Whenever Luo Binhan steps into No. 15, Anemone Street, Regenberg, he is always full of emotions, filled with the joy of seeing his relatives, the excitement of being away from work, and the fear of facing Yu Xiaorong's latest crime. But underneath these big emotions, he could feel a more obscure confusion. He had no objection to Malcolm Dubois—perhaps a little, but it had nothing to do with it—but as soon as he entered the courtyard behind the fence, he became acutely aware of the arrangement. It's not because of Yu Qingshu's preference. At least not the mother he was familiar with.
It's full of family memories. The monster statue holding a water pipe in the courtyard, the cobblestone paths carefully selected and patchworked into flower patterns, and the house number specially designed to look like a harrier... all the arrangements hint that there are some stories here that are unknown to outsiders. The family's secret code. They may be unintentional or lovingly orchestrated by the artist.
Luo Binhan knew some of these strange codes, some were uncertain, and some he knew nothing about. He is not the leading actor in this family drama, but is a frequent guest guest. When a certain plot requires his friendly participation, he will take out a set of keys with a seaweed ball pendant, as if walking into the camera lens. Just like that, he opened the door of No. 15 Anemone Road. Sometimes he calls this place Yu Xiaorong's home. It's not completely accurate but it's hard to change his name. What other more appropriate title could there be? "His mother's home" or "Yu's home" both sound so bizarre. Yu Xiaorong's home is more like some kind of fairy tale place.
The garden gates are open and anyone from the community is welcome to come and visit. There was an express package in front of the door. Luo Binhan picked it up and put it on the suitcase. He waited for the sharp-eared harrier to come out of the dog door to greet him, but there was no movement, and his heart sank slightly. Leo is indeed smart and capable, and he once found his little master who disappeared overnight in the woods. It is hard to imagine that he would die from eating chocolate or running around in the driveway...but he is a very old dog after all.
Luo Binhan didn't want to think about it any further, but gently inserted the key into the keyhole and slowly opened the door like he was sneaking into a secret base. He didn't want to create any special surprise, but he hadn't thought about how to greet Yu Qingshu as if nothing had happened after two years of disappearance. But don't worry too much - on such a sunny weekend with birds singing and flowers blooming in front of her, the most romantic thing she can think of for a key lawyer at a law firm who is passionate about her career and is expected to be promoted to partner is to find a partner. There are no underage children and she works overtime for her clients. The family bedroom and study room are not in line with Yu Qingshu's preferences. In the past few years, she has always tried not to reveal her communication status with "work contacts" at home. "Don't bring work into the home" is her top priority in the past few years. A motto dedicated to achieving. But then again, maxims generally serve as an advance payment of conscience' indulgence for mistakes destined to be made.
He can quietly walk in, find out whether the hostess is still struggling in the career field, and then sit down and carefully consider countermeasures. He should have had a solid plan before he walked in the door, but he didn't, just like he should have said hello before buying his plane ticket instead of letting procrastination take over. Now he had no idea at all, and he didn't even have time to discuss it with Zhou Yu, because Zhou Yu had already gone on a business trip three days before he boarded the plane. He really didn't know what was wrong with a medical project, and he couldn't even reply to messages on his mobile phone. If Zhou Yu was not Zhou Yu, he would believe that this person would have to spend a few months in a detention center.
The door opened to him quietly. The scenery inside the house overlapped with the memories in his mind. He first noticed the old mahogany long table in the living room. It was a housewarming gift his mother had received from a classmate when she first moved here. It had remained standing in this home for more than ten years, no matter what some four-clawed animals were doing. It leaves numerous scars on its surface. Its elegant, soft crimson color must have pleased the hostess enough to serve it to this day, and to conceal the harrier's past sins, the table was covered with a large, fine but sturdy spring-green tablecloth. The floral embroidery on the cloth seems to easily arouse the criminal impulse of the beagle, but Luo Binhan also knows the key here: Leo hates the smell of citrus, and a small amount of citrus-flavored air freshener is enough to make it shy away. It wasn't a very merciful approach, but negotiating with a hound that was full of energy and had a cunning nature was impossible without some tricks. In the past, everyone who wanted to establish a foothold at No. 15 Anemone Road had to learn this negotiation skill, and to Luo Binhan's delight, it was clear that negotiations would continue in the days to come.
He saw the second most dangerous member of the family (number one was always Yu Xiaorong, of course) lying in the corner looking at him. Its skin has become loose and wrinkled, but its hair is still smooth and it is full of energy. Luo Binhan knelt down and waved to it, then gently called its name.
"Leo," he called in a low voice, "come here."
Leo was still lying on the spot without moving, his two extraordinarily large ears hanging quietly on both sides of his face, looking extremely serious and melancholy. When Luo Binhan stretched out his left hand as he did in the past, he did not trot over and put his chin on the palm of his hand to accept the caress. Instead, it simply wagged its tail twice, still staring at this acquaintance who had been missing for a long time with suspicious eyes. It must have recognized him, otherwise it would have given a deafening bark to an uninvited stranger. But somehow it's no longer as affectionate and passionate as it used to be. It just looks, as if observing something it neither understands nor dislikes.
Luo Binhan didn't know what the problem was. Maybe he was stained with the smell of strange things, such as Fina, Miffy or something more distant; maybe Leo had long thought that he was dead, died in some dangerous wilderness hunting, but at this moment this person Who else could be the guy who trespassed into the territory and still has a familiar smell on his body? There was no doubt that it was the murderer who hunted him. Luo Binhan didn't know if a harrier could be smart enough to come up with such a scary story, but he had indeed heard of similar things, maybe it happened to pet cats. In any case, if Leo regarded him as an intruder now, he would never let him enter the living room.
He squatted there for a while, hoping that Leo would change his mind, but dogs were much better at stubbornness than he was. In the end, he had to give up and whispered in a negotiating tone: "I won't offend you, and you won't offend me, how about that?"
Leo tilted his head. It was still thinking and assessing his identity, but it lowered its neck a little and didn't look like it was going to attack violently. Luo Binhan had to take care of himself first. He first dragged his luggage into the living room together with the express package at the door, and then looked at the changes in the entire living room. The furnishings have not changed much, and Malcolm must have been quite busy in the past two years or so. There is a new coffee machine in the kitchen, so it can be speculated that the elite lawyers have brought the pressure of their careers into the home after all. The inner layer of the curtains was replaced with a hollow lace texture, so that when the curtains were drooped, sunlight could penetrate through and fall on the spring green tablecloth. The ceramic bottle in the center of the table is painted with blue cornflowers, and the bottle is filled with an apricot rose called "Lady Oisette".
This scene had an unreal appeal and once again made Luo Binhan feel like he was in a fairy tale somewhere. Everything is so bright and lovely, glowing with vibrant beauty. He also thought that his mother used to like apricot color very much - once, he could only guess so, because in the photos left in the past, he always saw Yu Qingshu wearing apricot-colored women's shirts. Nowadays, she rarely seems to wear it like this anymore, but apricot flowers are still her favorite.
Thoughts about his hobbies made Luo Binhan involuntarily turn around and look at the family photos hanging on the wall. Most of them are about Yu Xiaorong, and the two or three scattered pictures show his and Malcolm's relatives. These photos are carefully preserved in unique frames, surrounding the hanging painting in the center. And if Luo Binhan was asked to identify one of Yu Qingshu's favorite furnishings in the whole house, he felt that he would probably choose this painting.
It shouldn't be worth much. An imitation of a famous work by an unknown artist friend of Malcolm's. It is said that it was born on the same day as Yu Xiaorong. This may not be true, but it was definitely born for Yu Xiaorong, and was sent to the house as a gift within the first week of her arrival.
He imagined the day when Yu Qingshu first received the painting: the baby finally fell asleep, she came out of the nursery, looked tired, walked towards the gifts, condolences and greeting cards piled on the long table in the living room, and picked up the nearest package Read with the card. They didn't have many relatives locally, but their neighbors were very welcoming, and Malcolm had many friends. She prayed she wouldn't come across some socially awkward gift, like a nude bodybuilding statue of her child's father—Malcolm's artist friends did come across as eccentric at times. She opened the flat square package with vigilance, and a corner of the painting was exposed, allowing her to see small patches of aqua-blue paint. She breathed a sigh of relief and tore open the front package in one go.
