(a)

On an October afternoon, the sun shines warmly, shining through the large glass windows of the office and gently falling on everyone's tired faces, making people feel comfortable and lazy. Compared with the hot and scorching sun in the hot summer, the sunshine at this time is like a girl who has quieted down after a hearty dance, a little more gentle, a little less warm, that feeling is just right, people can't help but want to spend more time with her.

Anne is sorting out the information in front of the computer, this is the task given to her by her boss in the morning, she must sort out all the information and hand it in before leaving work today, otherwise she will have to work overtime again tonight. Tomorrow was Saturday, and she didn't want to waste this good rest time to do the work that she should have done during work hours. She tapped desperately on the keyboard, thinking that she would have to get it all done before she left work. It's just that she has been sitting in front of the computer for an afternoon, and she hasn't even gone to the toilet once, and she already feels quite tired.

Anne's desk is located right next to the floor-to-ceiling window, with excellent views and light. When she's not busy, she can close her eyes and enjoy the sunshine dancing on her face like a cutie. But not now, no matter how good the sun is, she has no time to care, and her eyes are fixed on the computer screen without moving. But these little cuties seemed to be teasing her, and the warmth shone on her fair face, making her feel more and more comfortable, and the eyes that had barely opened before seemed to be disobedient, and the eyelids began to fight. She tried hard to keep herself awake, but she couldn't sleep, or else what would she do with all this work! Damn nasty sunshine, damn nasty job, she silently complained in her heart. But her brain still couldn't dry her tired eyes, and she couldn't help but take a nap.

"Hey...... Anne ...... "When Linglong next to her saw her dozing, he called out to her and shook her arm vigorously.

Anne, who seemed to have just fallen asleep, was screamed by her, raised her head suddenly, and asked nervously, "Ah! What's wrong? ”

"Are you asleep?"

"Oh...... That's right, I was too sleepy just now, so I squinted. Anne didn't seem to be fully awake from that hazy sleep.

"Don't sleep! When the boss sees it, I'm going to be scolded again! Linglong whispered, "I just said in the morning that some people take a nap during work hours!" It's not about us, but be careful not to get caught by others. ”

"yes, I see. It's just that I'm too tired, I work overtime for a few days in a row, and I don't have a good rest. Anne rubbed her eyes.

"Also, the company has too much work. You've only been here for a few months, and you don't know a lot about the company. You'll know when you stay here for a long time, and in the future, you'll only work more and more overtime. Linglong said to Anne like an old-timer.

"Isn't there a lot of overtime now?" Anne thought that although she had only been here for a few months, it was clear that the workload here was much higher than the previous work, and she remembered that she had worked a lot of overtime here.

"What is this! You are still a newcomer, the company generally takes care of newcomers, if you come and work overtime every day, then who is willing to do it! Linglong said to Anne wickedly, "The hard days are yet to come!" ”

"Are you saying I'm only going to work more and more overtime in the future?" Anne grumbled.

"Well, for sure, like we are now, don't you think that a lot of the time you leave work earlier than we do? I'm used to it. ”

Anne thought about it, indeed, many times she came home from work, and Linglong was still working. At that time, she thought that this girl was really amazing!

"Aren't you tired?" Anne asked. Because she felt that she was very tired even in her current state of work.

"Tired! But fortunately, I live close, and it doesn't matter if I'm working overtime late, I'm used to it! Linglong said disappreciatively.

"If you're tired, why don't you change jobs?"

"How easy it is to change jobs! Besides, it's hard to find a job now, and the pay is low. To be honest, the salary here is really good, although I often work overtime, but after all, there is a lot of money. You go out and try to change jobs, can you have such a high salary? ”

Anne thought about it, what Linglong said was reasonable, the reason why she chose to work so far away in the first place was actually because of the high salary here. Otherwise, who wants to spend more than three hours a day on the road in order to go to work!

"I see that you haven't gotten used to it yet, and it's good after a long time. I'll help you make a cup of coffee for a pick-me-up! Linglong said and was about to get up from her seat.

