In the morning, Zheng Jun drove me to work. When we entered the dressing room, Zheng Jun made me tea.
"The master is busy today and won't be here. You don't have to move. You must feel uncomfortable after drinking too much, right?"
"I'm so sorry."
"fine."
I pushed the corpse, but Zheng Jun wouldn't let me. I couldn't let her do it, so Zheng Jun didn't insist. I watched her putting on makeup. Zheng Jun was petite and pretty, and she was a college student. I wondered why she came here to be a makeup artist, and I couldn't help but ask.
"Why are you here as a makeup artist? Your grandfather was a veteran of the Red Army, and your parents work for the government. You shouldn't be here."
“Is this different from other jobs?”
I didn't say anything. Of course, it was different. I came here and lost my friends. Like me, I lost my mother's love. People say that at seventy you have a home and at eighty you have a mother. You would rather lose your wife worth tens of millions than your mother who has no money. This makes sense.
"In fact, when I wanted to come here, my grandfather and parents were against it. They even wouldn't let me go out. I was stubborn, and after half a year, they agreed, and I came."
"Why do you want to come here?"
"I won't tell you for now."
Zheng Jun smiled mischievously.
I graduated from college and came to the crematorium because of my father, Ke Zuo. Actually, I have psychological problems. My mother gave me too little love, and it was all my father who gave me love. My father's death was a big blow to me. I wanted to get closer to my father and understand him better. I didn't know him, so I wanted to go to the place where my father worked and work here for two years. But after I got here, I didn't want to leave, because this place gave me pain, but also gave me the freshness of another world. Every day I didn't know what kind of things I would encounter. My father mentioned to me once that here, life is fresh, and it is true.
After get off work at noon, I treated Zheng Jun to a meal. I was worried about Yinyan and only drank very little. Then I went to Li Li's house.
Li Li sat there drinking tea and watching TV, and the room was still a mess.
"I can't control Yinyan's affairs. Even though she is my apprentice, she is playing a little too much."
Li Li directly sealed my mouth.
"If you have any ideas, tell me and I'll do it."
Li Li shook her head and said, “I think she should have a way, but she just didn’t tell me. Maybe these are some secrets of the crematorium, unknown to outsiders. Even people who have worked in the crematorium for a lifetime don’t know many things.”
When I left Li Li's house, I had no other choice. I went home, but the coldness at home was a little too much for me to bear. Actually, it was the coldness in my heart.
When Zhang Xiaoxue came, my grandmother asked her to accompany me. Zhang Xiaoxue cooked for me, made me food, and made me tea. She was like a good wife and mother. I thought of my mother Yun Bai. She should have been like this back then. When she smelled the dead smell on my father, I didn't know. Would Zhang Xiaoxue be like her mother in the future? I couldn't be sure. Anyway, I felt uneasy.
I asked Zhang Xiaoxue to go back. After all, we had no relationship and it was not easy for her to live here. Zhang Xiaoxue was very unhappy and asked me why Yinyan could live here and why she could live in Yinyan's house but not her? I did not answer. This question was very difficult for me.
I was walking on the street in the middle of the night, and I felt that the street was much warmer than home. I sat in a food stall drinking beer, watching people passing by, and I felt that I was the only lonely person in the world, walking forward alone.
A man sat next to me, and there was a cold air, or rather a gloomy aura. I took a look at the man. He was in his fifties, with completely white hair. He had a somewhat attractive temperament. I ignored him. There was an empty table, so he sat opposite my table. He kept looking at me.
I stood up to leave, he said.
"I think you have something to ask, maybe I can help you."
I was stunned for a moment and didn't want to pay attention to this person. I felt that he had too much negative energy and didn't think he was a good person.
This person actually stood up and grabbed me. It was okay, so I sat down. Maybe I would save Yinyan. No matter what, I had to get Yinyan back.
"How can you help me?"
"I can't help you, but I can give you some advice."
This man was very calm, as if he had experienced a lot of storms. I asked for beer, but the man just held it, meaning he didn't want to drink it.
"Grandma Yinyan's master."
The man spoke softly, looked around, stood up and left. I was stunned. Master Zhou was almost seventy years old. If her master was still alive, he would be at least ninety years old. I had never heard of anyone mentioning him, and I didn't know there was such a person. Even in the exhibition room of the crematorium, I didn't see this person.
Yinyan's grandmother, Master Zhou's master, I think, maybe it's true, this person knows a lot.
The next day, I went to work and entered the dressing room. Master Zhao Juan and Zheng Jun came in together.
"You're here so early?"
Zheng Jun asked a question and I nodded. While working, I asked Master Zhao who was sitting on a chair drinking tea.
"Where does Master Zhou's master live?"
Master Zhao Juan was obviously stunned. She didn't answer me, didn't say anything, and looked elsewhere.
