July 15, 2005, 8 p.m.

After parking the car on the side of the road, Ma Li took out his mobile phone and glanced at the text message: "Dear old students, on July 15th, the 10th anniversary of graduation, the dinner venue is Wu Ji hot pot on Changshou Road, AA system, see you or leave!" ”

The message from an old classmate from Nanming High School has been posted on the class homepage of the school intranet, and he hesitated before replying to confirm it.

Walking into the hot pot restaurant full of various spices, Ma Li frowned and looked in the mirror, deliberately combed his hair a few times, and his two mustaches were slightly vicissitudes.

His classmates were already eating and drinking, and he saw a stout man, at least 90 kilograms, with a round belly protruding from his belt. After thinking about it for a long time, it turned out to be a roommate back then, but I didn't expect that the young man from the standard figure would become this fat face, and he was also the kind of person he hated the most.

The appearance of horsepower was exciting, especially the female classmates, some simply pulled him to their side, and he sat down without resistance: "Sorry, I'm late, I'll punish myself with three glasses!" ”

This is said in a very manly tone, his voice is magnetic, he poured himself three cups in a row, and it can be seen that he is good at dealing with all kinds of scenes, and there is never a shortage of women in life.

"Since you were admitted to Tsinghua University, I haven't had a chance to see you again."

The squad leader's tone was quite sour, and Ma Li perfunctorily sent out business cards, which attracted the exclamation of the students from time to time: "Wow, senior partner, you have become a big boss!" ”

"Three years ago, I changed my career to venture capital and make wedding dresses for others."

His smile is formulaic, comfortable but not at all kind.

The classmates greeted each other, many of them had rings on their left ring fingers, and even their hair was thinning. There are a few beautiful girls left, and they are more fashionable and expensive to dress. There are a few people who talk about their own children, and the most outrageous thing is that someone's son can make soy sauce, which is really like a world away.

"By the way, why didn't Ouyang Xiaozhi come?"

One of the men muttered, and one of the girls replied, "Oh, she?" The transfer student, I shared a dorm room with her. ”

The squad leader scratched his head and said, "I heard that she was admitted to the Normal University, but I haven't contacted her since." ”

"It's so strange that this kid actually eats hot pot alone."

The fat classmate spoke, and Ma noticed that there was only one boy sitting at the next table.

Behind the steaming hot pot, the ten-year-old child's face was even paler, and his eyebrows and eyes were quite upright. Although he still has Mickey Mouse printed on his clothes, he only needs to sit there quietly to exude a special aura that will overshadow the other children.

"yes, I don't think any adults have ever been here."

"Children now, no less common than we were then."

Ma Li twisted his eyebrows and shook his head, the boy ignored them at all, and ate the peeing cow pills to himself.

Suddenly, a long-tongued woman said, "Hey, who remembers Liu Man?" ”

There was silence on the table for a moment, except for the tumbling sound of a hot pot, like a frying pan of oil for sinners in hell.

"You say—did you declare that the teacher killed her?"

"Isn't it obvious? Liu Man seduced Teacher Shen, and Teacher Shen was about to get married, so he took a murderous plan, carefully prepared the venom of oleander, tricked Liu Man to the small attic of the library in the middle of the night, and poisoned her to death. ”

"Early that morning, I just found Liu Man dead on the roof, and it was Mr. Shen who climbed up to see the body first."

"I remembered it too, it really scared me to death! Next, have nightmares for a week in a row! ”

"The night before Liu Man was killed, the two of them were seen talking alone in the study hall, and later from Teacher Shen's room, a bottle of residual poison was found. After he was arrested by the police, he was released again for unknown reasons. ”

In those days, the director of education informed the teachers and students of the school: Teacher Shen was expelled from the school - I didn't expect Teacher Shen to kill the director of education! I don't know who killed me? It's a headless case, and the body is still found in the witch's area! ”

Ma Li, who had always been silent, finally interrupted the gossip: "Shut up! I don't believe Mr. Shin is a murderer! Please respect the deceased, after all, he was our homeroom teacher, and everyone liked Teacher Shen very much back then, didn't they? Don't you girls all say that Teacher Shen is handsome? The boys said he was very energetic, didn't have the slightest fight, and often played basketball with us on the playground. He is also the instructor of the school's literature club, and he has nothing to say about ancient and new poems! ”

These words made the classmates stunned, they had never seen him lose his temper so much, and half of the people in the restaurant turned around. Including the boy sitting at the next table, who was looking at Ma Li with strange eyes.

"Forget it!" The squad leader is making a peacemaker again, "It's all in the past, there's no need to be unhappy." ”

"However, a few days ago, Mr. Shen appeared on the Internet again."

A boy said something tricky, which caused the girls to scream: "Is it his ghost?" ”

Instead, he pulled him and asked, "What's the matter?" ”

"I also saw that in the intranet of our class homepage, you can check it out online."

"Someone must be playing a prank!"

Everyone no longer dared to mention the word "declaration", and several students said goodbye one after another, leaving the money of the AA system to the class leader.

At half past nine, the hot pot restaurant was about to close, and the women were finished, Ma Li picked up a cigarette, touched his mustache, and looked dull and depressed.

The waiter came running over and asked the boy at the next table, "Kid, have your parents come to pay the bill?" ”

The child fumbled in his pocket for a long time, and timidly took out dozens of yuan: "I'm sorry, that's all I have, can you let me go home and get the money?" ”

"Manager!"

A big man came over and said fiercely: "Hey, stinky boy, want to eat overlord meal?" ”

The boy's eyes turned red and he cried, and when the waiter and the manager were helpless, Ma Li got up and said, "I'll pay for him." ”

He threw two hundred dollars on the table.

Afterwards, Ma Ma realized that the boy was the actor.

The manager took the money and asked while giving change, "Your child?" ”

"I don't know, I just feel like I have eyes."

The boy sobbed and wiped away his tears, looked at Ma Ma's solemn eyes, and said "thank you" in a trembling voice.

"Kids, go home early." He turned to the squad leader and the others and said, "Don't drink, it's time to disperse!" ”

It was already raining heavily, and the horsepower slipped into his polo car, but the boy threw himself in front of the window and tapped his fingers.

He lowered the window: "Kid, what's wrong?" ”

"Can you take me home?"

"Why?"

"I want to give you the money back."

"No need."

"However, when it gets dark, I am afraid that it will be dangerous to go home alone. Besides, I didn't have an umbrella with me. ”

Looking at the boy's frightened expression, he frowned and hesitated for a moment, but still opened the co-pilot's door. Mali's hands were as cold as a dead man, squeezing the child's thin wrists. The car stereo played the song "A Chinese Ghost Story", Leslie Cheung was his idol in high school, and at that time, there was a poster of Ouyang Feng in "East Evil and West Poison" on the bedside of his dormitory.

The raindrops on the windshield on the summer night, the boy reported his address, and he was actually in a villa area in the suburbs - but he couldn't even afford a hot pot meal, how could he be a child of a rich family?

This intrigued Horsepower, and he turned the wheel without saying a word. Lit a cigarette for yourself. The boy watched his eyes in the rearview mirror, and he stole a glance at the boy, but retracted as soon as he touched his gaze.

"Wealth does not return to the hometown, like brocade clothes at night."

Suddenly, a sentence popped out of the boy's mouth, I don't know if it was an expectation or a mockery of horsepower? His heart trembled slightly, and the corner of his eye swept the boy, his expression was still calm, as if he hadn't said anything.

In the dark night, the horsepower drove fast on the elevated highway, and in half an hour he arrived at the gate of the villa area, and the boy got out of the car and grabbed the window and said, "You wait for me, I'll go home and get the money." ”

Ma Li casually threw away the cigarette butt, his eyes were in a trance, and before the boy returned, he turned the steering wheel and drove into the rainy night.

An hour later, the polo car stopped in front of an apartment, which was his rented house, littered with clutter, only the closet was spacious and clean, which was the most important face for him.

Ma Li turned on the computer and went online, found Nanming Senior High School on the school intranet, and enrolled in Class 2, which graduated in 1995, in 1992. He saw many familiar names, but not all of them were on the intranet, and not all of them were alive.

