Chapter 17 Chapter Sixteen

It was already lunch time when I returned to Trinity College, but Xiao Rui and the others were still in their booths.As soon as I turned into the aisle of bookshelves that led to our corner, they immediately looked up and put their pens down in unison. Hey!When I walked in front of them, Justin let out a long sigh of relief and said: You are finally back, and it is about time to show up. My God, Xiao Rui said: Why did it take so long?Justin thought you were under arrest, but I told him you probably eloped with Sam. Xiao Rui's hair is messed up, Abby's cheek is stained with pen, and she doesn't realize how cute they are in my eyes, and I almost said goodbye to them just now.I really want to touch them, hug them, hold their hands and hold them tight.They insisted on keeping me.I said: Are you going to have lunch?I am so hungry.

How about it?Daniel asked: Did you identify that person? No, I leaned over from Abby to get my bag and said: But he must have been the guy that night.You didn't see his face, it was like ten rounds with Muhammad Ali.Xiao Rui raised her hand with a smile and gave me a high five. what's so funny?Abby can't understand, that guy could get you charged with assault, that's what Justin's worried about, Leo. He won't file a lawsuit. He told the note that he fell and injured himself while riding a bicycle. Don't worry, he's fine. What didn't you think much about?Daniel asked.

No.I grab Justin's coat from the back of the chair and wave it at him.Please, can we go to the Cellar Tavern?I want to eat a big meal, and the sliver makes me hungry. Do you now have an idea of ​​what happened?Do the police think that guy is the one who stabbed you?Did they arrest him? No, I said: The police seem to have insufficient evidence or something, but they don't think he did it. I just thought it was good news, and it never occurred to me that other people might not think so at all.The five of us fell silent suddenly, and none of us looked at each other.Xiao Rui closed her eyes for half a second, as if shivering.

Why?Daniel said: From my point of view, he should be the murderer. I shrugged and said: who knows what's going on in the policeman's head?That's all they tell me. fuck it!Abby said that her face suddenly paled under the fluorescent light, and her eyes were heavy. Therefore, Xiao Rui said: It was a waste of time to do it for a long time, and we are back to the original point. I don't know yet.Daniel said. I think it's obvious that it's okay to say I'm pessimistic. Oh my God, Justin said softly: I thought it was all over.No one answered. Daniel and Abby were talking on the balcony again late that night, but I no longer had to walk all the way to the kitchen by feeling the walls.Even with my eyes blindfolded, I can move freely around the house without making a wrong step and rattling any floorboards.

I don't know why, the two sat on the rocking chair and smoked without touching each other, Daniel said: But I just don't understand how this happened, maybe all kinds of pressures have blinded my judgment, I'm just worried. She's been having a rough time, Abby replied cautiously, and I think she just wants it over with and forgetting about it forever. Daniel looked at Abby, his eyes could not be seen clearly with the moonlight shining through the lens.Is there something wrong with you, he asked: Didn't you tell me? Children's business.I bit my lower lip tightly, and secretly prayed that Abby would not betray sister Tao.

Abby shook her head and said: Nothing about it, trust me. Daniel turned his head and looked out over the grass, and I saw a look of tiredness or grief flashing across his face.The two of us used to talk about everything, he said: until recently, wasn't it?Is this just my own imagination?Five of us against the whole world, no secrets from each other, forever. Abby raised her eyebrows and said: Really?I'm not sure everyone is open and honest, like you are not. Personally, I think, Daniel paused and said: I did my best.Unless there is a compelling reason to do so, I know all about you and everyone else as long as it matters.

But you always have a last resort, don't you?in your eyes.said Abby, pale and locked up. Maybe, Daniel said softly with a long sigh: But it wasn't like this before. You and Lacey, Abby said: did you There was no sound, and the two looked at each other like enemies. Because it matters. Yeah?Why? It was silent again, the moon was hidden and the stars were hidden, and the faces of the two were lost in the night. No, finally Daniel said: We didn't.I'm going to say that anyway, because I don't see any importance in it, so I don't expect you to believe me.But anyway, we didn't.

