Deserted Village Apartments

Chapter 22 No.19
When I woke up in the morning, the jade ring was still on my finger. I touched it lightly, and it was still the same as last night, as if it was growing in my flesh.

There was a rumbling sound of machines outside the window, I stopped touching the jade ring, and walked to the window covered with vines, I saw several bulldozers were cleaning up the ruins on the demolition site outside the window, dust and gravel were high It was like a big bombing, and I quickly closed the window.

After eating breakfast in the room, I walked to the stairs and suddenly looked up.Hey, I'm so stupid, it's been the third day of living in the deserted village apartment, but I've never visited the third floor.The spiral staircase above my head was dark, and there was a faint atmosphere. I leaned against the railing for a long time, and finally walked up slowly.

I wear a big mask because every step kicks up dust.I turned up the stairs carefully and came to the corridor on the third floor.I touched the wall for a while, and finally turned on the light. Under the dim light, a deep corridor leads to the front, which feels a bit like an underground passage.

It took a long time for the dust to settle down. I subconsciously touched the jade ring on my hand and rushed into the corridor.I opened the first door, and it was empty like the room on the second floor. The only difference was that the ivy was more lush than downstairs, and green vines climbed into the room from the window, on the wall next to the window. There are many branches and leaves swaying, and the roots of these plants have even penetrated into the wall. There are many cracks on the wall and ceiling. It seems that this house is not far from death.

The other rooms on the third floor were similar. I opened them one by one, and in some sunny rooms, the ivy even grew to the floor.I think their pervasive roots must have covered the ceiling of the room downstairs.However, no one has lived in this house for so many years, so it is natural to be occupied by these plants.

I opened the last room on the third floor, still nothing.However, just as I was about to leave, I found a lot of lime powder and broken boards under my feet.I slowly raised my head, only to find that a large piece of the ceiling had fallen off, revealing a large hole with a lot of light coming through.I walked to the bottom of the hole curiously, tiptoed to look up, and found that there was still a lot of space above the ceiling, which seemed to be an attic.

This unexpected discovery immediately gave me a lot of imagination. I rushed out of the room and ran to the ground floor in one breath.I remember that there seemed to be a pair of bamboo ladders in the corridor by the back door.Sure enough, I found a bamboo ladder among the debris.

I carried the bamboo ladder and went back to the room on the third floor out of breath.I took off the thick mask, put the ladder under the hole in the ceiling, and climbed up carefully.

When my head stuck out of the ceiling, I saw the sloping roof, the beam in the middle, and two rows of dormer windows.Finally, I climbed up with difficulty, and it turned out to be an attic, at least more than 30 square meters.

Sunlight shone through the dormer windows, and because it was covered by vines at the window, only a few sparse rays of sunlight shone in the attic.My old house when I was a child also had this kind of dormer windows.I leaned on the window, looking at the large construction site below, and the countless tall buildings in the distance.This should be the highest place in the deserted village apartment. Below the windows are rows of black tiles covered with lush vines. I think the entire roof is covered with ivy.Fortunately, the windows here have been closed all the time, and the window panes are covered with creeper leaves. Looking at the sunlight passing through the gaps in the leaves, it feels like being in a dark forest.

Leaving the dormer window, I looked around the attic carefully. Obviously, it has been dusty for many years, and it feels like an ancient tomb that has just been opened.In the corner of the attic, I found an old-fashioned wardrobe.Although it is covered with thick dust, it can be seen that the wardrobe is made of high-quality wood, which was considered high-end furniture at that time.

I gently opened the wardrobe door, and a strong stale smell came out.I turned my head and waited for a few minutes before the smell gradually faded.

Then, I rubbed my eyes and looked into the closet—there were several emaciated dead bodies hanging in the closet!
I fell to the ground immediately, with cold sweat all over my forehead, and I almost yelled out loud.I looked at the jade ring on my hand again, and the scarlet stain became more conspicuous.

However, when I stood up again, I realized that there was no dead person in the closet at all, it was just full of clothes.Thank God, I let out a long breath, it turned out that I was wrong just now.Those old clothes were hanging in the closet, at first glance in the dim light, it looked like a few dead people were hanging.

The clothes in the closet include both men’s and women’s clothes, black and white suits with trousers underneath, red and blue cheongsams, and several black fur coats. A family wardrobe from more than 50 years ago is impressively presented to me. in front of you.I reached out and touched the clothes, and they were all brittle, and a musty smell came out again, and there was a big hole in the hem of a suit that was eaten by moths.

I quickly took a step back, covering my nose, and closed the closet door.Are those clothes worn by Ouyang's family?Thinking of this, I suddenly felt sick, so I walked to the other end of the attic.

At this time, I discovered that there is also a downward secret door on the floor here, but now the bottom is suspended, and there should have been an escalator in the first place.But even so, it was really not easy to bring such a large wardrobe up.

At this end of the attic there was a dresser, but the mirror on it had been broken long ago, leaving only an oblong wooden frame with the yellowed wooden board behind it exposed.I think the hostess of the apartment in the deserted village should be sitting in front of this mirror and dressing up.

Then I opened the first drawer under the dresser to find a pile of old photos.Smelling the musty smell of these photos, my eyes lit up, and I immediately spread them all out on the table.

For the next ten minutes, I held my breath and looked at these photos silently.With the black-and-white images from decades ago, those people who used to live in this house seem to have appeared alive again——

The first photo is of a young woman leaning against a window, as if looking out at the sky.She is wearing a sweater, with slightly permed hair curled around her ears, her face is clean and delicate, coupled with the blurring of black and white images, she seems to be the Shanghai beauty in the 40s calendar.

But what is even more fascinating is her eyes. Under the soft eyeliner, there is a pair of faintly sad eyes, staring at the gray sky outside the window.Looking at her standing by the window in the photo, I feel like a caged bird longing for the freedom of the sky outside the window—I remember her face in the photo of Ouyang’s family.

The second photo is a wedding photo of a young couple. The bride is the one I saw just now, and the groom was also seen in that family photo.Judging from this photo, they really match well. The groom is wearing a suit and standing tall and straight.The bride is wearing a pure white wedding dress, the long skirt has been dragging on the ground, one of her hands is held by the groom, and there is a faint smile on her mouth. What about the most beautiful moment of nostalgia?I couldn't ask her anyway.

In the third photo, she is reading with her head down, as if she is thinking about something.The background of the photo is this dressing table, and she can also be seen in the oval mirror behind it.But the strange thing is that there seems to be a person in the mirror, but the light in the photo is not very sufficient, I can't see the appearance of that person clearly, but I can be sure that the person is at an angle, and it is by no means the photographer of the photo.

There are more than a dozen photos in the back, all of which are scenes of daily life in this house, and the only characters that appear are the young couple.Only the last photo was a family portrait of Ouyang's family in the deserted village apartment, which was exactly the same as the photo Han Xiaofeng brought from the deserted village, and it should have been developed from the same negative.It's just strange that they didn't have a single outdoor photo, they were all taken in this house.Most of their expressions are also very silent, and it is rare to see photos with smiling faces, and the young wife has more of a slightly sad look.

After reading them all, I put them all back in the drawer.Then, I opened the second drawer and found two old books inside.I took out these books to have a look, and first noticed a name——Zhang Ailing.

It turned out to be Zhang Ailing's books, a "Legend", and a "Rumor", which were printed in 1944 and 1945 respectively. "Legend" is a collection of Zhang Ailing's novels, and "Rumor" is a collection of essays. Unexpectedly, there was a "Zhang fan" in the apartment in the deserted village. I think these two books should be bought by the young wife before she got married. .I flipped through "Legend" casually, and another musty smell came to my nostrils.Suddenly, I found a bookmark, which was actually just a small card with a few words written on it with a pen - "Life is a gorgeous robe covered with lice".

These few lines of characters are slender and elegant, and you can tell at a glance that they are written by a woman. There is also a line of inscription below-"Ruoyun Ji was written on April 37st, [-]th year of the Republic of China".

