I also wondered if Lin and I would be a little too abrupt, but I still sat down next to the old woman and said hello to her. Lynn and I were a little apologetic and careful in our tone, but the old woman was just surprised.

Then the old woman took out pancakes and some steamed buns from her school bag and asked if we were hungry and could eat them if we didn't dislike them. The wrinkled smile on the old woman's face seemed to have a special kind of energy that could convey warmth, and I felt warm in my heart.

I said that we are not hungry, old woman, but we just want to ask you some questions, and I don't know if it is convenient for you to answer. The old woman said curiously, do you two young people still have questions to ask me as an old woman? I asked if it would be troublesome, and the old woman smiled lightly and shook her head, saying that it didn't matter.

The old woman looked down at the half-eaten bun in her hand, and said with some emotion, since the kid left with Ash, no young man has taken the initiative to talk to me.

"Ash?" Lin and I glanced at each other and immediately asked who Ash was.

The old woman smiled and said that it was a child she was going to visit now. After inquiry, I learned that Ash was a high school student, a boy, and had some intersections with the old woman before.

The old woman told us that there are not many places to go to this bus station, only two or three remote stops, and because of the distance, it is only two times a day. I've lived in Qianlong City for so long that I didn't know there was such a bus stop.

"There are a lot of people who don't know, and it's a normal thing, after all, this bus station is said to be scrapped at the beginning of next year."

"Who told you that?"

The old woman smiled and said that the driver told her, usually because she lives alone, she is very lonely, she likes to talk to someone, the bus driver, the proprietress who sells handmade lunches, and the cleaning staff who sweep the street, are the objects she often chats with.

I nodded silently, and the old woman looked a little regretful, saying that when this bus stop was abandoned, she would never be able to visit Ash again.

She is already eighty-seven years old this year, the day after tomorrow, and it is not surprising that she will die at any time. The old woman said that when people live to this extent, they have no regrets, and they often say that people don't want to die, but she has seen it thoroughly.

"This year...... Take a look at Ash as much as possible, this kid, he will think of grandma when he can't see grandma in the future, hey...... Of course, maybe he had forgotten about me a long time ago. ”

Lin and I didn't know what to say, and although the old woman kept a warm smile, the loneliness and sadness in her eyes were clear. I had never met this old woman before, but I could feel the warmth and warmth in her, just like family.

"But, whether the kid still remembers my old wife or not, I think he thinks about it......"

I watched the old woman talking, so I sighed softly and wiped my eyes, and silently asked her what kind of child Ash was. The old woman looked at me, then at Lyn, then smiled and asked if we would like to go with her to see Ash.

Fifteen minutes later, the bus came slowly - it was really a dilapidated bus, estimated to have been eliminated in Qianlong City a few years ago. And because the steps are too high, the old woman's waist is not good, and it is very difficult to lift her feet to get on the bus.

But as soon as the bus driver stopped the bus and walked down quickly, it seemed that he had come to help the old woman, and the old woman said hello to him, and said with a smile, Xiaozhuang, don't bother you today, there are two kind children who want to accompany me.

The bus driver was a middle-aged man with a flat head who looked very honest, he smiled a little shyly, touched his big flat head and got on the bus again. Lin and I helped the old woman to get on the bus and sit down, and as the bus drove to the terminal, she slowly told me about Ash.

"Ash...... This kid is really a good boy, a rare good boy. Hearing the old woman say this, Lin and I also smiled helplessly, and immediately asked her if she knew more details about Ash.

The old woman shook her head and said that she only knew Ash's name was Ash, and she didn't even know what his surname was, where Ash went to school, how old he was, and where he lived, and she had never asked about these things. But after thinking about it for a while, the old woman said that she remembered that Ash had told her that he was going to become a high school student next year.

“…… Old woman, when was the last time you and this kid named Ash met? Lynn asked.

"It must have been the summer of three years ago, right? At that time, Ash was often willing to come to me, but then he came less often, and ...... Every time I come here, I have some injuries on my body. ”

The old woman also sighed lightly when she said this. said that she grew up in a poor family and never went to school, and the most envious of them were those children who went to school. However, Ash had told her more than once that school life was not happy at all.

She asked Ash, is it because you hate studying? Ash tells her that he is at the top of his class and that no one can beat him in his studies. It has nothing to do with studying, he just doesn't like going to school and can't enjoy his life at school.

The old woman said that she also noticed that Ash might be bullied by his classmates at school, and she felt sorry for Ash and asked Ash if his parents didn't care about these things?

