"Zhou Cang, your home is so beautiful, I want to take a good look at it."
The next afternoon, three classmates came to my house. As soon as they entered the door, Wen Xiangyu praised them.
Wen Xiangyu wore a peaked cap on her head, two whips on her chest, and a backpack on her shoulders. She was dressed the same as when she was in school. Her smart eyes looked around, as if time had not deprived her of her youth.
My whole body is still full of energy.
"It's all designed by my old man." I agreed.
"This house seems to be a human body with the back hall as its body, the back rooms on both sides as shoulders, the east and west wings as arms, and the front hall and front room as hands holding Qi into its arms. The open courtyard in the middle is the place where it accepts Qi.
Space, this pattern is the same as the Feng Shui beauty pattern of 'mountain concave embrace' in Feng Shui. Zhou Cang, your old man has a lot of skills." Zhang Jisheng praised.
Zhang Jisheng has changed a lot since he was in school. He has become fatter and has some wrinkles on his face. He didn't have dark circles under his eyes before, but now his dark circles are so heavy that he looks like a giant panda from a distance.
Chen Mo, just like when he was in college, had his hands in his pockets and used one thin shoulder to hold his backpack diagonally. As long as there were more than two people, he would automatically enter the role of audience.
"You kid, you're still dumb." I punched Chen Mo.
Chen Mo turned to look at me, raised the corners of his mouth, and gave me a hug.
I thought that when a classmate I hadn't seen for a long time came to visit me, I would be trapped in those painful memories, but unexpectedly, my mood turned from cloudy to sunny.
I looked up at the weeping willow tree in the lower courtyard, which was full of green under the scorching sun. Listening to Xiangyu and his stepmother chattering, I felt like I was back when I first arrived at the university campus.
"The children are here, Cang'er, let the students come in quickly." Grandma heard the voice and came out.
Probably because she knew that some of my classmates were coming to my house, my grandma had a new cyan hairband on her head today.
The classmates were obviously attracted by the tangled hair on grandma's head, and they all cast their eyes over it.
I smiled and explained: "My old man was an educated youth and went to the countryside in Yunnan. He met my grandmother, who is from the Mosuo ethnic group."
Wen Xiangyu immediately became energetic, approached her grandma, and asked: "Grandma, are the Mosuo people in Yunnan still a matrilineal clan? Is walking marriage popular there?"
Grandma took Wen Xiangyu's hand and said with a smile: "There are still walking marriages, but matrilineal clans are out of the question. New China has long been established."
When we arrived at the main room, the water on the charcoal stove was already boiling, and the old man was sitting in front of the coffee table, heating a cup.
Zhang Jisheng was very interested in the old man's tea set, so he went up to it and sat next to the old man.
"Jisheng, you said you have stayed in school to teach as a teacher, but why are you still thinking about everything, and you can't control yourself when you see the baby."
After the classmates greeted their grandfather, Wen Xiangyu pointed at Zhang Jisheng and laughed and cursed.
Zhang Jisheng smiled awkwardly, but ignored Wen Xiangyu and continued to stare at his grandfather's tea set attentively.
"Children, tea is ready for you. I know you young people don't like the presence of our old antiques when chatting, so we won't disturb you."
After grandfather gave everyone a cup of tea, he stood up, said goodbye to his classmates, and called grandma away.
I learned from Wen Xiangyu that the step-sheng was staying at school to teach, but I didn’t know what Xiangyu was doing now, so I asked, “Xiangyu, what are you doing now?”
"Xiangyu is a grown-up. After finishing graduate school with a professor, he went to Stanford. Now he has just returned from studying abroad. I guess he may not recognize us after a while of high school." Zhang Jisheng interjected.
"Fuck you." Wen Xiangyu pinched Zhang Jisheng.
I turned to look at Chen Mo, who had not said a word since entering the door, "Chen Mo, what about you?"
"My father passed away, and I am temporarily managing the business he left behind."
I felt a little guilty because I didn't know until my best friend's father passed away.
Everyone was silent for a while. Xiang Yu looked at me, her smart eyes a little worried, "Where are you Zhou Cang, are you okay?"
I knew what Xiangyu was asking, so I rolled up my sleeves, pointed at the scaly skin floating on my arms, and said with a wry smile: "I have been undergoing treatment since I dropped out of school. My face and neck are all better, and the wounds on my body are all better."
I still can’t go down, but it’s not painful or itchy, so just let it go.”
"Has the cause been found?" Xiangyu asked tentatively.
I smiled bitterly again, "Different hospitals have different conclusions, so I was too lazy to take it seriously."
"Many people live with one or another disease throughout their lives. As long as there is no pain or itching, it will be fine. Life is a waste of time and gain." Xiangyu said, and added, "As long as there are no other discomforts, it will be fine."
I knew that Xiangyu meant to ask whether I would still have hallucinations. Fortunately, she didn't ask further, otherwise I really wouldn't know how to answer.
Zhang Jisheng changed the subject, "After I graduated with a master's degree, I stayed at the school to teach. I have had a lot of contact with professors over the years. The professor has been in poor health over the past few years. Three years ago, he went to Sichuan for archeology and went there for a long time.
At that time, I thought he might not come back. Later, when he came back, he felt depressed."
"Depressed?" I asked with a frown.
"Well, how to describe it? It's like a plant that lacks water, slowly withering."
Zhang Jisheng took a sip of tea and said, "But, strangely, he always gets better for a period of time, just like someone poured water on him. Over the years, he has traveled all over the country for this disease, using both traditional Chinese and Western medicine.
I passed it, but it never got better."
At the end, Zhang Jisheng was a little helpless and everyone stopped talking.
The huge hall became quiet, with only the sound of steam rising from the purple clay pot opening the lid.
I looked at Chen Mo, "Chen Mo, where is the letter the professor left me?"
Chen Mo texted me before and told me that the professor had left me a letter. I was quite surprised. My academic performance in school was not outstanding. I was definitely not the professor’s favorite student. I also dropped out of school, so I still had a letter from the professor.
It was a little strange to give it to me.
Chen Mo took out an envelope from his backpack and handed it to me.
I took the envelope, opened the seal, and took out the letter paper, but the letter paper came out with something on it and fell to the ground.
I lowered my head and saw that it was a photo. I bent down to pick it up and took a look at it. Instantly, the blood in my body began to flow backwards.
"What's wrong?"
Three people discovered my anomaly at the same time.
In the photo, my father is lying in a crystal coffin, which is exactly the same as the situation in the secret room under my grandfather's study.
My breathing began to quicken, my heartbeat began to accelerate, and my hands trembled as I opened the letter. There was only a brief sentence on it: