Text: Episode 9

1.

I knocked off the carriage enter and glanced at the time in the bottom right corner of the computer screen, 20:19.

I wrote more than 5,000 words today. I also told a little story in the dream of "Tao Qiwu". If nothing else, "Tao Qiwu" in "Untitled" will not be able to stand the torture and commit suicide. He doesn't sleep well every day, he has nightmares every day, and this is not a good feeling.

What's more, according to the needs of the plot, "Tao Qiwu" is damned. His death would propel the story a big step forward.

I don't know if Lao Tao will agree with me to write him "dead".

I stood up and stretched my waist, and when I turned to look at the couch, I felt very uncomfortable, and I still felt that there was a person sitting on the couch. I'm not alone in this room. Writing this kind of "god-talking" novel makes me nervous, right?

I thought so.

In the past ten years, I have always had a sense of anxiety and inferiority complex from time to time: I will encounter an invisible wall as I write, so I don't know how to continue; As I write, I find that my words are messed up, as if they were written by someone else.

This should be my own psychological problem.

It's like a curse, and I'm always in this desperate situation when I'm writing.

Fortunately, there is Lao Tao here.

He was my lifesaver.

If he did die, I think my inspiration would have gone with him.

But it's precisely because he's here that I seem even more insignificant, and I seem to be incomparably inferior.

After all, I did use his article.

Use his Tao Qiwu article to regain my Cao Chengrui's "self-confidence".

It's ironic.

However, I have to let "Tao Qiwu" die, and I don't need "Tao Qiwu" in my pen.

2.

At 4:17 a.m., the white belly of fish appeared in the east.

Just over 30 years old, I've been changing my attitude towards life.

I want to change the situation in which I was deceived, trapped, misunderstood, and accomplished nothing in the first 30 years.

But at the age of thirty-one, none of that has changed.

To be honest, my writing is a means of self-healing, a way of self-healing. It's amazing to write an article. Sometimes my brain is blank and I can't write a word, and sometimes I think like a spring of thought, and my writing is like flying.

After all, I am not as active as Cao Chengrui, not as travelling south and north as he is, and not always high-spirited like him.

And now, I'm still being punished endlessly. Every bad decision, every willfulness, every painful struggle, every hoarseness of the last thirty years has accumulated, and one day a volcano will erupt. It's about love, it's about work, it's about life.

I've always wanted to pass on my mistakes to others, and I've always been running away from what is happening in front of me.

I don't have to defend myself, at least not now. I just think: If I hadn't known Cao Chengrui, if I hadn't known Ma Ting, if I hadn't treated Yang Ying viciously, if Liu Yinghong hadn't died, what would I do now?

Am I writing dreamy prose with beautiful rhetoric?

Can I watch the red leaves in autumn, the snow in Tianchi in winter, the sunshine of Erhai Lake in spring, and the green grass in summer?

It's all an illusion.

Thirty-seven degrees two.

I'm having a fever.

3.

Most people in the world, they are born plainly, and they don't cause much sensation when they die.

But if you choose to commit suicide by jumping off a building in the downtown area, it should cause a small commotion.

This is just a ridiculous conjecture in Tao Qiwu's heart, fleeting. Everyone knows the old saying "It's better to die than to live", and it is obvious that Tao Qiwu also knows this sentence.

Tao Qiwu transferred the 5,000 yuan he borrowed from Cao Chengrui to Liu Yinghong's daughter-in-law. He thought that the children of the Liu family would be able to use it at the beginning of the new semester.

He put down his phone and sat on the bed.

My lips were cracked and peeled with fever, and every breath I exhaled seemed to be burning.

The weather in the thirties is chilly.

He was sleepy, but he didn't dare to close his eyes and sleep.

Strange dreams have been haunting him lately.

At 8:20, Tao Qiwu endured for four hours, but sleepiness quietly crept up his body.

4.

There are great differences between the north and the south of China, with different topography, customs, dialects and ways of thinking.

Southerners often refer to the "northerners" and "northeasterners" of the occupied areas as "descendants of the Japanese occupied areas". This led to the creation of a new term, "regional black".

However, those who are familiar with modern history know that during the Republic of China, there were a total of nine provinces that fell in the whole territory, and there were 13 provinces that partially fell, and nearly half of the country's land was "occupied areas".

The city of Shobai was occupied by the Japanese during World War II.

