July 9, 2018 at 9:30 pm.
When Pang Yi and Feng Yuan were having a tryst in the woods, eight-year-old Pang Jinjin was walking on the hilltop with He Ranran. The walk was just an excuse. He Ranran wanted to educate Pang Jinjin well away from the crowd. She told Pang Jinjin that both Yangyang and Feifei had better academic performance than him, especially Yangyang, who not only ranked first in studies, but was also excellent in extracurricular development, and was good at calligraphy, painting, and piano. On the other hand, Pang Jinjin Her grades were not improving, and her extracurricular activities were so-so, making her unable to hold her head high in front of her friends.
"I think you just don't work hard enough, you're just playful and lazy, and you just have an unstable mind." He Ranran's words came like a barrage of words into Pang Jinjin's ears, "Your father is just indolent and doesn't want to make progress. After you were born, I looked for him specially. The master gave you this name because he wanted you to be different and enterprising like him, so don’t let me down.”
As Pang Jinjin walked, he tore the grass leaves casually. After tearing them off, he held them tightly in his hands and squeezed out the light green liquid. He looked at the palms of his hands and gradually turned from white to green, revealing a silent smile.
"Did you hear that?!" He Ranran shook Pang Jinjin's body and shook the leaves out of his hand.
"Mom, I have worked very hard, but I just can't learn." Pang Jinjin raised his head. He was already wearing glasses at that time. He looked at his mother with slightly nervous eyes, hoping for her understanding and support. I hope to get encouragement and affirmation from my mother. He didn't know what was going on with him. Maybe like the kids in the class said, he was just born stupid, but he didn't dare to say this. He knew he would be beaten if he said it. His mother never let him talk about himself. Silly and other words, in the eyes of mother, he will always be the smartest one.
"Nonsense!" He Ranran squatted on the ground, holding Pang Jinjin's shoulders with both hands, trying to pass on her spiritual power to Pang Jinjin, "It's not that you can't learn, it's just that you haven't found a way yet. You are no worse than them, even You are better than them all. You are the best, the smartest, and the most talented. You have to believe in yourself. Don’t worry, I will help you and find others to help you. We will definitely surpass them."
Pang Jinjin felt a heavy pressure on his shoulders, making his legs weak.
"Do you understand?!" He Ranran shook Pang Jinjin hard, almost knocking off his glasses.
"I understand, I will work very hard." Pang Jinjin straightened the frame of his glasses with a serious look on his face.
"That's right." He Ranran laughed, "Come, read it to me again, be proactive and work hard!"
"Mom, I want to pee." Pang Jinjin said.
He Ranran stood up and looked around, pointing to the right: "Go there, there is more grass there, I'll wait for you here."
Pang Jinjin trotted over and deliberately walked further away. He didn't really want to pee, but he just didn't want to listen to his mother talking about it anymore. He took off his pants and pretended to pee when he heard a swishing sound coming from outside the grass. Before he could wait, Pang Jinjin trotted over. He pulled up his pants and saw Yangyang. Yangyang also saw him, and Yangyang turned and walked towards him.
"What are you doing?" Yangyang asked.
"Pee." Pang Jinjin pulled up his pants and saw Yangyang holding a smooth wicker in his hand.
"I just saw your dad there, gnawing on Feifei's mother's face." Yangyang turned around and pointed.
"You're talking nonsense." Pang Jinjin stepped forward, snatched away the wicker, and pulled it out in the air, making a whooshing sound.
"Give it back to me." Yangyang stretched out his hand, "I found this with great difficulty."
"No." Pang Jinjin rarely bullies others. On the contrary, he is often bullied by older children in school. But at this moment, facing Yang Yang, who is one year younger than him, he looks at the stubborn look on Yang Yang's face. With an expression on his face, he suddenly felt an inexplicable anger. He clenched the wicker tightly and said as if declaring sovereignty, "This is mine."
"Why?" Yangyang didn't understand, "Why did you want to steal my things?"
"Who told you to be better than me in everything?" When Pang Jinjin said this, he first felt sad, but he didn't know it was inferiority complex, and then felt resentful, but he didn't know it was jealousy. , but he did not put his inferiority and jealousy into action. He took the wicker with a guilty conscience, turned around and ran away.
Yangyang chased after him, but Pang Jinjin lost his way and ran to the other side. The grass became thicker and taller. He accidentally fell down. Yangyang immediately caught up and took away the wicker. Seeing Yang Yang turn around and leave, Pang Jinjin felt a strong counterattack in his heart. He took advantage of Yang Yang's unpreparedness and pushed Yang Yang hard with both hands. Yang Yang turned around before falling to the ground and grabbed his arm. The shirt collar and his neck followed Yangyang forward, but Yangyang soon let go. Then, he saw Yangyang's lower body disappeared, and Yangyang was hanging on a small pothole, grabbing the edge with both hands. , he immediately reached out to pull Yang Yang, but when one of Yang Yang's hands was holding Pang Jinjin's hand, the edge of the pit suddenly collapsed, and Yang Yang fell down. Pang Jinjin shouted twice but received no reply. He was frightened, turned around and ran back, trying to call his mother for help.
