Journey to the West does not have number 44

When Senior Lian Sheng and I met as agreed, the sky was drifting with scattered snow.

Christmas Eve travel has its own special significance. In order to visit a person, to see him off when he is leaving.

Although most of the memories of Newark's journey to the west are Chinese, it is inevitably filled with a somewhat vague, steaming exotic atmosphere like water mist. A little white snow is piled up on the golden matte glazed tiles, which faintly reflect the fireworks that bloom in the distance.

The destination of this trip is the newly opened café at the end of Journey to the West. Its name is somewhat unique.

Strange traveler.

The first time I passed it, I felt a sense of vicissitudes that had been weathered like a sea breeze. The deliberately aged wooden signboard is slightly mottled, and every stroke of each letter is engraved into the eye with the most direct arc to the heart. I guess its owner is a middle-aged man who has been through countless ups and downs, with tired but resolute lines in the corners of his eyes.

But the reality always surprised me, the owner was a teenager.

He had a pure East Asian face: a straight nose, sparkling eyes, and short brown hair slightly upturned — with a hint of cynicism; The six unique silver earrings will turn your eyes on the first time you see them.

He said that his name was Monkey King.

Later, because I liked the unique taste of the coffee in the store, my senior and I visited us from time to time, and the three people of similar age quickly became acquainted. Today, we are visiting him.

The café is located at No. 43 at the end of Journey to the West, with a cold little shop on the right and an empty night on the left. Senior Lian Sheng warmed his hands with a sigh of air, and the white mist swirling out of his mouth and nose was reminiscent of the smoke rising from the winter chimney in the fairy tale.

"Ah, it's you."

As we pushed the door in, the teenager behind the counter turned around and greeted the senior with a smile.

"Long time no see."

The senior also smiled and nodded.

"Don't have so many mothers-in-law. Two lattes. I took off my hat and gestured at him with two fingers.

"Yo, that's so horizontal." Monkey King flew a knife in the eye, "Be careful when you drink coffee later." ”

I replied with a disdainful roll of my eyes.

The senior smiled helplessly and shook his head, as if he was thinking I was naïve. He turned and sat down on the edge of the bar and chatted with the boy, using his back to show that he didn't welcome me.

So the cold image I imagined on the way here suddenly fell apart with the sentence I had just said.

"All your luggage packed?" The senior leaned on the counter with one hand on his cheek, and lifted Erlang's legs - it's a pity that there is still no ruffian taste, which is too far from Monkey King.

"Almost, we'll be ready to go tomorrow afternoon." Monkey King skillfully operated in front of the machine, "It's just that I can't find a book." ”

The senior's fingers that were tapping on the bar surface stopped, and he trembled slightly in mid-air.

I raised my eyes to look at them. "What book?"

"A novel with similar content to a serial murder case, the plot is not particularly brilliant. It was just a gift from an old friend, and it was important to me. ”

"Yes," the senior said thoughtfully, and then began to continue the irregular tapping sound just now, "If it's something very important, it will definitely be found before leaving." ”

"You always don't know what you say." Monkey King brought two cups of fragrant lattes and gave us beautiful latte art as a gift - this has never been done before, "But don't forget, in this world, the most important thing to me is my teammates, where are they now?" ”

Monkey King seems to have been a pioneer member of an adventurous organization, leading a tenacious squad whose members were all terminally ill. I've heard that he's been sick himself, but he doesn't know how he's cured it—about this, he once poured out his heart to his senior after getting drunk uncontrollably.

"Don't worry, I'm not done yet." The senior smiled slightly, "When I say 'will be found', I just mean that it will not be thrown away." That is, you will never really bury them in your own heart, and that does not mean that they will not leave you voluntarily. ”

There was a momentary delay in the movement of Monkey King wiping his fingers with a tissue.

He didn't seem to want to continue the conversation.

He never wanted to hear people judge those who had died.

Even if it's not a judgment, it's just a simple talk.

It's strange that usually even a student wouldn't do such a thing. He has always been gentle and approachable.

No, it's not.

I overlooked that today is a special day.

"What's the name of that book?"

Before a chill of imminent anger flashed in Monkey King's eyes, I threw out a topic that had nothing to do with the serious atmosphere at the moment.

The senior glanced back at me with a look that I couldn't understand.

"I can't remember." He squeezed out a smile that barely made sixty points, "I won't look closely at what that bastard gave me." ”

Wow, tsundere's little bastard.

"Fang just said that it was very important."

The unbearable smile gradually developed into a soothing one. "Because he disappeared four years ago, that's why I'm keeping."

Looks like I'm doing something wrong again. The act of accidentally revealing someone's wound seems to be a negative bonus specially given to me by God.

"Just kidding, how can you not remember clearly." Maybe it was my unintentional stupid apologetic expression that poked his laughter hard, "The book is called "Remembering Three O'Clock", and it is a mystery novel. At the end, the hero died at three o'clock in the morning, so the heroine must always remember this desperate moment. ”

"That's right."

I naturally raised my eyebrows.

"Alright."

While I was chatting, the senior had already drunk his coffee, "That's the end of tonight's send-off, we don't have much free time." ”

"Huh? Is this gone? "I was surprised.

"Don't you have an exam tomorrow?" He replied lightly, stood up and walked over and patted Monkey King's shoulder, "Dude, you may not be here tomorrow, let's say goodbye here." ”

"The tone is like goodbye." Monkey King should have also lost his breath, and punched the senior, "Goodbye or something is the most hated word in my life, let's wait until you die of old age." ”

"Okay." The senior reciprocated with his fist.

"Kid, let's go. Good bye! ”

I deliberately added a word that he had specifically avoided in the past.

"You're a child, and your whole family is a child." He snorted disdainfully, but waved goodbye softly.

He didn't know that sometimes, goodbye really should be said.

It's a pity that none of us have picked it out.

As soon as I came out of the warm coffee shop, I felt the chill doubly biting. The taste was as cold as impending despair.

"Senior."

I stopped the man who was walking in front.

"What's the matter?" He smiled back and smiled, a gentle smile.

“”

I shook my head, trying to hold back the tears that were about to overflow my eyes. "It's almost ten o'clock now."

"That's right." He narrowed his eyes and smiled softer, but it reminded me of the snow that was about to melt at my fingertips, "So Su Yue, are you afraid?" ”

I silently reached out my hand, trying in vain to feel the temperature of his face with my frozen skin.

Yes, I'm scared, I'm very scared.

I was afraid that the whole world was going to collapse, and I will remember it at three o'clock in the morning. I hope it never comes.

"Su Yue, say goodbye to me. Last time, I didn't have time. ”

"Okay."

I sniffed deeply, filtering out the extra crying-like sounds, and then smiled into what I thought was a big one.

It's like seeing it for the first time.

"Senior Liansheng, goodbye."

As I spoke, I slowly opened my arms and looked into his dark eyes through the hazy tears.

He didn't hesitate and walked over and hugged me gently.

"Senior call my name again, right?"

I heard him laugh and wondered if there would be fine flakes of snow falling on his soft hair now.

"Well, then you have to listen well."

My hand gripping the hem of his shirt tightened a little, with a little unease.

"Sue"

Suddenly, several brilliant fireworks erupted over the nearby streets, accompanied by scattered colors, and a loud and shocking explosion covered the words between his lips. The fireworks glitter in the dark blue velvet night sky, illuminating the homes of the Chinese people in foreign countries.

A sacred fire. I think.

Journey to the West is shrouded in light and shadow, the scene that is incomparably clear at the last moment is illusory and almost disappears at the next moment, and the memories are mixed and intertwined. I knew that the scene in front of me would forever pass through my pupils with the cold wind that carried the snowflakes, climb to the painful end of the nerves, melt into the blood, and flow to the end of my life.

Because it was his last night on earth. Whether I want to accept it or not, I have to remember everything.

Just forgive me, I didn't hear your promised call.

The moment Monkey King pushed open the door of his home, the backpack on his shoulders slid to the ground due to the instant stiffness of his limbs.

He was surprised. Because in the room sat a tall, thin boy with fiery red hair.

The friend who gave him the book.

The friend who had been missing for a long time.

He's back?

In fact, it was Monkey King himself who came back.

He got on the so-called transport in front of the coffee shop and went around for a long time. seems to have traveled through thousands of mountains, but in fact, it has returned to the position of Journey to the West.

It's just that the left side of No. 43 is no longer lonely and faint sunlight and cool snow, there, there is a street with clean doors and windows, and a glazed tiled roof. The nearest one of them is his home - Journey to the West No. 44.

And his old friend, who had been absent for a long time, was sitting quietly in the room, as if waiting for his arrival.

In my friend's hand, he was holding a thick, old-looking book.

- "Remembering Three O'Clock"

In George's opinion, Monkey King, who had been missing for four years, was not only back intact at this moment, but also more radiant than before.

God you're teasing me.

In this way, it seems ridiculous to sit here and remember - no, the act of almost mourning.

The scary thing is that he still has the book in his hand. It was a holiday gift that had been found in the garbage heap only two days ago, and it seemed to be a holiday gift that had been thrown at him a long time ago. At the moment George has seen the last chapter.

So when Monkey King pushed the door in, George didn't react at once, thinking that he had come out of the book.

It's a really bad feeling of embarrassment. I don't know if this guy will hang the corners of his mouth and laugh at his "sentimental" behavior as before.

Actually, George himself is quite awkward. Because no matter what, Monkey King is also his old friend, and when he saw his old friend coming back without missing arms and legs, his first feeling was not that he was happy and excited, but that he was worried about being sarcastic, which really left a serious psychological shadow in the past.

But Monkey King seemed to have a bigger reaction than him.

What kind of Dafa is dumbfounded, and the bottom line is calculated.

Monkey King was dumbfounded? It's a scene that only happens in a dream, or the kind of dream that only happens once a year.

As if he couldn't believe it, he walked over and pinched George's face.

"What are you going to do?"

After holding it for a long time, George came up with such a sentence.

Monkey King raised his eyebrows in surprise. Then, he relaxed his face and asked with a natural expression:

"George, you're back?"

What is this guy talking about? George thought.

Monkey King caught a glimpse of the book in George's hand, and his eyes lit up. "Isn't that the book you gave me? I took it away, how could it be here?"

George suddenly felt that this scene of Monkey King losing his logical personality and returning to OOC was really his dream, and it was definitely a nightmare. How could he not understand what he was talking about, could it be that this guy had just returned from an alien planet and his brain structure had changed?

"Don, calm down."

George lowered his throat and used his most threatening tone to calm Monkey King's inexplicably swollen emotions. "Listen to me, whether I'm dreaming or not, I'm going to tell you: the reality is that you've been missing for four years since you fell into the Mimir Spring, and we're all waiting for you to come back."

"Therefore, it is not me who has returned, it is you."

Monkey King frowned, and the hand that was pinching George's face was slowly lowered.

Soon, the corners of his eyes seemed to widen, with that genuine relaxation of remembering something. "I'm sorry, I've been through something and I haven't come back to my senses."

"Welcome back." Although George did not know the situation, he still held out his hand to signal.

Monkey King smiled softly, and there was something called relief brewing in his smile. He took his hand. "Well, I'm back."

He stared at George's hidden eyes, staring intently, not retracting his gaze for a long time.

"Long time no see."

George punched him with a blank face. "Bastard, if you've seen enough, go and inform the others."

Monkey King smiled and covered his shoulders in agreement, but when he turned around, he suddenly paused. He sensed something subtle awkward.

It seems that not long ago, there was also a person who joked with himself like this?

Once the first memories flood back to where they rightfully existed, everything else quickly faded under the wash. Whether it is the face that has gone from strange to familiar in the past, or a street without No. 44 that is gradually moving away, they are all recalling the moment when the sand particles were raised at the bottom of the ocean, and they were all swept away.

If you are lucky, you can still leave some fine pieces of light like fragments of shells.

One night, it seemed that there was the aroma of coffee that permeated between the three of them.

"What's wrong with you?"

George asked behind him.

Did I ever tell anyone I had lost something?

What is it?

"It's fine." He shook his head after coming back from his trance, "George, lend me my phone." ”

"Oh." A metal guy with a silver shell was handed over.

The familiar movements of his friends were slowed down and slowed down in his eyes. In the process of being handed over inch by inch, something that was sleeping was awakened.

He remembered.

It's too late to pick up the phone. Monkey King quickly crouched down and opened the book that had fallen to the ground. The simplicity of the cover and the abstract patterns drawn on it do not hint at the style of its contents. He flipped through the illustrations one by one.