"No need, thank you, I'll go by myself, I just got up and moved, I sat for a long time, and my back hurts." Anne said as she got down from her chair. Maybe it's because she's been sitting for too long, and she's struggling to get up. She thought to herself that sooner or later she would have to get into this job.

Anne went to the bathroom first, then went to the staff-only café to make a cup of coffee. This time she didn't add sugar, she thought, the bitterness of the coffee would sober her up.

Anne took her freshly brewed coffee to the floor-to-ceiling window of the café. It is a large floor-to-ceiling window like the office, and the café is next to the office and has the same orientation, so it has the same light and view as the office. This is the 25th floor of this building, and it is a beautiful place to enjoy the view of the city. Whether it is a high-rise building, a low-rise bungalow, a busy traffic or an ant-like pedestrian, on weekdays, in Anne's view, these are the bits and pieces of scenery that make up the city, and they are the lifeblood of the city. It's just that everyone is too busy in the office to take care of the beautiful scenery outside the window, and the café is different, there are few people here, it is very quiet, standing in front of the window, drinking coffee while basking in the sun, this is really a beautiful enjoyment!

However, at this time, Anne was really not in the mood to enjoy this comfort here. She looked at the cars passing and passing on the road and the passers-by in a hurry, and the beings she usually thought of as making up the cityscape had lost their agility in her eyes, and had become puppets with stiff movements like machines, without the slightest beauty.

She had coffee in her hand and didn't take a sip.

When she went to the bathroom just now, Anne deliberately paid attention to her * pants, which were still clean and clean, and there were still no traces of the red she expected. Her menstrual period had been postponed for a full ten days, something that had never happened before. My menstrual affairs have always been very punctual, even if they are occasionally not accurate, they fluctuate for two or three days at most, and there has never been such a long delay in the future. Could it be that I was too tired to work overtime during this time, so I ......?

However, her heart was resisting this self-comfort.

An even more terrible worry forcibly flooded her mind.

Anne fell into memories and contemplation......

Until Linglong's shout brought her back to her senses.

"Annie," Linglong pushed open the door of the café and looked at Annie in a daze in front of the window, "You're really here." After speaking, Linglong breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hmm...... What's wrong? Anne looked back at Linglong, who had just pushed the door in, and lowered her head to take a long sip of coffee.

"It's okay, I just saw that you haven't been back for a long time, and I'm worried about whether you'll be tired and have an accident, so I'll take a look."

"Oh, thanks, I'm fine." Anne smiled and said, "It's a good view, I'll see it here." ”

Anne realized that she had indeed been here for quite some time.

"The scenery here is good, but it's work time, you forgot what I reminded you before, I only talked about so many discipline issues in the morning meeting, today is really not the time to enjoy the scenery." Linglong reminded Anne again.

"I know, I just don't want to live up to this great time, I just watched it and lost track of it for a while." Anne said, quickly finishing the coffee in her hand, preparing to return to the office with Linglong.

"What's so nice about the scenery here, it's not as beautiful as the scenery from my balcony." Linglong said, urging Anne again, "Hurry up!" I'll go back first. ”

"Okay, I'll be right back after washing the cup!"

Anne took the cup to the sink. Linglong returned to the office.

Anne thought about what Linglong had just said, the view from her balcony was better than here, it must be a great place to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

When Anne first came to work here, she didn't know her colleagues very well, and even if she did, it was only a work exchange. I don't know much about the private lives of my colleagues. Sometimes, there will be female colleagues who invite her to go to play after work, or go shopping, etc., but because Anne lives too far away, it takes a lot of time on the way home, and her boyfriend doesn't like her being too busy, and always hopes that she can go back early after work, so she has to decline the invitation of her colleagues. After a few times, everyone knew her difficulties and stopped inviting her. She also communicates less and less with her colleagues, and there is almost no talk about life except for the words of work. Only the exquisiteness of the desk and the table next to her will occasionally talk to her about some things in life. Anne is also happy to gossip with Linglong.

