The night is dark and cool.
At this moment, there is an old slum located in the old town of Ningcheng, with a crumbling and dangerous building, the paint peeling off the walls, and no one around. Only the shrill chirping of cicadas and frogs can be heard.
"Woof woof woof!"
A small flower dog downstairs in the community barked at Jiang Beiyuan who appeared at the door of the community.
Jiangbeiyuan was stunned for a moment.
The little flower dog was neither humble nor overbearing, and continued to bark.
"..." Jiang Beiyuan walked over with a sullen face.
The puppy stopped barking and stood there, staring blankly at the man striding upstairs with an eager look.
Jiangbeiyuan is still afraid of dogs.
Very scared.
But now he has very important things to do, so he can't care about this.
On the left side of the third floor, he took the key and opened the door. The stale smell that hit his face came with a choking smell of dust.
He looked around and saw that there was no one in the house that was not too big. With slightly trembling fingers, he touched the coffee table, sofa, and wicker chair that were covered with a thick layer of dust, as well as the edges of the teacups.
Jiangbeiyuan took a deep breath.
Opened the door of one of the rooms.
White bed, white pillows, a bedroom without extraneous furnishings, and the quilts were stacked into tofu blocks.
Too quiet.
It was so quiet that the whole room had an eerie smell.
There were footsteps approaching behind me.
Jiang Beiyuan looked back sharply and quickly, and his sharp gaze made the old lady tremble.
She is a strange old lady, she looks like she is in her seventies.
"S-boy, do you know this homeowner?"
"I am her son. Where is she?"
"Sigh... She died of AIDS, and she died on this bed. She said she had no relatives, and I was her neighbor. I had a good relationship with her on weekdays, and then I took the time to cremate her."
“…”
Jiang Beiyuan did not speak. He narrowed his eyes slightly and stared at the old lady with a bit of scrutiny.
The old lady's eyes dodge, and she suddenly didn't dare to look at Jiang Beiyuan. She coughed twice and said, "She, I put her ashes under the bed. Since you are her son, you can take her ashes back."
As she spoke, the old lady bent over and took out an urn from under the bed with trembling hands, and handed it to Jiang Beiyuan with trembling hands.
"Haha, this man is old and has weak hands and feet, don't be surprised."
Jiangbeiyuan took the box and looked at the old lady.
"Are you a regular visitor here?"
"Ah? Yes, I have lived here for more than thirty years. My husband died early and my sons are abroad."
"That's fine."
The corners of Jiang Beiyuan's mouth twitched slightly, and it didn't look like he was smiling. No one knew what he was thinking at this moment.
The old lady smiled and turned and left. After leaving, she raised her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead, and then entered her home across the door.
Jiang Beiyuan held the urn and opened it with trembling hands.
Halfway through opening it, it paused again.
He closed his eyes and his phone rang.
It was Xu Kuangjie's call.
"I asked you about the crematorium. Your mother... is indeed dead."
*
The night is dark.
Yan Nian looked at it and it was almost eight o'clock, but Jiang Beiyuan hadn't come back yet.
He said that he would definitely come back before dark, and asked her to extend it for another hour. Now, four or five hours have passed since he went out, and he still hasn't come back.
Jiangbeiyuan…
Yan Nian picked up his coat and wanted to go out to look for it. After all, he stayed up at night, not once or twice.
One time it was about getting divorced, and the other time he was in a car accident.
So what's going on this time
(End of chapter)