When the western sky began to dim, the pavilion after school buried its head in the school gate as usual.

At the edge of the sidewalk, every few meters there is a street tree with its side branches cut off, and their feet are framed with gray to enclose that side of the dirt. Tingting would step on those protruding cement strips every time. After school, the crowd is crowded and crowded, and she has no parents to pick her up, walking in this narrow pothole is the best reason to walk with her head down. It's nice not to have to look at the laughing crowd in front of you, and not to be accosted by classmates passing by.

From school to home, you have to go through two streets, until the irritability of car horns and wheels rolling over the asphalt is cut off by rows of compact buildings, and a small arched bridge appears at the end of the downhill road. The arch bridge is so narrow that it is impossible to cross a car. Fortunately, the two sides of the river are quite high, and the bridge deck is not too curved, and the small carts on the bridge do not need to exert too much force.

If it's summer, Tingting will definitely take a slow walk on the small bridge for a while, and the evening breeze across the canal will take away the day's worries and heat. But now that it is late autumn, Mr. Wind has become noisy and not gentle.

A few hundred meters across the bridge from the brick and stone road, there is a bustling street market called "Flower Street", which is the perfect combination of a snack street and an open-air vegetable market. The chengguan here seems to be very biased, with roadside stalls selling only fresh vegetables, and fishmongers and butchers paying a fortune to rent a storefront to stop the greasy smell from spreading. As a result, the street does not smell the smell of poultry excrement of all kinds, nor does it smell strong after the refrigeration of aquatic products.

The spicy aroma of fried oil and the sweetness of the cream are separated from each other, and the taste is changed in a few steps, without conflict. In these visible and invisible white vapors, Tingting unconsciously obtains the satisfaction of sweetness. During the New Year's holidays, this long straight street must be the most lively in the neighborhood, and many fresh foods that you can't usually eat will emerge one after another. Many wandering artists will also take the opportunity to wander here to earn a piece of cash for the winter.

Tingting's house is in a long alley behind the downtown and has been rented for more than five years. Her mother died early, and her father had to leave early and return late to work, so he had no time to take care of the housework. Since elementary school, she has volunteered to cook and wash at home. Over time, the uncles and aunts in the shops in Tingting and Flower Street gradually became acquainted with each other, and they would be taken care of from time to time.

Today, as she routinely does every Friday, she is going to the chubby Aunt Gu's shop to spend a small amount of money to buy a fish head with some minced meat.

Thinking like this, when she passed a flower shop with beautiful decorations, she saw Sister Ling, who was in her early twenties, cleaning up the flower arrangement stand used to attract customers at the door. Most of the flowers in the store were purchased from the flower center outside the city, but this good-looking sister was not willing to do so. After graduating, she bought a few acres of land near a fish pond on the edge of the city and built a greenhouse by herself. The greenhouse has countless small compartments for growing flowers of the right temperature. Tingting has been visited, whether it is a small daisy in early spring or a red gold bead in autumn, they can be seen behind a thin transparent curtain.

Seeing Tingting coming over with her eyes slightly closed, Sister Ling still beckoned gently as always, "Little Tingting, come here, come here." ”

Tingting trotted over in response, took a piece of orange-red embroidery bag from Sister Ling's hand, and a burst of dark fragrance lingered in his nose. Although her hands and feet were embarrassed, her expression was very happy, "Thank you, Sister Xiaoling." ”

"You're welcome. The osmanthus flowers in my backyard bloom later than normal, and now making sachets can make the whole winter of Xiaotingting sweet. ”

"I'll cherish it."

Tingting bowed to her and stammered seriously, "I'll come to help my sister on the weekend." ”

Sister Ling couldn't help laughing, her left hand was half covered, and her other hand hurriedly shook and refused, "No, no, I just want to give it to you, if you are so polite, I won't dare to give you anything in the future." ”

Tingting is grateful for everyone's care in Huajie, but she is always uneasy and will always help everyone in her spare time. In this way, everyone can't help but pity her, and often stuff some snacks or extra dishes when she comes back from school. This is an endless loop......