Now I finally know - her name is Ruoyun.

As for "Life is a gorgeous robe covered with lice", it was what Eileen Chang said. Ruoyun must have been very touched by this sentence, so she recorded it on the bookmark.

And this little bookmark happened to be inserted on the last page of the novel "Jin Suo Ji".

Why is it inserted in "Jin Suo Ji"?I caressed the pages of the book and thought for a moment, maybe Ruoyun was worried about his own fate, would he become another Cao Qiqiao?As written in "Jin Suo Ji", the young girl Cao Qiqiao married into a wealthy family is like a bird locked in a cage, and she is destined to spend her whole life from then on.

Forget it, girls' minds are unpredictable, let alone Ruoyun from more than 50 years ago, I sighed softly, and put the two books back in the drawer.

There is also a small drawer under the dressing table. I opened it and found that there were some small cosmetics in it, including lipstick, foundation, perfume and some gadgets that I didn't recognize.It's the first time I've seen what a lip balm from over 50 years ago looked like, only it was dry on the inside.However, as long as I imagine that this little thing was once applied to Ruoyun's lips, I will have a different feeling in my heart, is it nostalgia or melancholy?
Finally, I closed the drawer, looked around the attic, and finally stepped down the ladder.

Back in my room on the third floor, I still put the bamboo ladder under the ceiling and hurried down the stairs.

After lunch was still microwave food, I lay on the rollaway bed and flipped through a few books I had brought with me.The air in the afternoon was extremely hot and stuffy, and there was no wind in the room. I only felt that my eyelids were heavy, and I lost all strength in my whole body.

I looked at the jade ring on my hand, it seemed like I had a sarcoma, and I couldn't help but jump a few times in my heart - I don't know how long it will be on my finger?Could it be that once you put it on, you can never take it off?Thinking of this, I closed my eyes, lay down on the bed trembling, and fell asleep after a while.

At six o'clock in the evening, I woke up leisurely, made some dinner to satisfy my appetite, and then sat in the room in a daze.As of today, I have seen all three floors of the deserted village apartment, and I don't know what else I can find here.Maybe my previous guess was all wrong, and this old house has nothing to do with the secrets of the deserted village?But I have extra burdens on my fingers for no reason.

When I was thinking wildly, I suddenly heard some slight voices coming from downstairs, floating in the whole house through the floor.In an instant, my heartbeat quickened again, and I only heard the sound of "Tap...Tap...Tap" from the ground floor.I walked out cautiously, walked through the dark corridor, stopped at the spiral staircase and looked down.

There is a black shadow that is spiraling up the stairs.

I immediately held my breath, and when the footsteps came to me, I grabbed the other person——

"it's me!"

A woman's voice rang in my ears, and I quickly let go of her hand and turned on the electric light by the wall.

Sure enough, it was Xiaoqian. She was wearing a short black skirt, leaning against the wall with frowning eyebrows. She was obviously startled by me just now.She kept panting, her chest heaved and heaved, and she was still carrying a large black box in her hand.

I let out a long breath and said, "Why are you here again?"

"I'm sorry, I gave you a fright."

Xiaoqian murmured, with a lovely and pitiful look, which immediately dispelled my unhappiness.

"Go in and sit for a while."

After speaking, I helped her carry the big box and brought her to my room.

As soon as she entered the room, her clear eyes kept looking around, trying to say something but unable to speak.I felt a little strange, and asked tentatively, "Xiaoqian, did something happen?"

She raised her head slowly, her eyes fixed on me, and finally said: "Excuse me, can I live here?"

"What did you say? Live here?" Her question obviously surprised me and made me even more embarrassed.

"Please don't misunderstand." Xiaoqian also looked very embarrassed, she lowered her head and said, "Just do me a favor, I feel like I have nowhere to go, the only place I can live is this deserted village apartment."

Xiaoqian's request is still difficult for me to understand. Her current appearance suddenly reminds me of the name of a movie - "Nowhere to Hide".

Suddenly I couldn't help but grabbed her shoulder and asked, "Tell me, what happened?"

