Zhu Siping's family lives by the river in half of the city and half of the countryside, in the middle of the large black tile and stone wall houses. The dwellings were old, the white walls were no longer white, the black tiles were damaged, only the splendor of the sun on the roof was still moving, and the shadow of the water behind the house brought the old atmosphere of the eaves to the river. Han Ding and Luo Jingjing each had a mood, took a boat carrying passengers and walked a section of the waterway, and landed at a port where washing clothes and vegetables were taken by land. They walked through one short walled alley after another, along the narrow stone path by the river, and hurried past the noise of the houses along the roadside, with smoke curling from the houses. When approaching Siping's house, they began to inquire about the neighbors, who had friendly expressions, enthusiastic words, and took the trouble to point them in the direction. In front of a small market near the river, an idle old man heard that they were looking for the Zhu family, so he took the initiative to lead them through the old arched bridge over the river, from the side of a barber shop into a narrow alley, and then through a deep doorway, until finally to a patio-like courtyard. There were two small tables in the courtyard, and two families were sitting around their doors eating lunch, and an old lady was sitting in the corner, feeding the children. The child was placed in an upside-down bottomless wooden barrel, and his mouth was half-filled with rice, and he cried crookedly, stopping abruptly when a stranger came in, and looked at them in astonishment with teary eyes. The two older children, who were reluctant to eat honestly and were running around in the yard, also stopped and stared at them with fluffy marshmallows in their hands. The old man who led the way stood at the door of the small courtyard, pointed inside, and turned back. Han Ding greeted the surprised gaze of this courtyard with a polite smile, he knew that the two tables were staring at Luo Jingjing. Luo Jingjing is a model, maybe such a slim beauty has never been seen in this poor courtyard.

Han Ding asked a nearby table, "May I ask if Zhu Siping's family lives here?" ”

An elderly man came forward to answer: "Zhu Siping, Zhu Siping is gone, her family is here, what are you doing?" ”

Han Ding said: "We are lawyers, and we want to find out some information about Zhu Siping's parents. ”

The old man put down his job and stood up from the small table, "Oh, you are the lawyer hired by Siping's parents, right?" Wait a minute, wait a minute, her mom is upstairs. ”

The old man pointed with his chopsticks, and on the black tiles above the patio, where a lot of scraps and miscellaneous items were piled up, there was a small attic made of a layer of wooden planks, and at the open window of the attic, many pieces of washed cloth and colorful clothes were dried.

Han Ding honestly corrected and said: "We are not the lawyer hired by Siping's parents, we are Long Xiaoyu's lawyer, Long Xiaoyu has lived here before, right?" ”

The people in this courtyard were stunned, the silence at that moment was terrifying, and even the ignorant children felt a hint of ominous atmosphere, and the crooked cry sounded again. It was the old man who spoke first who reacted first, and used contrived composure to hide the consternation in his voice: "Oh, you are Long Xiaoyu's lawyer...... Long Xiaoyu was arrested by the Public Security Bureau. ”

Han Ding saw that the gaze around him was not hostile, but more of a fear. In this closed courtyard, the incident about Long Xiaoyu's murder may have been interpreted into a crazy story long ago. Long Xiaoyu may have been artificially demonized in various rumors, so that people shudder when they hear his name. Therefore, Han Ding had to explain in a deliberately relaxed tone, with a more polite, polite and almost low-voiced expression:

"Yes, it's caught. We're here to find out what's going on. Are Siping's mom and dad at home? I've seen his mom and dad. ”

The old man looked like a retired worker, as if he had seen some of the world, and his face did not change and his heart did not beat and instructed the boy who looked like a primary school student: "You go to the barber shop and call Uncle Zhu to come, and tell him that Long Xiaoyu's lawyer is looking for him." ”

The boy put down the bowl and ran out as if flying, and the two families in the courtyard lowered their heads and began to eat again, and no one paid any attention to them except to quietly bite their ears and peek or two. Han Ding and Luo Jingjing stood awkwardly in the narrow open space between the two tables, momentarily at a loss.

Fortunately, Siping's father was quickly brought back by the boy who went out to report the news, and it seemed that his hair had not been shaved yet, the hairline on the back of his head was uneven, and the hair stains on his face had not been wiped off. He walked into the small courtyard and looked Han Ding up and down, and he didn't know if he remembered that he and Han Ding had met in the humble conference room of the Pingling City Court early last year. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he grimaced and asked in a rough voice:

"Ah, what's the matter with you?"

