Although the sun showed its face, the rain in the sky began to fall after a while. Han Ding walked out of the building door and realized that he had forgotten to bring an umbrella, he did not pause, let alone turn back, and walked into the rain like this. This may be the last rain of the summer, and the rain is blowing on the face, bringing a little autumn cold. Han Ding walked onto the street, the intersection of Chongwenmen was still so lively, the flow of people and vehicles coming out of Chang'an Avenue and coming in from the train station was flowing rapidly in the direction of their respective heads. The bustle around highlights Han Ding's loneliness, his loneliness is due to the fact that he is moving forward step by step, but there is no set direction at all.

Where did he go?

He went down to the subway station and boarded a train with the crowd. When he got into the car, his flash thought was to go to his parents' house, but when the car reached the Fuxing Gate, he suddenly got out of the car. He walked out of the subway station and saw the state-owned enterprise building where their office worked, and he walked to the side of the building, the spire of the building seemed to be a summons, but when he approached the spire that seemed to be missing, he stopped at a loss. He doesn't know what he's going to do in the office, to report? This case is his own business, not the task assigned by the office, and he asks for leave to report to Lao Lin. But he didn't want to see Lao Lin now, he didn't want to tell Lao Lin about the fairytale reunion between Luo Jingjing and Long Xiaoyu, and he didn't want Lao Lin to ask with concern: "Then what will you do in the future?" ”

He turned and stood in a daze under the eaves of the building. He watched in amazement as the long autumn rain stopped in the afternoon. He walked into a McDonald's, had a sweet and sour lunch, and just went out the door and threw up in front of the puppet with his big red lips and stilted legs. The clown looked at him and smiled indifferently, as did the passers-by who walked around and looked at him indifferently. His stomach ached, probably from the rain and cold, and he sat limply on the bench next to the circus clown, who laughed at him. On the same bench, two people, one real and one false, are clowns......

The sun came out, still with the ferocity of summer. The sun dried his body and smoothed his mood, and he thought: this is all fate. Since it is destined, you have to hold your head high and get through this level well.

He really calmed down, walked for a long time in the sun, and then got on a bus and went to Lao Lin's house. Previously, he and Lao Lin had a mobile phone, and Lao Lin was still cleaning up his dog that had returned to his old love at home.

He had dinner at Lao Lin's house, and then was entrusted by Lao Lin to take his wild and untamable son to go skating in the underground mall of the International Trade Center. He hadn't been here for nearly half a year, and everything here was still the same, Lao Lin's son still went to the video store to listen to the CD after skating, and Han Ding was still bored wandering around. He saw that the nearby Chinese furniture store was still thriving, and in the window in front of the door, the wooden model was still red and black, still holding a white gauze fan in his hand. Han Ding stood in front of the window for a long time, and left expressionlessly until Xiao Lin came out to call him.

They walked to the ground and walked to the exit of the mall, facing the brightly lit Chang'an Avenue, and Xiao Lin proposed: "I haven't eaten enough at night, you can take me to eat pizza." ”

Han Ding said: "I'm full, you can go by yourself." He took out a hundred dollars and gave it to the boy and said, "Go home early after eating." ”

Xiao Lin smiled smugly, took the money and left. Han Ding knew: "He won't eat any pizza, the hundred yuan must be to buy CDs or play game consoles." ”

It was late at 10 p.m. when Han Ding returned to Chongwenmen, and when he opened the door, he deliberately made some noise to remind the people in the house that he had returned. The living room lights were dark, and he went in to turn them on, and before turning them on, he concluded that they weren't home. But after the light came on, he saw Luo Jingjing walking out of the bedroom.

Luo Jingjing asked, "Have you gone to the unit?" How did you come back? ”

Han Ding looked at her, her voice and expression were flattering him, like a child pleasing adults, like a child clumsily pretending to be stupid in front of adults. Han Ding simply used the tone of an adult and the calmness of an adult, and asked her:

"What about him?"

"Who?"

