We didn't go directly to Murong Ting's mother's grave, but to the small two-story house where she used to live.

What is different from what I imagined is that this house has an abnormal feeling, how can I say it? It's as if someone lives in it, and it's full of life. For example, the delicate sunflowers in the small courtyard, and the jar of flowers and plants placed outside the porch, as if someone was carefully taking care of them.

"I don't live here, but I have hired a former servant to take care of this side for me..."

"Did you want to come here directly last night?"

She nodded silently, then took a key from her handbag and opened the courtyard door.

Walking into the house, you can smell the smell of air cleaner, but it is not particularly strong, and it is barely acceptable.

The tables were empty, except for the pictures hanging on the walls. I picked up one of them, a photo of a little girl and an uncle with a smile on his face. The little girl is holding a bear and sitting on a chair in a beautiful flower dress, while the uncle is squatting beside her with a smile and touching her head, with this house in the background...

Other photos include a little girl's life photo, and a personal photo of an acquaintance...

"You look like your mother."

"Does that need to be said? Hey, don't take a photo of me when I was a kid and get in heat, you lolicon. ”

"Climb for me. Others are very emotional when they encounter this kind of scene, shouldn't they tell me the story behind these photos? Opened your mouth to frame me as Lolita, and I have a sick brain, right? ”

She stuck out her head suspiciously, and glanced at the photo in my hand...

"It's been so many years, and the memories of my childhood are almost forgotten. But I still have some impressions of this one, which my father took with me before he went on that mission..."

"Which time?"

"The time he never returned..."

She said it as if she didn't care, but I felt guilty for it.

What is there that can make a little girl about three years old etched to this day? I'm really brainless.

"I'm sorry..."

She snatched the picture from me and hung it back in the center of the wall, then smiled and took my hand.

"Let's do something comfortable with a little time."

"Okay."

"Don't promise so decisively, right? I'm going to be shy! Shouldn't you complain about me according to your personality? ”

"That's not what you're talking about, anyway. It's almost noon now, so let's get ready for lunch, and then we can prepare for the cemetery later, and you have to arrange for someone else to erect a tombstone for your father, right? ”

She shook her head, then took her father's bones from the ring and placed them on the table, "My father already has a well-dressed tomb, just put his bones in it." ”

"Is that so? Okay then... Anyway, let's finish our meal first. ”

"Wait, let's stay a little longer... I'll take a look..."

“...”

She quietly left my side, and I scanned the room with curiosity.

Although she has only lived in this house for three years, the graffiti on the walls and corners of the walls and corners is a sign to me that this is the area she cherishes the most. A three-year-old girl... The little girl who didn't know anything sat day and night in this small courtyard in the company of the servants, waiting for her father's return...

Compared to her, I am so happy.

Can I get her to live a carefree life again?

Can she smile like the one in that photo again?

It's a pity that now she is still alone in the pain of unrequited love for me, and is about to die for this reason...

What should I do, what should I do? If she hesitates any longer, she will be dead in two days...

In this world, the person closest to her is me, and the person she loves the most should also be me, so... I have an obligation to protect her, and whatever I lose, I should protect her.

'It seems that Xiaoting also has someone she likes, so you don't have to worry about her not being able to get married, right, wife? ’

'yes... Child, my Xiaoting will be entrusted to you'

Go and take off her tearful clown mask. ’

When I turned around, it happened to be a photo of Murong Ting's parents... In the photo, the two of them looked at me with a smile...

"Is it an auditory hallucination...?"

I lay down quietly, basking in the warm sunshine and feeling the excitement of this little house because the little master had returned.

Ahh That's all there is to her... She has entrusted everything she has to me...

"Hey, Murong Ting, I won't take care of this house for you after you die, take care of it myself."

I closed my eyes and said to Murong Ting, who walked up to me and sat down.

"You're too scumbag, aren't you?" I didn't see her expression, but I could feel a sense of helplessness in her voice.

