I went back to the basement in a daze, feeling dizzy and weak, and a black wild cat crouched on the long table, meowing, as if to complain about why I had not returned.

"Go away, go away."

I frowned, chased the cat away, opened the cupboard again, took out the remaining bean paste bag, broke a small piece, and threw it on the ground.

The black cat walked over lightly, sniffed the crumpled dough with its nose, and then squatted on the ground and looked at me in a daze.

"You're greedy."

I cursed softly, rummaged through the cupboard again, and saw half a roast chicken in a white porcelain plate, I took it out, walked to the bench, and slowly sat down.

"I'll feed you this time, you won't come in the future, do you understand?"

I looked at the black cat, as if talking to myself, and like a silent chok, this courtyard full of laughter and brilliant lights, now I am the only one left to enjoy in the suffering, nervous, as if those once beautiful things have turned into air overnight, drifting away without a trace.

The Tianzhu laurel in the courtyard is growing more and more luxuriant, and the lush canopy of the trees is like a big green mushroom, blowing in the evening breeze, swaying gently, like a warm cradle, telling the story of the distance in this silent night.

The black cat's meow brought my ethereal thoughts back to reality, and I put my plate on the floor, stood up, and lit a cigarette.

I spit out a cigarette, shook my head helplessly, and sighed softly: "The moon bends on Kyushu, a few families are happy and a few are sad, life is like this, why not animals." ”

Brother Scumbag and Qin Li sent me WeChat messages to report safety, I laughed bitterly a few times, yawned, only felt that I was extremely tired at this time, stood up, and walked back to the basement listlessly, I didn't bother to take off my clothes, so I fell on the bed and fell asleep.

In a trance, I felt as if I was at a wedding scene, where the lights were bright and magnificent, the men were wearing black dresses and dignified appearance, and the women were wearing long white dresses.

The music sounded, the lively and beating melody carried them to dance, and the clothes fluttered, and in this dreamlike hall, a dazzling waltz was staged.

Xue Xinyan appeared, she was wearing a white wedding dress, like a fairy who does not eat fireworks in the world, through the crowd, walking on the high platform, her beautiful eyes are longing, she is blue-hearted, tactful, and her delicate and impeccable cheeks reveal a touch of shyness, which is the color of happiness, and the intoxication and charm of falling into the sea of stars.

"Xin, Xinyan..."

I walked briskly, full of joy and smiles, but she ignored me, and just looked down like a high empress, exuding an intransmissible majesty with every movement.

I tried to take her hand, but I was like air, and I went straight through her.

"Xinyan, Xinyan, did you hear that?"

I cried out hoarsely, and a sense of fear that I had never felt before instantly hit me, leaving me with grief and tears.

The white wooden door of the hall was pushed open, and a man slowly walked in, and everyone bowed their heads and bowed as if to greet their own king, and everyone's face showed infinite respect and humility.

I saw that the man, wearing a black suit, combed a neat and parted short hair, thick eyebrows, indifferent expression, deep eyes as shining as the morning star, a high nose bridge with just the right thin lips, like a handsome fairy who came out of an ink painting, with a dusty temperament, tall and tall, incomparable.

My eyes widened and my heart was terrified, looking at the man walking slowly, I took a few steps back and exclaimed, "This, isn't this me?" ”

On the corner of Xue Xinyan's mouth, a proud smile rose, she clenched her hands tightly, as if waiting for this moment to come, she had already done everything, she stepped off the high platform, held the man's hand, and kissed each other affectionately and happily.

"It's not you, stop dreaming."

A vague voice sounded behind me, and I hurriedly turned around and whispered, "Who, who's there?" ”

"Hahahaha..."

With a burst of mournful laughter, all the figures in the audience gradually dissipated like a mirage, like a human comedy, and in an instant, they disappeared without a trace, leaving no trace.

In the darkness, a purple-red light flashed, and the shadowy lines, like mottled and rough bark, slowly converged, took shape little by little, and finally transformed into a delicate and slender figure.

"Wang Ling?"

I looked at her in shock.

She walked up to me with a calm and relaxed attitude, and said with a smile: "Wang Tao, are you very happy when you see your own shadow?" ”

I squirmed my lips, but I couldn't speak, just frowned and danced.

Wang Ling smiled and said lightly: "But that Wang Tao is not you, you may be happy too early." ”

I slapped myself, but I didn't feel the pain, the feeling that life was worse than death, made me start to get anxious, I raised my eyebrows coldly, jumped like thunder, wanted to catch her and ask for an understanding, but just walked in front of her, she sneered, slowly floated in the air, looked at me and said: "This is so real, and so false, a thought of heaven, a curse, I can give you an empire that everyone envies, enjoy the glory and wealth, and spend the rest of your life in peace, or you can go to hell, suffer all the pain, and not be able to live beyond life." ”

Her face was sinister and treacherous, and her face was hideous, like a messenger of hell, a soul of people, a dark owl.

When she saw that I was glaring angrily and her face was crimson, she whispered, "Then it's time to choose." ”

A gorgeous ring fell from the sky, and the blinding light made me unconsciously turn sideways.

"With a ring, you can have everything you dream of, and if you throw away the ring, you lose everything, even if you have already gotten it, or what you have pursued, dreamed of, and longed for."

When she saw that my expression was gloomy and uncertain, she said with pity, "What's so difficult about this, just choose." ”

I clenched my fists, only to feel that there was an irrepressible force in my body, slowly surging into my body, I walked to the floating ring, picked up the ring, and glared at Wang Ling fiercely, without thinking about it, I threw it out.

"Good."

Wang Ling looked at me contemptuously, and her cheeks, which seemed to be smiling, had been distorted to the point of being unrecognizable.

