sinovels Chapter 1
Chapter 1
The ear-piercing bell rang, and Ji Xiaocai woke up suddenly from her dream. Sweat dripped from her forehead. She froze for a while before remembering to answer the phone in a hurry. , and dropped all the reference data to the ground, finally picked up the microphone, "Hello" but there was no response, and then "Hello", still nothing.
There was a slight sound from the microphone, like the sound of rain or wind. Before Ji Xiaocai could listen carefully, there was a "click", and the microphone was simply replaced with an electronic sound of "beep beep".
I couldn't help but looked at the caller ID suspiciously, it was a completely unfamiliar number.After pressing the playback button, the mechanical cold female voice in the microphone is broadcasting: "Sorry, the number you dialed is empty, please confirm before dialing..."
Weird phone.
The mobile phone buried under a pile of drafts issued a weak text message, and he hung up the local call in a hurry, and went to fish out the mobile phone to read it.The Taoist priest reading a book in the sunset, which was secretly photographed, waited quietly on the screen, and a text message made Ji Xiaocai's heart that had been looking forward to it all night fell back to its original place.
『Xiao Cai, I'm sorry, this matter is not easy to solve. I guess I still need to stay in Dumb Frog Town for two to three days to take care of myself. ”Although he was disappointed, he pretended not to care and replied to the message: “It’s okay, Daoist, you should also be more careful. ’ After thinking about it, I added a heart after it, and after thinking about it again, I typed two more words: ‘I miss you. 』
The text message over there was sent back quickly, with a smiling face: "I'm a little busy now, I'll call you when I'm free." 』No sweet talk as usual, but this time I feel a little bit disappointed.
I looked at my phone for a while, but there was no more movement.Wanting to say something more, he hesitated for a long time when he pressed the column to write a text message, and finally put it down, forget it, the Taoist priest is busy, so don't trouble him.
Looking back, the meals on the dining table have been cooled, and they need to be put away. The soup that has been boiled all afternoon has to be poured out of the pot and put in the refrigerator. ...or put it in the storage room.
Ji Xiaocai was tidying up the dishes in a low mood, when the phone rang again, this time it was his elder brother's voice, with faint anger: "Xiao Cai, I'm going to your place on a business trip tomorrow." 』
"Um?"
"I want to stay with you for a while, and I will call you when I arrive tomorrow afternoon. 』
"Crack." The electronic sound of "beep beep beep" came from the microphone for the second time.Ji Xiaocai looked at the microphone, his elder brother...is he arguing with Daoist Zhou again?
On the TV screen that was turned on to prevent the room from being deserted, several women were sitting around talking together, the blurred lights were flickering, and the host pretended to be confidant, comforting a crying woman wearing sunglasses in the middle of the stage.
"How did it change? The woman cried her shoulders twitched, "It's so good when you fall in love, and it was the same when you first got married. You send me off early and pick you up late. You must take me with you when you go out for a meal, and you must always look at me , How to say it has changed!But only seven years! 』
The expert said earnestly: "This is the so-called seven-year itch."Generally speaking, after a few years of marriage, both husband and wife are too accustomed to each other's existence and understand each other's strengths and weaknesses too much, lack of freshness, and under the accumulated friction and conflicts, it is easy to get bored and flee from their partner , if there is an external temptation at this time, it is easy to change the relationship...』
Ji Xiaocai frowned delicately, looking at the flickering screen.
Changes happen in seven years, so what about a thousand years?
The expert made the final decision: "Let it go!"It is useless to keep people who change their minds and insist on leaving! 』
Ji Xiaocai quickly turned off the TV.
※※※
The subway door made a sound, opened to both sides, and the flow of people was surging. Ji Xiaocai was caught in the crowd and got off the train passively, and was pushed and shoved to step on the escalator passively.There are people on the front, back, left, and right, and the escalator is slowly crawling, climbing up from the deep underground tunnel, climbing out of the cave, and going to a place where the sun shines, like a lazily yawning beast about to go out of the cave to sunbathe .
He looked down from the high escalator, as if there were black crows of people's heads in the bottomless underground, people pushed people, people squeezed people, shoulder to shoulder, and the empty subway tunnel stretched infinitely towards the invisible darkness on both sides of the crowd. Therefore, the depth seems to reach directly to the underworld of Huangquan.
