On January 20, there are only three days before the Spring Festival. The streets of Shanghai began to become deserted, and the exotic population joined the army of returnees, leaving behind both the proud and the unexpected.

He Tiantian was sitting in the Starbucks in Xujiahui, and she was waiting for someone.

She just got off the plane the day before yesterday, and her mother told her that her uncle's health has improved a lot, and since the divorce from her aunt, her uncle's condition has been getting better and better. Life as a student is not easy, and her goal is to finish her PhD and finally find a chance to stay abroad. Now while going to school, I have found a part-time job on the Champs-Elysées, working as a shopping guide in a French watch shop, and I meet all kinds of people every day, most of course, Chinese, Chinese, from the north and south of the motherland, while witnessing the increasing purchasing power of domestic tourists, while their social circle is also growing. And she finally realized that this was not something she could easily fit into. French is only learned from the second year of graduate school, even if there is no communication barrier, but the accent is very strong, the living customs are also different, the world-famous French food, by no means poor international students can afford to consume home-cooked food, and the Chinese stomach is not a Western-style fast food can conquer. Even in a cosmopolitan city like Paris, it ends up being so out of place with itself. But, the rewards are huge. She completed her studies very smoothly, had a good relationship with her teachers, and had a good salary for her part-time job, so she was able to cope with her daily life. Her focus is gradually on part-time work, and it will take more than two years to graduate from her doctorate, which seems to be far away.

With her own social circle, she will be active in the circle of international students during the holidays, lingering in several European countries. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Germany, France, Italy, and Switzerland have all set foot in it, but the more I understand it, the more I miss Shanghai. Before the winter vacation arrived, she couldn't help but ask her mentor for leave. The owner of the watch shop is a little unhappy, the Spring Festival is the peak season, and without a cash cow, there will be no one to entertain those Chinese aunts. After getting off the plane, before entering the house, Xiao Yang Shengfang, who carried his luggage to the vicinity of his home, ate four raw fried dishes in one go, and went home satisfied. In the evening, I actually found that the Dongguan Adventure Chronicle male No. 1 camel a few years ago left a message for me, although I was a little happy, but I immediately found that he was inquiring about his uncle, and his enthusiasm suddenly cooled down. remembered the annoying experience of the villain Scarface calling him in Dongguan Adventure half a year ago, and he was even more angry. So I thought to myself, since you want to know so much, why don't I tease you. However, she also wanted to know in her heart why these people from Dongguan actually wanted to inquire about her uncle's surgery, and she asked her uncle, who told her to "rest assured, my uncle has not done anything wrong." ”

Looking at her watch, there were still twenty minutes before the agreed two o'clock, and she began to have a fever all over her body, and her heart was beating faster and faster.

"What's the big deal, he doesn't dare to eat me! This is Shanghai, not Dongguan! It's really coming, it's a damn ......"

After more than ten minutes, He Tiantian stood up and moved, and went to the bar to order a cup of Americano. After letting the waitress finish and taking her seat, she took advantage of the remaining minutes to go to the bathroom to make up her makeup. pouted at the mirror, and said no, don't make these head-scratching postures, and try to tighten your face, secretly scolding yourself for being serious like a dead person, or smile, smile is not wrong, this I am the best, try to put on a professional smile, that is the French boss taught me, to show a little teeth, but the mouth shape can not be too exaggerated, otherwise the nasolabial folds are too obvious, and easy to show the gums, the eyes can not smile too narrowly, so that the originally small oriental eyes will look very small, try a few times and feel ugly, have to give up, take a deep breath and look at yourself in the mirror, "Don't be so unproductive, okay?" It's like a blind date. Go~ What's the big deal! He washed his hands and went back to his seat. In the distance, I saw a broad back, sitting opposite my position. From the back, the hair is a bit messy and a little long. He was turning his head to look out the window.

Sitting in his seat, the person across from him looked up. It's him! But almost the same person as two years ago, the skin has become very white, the forehead is covered by hair, the beard looks like it hasn't been shaved for a long time, it is dark and messy, the cheeks are sunken, the bridge of the nose and cheekbones are higher, only the eyes with long black eyelashes like camels have not changed, and the two dark and bottomless eyes inside. He was dressed casually, but he looked very thin, with a black jacket over a T-shirt. Even though the face is thinner, the width of the shoulders continues unabated, but it is limited to the shoulders. He looked skinny, and she believed there must be a perfect inverted triangle under his t-shirt.

