Zhong Youcheng's sleep was awakened by a knock on the door.

"Who?" Zhong Youcheng was dazed, muttering in his heart, and looked at the time, it was still eleven o'clock at night.

"At this time, who will come?" Zhong Youcheng, who was originally a rare visitor, felt even more strange, and thought that he was still in a dream several times.

There was a knock on the door three more times. The sound and rhythm are fairly consistent, as if they have been specially trained.

Zhong Youcheng was sure that he was not dreaming, just such a time had already made him irritable.

Zhong Youcheng felt that the other party should have knocked on the wrong door, and he wanted to ignore it,—— but he didn't knock on the wrong door, and he didn't want to receive anyone so late and in the middle of the night.

- Where would anyone come to him at this time?

"It must have been a mistake." Zhong Youcheng thought with certainty and narrowed his eyes again.

"Dangdangdang", the door rang three more times, three times with a fairly consistent sound and rhythm.

Zhong Youcheng pondered: "It can't be a thief, right?" Knock on the door for a while, and if you don't see any movement, you will break in? ”

If two thieves really come in, although there is nothing of value, if they can't get it right, they will have to go through a fight.

Thinking of this, Zhong Youcheng's heart shrank even more, and he felt that it was better to make some movement to make it difficult to retreat.

In this way, Zhong Youcheng turned over vigorously, and the "bed" under him immediately made a "squeak" sound.

Someone outside the door spoke, and the sound of the voice, like the knock on the door, was consistent, almost to the trained tone: "Mr. Zhong Youcheng Zhong lives here, right?" ”

Zhong Youcheng's heart suddenly rose to his throat again, and the person who came was really looking for him.

For half a minute, the air inside and outside the rental house condensed.

What broke the atmosphere was the same sound as half a minute ago.

Zhong Youcheng had no choice but to be bold and asked outside the door: "Who?" What's the matter? ”

"Someone wants to see Mr. Zhong." The man outside the door replied.

"Who? Who wants to see me? Do? Zhong Youcheng asked more and more confidently.

The person outside the door just said, "Please Mr. Zhong come with us, and soon, Mr. Zhong will be able to meet the person who wants to see you." ”

Zhong Youcheng had already wrapped his skinny body tightly in the quilt: "No! Too late! If there's anything, let's talk about it at dawn! ”

"Let's ask Mr. Zhong to come with us." The man outside the door held on.

"Tomorrow! Daytime! I'm going to rest now! Zhong Youcheng shouted.

"Then I'm sorry, I hope I don't scare Mr. Zhong." Before the words of the people outside the door fell, there was a "click" in the keyhole of Zhong Youcheng's door, and the door opened immediately.

Two black figures appeared at the door of the rental house, enveloping the entire rental house in an even more tense atmosphere.

"What are you going to do? I'm going to call the police? Zhong Youcheng shouted a movement similar to that of a eunuch.

"We don't have any malicious intent, we just want Mr. Zhong to go with us." Or the voice outside the door just now.

"What if I don't?" Zhong Youcheng asked reluctantly.

What answered Zhong Youcheng was a cold light.

In a flash of cold light, a sharp dagger was pressed against Zhong Youcheng's neck.

The arteries in Zhong Youcheng's neck jumped vigorously, and then looked at the two people who were already standing in front of him, their whole faces seemed to be made of clay, without any expression.

Zhong Youcheng quickly brought a luxury car, and then got into the car, and the other party took out a black blindfold: "I have to wronged Mr. Zhong." ”

Zhong Youcheng didn't know how to resist, and motionless, let the other party put on a blindfold.

The darkness along the way made Zhong Youcheng already worried about his life. However, everything is in the hands of the other party, and any thoughts can only add to the horror in the heart.

After getting out of the car, Zhong Youcheng clamped two more people and walked into a door.

Zhong Youcheng felt that he had entered an indoors, but the road under his feet was still like walking endlessly, hundreds of meters out, and he still kept walking, without turning a corner.

Zhong Youcheng really didn't want to think about it anymore, but he still thought of this place as the eerie cave he saw in the movie when he was a child. I don't know where this place will be his burial place, but who wants his life?

He really had a short life, and the most regrettable thing for him was that his ambition was unpaid.

More than once he wanted to ask where the two men who were holding him were going to take him, but his throat seemed to be tightly choked by something, and he couldn't speak,—— he knew that even if he did, he would not get any answer.

Finally, after passing through another door, Zhong Youcheng's blindfold was removed, and the scene in front of him made him feel that he was still in a dream.

Where is the cave, it is a palace entirely, if, of this scale, it can be described as a palace.

The light is soft and a little dim, and I don't know what kind of lighting effect it is. Zhong Youcheng only looked to both sides, but could not see the edges.

"Coming?" A woman's voice came from nowhere. Only this simple question is mixed with the delicate voice that Li Xiaoxue occasionally makes when Zhong Youcheng and Li Xiaoxue are in love.

