From the moment I sent Chu You home, a seed was planted in my heart to visit her. So on the last day of the holiday, I turned down my mother's offer to go to the mall, got up early to pack up, took the small cake I bought yesterday, carefully pocketed all the change I had saved over the years, and stood at the school gate waiting for the rental with trepidation and anticipation.

While waiting for the bus, I also met Mr. Wang. His full name is Wang Fa, and if you just listen to the name, you will think that he is a serious person, but he is an out-and-out pistachio.

He likes to make friends, from the seventy or eighty-year-old people in the school, down to the students who have just stepped into the school gate, from the staff at the bottom to the leaders of various departments. He is also the Director Wang that we will never forget later.

He was wearing a black tracksuit, trotted up to me, touched my head and said, "Chuyang, where are you going so early?"

"I went to see my classmates. ”

"Look at classmates?"

"yes. I raised my hand holding the cake and said, "Look, this is a gift I brought for her." ”

Mr. Wang leaned over to look at my cake and said with a smile, "Yo, it's amazing, I even know how to bring gifts." He paused and said, "By the way, did you tell Mom?"

"I told my mom that I was going to find my classmates. ”

"And how do you get there?"

"I brought pocket money. I patted my pants pocket, signaled that the money was there, and said, "I'll take a taxi." ”

Teacher Wang straightened up and said in a surprised tone, "Do you sit in a taxi?"

I said, "Of course, I'm a big kid." ”

"But I still think it's a little dangerous, why don't I send you there?"

I immediately waved my hand and said, "No, no, I want to go by myself." "Actually, in my selfish heart, I also think it's a bit abrupt to go to Chu You's house like this, I'm afraid that Chu You will be angry, so I don't want anyone to know where I am going.

Mr. Wang was about to say something more, but a taxi came from the east, and I hurriedly waved until the car stopped in front of me, and I immediately turned around and waved to Mr. Wang and said, "Bye, I'll go first." ”

Teacher Wang grabbed me and said, "Don't be in a hurry, I'll send you to the car." ”

"Oh. ”

Teacher Wang poked my head and said, "What a stupid boy." ”

I got into the co-pilot, and Mr. Wang helped me fasten my seat belt, and he said, "Do you really want me to send you there?" and I shook my head into a rattle. He sighed, looked at the driver's badge again, and said to the driver who was looking at us, "Mr. Lin Ziliang, hello, please send the child to the place where he is going." He shook his head again and said in a helpless tone: "Hey, the child is older, and he said that he can be independent." No, you have to prove it to me!"

I was a little confused, looking at Mr. Wang for a while, and the driver for a while. The driver smiled and said, "Don't worry, it's guaranteed to be delivered." I can wait for him if I need to, and then send him back when the time comes. ”

Teacher Wang stretched out his hand and said, "Then thank Master Lin first, the child has troubled you so much, wait for you to send him back, let's have a light meal together." ”

The driver held Mr. Wang's outstretched hand and said, "You're welcome, this is all as it should be." ”

I didn't understand the seemingly simple but complicated conversation between the two adults, the car was driving smoothly, and the driver looked ahead and asked me, "Kid, where are you going?"

I searched around in my mind, and finally with the only impression I had, I said, "It seems to be called North Bridge." ”

"Oh, Beiqiao, it's very close, just behind No. 1 Middle School, five or six minutes away. But are you sure it's there?"

I'm not particularly sure, because this address was when I was sending her home with Teacher Jia, and I vaguely heard Teacher Jia say to the driver, and I can't guarantee that I heard it correctly, but I can only bite the bullet and say, "Yes." ”

When the driver drove the car to the North Bridge, I excitedly shouted, "It's here, it's here." ”

"Where's your fellow student, tell me I'll send you to the door. The driver said with a smile.

I pointed ahead and said, "Uncle, no, I'll just get off here, I'll walk over." ”

The driver, who had slowed down, slammed on the brakes when he heard my words, and said, "I'll send you over." ”

"I really don't need my uncle, her alley is too narrow to get into the car. ”

The driver had no choice but to give up and said, "Do you need me to wait for you here?"

I rolled my eyes, thought for a moment and said, "No, it's so close anyway, and I know the way, I'll just walk back." Then I took out the change of each denomination from my pocket, reached out to the driver, and said, "Uncle, how much does it cost?"

The driver pulled out two five-cents from my hand and said, "Just give me these!"

