The air was still filled with the smell of residual smoke from fireworks and firecrackers. It was a little suffocating, but it seemed to be the smell of the new year, which was also commonly known as the taste of the new year.
Especially for Zhou Ze, life seemed to have become a little more beautiful.
It was not some kind of undying love, nor was it an exaggeration to say that the mountain had no edges and the sky and earth had merged.
It was simply equivalent to a child who usually did not have any pocket money walking on the road and picking up a ten yuan note. Instead of a passing police uncle, there was a very close canteen.
After a trip to Hell, he had changed his body. Until now, there were still many discovered and undiscovered troubles that needed to be resolved. His personality had also unknowingly changed quite a bit.
Thinking back to his previous life, when he walked out of the orphanage, his mind was filled with relying on his own hands and abilities to climb up step by step. Actually, if he thought about it carefully, the reason why he had ignored Doctor Lin at that time was probably not because Doctor Lin was cute and ugly five years ago. At that time, the girl should also be in love. Otherwise, she would not have cut out that photo and put it in her wallet.
Unfortunately, at that time, he did not have the energy or the mood to take another look at the scenery on the road. His obsession was too strong, and he pretended to be very good. He was so good that he was like a clear stream.
Unlike now, he had died once and returned. Instead, he had a carefree and disappointed feeling of "Being free and easy".
But no matter what..,
The feeling of being secretly loved, even the feeling of "Loving even if I die"..,
It was indeed not bad.
After making the call, Doctor Lin came down again. He came down in a hurry and took his woman's bag from Zhou Ze. He smiled but did not say thank you. With their current relationship, saying "Thank you" was even more inappropriate than saying "Sorry".
He waved his hand,
Zhou Ze left a back view,
Go back to sleep,
Then wait for tomorrow, tomorrow will be better.
Doctor Lin felt that his husband's mood seemed to have changed a little, as if he was relieved of a heavy burden.
Perhaps, it was indeed a good thing that both sides could think it through.
Instead of continuing to be entangled awkwardly, it was better to separate freely and face their own lives again.
It could only be said that the world was unpredictable. Doctor Lin could not have imagined that there was another soul living in his husband's body.
It was the man that he had fallen in love with when he was still an intern.
Zhou Ze called a taxi again and squatted at the entrance of the neighborhood, smoking. The search results were displayed on his phone screen. Zhou Ze was a little regretful. Why did he let the owner go? He should have asked him to wait a little longer so that he could take his car back to the bookstore.
Now it was all right.
On the night of New Year's Eve.
It was really hard to hail a cab.
Around ten minutes later, Zhou Ze had smoked three cigarettes. He felt a little bored. He straightened his back and stretched.
Although he was not afraid of the cold, walking back like this was quite tiring.
Coincidentally, a black car drove over from the road in front of Zhou Ze. When it passed Zhou Ze, he slowed down the car.
"Are you leaving?"
The driver stuck his head out of the window. He had a big round face, a middle-aged man with a scraggly beard, and was wearing a black cotton coat.
"Let's go." Zhou Ze had no other choice.
"Get in, I won't charge you extra." The driver smiled.
Zhou Ze got into the car and told the driver the location of the bookstore. After negotiating the price, the driver started the car again.
The car was probably new. The seats still had the smell of plastic and leather, and the interior was very clean.
Normally, not many people would be willing to use a new car to drive a sports car.
"That place is quite remote." The driver offered Zhou Ze a cigarette. Zhou Ze took it.
"Yeah."
"You live there?"
"The shop is there."
"Oh, so it's not easy to do business there, right?" Many people knew that the commercial center was already dead.
"You're not a local?" Zhou Ze asked.
The local dialect of Tongcheng was different from other dialects. It was almost a different style from Mandarin, so it was easy to tell.
"My home is in Chengdu. I work here." The driver lit a cigarette. "Have a smoke. Don't be shy."
Zhou Ze lit a cigarette and took a puff. He frowned slightly. The smell of the cigarette was too faint.
"You're not going back for New Year?"
"My wife and children are at home. It's not a problem. I'm not going back. I want to earn more money." The driver stuck his hand out of the window and shook the ash off his cigarette. "I have four children."
"Very impressive," Zhou Ze praised.
"It's hard too."
The driver smacked his lips. "My wife's first child was a son. Her second child was also a boy. I wanted to have a daughter. Then, my third child was a boy. Luckily, my fourth child is finally a girl. I'm satisfied."
"Sure."
Zhou Ze agreed. He took another puff and threw the cigarette out of the window. The smoke was so faint that it looked like he was smoking a paper roll.