It's certainly not the best of its kind. It is a copy of a famous artist's work, and its techniques and themes are both original and original. But it did capture her heart. Under the elegant and hazy aqua blue sky, in each white apricot blossom that stretches and blooms, every delicate brushstroke contains tenderness and joy. That's the apricot blossom in full bloom. The dream of spring dawn. Love and hope. What it tells is the blessing for the coming of new life, just like the famous painting it imitates. How could a mother not love this painting?
spring. spring. Why must spring be the beginning of the year? Like all life from birth to death. But the seasonal cycle is an illusion, and each spring is a separate, unrelated phenomenon. What will the painter think when he learns that his nephew is born? What was he thinking when he learned that Yu Xiaorong was born? Death is gone and madness is quelled. All the misfortunes of the past will be replaced by something new - seriously? That doesn't actually change the outcome. It's a never-ending cycle. Get hope. disappointment. despair. Think you are awake. Another disappointment. There is never a true, complete epiphany in this show, unless you just exit the stage.
Go into that garden. Luo Binhan thought. In his mind, he pictured Li Li pacing in front of him, reciting the poem, or maybe he was reciting it himself: the world can be seen in a grain of sand, and paradise can be found in a flower. There is no difference. dust. world. The garden in the mist and the silent shadow forest. He felt as if his fingertips were touching the moist cold mist again.
He was lost in his imagination, and the paintings in front of him seemed to be extending into the distance. In the dream of spring dawn, in the dark and deserted Liyuan, the aqua sky gradually merges with the green mist, and the wind echoes with string songs - but all the fantasy about nightmares contains noise. He didn't know what it looked like, maybe it was the beating sound of his own heartbeat. It was so abrupt and unnatural that he could no longer think about the garden. He turned around to look for the source of the noise, only to see half of a young girl's face exposed next to the handrail at the top of the stairs. He and she stared at each other, and the atmosphere of the fairy tale land disappeared in an instant.
Luo Binhan quickly and almost instinctively forced a bright smile from his face.
"Rong Rong!" he shouted with all his enthusiasm.
Following his call, Yu Xiaorong's slightly mature face slowly rose from behind the armrest. Her lips were pursed tightly, and the contours of her chin and cheekbones became more like Yu Qingshu. She seemed to be taller, her cheeks were thinner, and she still had traces of sunbathing on the beach. Despite this, Luo Binhan still felt that she had not changed much. He opened his arms towards her and asked with a smile, "Are you surprised?"
Yu Xiaorong walked slowly down from the second floor. Of course she did not accept a hug from a suspicious person, but looked around the living room. When she found Leo lying next to the wall, her eyebrows immediately wrinkled. Luo Binhan pretended not to see it.
"What happened to it?" she asked in Chinese.
"What's wrong?" Luo Binhan said, "It was like this when I walked in. Maybe I was too surprised - the people who died outside are back again."
Yu Xiaorong walked towards the corner. When she reached out and stroked Leo's head, the beagle waggled its tail and gently licked the palm of its little master, showing that he was not in any way sick. But when Yu Xiaorong tried to play with it, Leo didn't show the usual interest. Its eyes glanced at Luo Binhan from time to time, as if to say, "I haven't forgotten you yet."
Luo Binhan still pretended not to notice the family security guard's suspicion of him. In order not to make the atmosphere awkward, he began to wander around the house, showing a keen interest in various decorative changes.
"Where is your mother?" he asked Yu Xiaorong, "still working overtime?"
"same as usual."
"Where's Malcolm?"
"He's in Spain."
"What was he doing there?"
"Restore ancient murals." Yu Xiaorong explained. She did not say more, and perhaps she did not know more. Sometimes it's not easy for others to understand what Malcolm does. He has so many friends of all kinds who bring him all kinds of jobs, but unfortunately his income is often not satisfactory.
Luo Binhan was a little disappointed because Malcolm was a person who didn't like to get to the bottom of things. If he asked Luo Binhan where he went, Luo Binhan could tell him that he was abducted by alien monks, and he would just laugh immediately, maybe award him a commemorative medal, and then completely let the matter go. forget. This kind of unconstrained thinking is really a treasure for people who want to muddy the waters. Without this reliable helper, it would be even more difficult to deal with the cross-examination of the mother and daughter.