Sure enough, he saw the ID named "Affirmation"-

“I WILL BE BACK。”

Anyone who watched Arnold Schwarzenegger's "The Terminator" in the 90s of the 20th century understands it.

There are a few replies below –

"Dizzy, Teacher Shen? Isn't it a long time ago? ”

"Which bastard is playing a prank? Is it fun to make such jokes? Get lost! ”

……

Ma Ma registered the ID with his real name and replied at the bottom -

"Teacher Shen, if you're still alive?"

What if, are you still alive?

Three days later, Ma Li found that someone had added his QQ, which was also called "Statement", and added: "Ma Li, do you remember the teacher?" ”

He immediately passed the friend application and took the initiative to speak on QQ: "Who are you?" ”

Unexpectedly, the other party hid on the other end of the network: "Affirmation." ”

"Don't scare me in the middle of the night!"

The time in the lower right corner of the screen has reached 1:40 in the evening.

"It's so late, why don't you sleep?"

"Overtime! I'm preparing a financing report, and I have to go to the bank for a meeting early tomorrow morning, and I may have to stay up all night. ”

"Why are you so desperate?"

"Struggle!"

I also feel strange, why do you still talk so much to this ID? Maybe it's a prank or a psychopath.

"Mali, classmates look very tired when they see you, you have to pay attention to rest."

"Class reunion? A hot pot restaurant? Who are you? ”

Then, he listed several names, all of which were denied by the other party.

"If you don't believe me, why bother applying through my friends?"

"I don't know, I just miss him a little, and he's been dead for ten years!"

"I'm not dead."

"I've seen your body." Mali's fingers trembled on the keyboard, "At your memorial service." ”

"What am I like?"

"You're lying in a crystal coffin, with a strange look and a frighteningly white face, and they say you'll have to wear a lot of makeup to cover up your rotten face. The school said you killed the dean of students and forbade teachers and students to attend the funeral, and only I sneaked out. The memorial service was paid for by a middle-aged man, and he cried a lot in front of your coffin, but I helped him up. ”

"Thank you very much, Mr. Mali!"

The shadow of the tree outside the window was swaying, as if there were raindrops hitting the glass: "I watched you being sent to the crematorium, and the middle-aged man picked out your ashes with his own hands, and I cried a lot." Wrong! Why am I telling you this? You're not Teacher Shen! ”

"If I weren't Teacher Shen, I wouldn't have known that in your sophomore year of high school, you helped your table cheat in exams, charging ten yuan for each question, and after I caught you, you ran to my dormitory in the middle of the night to kneel down and beg for mercy."

Seeing this paragraph, the hairs behind the horsepower stood up, and this secret was only known to the two of them.

"Teacher Shen must have leaked the secret!"

"Do you think I'm that kind of person? That night, with tears in your eyes, you swore to God that you would never do anything like that again, and I promised you that you would never tell you about it. Later, when I secretly visited your home, I learned that your father was an alcoholic, and your mother made a living by running a street stall, and you worked outside every summer just to earn more money to support the family - I believe these secrets that you did not tell anyone in the school. ”

"Say no more!"

Ma Li will not forget until he dies - since then, Mr. Shen has subsidized 50 yuan from his monthly salary to Ma Ma as pocket money. At first, Ma Ma resolutely refused to accept it, but the teacher said that it was lent to him, and he would pay it back when he worked in the future, which helped him through the most difficult months.

In this life and in this life, he is grateful to the young head teacher for affirming.

The QQ dialog box keeps showing that you are typing: "In the first half of the third semester of high school, you suddenly found my dormitory, saying that you had a notebook left in the library, and wrote a lot of complaints to your classmates and teachers, you are afraid that you will be found by others tomorrow morning, and ask me to accompany you to get it back in the middle of the night, because I have the key to the library." So, I took you to the library and found the notebook. It was very windy that night, and the attic door was blown open, and we both were curious, so we climbed up to the small attic and found it full of dust and a lot of tattered old books. You picked a copy of Les Misérables and took it away. The moonlight shone outside the skylight in the attic, and a black cat passed by the roof, staring at us with round eyes. I remember you said that this cat seems to be possessed by a ghost, which is definitely not a good sign, maybe someone will die here. ”

Of course, Ma Li will not forget, the last sentence is word for word, affirming that even if he lives to this day, he may not have such a good memory, right?

