Margaret's Secret

Chapter 19 From Shanghai to Paris (11)
At this moment, they were exposed to the eyes of many tourists, Margaret immediately lowered her head and said, "Get out of here quickly."

Lin Hai took her forward and walked quickly, until they came to the ferry station by the Huangpu River, bought two tickets to Pudong, and squeezed into the stream of people catching the ferry.

Marguerite had never been on a ship, and she was extremely nervous when facing the ferry. Lin Hai comforted her and said, "Just think of this as a bridge over the Seine River in Paris."

Lin Hai hasn't taken a ferry for a long time, but when he was young, he had relatives who lived in Pudong and often took the ferry across the river, so it left a deep impression on him.Catching the ferry is not as romantic as imagined. When the ferry docks, people who have been waiting for a long time will flock to it, either walking or pushing bicycles, completely disregarding their demeanor and face.From the embankment to the pier, it is connected by several iron bridge-like passages. The ground of the passage is hollowed out. From the grid-shaped gaps, you can see the water of the Huangpu River beating the embankment.

Lin Hai pulled Margaret and hurried through the iron grid, sending out a rumbling metal echo.The ferry was very close to the pier, and it took only a small step to step into the ferry. Margaret turned around nervously, only to see the iron railings on the side of the boat lowered, and the ferry whimpered a few times before slowly moving away.The ship's side under his feet was the first to split from the pier, and the turbid white waves surged up.Lin Hai lay on the edge of the cold iron railing, and saw that the pier was getting farther and farther away, and there were rows of huge ancient buildings going away with him.

The ferry bumped up with the waves, and the Bund receded up and down in their sight.Lin Hai pulled Margaret through the crowd and squeezed all the way to the front of the ferry.The whistling river wind caused Margaret's hair to rise high, and many of them rolled onto Lin Hai's face.

They were still hiding in the old house in the early morning, and they were on a ferry a few hours later. This was so strange, it reminded Lin Hai of an old saying: "Ten years of cultivation can make the same boat cross." thinking".

Perhaps, life is like a ferry, always going back and forth between the two sides of a river.And the men and women who may love each other stand on both sides of the river and stare at each other, and the fate is connected by the ferry.

Lin Hai shook his head, what was he thinking?Why do you still think of this kind of question at the moment of life and death?

The ferry finally arrived at the other side, leaning firmly against the pier, the iron railings were opened, and the flow of people rushed out like a small torrent.

Walk out of the ferry station and come to the land of Pudong.Lin Hai didn't know where to go, so he could only drag Margaret around.It began to rain gradually in the sky, they had no umbrellas, so they had to go under a building to take shelter from the rain.

Waiting until noon, the rain became more and more fierce, and the whole Lujiazui was shrouded in misty rain.Lin Hai felt extremely hungry, his coat was draped over Margaret's body, and he had only one shirt left, and the cold air went straight into his body.He couldn't bear it any longer, so he simply grabbed Margaret's hand, covered the two of them with his jacket, and rushed into the rain curtain in one breath.

The two of them ran through the heavy rain, the cold raindrops hit the clothes above their heads, and several rain flowers splashed under their feet. Lin Hai put his arms around her waist, just like a scene in a love movie.

After running for a long time in the rain, they finally found a restaurant, and the two of them had lunch.Margaret, who was cold and tired, didn't want to go anywhere, so she could only stay in the restaurant and watch the rain outside the window quietly.

On the road outside, people hurried past with umbrellas, many of their faces were covered by the brims of the umbrellas, and it seemed that there was another Nostradamus face hidden.Lin Hai looked outside in fear, while Margaret seemed extremely sleepy. She simply leaned on Lin Hai's shoulder, closed her eyes and took a nap.

With Margaret's head resting on his shoulder, Lin Hai couldn't help feeling a little distracted. He stroked her wet hair. She looked like the legendary woman with seaweed hair.At this moment, the two people's bodies are close together, their clothes are mostly wet, and they can feel each other's body temperature, relying on this to dispel the cold.

After two hours like this, Margaret sneezed suddenly.No, she would catch a cold if she fell asleep like this, Lin Hai hurriedly woke her up, she almost jumped up, and asked loudly: "Nostradamus?"

