Twelve days passed slowly. The days do pass slowly and monotonously. I spend half my day writing novels and the second half shopping. The novel didn't go well, it was written slowly, and sometimes I had to tear up an entire page of manuscript paper to rewrite it. What happened to those two unfortunate people gripped my heart. I've lost my composure, and I've had a harder time handling my pen.

My friend Yao Guodong came to visit me at least once every other day and talked with me for a while. He was still so happy, sure of everything, and didn't care about anything, even though he whined all day long. At the same time he praised his wife, praised his son, and praised his family happiness.

Mrs. Yao didn't come to the Lower Flower Hall for a week. She's sick. However, listening to her friend's tone, she seemed to be "happy", so the friend was not worried about his wife's illness, but he seemed happy. However, without her face, my room lost its former light, and sometimes I felt even more lonely.

When I was shopping, I couldn't get rid of the thought that one day I would meet the Yang family and his father. Not only did I want to know the secrets of that family, but I also wanted to do my best to help them. But the provincial city is so big, and there are so many pedestrians on the streets, where do I go to find the shadow of that father? Not to mention the father, even the child, I haven't seen it in these days. I knew that from Mr. Li's mouth, I could find out the child's address. But every time I pass by the gate and see his old, troubled face, I don't think I have the right to torture him with the Yang family's affairs.

One day when I came back from outside, he looked at me with a distracted eye, and I suddenly felt that I understood what he meant, as if he were asking, "Did you find him?" I shook my head and replied with a disappointed look, "No, not even a shadow." The next day he asked with the same eyes, and I answered with the same eyes. On the third day, it was the same again. This went on for several days. One time I was almost angry, and I wanted to say to him: Why do you keep asking me when you know I won't find him?

But here comes Saturday. It was exactly three weeks after I saw the child's father being beaten.

I woke up that day feeling dizzy, as if something heavy was pressing on my head, and I couldn't do anything and didn't want to do anything. Lying alone in bed, I felt lonely again. I just hope that Lao Yao will come to talk to me, and I can quietly lean back on the sofa and listen to him brag. But on this day, I couldn't see Lao Yao's shadow. When Lao Wen brought lunch, he told me that my lord went out to someone's banquet. I asked about my wife's illness again, and he said that my wife's illness was much better, and I heard Aunt Zhou say that my wife had a baby. He also said that the old lady and his uncle came early in the morning. I didn't ask Young Master Hu, but Lao Wen also told me: Young Master Hu went to Zhao's house to play yesterday and didn't come back at night, and his wife asked Lao Li to pull a car to pick him up, but the old lady outside Zhao's house scolded Lao Li, saying that she wanted to keep Young Master Hu for half a month, so as to save her anger at home. When Lao Li came back, he didn't dare to report these words to his wife, for fear of making his wife angry. Needless to say, Lao Wen then complained again. Regarding the matter of the Zhao family's Tonghu Young Master, his opinion is not far from mine. I also said a few words to reproach the Zhao family, and then he took the dishes and left.

I sat on the couch and fell asleep in a daze. When I woke up, I could hear someone coughing softly in the garden. I stood up and walked to the door.

I suspect my eyes are spent. Why, the children of the Yang family will stand under the camellia tree! I rubbed my eyes. He was clearly standing there, wearing a gray school uniform, bareheaded, looking at something on the tree.

I walked down the stone steps. The child didn't seem to see me. I walked all the way behind his back. He didn't even move.

"What are you looking at?" I asked gently.

He was taken aback and quickly turned around. His face was much thinner and longer, his nose was more tilted to the left, and his teeth were more exposed.

"I read Daddy," he replied softly. He looked at the tree again. There I saw three thumb-sized characters: Yang Mengfu. The notches are deep, but the strokes are skewed. I took a closer look, and there were six small characters with shallow notches below - the seventh day of the fourth month of Gengxu. That must have been the date when the tree was carved, thirty-two years ago. At that time, his father was just a teenager.

"Did you hear from him?" I asked him in a low voice.

"No," he replied, shaking his head. "I searched everywhere, but I couldn't find him."

"Neither do I," I added. My eyes were fixed on the lettering. I thought to myself: this is a long-term road. I feel sad.

After a pause, he suddenly turned his face and said to me pleadingly, "Mr. Li, is there any way else to find him?" Where the hell is he hiding? ”

I shook my head silently.

"Mr. Li, is he still alive? Will I ever see him again? He asked again. He blinked his eyes as hard as he could, and the circles under his eyes were already red.

I looked at his thin, bloodless face, and sympathy made my heart ache, and I bitterly advised him:

"You just forgot about him. What's the use of you remembering him all the time? You see you're much thinner now. You won't find him. ”

"I can't, I can't! I can't forget him. I must find him," he said with a cry.

"Where are you going to find him? The place is so big, there are so many people, and you are a child. ”

"Then you help me, and the two of us will definitely find him."

I shook my head pityingly: "Not to mention two people, even twenty people can't find him." Listen to him and read well. ”

"Mr. Li, I think of him being sinned alone, where do I still have the heart to study? I can't find him, I can't save him, what's the use of reading good books? What's the point of living? ”

I grabbed him by the arm and said in a reproachful tone, "You can't say anything like that." You are young and have a mother at home. Besides, people don't live—"

"Mom has a brother who is filial to her, and Dad is only one person, and they don't care if he lives or dies outside......" He interrupted me with a pout, tears flowed to his mouth, and he didn't wipe it.

"You are all a family, why did your mother and your brother treat your father badly? You should persuade them well, and they will definitely listen to you. ”

He shook his head: "It's useless for me to speak. My brother hates my dad to death, and my mom doesn't like my dad either. My brother kicked my father out, so no one was allowed to mention my father's ...... again."

I finally know the secret. This truth is also something I have long expected. But now, when I hear from my son's mouth about the father's misfortune, I feel as if I have been struck by an accident. I can't explain how I felt at the moment. I suddenly wanted to avoid him, and no longer look at his haggard countenance; I suddenly wanted to take his hand and run out frantically, looking for his father everywhere; Suddenly, I wanted him to sit in my room and tell the story of his family in detail.

I can't decide for myself what I should do. I stood with the child under the camellia tree for a long time, and I didn't feel tired and forgot to be dizzy. I seem to be waiting for something.

Sure enough, a voice, a sweet female voice sounded in the back. It doesn't give me time to hesitate.

"Little brother, don't be sad, you told us about your father. Mr. Li and I are willing to help you. ”

Let's all look back. Mrs. Yao stood in front of the rockery, her face looked haggard after illness, and she was looking at the child with soft eyes.

"I've heard a few words from you, and I didn't mean to eavesdrop." She smiled sadly. "I didn't know my little brother would have such pain." She walked over, took one of the child's hands, and said in a loving voice, "Let's go and sit in Mr. Li's room." ”

The child vaguely agreed, and obediently followed Mrs. Yao. The two of them walked in front of each other, like brothers and sisters. I followed, walking as I walked at her slender back in a light blue cloth cheongsam.