Anne returned to the office and sat down at the computer desk. However, all kinds of complicated things poured into her mind, and she couldn't concentrate at all. Just don't do it, take a break first, and then work overtime today. She remembered what Linglong had just said, so it was better to chat, distract herself, and stop thinking about those worrying and headache issues.

Thinking of this, she turned her chair to Linglong next to her and asked, "Linglong, you just said that the scenery from your balcony is better than this?" ”

"Yes! The floors are as high as here, but the view is better than here and there is a large open balcony. I planted a lot of flowers there, and when the weather was nice, I loved drinking tea, reading books, and basking in the sun! Linglong said proudly.

"You're going to enjoy that!" Anne imagined the appearance of the balcony of Linglong's house, and couldn't help but start to envy.

"What is this, my favorite is to come home from work at night, when I am tired, make a cup of tea, lie down on a deck chair on the balcony, play my favorite music, and watch the stars there." Linglong looked like she was enjoying herself.

"Looking at the stars?"

"Yes, of course, on a starry night. If there are no stars," said Linglong regretfully, "then all I have to look at is the star lamp I hang on the balcony." ”

"Star lights?" Anne imagined what Linglong's balcony would look like. Hanging star lights on the balcony is also very romantic!

Anne imagined and thought of her own life, every day when she came home from work late at night, took off her shoes, washed up, went to bed and fell asleep, there was no quality at all. And the life described by Linglong is the life she has longed for for a long time.

She said enviously to Linglong: "Looking at the stars, I have never had the luxury of looking at them. I go home every day and pack up in the middle of the night, and being able to watch the stars and lanterns is a beautiful thing for me. ”

"If you live so far away, it must be late to go back. Or like us, it is more convenient to live close, live and work. ”

"How far is your place from here?" Anne asked.

"It's closer than you think. 500 meters, I walk to and from work every day. Linglong said.

"That's so convenient, what a lot of time saved every day. Like me, every day when I commute to work by bus, I waste hours on the road. ”

Anne was becoming more and more frustrated that she lived too far away from the company.

"It's a pity, such a beautiful and convenient house, I don't know if I can continue to live in the future. If you had to change places, you wouldn't find a better house. It's a real headache for me. Linglong also began to complain a little.

"What's going on?" Anne didn't understand why such a good house couldn't be lived in.

"My house is a shared house, two bedrooms, and the other room is rented by a girl. She had moved out a week ago and moved in with her boyfriend. Our house is a month away, but now I'm alone. I wanted to renew my rent, but I couldn't afford the rent alone if I couldn't find a roommate. When the time comes, there is still no choice but to move out. Our house, to be honest, is really good, but the rent is a little higher. ”

"You can sublet another room!" Anne said.

"I posted an advertisement for a shared apartment, and there were a lot of people who asked, but they all thought the price was too high, and they all said that they would consider it, and none of them had decided on it so far. It is estimated that it is hanging, and it is difficult to rent it out. ”

"How much is your rent?"

"Six thousand for one set, three thousand for one. The general price in the neighborhood is about 2,000, so many people think it is expensive. But the house is really good, I think it's still worth the price, everyone can accept its quality, but can't afford the price. ”

"It's expensive. You really live an aristocratic life. "Anne listened to Linglong talk about the rent, not to mention how the house is, the price is really high.

"Blame me, in fact, this price is also very high for me, supposedly, at my salary level, I should not enjoy such a high-end house. However, I did fall in love with it at first sight. I've lived there for two years, and I'm satisfied with all aspects, and I don't want to change it. ”

"Also, if it were me, I guess I wouldn't want to change it!" Anne said to Linglong with a smile.

"No way, it depends on the situation, it's best to find a shared house. I really couldn't find it, so I had to cut my love. Linglong said jokingly.