"Oh yes, come to my house tomorrow to eat osmanthus cake, don't be polite to me."

"Hmm...... Good. ”

Tingting thanked Sister Ling, looked at her slender but busy back, sniffed, and turned to leave.

But after only three steps, in the sandwich between the flower shop and the next store, there was an unfamiliar smell that passed through the sweet fragrance of osmanthus and came out abruptly.

This is one of the few heavenly slashes in the flower street.

Tingting looked in curiously, and the only light left in the dim sky could barely reach this shelter. It was a narrow path during the day, but she couldn't see the end at a glance.

Suddenly, Tingting seemed to hear a faint moan, which frightened her and took two steps back. In a panic, she wanted to ask Sister Ling from the flower shop, but her sister had already packed up and entered the house.

Looking down at her toes, Tingting calmed down for a moment, thinking that it was nothing more than an injured cat or dog, so she made up her mind and walked in.

A large number of wet and rotten old wooden strips were piled up haphazardly on one side of the wall, making her cautious again and again. Because the iron nails on the wood were rusty, slightly reflective, crooked, and easily hooked and rubbed against the hem of her skirt.

Walking past the pile of wooden strips, Tingting could finally see the end of the place, only a wall of red bricks exposed, and nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.

When she was relieved and about to turn away, a sudden hot temperature made her cry out in the next second.

"Ahh

She felt the touch of a body temperature on her bare ankle, as if she was being held firmly.

"Don't scream......" a weak male voice slowly rose from her feet.

Tingting managed to calm his violent heartbeat, and froze motionlessly, carefully glancing down.

It was a bloody man, lying half-hunched on his side behind a pile of wood.

It turned out that the strange smell just now turned out to be the smell of blood, which made Tingting very surprised. She had killed fish many times, and although she was not familiar with the smell of blood, she could tell it immediately. This time, she smelled the strong smell of human blood, but it was not the same as animal blood.

"You, what's wrong...... Need my help? Tingting asked with a trembling voice.

The man heard the voice, opened a blood-soaked eye, and looked half-squinted, "Elementary school student? ”

"Hmmm......"

"Well, I don't have to." He was slightly stunned when he saw Tingting with a face full of fear, and then let go of his hand.

The restraints were loosened, and Tingting wanted to run away immediately, to the street where there was still light. But for some reason, the ghost made her crouch down.

"No, you've bled so much, you're going to die!"

"Dead? Death is death, I am just a stray wild cat, and it is probably my fate to wait quietly for death in this kind of horn. The man closed his eyes and was weak.

In the darkness, Tingting mistakenly thought that the man's face began to turn pale, and he nudged his body a few times in a panic.

"No, you're not dead yet. The teacher said that people must have a positive attitude towards life, and even if everything is lost, they cannot easily give up their lives. Because, because ...... In that case, it would be too cowardly! ”

"Cowardice? Cowardice......" The man seemed to be a little touched by Tingting's words, and the corners of his mouth murmured.

Seeing this, Tingting pretended to wipe his forehead calmly, tried to look serious, and grabbed the man's arm with both hands, trying to pull him up.

"Can you walk? I'll take you home. ”

"Don't make a fuss, I don't have any ......"

"No, it's to my house."

The man was slightly stunned, but then gently knocked his head on the ground.

"No, I can't be seen by other adults."

"I know."

Tingting knew that he was absolutely not allowed to call an ambulance. Men hiding in the shadows like this must have something unspeakable. The sight here was too dark, so I had to take him home first, and use the home first-aid kit to temporarily clean and bandage him. Of course, she is not familiar with the use of medical equipment, and her only contact is the superficial explanation of the teacher in the safety education class.

It can be vaguely seen that the man's body is still stretched with knife marks, and the black and red liquid on the soles of his feet is a little slimy. She was afraid, but she tried to keep her composure, knowing that if she left it alone, the man would bleed to death.