"Don't ask anything, I don't know what happened, I just feel in my heart—" Her words seemed to touch something, and she swallowed it back.

"Did you quarrel with your family? You are too willful. Go back to your parents."

However, Xiaoqian replied loudly uncharacteristically: "No, I said that I have no family members, and I have no parents. I am a person without a family."

"No home? Isn't it just a lonely ghost?"

As soon as I said this sentence, I regretted it a little.However, I never thought that Xiaoqian would answer me like this: "Don't you know who I am? I am Nie Xiaoqian."

"The beautiful female ghost in Liaozhai?" I shook my head vigorously and said, "Xiaoqian, have you been living in your own inner world? Maybe all this is just your fantasy."

"Don't ask any more, I must live here tonight, I have already decided."

As she said that, she opened the big box and took out some daily necessities, several large bags of fast food, a small bag of rice, and even a bunch of snacks. It seemed that she really planned to "stay here" up.

Now I have completely surrendered, anyway, this house does not belong to me.Therefore, I have no right to drive her out, so I can only shake my head and say, "Well, I can live wherever you like. However, this house will be demolished in a few days."

While packing up her things, Xiaoqian replied bluntly: "I know."

Looking at her now, she seems to have become the owner of the house all of a sudden. I stood beside her stupidly, not knowing what to say.

Suddenly, she raised her head and smiled at me: "I'm sorry, can you sleep upstairs tonight?"

"upstairs?"

I froze for a moment, then nodded involuntarily, but there was an indescribable feeling in my heart.

The corner of Xiaoqian's mouth twitched slightly: "Thank you, I know you are a good person."

But I said secretly in my heart: Just drive me upstairs and let me sleep with those creepers, tonight will be miserable.

She took a few steps in the room and said, "From tonight, we are neighbors upstairs and downstairs."

Actually being a neighbor, I was a little discouraged and said: "Okay, I can only be a neighbor for a few days."

Suddenly, Xiaoqian seemed to have noticed something, she stared at my left hand and said, "What's on your finger?"

I was startled, knowing that I couldn't escape, so I could only obediently raised my hand to her.She stared at my finger for a while, then asked in a daze, "I haven't seen you wearing a ring before."

"This is a jade ring." My tone became dull, "It comes from a deserted village."

"The jade ring from the barren village? How did it end up on your finger?"

"It's hard to say."

Then, I told her all about the origin of this jade ring, and the trouble that I couldn't take it off after wearing it.

Xiaoqian felt a little unbelievable. She grabbed my left hand and touched the jade ring on my ring finger.Then, she tried to pull out the ring, but the jade ring immediately shrank, making me almost cry out in pain.Xiaoqian was obviously terrified, and quickly let go of my hand.

"Maybe, the secret is in this jade ring?"

"But what should I do? Will I wear it forever?" I walked around the room a few times irritably, and finally leaned against the door and said, "Forget it, let's get through these few days first."

Then, I took out a roll of straw mats and pillows from the corner, picked them up and walked out.

Xiaoqian anxiously followed me and asked, "Where are you going?"

"Didn't you let me go upstairs to sleep?" Halfway through, I turned around and said, "Tonight, you can sleep on the folding bed. The bathroom is at the back of the corridor. There is a faucet to wash your face, but there is no hot water."

Her expression was a little awkward again, she lowered her head and said, "Thank you."

"Sleep well, don't have nightmares anymore, I can't stand your torment." I finally showed some smiles, "Good night."

As I said that, I carried the pillow mat and walked up the stairs.

Walking up to the third floor in the dark, I pushed away the first room, but fortunately the electric light above my head was still on.The room is filled with the smell of plants, the wall next to the window is full of ivy roots and leaves, and the cool night wind blows in from the window.It took me a lot of effort to close the window again.Then, I spent more than half an hour cleaning the room, clearing away the thick fallen leaves and dust.Finally, I put the mat on the floor.

At this time, I thought of Xiaoqian downstairs, but I didn't dare to go downstairs again.In the dead of night, it is better not to dream about things.I simply turned off the light and fell asleep on the mat.

