In the early morning of Christmas, Zhou Xi was repainted with makeup, put on his favorite set of dresses, and sent to the Zhou family's mourning hall. Xia Qiuhong felt a violent throbbing pain in her heart when she thought that most of her daughter's first seven years had been spent in the coroner's room of the Public Security Bureau.

Today's Xia Qiuhong is dressed in black, and there is no makeup on her face. On this day, she was supposed to see a lot of relatives and friends, but she didn't have the slightest desire to dress up. She hadn't slept well in days, and even when she did, her dreams were full of her daughter's face. Between half-dreams and half-awakenings, Xia Qiuhong occasionally hears her husband's sorrow and her daughter's screams before she dies.

Presiding over the funeral is a heartbreaking thing, Xia Qiuhong would rather be alone in the pain of missing her daughter than be reminded of the fact of losing her daughter again and again at the funeral. But she can't deprive others of the right to miss her daughter, Zhou Xi is not only her own person, she is also the Zhou Xi in everyone's memory.

"It's a pity, please mourn and change."

"The world is impermanent, please mourn and change."

"Please take care of yourself and mourn well."

……

The word mourning and change sounds so concise and conveys the heart. But how can Xia Qiuhong fulfill people's wishes and mourn and change? Xia Qiuhong thanked again and again, and there was a black dress, black pants and black skirt in front of her, so that she didn't have time to tell who was who.

Although the couplets and wreaths sent were densely arranged, there were very few people present to mourn. Xia Donglan has been helping Xia Qiuhong take care of Zhou Xi's aftermath in the past few days, although she is also very sad in her heart, but except for some tears she shed in private, she has never cried in front of Xia Qiuhong. Xia Qiuhong's imminent tears flowed in her eyes almost all the time. Xia Donglan knew that if even she was crying, it would be even more difficult for her sister to persevere.

Last night, Xia Qiuhong, accompanied by her sister, took the phone book and reported the funeral one by one. It's just that Zhou Xi has been away from home for so long, Xia Qiuhong has almost forgotten what friends she has. As a result, her eyes turned red as soon as she picked up the phone book, and Xia Qiuhong at this time didn't know who she was calling first. In the end, at the suggestion of Bi Guofeng, who sent Zhou Xi's relics, Xia Qiuhong took Zhou Xi's mobile phone before his death, and reported the funeral one by one according to the mobile phone address book.

The process of making a phone call was long and embarrassing in Xia Qiuhong's eyes. She found that most of the people in her daughter's address book she didn't know except for some relatives, and finally she had to call them one by one. And it was only after these phone calls were connected that she realized how bad her daughter's usual interpersonal relationships were.

"Hey, hello. I am Zhou Xi's mother, you must have seen it on the news, Zhou Xi has suffered an accident to her, do you have time to attend her funeral tomorrow? ”

"Zhou Xi...... I'm sorry, auntie, I don't know Zhou Xi very well, so I ......"

"Hey, hello. I am Zhou Xi's mother, may I ask you...... Do you have time to attend her funeral tomorrow? ”

"Ah, I really regret my aunt, she is ...... at such a young age But I've been busy lately, so give me an address, and I'll send a wreath over......"

"Thank you. I think it's a pity that she will definitely ...... if she has knowledge under the spring."

"Hey, hello. I am Zhou Xi's mother, and our family Zhou Xi ...... her"

"Ah, Zhou Xi, I'm her good friend, what? You say she's dead? Wow, I just heard, that's it...... I take a look at my schedule. ”

……

Xia Qiuhong listened to Zhou Xi's "friends" shirk almost all night, and few of them even hid their indifference to her daughter. After a long time, Xia Qiuhong's tears began to pour out again. The modeling profession in her heart is so good and perfect, but how does she know how much her daughter has been looked down upon and squeezed by others in this workplace that she thinks is perfect.

As of noon today, Xia Qiuhong has received six people in the mourning hall: Zhou Xi's grandfather, grandmother, grandfather, grandmother, and husband's younger brother Zhou Jianmin and sister-in-law Qin Fang. However, in addition, Xia Qiuhong didn't even see a friend from Zhou Xi's old days. Xia Donglan received one courier after another in the same city outside the mourning hall, although there were more and more wreaths at the door, but every time he signed a name, Xia Donglan's heart became cold.

It was fast approaching noon, and the mage, who was reciting the scriptures, left the inner hall. Xia Qiuhong kept checking Zhou Xi's mobile phone before her death, and in the "boyfriend" entry in the address book, she hadn't passed it once since yesterday.

