5

There was no class on Saturday afternoon, and Fang Siying had just had lunch, and Bai Tingting jumped into the house and shouted:

"Teacher Fang! Let's go immediately, Lao You has already driven the car to pick you up. ”

"Oh!" Fang Siying frowned slightly, and smiled slightly, "Your father remembers it quite clearly." ”

"Have you packed your boxes? I'm going to call Lao You to move! Bai Tingting shouted, and ran out again.

Fang Siying stood indoors. For a while, there was a sense of confusion and absurdity. What's going on? Do you really want to move to the Kashiwa family? It seems impossible, absurd, and inconsiderate. She still remembered the surprise on Principal Liu and Li Yusheng when they heard the news, and she also realized that they were quite disapproves. However, no one said anything to her. She knew that in the minds of Principal Liu, she was always a weird and incomprehensible character, a character that they couldn't figure out and couldn't figure out. In fact, I really feel ridiculous! Moving to live in Bai's house, every nerve in her was prompting her that this decision was inappropriate. It's too complicated family, and if she gets involved, it won't end well! But she couldn't resist the powerful temptation to live in it. There was some magic in the house, the smoky hill, the ruins, the blind man, the child, the story of the past...... There's magic in the city, and she can't resist it! Or, one day, she will write a novel that, like Jane Eyre, is in ruins, blind and governed...... She shuddered violently, what a bizarre coincidence! Now, what is missing is a madwoman, is there really a madwoman hidden in the courtyard of the cypress house?

Bai Tingting ran back, running back and forth made her gasp for breath, and on her forehead, a lock of hair was wet with sweat, and it was quietly stuck there. His face was also rosy from running, but his eyes were shining with excitement. Behind her, a tall, thin man of about forty years of age was standing, wearing a neat white shirt and gray suit pants, and his body was thin and straight. Fang Siying touched the man's eyes, and she couldn't help but wince, this eyes were sharp.

"Is it Miss Fang? I'm Lao You, and Mr. Bai asked me to pick you up. ”

"Oh, thank you." Fang Siying said, pushing the glasses on the bridge of her nose, she wanted herself to look a little more majestic, "The box is there, I'm sorry for you." ”

Lao You picked up the box and walked out first. Fang Siying went to the principal's office and handed over the key to the dormitory. Then, she got into the car, put her arm around Bai Tingting's thin shoulders, and she looked out the window, on both sides of the road, there were tea plantations that were rapidly retreating. The tea garden of the Kashiwa family! Her spirit was in a trance again, what the hell was she doing?

The journey took only three minutes. Yazhu ran and opened the gate, and the car slid into the garden of the Bai family, stopping in front of the glass door of the main house. Bai Tingting got out of the car first and shouted:

"Teacher Fang, I'll take you to your room, don't worry about the box, Lao You will bring it up."

Holding Fang Siying's hand, they walked into the living room, and Bai Tingting's footsteps were running and jumping. There was no one in the living room, and Bai Tingting pulled Fang Siying and rushed upstairs. Suddenly, she stopped her steps and looked up, and the pleasure immediately disappeared from her face, and the little lips turned pale. Fang Siying also stood in surprise, following Bai Tingting's gaze, she also looked up, and then, she made eye contact with a woman.

It was a very beautiful woman, completely different from the "stepmother" that Fang Siying imagined in her heart. She has an oval face, a small pointed chin, a pair of large, bright eyes, beautiful eyebrows, and a small mouth. There is almost nothing to fault with this face, and if you insist on finding fault, you can only say that her expression is too cold, too harsh, and too indifferent. Her figure is just as beautiful, with a delicate fit and a moderate height. She wore a dress with pink and blue edges, wide cuffs, and a small waist, which was quite beautiful, quite fashionable, and quite suitable for her. Her hair was fluffy and fluffy, combed into a lot of small curls, which added a bit of a lazy charm to her and eased the coldness of her face. On her ears, there are two large pink hoop earrings, waddling, playful and coquettish. She was very good at dressing up, and she was still very young, probably in her early thirties at most. The outfit made her age even smaller. Fang Siying felt sorry for her very much, if Bai Peiwen's eyes were not blind, how could he be indifferent to such a young and beautiful wife!

While she was looking at the woman, the other party was also looking at her quietly. Fang Siying guessed that the impression she gave to the other party must be far inferior to that given to her by the other party. Short-sighted, with an old-fashioned bun, and wearing such a black cheongsam, he should be a typical teacher! She saw a faint, contemptuous smile on the other man's face. Then the woman said quietly:

"Welcome, Miss Fang."

"It's Mrs. Bai, isn't it?" She said, slowly walking upstairs, still holding Bai Tingting's hand.

