"Have you ever seen a tango? That's the only dance that people can't smile at. Because tango is not about tenderness, it is about the war in which men and women are engaged. ”

"The relationship between you and Gu Tianqing is not so much the main culprit and accessory, but the lead dancer and dance partner, there is a person who has been carried around on a trajectory that has been designed long ago from beginning to end, but he himself may not know it." As time passed, the physical discomfort became more and more obvious, and Zheng Yuan tried to move his body to sit more comfortably: "So the further back you go, the more Gu Tianqing will collapse, and even send a note belonging to her sister as a backhand, because he found that what you want is not just revenge on the past, you also want more." ”

"Oh? Is it? For example? ”

"For example, Tian Yu's death." Zheng Yuan looked at him with some pity: "It's possessive, right?" In your life, Gu Tianqing occupies too central position, he takes care of you, pampers you, assists you, is a friend, a relative and a partner. He takes care of all your relationships, so it's impossible for you to share his ...... with others."

"Shut up."

"You said it, I answer a question, and you answer one. Now it's my turn to ask: Gu Tianqing wanted to kill Sun Zhijun alone from beginning to end, but before he met you, he might not even know who the target of revenge was. You're the one who got the name, right? In the growth center, you met Gu Tianyu, and maybe you were punished together and locked up together, so you know her secrets. It was you who told Gu Tianqing who his sister hated the most, who the sinner needed to be killed, and you borrowed his hand to accomplish your goal-"

"Enough! I'm telling you to stop! Song Anning seemed to let out such a rough shout for the first time, and the original calmness hurriedly receded from his distorted facial features. He rushed over and pinched Zheng Yuan's throat, the strength of his fingers was unexpectedly large, almost making him breathless in an instant.

"What do you know? My goal? Do you think I'm here for revenge? His rapid breathing hit Zheng Yuan's face: "Do you think that the bastards who died before didn't abuse Gu Tianyu and Gu Tianqing?" Didn't you abuse anyone else in the center? They deserve it! If it weren't for us, would someone have punished them? Does anyone care about the people who are still locked up in the New Life Hospital? You think I didn't call the police? After I came out, I made countless anonymous phone calls, but what can the police find out? It's just a few temporary workers, and they don't even keep records. The people who were sent to the hospital all had to pretend to be positive and happy, and the families who sent them in also thanked the director for his kindness in reconstruction, our lives have been ruined, and no one is responsible for the result! ”

"I know they deserve it, that's why I advise you." Even if he was on the verge of suffocation, Zheng Yuan's pupils still contained pity: "You ask me why I chose to be at your mercy, I can tell you that I already know what you are going to do from the moment you ask to come to my house, but I ...... I'm still holding out a glimmer of hope...... I hope you can stop it. ”

Song Anning let out a strange laugh: "It's up to you?" ”

"It's up to me." Zheng Yuanqiang nodded: "Because you ...... It's who I used to be. ”

Once, I almost stabbed my own father.

How deep is the resentment towards that man? Zheng Yuan couldn't say clearly, he never had enough snacks and no warm clothes, but he also came over by the care of the Wang family, and his mother was sometimes crazy and sometimes drunk, but he endured it and passed, only occasionally, when he saw the neighbor's father bring back a new toy or run home with his son on his shoulder, he would be a little unwilling.

A little bit, there is another point, and later, he even envied Wang Shiqi when he was beaten - after all, there was a Wang Haiyang who took care of him, even if he kicked his ass every day and called him a stinky boy, but that was Wang Shiqi's father who looked up to him from childhood to adulthood and said, "When I grow up, I want to be like him".

These subtle unwillingness accumulated year by year, until the third year of high school when he began to fill in the volunteers, and finally reached the peak - Wang Shiqi dragged him to take the police academy together, but his file was returned at the stage of political trial, and at that time he learned that his father who was missing all the year round was a fugitive drug dealer, and the dragon gave birth to a dragon and a phoenix, and the son of a drug dealer also had a shadow of depravity in his genes, and he was not qualified to become a people's policeman, and he did not have it from the beginning.

Aren't parents born to love their children? If you can't be responsible for your offspring, why just give birth and raise it casually? If you create a life and throw it aside, and then throw away a lot of shackles and troubles, you have done nothing wrong as a child, why should you bear all this yourself?

Zheng Yuan's hatred burned into anger, and the fire drove him to pull out a number and dial it from a public phone booth two stops away from his home - a call that his mother had hidden in the back of the closet but had never called.

He lied that his mother was dead and that the family's old house was going to be sold.