It was silent again.When the cigarette butt flicked, the red light shone like a shooting star across the night.I stood in the cold kitchen, watching the two through the glass, and I just wanted to tell them: It’s okay, everything will work out, everything will return to normal, give time, and we have enough time, because I will stay. In the middle of the night, the door slammed, and the footsteps were hurried, stepping on the wooden floor as if no one else was there, and then there was another slam, the sound was deeper, it was the front door. I sat upright on the bed and listened, my heart beating wildly.There was a rustling in the room, too light to be a sound, but a feeling, piercing into my bones through the walls and floors: someone was moving, but I couldn't hear the direction.In the dead of night, there is no wind in the forest, only the cold and low cry of the owl is heard from the distant path.I propped up my pillows against the headboard, settled into a comfortable sitting position and waited.I want to smoke, but I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one awake and paying attention, and the slight flick of a lighter or the slightest smell of smoke will be detected, so forget it.

After about twenty minutes, the front door opened and closed, very lightly this time.There was a moment of silence, followed by the sound of cautious steps upstairs, into Justin's room, and the mattress springs creaked loudly. I waited five minutes to make sure I was all right, then slipped out of bed and strode up to the second floor because there was no need to tiptoe.Oh, I opened the door and poked my head in, Justin said: It's you! Justin sat on the edge of the bed, half undressed.The pants and shoes were still on, the socks were taken off, the shirt was pulled out of the trousers, a few buttons were unbuttoned, and his face was very ugly.

How are you?I asked. Justin covered his face with his hands, and I noticed his hands were shaking.Not good, he said: Actually very bad. What's wrong? Justin lowered his hands and looked at me with bloodshot eyes.Go back to sleep, he said: Go back to the room, Xiaolei. are you angry with me? You are not alone in the world, you know?Justin replied coldly: Believe it or not. Justin, I said after a moment of silence: I just wanted to If you really want to help, Justin said: leave me alone. After he finished speaking, he stood up deliberately pretending to be busy, and hurriedly straightened the sheet with his back turned to me.I found that he obviously didn't want to say anything more, so I gently closed the door and went back to the room.There was no light in Daniel's room, but I felt he was awake, sitting in the dark just a few steps away from me, listening to his thoughts.