Tingting pondered for a moment, thinking that if it was inconvenient, he would have to go back and bring the first aid kit, "You wait for me for a while." With that, she was about to run away, but the man grabbed her ankle again.

"Little girl, don't worry about me, I won't die, don't worry."

Tingting didn't believe it, "Really? But you're badly wounded. ”

"Alright, alright. If you don't believe me, you'll come back here tomorrow to me. I will wait for you alive. ”

The man stretched out his arm, and there was a wound in front of his elbow that turned out, but there was no brown clotting in the blood around the wound. The blood was silently pooling between the flesh, and the wound seemed to shrink at a very slow rate.

Tingting was stunned, although slowly, the man's wounds were indeed healing, and in her impression, humans would not have this kind of self-healing power visible to the naked eye. Although she was curious, she didn't ask much, but quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

A grunt rose from the ground, and she touched her stomach in surprise, convinced that it wasn't her own hunger reaction, and then smiled smartly, "Okay, I believe it." But you fill your stomach first, whatever you want to eat, I'll buy it for you. ”

After all, the man couldn't resist the prolonged invasion of hunger, he licked his lips, hesitated for a moment and compromised, "Thank you." I want to eat if I can. ”

The small restaurants on Flower Street generally do not provide takeaway services, and the slightly luxurious hotels are difficult to reach for the shy pavilions. So she smiled awkwardly, "If you don't mind...... I'm going home and doing it now? ”

"Please, be sure to let me taste it."

"It may be a little ......"

"I've been hungry all day, and I don't care about waiting a little longer. Please let me taste your cooking. The man's voice was still weak, but there was a little more anticipation.

There was no one in the fish shop at this time, and Aunt Gu, the owner of the shop, was wiping the pale red blood stains on the striped tiles with a small rag. In the red basins of water at his feet, white hoses densely bubble explosions. From time to time, fishtails slap against the surface of the water, and even the ripples seem to have a rhythm.

Seeing Tingting rummaging through the change in her schoolbag, Aunt Gu trotted out a black plastic bag from the refrigerator and pinched it gently.

"I've prepared it for you, it's the fattest and freshest one today."

Tingting thanked him and took it, pulled the bag and sniffed it closely, the fishy smell was very pure, and it penetrated to the bottom of the nasal cavity. Then pinch the fish near the gills and make it soft and smooth. In her experience, the fish is sure to be tender.

Among the common fish heads, bighead carp heads are the largest and fattest, but they have less umami in comparison, which is suitable for hotels and stalls, and can be filled with spices to be spicy. The heads of silver carp and chain are soft and tender, but the amount is too small, only the head of herring is the most delicious, and the portion is enough for the whole family to eat. The most important thing is that compared to the bighead carp head of about 18 pieces, the cost performance of the herring head of six pieces is really exciting.

A herring has a fat body, but people often prefer its tail, but the head is slightly smaller, so it loses its due value. This kind of prejudice is cheaper.

Ding Bo's white tofu is not as tender as usual, not to mention that after a whole day of drying, the tofu has become a little dry and yellowish. Tingting didn't mind, but Dingbo probably felt guilty and stuffed her with a few green corianders. In this way, Tingting no longer has to go to pick up and buy.

On Fridays, Tingting's father usually worked an hour overtime in a hurry and didn't come home until nearly eight o'clock. In order to dine with his father, Tingting would set up the alarm clock and start salting the fish head with fine salt at 7:10 p.m. on time.

But today was different, Tingting took advantage of the gap between the fine salt melting on the fish, hurried to the corridor, cut a small pinch of chopped green onion in a flower pot, and then found a dried ginger and cut it out. Shriveled white tofu should also be soaked in cold water. When it was time to simmer, she stepped on a small wooden stool and stir-fried a plate of cowpeas.

Half an hour later, Tingting put the meal into the bento box, and hurried to the man with a glass of water.

"I thought you'd go find an adult to get me."

The man had sat up against the wall, tearing the hem of his shirt into strips, trying his best to tie the wound.

"Why, I promised you. Besides, what good is it to catch you. Tingting pouted slightly, somewhat displeased by the man's suspicions.