"Yes," said Mrs. Bai, who smiled, and that smile was subtle and inscrutable, "Tingting will take you to your room," she said, modestly indicating her employer's status, "I am too busy to entertain you, and I hope you are accustomed to living in our house, and I hope Tingting will not trouble you too much." ”

"She won't," Fang Siying said with a smile, meeting the other's eyes, how big, beautiful, and deep they were! "Tingting is a good child, I already know her very well."

"Really?" Mrs. Bai smiled, her eyes swept over Bai Tingting, and Fang Siying immediately felt that the little hand that grabbed her convulsed. Out of subconscious, she immediately squeezed the little hand comfortingly. So, in this moment, a strange, knowing emotion connected her and Tingting, as if they had become allies and were about to fight against something. Mrs. Bai leaned on the railing and began to descend the stairs, her back straight, her steps graceful and noble. Fang Si looked at her dizzily, feeling that the way she walked, this expression, was so familiar, a typical, noble lady's appearance. As she went downstairs, she said, "Well, very well, let Tingting take you there." Her eyes no longer looked at Fang Siying, but looked directly at Lao You, who was walking upstairs with a suitcase, and said, "Lao You, prepare the car and send me to Taipei." ”

"Yes." Lao You answered, and sent the box upstairs.

Fang Siying led Bai Tingting and continued upstairs, she heard Mrs. Bai's voice, and clearly commanded downstairs:

"Yazhu, don't wait for me to have dinner, I won't come back to eat."

As soon as she went upstairs, Tingting regained her liveliness, and she happily pointed out to Fang Siying that one was her father's room, that one was her mother's, and that one was hers. Fang Siying found that the house was quite exquisitely designed, there was a small hall upstairs, a small sofa furnished, a flower stand and a telephone, etc., in addition to this small hall, there were only four rooms, which were opposite each other, and the middle was a corridor. The balconies became rings around the house, and Fang Si lingered to guess that each room must have a door leading to the balcony. Bai Peiwen and his wife lived in two rooms facing each other, Fang Siying and Bai Tingting lived in the remaining two rooms facing each other, Bai Tingting was next door to Mrs. Bai, and Fang Siying was next door to Bai Peiwen.

"Why don't your father and mother live in the same room?" Fang Siying asked.

"They've always lived like this." Bai Tingting said disapprovingly, while telling Fang Siying, "The room you live in was originally a guest room, and now you are living in it, we don't have a guest room." ”

"Do you often have guests coming to your house?"

"Not often, only Uncle Gao comes to live once or twice a year."

"Uncle Gao?"

"Yes, Uncle Gao, he's a good friend of Daddy!" "He runs a farm in the south and doesn't come often. It doesn't matter if he comes, he can sleep downstairs. Pulling her, Bai Tingting suddenly rushed into the room prepared for Fang Siying, and shouted excitedly, "Look! Teacher Fang, do you like it? ”

Fang Siying felt dizzy, and she had to hold on to the wall to stabilize herself. What a room this is! She's in a palace, a palace she's always dreamed of! She looked at the room in a daze, the floor was covered with a pure white carpet, the window was covered with curtains with gold flowers on a black background, a beautiful double bed with a white balustrade, a dresser with white and gold edges, and a small white desk...... All the colors are a mix of white, black and gold, but on the bed, there is a big red bedspread, so it also alleviates the "cold" feeling caused by the black and white color, and adds a lot of warmth to the whole room. On the wall, there is a small antique shelf, where several porcelain ornaments are placed, and in the center of the shelf is a rectangular lattice, in which is a marble sculpture - Eurydice and her lover Orpheus from Greek mythology, carved very delicately and expressively. What excites Fang Siying the most is that on a small white gold-rimmed bedside table next to the bed, there is a table lamp with a white gauze lampshade, and next to the table lamp, there is a black marble vase, in which a bottle of bright yellow roses is inserted.

"Do you like it? Teacher Fang? Do you like it? Bai Tingting was still shouting, shaking Fang Siying's arm urgently.

"Oh, I like it, really—I like it." Fang Siying said, leaning against the wall, feeling so tired. She looked at the two floor-to-ceiling glass windows, and outside the glass windows, sure enough, there was a balcony, so this balcony could lead to any room. On the balcony, there are several pots of chrysanthemums, which are in the first blooming season, and those yellow flowers bloom brilliantly in the sun. Looking beyond this balcony, you can see the undulating hillsides and the tea plantations.

"Teacher, you must not like ......," the kid said sensitively.

"Oh, no, no, I like it, really." Fang Siying hurriedly interrupted her, took her in her arms, and asked in a low voice, "Tell me, Tingting, is this how this room was originally arranged?" ”

"Of course not." The child smiled, "Only the carpet has not been changed, and the rest of the furniture is new, bought from the furniture store designated by Dad." ”

"Where's the statue?" Fang Siying asked, pointing to the marble sculpture.