Not this one, not this one, but there must be. He remembers it well.

Ah, found it.

The first page of the final chapter has a detailed illustration that takes up the entire page.

There are two people in the illustration.

The young man rubbed the girl's long messy black hair, his expression was gentle, and the girl complained. The two of them sat in a small garden with gardenias quietly opening, the sun was as fragrant as flowers, and there was a brightness that melted people's hearts. On the stone table in front of them was a cup of coffee that had cooled, dark and plain in color.

It's a latte.

His hand touched the picture.

If you look closely, you will find that the boy's body is slightly transparent, and you can faintly see the green behind him through him.

The environment described in the book is a dry and cold winter, so this early summer scene in front of you is not real at all, right?

That's a girl's dream, right? The teenager who dreamed that he was supposed to leave forever at three o'clock in the morning returned.

Su Yue, dreamed that Lian Sheng came back.

He chewed on the two names vigorously in his heart.

They really existed. Not just cold lead letters on thin pages, they are living people.

He had talked to them and had a mouthful.

He still remembered that Su Yue loved to drink latte, and Lian Sheng smiled very gently.

He remembered it all.

The two memories coexist, flowing in the bottom of my heart and converging into a gurgling but huge warmth.

What a great gift George has.

He clutched the book tightly, and a sun-like temperature spread to his fingertips, stepping out of the intricate lines of rose vines, and the veins reached into the bottom of his heart. Then, it bloomed into a white and warm flower, each with a yellowed photo-precious memory in the center of its stamen.

At this moment, he wanted to cry.

Thank you for helping me return to my world at the expense of repeating the cruel ending. Thank you.

He remembered that Lian Sheng had asked as if he didn't care. "Why isn't there a 44 on this street?"

"It's unlucky."

"But this is obviously not China." He squinted and smiled.

"Senior, if he has a low IQ, don't be difficult for him anymore." Su Yue grimaced at him, "Kid, it's still a latte today." ”

Because these are two different worlds, the streets are certainly not the same.

Also, the latte is really fragrant and delicious.

Don't worry, I'll always remember you, whether or not you forget about my existence the moment you open the book.

I will also carefully seam every word that belongs to you into the sea of flowers in my heart, remember it forever, and never touch the ending.

Even if it's as old as the joke says.

I won't forget, the Journey to the West there-

There is no number 44.

——END——

【Epilogue】

Little did he know that one day when he grew old, he would receive a letter from afar.

On the letter were familiar names and two very different signatures.

"Hey, kid, long time no see."

If he looked up at this time, he could find two sun-soaked figures at the end of a certain street.

Everything is as it first appeared.

【Afterword】

Will Monkey King wake up from the waters of the Mimir Spring?

Or will he be in another world when he opens his eyes? A world that belongs in a book.

That's why he never came back.

Lian Sheng and Su Yue are actually the protagonists of an article that they plan to write to their friends. In the text, they are characters from the book that George gave to Don. The two originally had a tragic and forced separation, and everything was disrupted after Don's arrival. They soon find out that Don doesn't actually belong here, but if he stays here, the two of them don't have to go to that cruel end, and then forget everything and reincarnate.

But they still chose to send Monkey King away by hinting.

When Lian Sheng asked him why there was no No. 44 here, the seeds of the subconscious mind had already been planted, and Monkey King was destined to leave here and return to the original world. But how exactly did he get out? Actually, they don't know why, and I don't know. I just think that everyone has to go back to where they should be in the end, no matter how things change, no matter what the vicissitudes of life.

Therefore, it was Lian Sheng who pushed himself to death with his own hands. And Su Yue just quietly watched his dearest senior die, silent. She knew that Monkey King should go back, and there were still so many people waiting for him to go back.

George's role is probably the only connection between Don and the original world. Don disappeared relative to George, and George naturally disappeared relative to Don, lost in the ocean of memory. The only thing that can evoke something that sleeps is the book that Monkey King can't find in his mouth.

In the end, Monkey King still remembered. He realized the sacrifices made by his two nearly forgotten companions, and that's why he felt it.

As for the rest of the clues in the text, such as lattes, their role is still to hope that the officials can taste for themselves. Life is different, and everyone should understand things differently.

Finally, thank you to everyone who read the article carefully.