Han Ding was pleasant, and his heart was beating, and he didn't know how to get close to this very unceremonious face. His voice could already be heard a little timid, a little unconfident, and even a little reasonable, "Ah-wish...... Master Zhu, I'm sorry to disturb you, we are lawyers from Beijing Zhongya Law Firm, my name is Han Ding......"

As soon as Han Ding said these two words, he was coldly interrupted by Siping's father: "I know you, you have a good talk, what is the matter with you?" ”

Han Ding was inserted by him out of thin air, his thinking rhythm was a little chaotic, and he said in a panic: "Oh, it's about your daughter Zhu Siping...... Uh- about the matter between Zhu Siping and Long Xiaoyu, we want to talk to you about it. Look, shall we find a place to sit? Is there anything nearby where you can talk? ”

The people in the courtyard stopped chewing and became attentive observers, which aroused the hostility and anger of Siping's father. He frowned and said to Han Ding, "What do you want to do when you talk to me?" You want to get a situation from me to speak for the murderer, don't you? You figure it out, this is my home, don't deceive people too much! ”

Han Ding still wanted to do his work, and he knew it: "I wish Master, some situations are clear, and it is also beneficial to you, you also want to find out the real situation, we are here to ......"

Before Han Ding's words were finished, Siping's father waved his hands fiercely and began to bombard them: "Let's go!" We don't have much to say, don't talk about it, and beware of it! ”

The people around them also came up and persuaded them to leave. The old man said, "Hurry up, other people's daughters are dead, what are you doing here?" Let's go, let's go......" The others also gossiped in Shaoxing dialect, most of them were middle-aged and elderly women, and Han Ding didn't understand much about what they were nagging, and they didn't understand whether they persuaded him to leave or supported Siping's father or expressed their feelings and comments in general. But these voices obviously played a role in adding fuel to the fire, Siping's father actually came up with red eyes and grabbed Han Ding's neck and pushed him outside the courtyard: "Can you go?" Don't blame me for being unkind if you don't go! Luo Jingjing came up to support Han Ding, she wanted to pull Han Ding out of the hands of the strong man who was stronger than him, but in the fierce confrontation between the two men, her strength and voice seemed to be useless: "Don't do it, okay, he is a lawyer, and he is not a murderer!" Han Ding struggled to get rid of Siping's father's rough pull: "What are you doing?" You let go, you let go! They squirmed and pushed each other, and the others also came up to persuade and pull, and Luo Jingjing was also in the middle, stumbling towards the door with them. In the chaotic scene, I don't know if Luo Jingjing tripped on something or was pushed by Siping's father, stumbled and fell to the ground, Han Ding was in a hurry, and broke free from Siping's father's kink with a desperate punch and kick. Siping's father is certainly stout, after all, he is in his forties, although Han Ding is delicate, after all, his blood is strong, and this punch ** plus actually made Siping's father take a few steps back, stumble on a low table, and smash the soup and vegetables on it, which frightened the woman in the small patio and called the child cry...... Siping's father probably didn't expect Han Ding to dare to go wild at his doorstep, and he pounced like crazy, and the two young men fought together in this narrow space......

The final result of this brawl was, of course, pulled away by the people on the side and the people who rushed from outside the doorway, and both sides had small injuries on their faces and bodies, and from the injuries they could not tell the difference. Siping's father used to speak Mandarin, and after the fight, his mouth was full of Shaoxing dialect, and he didn't know what he was scolding when he was high and low. Han Ding didn't say a word, lowered his head and walked out. Luo Jingjing followed behind him, and as soon as he got out of the doorway, he saw Han Ding turn his head and go back, Luo Jingjing didn't want to pull it, and he didn't listen to it. The people in the courtyard were startled when they saw Han Ding coming back with horizontal eyebrows, thinking that he was going to fight hard, and even Siping's father subconsciously took a few steps back to make a defensive posture. Han Ding didn't look at them, lowered his head and picked up the backpack that had been dragged to the ground in the fight just now, and then walked out again, leaving the frightened bird in the patio behind the silent bird......