(b)

All afternoon, Anne had no more time to work. There were many, many things going on in her head. These things were like small pieces of paper that had been torn up, appearing in her head in a haphazard manner. She really didn't want to think about it, but these annoying fragments always forced themselves into her thoughts. This made it impossible for her to concentrate on her work.

The things that the great aunt postponed made her very worried and scared. The matter of Linglong's house made her have some other thoughts. For some other reason, or rather, because of some vague thoughts she had, she wondered if she should simply move in with her. But wouldn't that be too impulsive? Is this necessary? Are you really going to rent this house because it's good? She knew, it wasn't like that. So, why did you have this idea?

She felt that there was a devil living in her heart. This devil gave her this idea. Because this devil has insight into some unknown thoughts in her heart. This devil was manipulating her brain. She wanted to struggle, she knew there were things she couldn't do, and she was trying to fight the devil. She didn't know, in the end, who would overcome whom.

She was absent-minded, and her fingers repeatedly tapping on the keyboard were mistaken. She knew how she could get the job done on time with such efficiency. It seems that today is about to pay the price for his crankiness again - that is, he will have to work overtime until late at night. Unless she doesn't want the high-paying job, then she doesn't have to force herself to do it in such a distraught situation. However, she didn't want to lose this high-paying job, because she felt that this job had already cost her too much. If you lose this job again, won't all those things that have been lost be lost?

"No, you can't lose it for nothing." Whenever this happens, the devil in her heart will jump out and tell her.

This has been the case during this time.

Anne spent every day in such a tangle and uneasiness completing the work that she found boring and tedious. She convinces herself with the same reason every time - to work, to make money and survive.

Anne was the last person to leave the office today. During this time, she became the latest person in the company to work overtime. However, she seemed to be used to it, or maybe she felt like she was doing it herself. If you don't think cranky and work hard, in fact, these tasks can be done during working hours. So, there's nothing to complain about.

She walked out of the company building. Opposite, there was a pharmacy, and at this time, the pharmacy lights were still on. Every time Anne came home from work, she could see the lights on at the pharmacy across the building, a 24-hour pharmacy, no matter how late it was.

She didn't hesitate and went straight to the pharmacy. She knew that she had to have a clear answer to her questions.

There is no customer in the store anymore, only a salesperson, who is sitting at the cash register and playing with her mobile phone. When she saw Anne come in, she just glanced up, neither said "welcome", nor asked "what do you need", did not even say the most basic greeting, just glanced at it, then lowered her head and continued to play with her phone.

Speaking of which, this salesman Anne is also very familiar. Usually I have a cold and cough or something, and she buys it at this pharmacy by the way after work. There were also a few times when she was greeted by this salesperson. Anne thought, perhaps, she didn't remember herself. Or, even if she remembers, but for her, such a late-night customer who comes to the store should not care even if he doesn't say hello. Unlike during the day, you have to maintain a warm attitude towards customers, and if you don't have a good attitude, you are likely to attract complaints. However, in the middle of the night, there are few such fussy guests. Or, she knows that customers who come to the store late at night generally buy something, mostly condoms, emergency contraceptives, or viagra or something, most of them just buy and leave, and don't say anything more. So, she didn't mind her attitude of ignoring herself.

She walked straight to the shelf with the pregnancy test, took two boxes, and went to the cashier to check out.

She put the things on the cash register, the salesman scanned the barcode of the product, Anne opened the payment code on the mobile phone, the salesman scanned it, and the payment was successful. Anne put her things in her bag, turned and walked out of the drugstore. The two didn't say a word the whole time.

Anne thought, this feeling is so refreshing, if people can do this with each other, do their own things, and can not talk without talking, then life will be less troublesome. Why can't people live alone in their own world?

Although the sun is still warm during the day, the night is full of a hint of coolness. It's late autumn, and the temperature difference between day and night is obviously starting to increase. Thankfully, she brought a coat, Anne thought. Because of the long distance to work, she had to leave earlier than others, and it was already evening when she got home from work, so it became her norm to go out early and stay late. Therefore, when everyone is still wearing only one single coat, she often brings an extra coat. Because she knew how necessary it was for her. Anne put her coat on her body, and another cool breeze hit her, and Anne couldn't help but wrap her clothes tightly.