The next afternoon, I finished my 5 o'clock seminar and found Abby and Justin waiting for me in the hallway.Have you seen Xiao Rui?Abby asked. Didn't see it after lunch.I said.They had just come in, Abby in her long gray coat, Justin's tweed jacket buttoned up, their hair and shoulders glistening with rain.Didn't he go to the professor to discuss the paper? That's what he said, and Abby stepped back against the wall, letting a group of loud college students scatter past, and said: But the discussion can't be more than four hours, let alone we went to Professor Armstrong's research room, the door is It's locked, and Xiao Rui is not inside. Maybe he went to the cellar tavern for a drink.I guessed so, Justin's body trembled when he heard that.We all know Xiaorui drinks a little too much, but no one ever mentions it. We went too, and Abby said: There's no way he's going to Puff's because he says it's full of useless morons and just reminds him of boarding school.I don't know where else he will go. What happened?After finishing the discussion class, Daniel came over from the corridor and asked. We couldn't find Xiaorui. Well, Daniel put the books and folders under his arm and said: Have you tried calling? Three times, Abby said: the first time he pressed the reject button and then turned off the phone. Is his stuff still on the deck? No, Justin lazily leaned against the wall, scratching the skin of his nails and said: They are all gone. But that's good enough, isn't it?Daniel looked at Justin with a slight surprise on his face and said: This means that he didn't have any accidents, he was not hit by a car or had a sudden physical condition and sent him to the hospital for emergency treatment, he just wandered around alone. Yes, but where are we going?Justin's voice grew louder.And what should we do now?He can't go home by himself, are we going to leave him here? Daniel looked at the crowd moving at the end of the corridor, the air was filled with the smell of wet carpet, and there was a girl screaming in the corner, the voice was shrill and piercing, which shocked me, Abby and Justin, and then realized that the girl was just pretending to be scared, screaming It quickly turned into reprimand, but it was acting like a baby.Daniel bit his lower lip thoughtfully, seemingly oblivious to it. After a while, he sighed.Xiao Rui, he said and shook his head slightly sullenly.Seriously, yes, we'll just leave him here, of course, or what else?If he wants to go back to the forest house, he can call us or take a taxi by himself. To Glensky?I don't want to drive all the way back to town just to pick up a guy who wants to be an idiot. Tsk, Daniel said: I think he'll figure it out for himself.He slipped the document back into place.We go home. Dinner was casual, a meal of frozen chicken tenders taken out of the refrigerator, white rice and a large bowl of fruit piled up in the center of the kitchen table. But after we finished eating, Xiao Rui didn't call back.His cell phone was on, but it always went to voicemail.It's not like his usual style.Justin said, scratching the edge of the plate involuntarily with his thumb. Why not?Abby got it right, and he's out to get girls again, just like last time, remember?He disappeared for two whole days. That's different.Besides, why are you nodding?Justin said to me in a displeased tone: You are not here, how can you remember? My adrenaline was rushing, but no one seemed suspicious. They were all focused on Xiao Rui and had no time to pay attention to such a small omission.I nodded because I've heard that there is a thing called communication, you'd better try it when you have time Everyone is very irritable, and I am no exception, but I am worried that it is not Xiao Rui who is panicking, but that he is not here to make me nervous .Furthermore, I couldn't tell whether the anxiety had something to do with the case (Frank's favorite intuition) or whether it was just because of Xiao Rui's absence that the atmosphere in the room suddenly lost its balance and became turbulent. Does it make a difference?Abby asked. Justin shrugged: We didn't live together then. So what?It's not the same after all.If Xiao Rui wants to catch someone, what do you think he should do?Is it possible to bring someone here? He should call, or at least leave us a message. say what?I asked Justin, while chopping peaches into small pieces.Dear everyone, I'm going to have sex, I'll talk about it tomorrow.If it doesn't work out, then talk later, if the chick can't do it in bed, then see you at three o'clock in the morning! Shut your dirty mouth, Justin flew into a rage.And, please God, eat the peaches and stop messing with them. I don't have a dirty mouth, I'm just talking.As for peaches, I will naturally eat them when I want them. Have I ever cared about what you eat? We should call the police.Justin said. No, Daniel tapped the back of his wrist with a cigarette, and said: It’s useless to call the police anyway. When the police find out that someone is missing, they will wait for a while. I remember it was twenty-four hours, maybe even longer, before taking action.Xiao Rui is an adult now! In theory yes.Abby said. Of course he had the right to spend the night outside. But what if he did something stupid?Justin's voice was hoarse, it was like a wail. I hate talking around the bush, one of the reasons Daniel shakes out a match and it lands right in the ashtray, he says: it gets in the way of real communication.Indeed, I think it is very likely that Rui did something stupid, but there are so many types of stupid things, I guess you may be worried that he will commit suicide, but to be honest, I think the probability is very low. Justin was silent for a while, then lowered his head and said: Did Xiao Rui tell you what happened when he was sixteen?His parents asked him to transfer to another school again, but he didn't know if it was the tenth or the first time. Don't talk about the past.Daniel said. He didn't kill himself, Abby said: just trying to do something to get his daddy the pig to pay attention to him, but it didn't work out. I say not to talk about the past. I didn't, I just told Justin it was different this time.Hasn't Xiao Rui completely changed in the past few months?Isn't he much happier? These months, Justin said: not these weeks. Uh, well, Abby cuts the apple in half neatly and says: none of us are having a great time, but it's different anyway.Xiaorui now knows that he has a family, someone cares about him, and will not hurt himself.He's just in a bad mood, wants to pick up girls