"Here we are." The answer that sounded beside Zhong Youcheng made him even more well-trained.

The woman didn't say anything more, but her delicate voice became more urgent, until, as if something was in her throat, she let out a scream, a sound of satisfaction, and it became a tide that slowly retreated.

After everything had calmed down, there were a few more lights, and the whole room was as bright as day.

Zhong Youcheng glanced around a few more times, and before he could measure the size of the room with his eyes, the ornaments that could be called rare treasures had already hooked the soul of his art.

"Are you alright? Artist. The woman's voice rang out when Zhong Youcheng's eyes were still lingering on the rare treasures, and Zhong Youcheng couldn't help but follow the voice.

On a bed made of almost gold, Zhong Youcheng finally saw a woman in her forties in pink pajamas.

Although the woman's face is no longer good, her body shape is also good, lazily leaning on a dark-skinned man. This man, with a short figure and thick muscles, struggled straight out, making Zhong Youcheng look like a bear.

The woman smiled at Zhong Youcheng, sat up from the man, and gave the man another look.

The man got out of bed and staggered out.

"Would you like something to drink?" The woman and Zhong Youcheng said, and they had already raised a glass of red wine.

Zhong Youcheng took his heart back from the magnificence, and without the previous fear, he asked directly: "You came to me so late, is there anything wrong?" ”

"Is it late? My day has just begun. The woman said disapprovingly, taking a sip of red wine.

"What's the matter with you?" Zhong Youcheng asked again.

The woman shook her head slowly: "I don't know how long it has been, no one has spoken to me like this." ”

Where would Zhong Youcheng weigh the depth of his words, and when he asked again, he was already a little impatient: "Is there anything wrong with you?" ”

The woman smiled slightly: "You are as cute as a child." ”

"I'm sorry, if you don't have anything to do, you'll take your leave." Zhong Youcheng said, turned around and left.

Before Zhong Youcheng walked to the door, there was a "squeak" sound, and the two gates, which were five meters high, were combined in one place.

When Zhong Youcheng turned around again, the woman had already come down from the bed, swayed her body, and walked over.

"Why are you so skinny?" When the woman arrived in front of Zhong Youcheng, she looked around Zhong Youcheng again and asked with a sigh.

"What are you looking for me for?" Zhong Youcheng still asked.

The woman laughed "hehe", and was extremely happy.

Zhong Youcheng finally waited for the woman to stop laughing, and said solemnly: "I don't think you can get anything from me." ”

"Why?" The woman asked with a smile.

"I don't have anything." Zhong Youcheng said dryly.

"That's not your character anymore." The woman said softly, and gently put an arm on Zhong Youcheng's shoulder.

Zhong Youcheng pushed the woman's arm down: "I don't understand what you mean. ”

The woman looked at Zhong Youcheng with smiling eyes again, and said softly: "Take it." ”

Before the woman's voice fell, two girls in their twenties came out of nowhere, holding a square box, and came to her with their heads down.

"Open." The woman commanded again.

The girl agreed softly, and after opening the box, what was presented in front of Zhong Youcheng was the portrait of Li Xiaoxue, the only one he had sold.

Different from that time, the portrait has been framed with gold, and the whole portrait has added a lot of color.

"It's Mr. Zhong's masterpiece, right?" The woman asked with a smile again.

"Why are you here?" Zhong Youcheng couldn't help asking, came to the portrait again, and gently rubbed it on it.

"I really can't imagine that there are such beauties in this world." The woman only said with emotion.

"What are you going to do?" Zhong Youcheng was sensitive, and turned to the woman to ask.

The woman smiled again: "What are you nervous about, I'm a woman, what idea will I beat her?" ”

"What the hell are you looking for me for?" Zhong Youcheng asked such a question again.

The woman still didn't answer, only handed the red wine in her hand to a girl, and after pacing around the ground twice, she raised her head and sighed: "I went from having nothing to having all this, and after more than 20 years, I finally understood what is the most precious thing for a person." And my most precious thing soon disappeared from my life completely. If it could be exchanged for something, I would rather exchange everything I have now, but it really can't. You must have understood what I said about the most precious thing, right? ”

"I know, you're talking about your youth." Zhong Youcheng replied directly.

The woman's expression immediately became depressed: "Why did you say it so directly and so easily?" Is it because you are still young? ”

Zhong Youcheng said solemnly: "No! The youth that God has given us is fair. ”

"Fair?" The woman sneered again, and became a little excited, "Where is there any fairness?" What was your youth doing? How did I spend my youth? Just to survive, what do I pay for my youth? ”

Zhong Youcheng glanced at the magnificent scene here again, and really didn't understand what the woman meant by saying just to survive, and said lightly: "It can only be said that everyone's youth is different." ”

"Yes, that's right." The woman also seemed to say sincerely, and finally, she expressed her intention to find Zhong Youcheng, "I remember someone said that painting is the art of time. It can last forever. I'm looking for you, why, don't I need to make it clearer, right? ”

This book was first published in Reading Books