I wanted to ask again, but Zheng Jun shook his head at me. I could see that Master Zhao Juan was already unhappy. After she went out, Zheng Jun said.
"Don't ask about this. There are two people in the crematorium that cannot be mentioned. One is Master Zhou's master, Master Yang, Yang Xiaoni, and the other is Li Yangping, who is the refiner here. Even in the exhibition room, there are no photos of these two people."
"Why?"
Zheng Jun glanced at the door and shook his head, meaning that I should not continue speaking. Master Zhao Juan came in and stood for a while before speaking.
"I have to go now. You two should be careful when you work."
Zhao Juan walked away with a gloomy face.
"How do you know Master Zhao is here?"
I asked Zheng Jun curiously. Zheng Jun's hands trembled and he didn't say anything. It was really strange. The sound insulation effect of the dressing room was quite good. No sound could be heard unless people pushed the door in. It was like a space from another world. It was very quiet when you came in.
We didn't finish the work until after 2:00 in the afternoon. Zheng Jun took me to the Xilai Hotel. I didn't like it here. Zheng Jun gave me a look and I understood what he meant. I could actually understand Zheng Jun's eyes.
Another private room in the Xilai Hotel can only accommodate two people.
"This is Master Zhou's private room. After she retired, this place became unused."
Zheng Jun knows a lot, and Master Zhao Juan likes this apprentice very much because Zheng Jun is capable and well-behaved.
After the food and wine were served, Zheng Jun locked the door.
"I'm telling you, don't mention Yang Xiaoni and Li Yangping anymore. No one dares to mention them. As for why, I don't know. Master Zhao told me not to mention them. There's one more thing. I can hear footsteps outside the dressing room. You think so, but I actually saw it. Not everyone can see it. I can see a shadow outside the dressing room."
I almost couldn't stand up. This was something I had never expected. Was this a special ability? Scientists have studied that people have potential, but they just haven't developed it yet, all kinds of potential.
"There are many secrets in the crematorium, this is one of them, but you can't tell others. As for how I saw it, you will slowly find out in the future. That's all for today. Let's drink."
Zheng Jun could drink a little, but not too much. After taking a sip, his face became rosy and he became even more adorable.
"I want to find Yang Xiaoni. There is something I need to find her for. No one else can solve it."
Zheng Jun frowned.
"Yinyan's matter is her life, you can't do anything about it, Yang Xiaoni won't do anything about it either, Master Zhou is her grandmother, she doesn't care, and Li Li is her master, she doesn't care either, so why should I care?"
"She's my type."
"In fact, Yinyan doesn't like you at all, but someone else. Everyone in the crematorium can see this clearly, but you are the only one who is stupid."
"Who? What's going on?"
"Master told me not to say that. Don't say that. If you continue, I will be unhappy."
I won’t say more, Zheng Jun has already told me a lot.
Halfway through drinking, I heard a knock on the wall. I stopped and looked at Zheng Jun.
"It's okay, it wasn't knocked by a human."
Oh my god, are you kidding me? In this enclosed space, there are no windows.
"Really, I've been here a few times with my master. This is my master's place. That's what my master said. I can find another feeling here, as if I've arrived in another world."
After Zheng Jun finished speaking, he wanted to laugh. This was not meant to scare him, but was true. It was just that Zheng Jun was naive and thought it was funny.
"We must not let the master know we are here, or he will scold us."
That day, Zheng Jun and I returned to my home, and she insisted on seeing my home. She came in and looked at this cold home. She also felt cold. She didn't say much, just sat for a while and left.
I think I should go find this person named Yang Xiaoni. Maybe she really has a way. No matter what, I have to give it a try. No matter whether Yinyan loves me or not, I love her after all.
I asked Zheng Jun for two days before she told me where Yang Xiaoni lived.
Yang Xiaoni lives in a villa area close to the mountain, in a small single-family villa right at the foot of the mountain. There are flowers and plants on the first floor, and a small Pekingese in the small yard. I stood outside the railing and looked inside. After a long time, an old lady came out. She had a head full of silver hair and seemed to be in good spirits.
"Master Yang."
I called Master Yang, but I was still afraid. He must be a very strange person who didn't mention such a person and didn't hang his photo in the exhibition room. However, it was different from what I thought. The old lady came closer, looked at me for a long time and asked.
"Who are you?"
"I am Ke Zuo's son, Ke Mingzhe."
The old lady thought for a moment and said.
“It turns out he’s Xiao Zuo’s son.”
The old lady opened the door and took me to sit on a bench in the yard.
"Kid, do you have something to ask me?"
I hesitated for a long time, but finally told her about Yinyan. Yang Xiaoni didn't speak for a long time, as if she was thinking about something very far away. (To be continued)