The wicker was lying in the grass next to it, as well as the blue button on Pang Jinjin's collar.
After Pang Jinjin found his mother, he panicked and told her what had just happened.
Under the leadership of Pang Jinjin, He Ranran returned to the grass to search, but the panicked Pang Jinjin could not find the location of the pothole. He could only identify the place where he peed, but the place where he peed was still a bit far away from the pothole.
At this time, the shouts of Liang Zhe and Meng Xiaoyao came from not far away, and it was Yang Yang who shouted.
"Jinjiang, remember, from now on, no matter who asks you, you have to say that you have never seen Yangyang, and you have never been here. Do you understand?" He Ranran squatted on the ground and said solemnly to his son. , "This is a very important thing. You must remember it firmly. Repeat it to me now."
"Is it more important than studying?" Pang Jinjin asked blankly.
"This is the most important thing." He Ranran was very serious, "Quick, repeat it."
"Mom...did I hurt Yangyang?" Pang Jinjin's voice was filled with tears.
"Don't think blindly, this matter has nothing to do with you." He Ranran raised her voice, "Repeat it quickly!"
Under He Ranran's urging, Pang Jinjin repeated it three times, and the two checked the itinerary again before leaving.
Later, He Ranran met Liang Zhe and Meng Xiaoyao, and learned that Yang Yang was missing. She eagerly helped to search, mainly around Pang Jinjin's pee. In the end, she found the wicker, but not the button. Then she discovered the small pothole next to the wicker. She wiped the wicker with a wet paper towel, and then cleaned up the traces around the pothole before shouting: "I found something here!"
At this time, Liang Zhe had already called the police, and the police were on their way.
After He Ranran discovered the pothole, everyone came one after another. Deng Zhongquan and Liang Zhe got in one after another, while Feng Yuan was looking for something around. At that time, Feng Yuan already felt something was wrong. She clearly heard He Ranran in the woods. and Pang Jinjin's voice, why they said they were not here, Feng Yuan did not expose their lies, because it was unnecessary, and it would also involve her and Pang Yi. Feng Yuan found the blue button near the pothole and confirmed that it was from Pang Jinjin's shirt. After the search ended on the first night, Feng Yuan found a reason and asked Pang Yi to steal Pang Jinjin's Mickey Mouse shirt and give it to her. She saved the buttons along with the shirt to this day.
He Ranran didn't tell anyone about Pang Jinjin pushing Yang Yang, including Pang Yi. If Pang Yi had known about it in advance, he wouldn't have stolen the shirt to Feng Yuan. After the shirt disappeared, He Ranran was suspicious for several days. , although Pang Yi repeatedly stated that he threw the shirt away because it was too dirty, this matter has always been hanging in her heart and has become a worry. Because of this, when Feng Yuan mentioned the button, she was instantly confused. After that, she could only let Feng Yuan control her. Even if it was true that her husband had committed adultery with Feng Yuan, she was unwilling to be humiliated and humiliated, so she could only endure it.
After Pang Jinjin finished speaking, Liang Zhe fell into a long silence.
Five years ago, when the police were searching, they had determined that Yangyang had fallen into the pothole, and thought that Yangyang had fallen in accidentally. Unexpectedly, he was pushed down by Pang Jinjin, and He Ranran was unexpectedly pushed down in order to protect him. Pang Jinjin concealed the matter. If they had told it earlier, they might have been able to find Yangyang on the spot.
Liang Zhe clenched his fists, feeling angry and even more disappointed.
"Actually, it was an accident..." He Ranran behind him said at this time, "We quickly discovered the pothole. After entering, we found that Yangyang was not there. The police also went in and searched several times. The height of the pothole was less than two meters. , if he simply fell, he would not be injured at all, and something else had obviously happened to him."
"Shut up!" Liang Zhe turned around and roared angrily. The back of his hand turned blue and the switchblade vibrated up and down.
Pang Jinjin, who was sitting on the sofa, breathed a long sigh of relief. He was still very nervous when he first spoke, and he hesitated for a while. He only relaxed after speaking. The string in his heart was loosened, and his body could relax accordingly. When the accident happened five years ago, he had just turned eight and was at that stage where he knew things but couldn't tell right from wrong. In the past five years, as he grew up, he had a comprehensive understanding of that incident, and gradually realized that he had made a huge mistake. He twice proposed to He Ranran that he wanted to confess the matter, but was rejected by He Ranran. Denied outright. Frequently, he would dream of Yang Yang, who asked him with blood all over his body: Why did you want to harm me? After waking up from the dream, he would feel a burning pain in his heart, like the ghost of Yang Yang was torturing him, and he felt that he was a sinner.