Han Ding strode with a red face, all the way out of the narrow alley, and only after walking out of the alley did he look back and saw Luo Jingjing trotting behind him. Luo Jingjing's face was miserable and white, just like what Han Ding saw when Nobita led a group of migrant workers to besiege the Luo family's courtyard the year before last. Maybe Luo Jingjing didn't expect that a polite white-collar young man like him in a big city would also fight with the National People's Congress viciously, and he was a little speechless in fright for a while. The warm winter sun shone on the stone road that ran along the river, but it didn't reflect a little blood on her face, Han Ding looked back and saw the childlike horror in her eyes, so he hurriedly walked back and took her in his arms with one arm in distress.

He said, "Don't be afraid. ”

Luo Jingjing looked at his face and asked, "Are you in pain?" ”

Only then did Han Ding realize that one side of his face was throbbing and aching, and he couldn't tell where the sweat-stained body was.

Han Ding shook his head and said, "It's okay." He took Luo Jingjing's hand and walked across the arched bridge on the river to the other side of the river. They found an old-fashioned inn on the side of the road not far from the bridge. On the second floor of the hotel's wooden plank, I rented a room facing the street. This room is very cheap, only 40 yuan for a night. Originally, Han Ding wanted to find a regular hotel to live in, and the guest rooms in the hotel at least had a bathroom, but Luo Jingjing had to live here, and only did he know when he pushed the window upstairs that he could not only see the lively water alley downstairs from here, but also the curling smoke in the direction of Zhu Siping's house south of the arch bridge, and the black tile and broken roof where Long Xiaoyu once lived.

After Han Ding entered the room, he took the basin in the room and went downstairs to wash his face, and then brought a basin of water for Luo Jingjing and returned to the room. He pushed open the door and saw Luo Jingjing still standing in front of the window staring motionless to the south, he couldn't help but feel a little unhappy, he put down the basin heavily behind her, and said angrily:

"Hey, don't look at it, okay, wash your face quickly, we're going out."

Luo Jingjing didn't look back, she raised her hand and pointed to the south, and said, "I'm looking for Siping's house, it's over there, I can't tell which one it is." ”

Han Ding asked coldly, "When did you become interested in Zhu Siping?" ”

Luo Jingjing turned around and said, "Xiao Yu also lived there before. ”

This sentence sounded very ordinary, but for some reason, it made Han Ding feel particularly harsh and unbearable, making him put the unhappiness that had accumulated in his heart since he arrived in Pingling, as well as the fight with Zhu Siping's unreasonable father just now, and the pain that was still faintly beating on half of his face, all concentrated in his throat, and he blurted out a cruel sentence:

"I really don't understand, how can such a murderer make you feel like you've been deceived?"

Luo Jingjing was stunned at the window, and Han Ding couldn't see her backlit face clearly. Han Ding didn't want to look at her face anymore. Maybe the expression on her face was dumbfounded, at least her voice, that's how dumbfounded.

"You're his lawyer, don't you keep saying he's a murderer? Even you say he's a murderer, how can you defend him? ”

"You asked me to defend him, not myself!"

"When you came to Shaoxing this time, didn't you also say that there may be some things that the Public Security Bureau has not figured out, and you may have made a mistake? Haven't you found some clues that he may have been wronged? ”

Han Ding was speechless.

Luo Jingjing's voice was gentle, weak, and even pleading, which made Han Ding unbearable. He didn't know why Luo Jingjing didn't quarrel with him this time. This time he provoked it, but Luo Jingjing didn't make a noise. Maybe she heard the excitement in his voice, maybe she saw the striking bruise on his face.

Han Ding was silent, sat down on the bed with his head down, and silently opened his backpack to change clothes. Luo Jingjing came over, diligently helped him fold the dirty clothes he had changed from like a child who had made a mistake, and then asked him softly: "It's almost two o'clock, what are we going to eat?" ”

Han Ding's anger subsided, and he was bored for a while before muttering, "I want to eat the noodles you made." ”

Luo Jingjing coaxed a child and said, "Then I'll go back and make it for you." So what are we eating now, are you hungry? ”

Han Ding smiled and asked, "Are you hungry?" What do you want to eat? ”

Luo Jingjing said: "It's okay, I'll listen to you." ”

So, they went downstairs. Go downstairs and go down to the street to find something to eat.