This is City N, with a fixed population of more than 500 million, and countless floating population mixed in it, prosperous, extravagant, materialistic, and ghosts rampant!Ji Xiaocai and Gu Tailai have settled here for decades. Compared with the beautiful but sparsely populated countryside, the metropolis is obviously more suitable for non-humans like them to live in.Here, the relationship between people is weak and indifferent to each other; here, even the most bizarre things can be easily wiped out by the feasting, people are busy with their livelihood, come and go in a hurry, and don't care to find out whether their neighbors and colleagues are Maintain the same appearance for decades.
Ji Xiaocai stepped onto the flat ground, and a civet cat passed by in a hurry. Seeing Ji Xiaocai, her round eyes widened suddenly, showing a look of awe, and she bowed cautiously to him before she dared to walk away.
More and more monsters have moved to N City. They have integrated into human society and even performed outstandingly in various industries. However, the natural order belonging to the monster group is still well maintained in secret. Monsters always respect and respect the strong. Respect, so Ji Xiaocai and Gu Tailai are highly respected in N City, even though most of the monsters don't even know their real identities.
"Here, here, Mr. Ji, Ximen!" Before approaching, he heard the loud voice of the planning assistant Xiao Zhao. The boy was wearing a cartoon T-shirt and dyed blond hair. He looked really eye-catching from the crowd waving his hands. .
Ji Xiaocai hurried through the crowd, repeatedly apologizing: "Sorry, have you been waiting for a long time?"
Xiao Zhao waved his hand vigorously, and handed the staff card to Ji Xiaocai: "No, I'm here early! Teacher Ji, here's your work card."
This is the exhibition center in the busiest part of the city center, and animation-related exhibitions are currently being held. As an outstanding young picture book writer in the industry, Ji Xiaocai was invited to give a 15-minute impromptu speech and sign picture books on the spot.
Entering the exhibition hall, you can immediately feel the popularity of the exhibition.The electronic music on the loudspeakers in the venue almost shook the world. Boys and girls in all kinds of strange costumes wandered around, selling models, selling comic tools, and selling fanbooks... There was a lot of laughter in front of the booths with various promotional posters. , the sun shining through the glass dome casts mottled shadows on people, as if they were skillfully hand-painted pictures.Occasionally, some middle-aged people can be found in the crowd looking around, looking for something, with suits and leather shoes, serious faces, it seems that they shouldn't be here.
Xiao Zhao saw Ji Xiaocai looking at those people, and explained beside him: "Those probably came to participate in the folk culture exchange exhibition in Hall A."
Only then did Ji Xiaocai remember that when she entered the door just now, she did see two promotional display stands at the door. It turned out that they were exhibitors from other halls who entered Hall B by mistake.
Seeing Ji Xiaocai's curious look, Xiao Zhao smiled and said, "Mr. Ji, if you want to go to the exhibition later, I can arrange a seat for you. I heard that there are some interesting speeches and folk performances in that exhibition."
Ji Xiaocai nodded again and again: "Then I will trouble you, Xiao Zhao."
The folk culture exhibition is an exhibition accumulated over thousands of years. There should be many things for him to recall. The ruins of the ancient city, or a sacrifice that has not changed until now... Ji Xiaocai felt that she seemed to want to grasp something that had not changed in a long time today.
The impromptu speech was very successful. Although Ji Xiaocai was nervous when she came on stage, stuttered and said a few wrong words, but because of her pleasing life and her skill in painting on the spot, after a speech, there was thunderous applause.After it was over, a bunch of people rushed up to ask Ji Xiaocai for his autograph. Not only did they want autographs, but many people also snapped photos of him. Some bold girls even came up and asked, "Ms. Ji, do you have a lover?" Eager to give it a try, as if he wanted to recommend himself.
Ji Xiaocai was startled, her ears turned red, and she said a little embarrassedly, "Yes, I've been married for a long time." After thousands of years of getting along, it should be considered a marriage in disguise.
Immediately, there was a sound of sighing at the scene. "Hey? You're going to die at such a young age!", "I hate it, good men have their own masters these days!" The voices of regret kept coming and going, and Ji Xiaocai just smiled embarrassedly, but there were people who didn't know the fun and said: "Hey , but Teacher Ji, you are not wearing a wedding ring!"