"No, it's me."

Only then did Margaret see his face clearly, and said in shock: "Let's go quickly, maybe he will come soon."

There happened to be a bus stop outside the restaurant, and they jumped on a bus before they could see the route.Fortunately the car was empty, so they sat side by side and let the bus take them around the city.

Lin Hai has always put her arms around Margaret's shoulders. She has taken off her sunglasses, and her clothes are still wet. If this continues, she will definitely catch a cold. I wonder if she has ever been sick during the 400 years in the oil painting?No, I can't wander like this anymore, I must find a place to change her clothes, at least let her take a hot bath.

The rain outside the car window was still heavy, and he suddenly remembered that he still had a foothold, and that was the house where his father lived.However, he didn't want to let his father know all this. His father would definitely look at him as a psychiatrist, and maybe he would call the mental hospital and send him and Margaret to the hospital for treatment.

But now that he has nowhere to go, it's okay to stay with his father for a night.

The car drove across the Huangpu River through the tunnel, Lin Hai and Margaret changed another car and rushed to their father's house in the western suburbs.

After tossing for more than an hour, it was already dusk when they reached the field ridge.In the cold rain, I can see my father's small farm building, with several orange trees swaying in the wind in front of the door.

They struggled to get to the front of the building and knocked hard on the door.After waiting for a while, the door opened slowly, revealing the surprised face of the father—he saw Margaret's face.

Margaret immediately lowered her head shyly, and Lin Hai said awkwardly: "Dad, she is my friend, and we have encountered some urgent matters."

Father let them into the living room, still staring at Margaret suspiciously, but still made her a cup of hot tea.Margarita grabbed the tea and drank it. While drinking, she was panting for heat. It seemed that she was indeed frozen. Her father looked at her hair and said, "Are you in the rain? Do you want to change your clothes?"

Margaret couldn't understand Chinese, so she looked at Lin Hai blankly.

Lin Hai nodded hastily, and took Margaret to a small room at the back, where she was asked to change clothes.

When Margaret was changing clothes inside, the father in the living room grabbed Lin Hai and said nervously, "Who is she?"

"I said it was just a friend, she's French."

"French?"

Father was stunned for a long time, his gaze became vague, as if he was aiming at another time and space.

"What's the matter with you, Dad? We want to stay with you for one night."

Father opened his mouth wide in surprise: "Are you with her?"

"Yes, but we're not that kind of relationship. I'm just protecting her. It's not as dirty as you think."

"I imagine it's dirty?" My father was furious all of a sudden, "You brought a foreign woman here to spend the night, but you taught me a lesson. Who are you talking about dirty?"

Lin Hai couldn't bear it any longer: "We haven't committed a crime, so why should we be charged with nasty crimes?"

The father was so angry that he raised his hand, and was about to slap his son like in the past, when the door of the inner room opened suddenly, and Margaret came out after changing into clean clothes, the same clothes she bought on Huaihai Road that day.

"Do evil!"

Father sighed and put his hand down again.Margaret saw that his face was very bad, so she retreated behind Lin Hai sensibly.The father watched Margaret's face carefully, and there was something hidden in his eyes, as if he had seen some incredible phenomenon.He took a few steps back, shook his head and said, "Who are you?"

"Margaret."

Lin Hai hesitated for a moment, but answered instead of her.

Father didn't speak, turned around and retreated into the kitchen, and then Lin Hai heard the sound of frying pan, his father was probably preparing dinner for them.

Lin Hai finally breathed a sigh of relief, and said quietly to Margaret: "Don't mind my father, in fact, he is a good man, but his personality is a bit withdrawn."

The rain outside the window showed no signs of stopping. This lonely house standing in the wild reminded Lin Hai of British Gothic novels.

Father was busy for a while, and finally brought the food to the table. Both Lin Hai and Margaret were tired and hungry, and they ate without caring about their demeanor.

They finished eating quickly, but it was his father who was eating slowly alone. Lin Hai suddenly asked a question: "Dad, do you still remember Grandpa's past?"

"What are you asking grandpa for?"

"When grandpa was young, did he go to study in France?"

The father replied bluntly, "I don't know, your grandpa never mentioned it to me."

"Then you ever heard him speak French?"