A simple trap, but almost no flaws - whether it is for money or people, this gambler who has been on the run for many years will take a risk.

A few days later, on Chinese New Year's Eve, he met for the first time the man who should be called "father".

Shriveled, sallow, blackened teeth, and eyes turning around in disbelief, Zheng Yuan walked back and forth on that face, disappointed to find that he couldn't find even a single pore that belonged to his shadow. He opened his mouth, and he couldn't call out the word "Dad" for a long time, and the other party had already begun to step into the house and rummage through the cabinets: "Where's the money?" His hoarse voice sounded particularly harsh: "Stinky boy, hurry up and take it out for me!" ”

The clothes were soft and were roughly dragged to the ground, the man kept scolding, his breathing became more and more rapid, and his hands were shaking more and more, Zheng Yuan understood that he was addicted to drugs, he didn't speak, followed the man in a muffled voice, and his hand slowly touched the iron weapon hidden in his waist.

He was relieved in no time. Liberated from the burning flames of his own anger, inferiority, and resentment, his anger will be extinguished with the blood of this man who ruined half of his life.

Crunch—an unexpected knock at the door interrupted his movements, and his mother actually came back early. Seeing the men's leather shoes in the open door, she welcomed them in with surprise and joy, but what awaited her was a cry of anger and a porcelain cup smashed into her forehead.

"Okay, you mother and son have already planned to let me come back, right, you can't sit still with a fucking police station bounty for a few stinky money? Want to sell my head? I tell you, no one wants to get out alive today! ”

Blood poured out of the wounds, and the desire to survive drove the woman to crawl instinctively in the direction of the courtyard, Zheng Yuan was kicked to the ground, and slaps, fists, and everything soft and the table hit him in one fell swoop. He held his head and protected his stomach, the things on his waist were in the flesh, the handle had already been warmed by his body, but the blade was still as cold as ice.

Ten, nine, eight, seven. He counted down in his heart, and the footsteps of the Grim Reaper were getting closer and closer, waiting, you waited for me. He thought, every drop of blood must be returned to me!

Six, five, four, the raining fists fell on the shoulder blades, the blood rushed to the top of his head, the eardrums rumbled, and he heard his mother suddenly cry out: "Help! Help me! ”

The man's gaze was drawn away, and he walked out quickly, grabbed a shovel and wanted to swing it at the top of his mother's head, his unguarded back stretched out in front of him—right now! Zheng Yuan rolled over and got up, in one go, so light that he didn't make a sound, his hand reached behind his waist, and suddenly touched the floodgate switch of fate, in this story, it was the shape of a murder weapon.

Three, two, one.

The story suddenly has another fork.

When the man raised the shovel, a figure slammed his hands, and the whole person jumped over the wall - it was Wang Shiqi! In the winter, the top of his head was sweating, and every grain of ice slag under his feet exploded under the heat. He rushed in front of the man with almost impossible speed, his hands stuck on the wooden handle.

At the same time, Zheng Yuan took out the tailor's scissors that had been prepared and sharpened, and did not hesitate to press against his father's back heart.

He remembered it too clearly, perhaps because of the escape, the man's clothes were thinly dressed, the old fabric seemed to crack to both sides at the slightest touch, and the iron broke through the flesh with a little stickiness, as if the wrist could be pierced deeper with a slight movement. Blood dripped down his spine and splattered onto his shoes, a small exclamation mark. The man's movements froze in mid-air, and he shouted, "You, what are you going to do!" It's a long time! Kill people, right? All right! If you have the ability, you can kill Lao Tzu now! ”

Isn't he capable? Don't he dare? Zheng Yuan was obsessed with the control of life itself in that moment, and the other party's distorted side face and trembling legs brought supreme pleasure, and he didn't notice that there was even a smile on the corner of his mouth. Perhaps they are right, the son of a criminal is also a criminal, and only a crime can give them such supreme satisfaction. He was intoxicated and excited, and he was about to send the sharp blade straight into the other person's heart, when a voice suddenly woke him up.

It's Wang Shiqi. Through his father, Wang Shiqi looked at him steadily, tears gushing out of those eyes without a trace of impurities, and fell into the first snow one by one. He called out his name in a hoarse throat and said to him, "Zheng Yuan, don't. ”

You are my brother, my playmate, the friend I will always look up to and love forever.

Don't go against the basic principles of a human being, don't ruin yourself.