He stood frozen on the spot, not knowing what to say for a moment. Yu Xiaorong folded his hands on his chest and stared at him silently. The scene was not cozy, almost sinister. But to be honest, he was used to it. Yu Xiaorong had never learned how to speak softly and gently, at least not in Chinese. She had mastered how to use non-taboo words to argue, and that was his fault, and he couldn't deny it.
"Uh..." he said, "How about studying?"
"That way." Yu Xiaorong replied stiffly.
"Have a nice holiday?"
"It's quite special."
"Oh, special?"
"The tourists there are quite interesting." Yu Xiaorong said. Her chin was slightly raised, showing a bit of provocation.
This gesture made Luo Binhan wary. He is quite aware of being a member of the opposite sex and is not very willing to care about how an adolescent girl interacts with boys (but her mother will not turn a blind eye), but Yu Xiaorong has an extremely bad record in this regard. If she had a good conversation with a strange man on the beach, he might be a wanted criminal who had fled here. Fortunately, it's just a short vacation. Even if Yu Xiaorong had a candlelight dinner with the ogre who committed the serial murder case, he would not appear on the streets of Regenberg.
Today is a beautiful day. Luo Binhan thought silently in his heart. He doesn't have to be neurotic. Movies about little girls and surfer guys showing off their bodies, that kind of thing. It was his first day in Regenberg and he tried to make it friendly and relaxed.
"How was your vacation?" Yu Xiaorong asked slightly sarcastically, "A long vacation of more than two years?"
"Special!" Luo Binhan replied. He then added bitterly: "Interesting!"
"Mom suspects that you were hired to kill someone."
"Don't talk nonsense." Luo Binhan said, "I'm fine. Africa has water, electricity, air conditioning, bars and supermarkets, and everyone talks nicely... Is the guest room still available? Let me put my luggage first. "
Yu Xiaorong's lips moved a few times. For a moment her eyes were surprisingly cold and sharp. That kind of look is really weird when it appears on a child, but believing in the innocence of children is also the arrogance of adults. How can a cub break away from the nature of the entire pack? Luo Binhan thought absently. Somehow the killer Xiaomi appeared in front of him. He had never actually seen the cat-man, but he often imagined that its eyes had an innocent, bright and cold look.
However, imagination is still imagination. In the few seconds of his silence, Yu Xiaorong had quietly come to his side. She reached for his suitcase.
"I'll take care of it," she said concisely. "You go and think about how to explain it to your mother. She will be back tonight."
Her motives may have been impure (searching a suspect's suitcase is, after all, one of the most fun parts of the detective game), but Luo Binhan was still moved by it. Regenberg's dreamy, soft and bright sunlight seemed to illuminate the entire room, and the atmosphere of the fairy tale location was restored. He lovingly rejected Yu Xiaorong's offer to help him pack his luggage (and check it out), and just handed Yu Qingshu's package to her and asked her to put it on her mother's desk cabinet. And he will take advantage of this time to lock the door of the guest room and check his luggage carefully to prevent anything wrong with it. Everything is so warm, friendly and pleasant. Yu Xiaorong glared at him fiercely (but possibly with hidden tenderness) and walked towards the study with the package. Suddenly she stopped and stared down at the top of the package.
"Did you hear the countdown sound inside?" Luo Binhan said.
Yu Xiaorong turned around. There was no smile on her face, but a tense calmness.
"The express delivery receipt is fake," she said. "The printed paper is forged. This is not something my mother bought online."
She still held the package, but no longer turned or pressed it hard. Instead, he moved his arms carefully so that he could see every aspect of the package. Finally she lifted it high and looked up to see if there was a message at the bottom.
Luo Binhan had already rushed to her side. If Yu Xiaorong hadn't grasped it tightly enough, he would have taken the thing away with his hands. Together they looked up to read the message written on the bottom of the package. Two lines of small and regular handwriting. One line in German. A line of Chinese characters. Luo Binhan could never recognize more than a hundred German words. He could only stare at the line of Chinese characters, as small as gnats but written clearly:
This gift is given to those who return home.
. The fastest website for updating the mobile version of Apex:
