Reef

Zhou Muzhen knew that he needed to rest, but his body was involuntarily busy all morning.There are big bags of garbage piled up at the door, and everything inside and outside the house has been collected, and there are layers of cardboard boxes stacked on top of each other.

In fact, he hasn't thought about where to go in the next city. The feeling of being at a loss forced him to get busy and give up thinking.He also knew that it was not good for him to be like this, but when he thought of such a person in this place, he felt the hairs all over his body stand on end, and his back felt chills one after another.

Too tired to move anymore, Zhou Muzhen fell on the bed.With his body sunk deep in the soft mattress, Zhou Mu really felt much more comfortable.In an instant he caught sight of something large occupying the small room—a piano.He bought this piano by chance at a second-hand musical instrument market. Zhou Muzhen didn't want to buy such a big one, but it was too similar, too much like the piano that had accompanied him for so many years.

The piano is of great significance to Zhou Muzhen. The piano has given him everything, dreams, career, family and love.He moved his fingers and put his hands in the air, as if he was playing something.

As if thinking of something, Zhou Muzhen got up from the bed.He walked to the piano and lifted the cloth covering the piano. There was already some dust on the cloth, but it protected the piano underneath very well.On the lid covering the keys is a wooden picture frame, a photograph sandwiched between two thin sheets of glass.

The photo is a photo of Zhou Muzhen and a girl who looks seventeen or eighteen years old and has red curly hair.The red-haired girl was sitting in front of the piano, laughing towards the camera, not a bit of the tranquility of a girl playing the piano, while Zhou Muzhen was standing behind the chair where the red-haired girl was sitting, with a hint of surprise on her face.

Zhou Muzhen remembered that he was teaching Anita—that is, the red-haired girl—to play the piano at that time, but the people from the orphanage suddenly took a camera to take pictures, and he was taken aback.But only this one photo was preserved intact, and the others were burned by Anita. She famously said: "I don't want to bind a person who still has a long way to go with past memories."And this photo has been kept by the orphanage, so it escaped unharmed.

All the memories seem to be condensed in this photo taken by accident.

Zhou Muzhen put the photo into the cardboard box beside him, and opened the piano cover.Fingers gently brushed the black and white keys, the keys were smooth and bright, as if they were new.After pressing a few keys, a ding ding dong sound rang out. Although it was clear, it could not withstand the passage of time, which made its pitch not so accurate.

He wanted to tune the piano himself, but his body was so weak that he really didn't have the strength to lift the front soundboard of the piano.Complying with the out-of-tune tone, following his memory, his fingers slowly moved on the keys.It is the song that Zhou Muzhen taught Anita in the photo - dedicated to Alice.

Speaking of which, this song subtly confirms the relationship between them.Anita is a 25-year-old student of Zhou Muzhen, and this piece of music is also written by Beethoven, a music teacher, for his female student Teresa.

The score belonging to the right hand is bright and cheerful, like a girl smiling and swinging on a swing in the garden; the score belonging to the left hand is gentle and kind, like a mature man gently pushing the girl's back gently behind his back.The tune gradually increased, and the conversation between the two became more cheerful, as if they only had each other in their eyes at the moment.

Zhou Muzhen's unfamiliar fingers at the beginning have completely returned to their previous state at this moment. He is immersed in the out-of-tune dedication to Alice. Now the distorted and strange music played by him now has a kind of reassuring feeling a feeling of.Because the lover has passed away, it only brings loneliness to the remaining people, and the original cheerful rhythm is no longer suitable for them.

"Dong dong."

The fingers pressed down suddenly, making an ugly piano sound.Zhou Muzhen turned his head to look at the door. If he heard correctly, someone must have knocked on the door just now.

But no one I know knows that I live here.

Could it be that he disturbed the neighbors by playing the piano just now?

With [-]% apology and [-]% doubt, Zhou Muzhen walked slowly to the door.He looked out through the cat's eye, and saw a very familiar person standing at the door, carrying a schoolbag, pacing left and right, and wanted to knock on the door several times, but he always looked hesitant.

Zhou Mu really didn't know how Gu Zhan knew he lived here, and he didn't know why he came to him.He rubbed the frown between his brows, trying to smooth it out.Then, he returned to his usual smiling face and opened the door.

"Ah, Teacher Zhou, hello?" Gu Zhan was obviously taken aback by the sudden opening of the door, and the hand that was still outstretched in mid-air, which was about to knock on the door, changed into a greeting gesture.

Zhou Muzhen looked at Gu Zhan, wanting to wait for Gu Zhan to explain himself.The other party didn't receive Zhou Muzhen's answer, obviously he didn't know what to do, he scratched his head for a while, and touched his ears for a while.

"Are you feeling better?" Gu Zhan asked after thinking for a long time, then he glanced at the crowded corridor covered with plastic bags, and said, "Why don't I help you throw away the trash."

Zhou Mu really couldn't help laughing, he opened the door wide enough for Gu Zhan to come in, "Come in."

