Das Leben der Landbevölkerung in der Stadt während der Song-Dynastie

Kapitel 45

Yes, it should be anger, but Chen Yuan's expression lacked anger. Why?

Chen Yuan lowered his head and slowly moved his feet. I watched his feet move slowly and stop in front of the stairs.

A pair of gentle hands took my arm, and Xiao Xuan appeared beside me silently like an elf.

Chen Yuan stood by the stairs without turning around. After a long while, footsteps sounded again, and Chen Yuan went downstairs.

"I've already explained everything to him, and he won't come looking for me again," Xiaoxuan said softly.

I nodded, a wave of exhaustion washing over me.

Xiaoxuan watched me leave, and I turned back and smiled at her.

In front of the hospital gate, a familiar figure appeared; Chen Yuan slowly turned around...

"I hope you treat her well," Chen Yuan said in a low voice.

"If you hurt her again, I will never let you get away with it..."

My mind suddenly went blank. Why did Chen Yuan use the word "again"? Did I hurt someone I loved before? Was it Xiao Huan?

Everyone says I killed Xiao Huan, but I know the truth is absolutely not like that, and I believe Chen Yuan knows the answer to all of this. Since I didn't kill Xiao Huan, how could I have hurt her?

I suddenly realized something: Chen Yuan also loved Xiao Huan. Yes, he loved Xiao Huan, and I knew that perfectly well.

We both fell in love with the same woman again!

I don't know how Chen Yuan left; I wandered along the street.

Countless images flashed before my eyes, with disjointed shots appearing intermittently.

A white dress appeared on the stage of the school auditorium, and Xiao Huan's smiling face attracted everyone's attention...

Chen Yuan was behind me, and I could feel his adoring gaze passing over my shoulder, following Xiao Huan's joyful dancing figure...

Amidst the chaotic crowd after the party, Xiao Huan and I exchanged glances, while Chen Yuan's gaze remained fixed on Xiao Huan, still lingering on me with infatuation...

Xiao Huan and I walked out of the dormitory building, chatting and laughing. Upstairs, Chen Yuan's gaze was filled with confusion through the window...

I stood with my arm around Xiao Huan's shoulder by the school's flowerbed. Chen Yuan's face was behind the camera, blurry, but I knew it was Chen Yuan...

Xiao Huan was crying silently when Chen Yuan handed her a handkerchief...

Xiao Huan stopped crying and started laughing in front of me, while Chen Yuan silently watched everything from afar...

My mind was a complete mess; I couldn't think straight anymore. I didn't know how I had hurt Xiao Huan before; all I knew was that Chen Yuan was right.

I long to know all the answers, the answers to everything.

I don't know how I got home; I didn't regain consciousness until the next morning. Xiaoxuan's quiet opening of the door woke me up.

A warm body snuggled into my blankets, and cool lips pressed against my forehead. A faint, fragrant breath trembled slightly.

Xiaoxuan is scared!

I don't know what Xiaoxuan is afraid of, and I don't know what our tomorrow will be like.

"Xiao Ming," a soft voice sounded in my ear, "will you promise me something?"

I nodded. "As long as it's within my power."

"Stop trying to get back our past memories, okay? Aren't we doing just fine as we are now? Why do you have to disturb our peaceful life?"

I did not answer, because I could not answer.

Xiao Huan's image is always in my mind. I know that even if I don't look for her, my lost memories will find me sooner or later.

I don't know how much longer our peaceful life can last.

"Please, Xiaoming, answer me." Xiaoxuan's voice was full of longing.

"Okay, I won't look for it anymore." I paused for a moment, "I'm afraid the memories will come knocking on my door, and then there's nothing I can do."

My response was Xiaoxuan's cold lips.

At noon, Xiaoxuan was going to attend a colleague's wedding at the hospital. It was clear that Xiaoxuan felt a little envious of that colleague.

I stood by the window, watching Xiao Xuan's figure gradually disappear, and a sense of doubt welled up in my heart.

Why doesn't Xiaoxuan want me to regain my memories? What is she afraid of? Could the events of three years ago be related to her? In the love triangle between Xiaohuan, me, and Chen Yuan, what role does Xiaoxuan play?

I sat on the sofa, gently exhaling smoke rings. Various smoke rings kept changing, expanding, and disappearing in the air, one inside the other.

So much has happened since I was discharged from the hospital that I've barely had time to think. I need to calm down and think things through.

10. Memories in a Dream

All the footage from since my discharge from the hospital played back in my mind, and I tried to find a pattern.

As darkness fell, the room lights remained off, and twilight gradually crept in. I could no longer make out the calendar on the opposite wall.

But my eyes gradually brightened, shining brightly in the darkness.

I've finally found a pattern, or rather, a clue.