Japanese buildings, temples and shrines can be found everywhere in the city, and they all stand quietly.

Tao Qiwu was still very interested in these old historical buildings at first, but after a long time, he found that the old city of the city had a "musty smell" in his bones.

After graduating, he stayed in the city to work, first living in an old building from the Japanese Puppet period, when he did not work in a mental hospital, but worked as a waiter in a movie theater.

Downstairs are a few one-meter-thick poplar trees with lush branches.

In the morning, there are always uncles and aunts who walk and exercise in the morning, chatting under the trees.

"You're going to live here?" The questioner was Tao Qiwu's colleague Yi Teng.

At this time, Yi Teng was carrying Daokou roast chicken in his left hand, boiling vegetables and tofu skewers in his right hand, and Tao Qiwu was holding a box of pure draft beer in both hands.

"yes, what a good place to live! Don't you think it's historic? Tao Qiwu said with a grin.

Tonight he is going to invite a few colleagues to his home for dinner.

"What about history? You just say that the rent is cheap! What the hell is that! Behind Tao Qiwu and Yi Teng, Ma Ge, who was also holding a case of beer, took over the conversation.

"Hehe, brother, you're right! It's because the rent is cheap! Watch your step! Let's go upstairs and into the house first! Zheng Mei and the others will come over in a while! Tao Qiwu still grinned, "hehe" and smiled.

This old building has only three floors, and there are three families on each floor, but there are more than three households living on the second floor, and the landlord with "business acumen" has turned the house of more than 60 square meters into four.

In this way, there is a lot of extra income.

I don't know how many times the wooden staircase of the old building has been reinforced, there is no window at the corner of the staircase, and a small dim yellow lamp is lit all year round.

There is only one window in the long corridor on each floor, which is particularly dark and oppressive.

Tao Qiwu lives on the third floor, and the 60-odd square meters with the attic are only 1,250 yuan per month. Looking out of the window of the room, you can reach the tall poplar trees.

The servants went into the house and set up the folding table, and then they stir-fried and plated, and it was exactly 19:30 when they were all done, and before Tao Qiwu called, there was a knock on the door.

"Zheng Mei?" Tao Qiwu asked, and without waiting for an answer, he opened the door.

There were two young girls standing at the door, both of whom were Tao Qiwu's colleagues.

Zheng Mei, who has long hair, has good facial features, fair skin, and a bumpy figure.

Shen Qiu, who is a little shorter than Zheng Mei and has shoulder-length short hair, is a little baby fat, but she is even more plump and lovely, with a pair of big flickering eyes, a small nose and a delicate mouth, which looks particularly playful and cute.

This is all the guests of Tao Qiwu's "dinner".

Brother Ma who is thirty-six or seventeen, Yi Teng, who is not tall but very strong, Zheng Mei, a long-haired beauty, and Shen Qiu, who has just reached the age of twenty, is cute.

It was already dark at seven o'clock in the middle of summer in the north, and the old people who were fighting chess and chatting downstairs gradually dispersed, and the children who were howling and screaming with their necks pulled by their necks were also called home by their respective parents.

The old neighborhood is back quiet.

The moon at night came as it had been many years ago, and remained unchanged.

"You're good enough to live in this place! Three more intersections will be there to the museum! Shen Qiu pulled over the chair and sat at the table and said to Tao Qiwu.

"Yes! There is a strong cultural atmosphere here, a strong historical atmosphere, and every day I receive a baptism of patriotism! Tao Qiwu nodded, learning the tone of the old pedant in "Hundred Lectures".

"Don't talk nonsense, okay? Hurry up and sit down and open the whole day, let's not get drunk today! Brother Ma beckoned everyone to take their seats.

"It's okay if you're drunk and don't come back, I'll sleep here." Tao Qiwu opened the beer and handed it to everyone.

"Sleeping? Don't mess with me! How can we sleep with three men and two women? Why don't you get out! The four of us are just right! Yi Teng looked at Tao Qiwu and quipped.

"Haha, if you just beat me to death, I won't go out! In the middle of the night, I'm scared! Tao Qiwu shook his head, with a serious face.

Yi Teng raised his glass with a smile and said, "It's true, it's really infiltrating to go out in the middle of the night in your family's realm!" Come! Let's have a drink! I'll make a sample first! ”

Pushing cups and changing lamps in the house, there are talking and laughing.