At this moment, those dark and bottomless eyes were staring at her, even after two years, she didn't feel that he was half less aggressive. Some people are like that, and most people will still be dwarfed in front of them without the need for fine clothes.

"It's amazing, I know it's this position!"

"I need your help."

"You've come all the way here, I can't help you."

"Thank you so much."

"You're coming alone?"

"Or else?"

"Girlfriend? Wife? Wife? He Tiantian smiled and said exaggeratedly.

"Nope."

"Oh, my uncle is going to have an operation, and you guys are going to check it. What's wrong? Just because I left a phone call? Shouldn't it? ”

"Remember the girl you saw that night? The day before you left Dongguan, we had dinner at a Hunan restaurant. ”

"Which? I remember two big beauties, one tall and thin, who was Lu Chengwu's ex-girlfriend. The other one...... Supposedly, it's yours. ”

"Chen Jing, she was killed two years ago." Chu Li turned around, took a newspaper from his backpack, and handed it to He Tiantian, who was full of shock.

The newspaper was a little old and a little wrinkled. The other pages have been cut out, leaving only an A3-sized edition, half of which is occupied to account for the tragedy of the time. He Tiantian hesitated to take it, as if it was a heavy memory that had nothing to do with him, but was absolutely sad.

Chu Li saw that the cup of coffee gradually disappeared in front of him, and the foam on the surface burst one by one, gradually becoming calm and peaceful, and a thin film with tension was quietly forming. The café was full of people, most of them just left, the glass doors opened and closed, and the cold wind outside was like a tidal wave.

"This ...... Does it have anything to do with my uncle? Don't you scare me? He Tiantian's face was pale, and his voice changed tone.

"I'm not a police officer, and I just want to figure out one thing. Don't worry, since all the formalities of your uncle are reasonable and legal, naturally it has nothing to do with this. I just want to talk to him, in fact, you can pass the word through you, but it's better to talk to him directly. If you can arrange it, thank you. ”

"What if I don't arrange it?"

"Then I'll go find him myself." Chu Li said expressionlessly.

"Don't, I'll tell him." He Tiantian changed his attitude, "You are different from the previous gang, and besides, they didn't mention it!" The group of people He Tiantian mentioned were naturally Dai Qiang and Xiao Liu.

"Thank you." Chu Li took the newspaper back and put it in his bag. "Can you not arrange it as soon as possible? I'm going back to Wuhan. “

"Go back for the New Year?"

Chu Li nodded, lowered his head and packed his backpack. He Tiantian saw that the backpack was very large, with a big sports brand logo on it.

"Did you buy a train ticket? It's not good to buy at this time. “

"No, when I see your uncle, I'll go to the train station."

"You can't buy it temporarily. Now it's all online. “

"Is there an internet café around here? I went to the Internet café to order and watch. “

"Internet cafes? I don't know how old it is. Or ......"

"No, I'll do it myself. You can help me arrange a meeting with your uncle. Please be sure to help. ”

"Leave me the phone number." He Tiantian took out a piece of sticky note paper and a pen.

After He Tiantian saw Chu Li come out of the café, he immediately called Zhang Shicheng. After making an appointment to meet, He Tiantian took a taxi to Zhang's house. My aunt is gone, and it is more comfortable and natural to enter Zhang's house by myself. Uncle has a good complexion, and it can be seen from his dress that he has just finished exercising. The hair has returned to gray and black from before, and the dark circles under the eyes have disappeared.

"Tian Tian, how did they find you about this?"

"What are they?"

"Dongguan police."

"It's not the police looking for me. Uncle, you love me so much, tell me the truth, you didn't do anything bad. ”

"Even you don't believe me?"

"I believe in you. I'm just going to make sure, because I've seen the victim of that case in Dongguan. ”

"My kidney, although also from the black market, is from the Philippines. The source cannot be found, but all the procedures are complete, and I fully cooperate with the police investigation. But I won't spend too much time on this, definitely not anyone from Dongguan. ”

"That's good. That's good. “

"You said it wasn't the police looking for you, so who is that?"

He Tiantian told him about Dongguan again, focusing on Chu Li.

"It's your savior, I see. Is he the girl's boyfriend? ”

"As far as I know, not. It's a friend. ”

"You said that the dead girl was Lu Chengwu's girlfriend in Dongguan?"

"Yes, after coming to Shanghai, Lu Chengwu's family didn't let her in."

"This kid is really not human, but fortunately you broke up with him." Zhang Shicheng said as he turned his head to look out the window, "He doesn't deserve you at all." “

"I was too young to understand."

"This kid also hooked up with each other in my company later, I knew that he broke up with you, and he also turned a blind eye, and then he couldn't get mixed up by himself, and he was notorious. Now it seems to be in a French company. The Dongguan girl had an accident shortly after breaking up with him, and you can see who he is. ”

He Tiantian didn't want to answer this question, and of course she didn't know the answer. "Uncle, can you meet my friend tonight? He just wants to talk to you. “

"What is there to talk to me about?" Zhang Shicheng spread his hands and looked at her with a somewhat embarrassed look, "Come on, I'll see and see, can you come along?" ”

"Not really, right?"

"He's your friend, you have to watch him." Zhang Shicheng smiled and said, "Besides, what if someone wants to kill me?" ”

"That's not it, there's still a favor, can you help?"

Zhang Shicheng pointed his finger at He Tiantian's nose and said with a smile, "Just ask me if you don't buy New Year's goods for me, just let me help!" Settle accounts with you after autumn. ”

Chu Li finally found an Internet café, and it took a lot of time to register. But he found that it was impossible to book tickets for the day after tomorrow online, and all train trips were ticket-free. There are still buses from Shanghai back to Wuhan. At this time, the mobile phone rang, and He Tiantian told him an address.

"What's wrong with you, young man?" The driver looked at Chu Li, who was curled up, and asked with some concern.

"It's okay, keep driving."

"You're going to the hospital."

"No, no, thank you." Chu Li took a sip of water and sat up straight. I suddenly panicked. Recently, my stomach hurts, like glass slag in my intestines.

A light rain began to fall outside the window, the road was very clean and ridiculously wide, and the taillights on both sides of the car threw out a tracer bullet-like light, and a strange tiredness that betrayed his thoughts made him fall asleep.

"Wake up, lad. It's here!" The driver shook his shoulder, he glanced out the window, a conspicuous signboard with big gold letters - Dexing Pavilion, he paid the money and walked into the hotel with his bag on his back. He Tiantian and a man who looked to be in his forties stood at the bar. The man looked him up and down carefully, and came over to greet him very friendly, and He Tiantian introduced that this was Zhang Shicheng.

Chu Li shook hands in a friendly manner, and the man walked in front to lead the way. Suddenly, another sharp pain came from the abdomen, and it could no longer be supported, and beads of sweat the size of beans came out of his forehead. He vaguely heard someone shouting, "Sir, are you alright?" ”

When he woke up, it was late at night, and under the hazy moonlight, Chu Li found himself lying on a mattress covered with a white almost glowing mattress, covered with a hard white cotton sheet, and the room was unusually warm. When he tried to get up, there was a dull pain in his abdomen, and he reached out and felt for a soft layer of gauze. His clothes had been changed, and there was obviously a wound on the right side of his abdomen, and when he moved, he was in pain. His head was dizzy, and he tried his best to remember, but he didn't remember anything except the waiter's panicked face. He looked around, could this be a hospital? What about the wound? He struggled to sit up, and he also had gauze in his hands, which should have been infused. He finally felt a switch, turned on the light, and saw that there were also people sleeping in the hospital bed next door, and there were three people sleeping in this room, including himself. In order not to wake up others, he immediately turned off the light, but struggled to stand up, his right leg was weak, so he had to hold on to the bed and grit his teeth and walked to the corridor, not far from the nurse's station with the lights on, there was a young nurse on duty.

"Why are you up?" The nurse put down her phone and stood up to look at him.

"I ...... What's going on? ”

"What's going on? Haven't you had anesthetics yet? No way, you've slept for more than a day. The nurse came over with a thermometer.

"What's wrong with me?"

"You had appendix surgery the night before. Don't you remember anything? ”

Another nurse came out of the pantry, looked fat, and said calmly, "He has acute appendicitis, which leads to septic shock." He came in a coma, how do you remember? Normal. “

Slept for more than a day...... Chu Li sighed in his heart, "What time is it today?" ”

"The day after tomorrow is Chinese New Year's Eve." The eyes of the young nurse wearing the mask turned straight, which made Chu Li feel kind, perhaps thinking of the assembly line workers of TMK.

Don't get down to business...... Chu Li scolded himself secretly.

"Have you had a recurring seizure?" The fat nurse asked.

Chu Li thought about it and nodded.

"No wonder, it's rare to get into shock. You seem to have endured it all the time, you can't do that, young man. ”

"I haven't heard of appendicitis that you can tolerate it." The young nurse said with a smile.

"Don't stand here, go back and rest. If you tear the wound like this, you will have to stay in the hospital for a few more days, and we will not have enough hospital beds. The fat nurse urged impatiently.

The young nurse stepped forward and helped Chu Li walk back. Chu Li glanced at the clock on the wall and pointed to four o'clock, without any sleep. "How did I get here?"

"A woman sent you here at eight o'clock the night before yesterday. Family members have been registered. Isn't it your wife? “

Chu Li didn't answer, and then asked when he would be discharged from the hospital.

"It's going to be a year old, usually at least three days."

"No, no, I have something to do." He gradually felt the weakness in his thighs spread throughout his body.

"It's troublesome when the wound is torn and it becomes infected. Fortunately, you did minimally invasive surgery and should be able to be discharged in three days. “

"By the way, where are my clothes? Where's my bag? “

"Wrapped in a cupboard, a cupboard in a ward. I don't know about the clothes. “

The nurse helped him to the bed and took the bag out of the cupboard. He drew up the curtain next to his bed, so that he could turn on the bedside lamp. And whispered: "Don't get up again, press the button behind something." “

Chu Li said thank you, and the girl asked again, "Did you fart?"

He thought for a moment and nodded.

"So fast!" The girl smiled, "That should be able to get out of the hospital on time." It should be fine the day after tomorrow, if there is a family member to pick it up. ”

Chu thought to himself, where did the family come from. He unzipped his backpack, in fact, there was nothing valuable, but there were a few things that were very important, a copy of the information he collected about Chen Jing's case, which also contained some ideas drawn by himself, a document bag containing the documents of Chu Rong Machinery Processing Factory, including business license, tax registration form, factory lease agreement, a box of business cards that had just been made, etc., as well as Wu Siying's drawings, plus a book, a mobile phone and a wallet sent by Chen Si. Except for the book, everything else is there. When he took out his phone and saw three messages and a missed call, Chunlai called and sent another message, saying that he had made a fixture, but broke a cutter head, and attached a pouted expression. The other two were sent by He Tiantian, and the first one was yesterday morning - you had surgery, you have a good rest, the book is good, I borrowed it to read. The second one was sent last night, and there was only one sentence: "I'll help you take the clothes back and wash them." ”

She said nothing about his uncle, and he was delighted that he had missed such an important meeting. He decided to contact her as soon as it was dawn.

However, early in the morning, he ushered in Zhang Shicheng himself.

"Sorry for the trouble." Chu Li sincerely apologized to Zhang Shicheng.

"Who can grasp the moody organ of the appendix? Out of the way, out of the way. Zhang Shicheng smiled very heartily.

"On the day of the registration admission, Tian Tian and I took the liberty of looking through your bag. I already have a general understanding of the case, first of all, I can tell you clearly, my kidney ......" Zhang Shicheng pointed to his left waist, "It has absolutely nothing to do with this girl, you can rest assured of this." I have taken all my information and my doctors have cooperated with the police in the investigation. ”

Chu Li nodded. He stared at Mr. Zhang's eyes tightly, trying to grasp a shred of evidence of a lie.

"But there's one thing I think might help you." Zhang Shicheng took out a few pieces of paper and handed them to Chu Li. "This is a QQ group I joined a few years ago, when I was in a hurry to go to the doctor, and then I found out that something was not right, there are some so-called doctors here, and the intermediary may be a little suspicious. I can also share the chat history with you, but generally there is no one talking in the group, basically I will go directly to the group owner, and there are a total of four group owners in this group. Not long after I joined, the doctor informed me that there was a reliable kidney source, so I didn't pay attention to it, you can take a look. That's probably the only thing I can do to help you. “

"Thank you."

"Why are you pursuing this? As far as I know, you're not a cop for a long time. Or rather, you've never been a police officer. “

Chu Li saw Zhang Shicheng's eyes flashing with the glory of confidence, he must have checked his own details.

"Chen Jing is my friend, like a sister. I just want to figure it out. “

"But aren't all the cases closed?"

"I'd like to see it again."

Zhang Shicheng nodded. He reached out from his crisp suit and pulled out a business card. Chu Li could see at a glance that it was his humble business card, because it was written on the back - Chu Rong machining.

"Not long ago?"

"Yes."

"Well done, young man. I've got this business card for me so I can contact you in case I think of anything in the future. “

"Thank you."

Zhang Shicheng stretched out his hand to Chu Li, "Then there will be a period later." ”

On the same day, He Tiantian took his clothes and came to the ward, and Chu Li was already walking back and forth.

"Yo, you're on your feet so soon?" He Tiantian said with a smile. She is wearing a beige coat today, with a long-haired hat on her head that looks like that worn by Russians, which sets off her white skin and looks very youthful and beautiful, and the tight-fitting cashmere sweater carefully selected in the wool coat sets off the curve of her chest very conspicuously, and a short skirt on the lower body, similar in texture and color to the coat, which is a very fine camel hair. The thick long socks on her legs make her look warm and delicate. A scarf may seem careless, but it is just the right way to embellish the proportions of the body. But in Chu Li's eyes, this is no different from the pampered girl who cried with snot and tears on her face, makeup, and mud from the compound of the Sharon Joint Defense Team two years ago.

"I've been bothering you these days. By the way, my clothes were ......taken off by the nurse that day" Chu Li was about to ask casually, but when he saw He Tiantian's face flushed, he immediately realized it, and then shut up in embarrassment.

"The wound on your back? What's going on? He Tiantian was really bold and outspoken.

"Oh, I've been hurt before." Chu Li didn't want to become familiar with her, so he didn't want to chat.

"Want something to eat? I'll buy it. “

"No, the nurse brought us breakfast in the morning, and there will be lunch later."

"And what do I eat?"

"Aren't you going back to dinner?" Chu Li looked at her self-familiarity.

"Too lazy to go back. I'll order some takeout to eat. “

Later, a well-dressed man brought over a box of pizza, and Chu Li remembered what Vincenzo had said: "This is an American's pizza, not our Italians." I'm going to definitely take you to a Neapolitan margarita pizza, a pizza with a soul. “

He planned to be discharged from the hospital today, and the doctor said that he could go back to bed rest. He Tiantian regarded himself as a friend and family member very righteously, saying that unless he went to the hotel, he would not agree to be discharged from the hospital. After Chu Li waited for her to leave, he went to handle the discharge, but the doctor told him that He Tiantian had to sign it, and only then did he know that more than 8,000 expenses had been paid in advance. He was about to return the money to her with his wallet, only to realize that he had almost no cash except for a credit card. All the difficulties encountered in the past cannot be compared with the embarrassment of today. I can't take the money of an almost stranger schoolgirl anyway. I had to find an excuse to sneak out of the hospital, and I used my credit card to withdraw 10,000 yuan from a nearby ATM and gave it to the head nurse in an envelope. Early on the morning of the third day, he changed his clothes and was discharged from the hospital.

At seven o'clock, He Tiantian really called.

"Camel, I got the money. It was actually placed at the nurse's! He Tiantian's voice was shrill on the phone, "It's rude to say goodbye." ”

"It's been too much to disturb these days. I'm really sorry. Chu Li felt the pain in his abdomen getting stronger and stronger, so he had to stop. Today is Chinese New Year's Eve, and you really can't say anything more trouble. “

"The ticket is booked, and at four o'clock in the afternoon, you may be able to rush back for a Chinese New Year's Eve dinner." You can't buy a train ticket at all, stupid! "It's obviously He Tiantian who is not polite." Order it with your ID card, and you just have to go and print it out. “

"ID ......"

"I took your ID to order it." He Tiantian interrupted Chu Li angrily, "You are in such a hurry to go back, we must do our best to be a landlord." Blame me for tricking you. ”

"Thank you!" Chu Li thought about it carefully, and didn't know when she took her ID card to book the ticket. Since she was "we", Chu Li guessed that Zhang Shicheng also helped, and he couldn't help but feel warm in his heart.

"Can you walk? It's not good to go, I'll see you off! “

"No, I'll take a taxi to the airport."

"Okay......" He Tiantian paused for a few seconds, "Then take care." “

When He Tiantian came out of the hospital, she saw a snowflake perched on the shoulder of the person in front of her, and another one flew to the mobile phone screen in her left palm. She stretched out her right hand and opened it, and a business card lay in the palm of her hand.

The inexplicable sadness in my heart was like a gust of wind blowing, maybe I won't see Chu Li again in this life.