After thanking her again, I walked to the house in the depths of the alley with great anticipation, and after a twist and turn, I finally stood in front of her house again.

The door to her house is a wooden door with a layer of black paint on it, which makes it feel heavy. The door was wide open, and the first thing that caught my eye was the crooked shadow back wall made of bricks, and then the scene in the patio that shocked me......

Chu You suddenly came out of the house with an unsteady step, and then sat on the ground, and then I saw a middle-aged man with a hideous face scolding and scolding, he pointed to Chu You sitting on the ground and scolded: "You mourning star, you get out of here, get away." Then he casually picked up the basin next to the tap water and splashed the basin of water on Chu You, "You are so powerful, why don't you get out? What are you still doing here?" He continued to scold hysterically, "You are a mourning star, a mourning star!"

Chu You sat on the ground, lowered her head, didn't refute a word, just reached out and wiped her eyes, and sat like that, as if she was used to these things......

The man seemed to be even more angry, he blushed and strode in front of Chu You, bent over and slapped Chu You hard, Chu You's head naturally tilted to the side with his strength, Chu You was still expressionless, he stomped her again and said, "Just stay outside! Don't go in and get angry with me." Then he turned and went into the house.

After he entered the house, Chu You got up with difficulty, limped to a hut made of corn stalks on the left, and did not come out until I left.

I stood at the door with a blank expression, I couldn't believe what was in front of me, maybe the world my parents had woven for me was too beautiful, so when I was young, I never believed that there would be darkness in this world, and I couldn't believe that there would be an adult who would treat a child like this. At this time, everything is contrary to my world, and I suddenly feel that the beautiful world in my concept has collapsed......

I don't know how long I stood until someone came and tapped me on the shoulder, I was startled, my arms clamped tightly around my body, I looked back vigilantly, and when I saw that it was a pair of old women, I relaxed and whispered "Hello grandma." ”

One of the two old men asked me, "Little friend, why are you here?"

I was speechless for a while, I understood that now was not the best time to visit Chu You, I hesitated for a while, and finally said, "I, I'm looking for Liu Duoer." ”

The two old men looked at each other, and finally the other old man said, "We don't have the surname Liu here, little friend, you are in the wrong place." ”

Of course I know that there is no surname Liu here, and there is no Liu Duoer here, Liu Duoer may be blowing the air conditioner under the quilt at home, how could he come to such a place? I was ashamed of myself for lying, I nodded in a panic and said, "Oh, oh, then I'm leaving." Then he ran back desperately.

Tired of running, I stopped where I was, gasped for air, wiped the sweat off my forehead, swallowed hard, and continued to walk in small steps.

Before I got out of the North Bridge, I saw three people standing together. One of the younger-looking women said, "You know, Yongbang is playing again. ”

A middle-aged man frowned, took a puff of his cigarette and said, "Don't talk nonsense, you saw it?"

The woman gave him a blank look and said, "I didn't see it, but I heard it, our two families are next to each other, and I can hear him fart at home, let alone make such a big move." She said, "Didn't you see the eldest aunt and the third aunt going to his house together?

The man said impatiently: "Okay, okay, don't do anything other than chew the root of your tongue all day!"

The woman was still trying to retort unconvinced, but a half-haired old woman said, "Okay, don't talk about it, Yoyo is also pitiful." ”

The woman continued: "What is there to be pitiful? Yongbang brought her back and raised her with a handful of and urine, who would have thought that in the end he would put his own son and wife on the line, and who could stand it?"

The man snuffed out the cigarette butt in his hand, threw it to the ground, "hummed" at the woman, and turned to leave.

The woman cried and laughed and said: "It's strange, I said that Yongbang and Youyou, what is the matter with him and Chu Jun?

The old woman said, "Hey, isn't Juntong just such a person, warm-hearted." She took the woman by the arm, and the two of them walked in the opposite direction from me, and I could no longer hear the two of them.

As I was about to walk out of the Northbridge, I put the cake I was carrying on the ground as if I had already visited her......

I walked back uncontrollably, I uncontrollably guessed the story of Chu You and that man, but my mind was a mess, the picture I had just seen, the conversation of the three people, and the bits and pieces of Chu You's relationship were all intertwined, and I couldn't figure out a clue.

At this time, my mother's memories of telling me Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales came flooding back to me. I think the only one I can put her in is Cinderella, but she's a Cinderella with a father......

That's what I think now, but then I realized I couldn't be more wrong.

Because she was never Cinderella......