The city at night is full of unique charm, with bright lights and busy traffic. The city is also well trafficked, and even late at night, there are still night buses running. Anne used to praise the city's traffic, as there were buses that ran at night to where she lived. Although she had to walk some way through two alleys to get to where she lived, she was lucky to be able to take such a bus home late at night. After all, not every line has a night bus that runs. For her to travel so far, this night bus is so convenient. Of course, this is only from the point of view of saving money. If you take a taxi, of course, it is faster and more convenient, and you can sit directly downstairs. However, this is a significant expense after all. In terms of her overtime frequency, if she takes a taxi back every time, her salary conditions do not allow her to "squander" like this.

Anne had ridden the night bus for countless nights. They move freely through the streets that are a little deserted compared to the daytime, but without the crowds and traffic jams of the day, these cars seem to be unshackled at night. There were few and far passengers late at night, and the whole carriage looked empty. Anne liked the quiet atmosphere, where everyone was doing their own thing and not interfering with each other. Energetic young people may have just gotten ready for the nightlife and are still playing with their phones excitedly, while tired office workers may be exhausted and almost paralyzed, closing their eyes and falling asleep as soon as they get in the car. Anne, on the other hand, likes to sit by the window, and she likes to be on the bus at night, enjoying the ever-changing scenery outside the window, and the bright flashing neon lights are showing everyone the vigorous vitality of the city at night.

A bus stopped at the platform in front of Anne. This platform in front of the company is where she has been taking the bus, and this car is the one that is driving in the direction of her home.

However, Anne did not get into the car. As soon as the bus left the platform, a taxi followed. Anne waved her hand, and the taxi pulled up next to her, and she got into it.

In fact, Anne hadn't taken such a night bus in a while.

If it hadn't happened twenty days ago, Anne would still have chosen to take the night bus home.

(c)

The taxi pulled up downstairs in Anne's rented house. Anne paid the money, got out of the car, and looked around. It was empty except for the dim streetlights, and the air was eerily quiet, and Anne could hear her own rapid breathing. She quickly wrapped up her clothes and walked quickly to the staircase of the unit building.

It's an old town. Although it is the center of the city, it is too old and gives people a desolate feeling. Here, buildings and bungalows are lined up one after another. The buildings are very old-fashioned, with only a layer of cement on the exterior walls, and they have fallen off, like old ladies covered with age spots, and these buildings look old and ugly. Not to mention those low-rise bungalows, at a glance you know that they are the oldest houses here, if it weren't for the big red word "demolition" written on the outer walls of those houses, these dilapidated houses stand here, everyone would feel that they are blocking everyone's walk. Most of these bungalows are uninhabited and look crumbling. Connecting these houses of different heights and dilapidated houses are several small alleys that are pitch black. Although it is jet black, in fact, there are a few street lights. However, these street lamps do not seem to be much younger than these houses, and their light is extremely dim, like a kerosene lamp lit at home when I was a child, emitting a faint light. The light was so dim that it couldn't even reach more than five meters. On both sides of these alleys, there are these uninhabited low houses, and there are some piles of messy things, such as old sofas, broken benches, rotten TVs, etc., a pile of unclaimed debris.

Anne quickly went upstairs, opened the door, turned on the light in the room, and breathed a sigh of relief.

It's a two-bedroom house that Anne rented when she came here at the beginning of the year. At that time, in order to make the rent cheaper, she rented for a year, and the landlord gave her a one-month rent reduction, and she also paid the landlord a year's rent in a lump sum. Subsequently, she sublet one of them to another girl. The girl Anne didn't know. She only found this place when she saw an advertisement for a rental house from Anne. She said very little, and after coming to see the house, she paid a year's rent directly to Anne. Satisfied with the money, Anne asked the girl, "What do you call you?" The girl just replied, "Just call me Xiaomei." Anne looked at her, and she was indeed beautiful.