"No, he hardly ever speaks a foreign language."

Feeling a burst of despair, Lin Hai said loudly, "Dad, why don't you tell me the truth? Do you know that I might die soon."

"I warn you, are you going to a mental hospital for treatment?"

"I'm not kidding, if you don't help me, you may lose your only son!"

The father was shocked by his son's words for the first time. He looked at his son and Margaret silently, without speaking for a long while.

Lin Hai couldn't restrain his excitement, pointed at Margaret's face and said, "Dad, look at this face! Ten years ago, did you see her in Grandpa's little attic?"

The father's eyes immediately changed, and the deepest thing hidden in his heart was pierced by his son, making his face extremely ugly.He took a few steps nervously, then turned back to stare into Margaret's eyes, Margaret could only blink and communicate with him with eyes, hoping that he could believe Lin Hai's words.

Suddenly, the father walked up to Margaret, stared into her eyes and said, "You really look exactly like the girl in the painting."

Lin Hai immediately jumped up excitedly: "Father, you finally admitted it? Have you seen that portrait?"

After a moment of silence, his father finally disarmed. He saw Margaret, a face he couldn't refuse.

The father sighed and said, "You are really a sinner! Well, I admit that there was indeed a small portrait hanging in your grandfather's attic, and the woman in the portrait was exactly the same as this Margaret. Almost the same."

"That's right!" Lin Hai grabbed Margaret's hand excitedly, "Dad, why did you answer no when I asked you last time?"

The father paused for a moment: "I'm sorry, son, that's what your grandfather told me before he died."

"Grandpa didn't want you to tell me? Why?"

"I don't know about this. Ten years ago, your grandfather was sent to the hospital for a sudden illness. He was about to die. On the night before he died, he held my hand and took care of me. Take down that portrait of mine, and keep it from you."

Lin Hai asked anxiously: "Is this the last words of grandpa? Didn't he say why?"

"He didn't say the reason at the time, and I didn't know why, so I had to follow suit. Not long after your grandfather died, I took down the small portrait from the attic and put it in my own cabinet."

"So the little portrait is with you?"

Father nodded slowly: "Yes, it's upstairs in my bedroom."

"Let me see it quickly!"

Lin Hai couldn't wait any longer. Before his father agreed, he took Margaret and ran upstairs.Father could only follow behind them, opened the bedroom door, and pulled out a picture frame from under an old cabinet.

Ten years seemed to freeze at this moment. Lin Hai opened his eyes wide and stared at the portrait in astonishment, then raised his head to look at Margaret's face.

Yes, it was her face in the miniature.

Lin Hai suddenly became agitated, and his nose was a little sore. Although the spring rain was pouring outside the window, he seemed to have returned to the small attic, that noon full of sunshine and dust.

The portrait is only about the size of 16K paper. It only draws the face of a Western woman. She has black hair and translucent emerald eyes, but the lower edge of the painting ends only at her neck, and there is hardly any background. , but it must have been copied from the oil painting "Marguerite" 400 years ago.

Margaret also looked at herself in the painting in surprise, as if looking in a mirror, she shook her head and said, "Who painted this?"

"I guess my grandpa drew it?"

Lin Hai tried his best to calm himself down, and looked carefully at the frame, even the back side, but he didn't find anything special. Anyway, this painting must be quite old.

Then, my father rewrapped the painting and carefully put it back under the cabinet.

"How did grandpa copy "Marguerite"?" Lin Hai said softly in French, "Could it be that he saw that oil painting in France back then?"

My father couldn't understand French, so he asked suspiciously, "What did you say?"

"Nothing." Now Lin Hai returned to his mother tongue, "Father, tell me, what else did Grandpa say to you besides this portrait before he died?"

Father was silent again. He lowered his head and thought for a moment, then looked at Margaret's scorching eyes, and could only give a forced smile helplessly: "I never told you, but now you tell me about it." The girl in the picture was brought, and I think there must be some reason."

"Yes, this is related to an important secret, and even your son's life and death!"

"Are you really not delusional?"

"Father, it's already at this time, so don't scare me anymore. Look, I brought Margaret to you. Could this big living person be fake? Are you also delusional?"