Suddenly, a silver chain flew over me with a rattling sound, and the chain flew like a silver snake above my head, and I frowned, unable to understand what this strange thing was trying to do to me.

The chain was like a difficult rope, and after a moment of circling it, it bound my body tightly in it, and after a few shrill laughs, Wang Ling disappeared into the dark corner, without a trace.

I struggled hard, screaming, rolling, but I couldn't break free from the shackles, and the heavier and heavier breathing woke me up in my dreams.

Sweat soaked through my clothes, and a pillow pressed against my neck, making it difficult for me to breathe.

I opened my eyes and found myself lying on the ground, and the black cat had come into the house at some point, crouching beside me and meowing.

I threw the pillow onto the bed and slowly stood up, the black cat rubbing its head against my trouser leg as if to thank me for feeding its belly.

"Why are you here again?"

I bent down to pick it up, I had no intention of keeping a small animal, and wanted to throw it out, but as soon as I opened the door, I heard a rattling sound in the yard.

I held my breath, the sound was very similar to what I had heard in my dream, and the black cat barked at an inopportune time, and I hurriedly pinched its mouth, and went to the corridor lightly, listening carefully to the movement in the courtyard.

The sound of the bang sounded again, and I thought to myself, could it be that a thief had entered the courtyard to steal?

Holding the cat, I took a few more steps forward to the entrance to the basement and peeked out.

I saw a black shadow squatting next to Brother Scumbag's board car, as if he was driving the rusty lock, this board car is a tool for Brother Slag to transport clothes, and no one has touched this car since he pushed it back.

In the dark, the figure seemed very agitated, I don't know how long he had been here, but I was sure that this person was definitely not a scumbag, but a thief.

I put the cat on the ground, and the black cat jumped on the table, barked twice, jumped up the wall, and disappeared.

The thief was so frightened that he turned around, looked warily behind him, and when he saw that there was no one, he let out a long breath and continued to look down and study the lock.

"Hey, what's the matter?"

I suddenly shouted loudly, and the sound resounded throughout the courtyard, so frightened that the thief was so frightened that he almost fell to the ground.

He stood up, glanced at me, and then turned and ran towards the courtyard gate.

"Don't run."

I chased after him, he seemed to be overly frightened, and like a caged beast, completely confused, leaving the hospital and turning right is a dead end, if I run to the right, then I will catch him effortlessly.

But he ran wildly to the right, and I sighed lightly, crossed my waist, and stood at the gate of the courtyard, watching him perform a wall-climbing trick.

He stood in the corner of the courtyard and looked at me with a desperate face, but in a moment, he rushed towards me as if he had lost his mind.

I raised my vigilance, clenched my fists, and at the moment when he was about to run in front of me, I punched him in the face, he snorted, took two steps back tremblingly, covered his bleeding nose, and couldn't speak.

"Come on, come on."

I hooked my fingers and motioned for him to come over.

He looked at me with a fierce look on his face, which made my scalp tingle and my back cold.

I could see his face through the street lamp on the corner, he was about seventeen or eighteen years old, thin, short, shaved hair, and had a few pimples on his face.

"Come here, I won't hit you."

I frowned and stared at him intently.

He hesitated for a moment, covered his nose and walked over slowly.

"Why steal?"

I pressed one hand on his shoulder, and the skinny touch made me feel a little guilty about him, and if I had just tried my best, I guess this boy would have been beaten to the hospital.

"Because of lack of money."

I thought to myself, who would steal if there is no shortage of money, and I asked in a low voice, "You can't be a thief if you lack money, how old are you?" ”

"Eighteen."

He muttered, and after glancing at me, he bit his lower lip tightly, as if there was an indescribable bitterness in his heart, unable to speak, unable to let go.

"Are you still studying?"

I put my hands in my trouser pockets and continued to interrogate him.

He was silent for a moment, then shook his head, a crystal clear tear shining in his dull eyes.

I sighed lightly, looked at him and said, "You go, don't come out to steal in the future, now there is surveillance everywhere, you are so young, do you want to go to prison?" ”

He choked up and said, "My girlfriend thinks I'm poor and I'm good with someone else, so I want to save some money to buy her a gift, what's wrong with that?" ”

"Fuck, you're wrong."

Hearing his statement, I instantly jumped like thunder, grabbed him by the collar, and said coldly: "Just because of this, you came out to steal something?" Just because he bought a gift for a stinky woman who hates the poor and loves the rich, he doesn't even care about his reputation? You've lived all your years in vain. ”

The more I talked, the more excited I became, and with a little force, I pushed him to the ground and kicked him hard.

He curled up on the ground like a shrimp, letting out a few painful wails from time to time.

"Stand the for me."

I grabbed him by the clothes again and dragged him up.

"Get out, get away, and don't let me see you in the future."

The boy's teeth chattered, and he looked at me with trepidation, and he wiped the blood from his nose and muttered, "I, I didn't do anything wrong. ”

"Get out."

I kicked him in the ass, and he groaned and ran away without looking back.

I panted back to the yard, sat on the bench and lit a cigarette, was a little big by my own inexplicable anger, life is, taste the blandness of firewood, rice, oil and salt, laugh at the ups and downs of the ordinary, life is varied, mixed tastes, just like the boy just now, he has his own pursuit and yearning, even if he is humble, he is self-inflicted, bear alone, life is not to win sympathy by tears, but to win applause by sweat.

Sitting in this quiet and somewhat flustered courtyard, I am the only one who deeply remembers, the passing time, the youth that can't be grasped, and the intersection of those experiences in the past, all in this courtyard, slowly precipitating, gradually taking shape, this shape is becoming more and more clear, I gave it a harmless name, called forgetting.