If Zhou Xi's friends, bosses and even colleagues have something to do and have no way to attend Zhou Xi's funeral, it is understandable. But why hasn't this closest boyfriend appeared yet? Xia Qiuhong flipped through the nearly 1,000 text messages that her daughter sent and received with her boyfriend before her death, and her heart became more and more uncomfortable.

Kong De arrived at Zhou's house in the afternoon, and he was also the seventh person to come to mourn Zhou. Originally, Zhou Xi's case was not the responsibility of Kong De, but he has always been the kind of person who has done an excellent job in façade relations, so this time, as before, he still bought a wreath and sent it over. He was joined by two subordinates Li Donghai, who had just graduated from the police academy. Although Kong De said to them that he would take him to see the process of solving the case, in fact, a large part of it was to share part of the money from the wreath.

After arriving at the Zhou family's mourning hall, Kong De and his entourage first bowed according to the courtesy, and then talked with Xia Qiuhong. After asking Zhou Xi's social circle before her death and the places she usually goes, Kong De still feels unsatisfied. So I took out the commonplace of today's apartment security conditions and the importance that the police attach to criminal cases.

Xia Qiuhong stood there with red eyes and a slight bow of her head, not having the slightest interest in what Kong De said. But out of the desire to catch the murderer as soon as possible, Xia Qiuhong still tried her best to support her spirit and listen to what the criminal policeman in front of her said.

Kong De lingered in the mourning hall for a long time, and in the face of the taciturn Xia Qiuhong, he felt a little powerless. What he said, it seems that it is difficult for Xia Qiuhong to listen to one of the ten sentences. So, after chatting for a while, Kong De left the mourning hall with two subordinates.

Coincidentally, when Kong De left Zhou's house and was about to get in the car to return to the bureau, he saw a familiar car coming this way in the distance. Kong De sat in his car and watched the car slowly stand under a tree next to Zhou's house, and then recognized from the license plate that it was Bi Guofeng's car.

"Why is he here?" Kong De stared at Bi Guofeng's car suspiciously.

"What's wrong, team leader?" Li Donghai asked.

"Look, that's Bi Guofeng's car."

"Isn't he in charge of the case? Isn't it normal to come and see your family? ”

"What do you know, these family members of Zhou Xi were all out of town on the day of the crime, so there was nothing to ask at all. Bi Guofeng is notoriously foul-tempered, and his family is a tool to solve the case in his eyes, and every time there is a homicide, he will inevitably offend his family. Li Hong said, "You said that everyone in the family has died, but he doesn't have a good word about being a policeman, and he asks everyone as a suspect, can you stand it?" ”

Li Donghai was silent, just staring at Bi Guofeng's car motionless. Not long after, Bi Guofeng got down from his Santanari and walked briskly to Zhou's house. He didn't hold a couplet or wreath in his hand, but only handed a thin letter of memorial when he greeted Xia Donglan at the door.

The deserted appearance in the mourning hall shocked everyone who came to mourn, even Bi Guofeng was no exception. After seeing Xia Qiuhong, Bi Guofeng didn't go up to talk to her, just silently bowed in front of Zhou Xi's body, and then left quickly. For him, instead of saying those soothing words to Zhou Xi's mother here, it is better to devote his time to investigating. Arresting the murderer as soon as possible is the greatest comfort to the family.

When leaving, Bi Guofeng glanced sideways at the huge number of wreaths and couplets at the door, and a trace of strangeness flashed in his eyes. Bi Guofeng thought to himself: Don't people even want to attend the funeral now? Bi Guofeng spit out a mouthful of phlegm on the way to go, and walked away.

When Kong De and Li Donghai saw this scene, they thought: Bi Guofeng is just like them, just to mourn the dead. However, the time to enter and exit was so short, but they were a little surprised. After waiting for Bi Guofeng to drive away, Kong De asked Li Dong to drive back to the bureau.

By the afternoon of this day, the Zhou family finally had several people come to mourn Zhou Xi one after another, including Liu Ruhong and He Gui. It's just that when Liu Ruhong and He Gui arrived at the mourning hall, the mage in the inner hall had already finished the recitation, and the group had already begun to prepare to go to the crematorium.

