Qin Qiu scratched You Huo's palm with his fingers.
He took away the brown wallet and handed the old photo hidden in the wallet to Wu Li: "You said you have seen the group photo of the research team, is it these people?"
Wu Li took it and asked in amazement after only one glance, "Where did you get the photos?"
"Mr. Lee provided it in a friendly manner." Qin Qiu asked, "So, are the researchers really the ones in the photo?"
"More than that, I've seen more people. This may be a group photo of the core staff." Wu Li recognized them one by one, paused a little when she saw her uncle, and sighed lightly.
"Core personnel..." Qin Qiu repeated softly.
"Of course, I'm just guessing. It's because these people are in different group photos, so I can recognize it so quickly."
Wu Li's fingers stopped in the center of the photo.
There was a man whose face was burnt by a cigarette butt, leaving only a circular scorch spot.
"Isn't this your hot?" she asked.
"of course not."
Qin Jiu and You Huo also asked Lee, and the other party confidently admitted: "I'm hot, what's wrong?"
But when asked who this man was and why he was scalded, Lee was lost again.
He grabbed the photo, confused for a moment, and said, "I don't know, I don't remember. But I get angry when I see this focal spot."
"It's all him, it's all his fault."
…
Then Lee muttered the words over and over again.
Judging from this reaction, he became like this, more or less related to the person who was scalded.
"Are there any photos you've seen that are similar to this person?" Qin Qiu pointed at the focal spot.
The man was slightly fat and not tall. Judging from the neck and drooping hands, it must be a little old.
Wu Li wanted to shake her head, but suddenly stopped and said, "Ah, there is one."
"Who?"
"It should be the leader of the entire research team." Wu Li said: "I have only seen him in one photo, and it is also in the middle position, the only one sitting. It is not ruled out that he is older than the others. , but I'm leaning towards him leading the charge."
"Do you have the photo?" Qin Qiu asked.
"No, I'm lucky to see the group photo, it's impossible to give me a chance to take it secretly."
As expected, Qin Qiu nodded: "Can you describe what he looks like?"
Wu Li: "…"
In the eyes of the rational and objective Miss Wu, people are anatomical diagrams of walking, and it is not within her functional scope to describe such subjective and emotional things as looks.
She was silent for two seconds and added, "But I remember what he looked like. If I can see him, I think I should be able to recognize him."
Qin Qiu nodded and said, "That's enough, thank you."
"Should be."
Qin Qiu took the photo back.
In the group photo, the woman who looks like Youyou is standing next to the focal spot burned by the cigarette butt. Even when taking pictures, she does not smile.
Is she always like this, even with her family
Qin Qiu couldn't help but think.
He hesitated for a few seconds, but still put the photo into You Huo's hands.
You Huo looked down for a while, and finally turned the photo over and placed it on the coffee table in front of Lao Yu.
Since Wu Li mentioned the research team, Lao Yu has never made a sound. His hands were twisted hard, and he was always in a state of high tension. Until You Huo pushed the photo in front of him, his face turned white.
Even Yu Wen felt something was wrong.
"Lao Yu? What are you doing, Lao Yu?" He patted Lao Yu on the shoulder.
The other party didn't respond, still staring blankly at the photo.
Yu Wen followed and looked over, and was stunned.
Because he saw Wandering's mother in the photo, the woman he should call his aunt.
This aunt was in poor health all the year round and died very early. Yu Wen had only seen her when he was very young. All his impressions of this aunt came from photos, because Lao Yu's album contained many photos of her.
Old Yu Chang said that when they were young, they had the best relationship between siblings.
Every time he heard this sentence, Yu Wen would ask, "What about later?"
Mr. Yu said, "She is very promising."
He didn't answer what he asked, and Yu Wen automatically understood that his aunt was too powerful, so he was estranged from his not-so-powerful alcoholic father.
Later, he died.
In fact, Yu Wen has always wanted to know what kind of breath method is "specially promising".
Now... he finally understood, and the photo in front of him was proof.
What did Sister Wu just say? Oh, it's the person in this photo who organized a group to design this harmful examination system.
His aunt was one of them.
That's older than...
Yu Wen looked at his father blankly.
Lao Yu was restless in the confused silence, and after a long while, he spoke with difficulty: "Little confused..."
He hesitated, opened and closed his lips several times, and finally said sullenly: "Forget it, since that's the case... What do you want to know? Ask."
You Huo was quiet for a moment, and said in a low voice, "You can tell me whatever you want."
Just this sentence made Lao Yu sullen.
After a long time, he said in a hoarse voice: "Okay, okay. It's been so many years, so let's just say it all."
"I do... I have known about this system for a long time. The time estimated by Dr. Wu just now is actually a bit different. As far as I know, this project really started to go back more than 20 years, which is about your age. Your mother It was amazing, and it was the core member at that time.”
"Didn't I always say that I was a soldier? I was a soldier for a total of six years. The first two years were normal service, and the next four years were transferred to the research center of this project. I didn't participate in the project, I just stood guard and patrolled the night. , very few things, quite leisurely."
Lao Yu held the corner of the photo with his fingers, and was a little ecstatic as he spoke.
At that time, he felt that it was something to be proud of to be involved in this project, and the sister he directly participated in was even more powerful.
Since when has everything changed
As if... it was the day he noticed something was wrong with his little nephew's eyes.