In this room full of plant smells, there is a cool straw mat under me, like sleeping on the grass in the dark.Although my eyes are closed, I can feel the creeper vines growing silently, stretching their tentacles rapidly towards the floor, like a hand struggling to crawl.

The ivy in the dark kept spitting out carbon dioxide, and I gradually fell into a trance while sleeping on the ground...

After an unknown amount of time, several rays of light shone on my eyelids, and the pupils hiding under the eyelids gradually came to life, causing me to slowly open my eyes.

Maybe it was the trance after waking up, I panted heavily, and found myself lying on the straw mat, and the room was still shrouded in darkness.And the light that shone on my face came in from the corridor outside the door.

I struggled to sit up, the white light from outside the door was a bit dazzling, but my body was still in darkness.I rubbed my eyes hard to get used to the narrow light, and saw a black figure standing outside the door.

My heartbeat suddenly accelerated, but I immediately calmed myself down. Could it be Xiaoqian who was having a nightmare again?I stood up from the mat carefully, trying not to make a sound, and quietly poked my head out of the door.

There was a soft light in the corridor, and I found the back of a young woman standing alone in the center of the corridor.The clothes she was wearing were very strange, I had never seen them before, but I still called softly: "Xiaoqian?"

Almost at the same time, she turned her head slowly, and the light was so bright that I couldn't see her face clearly.She started to walk towards me, and I suddenly became nervous for no reason, covering the light above my head with my hands, and finally saw her eyes clearly——

She is not Xiaoqian.

In an instant, I almost cried out, but she seemed to ignore me and walked towards the corridor in a daze.At this time, I saw clearly what she was wearing. It turned out to be a thick and long dress. I had never seen this kind of dress before. It looked too heavy, and it might be too hot to wear in this season.Her face was pale and slender, her beautiful eyes looked straight ahead, and she would have been a very charming woman were it not for this place and moment.

I trembled and asked softly, "Who are you?"

But she didn't react at all, and walked past me expressionlessly, as if I didn't exist at all.The moment she passed me, I suddenly remembered - I had seen her face.In the attic this morning, I found many old photographs, almost every one of which had her face on it.

Her name is Ruoyun.

At this moment, I was stunned, watching her slowly walking towards the stairs, the soft light enveloped her like a waterfall, and the wall behind her was still in darkness.

How is this possible?In the distant 1948, she lived in this house. Tonight, more than 50 years later, she reappeared in the corridor on the third floor of the deserted village apartment, but she was still so young and so charming, and she hadn't changed in any way from her in the photos back then.

What did I see?
She walked down the stairs, the light kept shining on her, and it was all dark around her.She was like a star on a stage, shrouded in white spotlights, while everyone else watched her in the dark.

Unbearable, I turned on the light, but when the light shone into my eyes, she disappeared in an instant.I looked around in panic, and there was nothing unusual.I ran down the spiral staircase again, but there was no sign of anyone.

Where has she gone?

Walking to the corridor on the second floor, I saw that the door of Xiaoqian's sleeping room was tightly closed. I thought I shouldn't disturb her sweet dreams.I let myself relax again and went back to my room on the third floor.

I stood at the door of the room for a long time, looking at the dim electric light on the wall, which was completely different from the strange light just now.So where did the light shining on Ruoyun come from?I couldn't figure it out, so I turned off the light and lay down on the straw mat again.

I twisted my thigh and I almost cried out in pain.Now I can be sure that I was definitely not dreaming just now. I did see Ruoyun with my own eyes—the woman who lived here more than 50 years ago.

But how did I meet her?Even if the beautiful Ruoyun was still alive today, she should be an 80-year-old lady.Undoubtedly, what I witnessed just now was Ruoyun more than 50 years ago, and the clothes she was wearing were also unique to that era. Could it be that I saw a ghost?

Thinking of this, I was horrified again, I quickly closed my eyes, and prayed silently in my heart: "Dark night, let me fall asleep quickly."

(End of this chapter)