The kitchen of a restaurant in the west of Wudu.

Liu Zhengyi carried a small bag on his back and begged a store manager who was busy making comparisons: "You can do any job, even if you are a dishwasher." ”

The store manager didn't look at Liu Zhengyi and said, "We're already full." ”

"I'm just looking for a chance to prove myself!"

The store manager glanced at Liu Zhengyi and asked, "Have you ever worked in a restaurant before?"

"emm, I guess there were. Liu Zhengyi said weakly.

"You can't stand in a restaurant for a day. The store manager looked at Liu Zhengyi from top to bottom and said, "And your shoes are not right." ”

With that, the store manager walked away.

Liu Zhengyi looked at his slippers, and then at the leather shoes of a white-clothed cook next to him, and the cook noticed Liu Zhengyi. After the two looked at each other, Liu Zhengyi smiled slyly, and the cook was innocently unaware.

...

On the other side, Xu Mu and Li Ming returned to the police station to browse Jiang Zixuan's diary together. The following is the first-person view of Jiang Zixuan:

It happened on Tuesday, December 8th.

At half past three that afternoon, I set off from my home and went to Liu Yu's residence. Liu Yu's house is only one tram stop away from where I live, and it takes about 20 minutes to take a bus at the station.

Normally, even if there is nothing to do, I often go to Liu Yu's house for a walk, but there is something special to do that day. Well, if I miss that day, I'll never see him again.

Walking along the brick wall, I finally came to the square red brick gate and rang the doorbell. After waiting for a long time and no one came to answer the door, I looked at the parking lot and saw that Liu Yu's car was not there, probably going out. How do you pass the time? I suddenly remembered the persimmon plant. In the courtyard of Liu Yu's house, a persimmon tree was planted, and the last time I came, it was only three ripe, and it had been ten days since I calculated, so I don't know if I can eat it now? Although it is someone else's home, but for the sake of being the owner's friend, I am not invited. The path leading to the entrance forks along the way, leading to the south side of the building. I stepped onto the path and walked in the direction of the courtyard. The ground was already scattered all over the ground, and there were still a few leaves left on the branches. But I didn't want to look at it at this time, because there was a strange woman standing there.

The woman was hunched over, as if looking at something on the ground. She was dressed in simple jeans and a sweater, and held something like a white cloth in her hand.

"Excuse me," I asked aloud. The woman seemed startled, turned sharply, and straightened her waist quickly.

"I'm sorry. She said, "My things were blown into the yard by the wind, and because the family didn't seem to be there, I came in on my own." She showed me what she was holding, a white hat.

She seemed to be between thirty-five and forty years of age, with very small eyes, nose, and mouth, an ordinary appearance, and a face that was not very good-looking.

The wind was so strong that it would blow my hat off?

"You seem to be looking at the ground intently. ”

"Oh, because the turf is beautiful, I guess, I don't know how it's maintained. ”

"Well, I don't know, this is my friend's house. ”

She nodded, as if she knew I wasn't the owner of the house.

"Excuse me!" she nodded, brushing me past and walking towards the door.

After about five minutes, the sound of the car engine came from the parking lot, as if Liu Yu had returned.

When I walked back to the door, the black sedan was reversing into the parking lot, and Liu Yu in the driver's seat noticed me coming and nodded slightly to me. Chen En, who was next to the driver's seat, explained to me while smiling. "I'm sorry, I wanted to go out and buy something, but I ended up in a big traffic jam, which was really nerve-wracking. As soon as he got out of the car, Liu Yu apologized directly, "Have you waited for a long time?"

"No, it didn't take long for me to go to the yard to see the persimmons. ”

"Almost ripe, huh?"

"Yes. ”

"Ah, let's come in first, we still have some utensils for you to have a cup of coffee. ”

Through the doorway, we entered the house one by one. The house had been almost tidyed, and the paintings on the walls had been put away.

"Have you packed your luggage?" I asked Liu Yu.

"Except for the studio, it's mostly packed up, and the rest is left to the moving company. ”

"Where are you going to stay tonight?"

"I've already booked a hotel. I'll probably have to sleep here, though. ”

Liu Yu and I walked into the studio. It was a Western-style room about 10 tatami in size, and it looked empty with only a computer, a desk, and a small bookshelf, and the rest of the stuff was probably packed.

"So, you still have a manuscript to hand in tomorrow?"

