes were in a trance, and he was a little distracted.

Lian Ge didn't say anything more, and waited quietly.

“...... Her name is Ruirui, and Wu Ruirui ......"

After a long time, the voice of the middle-aged man sounded again in the somewhat quiet hall,

“...... Her mother gave her this name. ”

Looking at the backyard, the middle-aged man seemed to fall into memory,

"My mother and I have known each other for a long time, and when I grew up, my family helped to make peace and married her......

After getting married, two years later, she became pregnant with Ruirui.

When she was pregnant, she told me that if she gave birth to a boy, she would be called Rui Rui, and if she gave birth to a girl, she would be called Rui Rui, the stamen of the flower......

At that time, I didn't like girls, just like those individuals in the village now, I felt that raising a girl would be someone else's family sooner or later, and I felt that raising children to prevent old age, and I felt that I needed to continue the incense......

But I promised her that if she gave birth to a girl, she would be called Ruirui...... At that time, I thought that even if the first one was a girl, I would have another one. ”

As he spoke, the middle-aged man paused, silent, and looked at the backyard.

......

"She's dead,"

After a long time, the middle-aged man continued,

"When I was giving birth to a stamen, I died of dystocia......

"At that time, the medical conditions were not as good as now, and it was in the mountains, and when she gave birth to Ruirui, she just found a stable woman......

The child was born, but she died. ”

“...... When she was dying, ignoring my mother's obstruction, I went into the delivery room, and I saw her at the back, she was lying on the bed, on the sheets, on the quilt, there was blood everywhere...... Her head was covered in sweat, her face was already very pale, and she couldn't see a trace of blood......

At that time, she was already weak and speechless, and I squatted on the edge of the bed, and she put her hand on mine, and looked at the child who was still crying on the edge of the bed, and then she looked at me like that, and looked at me like that......

In the end, she couldn't say anything, but I knew what she wanted to say.

She was afraid, afraid that because she was born a girl, I would resent her, and I would treat the child badly...... How could I blame her......"

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

“...... After she went, I finished her funeral and picked up Rui Rui for the first time. I hugged her and didn't feel the slightest joy...... I don't blame her mother, but I blame her.

She felt that she had killed her mother, and if it weren't for her, her mother wouldn't have been gone...... I hate her, I hate her...... At that time, I didn't like girls, and after that, I didn't like them even more. ”

“...... However, no matter how much I blame her, no matter how much I don't like her, I still raise her, and she is not like my daughter to me, but an object left by her mother.

I would give her food, but I would never ask her if she was hungry or what she liked to eat, I would dress her, but never care if she was hot or cold, I would let her go to school, but never what she did in school,

I would keep her alive, but never cared what happened to her every day she lived.

She was like someone living under the same roof with me, a person who stayed in my house. ”

The middle-aged man's eyes were in a trance, and he was silent again,

“...... In this way, she grew up day by day, and it was not until she was more than two years old that she fully learned to speak...... Because I rarely talk to her.

She also knew I didn't like her...... She knows......

Since she was very young, she rarely cried, rarely made trouble, and most of the time, she was alone there.

When she was a little older, she started trying very hard to please me, to make me happy, to like me......

But it seems like I've never smiled at her...... Every time, she just walked back to the side like that, with her head down, without saying a word. I don't care if she's sad or uncomfortable, and continues to do what she does. ”

As he spoke, the middle-aged man withdrew his gaze from the backyard, turned his head, and looked at the plate of apples on the table.

“...... Until...... The only thing I knew she liked was apples, this kind of apple......."

The middle-aged man fell silent again, stood up, reached out and picked up the remaining apples on the plate, and looked at it, his eyes in a trance.