Between Anne and Xiaomei, except for the first conversation, there is usually no communication. Xiaomei's personality seems to be introverted, she doesn't like to talk, and even sometimes she meets at home, and she never greets Anne. On several occasions, Anne tried to greet her, but before she could say anything, she turned and went into the house and closed the door, without the slightest intention of communicating with her. She was originally greeting out of politeness, but others were so disdainful, which made Anne feel like a hot face and a cold ass. After doing this a few times, Anne stopped saying hello to Mei.

Two people living under the same roof are like two strangers. Together, they said no more than ten sentences. The relationship between them can be said to be as cold as ice, or it can be said that they do not interfere with each other. Fortunately, the two didn't have much time to meet. Otherwise, it's really hard to understand how two girls can live together without saying a word.

Anne turned on the light in the living room and went back to her room. She stole a glance into the next room, but no light was shining through the crack in the door. Anne knew that Xiaomei was not at home again. She is used to this, or rather, she already knows Xiaomei's whereabouts well. This strange girl!

When Anne hadn't changed jobs yet, her job was easy, and although the pay was low, she worked from 9 to 5, which was more regular. At that time, Mei always went out after Anne came home and came home in the morning before Anne went out. Now that Anne has changed jobs, she comes home late, and she leaves the house early in the morning, and although she can't see when Xiaomei will go out, she knows that Xiaomei always comes home before she is about to go out.

Anne didn't want to speculate about Mei's private life, she wasn't interested. Moreover, for such an indifferent person, there is no need to understand these things about her. Besides, knowing about other people's private lives should be a very annoying thing.

However, Anne, who has never cared about Xiaomei's life, doesn't know when she began to pay attention to Xiaomei, intentionally or unintentionally. When she came home from work, she always had to take a look to see if there was a light in the next room. Although she knew that there was no one in the room, Anne still had to curse silently in her heart: she must have gone out again. In the morning, when she heard the sound of Xiaomei coming back to open the door, she also had to scold in her heart: cheap.

Seeing that there was no one in the next room, Anne scolded in her heart again as usual: I went out to wave again.

Anne scolded and returned to the room, slumping on the bed. How the people around me have become so annoying, what's wrong with this damn world, it's always unsatisfactory. Anne has been so irritable lately.

She pulled out the two pregnancy tests in her bag. She knew that this was supposed to be done with morning urine, which would have been more accurate. However, she couldn't help it, and she couldn't wait to know the answer. To be on the safe side, she bought two, one for today and one for tomorrow morning.

Anne felt tired. She looked at the test stick in her hand and was scared. The feeling of anticipation and fear, the feeling of wanting an answer but being afraid of the answer, really can't be described in words. She was very entangled, she was expecting an answer, but she was even more scared, because she knew that the answer would probably be the one that scared her the most!

She let out a long breath, picked up the test stick, and walked into the bathroom.

These few minutes are like a stretched bungee rope, stretching longer and longer, as if there is no end. The long wait tormented her, and she closed her eyes and counted her heartbeats one at a time. Until she forced herself to open her eyes and suddenly saw two bright red bars on them.

She thought for ten minutes.

In fact, these ten minutes are superfluous for her. During this time, on the bus, in the taxi, at work, when going to the bathroom, when eating, when bored, she has thought about it ten thousand times.

Ten minutes later, she picked up her phone and sent a message to Linglong:

Dear Linglong, I heard you talk about your house in the afternoon. I'm very interested in your house, I wonder if you would like me to share it with you?

In less than a minute, Linglong replied with a message:

Of course it's good, I can't ask for it! However, the rent here is relatively high, do you want to come and see the house first?

Anne replied:

Don't look at it. I just moved over. Hasn't your co-tenant already moved out? Well, I'll move in in the next two days!

Linglong Hui:

Okay, too. Anyway, the room is already empty, you can come whenever you want.

Anne looked at the messages on her phone with an intriguing expression.