At that moment, he was surprised to find that it was not only the blood of the enemy that could extinguish his anger. After the distorted sensory stimulation had receded, the killing had become tedious and disgusting again, and he froze, no further, unable to retreat, until a pair of familiar hands reached out, trembling, prematurely senile, and now extremely powerful, and pushed him away—it was Mom, and at the last moment, she staggered up from the ground, grabbed the already hot iron handle, and completed the final push.

The man's blood sprayed on her face and body, and she stopped in front of Zheng Yuan, blocking it for him. Zheng Yuan sat on the ground, the corners of his mouth fell, and then his shoulders, arms, and the monster hiding in his chest. He collapsed to the ground, struggling to breathe until the lobes tingled, as if he had never needed so much oxygen. The sight fell dimly in front of him, the man had fallen straight upright, but Wang Shiqi was still standing in place, his eyes were straight, and he didn't move.

He was terrified.

At this time, his mother staggered over and pushed Wang Shiqi and said, "Seventeen, go and call your dad." ”

***

The hand on the neck was relieved of the force.

Song Anning sat back in his seat, and the mirror image was formed again, one potential murderer, and another potential murderer. He stretched out his hand and hesitantly touched the red marks that had been pinched out of Zheng Yuan's throat. "You've thought about killing people too?" His cold fingers caused a slight shiver under his skin: "How could it be? You're such a nice guy......"

"There are no absolutely good people in this world. It's like there's no such thing as an absolute bad guy. Zheng Yuan leaned back and tried to avoid him, but the touch made him uncomfortable, like being entangled in a hissing snake: "Everyone has evil thoughts, but we are different from animals, we can control it." In your world, the bad guys have already paid the price, and even if it's not enough, there are laws to punish them, don't, don't ruin yourself-"

"Legal?" Song Anning smiled dismally, and his fingers hibernated on his knees again. "The law is useful for people. They're not people, and I, and I'm not anymore. ”

"You are, you're alive, you still have dreams that can be realized, don't you like to draw? Now that you're young, it's never too late to start over. ”

"Really? But I don't even have an identity, no relatives, no friends, no classmates, no studies and no job, no one knows me, and no one cares about me. My eyes are broken, my brain is broken, my right hand hurt my nerve in that suicide, I can't draw anymore, I can't draw anymore, everything that belongs to me, has been destroyed. The blood-stained words were spoken in a calm voice, but they seemed doubly cruel. Song Anning let out a long sigh and stood up from the chair. Zheng Yuan suddenly had a delusion, as if his resentment, gloom, anger and unbearableness were all released from that long exhale, the bell rang, a new day was coming, the person opposite gradually shrank in his eyes, and the bones of youth slowly regressed to his youth, to the carefree, full of hope and love of yesterday. 10-year-old Song Anning raised his bright eyes and said to him word by word:

"It's time to say goodbye, Mr. Zheng."

***

At four o'clock in the morning, the first glimmer of morning light was already trembling on the horizon. The lake was silent, except for the occasional rustle of the wind on the grass. The light at the junction of morning and dusk made everything chaotic and unclear, Wang Shiqi rushed all the way to Lushan Lake Park, the main gate was not opened, he went around to the back mountain that was only blocked by a low wall, and ran through the dense vegetation, the branches drew small blood marks on his cheeks, anxiety and sleepiness tore him at the same time, but he did not dare to slack off. He knew that he was in a race against death, and that for every point of speed, the chances of the hostages surviving were one point higher.

But he was still a step too late.

The sound preceded the image and was conveyed to Wang Shiqi's head. Click, click, click—a monotonous percussion sound that repeats itself comes from there, and something hits the deck of the wooden strips one by one. He sprinted to the open space by the lake, where Li Weiwei's body was displayed, and the scene in front of him overlapped with the crime scene a few years ago, so similar, but it was very different.

The landscape modeled after the West Lake is now inaccessible and decaying everywhere. In my memory, the red lacquered bright and golden tiles of the lake-center pavilion collapsed in half, the handrails of the covered bridge fell and broken, the mottled paint marks seemed to have ringworm, and the rotten wood was exposed to the air, quietly climbing on the green moss and mildew. Since the girl's death here, it seems that the whole place has been taken away from life. "Lushan Lake is haunted!" According to the word of mouth of the locals, this place has become an ominous place. When the yin qi is heavy, you will rush over and bump into a ghost trapped at the bottom of the lake.

Right now, on the covered bridge.