"Uncle Liang... I'm sorry." Pang Jinjin had tears in his eyes and buried his head deeply. "I have said this to you many times in my heart. Today I finally have the opportunity to tell you in person that I am sorry for you. , I’m sorry Yangyang.”
Liang Zhe stared at Pang Jinjin closely, his eyes unblinking.
"Can you...can you forgive me?" Pang Jinjin asked anxiously.
"No." Liang Zhe said two words in a deep voice.
"But I have really told the truth." Pang Jinjin looked confused.
"The truth is the most basic thing." Liang Zhe looked directly at Pang Jinjin, making no secret of his disgust and hatred for Pang Jinjin, "If you had told it at the time, you might have been forgiven, but five years have passed and you haven't said it. If I hadn't pushed you to this point today, would you say that? Therefore, you can no longer be forgiven. You have made a big mistake and may have cost a life. Why should I forgive you? Just because of you Is it a child? I could call the police right now and ask the police to arrest you, but the reason why I didn’t is because I don’t trust you.”
"You don't believe what I said?" Pang Jinjin raised his hands nervously, "I swear everything I said is true."
"Not only do I not trust you, I don't trust anyone. Who knows if you have done anything else, but I will follow this clue to investigate." Liang Zhe gritted his teeth, "When I find out the truth and find Yang Yang, you will be punished as you want." Liang Zhe looked back at He Ranran and Pang Yi: "I will not let any of you go."
"Okay, I've said what I said and apologized, what else do you want." He Ranran couldn't bear it anymore and stepped forward to pull Pang Jinjin up, "Son, let's go, this matter has nothing to do with us in the first place. "
Just two steps out, Liang Zhe suddenly stood up, held down He Ranran's shoulders, pushed He Ranran to the wall, raised the switchblade, and stabbed He Ranran violently. With a clang, the tip of the knife touched He Ranran. Ranran's ears pierced the wall. Liang Zhe stared at He Ranran, angry flames burning in his eyes. At this time, there was a ding from the phone. Liang Zhe took it out and took a look. It was a text from his wife: Let them go.
Liang Zhe hesitated for a moment, pulled out the switchblade, and shouted: "Get out!"
He Ranran didn't say much, and took Pang Jinjin away.
Liang Zhe suddenly remembered something, turned around and said, "Leave the shirt and buttons."
He Ranran paused, but did not look back. Liang Zhe held the switchblade tightly in his right hand and slowly approached. He Ranran nodded towards Pang Yi, and Pang Yi threw the shirt to the ground. He Ranran took out a light blue button from his pocket and threw it on the shirt, then opened the door and pulled Pang Jin away.
Before leaving the house, Pang Jinjin turned back and glanced at Liang Zhe. Liang Zhe's eyes pierced him like knives. He avoided that gaze as if in pain and opened his mouth, as if he wanted to speak, but in the end he could not.
Liang Zhe picked up the shirt and buttons on the ground, looked at them silently for a while, and then walked out.
He climbed up a floor and squatted in the dark stairwell, feeling pain in his heart. He couldn't figure out why they would put Yang Yang's life at risk for the slightest potential risk to themselves. They could have killed him on the spot. Speaking of which, if it was really an accident, even if something happened to Yangyang, he would forgive them and they would not be punished. Even strangers would not be so cold-blooded, not to mention they were still his best friends. Before Yangyang disappeared, their three families had many group gatherings and left many good memories. He always felt that The relationship between the three families will last forever until the children grow up, and their friendship is comparable to that of blood relatives.
The friendship he was once so proud of was so vulnerable.
He looked at the light blue button, and through the small holes, he seemed to see Yang Yang's futile grasp before falling. He vaguely heard Yang Yang's cry for help, which made his eyes wet with tears. . I don’t know how long it took, but there was a ding on the phone, and my wife sent a text. There were only four words, but it contained the same emotion that couldn’t be described in words: I hate them. He took a deep breath and stood up holding on to the wall. In the darkness, he said in a very low but firm voice: "I hate them too, but the matter is not over yet."
He dragged his tired body downstairs, went to the canteen, and bought a bottle of liquor. While drinking, he walked home. Halfway through, he drank up the bottle of liquor. He was drunk, and the sorrow and sorrow in his mind were all gone. The pain was gone, and he began to laugh, dance in the street, and sing loudly. His right hand stretched out to the outside, like pulling a child. While spinning in a circle, he said to his right hand: "Yangyang, Dad loves me very much." You, do you love daddy?" He heard a crisp voice in the air replying to him: "Dad, I love you too, you are the best daddy in the world." He raised his head and smiled, but tears fell. It flowed down uncontrollably and into the mouth, feeling salty and bitter.