Han Ding looked at her, which meant that there was still no need to ask. Luo Jingjing immediately said smartly: "Ah, he's gone." ”

Han Ding was a little surprised: "Gone?" Where's it? ”

He went out to stay in a hotel. He had nowhere else to go, so he had to stay in a hotel first, right on the side of the Hongqiao Market, in the basement, thirty yuan a day. I took some money from our house and gave it to him first, and he will pay it back later. He plans to go back to his hometown for two days, and then maybe go to the south to find a job. ”

Luo Jingjing couldn't wait to explain what she wanted to explain, and couldn't wait to tell Han Ding about Long Xiaoyu's present and future arrangements. Han Ding lowered his head and walked into the kitchen, poured a cup of cold white boil and drank it slowly. He knew that Luo Jingjing had also followed him to the kitchen door to look inside, but he didn't look back. He slowly asked, "What about you, what are you going to do, do you go with him, or let him go first, and wait for him to stabilize?" ”

Luo Jingjing stood at the door of the kitchen and did not come in. Han Ding heard her call "Han Ding" and looked back at her. He saw that Luo Jingjing wanted to grin, but the smile was squeezed out, and immediately a big tear rolled out with the extremely uncomfortable smile, but she wiped it away. She said: "Han Ding, Xiao Yu and I, we are in the past. Both of us said today, you saved him, you picked up his life, and he will never be able to repay his kindness in the next life. I asked him to go to the south to find a job to do, how hard and tiring and dangerous the work, as long as you can earn money, he will definitely pay you back. You spent so much money for him, he should pay it back. He asked me to stay by your side and take care of your life......"

"Jingjing!" Han Ding interrupted her, and his whole body was trembling, from the heart outward, trembling. He had a lot of words, a lot of emotion, a lot of anger, a lot of confessions, all of which were shattered by the uncontrollable trembling, like malaria, like madness...... He really wanted to smash the glass in his hand into the pool with all his might, so that all the depression that had been suppressed in his heart for so many days could be thrown out at once!

“…… You, you go and tell Long Xiaoyu that I defended him because I am a lawyer, I am performing my duties, and it is also because of you that you asked me to save him. You asked me to save him because you loved him, you loved him! Do you still want to hide it? He is now out and free, and you can love him. You are also free. You used to promise to marry me, and that was because I promised to defend him, so that's not true, and I never took it seriously. How can the marriage that comes out of the transaction be real! I wouldn't want this kind of marriage, this kind of love. I don't want it if you give it to me! Therefore, you don't have to stay and take care of me so that you can redeem yourself, and Long Xiaoyu doesn't have to earn money to redeem you. I know you've always been his, and I don't want to make a deal with you. ”

Han Ding kept reminding himself to finish this sentence calmly, and he asked himself to finish this passage with a calm expression and a cold tone, but he still burst into tears before he finished speaking. Luo Jingjing also started crying, crying silently: "No, Han Ding, no...... I really can't afford to leave you, really, you're so good to me, how can I be willing to leave you? I can't even walk if I want to, I really think of this place as my home, I have nowhere else to go. Can...... But I love him too, I can't tell you I don't love him, I can't say that. He really wanted to be with me, he wanted to take me away, but I told him how good you were to me, I told him how you went to save him, and if we left you alone, then we would be too bad, too bad......"

Luo Jingjing's intermittent sobbing made Han Ding's heart return to its original softness, he didn't hate Luo Jingjing, not at all. He only felt distressed, and he was full of pity for her. He knew that she and Long Xiaoyu had a life and death relationship, a parting of life and death, and an unforgettable concern and longing; He also knew that Long Xiaoyu was a very attractive boy, and it was Luo Jingjing's first love, the first love was hard to forget, and the first love was difficult to replace. He sullenly walked out of the kitchen from Luo Jingjing's side, walked to the bathroom, took a towel, and handed it to Luo Jingjing to wipe his face. He watched as she covered her face with a towel, covering her sobs and tears. He sighed and said:

"Where does Long Xiaoyu live? I'm going to talk to him. ”

On the evening of this day, it was almost twelve o'clock, and Han Ding found Long Xiaoyu in the small inn near Chongwen Gate. Han Ding waited here for half an hour before he saw him come back from outside with a disgraced face. Long Xiaoyu was a little surprised that Han Ding was waiting for him here, he said that he went to the labor market in the afternoon to look for a job, and today it was a coincidence that he met a moving company to ask for someone, and he ran with the car for most of the day on the first day of work, and moved three houses in a row. I can't get my salary when I just go to work today, and now I earn the collateral that the company wants to collect, and I have to work for a week to earn enough 200 mortgages, and then I will work again. Han Ding asked him if he had dinner? He said no. So they walked out of the small hotel together, found a restaurant with few people nearby, sat down and asked for some cheap meat dishes, and beer, and talked while eating.

Han Ding couldn't remember how many times he and Long Xiaoyu had sat across the table to meet and talk, but this time was completely different from before. This time, under the free sky, there was no longer a serious observer of the prison police, and the two raised their glasses and talked on their knees. They looked affectionate, toasted each other, and said words of congratulations and gratitude, and seemed happy and sincere. But there is actually an indescribable estrangement between the two of them, with essential vigilance and precautions, and even a little bit of hostility. At least Han Ding could feel that this hostility was hidden because of the life-saving grace between them, but not for nothing. If it weren't for it, Long Xiaoyu wouldn't have repeatedly said that he would use the money he earned in his life to repay Han Ding's grace like he is now. No, when Han Ding suddenly responded with the question: If you want to repay your kindness, it doesn't take a lifetime, in fact, it is just one sentence, but he has an ambiguous attitude, and he talks about him left and right, leaving this topic and talking about something else. His expression is still a little shy and wooden, which may be one of the reasons why he attracts girls - with such a handsome face and such a kind expression, how can a girl not love him? He was dressed in a garment stained with dirt and sweat, a little small, inadvertently revealing his graceful silhouette. He began to talk to Han Ding about his vision for the future, which startled Han Ding. Han Ding didn't expect that he would unbelievably want to rebuild the factory of "Baochun Oral Liquid". He said it used to be an influential brand, and it was much easier to restore than to build a new one. He also told Han Ding a secret, that is, the formula of Baochun Oral Liquid was still in Luo Jingjing's hands. Luo Jingjing just kept that thing as a relic of his father, not as a wealth that could make a comeback. Long Xiaoyu said that he had worked in Baochun Company, and he was generally clear about the production and sales procedures of Baochun oral liquid, Luo Jingjing was Luo Baochun's daughter, and was the only heir to the "Baochun" brand and Baochun formula. Baochun Oral Liquid has some old customers, and those old customers Long Xiaoyu know that relying on them to return to the market in small batches first, they will definitely be able to grow slowly in the future.

Han Ding believes that this may be a good plan, although it is a little arrogant and a little bit of young people's rhetoric, but with Long Xiaoyu's aggressiveness and conditions, it is not a pure fantasy. However, Han Ding did not make any response, obviously, in this business plan, Luo Jingjing became an indispensable role. The premise of Long Xiaoyu's implementation of this plan is to get the dominance of the brand and formula of Baochun Oral Liquid, and the best way to get this dominance is to marry Luo Jingjing. Although Long Xiaoyu always said that he just wanted to help Luo Jingjing inherit his father's business and revitalize "Baochun", his tone and expression of looking forward to the long-term planning and elaborating on the implementation details have become the new owner of "Baochun" products.

Long Xiaoyu's hesitation finally forced out Han Ding's sneer, he sneered and stabbed the other party's heart with an aggressive edge, he said: "Okay, if you really have this ambition, after I marry Jingjing, I will support her to entrust the brand and formula of 'Baochun' to you, and you will operate it as your agent, if you can really get money or partners, you will definitely succeed!" ”

Of course, Long Xiaoyu understood this sentence, Han Ding was not talking about oral liquid, not about this plan, but about marriage, and about his relationship with Luo Jingjing. Han Ding's spying achieved its goal, because he could see that Long Xiaoyu was stunned with his mouth open, and then he reined in his rambling grandiose arguments and became silent. His silence made Han Ding see the truth of the matter: Long Xiaoyu obviously did not take the initiative to withdraw from this love battlefield in gratitude, but temporarily withdrew as an expedient measure. There was obviously some kind of communication and tacit understanding between him and Luo Jingjing - let Luo Jingjing stay with Han Ding, while Long Xiaoyu used the brand and formula of "Baochun" to make money quickly, and then ransom Luo Jingjing back from Han Ding's side - this was the easiest route for Han Ding to guess.

Therefore, as soon as Han Ding got home in the middle of the night, he asked Luo Jingjing directly: "Jingjing, I want to ask you a word, did you decide to stay by my side because you loved me, or did you want to pay off Long Xiaoyu's debts?" Luo Jingjing was stunned for a long time and couldn't answer. Han Ding saw it clearly, and the matter was obvious. But he was a little malicious and continued to ask: "If I propose to you now, marry me, and marry now, will you agree?" Agree, or disagree? Luo Jingjing was like a child who was forced to be silently asked by adults, staring at a pair of frightened eyes, unable to answer a word. Han Ding nodded to himself, as if he had heard an answer: "Okay, I understand." He said, "You go and tell Long Xiaoyu, just do it according to his plan, I agree." The only thing I disagree with is that he still keeps you with me. I said a long time ago, I don't need this arrangement from you! This favor is too hypocritical, it's a deception! Go to him now, go with him, start the happy life you have been looking forward to for a long time with him, and go with him to revive the career of your Luo family. If you can't get by, come to me, and I can help. If you make money and make a fortune, don't come to me again, don't come again! Long Xiaoyu told me that he had been hungry, so money was very important to him. Hunger can produce thoughts, it can produce philosophy, he said that people who have been hungry and those who have not been hungry are psychologically different, and they will be different for a lifetime. I ask you to tell him now that I have never starved, so I am not the same as him. I didn't save Long Xiaoyu for money. You go and tell Long Xiaoyu, don't mention money to me again! ”

Han Ding finished speaking this sentence with great pride, and he regarded this passage as a declaration, and also as an elegy for the love between him and Luo Jingjing that was equally unforgettable for him. He walked out of the house after saying goodbye like this, and before stepping out of the house, he turned around and said to Luo Jingjing, who had tears on his face: "Today is our last day, when we are together, my money is your money, the money is in the drawer of the study anyway, and the passbook, you can still take it today." I think that whatever the money is, you still need it now. Han Ding left his home in the middle of the night and never returned.

He also did not go to his parents' house. He spent money on getting drunk in a bar in Sanlitun, came out at dawn, walked around the street, got into a taxi, forgot where he got on and where he got off, and woke up early in the morning to find himself crooked on a bench in the garden under the Fuxingmen Bridge, close to where he went to work. Before going to work, he washed his face well, deliberately made a relaxed and happy appearance, and even took the initiative to talk to Lao Lin who came late for a while, said a yellow joke and laughed insolently. After laughing, he thought: Really, whoever is away can't live?

In the past, he didn't dare to say pornographic jokes and laugh at work hours, he was a newcomer and couldn't have no rules. But after Long Xiaoyu's case came back to life in his hands, his reputation in the institute was shocked, and everyone, including Lao Qi, the director of the management committee, changed their eyes to him with surprise and appreciation, and the voices of praise were endless. The firm also plans to use this case as publicity to increase the reputation of the firm. Lao Qi also told Han Ding that part of the expenses of this case could be considered for reimbursement by the office. Of course, it was only a sentence, and there was no follow-up. Lao Lin said to Han Ding: "Actually, you don't lose money, the money is posted a lot, but you are still famous." Get people back from under gunpoint, this case is enough for you to blow for a lifetime. I wanted to know that this was the result, and I was on it, and it wasn't your turn. I've been a lawyer for so many years, and I've done so many cases, and I haven't had a single one that has been so impressive. You're also lucky, and you'll be at the top of your first case! ”

Han Ding also smiled and said, "Then I won't be able to run in the future." ”

This is all a wry smile, how can Han Ding be in the mood to enjoy the joy of this victory? Even Lao Lin, no one knew that he was actually a loser, and this victory that was enough for him to eat his old book for a lifetime ruined his lifelong happiness.

After getting off work in the evening, he walked very late, ate on the street near Fuxingmen, walked out of the restaurant and stood blankly for a long time before slowly walking to the subway station. Standing on the subway platform, he watched as the trains from east to west and west to east entered the station at the same time. He hesitated, and finally got into the east-to-west column. He took this train from Fuxingmen all the way to Wukesong.

He rarely came to his parents' house so late, so his parents' faces were full of surprise: "Yo, what's the matter, is there something?" Han Ding's answer was particularly annoying: "No, can't you come if it's okay?" The parents looked at each other and sat down on the sofa without making a sound, and the mother said, "You have never been so late before!" What about Jingjing? Han Ding was bored for a while and said, "Blow." ”

The parents glanced at each other again, and immediately understood why Han Ding came over so late and why his emotions were wrong. The mother was a little surprised, and sat down beside her son with great concern: "Yo, what's the matter, did you blow it or did she blow it, why?" The father looked calm, found a cigarette and lit it, sat down opposite Han Ding, and said with a serious attitude: "Aren't you about to get married, why did you make such a fuss, did you really blow it, or did you make a noise?" Han Ding didn't want to talk more, got up from the sofa, walked to the small bedroom opposite, and said, "Don't ask again, okay, I'm sleepy." ”

Yes, he was sleepy, he hadn't slept well all day and night, but he still couldn't sleep that night. He stayed at his parents' house for three days, tossing and turning every night. On the fourth day, he wanted to go home, go back to his own house, he seemed to want to be with Luo Jingjing more than ever, and he wanted to see her face even more.

Really, he misses her, and that kind of longing is very heart-wrenching. He even thought in a low way that even if he could be her lover, an underground lover who needed to be secretly hidden, he would be willing. It's like Zhu Siping did to Long Xiaoyu...... That's cheap!

On the fifth day, he got off work and really went home. He walked home from the Chongwenmen subway station, he had never been like today, the closer he got to home, the more his heart beat and wheezing. He imagined many possible scenarios, and he even made such mental preparations—as soon as he entered Monroe, Jingjing was making love to Long Xiaoyu; Or they are eating dinner in harmony and beauty; or huddled together watching TV; Or...... However, when he opened the door with the key, he did not hear any sound that he was ready to hear, and the air in the room, and all the furnishings, seemed to be frozen in gray dust. The last rays of the setting sun were hastily retracting their dim tails in front of the window, and it was time to turn on the lights. The motionless curtains, the half-opened doors, spread a kind of old age in Han Ding's heart, he had only been gone for four days, and when he returned here, he felt like a world away.

He didn't bother to turn on the light, and walked from the living room to the bedroom, from the bedroom to the study, and from the study back to the bedroom. He opened the wardrobe and looked inside, the wardrobe seemed a little empty, and the empty wardrobe made him realize that Luo Jingjing was really gone.

She finally left, with her dragon Xiaoyu, and left.

Han Ding took a few steps back and sat down on the bed. He let his heart slowly sink down, with the sadness and depression condensed in his chest, sinking to the bottom. He stood up and walked from the empty bedroom that vaguely echoed the laughter of the past to the study, and then he noticed that on the desk in the study, there was the key to the door left by Luo Jingjing. Han Ding opened the small drawer on the right side of the desk, the money in the drawer, as well as the passbook, were all well placed, and he could see at a glance that all his money was lying in it intact.