As soon as He Gui arrived at Zhou's house, he complained softly to Liu Ruhong: "Tell you not to do so many things, what wreath is not a wreath?" You see, this is good, you have to move the spirit. ”

When they received Xia Qiuhong's call last night, He Gui and Liu Ruhong were shocked. They thought that it would take some time before the investigation of Zhou Xi's case was over, but they didn't expect that it would be time to prepare for the funeral so soon. He Gui ignored Liu Ruhong's opposition and insisted on customizing a wreath at the funeral home. Although Zhou Xi only verbally promised them to help, and in the end, they didn't get any benefits because of Zhou Xi from Ma Datou, but they still had to do it on the scene. Therefore, after receiving Xia Qiuhong's call, Liu Ruhong was forced by He Gui to go to the funeral home to customize a good wreath. At noon today, I arrived at Zhou's house late.

After bowing in front of the mourning hall, Xia Qiuhong thanked her. Liu Ruhong made her feel very embarrassed, but when she thought that she might be her daughter's friend before her death, Xia Qiuhong didn't ask much. Before Liu Ruhong and He Gui came, there were also several pairs of men and women who came to mourn Zhou Xi, but none of them sent such a delicate wreath with such fanfare as they did. Xia Qiuhong thought to herself: These two people should be Xiao Xi's best friends.

In the inner hall, a man and a woman sitting on chairs bowed their heads and spoke. The woman crossed Erlang's legs and said, "I heard that Zhou Xi was raped and killed, and he didn't wear any clothes when the body was found, it's really embarrassing."

"Shhhh Didn't the police say it was rape and murder? Just naked death at home. The man raised an index finger on his lips.

"What, you just said good things for her, do you think you still like her?"

"How could it be, it's been so many years, and besides, it was when I was young, what do I like or dislike."

The woman still didn't give up: "But what's wrong with me saying that I died naked?" It's not rape and murder, could it be that when Zhou Xi was taking a bath, she suddenly broke into a person and killed her, so she didn't need to wear clothes? ”

The man pursed his lips and was about to answer, when a man and a woman walked in. The man had to stand up and say hello: "Hello, I am Zhou Xi's elementary school classmate, my name is Dai Cheng." ”

"Hello, my name is Ye Jingfang." The woman did not get up, but sat down in her chair and waved her hand.

"Well, she's a tablemate at Zhou Xi Primary School, and she came here this time."

"What, I just been her tablemate for a year, and I didn't mean to ......," Ye Jingfang didn't continue after saying half of his words.

The two people who came to the inner hall were Liu Ruhong and He Gui, and they saw that the two people in front of them looked intimate, like a couple, but they were polite when they spoke, and the other was careless.

Liu Ruhong stretched out her hand and shook hands with Dai Cheng and said, "Hello, my name is Liu Ruhong and I am an actor, and this is my agent He Gui." ”

"Actor, no wonder, that's a big star......" Dai Cheng heard the word "actor", and his eyes suddenly lit up.

Ye Jingfang, who was on the side, saw this scene, and kicked Dai Cheng's foot angrily: "Seeing a beautiful woman, saliva is about to flow out?" ”

Dai Cheng hurriedly denied it: "No, I'm not ......"

"It's not nothing, I've seen it all." Ye Jingfang lost his temper instead.

"You be quiet, this is Zhou Xi's mourning hall, ...... you are so noisy"

Hearing this, Ye Jingfang was like a dynamite barrel that was ignited in an instant, and she said loudly: "Why do you want me to shut up? I'm biased to say! If you hadn't called me, I wouldn't have attended this funeral, and what kind of classmates are you, elementary school classmates can be considered classmates......"

"Have you made enough trouble?" Dai Cheng finally couldn't help it and shouted loudly.

On the side, Zhou Jianshan's younger brother Zhou Jianmin looked at this scene and didn't know whether to come up and persuade him, he glanced at his wife Qin Fang beside him, but Qin Fang sat there and didn't have the slightest intention of persuading.

Although Xia Donglan was outside the door, she also heard the noise in the house, so she had to hurry into the inner hall to check the situation. Xia Qiuhong, who was standing next to the mourning hall, looked in a trance, what Dai Cheng and Ye Jingfang said just now, she heard it word for word in her ears, but she watched these two people messing around in her daughter's mourning hall, but she didn't have the slightest intention of wanting to stand up and stop it. Xia Qiuhong felt so tired and tired, she put one hand on the wall beside her, and her heart seemed to be stirring with countless steel drills. At this time, it was already so painful that I couldn't speak.

Dai Cheng and Ye Jingfang saw Xia Donglan come in, and closed their mouths at the same time, and the inner hall fell silent for a moment. Then Ye Jingfang stood up, squeezed in front of Xia Donglan, and ran out of the mourning hall quickly. When she passed by Liu Ruhong's side, she clearly saw tears in Ye Jingfang's eyes. Seeing this, Dai Cheng on the side whispered sorry and hurriedly chased out.