"Yes, I'm a murderer, wanted. A bounty of 200,000 is on the run. ”

The man's voice was calm and gentle, but it was descriptive and terrifying, which made Tingting panic, and the hands that opened the lunch box trembled.

After a little slackness, the lunch box fell.

When the box tilted and the soup was about to spill, the man's left hand had already wrapped it firmly in the palm of his hand.

When the man spoke again, Tingting had already retreated to the ground in fear, staring at him in fear, his hands gripping the concrete wall with restless hands behind his back. Her fingers were rustling and numb, and she was as powerless as her legs.

"Hahaha, don't be afraid. I won't hurt you, when I'm done with this meal, you can take me to the police station, and I'll repay the favor." ”

Seeing that Tingting was still so frightened that he couldn't speak, the man's face seemed to flash with sadness and loneliness, but he quickly tried his best to show his smiling face.

"Thank you, it smells good. I haven't had a bite of hot food in a long time. ”

It was already completely dark, and in the dark blue environment, the man's face could not be seen clearly, but the white steam rising from the meal was still visible. He puffed and breathed, and every time he took two bites, he would praise him between swallows.

Gradually, Tingting didn't seem to be so scared. Hearing the sound of a man carrying soup and water and eating very fragrantly, she didn't forget to remind her.

"There are still some bone spurs in the fish, you should eat slowly."

The man vaguely agreed, but still struggled to pick up the rice and swallowed it heavily. Soon, the glass of water was gone, and he exhaled comfortably, completely devoid of the weakness of his previous serious injury.

"Let's go, you go and call someone to arrest me."

Tingting hesitated, in her education from childhood to adulthood, the murderers she had the impression of were all heinous villains, with a violent temper and extremely vicious. But the man in front of him was unexpectedly gentle and humble, and if it weren't for his blood, it would be difficult for Tingting to connect him with the murderer.

"I don't want to ......," she refused, slowly leaning on the wall and standing up, "I'm going home, and I'm going to act like I didn't see anything." ”

"Don't you want the 200,000 you picked up for nothing?"

Tingting's footsteps faltered. 200,000 yuan is definitely a lot of wealth for her, and her father can't earn it even if he is busy for two whole years. With this money, she can go to the dessert shop and dip her mouth of cream in a ring without worry, and she doesn't have to count a few crumpled coins to keep counting.

"I didn't do anything."

At this time, the man was a little excited, and his tone was mixed with the impatience of an abandoned child, "I'll be caught sooner or later, so I might as well give you this bounty." What's more, you invited me to dinner, no matter how I say it, I will repay you. ”

"I don't want it."

Tingting refused again, and she still felt that this was an ill-gotten wealth against her conscience. Plus, it's a way for her to escape the brutal truth. From the bottom of her heart, she didn't want to believe that the man in front of her was a murderer. The thought that this heavy reward would be real, made her feel inexplicably uncomfortable.

"But there's no longer any reason for me to live. Finally, in the end, let me do something to compensate you. ”

"You...... Is it really a murderer? Did you really kill someone? Tingting finally asked.

"Yes."

"And who did you kill? What happened at the time and why did you do it? ”

The man fell silent, as if recalling the unbearable past, and after a long time, he slowly replied, "This is an adult's business, you are still young, you will not understand." ”

"Sure enough, since you say this, there must be a reason, there must be a bitterness, you are definitely not a complete villain."

"That's what you really think of me? But ......"

Tingting interrupted him and looked at the man in the darkness seriously, "If you insist on making it up to me, please grant my wish." ”

"Okay, just mention it, I'm a living dead anyway, and I'll do whatever I do."

"Then you promise me to try to live. Even if it's for me, is that okay? ”

The man was stunned, and by the faint light of the street, he stared at the little girl in front of him for a long time. The little girl was half-hunched over her slender waist, as if eagerly waiting for his answer.

"Okay, I promise you."

In this way, an exiled murderer, an ordinary little girl, met by chance, and the trajectory of their lives changed because of this.