The wide white shirt swayed in the wind, as if it were empty, his blue cheeks and wrists were eerily white in the dim morning light, and he turned his head slightly sideways when he heard the footsteps, and his dark eyes turned around, reflecting the cold light of inorganic matter. - It's Song Anning! Wang Shiqi's hair was furious, and he quickly pulled out his gun at him: "Stop!" The police! ”

"If I don't do that, will you shoot?" His smile was innocent, but it looked like a provocation. The footsteps moved forward again, and the sound of clicking sounded, and at this time Wang Shiqi saw clearly that he was still pushing a 30-inch suitcase in his hand, and the strange noise was made by the wheels of the box.

"I told you to stop, do you hear me?" Wang Shiqi yelled: "If you move again, I'll shoot!" ”

Song Anning stopped, not because of Wang Shiqi's warning, but because he had come to an end. The pavilion in the middle of the lake was like a small cage, and together with the pool of stagnant water, surrounded him. At his feet, it was the place where Gu Tianyu stood, where she had rescued a corpse in vain and buried her youth.

"Don't move, put your hands up." Wang Shiqi approached cautiously with his gun, and the rotten wood under his feet made a creaking and breaking sound. "What are you doing here, Zheng Yuanren?"

"Are you here to save him?" Song Anning shook his head and nodded again: "It's so good." He always said that I was very similar to him, but in fact it was not, the biggest difference between him and me was that you appeared in my life. His eyes softened: "He's a lucky man." You too. ”

Wang Shiqi's nerves were so tense that he couldn't listen to a word: "Don't talk nonsense, tell me quickly, where did you hide him?" ”

"If I kill him, you'll kill me too, right?" Song Anning's expression was calm, as if he couldn't see the muzzle of the black hole at all: "Then if there is only one chance, either to save him or to arrest me, which side will you choose?" ”

"I'll save him, and I'll catch you, don't want to play any tricks on me!" Wang Shiqi suddenly felt a fluster, and he yelled: "Don't move, you're deaf, aren't you!" ”

Song Anning turned a deaf ear, he gently leaned over and hugged the box, and hooked the corners of his mouth at Wang Shiqi: "Guess, what is in this box?" ”

As if to match his answer, the box shook slightly with an almost imperceptible magnitude.

The height of the 30-inch suitcase is about 76 centimeters, which can hold dozens of kilograms, this box looks a little old, Wang Shiqi looked at the aluminum alloy lever that had been oxidized, and suddenly remembered Song Anning's story, what method Gu Tianqing used to take him to the secret room.

There are people in the box.

Wang Shiqi's hand holding the gun trembled slightly: "Don't play tricks on me!" ”

"Since the age of sixteen, every step of my life has been gambling, I could have killed him directly, but, I don't know why, today I want to gamble the last one."

Song Anning straightened up, the ambiguous morning light added a shallow flush to his side face, he raised his heels, as if he was just going to jump up and trot two steps lightly, but in the next second, he had already fallen into the water with the suitcase, and sank quickly with gravity.

"Lao Zheng!" Wang Shiqi shouted, threw off his windbreaker and jumped into the lake.

Even at the end of summer, the lake is bitterly cold, as if the sun has never shone below the surface. The rotten duckweed obstructed the vision, the filthy water pierced the cornea, Wang Shiqi was still out of order after several ups and downs, and he was almost tripped by the underwater vines. He poked his head out and breathed heavily, the damp air smashing into his lungs, and his tongue smelling a thick salty fish.

There was a little white in the hazy vision that broke through the water, as if the shark's dorsal fin was gradually moving away with a splash, he knew that it was Song Anning, but he didn't care about everything else at the moment, he only had time to take a deep breath, and then stabbed down again, his arm broke the resistance even lower, like a swordfish concentrating on hunting.

Everything seemed familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had such a sense of déjà vu. - It doesn't matter, he thought, I will definitely succeed this time anyway, definitely! The speed of the dive increased, his fingers gradually sinking into the darkness, the pressure of the water squeezed his chest, and the ear drums were filled with the muddy sound of waves. It's okay, dive, dive, dive, as long as I can find that box......

The box sank quietly at the bottom of the lake, colliding with rotten wood, mud, the corpses of aquatic animals and the garbage deposited for many years, the fine sand was stirred, stirring up bursts of chaotic smoke, Wang Shiqi passed sideways from it, stepping on the bottom of the lake and intending to drag the box back to the surface directly, but a wheel was stuck in a pile of abandoned triangle steel, no matter how hard he exerted, it was difficult to move a bit. Wang Shiqi couldn't, so he had to start Plan B immediately, and his fingers quickly touched the zipper - it was locked! He was so angry that he cursed underwater even if he held his breath, and a series of bubbles came out of the corners of his mouth.