Was it 4 years old or 5 years old at that time
He couldn't remember a little, but it was very small, as if he would die if he got sick or injured casually.
Because of this, when he learned that You Huo was involved in the project, his reaction was so great.
He was horrified and extremely angry.
What made him even more unacceptable was that his sister should have known about this...
Not just knowing, maybe even enabling it.
Because the other party said very calmly: "Objectively speaking, this does not harm the child itself. There is no wound in this operation, and it is essentially no different from wearing a smart watch. You just can't accept this method and concept for a while."
Lao Yu couldn't understand why she could "objectively speak" about her own child, as if she was just talking about an experimental guinea pig.
At that moment, he felt that he had never known this sister.
The siblings had their first real quarrel. Saying it was a quarrel, in fact, his sister was always calm, and he was the only one who was excited.
Because the more calm the other party is, the more strange and frightening he feels.
When he was young, Lao Yu was more reckless than he is now, and he acted on impulse.
He couldn't convince his sister, and he couldn't accept the other party's actions. More importantly, as soon as he saw his little nephew's eyes, he would have nightmares all night long. So he quickly went through a wave of formalities and went home after being discharged from the army.
He thought angrily: "And he's not my son, what the hell am I worrying about!"
As it turns out, he is really a worry.
Even if he left the place and stopped touching anything related to the project, he would still keep thinking about that little nephew. I was so annoyed that I found a few friends to go out drinking and talking nonsense.
That's how the drunkard Laoyu was called.
Lao Yu sometimes thinks that blood is really a magical thing. He is just an uncle. He has taken care of You Huo for a few years at most, so why is he so worried
But he would think, even his uncle would feel distressed, how could his sister be so hard-hearted
Maybe it was the smell of the near and far. In the next few years, he cut off contact with his sister. Because of the confidentiality of the project, he could not see her and You Huan, and could not receive information from them.
After a long time, he thought about it, and seemed to understand his sister again.
For her, the birth of this son made a mess of the trajectory of her life. Her husband left, her work was delayed, her energy was low, and her body was left with various root causes, and she was never truly healthy again.
She probably doesn't really have such deep feelings for this child.
But understanding does not mean agreeing.
Lao Yu still rejects this practice.
This pair of siblings who used to have a good relationship has gradually become relatives who have seen each other for several years.
He has his own family, his own son. But every time he saw You Huo, he couldn't help feeling guilty.
He actually didn't know what he had to feel guilty about, but he just couldn't help it.
The older the child was, the colder he became. He didn't talk much, and he didn't like to be close to people because many people were afraid of him.
Others do not know the reason, and they are inexplicably afraid. But Lao Yu knew, so the more afraid he was, the more he felt sorry for this nephew.
The more distressed, the more afraid that Youhuo will one day know the whole story, that there is something hidden in his eyes, and that... the person who advocates doing this is his mother.
For a long time, this became Lao Yu's greatest worry.
Finally one day, it really happened.
Lao Yu will always remember that day.
Leaning on the hospital bed, his sister said to him in her usual calm tone: "… The things in the eyes can be taken out when he is an adult, depending on the needs. I know what you've been thinking, but it's better Don't interfere with that process. The development of the system is a little... more than expected, and it is difficult to say what will happen if there is more interference."
She said: "I may really not be suitable for being a mother. At first, I couldn't help but bring my resentment and disgust towards his father to him. It's really hard to like him purely. I'm not a person with strong emotions. As a child, I may be a little more enthusiastic about the project results. Do you know why I want to make him a systematic learning object? Because I think... If he is a key part of the project results, I will be a little more. Be patient, take care of him a little better, and like him a little more."
"But then I found out that I was thinking too simply. Because of the time, even I was afraid to look into his eyes. Sometimes when he stared at me for a long time, I would think, is he looking at me or his eyes? That thing in there is looking at me."
After she finished speaking for a while, she turned her head and said to Lao Yu, "I know you feel distressed and confused, but let's be less emotional. In the future, he—"
The sentence could not be finished at the end, because they saw the person standing at the door.
Until now, Lao Yu didn't know how much You Huo had heard back then.
He only remembered that he was drenched in cold sweat at the time, and also remembered the cold, bloodless face of the young man Youyou.
That moment became the eternal theme of his later nightmares.
If possible, he wanted to go back to that time and cover Wandering's ears to block his legs.
So many years later, when Youhuo was removed from the system and his memory was completely disturbed, Lao Yu was actually happy.
Because he will forget those things.
***
"Two or three years... I actually know that you still have things to do, and I know that there should be someone here who will try to pull you in. I have been trying to avoid this incident, pulling you to a crowded place and letting Yu Wen Follow you more. But I didn't expect the system to pull us in together." Lao Yu said, "Uncle thinks more selfishly, he just doesn't want you to come back to this ghost place."
He paused and added: "This is what your mother meant at the beginning. She realized that the problem with this project is very regretful, so she told me to take good care of you. If you get hurt or give up half your life, I will later I don't have the face to see her when I go down."
Until this moment, he still insisted-
He still trims things up when he tells the ins and outs, omitting some, skipping some.
He still hopes that you will never think of those things, so that in his memory, his mother is just cold, not good at expressing, and stern...
rather than dislike him.
Old Yu thought that he, the alcoholic reckless man, couldn't really help.
The only thing he can do is probably to be a poor and worried uncle.