The deeper the night, the quieter it gets.

Even though the snow didn't stop, everything was quiet and there was no sound at all.

Drowsily, I fell asleep leaning against the sheltered corner of the pavilion. In my dream, I returned to my hometown during the blackout. After the city was completely paralyzed, all the busy steps came to a sudden halt.

At first everyone thought it was a short-lived accident and that it would recover in a few hours.

However, after waiting for one day... two days... three days... a week... the city was still dead, with no signs of being lit up again. Even those companies that had their own independent generators did not persist.

.

I was just forty years old at that time, which is the age when middle-aged people either have a successful career or are unable to do anything and feel disgusted wherever they go. Not long after the blackout started, I got together with a few close friends.

My group of friends includes everyone, including those who have served in the military, some who are doing odd jobs without doing their jobs, some who are engaged in art and deceive young girls into taking photo albums, and some whose families are very well-off and are responsible for paying for every dinner party.

Logically speaking, a group of people with such different life circles should not interact with each other, let alone gather together to seek refuge. But we still chose to hug together for warmth after the disaster started. For no other reason than we are all singles.

By.

In this era, being single is no longer a new term.

The city is very crowded, but the people crowded together do not want to see each other, so there are lonely souls everywhere.

There are all kinds of men and women, and no one intends to be responsible for anyone, let alone the society. In fact, my parents will definitely not allow me to become a bachelor. At least while they are still alive, they will try their best to

He tried every means to help me get rid of being single. Although I felt very repelled, I felt very sorry for my parents' generation.

They are so simple and unsophisticated. The achievements of this society today are mostly due to their selflessness and dedication. But our generation is not so good... everyone is very self-centered and thinks very clearly and thoroughly.

.

If you can't talk about the topic of marriage and having children, let's not talk about it. Anyway, you can be happy as long as you want, it's nothing more than a lifetime.

Now the city suddenly goes dark.

You couldn't see much in the darkness, but you could hear a lot of noise.

Several of us nativists gathered in a room, surrounded by beer and drinks, and spent the first three days just chatting.

On the fourth day, late at night, there was an explosion on the street.

After waking up, I opened the window and looked outside. It was a car that had been set on fire. The fuel tank had been burning for too long and finally exploded. There were many people gathered around the flames. They were both men and women, well-dressed, but

It seemed as if he was not mentally normal.

"Why don't we go back to the countryside?" suggested the ex-soldier Xiao Xiao. Xiao Xiao's original name was Zhang Laba. It is said that he was born during the Laba Festival, so his father gave him a name that suited the occasion.

I didn't say anything, and hummed as a handyman, "Why are you going back to the countryside? Maybe I'll call you in a few days."

The artistic young man nodded and said, "That's right. All my photos are still stored in the computer. I'm almost dying of anxiety."

The handsome guy from a wealthy family sat on his lazy chair and drank beer and said, "I agree with the speaker's proposal. In addition, I have a farm in the countryside. We can go and live there for a while."

Now it's two to two, and all four people are looking at me.

I thought for a while, "Let's go back to the countryside."

…

The week I spent as a guest at Qingshui's house was also a week where I stayed away from all kinds of electronic devices.

Maybe it was because I had experienced the baptism of the blackout era, but I didn't feel it at all. It wasn't until the night when Boss Huang asked to leave that I suddenly realized that I was living in a modern society.

After living here for a week, the servants of the Qingshui family have become very familiar with Boss Huang and me, so now I can walk around alone in the huge house without anyone bothering me.

That night when I fell asleep in the pavilion, I heard that the snow did stop. Then when the moon went up to the west building, the mysterious Master Huan of the Qingshui family danced in the sea of ​​snow under the moon, an ancient dance.

A dance to pray for peace and prosperity in all seasons.

It's a pity that I was fast asleep and couldn't appreciate it.

I originally thought that Huang could see this dance, but what I didn't expect was that he also fell asleep in Qingshui Yinji's room. As a result, neither of us had the opportunity to see Qingshui Huan's true appearance.

The night before I was about to say goodbye, Takahashi Ginko found me.

She seemed to finally remember that she had met me more than a year ago, but she didn't come to apologize, but to invite me to meet someone.

At first I thought I was going to see Mr. Shimizu Gen, but it turned out that Takahashi Ginko led me all the way to the end of the house. After passing through an unkempt and wild bamboo forest, I saw a

Abandoned mansion.