or get drunk, and when he's sane and ready, he'll come back. If only he Justin hadn't gone on.I hate it, you know, he whispers to the plate: really. Well, we all are, said Daniel briskly: Now is the test, we have to accept it, be patient with ourselves, be patient with others, and wait for things to turn around. You said things would get better if you gave it time, and instead of not doing it, Daniel, it got worse. I was thinking, Daniel said: It may take a little more than three weeks, and if you find it unbearable, please remember to tell me. How can you be so calm?Justine is on the verge of tears, we're talking about little Ray! Whatever he did, Daniel was polite, turned away from us and puffed, saying: I don't even see the use of being hysterical. I'm not hysterical, it's a normal reaction to a friend disappearing. Justin, Abby said softly: It'll be all right.But Justin didn't hear it. Just because you're a fucking hard-hearted man God Daniel, just once, I'd love to see you show that you care about us, just once, anything I think you should be quite aware, Daniel's tone is cold, that I care about you four very much. I don't know, how can I be clear?i know you don't Abby made a small movement, spread her palms out, palms up, made a circle towards the ceiling, the living room and the yard outside the house, and then put them back between her legs.Her posture is peculiar, feeling tired and helpless. That's right.Justin slumped back to his chair and said.The angle of the light was wrong, and his cheeks were sunken, and the wrinkles between his brows were as deep as rake marks. It made me feel that time flies, as if I saw him fifty years later.Yes, this house, what do you think it turned out to be? There was a sudden silence in the room for a few seconds.I never said it, Daniel said, with a tinge of frightening emotion in his voice that was very strange to me: I can't go wrong.I just say that I will try my best, do my best, and do things that are good for the five of us.If you think I'm doing a terrible job, you're welcome to make up your own mind; if you think we shouldn't be living together, move out; if you think Xiao Rui should call the police, then pick up the phone. After a while, Justin shrugged his shoulders pitifully and continued to eat.Daniel was smoking a cigarette in the air and meditating, Abby lowered her head and gnawed on an apple, I chopped peaches into puree, and no one spoke for a long time. I hear the little handsome guy is gone.That night, I called Frank from the tree and he said to me.We obviously made him aware of the importance of eating healthy, because he is eating something with pits at the moment, I can hear him cut the food, put it in the palm of his hand or something, the sound is sweet, if he dies, you will start to believe the mysterious stranger In other words, I knew I should gamble with you. Don't talk so cheaply, Old Fa.I said. Frank smiled and said: You don't worry about him, do you?Really? I shrugged and said: I just want to know where he went, that's all. Then you can rest easy, baby.I know a lovely lady who wanted to know where her friend Martin was going tonight, dialed the wrong number and was picked up by Ray.Unfortunately, Xiao Rui didn't mention where he was until the two of them realized the mistake and hung up the phone, but they could tell a little bit from the background noise.Abby was right, your little dude is in a bar, drinking too much and picking up girls.He'll come home safe and sound, super hungover at best. It turned out that Frank was also worried, so he called the policewoman with a sexy voice.Maybe he didn't name Naylor just to deal with Sam, but he really thought he was a suspect.I tucked my feet between the branches and said, "That's great, it's good to know he's fine." So why do you sound like the family cat died? They're in bad shape, I said, glad Frank couldn't see my face.I felt that I was so tired that I was about to fall from the tree, so I quickly grabbed the branches to stabilize myself.I don't know why, maybe I can't face that I was stabbed, maybe I'm sad because of something, in short, the rift between them is getting bigger and bigger. Frank was silent for a while, then said softly: Baby, I know you get on well with them.That's nice, they're not my thing, but I don't mind if you think otherwise, as long as it makes the task a little easier.But they are not your friends, their problems are not your problems, they are your opportunities. I know, I said: I know, it's just hard to watch. A little sympathy is okay, Frank took another bite of what he was eating, and said happily: As long as it doesn't go too far.Having said that, I have something to make you temporarily forget about their troubles.Your little Rui is not the only one missing. what are you saying? Frank spat out the seeds and said: I decided to nail Naylor and not get too close. I want to find out his schedule and contacts, etc., so that you can exert more force.As a result, he didn't go to work today, and his parents haven't seen their son since last night. Both of them said that he didn't look like him.Naylor's father was in a wheelchair, and he never made it difficult for Mom to carry Dad.Your little Sam and two support officers are taking turns at his house, and we're going to keep Bourne and Dodger's eyes open to see what happens. He ain't going far, I said: the guy ain't gonna leave Grunsky unless he's dragged off, and he's sure to scream and kick.He will show up. Well, I think so too.As far as the murder case is concerned, I don't think it means anything. The idea of ​​fleeing in fear of crime is just a myth.But I do know one thing, whatever Naylor ran for was not fear.Do you think he is afraid? Not afraid, I said: not afraid at all.He looked pissed off. I feel the same way, interrogation is not fun for him at all.I watched Naylor leave later, and he turned his head and spat just two steps out of the door.This guy is mad, Kathy, and we also know he has emotional issues, and like you said, he's probably still around the village.I don't know if he slipped away because he was afraid of our surveillance, or if he had some plans in mind, but you must be careful. I obediently obeyed, and walked in the middle of the path on the way back, armed with guns in both hands, until I closed the backyard gate, walked into the yard safely, and only put the gun back on my waist when I approached the light from the window. I didn't call Sam, not because I forgot, but because I didn't know if he would answer, and if he did, what would the two of us talk about.