"Enough!" Father interrupted Lin Hai, he opened the window and took a few deep breaths, the wind and rain in the night blew on his face, making his face even more frightening, "Okay, your grandpa is right, wait for you When you grow up, you may encounter incredible things.”

"Did Grandpa say that?"

"Yes, your grandfather told me that before he died, and he even gave me a book."

After finishing speaking, my father closed the window, and took out a 1935 French version of "Red and Black" from the innermost cabinet.

Lin Hai stroked the old book and said, "This must have been brought back by my grandfather when he was studying in France."

His father reminded him: "You open the book."

Sure enough, as soon as I turned the book halfway, a bookmark-like note appeared——

It turned out to be a bank safe certificate, which was processed in January 1995, a few months before Grandpa passed away.

With this certificate, within the validity period of 50 years, you can go to the designated bank to open the safe.

Yes, Grandpa must have hidden something in the bank safe!
But why is there no key?Maybe there is a password set, but the password cannot be printed on the certificate, Lin Hai shook his head, unwilling to think about it.

He took the voucher and said, "Grandpa only gave you this piece back then?"

"That's right, it was given to me together in this book. I haven't touched it for ten years." Father felt a little exhausted, he took a breath and said with difficulty, "Your grandfather took care of you before he died, can't you?" I leave this book and its contents to you, unless it is absolutely necessary."

"Yes, now is the time of life and death as a last resort!"

After obtaining his father's permission, Lin Hai stuffed the French version of "The Red and the Black" into his schoolbag, and the voucher was still clipped where the original page was.

Now his father's expression is much gentler, and he no longer asks Lin Hai about the specific situation. He hastily cleaned up an empty room for his son, but this is the only room left in the house.

Margaret hesitated for a while and said, "It's okay, I can sleep here."

"Then I'll sleep in the living room downstairs."

"No, you stay with me." Margaret grabbed his hand and said quietly, "Maybe Nostradamus will come soon, I can sense his scent, maybe You were notified in advance to escape."

Lin Hai stood there stupidly for a while, and felt that what Margaret said was also reasonable. If the two of them were separated, they would both be doomed, and they might still have a chance to live together.

Father didn't understand what they were talking about. When Lin Hai said that he wanted to share a room with Margaret, he said frightenedly, "Son, she is a foreigner."

"What's wrong with foreigners? I said we are not the kind of relationship you imagined. She needs me to protect her by her side, that's all."

But the father still looked suspicious: "Can you guarantee it?"

"Of course!" Lin Hai said firmly, but immediately showed a tired face, "Dad, we are all very tired, and it rained again during the day, can we take a hot bath here?"

Father nodded, and took them to the innermost part of the second floor, where there was a small bathroom with tiles on the floor, which was fairly clean.Lin Hai turned on the hot water and asked Margaret to take a bath first.

His father walked away knowingly, and Lin Hai opened the window on the second floor alone, watching the continuous rain at night, and his heart became more and more uneasy.

Half an hour later, Margaret emerged in her pajamas, her hair steaming.She looked cold and went into the room without saying a word.

Lin Hai also took a quick shower, and finally felt more comfortable. When he returned to the small room on the second floor, he saw Margaret curled up on the bed, staring fixedly at the window.

"Do not you go to sleep?"

"I'm keeping watch for you. I'm afraid that Nostradamus will appear suddenly."

Lin Hai shook his head helplessly: "If he wants to come, he will come, isn't he just dead? I'm already tired of hiding in hiding like this, so I might as well end it quickly."

She covered Lin Hai's mouth with her hand: "No, I can't let you die."

"I know, you are afraid of losing your freedom."

"No, I've already lost 400 years of freedom, and it's not terrible to lose another 400 years, but I can't lose you." Margaret's eyes suddenly became so hot that it almost burned Lin Hai's heart. She said in a very sad tone, "I have been waiting for you for 400 years, we have gone through untold hardships and finally meet again, why did you leave me again?"

"Year 400?"

Lin Hai naturally thought of Count Dracula's love.

"Yes, you must live on, even for me. No matter what difficulties you encounter, don't be afraid and shrink back. This is the man I like!"

"Do you like me? No, you love De La Mole, not me, Lin Hai!"

(End of this chapter)