Time slipped away mercilessly, and Tao Qiwu, who was drinking, accidentally glanced at the black table clock on the cabinet, 20:45.

Before I knew it, most of the wine had been drunk, and the wine in the box was about to bottom out, and the "host" Tao Qiwu naturally stood up and said to the four people who were still laughing: "I'll go buy another case of beer, you drink it slowly, wait for me." ”

I opened the door and walked out.

Because the corridor was very dark, it took him a short time to get used to it.

Tao Qiwu took a step, and the drunkenness of seven points made him stagger.

"I'm in a bit of a hurry to drink today."

Tao Qiwu walked with his head bowed in self-muttering.

The corridor of only three houses is not long, and you can see the stairs down the stairs after walking a few steps.

Today, however, the corridor has become extraordinarily long.

Did you drink too much? Tao Qiwu thought so.

Tao Qiwu was a little out of breath as he walked, muttering in his heart and scolding his mother, when will this come to an end?

He was about to raise his head and open his mouth to curse, when he saw a woman walking in front of him. The swear words that came to my mouth choked back.

This woman is so good-looking that there are no words to describe her beauty, and it is never an exaggeration to describe it as "the beauty of a thought", especially since her skin is as white as a hard-boiled egg white.

The words that wanted to scold his mother came to his mouth and swallowed back, he swallowed his saliva and muttered, "It's so beautiful, why haven't you paid attention to it before." ”

5.

The beautiful woman found that Tao Qiwu was looking at herself, nodded and smiled at Tao Qiwu, and walked sideways past Tao Qiwu.

Tao Qiwu hurriedly looked back, only to see that the woman had slowly disappeared into the shadows of the corridor.

"The legs and feet are really sharp enough, and I entered the house in just a few steps, and I knew I wanted a phone number." Tao Qiwu shook his head, thinking in his heart as he continued to walk towards the staircase.

It didn't take a few steps to see the stairs going down.

The dim light flickered from time to time due to the voltage.

Tao Qiwu's feet stepped up the stairs, and the old stairs screamed "squeak" because of "uncomfortable", Tao Qiwu was violently excited, and the hairs on his body stood up.

He remembered what the woman he had just met was wearing, and she was wearing a kimono.

Tao Qiwu woke up more than half of the wine, and ran downstairs with his slippers.

rushed out of the old building and stood on the side of the road in one breath, and saw the taxi coming in the distance, Tao Qiwu stabilized his mind.

Across the road is the small supermarket that I often go to, although the face is not big but the goods are complete, the most important thing is that the price is fair, and the boss is also very kind.

Tao Qiwu, who calmed down, thought that he was probably hallucinating because he had drunk too much wine.

After all, "haunting" is hard to accept.

The owner of the small supermarket sat behind the cash register and watched TV: Chinese table tennis against Japan.

Interestingly, there are also Chinese in the Japanese team.

"Old, boss, you bring me two bottles of Daoxiangchun, and then fill me with eight bottles of pure life."

Tao Qiwu stumbled.

"What's wrong with you? The soul is not gone! What the hell? ”

The boss smiled, then got up and found a bag to fill Tao Qiwu with beer.

"Possibly......"

Tao Qiwu took two packets of peanuts on the shelf.

The supermarket owner filled the beer and looked at Tao Qiwu, and said with a smile: "You are a year!" I think you're a beautiful female ghost even if you hit a ghost! Then squeeze your blood dry! Ha ha! ”

"Haha! Big brother, you can really make trouble! ”

After paying, the supermarket owner told Tao Qiwu to drag some bags with his hands, because too much wine would easily leak the bag.

"Alright, don't worry."

Tao Qiwu walked out of the supermarket, looked at the old building across the street, swallowed and spit, took a deep breath and walked over.

The supermarket owner was right, if it wasn't a human but a ghost just now, it was really a beautiful female ghost.

He went upstairs tremblingly and cautiously walked to the door.

The bag of sake was not broken, the bottle was not broken, and I never saw the beautiful woman in kimono again.

Pushing open the door, no one spoke in the room, and the silence was scary.

"I'm tired, any of you come and pick it up for me." Tao Qiwu shouted.

There was no one in the room.

Tao Qiwu put down the bag of wine and looked into the house.