"I'm not old-fashioned, and I don't have any preference for boys. I just like children, and I want a few more. Haha." The driver became more talkative when he talked about his children.
"The youngest hasn't paid his fine yet. He'll pay for the household registration when he goes to school. By the way, what shop do you run?"
"A bookstore."
"How's business?" The driver poked at his sore spot.
"Not so good."
"That's true. You can buy books online now, and there are coupons."
There was a car accident on the road ahead. The traffic police had set up a roadblock. The four-lane road was now a single lane. Luckily, there were not many cars on the road during the Chinese New Year, so it should not take too long.
"How unlucky to run into a car accident during the Chinese New Year," the driver blew out a ring of smoke. His tone sounded like a leader, with a hint of criticism.
Zhou Ze leaned back and changed into a more comfortable sitting position. He asked,
He asked, "Did you just buy this car?"
"Yeah, my son gave it to me."
Zhou Ze smiled. "How old are you? How old is your son?"
"Hehe."
The driver squinted. "My son is doing well. Nowadays, it's not about age that matters. You have hands, feet, and brains. Don't be unlucky. How can you afford to be poor?"
"You're right," Zhou Ze nodded in agreement.
Beep … beep … beep …
The car behind them seemed to be in a hurry to get home. It kept honking its horn, urging the car in front to hurry up.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry, what the hell?"
The driver had a bad temper. He leaned out of the car and cursed at the car behind him.
However, the cars behind him honked their horns even more frequently, as if they were trying to intimidate the driver.
"Hey!"
The driver pushed the car door open. He was about to get out of the car to argue with them.
However, the traffic police in front of them signaled the car to hurry up. The driver sat back down awkwardly and drove away.
"It's not going to be easy today," the driver started to complain again. "I should have gone home to visit my wife and kids."
"It's alright."
Zhou Ze did not deny it. He noticed that the noodle restaurant next door was doing fine. Most of the competitors were taking a break for the Chinese New Year. Even though the demand was lower during the Chinese New Year, it was still better than before.
Zhou Ze had been hailing a cab for a long time, yet no one had accepted the order.
"Hehe, it's not easy."
The driver shook his head again. "I don't dare to take a break. I have to send money home to pay for my kid's school fees every month. I usually work during the day and drive half the night. It's quite boring. I don't even want to buy a better pack of cigarettes."
'This cigarette … it seems to be fake.'
Zhou Ze took out a cigarette and played with it in his hand.
"But it's not a bad thing. The Internet is more convenient now. I can video call my wife and kids before I go to bed. I can see them," the driver said with a relieved look.
Zhou Ze closed his eyes. He could not fall asleep, but he did not feel like talking at the moment.
However, even without Zhou Ze's response, the driver continued to talk. He was alone in a foreign place during the Chinese New Year. It went without saying that he would feel lonely.
The driver talked about the naming of his child, the school his child went to, his parents, and the customs of his village.
In the end, Zhou Ze only leaned his forehead against the window and urged, "Master, drive faster."
The driver was driving too slowly. He was only going at around thirty miles per hour.
One had to know that this was an elevated road.
Zhou Ze even wondered if the driver was trying to talk to someone because she was too lonely. However, Zhou Ze was not interested in being a close friend.
"Hehe, it's a new car. I'm not familiar with it yet, so I don't dare to drive too fast."
The driver touched the steering wheel like it was a treasure. "This car isn't worth much. It's actually quite cheap, but it's a gift from my eldest son. I have to treasure it.
I'll try to use this car to attract customers for a few years. When my eldest son finds a girlfriend, I'll get him a house. I don't want the older one to take care of the younger one. It's not fair to the older one. After all, I'm the one who decides to give birth. As long as I can still work, I'll have to grit my teeth and bear the burden.
I'm not an irresponsible person. I won't do something like that. "
Zhou Ze frowned slightly.
He was starting to feel annoyed.
Then he lit a cigarette of his own and took a puff.
"Sir, I'm serious, please drive faster."
Zhou Ze was starting to miss his freezer. He was also regretting it. He should have asked Doctor Lin to drive him back.
"Don't be in such a hurry, young man. It's the Chinese New Year. We're fated to be together. You don't have to rush me. I understand, I understand. I'm an experienced driver …"
Zhou Ze flicked the cigarette ash.
It didn't pop out of the car window.
A handful of cigarette ash landed on the inside of the car door.
Then …
The inside of the car door was burned by the cigarette ash.
It was a thumb-sized hole.