Liu Yu frowned and nodded: "There is still one serialized part left, and it is scheduled to be transmitted to the publishing house in the middle of the night tonight, so I haven't dared to cut off the phone until now." ”

"It's a manuscript for a monthly magazine, right?"

"yes. ”

"How many pages do you have to write?"

"Thirty pages. Ah, there's always a way. ”

There were two chairs in the room, and we sat on either side of the desk, and soon Chen came in with coffee.

"I wonder what the weather is like in Vancouver, it should be colder than here, right?" I asked the two of them.

"Because the latitude is completely different, it's much colder. ”

"But it's nice to have a cool summer. Staying in an air-conditioned room all the time is not good for your health. ”

"Stay in a cool room and work smoothly...... It would be great if it could be like this, but maybe it's impossible, right?" Liu Yu laughed self-deprecatingly.

"Mr. Jiang Zixuan, you must come and play then, I can be your guide. ”

"Thank you, I'll definitely go. ”

"You talk slowly. With that, Chen En left the room.

Liu Yu stood up with a coffee cup and leaned against the window to look out of the courtyard.

"There's no such courtyard anymore. He said, sipping his coffee.

"Speaking of which, I just met a strange woman in the yard. "I was a little hesitant to say it or not, but then I decided it would be better to let him know.

"Strange woman?" Liu Yu raised an eyebrow.

I told him what had just happened, and his expression changed from surprise to one of surprise.

"Does the woman you are talking about look like a woodcut vernacular doll?"

"Ah, yes, it seems to be true when you say so. Liu Yu's metaphor is so apt that I laughed.

"She seems to be called He Lin and lives around here. He looks younger than his actual age, but he should be over forty. There's a son who doesn't read - a real little bastard. The husband is rarely at home, probably working alone in other places, this is Chen En's inference. ”

"You know in detail, you guys have a good relationship, huh?"

"And that woman?—" he opened the window, drew up the screen, and let in a cool breeze mixed with the smell of leaves, "quite the opposite," he continued, "it is fitting to say that she hates us. ”

"Hate, she looks normal, what's the reason?"

"For the cats. ”

"Cats, what does this have to do with cats?"

"Recently, the woman's cat died. I heard that it suddenly collapsed on the side of the road and took it to the veterinarian, but the veterinarian said that the cat may have been poisoned. ”

"What does this have to do with you?"

"She seemed to suspect that the cat had eaten the poison pills I had made. ”

"Why does she think that?"

"This is it," Liu Yu pulled out a monthly magazine from the only remaining bookshelf, opened the page and put it in front of me, "you read this." ”

It was a short essay about half a page long, entitled "Impatience", with a photo of Liu Yu at the top of the article. The main content is about how much it bothers you with cats running around: cat droppings are bound to appear in the yard in the morning, cars are parked in parking lots, cat footprints are covered in hoods, and leaves of plants in flower pots are gnawed up in a mess. Although he knew that these crimes were all committed by a white-brown cat, he had no way to deal with them. Even if a whole row of Baote bottles is erected to block it, it has no effect at all. Every day, I challenge the limits of my patience...... The content is large, and this is true.

"The cat that died was white-brown spotted?"

"Well, it seems so. ”

"No wonder that," I smiled wryly and nodded, "it's not for nothing that she suspects you. ”

"Last week, she came here in a rage, and although she didn't name me for poisoning, that's what she meant. Although Chen En angrily said, 'We won't do such a thing!' and blasted her back, judging by her wandering around the yard, she must still be suspicious of us. I guess I'm looking for traces of the remnants of the poisonous balls, right?"

"It's really persistent!"

"That's the kind of woman that's it. ”

"Didn't she know you were moving to Canada?"

"Chen Enyou told her that we will be going to live in Vancouver for a while next week, so no matter how messy your cat is, we just need to be patient for a while. In this way, Chen En is quite tough. Liu Yu seemed to laugh quite amusedly.

"But what Chen En said makes a lot of sense, there is no reason for you to rush to kill that cat at this time!"

For some reason, Liu Yu didn't immediately echo my words. Still smiling, he looked out the window at the scenery, and after drinking his coffee, he said gloomily, "I did it." ”

I suddenly didn't understand what he was saying, so I asked again, "What do you mean?"

He placed the coffee cup on the table and pulled out a cigarette and lighter.

"I killed it, I put the poison pills in the yard, but I didn't expect things to go so smoothly. ”

Hearing these words come out of his mouth, I still thought he was just joking. However, although he maintained his usual smile, it did not seem like he was joking.

"What are you going to do with that poison pill?"