"That tattered copy of Les Miserables has been hidden in my bedside table, but after you died, I burned it."

"You often flip through that book in the middle of the night with a flashlight, and you say that it contains love letters from past students, and that you have to keep it a secret. Horsepower, you don't know, I secretly opened your drawer, and carefully examined your "Les Miserables", and in the illustration of the Battle of Waterloo, there is a crooked pen line written - 'Anyone who reads this book will be doomed, either by a knife or by a needle!' ’”

"Teacher Shen, didn't I say that you are not allowed to touch my book! When I first saw that line, I was terrified and regretted stealing the book from the small attic. But I thought it was probably a prank by a student who borrowed books in the past, so I hid the book and didn't take it seriously. However, a year later, the curse came true and you were stabbed to death in the witch section! ”

"Yes, I died from a knife."

"So, I burned that book! Since then, I have felt an inexplicable fear of needles, and I feel sick to hear these two words. I don't go to the hospital when I'm sick and have a fever, and sometimes I can't afford to go to the doctor, even if I get an injection order, I turn around and tear it off. ”

"You're not married, are you?"

"My girlfriend talked a lot, and some rich women often took the initiative to seduce me, but none of them made it to the end." Ma Li felt that he was really crazy, why did he say all this, "Teacher Shen, are you really dead?" ”

"Didn't you watch me cremated?"

"Dizzy! You have been burned to a handful of ashes, how can you talk to me about QQ here? ”

"Horsepower, I'm right there with you."

"No, it's an illusion! You're just an imaginary person in my head! I think it's time for me to keep taking my pills! Hurry up and get out of my brain! ”

Over the years, Ma Li has been plagued by insomnia and dreams, and has also been to the hospital for check-ups, and has been taking antidepressant drugs.

"Do you think this is a domestic horror movie?"

"It's a real illusion! I'm going to take my pills! Take the medicine! Take the medicine! Take the medicine! Take the medicine! ”

The screen is already covered with the words "take the medicine".

"What medicine are you taking?"

"Let's meet and talk."

As he typed this line, horsepower's fingers were sweating.

"Okay."

"Can you guarantee it's you?"

Mali's mind was completely confused, and he thought it was a hallucination, but now he confirmed that he was talking to a dead man.

"If only I could tell all your secrets."

"Tomorrow afternoon, at four o'clock, at the gate of the Future Dream Building, if you really know me, you can meet me."

"See you or leave!"

The ghost of the statement disappeared from QQ.

Outside the window, the rain became heavier and heavier, reminiscent of the thunderstorm night on June 19, 1995, when he was killed.

Ma Li saw the black curtain again, and solemn mourning sounded all around, looking at the remains of the deceased - Mr. Shen was lying in the crystal coffin, as thin as before, but his skin had become much paler, and the makeup artist had put on more lipstick and foundation for him, and he looked disgusting. Only he boldly reached out and stroked the cold coffin, like a hard corpse. The glass suddenly opened, and the horsepower touched the dead man's face, and Shen opened his eyes, opened his mouth and bit his fingers......

What a terrible dream, he woke up sweaty, the window was already white, and he began to write his resignation report.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, Ma Ma came to the door of the Future Dream Building, the corner of his clothes was pulled, he turned around and saw nothing, and then lowered his gaze to see a boy's face.

hasn't forgotten this kid, in the hot pot restaurant at the class reunion, Ma Li paid for him and drove him back to the villa.

"Hello, horsepower!"

Looking at this impressively calm face, he was a little stammering: "You...... You? ”

"At four o'clock in the afternoon, at the door of the Future Dream Building, didn't you say that?"

"No, it can't be you, where is he hiding? Did you pay to hire you? ”

Horsepower shoved him away and looked around anxiously, as if a ghost lurked in the midst of the crowd.

"Don't waste your time, it's me!" The boy's expression was still calm, and he asked coldly, "What medicine did you take?" ”

The words made Ma Ma stunned, squinted at his face, and took two steps back in horror. The boy followed the tone of the statement, and even his voice was somewhat similar.