Ji Xiaocai's heart skipped a beat, and she subconsciously looked at her left hand. There was nothing on her ring finger.Somehow, he thought of the nightmare last night, the red silk was accompanied by the white bones, Gu Tailai held someone else's hand, and said coldly: "My lady, please."
Xiao Zhao interrupted his recollection: "What is a diamond ring? Our teacher Ji's token of love is a jade pendant with a history of thousands of years! You have never heard of it before!" The scene was immediately amazed.
Ji Xiaocai stretched out her hand to touch her neck, and the ancient jade "No Ji Tai Lai" hung on his chest, warming her heart.Yes, that's right, it has been more than 1000 years since I met Gu Tailai, and I have been in love for a long time. They get along like old husbands, and there is indeed no ceremony or marriage certificate, but this is only because Gu Tailai is not good at it by nature. They talk sweetly and don't know how to arrange romantic plots. In fact, the life and death together thousands of years ago has already established the only position in each other's minds, so why do they need rituals?
Ji Xiaocai breathed a sigh of relief, secretly amused in her heart, thinking why she also became startled, after all, she was affected by a slight nightmare last night.
Xiao Zhao poked Ji Xiaocai with his elbow and winked, "Mr. Ji, do you think so?"
Ji Xiaocai nodded happily: "Of course!" Amidst the exclamation of the crowd, she signed her name on the cover of the picture book one stroke at a time and drew a chubby and cute little chicken.
※※※
It was already lunch time after signing the book signing. Ji Xiaocai had a casual lunch in the restaurant. During the dinner, she sent a message to Gu Tailai to report the latest situation. The text message over there came a little late, but it made people feel at ease.
"I'm eating too, the case is fine, and I'll be back soon. 』
"Be more careful. 』
"Well, you too. 』
Putting the phone in his pocket, Ji Xiaocai got up and went to Hall A to visit.Xiao Zhao still had a booth in the agency to take care of, so he gave the VIP ticket to Ji Xiaocai and let him go there by himself.
The sun was just right, and the spring breeze was blowing. Ji Xiaocai walked through the crowd and the open-air fountain in the center of the hall, and entered the area of Hall A.This hall is a small hall in the exhibition center. Compared with Hall B where Ji Xiaocai gave a speech, the area is nearly half smaller, but the interior layout is several grades higher than Hall B. It is used for academic exhibitions and official press releases good place.A large Peking Opera mask was placed at the entrance of the venue, smiling silently at the passing crowd, as if a warm invitation.
Ji Xiaocai showed the guard her special ticket, and someone instructed him to go to the Jasmine Hall on the second floor to watch the performance.
Hall B is noisy, but entering Hall A is like a world of difference.Everywhere is quiet, as quiet as if there is no one there.When you enter the door, you can see a group of medium-sized wooden sculptures with a height of half a person in the center of the hall. There are many statues, all of which are vivid and lifelike. Pulling a brown silk thread seems to be the legendary red thread of marriage... What a picture of beings in the heavens!On the same glass dome as in Hall B, a pair of huge Chinese knots are hung with steel wires. Many red paper pieces hang around the Chinese knots, like stars arching the moon. Looking up, you will find that the red paper pieces are all carefully crafted paper-cuts. The sunlight casts the shadows of the paper-cuts, and one after another auspicious patterns are drawn on the ground and on the wood carvings. Auspiciousness... everything that one expects to find, it just forms a three-dimensional combination with the group of wood carvings below, the conception is really ingenious.Ji Xiaocai looked at it, and the commentary board next to it was marked: "Gift from Nanlin University of Technology".
He went upstairs to find the Jasmine Hall, gently pushed the door open, and there was a burst of applause, probably someone had just finished a wonderful performance, and the audience responded enthusiastically, making their palms red.Ji Xiaocai looked at the program list with the dim light. What just ended should be a speech by Zhong Yeqing, a professor of the Folklore Department of Nanlin University of Technology, on the changes in Chinese marriage customs in the past dynasties.The host came to the stage to announce that the next performance was the women's sword dance. Folk music was playing, and women in military uniforms came on stage. Ji Xiaocai sat down near the door and watched with great interest for more than an hour.
During the intermission, the phone rang, and it was his elder brother calling.
