Before going to the United States, Ji Ran and I had a fight.

I met him in high school and sat at the same table, he was good at mathematics, physics and chemistry, I was good at language, history and geography, and was the scholar couple in the mouth of the younger sisters, we talked about love for ten years, from the age of sixteen to twenty-six, from two high school students to an accountant and a novelist, as everyone must die, there is no doubt that we love each other deeply, but at the same time, love is not the cure for everything, we will quarrel, and even do it when we are excited, when my aunt is still alive, I say that the two of us are used to being the pride of the sky, The bone on the back is as hard as it is, and there is no gene to bend over.

This quarrel is naturally for my work.

I'm a novelist, some people think it's a mysterious and elegant profession, but the elders think it's more of a jobless vagrant - in order to collect materials, I go to more than a dozen places a year, Ji Ran joked that I am a dragonfly and he is a lake, and there was a little anger and annoyance in the tone of the joke, and his parents asked him to lobby me to find a job as a civil servant, stabilize down, and stop running around.

Duh, what age is it, besides, I don't need his Ji family to eat, drink and travel, of course, the result is a big quarrel.

When I was waiting for the flight at the airport, I received a call from Ji Ran again, and when he learned that I was going to the United States, he jumped to his feet angrily: "If you have the ability, don't come back!" ”

I laughed at him: "Okay, Mr. President, then please remember to let the customs restrict my entry." ”

Then I turned off my phone, saw that it was still early, and took the book out of my backpack to pass the time.

The cover of the book is a portrait, written in small block letters, Cen Lili (1920.7.20-), the girl in the last century in the photo is very beautiful, with a small Peugeot goose egg face, Dai eyebrows like thin distant mountains, slightly curly hair bundle with a twisted braid on the chest, wearing a school uniform with a white shirt and black skirt, revealing a thin and round little arm, long white socks stepping on a pair of flat leather shoes with a round toe, guess it should be black or brown. The photo was taken in 1936, and this 90-year-old woman is only 16 years old in this photo, noble, beautiful, and a little girlish.

She is the purpose of my trip to the United States.

Not long ago, there was a news in the newspaper that Zhou Gongzi, the son of the former ship king, had died. Every day there are celebrities dying, from politics to business, before the end of the world, everyone scrambles to board the ship to occupy first class, and this former son of the ship king is just one of the many celebrities in the Republic of China, this news did not cause much sensation, but I am in my heart, I am a novelist, and I have a keen sense of smell for all legends.

And Cen Lili is Zhou Gongzi's ex-wife.

Yes, ex-wife, they divorced as early as 1949, and the reason for the love was lost in the dust, no one knows, I went this time to dig out this reason, and I want to use it as a blueprint to write a love story - maybe not a love story, in fact, I thought about it, I heard that Zhou Gongzi died, will Cen Lili have the pleasure of revenge, after all, she is his abandoned wife.

Cen Lili went to the United States in 1943 and never returned to China, living in Manhattan.

Uncle Chen came to pick me up at the airport, his face was black all the way, and the low pressure hovered overhead, not to blame him for neglecting the guests, it was really difficult for me to force him.

As far as I know, after 1953, Cen Lili has always refused to be interviewed, and this time I was fortunate to rely on Uncle Chen, to be precise, I blackmailed him with affection.

The first time I met Uncle Chen was at my aunt's funeral, he was my aunt's classmate and admirer when she was young, and it was at that time that I learned that my aunt actually knew Cen Lili's housekeeper. After Zhou Gongzi died, I used Uncle Chen's aunt's diary as bait to show him his aunt's life log, and finally he agreed to my interview with Cen Lili.

Before entering the door, he emphasized: "Don't mention the divorce between my aunt and the young lady, and don't mention the death of my aunt." ”

Zhou Gongzi and Cen Lili have been divorced for more than half a century, but in the Cen family, Zhou Gongzi is still called uncle, and Zhou Gongzi married another newcomer soon after the divorce, which is really sad and compassionate.

I promised again and again that if she really loved him, I really wouldn't provoke her with the two most painful things in her life.

As soon as I entered the living room, I was shocked.

It is like walking into the scene of the Republic of China drama, the most elaborate Republic of China drama group, the wheel of time is stuck here, and the people in this house will always live in the last century.

The stairs creaked, I looked up, and Uncle Chen came down with an old woman in his arms.

That's Cen Lili, if I'm not mistaken, she should be in her nineties, but it looks like she's seventy years old at most, time has stopped on her face, she's a peaceful old lady, and the best thing is that there is no smell of death on her body.

I stared blankly at her until she walked up to me and smiled at me.

This smile made the 90-year-old woman overlap with the 16-year-old girl in the photo.