Liu Ruhong and He Gui stood aside and looked at each other, not knowing what to say. Xia Donglan asked Zhou Jianmin, who was sitting on the chair: "What happened just now, what are you arguing about?" ”

Zhou Jianmin pouted and asked Xia Donglan to ask his wife, but Qin Fang kept a straight face and didn't say anything. Liu Ruhong and He Gui were a little embarrassed to be caught in the middle, so they had to lower their heads and walk out of the inner hall.

Liu He and the others were supposed to seize the opportunity today to show their faces in front of the media that might appear, but after being at Zhou's house for so long, they didn't see the shadow of half of the reporter. While disappointed, He Gui even had the idea of leaving quickly. But just as the two of them were holding hands and walking out of the inner hall, Zhou Xi's mother beckoned to them and let them pass.

Liu Ruhong and He Gui walked in front of Xia Qiuhong and heard Xia Qiuhong say: "They all claim to be good friends of Xiao Xi, but which one of them is really here to pay tribute to Xiao Xi." The two of you are different, you must be Xiao Xi's best friend before his death. I really want to thank you here. Xia Qiuhong said as she spoke, tears falling again.

Liu Ruhong's face was slightly hot, and she was secretly glad that she had put on heavy makeup today, and her red face could not be seen from the outside. She quietly glared at He Gui, suggesting that they should leave now, otherwise they would have to die of shame.

He Gui knew what Liu Ruhong was thinking in her heart, Liu Ruhong was such a person, she would never be in charge, and she would only move when others spoke. He Gui thought to himself in his heart, if he left like this, even the money for that wreath would be spent in vain! But what are you doing here if you don't leave?

He Gui pulled Liu Ruhong aside and whispered: "The media is estimated to be still on the way, you had better stay with me for a little longer." ”

Liu Ruhong was a little reluctant in her heart: "But I feel so awkward, I'm really ......"

He Gui immediately frowned when he heard this: "The wreaths have been bought, and you have also come over." What's the reason not to be with you until the end? Besides, the media reporters haven't seen it yet. ”

"We come to pay tribute to Zhou Xi so purposefully, and it is too disrespectful to the dead. And Zhou Xi's mother just said that I was Zhou Xi's best friend before his death, and I was really embarrassed......"

"You ......" He Guiqi didn't fight in one place. Just as he was about to lose his temper, he suddenly heard another quarrel in the inner hall, and it was Xia Donglan and Qin Fang who made the sound.

"Look at it, you still put ice cubes next to Xiao Xi, thinking it's frozen seafood? We had so many funeral ceremonies, and we were not entertained with a good meal at noon, and we refused to spend even a table of money. I said that Xiao Xi was so pitiful, and he died unexpectedly, and in the end it was not you poor relatives who killed him. It's really wishful thinking to be a model first and then an actor later......"

"Shut up! You don't know if you say that it will offend the undead? Xiao Xi's body has always been kept at low temperature, do you know what will happen without ice cubes? It's a pity if Izumishita knows......"

"Xiao Xi, if Izumixia knows, I will definitely blame you for making her funeral so bad, since it is going to be frozen, why don't you get a freezer, you are called offending the undead! Poor and sour, I've heard that Xiao Xi was raped and killed, so don't talk about the ancestral grave, when you bury it, you have to bury it farther away! ”

"Bang" Liu Ruhong heard a crisp sound from the inner hall, as if someone had been slapped in the face. Then I heard only the shrill scream of a woman, and the sound of scolding mixed in. The whole mourning hall was in a commotion all at once.

Xia Qiuhong was angry, and while shedding tears, she broke into the inner hall, and said in a dumb voice: "Have you quarreled enough, can you look at Xiao Xi's face, don't say it again!" Several people in the inner hall were suddenly silent, and stood in place in a daze, only Qin Fang looked at Xia Donglan with half of her face red and hateful.

A group of people, either pouting or silent. How did Liu Ruhong and He Gui know what the inside story of the Zhou family's discord was. But being able to make a lot of noise at the funeral must not even have a good relationship on weekdays.

Ten minutes later, it was finally time to move Zhou Xi's body to the crematorium. Liu Ruhong and He Gui went in the same car as Zhou Xi's family, but they didn't see Qin Fang and Zhou Jianmin again. After arriving at the crematorium, the person who carried the spirit became Grandpa Zhou Xi, who was almost 80 years old.