"Wait a minute—what did you just say?"

"Anyone who reads this book will suffer bad luck and die either from a knife or from a needle!"

"Shut up!" Mali's lips turned purple, he looked around and whispered, "Follow me." ”

The two came to Starbucks, where he ordered the boy a hot lemon and himself a cup of coffee.

"Tell me, who is behind the instructions for you to do this?"

"Affirm."

He held his chin and said interrogatively, "Little friend, what's your name?" ”

"Death."

He shuddered as he listened, and the boy explained, "Commander's Division, lookout." ”

"Oh, what a strange name. How old are you? ”

"Ten years old, after the summer vacation, I will be in the fourth grade."

"When Teacher Shen died, you weren't born yet."

Si Wang replied calmly: "Yes, I was born half a year after his death. ”

"And what do you have to do with him?"

"You can't imagine it—do you really want to hear it?"

"Say it! I'm not that patient. ”

In the noisy corner of Starbucks, he whispered in a faint voice in Mali's ear, "I am possessed by a declared ghost!" ”

He raised his head suddenly, looked at the boy in fear, and shook his head desperately: "Nonsense! ”

"Mr. Mali, please tell me again about the creative background of "In Memory of Liu He Zhenjun"? Ma Li, will you come with me to play basketball on the playground? Mr. Mali, are you responsible for collecting the exam papers today? Ma Li, what are we studying for? Read for the rise of China! Mali-san, have you forgotten the Dead Poets Society? ”

"Please don't say any more, Mr. Shen!"

The horsepower almost jumped up from the table, but he covered his ears with his hands, and he looked extremely painful.

Si Wang continued to say in an affirming tone: "Ma Ma, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I just wanted you to believe that I never left you, my dearest student. ”

"Affirmation, what's the matter with you? Who killed you back then? ”

"If I had known the answer, I am afraid I would not have become a lonely ghost."

Ma Li looked at him with a frown, first nodded and then shook his head, regretting it in his heart. He took a sip of coffee, and then returned to normal: "Have you been wandering all these years?" ”

"Yes, I floated and floated from Nanming Road, I saw a primary school student a few years ago, and simply rode on his back, you see that this child is always hunchbacked, which is pressed by me over the years."

The boy lowered his head in pain, showing that there was a weight on the back of his neck - it turned out that the Thai horror movie was real!

"Teacher Shen, don't come out in broad daylight to be scary!"

"I'm sorry, but if we meet at night, you don't know how you're going to be scared again." The child completely became a statement, his eyes and gaze were like that of an adult man, and even his smile was so weird, "When I was about to rest, the child named Si Wang came out, but when I wanted to speak, his brain would be completely occupied by me!" ”

"And how long are you going to stay? Wouldn't it be that if you catch the murderer, you will be out forever? ”

"Probably—yes."

"I think this kid named Siwang is quite pitiful."

"It's my fate with him, just like the fate between us."

Mali's face changed, and he knew that he was talking to a ghost, a ghost who was killed ten years ago: "Oh, yes, all these years, I also want to avenge you, trying to find the murderer, but to nothing." ”

"Thanks, how are you doing?"

"I just submitted my resignation report today, and I really can't stand the pressure of doing finance."

He picked up the tissue on the table and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Si Wang knocked on the table: "Hey, do you need my help?" You must know that the undead are omnipotent! ”

"How can you help me? Is my depression treated? Children? ”

"Can you get a new job?"

Ma Li looked at the boy with a serious expression and replied with a wry smile: "Don't tell me any tutors!" ”

"China's largest tutoring company, Erya Education Group, assistant to the general manager, with an annual salary of 600,000 yuan."

Si Wang's tone was slightly inspirational, and Ma Li shook his head blankly: "Don't be kidding. ”

"Do I have to let the headhunter officially come to you?"

Half an hour later, 28-year-old Ma Li and 10-year-old Si Wang walked out of the Future Dream Building. A BMW 760 drove to the side of the road and sped away with the lookout.

Ma Li watched the surging crowd in the twilight, everyone alive was busy on the road, not knowing that he was in a hurry to die, and the ghosts of countless people who had gone before him floated around him.