The two pull locks were locked in the three-digit combination lock, and he used brute force to kick and pull, but unfortunately the underwater force was unloaded seventy percent, and he couldn't open it. There was a slight agitation from the canvas surface of the box, and again, it was Zheng Yuan calling for help! Wang Shiqi was even more anxious, his hand touched the password disk, and he was almost about to bite his teeth, and a thought suddenly flashed.

Since you have a password, you can definitely open it with a password. Where he is now, there can only be one sequence.

803, August 3, the day when the lives of all parties involved set foot on a fork in the road.

The oxygen was in a hurry, and the long-term breath-holding made Wang Shiqi on the verge of limit. He forced himself to be nailed in place, turning the tiny cipher disc with trembling fingers, click- click-

The soft sound of unlocking was deafening to him at the moment. The box was quickly opened, and the semi-unconscious Zheng Yuan leaned out half of his body with buoyancy, and began to struggle violently because of the lack of oxygen, and the little air left turned into dense bubbles, which were rapidly leaking from his lips. Wang Shiqi covered his mouth and nose, dragged him out, forcibly grabbed his arm around his neck, and tightly clutched the back of his neck.

"Don't be afraid, hold back, trust me." He said in a loud voice in his heart, "I'll take you out." ”

As if hearing his voice, Zheng Yuan suddenly held his breath and didn't move.

Wang Shiqi's legs kicked vigorously, leading the two of them to rise rapidly in the direction of flashing light.

On August 3, the moment the first rays of sunlight shone on the water, Wang Shiqi brought Zheng Yuan back to the world. They collapsed on the steps of the pavilion and coughed loudly, the murky water bubbling out from every inch of their bodies. The medicine on Zheng Yuan's body hadn't passed yet, and he turned his head to look at Wang Shiqi and smirked, Wang Shiqi was busy pouring the water in his boots out, panting: "What are you laughing at?" ”

"You...... You ......" Zheng Yuan pointed his finger at the top of his head, Wang Shiqi touched it up, and dragged down a large piece of turquoise aquatic plants.

"That's how you treat your lifesaver, right?" He angrily dropped his shoes and made a gesture to beat someone, Zheng Yuan waved his hand slowly: "Don't ...... Other...... I'm pretty much ...... Ahem, ahem. ”

He's really not much better. A slim-fitting Armani suit is now only a shirt and trousers, and the pure white fabric on the upper body is crumpled and has been dyed light green by the lake. Wang Shiqi frowned: "Isn't this the one I bought for you?" Why did I put it on at this time. ”

"Hmm......" Zheng Yuan felt bad, and turned his head to avoid the topic, but the sight on the other side was too scorching, staring at him all over: "I...... I saw your message. His voice became quieter and quieter: "...... I originally wanted to come over at night, who knows......"

Wang Shiqi deliberately made a straight face: "Oh, I said, it turns out that this is a little bit to mess up my engagement?" ”

"No, it's not!" Zheng Yuan was in a hurry, but his brain was still groggy, and he forcibly propped himself up: "Don't be angry...... I'm going to explain to you, you do it again, I'll pay for it, I'll ...... Sorry ......"

"Look at the one who makes you anxious and teases you." Wang Shiqi laughed cheaply, and went over to hold his crumbling shoulder: "Anyway, I didn't think much about it." I'm so loved, what a waste to get married so early - besides, don't I have to watch you, when will you start living a good life, when will I think about selling myself again. ”

"Don't say I'm like your son."

"Aren't you?"

Zheng Yuan grabbed the aquatic plants at hand and threw them over, Wang Shiqi threw them back without suffering, the two of them messed around for a while, each other was a little out of breath, probably because they looked too embarrassed, they laughed and laughed, Wang Shiqi laughed, Zheng Yuan also laughed, laughed and laughed, Zheng Yuan suddenly raised his elbow to block his face. Wang Shiqi saw the gap and planned to sneak attack, but before he could pinch the other party's cheek, he heard Zheng Yuan say to him sullenly: "Thank you." ”

"Want to remedy it now? It's late! Wang Shiqi shouted and stretched out his hand to pull away his forearm, Zheng Yuan, who had lost cover, quickly lowered his head, and the corners of his red eyes flashed in front of his eyes.

"It's not thank you for saving me...... Of course, thank you for saving me. Zheng Yuan's eyes were burning, and stagnant tears mixed with the water on his cheeks: "I want to thank you for being a good person all the time." ”

In your life, and in mine.

Taking advantage of Wang Shiqi's stunned moment, Zheng Yuan raised his hand and hugged him hard.