He walked into the house. Since everyone has come, he can't keep people out.Besides, the child helped me once yesterday, so it shouldn't be a problem to let him in, even though the other party's sudden visit made me feel very uncomfortable.

Gu Zhan was like a sailor who had discovered a new world, and he began to look around when he entered the room.It's a pity that apart from the stacked boxes and the conspicuous piano, I didn't see any other interesting things.

The space in the house is not large, but it is more than enough for one person to live in.In fact, Gu Zhan has always wanted a small room like this. Although it is small, it feels like everything is available.

"Teacher, do you know how to play the piano?" Gu Zhan couldn't help asking when he saw Zhou Muzhen putting the piano cover down, remembering the music he just heard at the door.

Zhou Mu's real hand movements paused, but he still closed the piano cover. "It's out of tune."

Unabashedly refusing, Gu Zhan shrugged, and then he walked around again.Suddenly, I found a wooden framed photo in a cardboard box.Picking it up curiously, he saw a red-haired girl and a slightly younger Zhou Muzhen.

This is... abroad, right?

Gu Zhan secretly wrote it down.

With an empty hand, the wooden photo frame was easily taken away.Gu Zhan looked in Zhou Muzhen's direction, and the other party was obviously a little unhappy, a layer of frost was condensed on his face, and the gentle expression he made before was completely gone.

Zhou Muzhen put the photo back on the piano cover, and covered the whole piano with the flannelette from before.He leaned against the piano, took off his glasses, and folded his hands over his chest.Asked the question: "What are you doing here?"

"I..." Gu Zhan was speechless, he really didn't have a clear reason to come here.He had never seen Zhou Muzhen like this before. There was a chill all over his body, which made people dare not approach him.The other party's long and narrow eyes seemed to be born for shooting such sharp gazes, Gu Zhan swallowed.

The boxes lying around and the garbage bags outside the door mean that Zhou Mu is really leaving.

That's right, the purpose of coming this time is to prevent Zhou Muzhen from leaving!

Gu Zhan suddenly raised his head and looked directly at Zhou Muzhen.

"I, I want you not to leave." Still stammering, Gu Zhan put down his schoolbag and took a few steps in Zhou Muzhen's direction, "I asked my mother to help expel Zhang Yushi, you don't have to be afraid that there will be someone else Your secret has been revealed! I will, I will always stand by your side..."

Gu Zhan thought he was wrong, but he did see a mocking smile flashing across Zhou Muzhen's face.

"Gu Zhan, do you know what the teachers think of you?" Zhou Muzhen asked suddenly, but he didn't seem to intend to give Gu Zhan a chance to answer, "You are a devil."

"I used to think that you were just a naive-looking student, because the innocence and cleanliness in your eyes can't deceive people. But now I have the same feeling as them for a moment. Maybe your devilishness lies in , You are always stubborn and want to do what you want, without considering other people's feelings at all.

You don't even think about whether it's right to do it yourself, but an idea pops up in your mind, and then you do it.This may be an advantage at some point, but now, no matter whether you come to me suddenly, or you suddenly tell me to fire Zhang Yushi, have you obtained my consent?

You say you are on my side, but have you ever thought about what I think? "

Gu Zhan felt that his feet were firmly nailed to the ground, unable to move even a bit, and the expression on his face turned into a frozen expression of surprise.Gu Zhan really wanted to refute, but found that Zhou Muzhen's words were true, and he couldn't deny a single word.

"Poor childish ghost." Zhou Muzhen stepped forward, picked up the schoolbag that Gu Zhan had put on the ground before, and stuffed it into Gu Zhan's arms involuntarily.

Gu Zhan thought that Zhou Mu was really about to issue an order to evict the guests, so he was a little disheartened and wanted to pick up his schoolbag and leave.Unexpectedly, a warm palm landed on the top of his head.

"Thank you."

At this moment, Gu Zhan didn't understand Zhou Muzhen at all.He looked up at Zhou Muzhen, his expression was still indifferent, but those eyes seemed to be looking at something through him.Why did Zhou Mu really want to scold himself once, and then thank himself?

Zhou Muzhen's figure seemed to have turned into a cloud of fog. Gu Zhan stretched out his hand, but he couldn't catch anything.But he did feel the temperature above his head, so warm, as if wrapped in a pool of sea water under the sun.

But in the next second, Gu Zhan was invited out of Zhou Muzhen's house just like that.He stayed in front of Zhou Muzhen's house for a long time, staring at the house number nailed on the door without moving, his mind went blank.

Inside the door, Zhou Muzhen sat dejectedly on the chair in front of the desk, touching his face with his hands, as if he wanted to wake up a bit.He also didn't understand why he should be angry, he knew that the other party had done something beneficial to him, didn't he?In this way, there is no need to leave here.

But why...why am I so angry?

It may be because Gu Zhan always reminded Zhou Muzhen of Anita's willful misconduct again and again, and large sections of pictures flashed through his mind, and his fist was hammering hard on the table.

Anita is dead.

Zhou Muzhen, Anita is dead.

Why not let the past hold her back, as Anita would like?

But why, some parts of Gu Zhan can be so similar to her?