"How can I do it, the canned cat is mixed with pesticides and put it in the yard and it will be over, and the uneducated cat seems to eat everything. Liu Yu took the cigarette closer, lit the fire, and comfortably swallowed the clouds and smoke. The wind blowing in through the screen window blew away the smoke in an instant.

"Why are you doing that?" I asked, feeling uncomfortable.

"I told you that this house still can't be sold, right?" he said earnestly.

"Hmm. Liu Yu and his wife plan to rent this house to others during the period when they move to Canada.

"I'm constantly being inquired by intermediaries, but they tell me there's a drawback. ”

"What is it?"

"They said there was a row of cat-blocking bottles in front of the house, as if they were plagued by cats. Such a situation can really affect the willingness to rent a house. ”

"Then why don't you just take the cat bottle off?"

"This is not a fundamental solution. What if someone wants to rent comes to see the house and sees the yard full of cat droppings? If we are still here, we can clean it every day, but tomorrow there will be no one living here, and it will definitely stink to death. ”

"So you're going to kill it?"

"This should be the owner's responsibility, but the lady you just saw doesn't seem to understand that. Liu Yu twisted out the cigarette in the ashtray.

"Does Chen En know about this?"

Hearing this question, Hidaka raised half of his face and shook his head while laughing: "How can you let her know! Eighty percent of women like cats, and if I tell her the truth, she will definitely say that I am a devil." ”

I didn't know what to do, so I had to be silent. At this time, the phone rang, and Liu Yu picked up the microphone.

"Hey... Well, according to the plan ... Hah, have you seen through it? I'm just going to start writing... yes, I think I'll be able to do it tonight. Okay, I'm going to make it to the past... No, this phone will only be available until noon tomorrow, so I'll call over there...... Well, I'll call from the hotel. Okay, that's it for now. ”

Hanging up, he sighed softly.

"Is it an editor?" I asked.

"The people over there. Although I am used to procrastinating, this time they are really not at ease. Because they are afraid that I will run away, and the day after tomorrow I will not be in the fog. ”

"Then I won't bother too much and take my leave. I got up from my chair.

At this moment, the sound of the walkie-talkie in the house was heard. I thought it was a salesman or something, but it doesn't seem to be the case.

In the hallway, there was the sound of Chen's approaching footsteps, followed by a knock on the door.

"What's the matter?" asked Liu Yu.

The door opened, and Chen En poked his head out with a depressed expression.

"Miss Luo is here. The voice was muffled.

Liu Yu's face was like the sky before a storm, full of haze: "Luo Luo?"

"Well, she said I'm going to talk to you today anyway. ”

"It's terrible. Liu Yu bit his lower lip, "I probably heard the rumor that we were going to Canada." ”

"Do you want me to tell her you're busy and ask her to go back?"

"Well," he thought for a moment, "no, I'll see her." Liu Yu said, "I also think it will be easier to solve the matter here, you can bring her over." ”

"Okay, okay," Chen En looked at me worriedly.

"Ah, I was about to leave. I said.

"I'm sorry. Chen En finished speaking and disappeared at the end of the door.

"Miss Rollo you just talked about, it's Roger's...?"

"Sister. He scratched at his slightly long hair, "If they want money, it's fine, but if I take it all back or rewrite it, I'm in a bad way." ”

Hearing footsteps slowly approaching, Liu Yu quickly closed his mouth. Outside the door, Chen En said "The corridor is very dark, I'm sorry" apologetic, and then someone knocked on the door, and Liu Yu answered "Come in".

"Miss Rollo is here. Rie said as she opened the door.

Standing behind her was a long-haired woman who appeared to be twenty-six or seventeen years old, dressed in the kind of suit that a female college student would wear when visiting a company, giving the impression that the uninvited guest was deliberately maintaining due courtesy.

"Then I'll go first. I said to Liu Yu. I wanted to tell him that if I could, I would see him off the day after tomorrow, but I didn't say it. I thought to myself, it would not be good if I provoked Rollo at this time.

Liu Yu nodded silently.

Accompanied by Chen En, I walked out of Hidaka's house.

"I'm so embarrassed. Chen En folded his palms, blinked and said apologetically. Because of her petite and slender figure, such movements make her exude a girlish atmosphere, and she doesn't feel that she is over thirty years old at all.

"I'll see you off the day after tomorrow. ”

"Aren't you busy?"

"It's okay, bye-bye. ”

"Goodbye. She said, watching me turn to the next corner.