Before going downstairs, Han Ding asked Luo Jingjing to wash his face and make up the makeup on his face, and Luo Jingjing, who had finished makeup, looked delicate. Han Ding took her hand and walked out of the small inn, and they walked west along the river on the stone road where the sun came. From here, 100 meters to the west, there is a small restaurant along the street, the scale is roughly the same, and the façade is different. They picked a cleaner one, went in and asked for a few local dishes that they couldn't eat in Beijing, nothing more than sauced duck, pickled fish, etc., and asked for two bowls of rice, and watched the boats coming and going on the river, and devoured them. After settling the account and before taking a seat, Luo Jingjing proposed: "Let's go to the Baihuashao Troupe in the afternoon, and find the singer, he is familiar with Long Xiaoyu and his father, we can talk to him." ”

Han Ding picked his teeth and deliberately asked, "What are you talking about?" ”

Luo Jingjing was stunned for a long time before she said, "Didn't you say that you wanted to know about Long Xiaoyu's performance here?" He worked as a handyman in the Baihuashao Troupe, you can go there and get to know him. ”

Han Ding said: "I know why you have to come to Shaoxing with me this time." I'm looking for evidence, you're looking for sustenance, right? You can't see Long Xiaoyu, you miss him, you have to come to Shaoxing and see all the places where he lived and worked. In this way, your heart will be happy, like seeing him, right? ”

Han Ding knew that he had clearly said that Luo Jingjing was in his heart, but Luo Jingjing would not admit it. She was weak and wanted to make some excuses: "No, I just want to help you find more evidence, I'm all for your sake......"

Han Ding grimaced and interrupted her: "For my sake? For my sake, why don't you ask me where I am injured and do I want to go to the hospital? Do you only have Long Xiaoyu in your head? Don't forget, Long Xiaoyu is just your former boyfriend, you have long since separated, your current boyfriend is me, and the two of us are engaged! Aren't you afraid that I will have internal injuries and disability that will drag you down for the rest of your life? Luo Jingjing also knew that she was at a loss, so she hurriedly looked at Han Ding's face with concern, and touched the blue part of his face with her slender and soft hand: "Ahhhh ”

Han Ding frowned more and more vigorously and said, "What are you touching there?" I have pain in my body. ”

Luo Jingjing lifted his clothes: "Where is the injury, let me see, do you want to go to the hospital?" ”

Han Ding saw that the concern on Luo Jingjing's face was real. At this time, Han Ding had to think of their happy life in the past. He thought that Luo Jingjing was really good to him in the past, how many girls now, especially such beautiful girls, can care about people like this? Girls can be selfish these days. Luo Jingjing's preciousness is also here, when she keeps up with a man, she will take care of him wholeheartedly and regard him as the main content of her life. Maybe she did the same to Long Xiaoyu before.

Han Ding stood up, said "forget it", and walked out of the restaurant first. Luo Jingjing came out, but said that she would go to the hospital first, at least take some medicine or something, otherwise you would have more pain the next day. When she said this, Han Ding smiled contentedly, and he stopped and asked:

"If I'm really crippled, will you be able to support me?"

Luo Jingjing swore and shouted: "Of course, if you don't believe it, you will be crippled once and see how I treat you." ”

Han Ding said, "What do you rely on to support me? You sleep at home all day, and when you wake up, you go shopping, and you don't know how to make money, what do you use to support me? ”

Luo Jingjing said: "At that time, I will go out to work and earn a lot of money to support you." ”

Han Ding said: "Part-time job? What kind of work can you do? When you go to the company as a secretary, you don't have much culture, and when you are a model, you don't want to go out to find a job, and you always wait for a job like a big name. When you were young, you could still rely on this face God gave you, what would you do when you were old? ”

Luo Jingjing had no words in her mouth, so she had to say obediently: "So, let's go to the hospital quickly, don't be crippled, I can't support you, I still have to rely on you." Is there a hospital nearby? Let's find out. ”

Han Ding's heart was completely happy, in such a large conversation, Luo Jingjing did not mention Long Xiaoyu, not only did she mention it, but when discussing her future life, she still regarded Han Ding as her only partner and dependent. This made Han Ding regain some confidence, and his face was suddenly full of bright sunshine at the moment.

So, he waved his hand and said, "What hospital are you going to, time is running out, let's go quickly." ”

Luo Jingjing stood still: "Where are we going?" ”

Han Ding took two steps forward and turned back to greet her: "Baihuashao Troupe!" ”