I grabbed a coat and ran downstairs as fast as I could.

In the restaurant, I raised my glass and drank heavily, surrounded by a pile of empty beer bottles.

In the stairwell, I staggered, but my eyes remained fixed, my goal unwavering.

The first thing I did after entering the room was to unplug the phone and then lie flat on the bed.

That's right, this is the pattern I found.

Whenever I drink alcohol at night, I always dream about Xiao Huan. When I don't drink, I've never dreamed about anything from three years ago.

I lay in bed, feeling incredibly nervous.

Finally, the effects of the alcohol kicked in, and I gradually lost consciousness.

Xiao Huan arrived, softly singing: "Though we will never see each other again, I will always be by your side. The words we spoke will never change, we will never be apart..."

I sat by the lake, captivated by Xiao Huan's gentle singing...

Another girl and I walked out of the movie theater, and Xiao Xuan was watching me coldly from a short distance away...

Xiao Huan was crying silently when Chen Yuan handed her a handkerchief...

Xiao Huan stopped crying and started laughing in front of me, while Chen Yuan silently watched everything from afar...

Xiao Huan linked arms with me, Chen Yuan walked behind us, and we entered the company gate...

Our attire had changed. I was wearing a suit and tie, while Xiao Huan was still in her white dress, but the style had been transformed into a professional woman's suit. Chen Yuan, also wearing a suit, stood not far away, still gazing at Xiao Huan with a somewhat infatuated look over my shoulder...

A woman and I walked out of the hotel...

Xiao Huan kicked me out of the room, an alarm clock hit me on the forehead, and Xiao Huan started crying...

I knelt before Xiaohuan and swore that I would never go to see another woman again...

"If you ever see another woman, I'll kill you," Xiao Huan's voice echoed in the sky...

Xiao Huan was busy in the kitchen, and I recognized it as my own kitchen...

Today is the day we first met, don't you remember? Come back soon, I'm waiting for you. Xiao Huan hung up the phone...

I was in a restaurant, raising a glass and chatting with a woman in black...

"Let's go to your house," the woman in black said...

There's someone at my house, maybe tomorrow...

I knew you weren't being sincere; I'm not in the mood for this tomorrow...

My eyes lit up! Haha, no one's home at Xiaohuan's house right now...

The woman in black and I walked down a dark stairwell, stumbling up the stairs. Suddenly, for some reason, she burst into laughter, and I quickly covered her mouth…

I lay on the bed, panting, with the woman in black pressed against my chest...

The door opened, and Xiao Huan stared at me with a pale face...

Xiao Huan raised the knife in her hand. I knew it was a knife she had bought especially for me to make braised pork; it was incredibly sharp…

The woman in black and I jumped up in a panic, forgetting that we weren't wearing any clothes...

Xiao Huan's face turned even paler. A cold glint flashed as she slashed at the woman in black. Xiao Huan wasn't trying to kill me...

Chen Yuan suddenly appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Xiao Huan's arm tightly...

Xiao Huan's knife fell to the ground. The woman in black picked it up and stared at Xiao Huan with a crazed look in her eyes...

"No!" I screamed and rushed forward, grabbing the woman in black. The force of the impact propelled me forward, my head slamming against the door. Before losing consciousness, I saw the woman in black's knife aimed at Xiao Huan, whose arm was still being held tightly by Chen Yuan…

My head was throbbing, and I was still lying by the bedroom door. I struggled to get up...

Xiao Huan and the woman in black have both disappeared. I went to the kitchen...

In the kitchen, a man was chopping at a corpse with an axe. The round head was to one side. He was chopping at a thigh, but the joint seemed difficult to cut. The man was using all his strength, and blood spurted high into the air. He suddenly turned around and glanced at me, his face covered in blood, his expression ferocious and terrifying...

I heard myself scream, and then I had no memory of it...

Before I lost my memory, I recognized the man in the kitchen as Chen Yuan...

XI. The Truth

I opened my eyes and stared silently at the ceiling.

I remembered everything.

Yes, I am indeed a womanizer. I love Xiaohuan very much, but I have wronged her time and time again, and she always forgives me in the end.

But this time, she didn't have the chance to forgive me...

I didn't kill Xiao Huan. Was it the woman in black? Or Chen Yuan?

I rolled out of bed and wrote a note for Xiaoxuan on the table: "Xiaoxuan, I've remembered everything. Xiaohuan was murdered, and I'm going to avenge her. You may never see me again. I'm sorry..."

I wandered the streets in the early morning, the market bustling with people coming and going...

I lingered by the pork stall...

Taking advantage of a moment when no one was looking, I slipped a knife into my pocket—the same kind as Xiao Huan's…

I arrived at Chen Yuan's building, where a white van was parked in front of it...

Knock on the door, and it opens...