"So... So you have to live well and pay for the maintenance of this house yourself, I don't have that much money from you. ”

She sat silently beside me, her head tilted, the sun shining on her face, like a goddess of beauty bathed in holy light.

"—Let's go, let's eat."

——At noon, I inevitably found a noodle restaurant on the side of the road, sat down and ate a few bites, and then drove to the cemetery of Murong Ting's parents.

Passing through the potholed dirt road, we left the shared car in the parking lot at the foot of the hill and hiked to the cemetery on the hill. If you bring a child to visit the tomb, you may climb the mountain with a smile and curiosity peculiar to children, right? For Murong Ting, I think it should be the same reason. Is it because the cemetery is the resting place of her parents that she seems so peaceful? Or was she the way she was, but I myself was deceived by what she was doing?

She is five years older than me, and she naturally understands everything I know, not to mention that she is actually very sensible in some aspects. Are those grotesque and hilarious behaviors her mask... In fact, she was as quiet as last night and now, she is the real Murong Ting.

Do you want to force her to wear a mask? Like last night?

Suddenly, I realized that I was the one who was really naïve...

If she really wanted to be as naïve as usual, how could she hold herself out of her demons? In fact, she has been silently suffering a lot of pressure alone, maybe every time I get intimate with Chen Mio Yezi, her psychological pressure will increase, right? But she still chose to live with us...

Is it because of me...

Is it because I am one of the few people she is close to in the imperial capital? It's impossible for someone close to her to make her feel sick...

"It's here..."

Walking through the tombstones, we came to a tombstone engraved with the tomb of the Murong couple. Murong Ting put the pansy and a few bottles of beer in her hand in front of the tombstone.

“... How do you bring these things with you when you sweep the grave? ”

She glanced back at me wordlessly, "Remember, my mother's favorite flower is pansies, because that's what my father gave her when he confessed to her, and my father's favorite thing is wine." ”

"Is there a story to this wine?"

"No, it's just that he likes to drink."

“...”

"So, you have to remember what your father-in-law and mother-in-law like!"

"Got it."

"Give me six sticks of incense."

"Six? Isn't it enough to have three? ”

"Three roots are just to bless their own fortune, and now we have Sakura in our family, so we must have six roots to bless two generations."

I see...

After giving her six sticks of incense from the storage ring, I lit three of them myself and knelt down to bow down.

"Will your parents misunderstand that you are married and have children?"

"Then I'll call you husband?"

"Whatever you want."

I smiled and patted her on the head, and then—

"Do you want to go straight home?" After I pulled on my seat belt, I looked at Murong Ting, who was sitting in the passenger seat.

"Otherwise, would you like to take me to the hotel? Don't, right? We just finished sweeping the tomb, so it's really bad! ”

She smiled and took out her phone and began to play with it.

It should be another message to harass Chen Mio and Yezi.

Last night, she sent a photo of the two of us sleeping, along with some text that could easily lead to misunderstandings. It seems to be something - sure enough, the body bones of young people are more resistant, but they are still tired...

At that time, a chill wrapped around the hearts of the two of us like a snake, and I was even more frightened to wake up while I was sleeping, and then I took great pains to end the incident with Yezi and Chen Mio, and finally I sent them the photos of the human-shaped arch bridge to extinguish their anger.

However, when I get home, I can't avoid a painful meal...

The person who caused the accident was as if nothing had happened, and after returning to the original state, he took off his yukata and hugged me tightly, and then fell asleep on his own.

"Really, let's go home and do it together! What are these grieving eyes? ”

"I'll knock you on the head... Why don't you stay at home here for an extra night? ”

She said without looking back: "Forget it, the ticket has been bought, so let's go back like this." ”

"It's okay, anyway, it's not like there won't be a chance in the future."

She smiled disdainfully, "What did you say... Talk as if you can do something. ”

Hehehe, the most unhappy thing about me is her tone, always treating me like iron waste, although I really can't beat her, and I always trouble her to clean up the mess for me...

"After I go back, I will make it clear to Chen Mio and Yezi, even if they will dump me because of this, I will make it clear to them."

“...”