"That's what the family originally had, it was originally in Dad's room, and Dad said he couldn't see it anyway, so he asked me to move to your house."

"Oh." Fang Siying's gaze fell back on the bottle of yellow roses, which were obviously bought by people, because there were no roses in the Bai family's garden. She walked over to the edge of the bed and sat down on the edge of the bed, feeling terribly in a trance. The rich scent of roses permeates the room, and the early autumn sunlight shines in through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows. The flowers and the sun, and the atmosphere of the room, everything is intoxicating.

"Are you still satisfied? Miss Fang! ”

A low, male voice startled Fang Siying. Turning around, she saw Bai Peiwen's slender body leaning against the open door frame, and he walked so silently that Fang Siying wondered if he had been here for a long time, and if he had heard her and Tingting's conversation. She stood up, and although Bai Peiwen couldn't see it, she still subconsciously maintained her politeness.

"That's too elegant, Mr. Bai." She said.

"I don't know if they match the colors I want."

"The colors match very well." Fang Siying stared at him, although the blind man could not see, he had a lot of knowledge of color! "I didn't expect you to be an expert on color matching as well."

"I learned it." "I once lived with a color-matching expert. ”

"Oh." Fang Si replied and glanced at everything in the room again, "Actually, you really don't have to bother like this. "It's upset to me," she said uneasily. ”

"A would-be writer should live in a room where inspiration is easy to cultivate." Bai Peiwen smiled and said.

"Would-be writers?"

"Don't you want to collect writing materials?" Bai Peiwen's smile deepened, but suddenly, his smile completely retracted, "Live here, Miss Fang," he said deeply, "I promise you, you can find a writing material here, a long novel!" ”

"Did I say I'm going to collect writing materials?" Fang Siying was a little ridiculous, "I ......"

"Don't say it!" Bai Peiwen stopped her from saying the following, "I think, I know you. ”

Fang Si was stunned for a moment, how arbitrary this person was! Know her! Does he really "know" her? She raised her eyebrows, unwilling to argue with him anymore. Walking to the middle of the room, she opened the box that Lao You had already brought in, and was about to pack up her things, and the blind man listened keenly to her actions, and then said:

"I think you must want to rest alone. Tingting! Let's get out! ”

"Oh," Tingting shouted, "I'll help Teacher Fang collect things." All right? She turned her face to Fang Siying, "I'll help you hang your clothes, okay?" ”

"Let her stay, Mr. Kashiwa." "I love that she stays here to help me and talk to me." ”

"Well, okay, I'll see you later." Bai Peiwen nodded, turned around, and walked away.

Here, Fang Siying took out the coat hook from the closet and asked Bai Tingting to help her put the clothes on the hook one by one, and she hung them in the closet. Tingting was busy, and at the same time, she kept talking, expressing her opinion:

"Teacher, you have many, many beautiful clothes, like this red, this yellow, this emerald green...... Why don't you wear it? You always like to wear black, white, coffee, dark blue...... Why? ”

"That's how you look like a teacher!" Fang Siying said with a smile.

"You put your hair down, don't wear glasses, you must look good in this light purple dress." Bai Tingting held up a purple evening dress with small silver trim and said.

"Oh, little girl, you want to teach me beauty!" Fang Si said with a smile.

"But, you've worn this before, haven't you?"

"Of course."

"Why don't you wear it now?"

"No chance, this is an evening dress, worn to a banquet, you know?" Fang Siying hung the dress in the cupboard. Then, suddenly, she stopped, pulled the child to her side, and asked, "Do you like beautiful clothes?" ”

"Well," the boy nodded, "Mommy has a lot of beautiful clothes. ”

"What about you?" Fang Siying asked, "I only saw you in your uniform." ”

Bai Tingting lowered his head and kicked the tassels on the bedspread.

"I have to go to class every day, and I don't have time to wear beautiful clothes...... "She whispered.

"Oh." Fang Siying understood, stood up straight, and she continued to hang the clothes into the closet one by one, while saying in a brisk voice, "Hurry up and help me figure it out, Tingting." Then, you take me on a tour of your room, okay? ”

"Good!" Bai Tingting said happily.

Originally, there weren't many things in Fang Siying, but after a while, everything was cleared up. Following Bai Tingting, Fang Siying came to Tingting's room. This room is also quite large, quite elegant, with a crimson carpet, crimson curtains, a bed, a desk, and a bookcase are all very neatly tied, so neat that Fang Si is surprised, because it doesn't look like a child's room. In Fang Siying's imagination, the floor of this house should be scattered with toys such as dolls, puppies, bears, kittens, or piles of children's books. But there was nothing here, just a clean, neat bedroom.