Around the dining table sat Ma Ge, Yi Teng, Zheng Mei and Shen Qiu, who sat motionless and upright, not eating, drinking, or talking

Tao Qiwu went from the heels to the tips of his hair, and he jumped to his throat, and his face was pale.

"Hahaha, look at what scared him!"

Brother Ma stood up and walked over and patted Tao Qiwu on the shoulder.

The other three laughed.

"Are you so interesting?!"

Tao Qiwu was pulled down by Ma Ge and sat down at the table, and his heart was still "banging".

Shen Qiu said with a smile: "You scared us first just now, right?!" You first said you were going out to buy alcohol, and then you came back halfway and said you saw a ghost girl in the hallway! ”

Tao Qiwu looked at Shen Qiu, her face was slightly red, she didn't look like she was lying.

Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the black table clock on the cabinet, 20:45.

"I didn't come back."

"I think you've drunk too much!" Yi Teng opened the liquor that Tao Qiwu bought and said, "Little girls drink beer, let's make the liquor!" ”

Tao Qiwu pointed to the clock and asked, "I remember that when I went downstairs, it was 20:45." ”

"It's a scare again, is the bell stopped, wow, you have to give it energy, I really didn't expect you to use this old antique!"

Shen Qiu said with a smile.

Zheng Mei also pursed her lips and giggled.

"The landlord stayed."

Brother Ma took a sip of liquor and put down his glass: "I have a proposal!" Let's not just drink, since everyone's interest is so high, don't bluff, let's tell a ghost story by ourselves! Punishment for drinking that doesn't scare people! ”

"How scary it is in the middle of the night! I won't be able to go home for a while! Zheng Mei shook her head, and Yi Teng disagreed, but Shen Qiu excitedly raised his hands in agreement.

"Now it's a two-to-two draw, Tao Qiwu, you say you don't want to play." Brother Ma looked at Tao Qiwu firmly.

Tao Qiwu felt awkward, but he still looked at Brother Ma and nodded.

"Okay, three to two! Since I proposed it, I'll talk about it first! ”

Brother Ma cleared his throat and said gloomily: "The name of the following story is "Evening Bell". ”

After Brother Ma finished speaking, everyone applauded.

Tao Qiwu naturally applauded, but he always unconsciously looked at the clock on the cabinet, and it was really awkward to think about it, and finally he stood up and tightened the clock's clockwork, and only then did he breathe a sigh when he saw the clock "ticking".

The next person to tell the story was Shen Qiu.

Shen Qiu shouted vigorously before talking that he had watched "Evening Bell", and Brother Ma spoke very generally.

She said in a deceptive way: "What I want to talk about is much more terrifying than this!" ”

"Let's talk about it, don't whet everyone's appetite!" Zheng Mei said with a smile.

"Ears up, everyone, listen."

Shen Qiu stood up and patted the table like a storyteller, and then spoke: "The name of the following story is called 'Twilight Drum'......"

Don't look at Shen Qiu's cute appearance, when he tells the story, he can tell the story until his face is distorted with the plot.

She squeezed her face to gather her already delicate facial features, she put this face close to Tao Qiwu's, and said with a mouth full of wine: "I'm done, do you want to give me a ride?" ”

"Qiu, have you drunk too much?" Tao Qiwu pushed Shen Qiu away, causing everyone to laugh again.

"Then I'll tell you the next story."

Tao Qiwu frowned and drank a large sip of liquor, recalling weird movies or articles in his head as if he had been in a movie, and searched for a long time but had no clue.

"Are you going to talk about it or not!?" Shen Qiu pushed Tao Qiwu.

"I'll speak, I'll speak."

Tao Qiwu said: "My story is called 'Untitled'. ”

It's a long, long story, Tao Qiwu sat at the table with a wine glass and talked endlessly, and he kept telling it until everyone who told it had eyelids fighting, and he was still talking.

Later, even Tao Qiwu himself didn't know what he was talking about.

His mouth opened and closed mechanically, and he kept talking, and he found that he could not stop, only his eyes could move, and he glanced at the clock on the cupboard.

20:45。

"In the end, everybody was lying on the table, motionless."

After Tao Qiwu finished speaking, he finally closed his mouth.

His mouth was dry, his cheeks were numb, his whole body was stiff, and he saw that the other four were lying on the table, motionless.

"What's going on?" Tao Qiwu pushed Brother Ma beside him.