When she arrived at the gate of the crematorium, Xia Qiuhong made a phone call to the hospital, and if she could, Xia Qiuhong certainly hoped that her husband would be able to see her daughter for the last time. But the doctor told her that Zhou Jianshan was still in a coma and did not wake up.

Only Zhou Xi was cremated that afternoon. After Xia Qiuhong's family entered the side hall, the mage recited the last scripture, and everyone stood in front of Zhou Xi's body to say goodbye to her one by one. At this time, Liu Ruhong also looked very solemn, but He Gui was still glancing at the door from time to time, expecting a person holding a camera or camera to appear and take this picture.

After that, at Xia Qiuhong's insistence, several elders of the Zhou family were invited out. In addition to Xia Qiu Hong, there was only Xia Donglan who was holding her tightly. The scene of the white-haired man sending the black-haired man was too heavy for them, and even Liu Ruhong took the initiative to withdraw from the room where the crematorium was located.

What Xia Qiuhong didn't expect was that from being pregnant for ten months, giving birth to a cherish, and then nurturing her to grow into a slim big girl, it took so much effort for her and her husband. But in the furnace in front of her, in just a few blinks of an eye, her daughter turned into ashes.

Originally, the work of collecting ashes should have been done by Zhou Jianshan, but now it can only be replaced by Xia Qiuhong. Together, even the pain that should be shared by her husband can only be borne by Xia Qiuhong alone.

When she came out with Zhou Xi's ashes, for a moment, Xia Qiuhong felt that she was still holding her daughter in the palm of her hand, just when she was a child, she was just born, she was holding her in the delivery room, and the weight was not much different from the box of ashes in her hand.

When he came out of the crematorium room, a group of elders outside came up to comfort him. Xia Qiuhong's eyes were red, and she didn't speak or respond. She was still holding her daughter in her hands, but it felt so far away.

The cemetery where Zhou Xi was buried is in a cemetery near the Lianhe Bridge. He Gui, accompanied by Liu Ruhong, gritted his teeth and followed, but they never saw any trace of the media. Impatience has always filled He Gui's heart, but he can't lose his temper like that Ye Jingfang and leave. He Gui's brows were tangled in one place, and his face was surrounded by a dark cloud.

Liu Ruhong looked at Xia Qiuhong's red face, and for the first time understood what it meant to have a dead heart. She wanted to say a few words of comfort, but she couldn't open her mouth. Liu Ruhong felt that the energy on Xia Qiuhong's body seemed to be sucked dry by something, and no matter what she said, she would not get a response.

After Zhou Xi was buried, several young people in the crowd seemed to have received amnesty, and the expressions on their faces finally came alive. They seemed to be reluctant to put on a sad face with Xia Qiuhong. At this time at the end, it was finally time to take a breath of relief. One of them suggested that this meeting should be used to find a place to have a big drink. A few people next to him hesitated when they heard this, but they couldn't stand the pouting, and finally agreed.

Liu Ruhong and several elders of the Zhou family hugged Xia Qiuhong, muttering comforting words in their mouths. Liu Ruhong has never hugged such a thin body, and Zhou Xi's mother in front of her is not so much a person as a walking skeleton. The moment they embraced, Liu Ruhong even felt the outline of Xia Qiu's red bones.

Zhou Xi's family members left the scene one after another, leaving only Liu Ruhong and He Gui still by Xia Qiuhong's side. At this time, He Gui still did not give up, he stood in the distance and kept looking around, trying to find a reporter. He Gui even wondered if the media had sent paparazzi to hide in the dark and take pictures secretly, so he didn't find any trace of the media. He would never believe that the case of Zhou Xi's naked death a few days ago had attracted so much attention that the media would be indifferent to her funeral.

Xia Qiuhong took Liu Ruhong's hand and said in a hoarse voice: "Child, thank you for being with me until now, thank you very much." We must have been taken care of a lot by you during our lifetime, right? ”

"Where, this is what I should be, we have been taken care of by Sister Xi before......"

"Really? I thought it was our family who was taken care of. Can you tell us how you met? ”

"This ......" Liu Ruhong and Zhou Xi's acquaintance was just a simple exchange of interests, although she was grateful to Zhou Xi, but the relationship between the two was not close, and they came to attend Zhou Xi's funeral today with another purpose. was asked by Xia Qiuhong like this, Liu Ruhong was speechless for a while.

Xia Qiu's red and dark eyes looked at Liu Ruhong suspiciously, she didn't know why Liu Ruhong felt that her question would be difficult to answer. She tried to ask herself why, but she couldn't find an answer.