"Alright, Tingting," Fang Siying said with a smile, "show me your dolls." ”

"Yang-baby-baby-" Bai Tingting said with a stammer.

"Yes!" Fang Siying looked at the child affectionately, "Your little black charcoal, clown, golden curl......"

Bai Tingting's face turned pale, a smile disappeared from her lips, and she looked at Fang Siying stiffly.

"What? Tingting? Fang Si asked puzzled.

The child's head was lowered.

"What's going on? Tingting? Fang Siying was even more confused.

The boy raised his eyes and glanced timidly, and his little face became whiter, and his big eyes were full of tears. With a look of pity, she trembled slightly and said pitifully:

"You must know, teacher, right?"

"Know? Know what? Fang Siying pulled the child in front of her, sat on the edge of the bed, held her chin with her hand, and looked at the cowering little face carefully, "What the hell is going on?" ”

Bai Tingting was silent for a while, and then, she walked away, turned over the pillow, and she took out something from under the pillow, and timidly held it in front of Fang Siying. Fang Siying looked over in surprise and couldn't help but be taken aback. In the child's hand was a cloth, the worst of the kind. Moreover, it was a broken arm and a broken leg, and even the head was shaking, and there were only a few threads left around the neck. Not only that, but the doll's clothes were already in tatters, and her face made of white cloth was as black as the ground, and she couldn't even see her eyebrows and eyes. Fang Siying took the doll and said dumbfounded:

"W-what is this?"

"My doll," the child murmured, hurt by Fang Siying's look, "I think she's not very good-looking." ”

"But, but—what about your other dolls?"

Bai Tingting quickly raised her head, her eyes looked at Fang Siying bravely, and she said with determination and in one breath:

"There are no other dolls, I only have this one, which I picked up from the hillside behind. Little Black Carbon, Clown, Golden Beard...... It's all it, and I've given it multiple names. ”

Fang Siying's eyes widened as she watched the child take the doll back into her hands with infinite pity, trying in vain to fix the doll's tattered clothes. She stammered and couldn't say a word. What a rich family! She bit her lip tightly, feeling excited, her eyes moist, and every nerve in her heart spasmed for the child. It took a long time for her to regain her senses, and stroking Tingting's hair, she said in a comforting, sincere tone:

"This doll is so cute, Tingting. I thought, in two days, we can make her a new dress to wear. ”

"Really? Will you? Tingting's eyes lit up.

"I will." Fang Siying said, tears almost coming out of her eyes. She didn't want to visit Tingting's closet anymore, she could imagine what it was like in the closet. Seeing Bai Tingting put the doll away, she took the child's hand and said, "We won't do our homework this afternoon, and we'll do it in the evening, now, would you like to accompany me to go for a walk outside?" ”

"Okay!" The child cheered.

"Quick, then! Go tell your dad and let's go! ”

Bai Tingting ran away like a fly.

Half an hour later, Fang Siying and Bai Tingting were standing in front of the ruins of Smoky Hills. Gazing at the house that only had ruins left, Bai Tingting said with a look of fascination:

"They said my dead mother still comes here all the time."

"What?" Fang Siying asked, "Who said that?" ”

"Everybody says that." Bai Tingting looked up at the empty shell of the house, "I wish I could see her, I won't be afraid of my mother's ghost." ”

Fang Si was stunned for a moment.

"There are no ghosts in the world, you know?"

"Yes." The child said in a firm tone, "Mommy will be back, and Dad and I are waiting, waiting for her ghost to appear." ”

"Has anyone seen her ghost?" Fang Siying asked thoughtfully.

"Yes. Many people say they have seen it. Last week, Azhu passed by one night and swore that she had seen the shadow of a woman walking in the empty garden, and she was so frightened that she ran home as fast as she could. If it were me, I wouldn't run, I'd go over and talk to her. ”

"Oh, don't be cranky," said Fonsi, who hated most of all the idea of ghosts in adults, "let's go." ”

"Are you afraid?" Bai Tingting asked.

"I'm not afraid!"

"Don't be afraid of my mother," Tingting continued, her eyes warm, "my mother is the most gentle, the most lovable. ”

"Really? How do you know? ”

"My dad said it!"

"Oh!" Fang Siying paused, and then she looked at Smoky Hills, the dilapidated house towering among weeds, thorns, and vines. She fantasized about what it was like in its full time, of how the "gentle, lovely" hostess, and her bright-eyed, amorous husband, lived here! She was so fascinated that beside her, the little girl stood just as distractedly, fantasizing about her departed mother.