After a long time, Ash showed a reluctant smile and said, I don't have parents, I just live with relatives. The old woman likes Ash very much and is willing to help him, so she asks to go to school as Ash's guardian to help him talk to the teacher.

But in the end, the old woman didn't seem to be able to do this, because although Ash thanked the old woman for her kindness, she never responded positively to this matter.

Speaking of this, the old woman also seemed to sigh a little: "You don't know, this kid is not only kind, but also delicate-minded, I feel that the reason why he doesn't respond positively may just not want to hurt my heart." ”

Lin and I listened silently, and when the old woman finished speaking, I asked her how Ash was usually dressed. The old woman looked at her in bewilderment.

"I mean, old woman, do you think Ash like a child of a rich family?"

"That's not it, it's just a normal child, of course, I like Ash very much, but I just have to say it...... I don't think Ash is like the eldest young master of a rich family. ”

Lin and I looked at each other silently, both aware of the look in each other's eyes - this kid named Ash, I intuitively felt that he was related to Shenglan Private High School. Moreover, it is estimated that he is also the same commoner class child as Wang Dongcheng and Li Xiao.

Excellent academic performance, living environment under the fence, coupled with civilian status and kind and slender character, it would be strange if you were not bullied in the class. I don't think the young masters and ladies of the rich family will let go of such a "toy".

It's just that now I still have a doubt in my mind. If only it could be confirmed that Ash was a student in Class A of the third year, if it could be confirmed, Lin and I would have one more clue in our hands.

Along the way, listening to the old woman talk about Ash's deeds, I also learned that although the old woman had a close relationship with Ash, she didn't know much about him. On the one hand, the old woman is not the kind of gossip person, and on the other hand, I also feel as if Ash is deliberately hiding in front of the old woman.

Judging from the way the two people communicate, Ash seems to be very dependent on the old woman, anyway, in the eyes of the old woman, Ash is almost the image of a well-behaved and cute little grandson. If my assumptions so far are correct, it's likely that Ash was under a lot of pressure at the time.

Xiao Zhi played the role of an inflatable cylinder in the class, and was bullied by a group of rich young masters and young ladies at will, just like Wang Dongcheng, and the end must be very miserable. And in the face of the old woman, he relied on the object of trust very much, in fact, there should be no concealment.

However, Ash couldn't tell the story of himself and couldn't tell the old woman about the fact that he was being bullied inhumanly at school. Because of the excessive pressure, he was afraid to share this pain with others, and he was afraid that the old woman would treat him differently once she found out.

Ash's behavior is an action that people subconsciously take to protect themselves - split personality. When it comes to split personality, many people think of schizophrenia at the first time. But in fact, split personality also appears as a means of self-help in the subconscious.

I'm not a student of psychiatry and psychology and don't know much about it, but I've been interested in it since before. Especially in psychology, not only the books I have published, but also the research papers I have taken home and read. It was purely a hobby - but it didn't occur at the time that it would one day be used for reasoning.

In short, the split personality brings a hint of redemption to Ash. The personality at school is still the main personality, and it is also a personality full of despair and indifference. In order to minimize the damage he has suffered, closing his heart is his only option.

And after leaving the school covered in injuries, he could not find comfort when he returned home - it was not his home, but according to the law, the boss reluctantly adopted his stranger under the persuasion of the police.

Even, maybe if it weren't for the support money from the state, they might not have accepted Ash as a member of the family in the end. So the last place where Ash can get relief is the old woman.

According to the old woman, her encounter with Ash was purely accidental. She had a heart attack and collapsed on the street because she was uncomfortable, and no one paid attention to her, except for Ash, who ran over and carried her to the hospital desperately.

But she had no relatives and no money, and she should have left the hospital after she barely regained consciousness. Maybe it's a good retribution, because the old woman usually treats people kindly, there are countless small kindnesses, after learning that the old woman is sick, the residents pooled money to send her over.

The surrounding residents took the initiative to bear the medical expenses for the old woman, and from time to time there were residents who came to visit the old woman. Ash also belongs to one of them. The old woman said that Ash and she had no relationship before, but after he learned that he had no family, he ran to the hospital almost every day.

Over time, the old woman fell in love with the kind Ash, and when Ash came, she would eat coarse tea and light rice with him, and occasionally saved some money, and would take Ash to eat some good food, and when she was idle, she would also knit a sweater for Ash.