On the high mountain, Takahashi Ginko pointed to the abandoned mansion at the foot of the mountain and said, "The one I am familiar with, sir, should be in the house below. Sir, do you want to see her?"

In the bright moonlight, I could see clearly.

The house was already dilapidated and as desolate as a mass grave. I didn’t think I would encounter anything good there, so I rejected Ginko Takahashi’s proposal. I said, “Let the past go by. I still

Don’t bother her anymore.”

Surprisingly, Takahashi Ginko showed some displeasure unexpectedly. She asked, "Sir, don't you want to know what happened to her later?"

I was startled slightly and smiled bitterly.

In fact, I really want to know where she went after that night, and even more, I want to know how she has changed in more than a year.

But after seeing Ginko Takahashi in front of me, I suddenly lost interest.

To.

Yes or no.

After all, it is all in the past tense, not to mention that I have already seen clearly that the "old gods" are just a kind of "crazy imagination" of human beings. We are far from truly knowing them, understanding them, let alone contacting and desecrating them.

.

We are not qualified yet, far from it.

"I don't want to know." I answered firmly, then turned around and left.

Takahashi Ginko froze on the spot, and it took him a long time to catch up, and he was obviously in a low mood...

After breakfast early the next morning, I and Boss Huang said goodbye to Qingshuiyinji. Qingshuiyinji didn't do much to persuade him to stay. He only said that if there was another chance in the future, he hoped to meet again as friends like today.

I don't quite understand what his worries are, but I feel relieved when I think that it will be me twenty years later, that is, Lao Huang, who is responsible for playing chess with him these days.

As for Takahashi Ginko, she hasn't said a word to me since she came back from the mountain. Even when we parted, she just stood silently behind her father.

On the way back, Boss Huang asked me, "Have you met the real Ginko Takahashi?"

I shook my head, "No, she took me there, but I didn't go see it."

Boss Huang was quite surprised, but he nodded, "It's better not to look at it, it will save you the trouble."

I just wanted to get rid of all this talk about the "old gods", so I asked him, "Can I ask you a favor?"

He smiled, "You are me, I am you, don't say one thing, a hundred or a thousand things are insignificant, so why are you so polite?"

After hearing this, I no longer had any worries.

"I want to find a quiet place where no one is."

He raised his eyebrows and didn't ask me why I was hiding. He just asked, "How long will you be quiet?"

"Hard to say."

"Well... that's alright... I'll make arrangements after I return to China."

I nodded and said no more words.

That night we stayed at the International Airport Hotel in New Tokyo City. I tossed and turned that night and couldn't sleep.

I had clearly left the most dangerous place, but I couldn't sleep when I arrived at a hotel with a relatively better environment? This was really annoying. So I sat on the balcony alone late at night and started drinking.

Wine is a weird thing.

When you were a child, you were very curious, and after one taste you were filled with disgust. As an adult, you relied on it to be emboldened. You drank a few drinks when you were happy, and drank a few drinks when you were unhappy. Later, as you matured, wine became a part of your life.

It is an inconspicuous but indispensable musical note. Some people use it to relieve their boredom, while others use it to relieve their worries.

Like now, I'm just looking forward to having a few drinks so that I can sleep peacefully.

After three drinks, the alcohol surged up, which really helped me sleep, but I couldn't climb back into bed, so I just lay down on the chair on the balcony and fell asleep.

The night is getting darker and the wind is getting cooler.

I shrunk and suddenly opened my eyes in shock, and then I found a girl who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old sitting opposite me.

The girl has shoulder-length short hair, and her attire is almost the same as that of Ginko Takahashi whom she saw in the snow that day.

But I was sure that this was not Takahashi Ginko, because the eyes of the person in front of me were too deep. When she looked at me, I felt like I had nowhere to hide.

"Who are you?" I subconsciously sat upright and tried to touch the gun behind me, but in vain.

The girl noticed my little movement, she took out the gun and threw it on the table in front of her.

Seeing this, I became more vigilant and considered whether I should shout out now. After all, Boss Huang lived next door. As long as he didn't fall asleep, he should be able to hear my cry for help.

"Qing Shui Huan." She announced her home address.

My heart skipped a beat, and I felt as cold as falling into an ice cave.

The girl-like being in front of me is the mysterious Phantom-sama? Shouldn't she be an old woman who is older than me? Why is she so young?

In doubt, I suddenly thought of Zhang Fengyu.
To be continued...