At this moment, there was a sound of running outside the door, and then someone opened the door suddenly, startling Tao Qiwuyi.

Tao Qiwu looked at the door solemnly.

Outside the door came in a frightened self.

"Why are you all drunk? Wake up, I was scared to death! I saw a woman in a kimono in the hallway! It's gone in the blink of an eye! Tao Qiwu at the door was full of horror.

The four people at the table sat up at the noise and looked at the door.

Shen Qiu opened his mouth and said, "Didn't you go to buy wine?" Why do you run back and scare people? ”

"It's true! I kid you not! Old beautiful woman, wearing kimono! Tao Qiwu looked anxious at the door, pointing to the dark corridor outside the door.

Tao Qiwu, who was sitting at the table, opened his mouth wide, looking at himself at the door with a frightened face, and the most terrifying thing was that he clearly saw that there was really such a woman in a kimono standing behind him.

She was so beautiful, her skin was so white that she could blow it.

The kimono woman smiled and blew softly on the back of Tao Qiwu's neck at the door.

20:45。

6.

Tao Qiwu subconsciously shrank his neck, chilling all over.

He picked up his phone and looked at the time, 20:45.

After only twenty-five minutes of sleep, I had another dream that was so real.

But fortunately, there was no her in this dream.

Tao Qiwu picked up the cup and took a big sip.

He felt terrible cold and started to have a fever again.

7.

"How is this written and written and turned into a horror novel again? I'm afraid the author is not a split personality, right? ”

Someone left a message in the comment area of the website.

I thought about it and replied, "The plot needs it, so stay tuned." ”

19:45。

Eating the Malatang packed from downstairs, I watched the increase in reading and messages of abuse, ridicule, and encouragement. It's a feeling of being in the spotlight, and it's amazing.

Just as I was smiling and sticking my chopsticks in the bowl and about to hit the keyboard again, the light in the room flashed.

I was stunned, is it the fault of the last time?

"Smack". All the appliances in the room stopped working.

It took a few seconds for the eyes to adjust to the darkness. I fumbled with the flashlight function turned on on my phone, and this time the power was lost everywhere.

I checked the switch box and it wasn't tripped. I went to the balcony and looked at the building opposite, and every house was lit with bright or dark lights.

Is it only our building that has lost power?

8.

Cao Chengrui stood downstairs and looked up.

Except for Tao Qiwu, the lights are on.

Very strange feeling, even though he lived there. He looked at the balcony window and thought that he was standing on the balcony himself. Looking up at the sky helplessly, the stars could not be seen in the night sky of the city.

Running out of electricity was fatal to him, he couldn't continue writing, he couldn't interact with readers online. He needed to finish those 30,000 reads as soon as possible.

He was looking forward to Li Ling's arrival in his heart.

Lately, he'd been sitting in front of his computer like a machine, drinking four or five beers a day, going downstairs for something, and then coming back to the computer for hours.

But now, a sudden power outage has left him with nothing to do.

9.

I put a "fever-reducing effervescent tablet" in a water glass.

The room was quiet and you could faintly hear the snoring of my father next door and the "rustling" sound coming from the water glass.

In the thirties of the weather, I still have to wrap the quilt tightly.

"The ambition of the bird is thousands of miles......"

The phone rings, 20:57.

"Lao Tao, is there no electricity at home again?"

"Is there a power outage in the community?"

"It's impossible, other people's homes have electricity, but ours doesn't." Cao Chengrui paused and then said, "I didn't trip either." ”

"Maybe you owe electricity bills, haven't you seen if there's a sticker at the door?"

With a sniff, I took a big sip from my glass and said, "I'll turn it in online later." ”

"Okay, you said what would I do without you, you have to live well."

I picked up a tissue from the bedside and blew my nose softly. I have long been accustomed to the way Cao Chengrui speaks.

"People have to die eventually, but sooner or later." I replied casually.

"Hey, you're right, but it's so unlucky! Sooner or later, everyone has to die, otherwise why would it be a curse instead of a boast to say 'old and immortal'! ”

Hang up, it's another hard night.

10.

In the dark room, I sat on the couch and turned on my laptop.

Because of the power outage, I originally planned to go to bed early today, but I couldn't sleep in bed anyway.

It was like a circus in my head.

Inexplicable excitement.

I probably figured out how to make Tao Qiwu "disappear".

Text: Episode 9 -End-