A foreign city, dear you

Lin Shushen slowly walked into the waiting room and went to the bathroom. He turned on the faucet, took a handful of tap water, and poured it on his face.

Tears, mixed with tap water...

*

The whole morning, Yaya's voice calling "Dad" echoed in Lin Shushen's ears.

Business wasn't very good either, and he spent most of his time waiting.

While waiting, Lin Shushen would always think of Yaya involuntarily.

I wonder where their car went?

I wonder how long Yaya cried in the car? Is she tired of crying? Did you cry yourself to sleep?

Yaya should have discovered that the adults were all lying to her. How sad would she be?

Everything in her hometown is new to Yaya. Will she adapt?

Day after day, where would she go to call her parents?

……

The sun is rising in the sky, the weather is getting hotter and hotter, and there are fewer and fewer people on the road.

Lin Shushen stopped work and went to the vegetable market to buy vegetables.

He still bought some simple dishes and asked the stall owner to cut the meat for him.

Grandma Yaya was gone, and Lin Shushen had to go back to make lunch, otherwise Ye Lu would not have anything to eat when she returned home at noon.

Lin Shushen returned to the rental house.

The rolling shutters were closed and it was deserted.

Unexpectedly, Yaya ran out from inside and called "Daddy" happily.

Lin Shushen opened the rolling shutter door, and the room was quiet.

He looked at the attic, which was empty, and there was no sign of Yaya climbing up or down there; he looked at the upper bunk of the bunk bed, and the upper bunk was also empty, and there was no trace of Yaya's mischief...

Lin Shushen's heart was also empty, so empty that he felt powerless.

Lin Shushen's eyes became moist again.

In the haze of tears, Yaya's smiling face appeared in front of her again, and Yaya's voice rang in her ears again:

"Dad, where's your other hand?"

……

"Hidden by Grandpa Tian? Where are you hiding?"

……

"Dad, you have to be good."

"Dad, you must be obedient with your hand. You can't let God hide it."

……

***********************

It's getting dark.

The evening breeze blew, finally dissipating some of the scorching heat from the sun all day long, and the ground was no longer as hot as it was during the day.

Ye Lian passed by Xiangyang Square on her bicycle.

The bicycle had a puncture a few days ago. Ye Lian left it at a repair shop near Xiangyang Plaza for repairs. She just went to take the bike out of the repair shop.

Xiangyang Plaza is across the road from Dafu Shopping Mall. There is a huge electronic display screen on one side of the square.

Xiangyang Square is the activity center of Xiangyang Town and the place where the town government holds cultural and artistic programs during major festivals.

Every night, many citizens come to Xiangyang Plaza for leisure. There are those who dance, those who do Tai Chi, those who walk around with their children, those who chat, and some who are not bored enough to squat on the ground and watch charity programs or some promotional programs on the electronic screen.

Ye Lian saw a large group of people sitting in front of the huge electronic display screen. Most of these people were sitting on the ground, facing the electronic display screen.

Ye Lian was so surprised.

What are these people doing?

Although Ye Lian doesn't often go out at night, she occasionally comes to Xiangyang Plaza for a stroll. In her memory, she had never seen so many people sitting in the square.

Are these people meditating for something?

It didn't seem like it, because they were all talking and laughing.

Ye Lian was curious and deliberately rode slowly to the side of the group of people. She held the brake pedal and pedaled on the ground and stopped there, observing the group of people and listening to their chat.

……

A young man asked: "Uncle, why don't you watch TV at home?"

The old man who was asked replied: "It's more lively and enjoyable to come here."

A little further away, a strong man's hearty voice said: "Who do you think will win tonight?"

A person next to the strong man said without thinking: "It must be the Chinese team."

Another person snorted: "You don't know what you can do! You don't even know which team you are facing tonight?"

The person who just said "It must be the Chinese team" was unhappy: "Aren't you Chinese? Why do you want to embolden others and destroy your own prestige?"

"Childish! Can the Chinese team win if I am Chinese?"

"You don't want the Chinese team to win, why are you coming to watch?"

"I just came to see you. What's bothering you?"

……

A young man sitting on a piece of cardboard quickly tried to persuade him to make peace: "Okay, okay, can this cause a quarrel? No matter what the result is tonight, it is a rare event worth watching."

……

Ye Lian heard that these people came to the square to join in the fun and wanted to watch the Olympic Games on this electronic display.

Yes, during this period, the Beijing Olympics is in full swing.

Ye Lian has not looked at the Olympic Games schedule. She wonders what kind of event tonight will be that everyone is looking forward to?

Ye Lian got back on her bicycle, left Xiangyang Square, crossed Xiangyang Avenue from the zebra crossing, came to Mingtian Road, and then continued riding towards Xi Yayuan.

On the street, a moving melody came from nowhere:

“My door is always open, and my arms are waiting for you;

……

Both strangers and familiar guests are guests, please don’t be formal;

……

Beijing welcomes you and opens up a new world for you;

......"

Since the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games, the song "Beijing Welcomes You" has rang throughout the streets and alleys of the city.

At the intersection of Mingtian Road and Commercial Street, two men pulling tricycles were talking.

One said: "No one takes the bus now. Have they all gone home to watch the game?"

Another said: "What's weird? I also want to call it a day and go back so I can watch tonight's game."

……

Ye Lian listened to their conversation and couldn't help but glance around the streets.

Strange indeed.

During this supposedly busiest time, no one was seen.

Where are all the people on the street? Are they really all there watching the game?

This is really a bit "empty" meaning.

As soon as Ye Lian arrived at the door of her house and locked her bicycle in the corridor, the cell phone in her bag rang.

The door is open.

Just as Ye Lian was about to answer the phone, the call was cut off.

Cao Xueqian came forward with a smile: "Where have you been? I was making your phone call."

Ye Lian pointed to the bicycle: "The bicycle has been repaired. I'm going to pick it up. Why did you come home from get off work so early today?"

Cao Xueqian looked at his watch: "Is it still early? It's not early. It's already 7:40 now."

When Ye Lian heard this, she felt a little sorry: "It's so late, so I haven't cooked yet."

Cao Xueqian took Ye Lian's slippers and handed them to her: "It's okay, just make something to eat and watch the game later."

It’s a game again!

Ye Lian became more and more curious and asked Cao Xueqian: "What kind of heavyweight competition is tonight? I see a lot of people are talking about it."

Cao Xueqian was about to answer when Lan Shan suddenly ran out of the room, holding an English picture book in his hand, pointing to a word in the book and asking: "Mom, how do you pronounce this English word?"