"Xiao Cai, I've arrived in City N, where can I find you?" 』
Ji Xiaocai looked at her watch, it was three o'clock in the afternoon, she calculated the journey back and said, "Brother, I can go back in half an hour, but first I have to go to the supermarket to buy some food, maybe I will be home at one o'clock after four o'clock, do you want to come with me?" ?”
Ji Lanye said on the other end of the phone: "Wait a minute. ”His voice came from the microphone, “Jacky, how many times have I told you that the equipment box must be carried with you! 』One of his elder brother's identities in the human world is a part-time photographer, and the other is the president and member of the Zhaoji Detective Agency. It wasn't that Ji Lanye's orders depended on his mood, maybe he had already become famous all over the world.
Ji Xiaocai couldn't help but think of how his elder brother was furious on the phone last night, and wondered why he and Zhou Daochang were arguing over trivial matters this time.
"Xiao Cai, did you hear that? 』
"Ah? What?" Withdrawing her thoughts, Ji Xiaocai asked into the microphone.
"Brother has some errands to do now, I will come to your place directly around 04:30, is there any problem?" 』
"No." Ji Xiaocai tentatively asked, "Brother, how long will you stay this time?"
Ji Lanye was silent for a while, and then said lightly, "What's the matter?not welcome? 』
"Of course not." Ji Xiaocai said as she walked out, standing in the circular corridor on the second floor, overlooking the hall, only a few scattered people were wandering in the hall, a woman passed him by, with a look on her face Some trance, as if not awake.
"Just asking casually." Knowing his elder brother's temper, Ji Xiaocai changed the subject in time, "Is it okay to make fried three delicacies that elder brother likes to eat at night, with white fungus and red dates soup for dessert?"
Ji Lanye's tone sounded better now, saying: "You are still the most obedient, then the eldest brother will wait to eat." After a pause, he suddenly asked, "Xiao Cai, how are you and that Taoist priest doing?" 』Testing tone, there is a kind of strange cautiousness.
"It's pretty good." Ji Xiaocai replied, turned around, and saw the woman in a trance standing diagonally opposite, climbing on the railing, leaning over to look down, she didn't know what she was looking at.Because it is an exhibition hall, the floor height here is extremely high, and the height of the second floor is almost equal to the third floor of an ordinary residential building.Ji Xiaocai felt that it was a bit dangerous for the woman to go on like this, so she couldn't help but want to remind her.
"However, the priest has been out hunting ghosts for the past few days and is not at home," he said.
But Ji Lanye asked eagerly on the other end of the phone: "Why don't you go with me!" 』
Ji Xiaocai was a little surprised by his elder brother's excitement, but she still replied obediently: "I still have things to do, and the Taoist priest will be back after a few days."
Ji Lan said wildly, "You don't worry about him going away for several days? 』
Ji Xiaocai was even more surprised: "What...worried? The Taoist priest is the most powerful, ordinary ghosts can't do anything to him at all."
Ji Lan got angry and shouted: "You idiot! ’ and hung up the phone with a snap.Ji Xiaocai looked at the phone for a while, but still didn't understand what his elder brother was angry about. Suddenly, he heard an exclamation in his ear, and he quickly turned his head away, only to see the woman opposite him who fell upside down, jumped out of the railing and fell straight down go.
The second floor was originally a high floor, and a large group of wooden sculptures happened to be placed underneath. If a person fell and hit the top, he might die.Shocked, Ji Xiaocai immediately drew a tactic with one hand and used her demonic power.Although he wanted to save the girl's life, he was also concerned that she was in the human world, so he didn't dare to be too ostentatious, so he lowered his wrist, and shot downwards with a demonic energy, gently pushing the girl forward. Well, it just happened to avoid the range of the woodcarving group, but this alone is not enough, when Ji Xiaocai was about to hold the woman before she landed, there was someone faster than him.Ji Xiaocai felt a flash in front of her eyes, and a black shadow jumped out from the side, and before the woman fell to the ground, she picked her up, and the two of them fell to the ground at the same time, rolling to the side together, Ji Xiaocai was worried that the two of them would be hurt. Bumped, he quickly pointed his fingers, and silently used his monster power to gently cushion the corner of the wall, so the two slowed down the momentum and finally stopped.
There was commotion in the hall, the guards were busy calling the medical staff, and some passing exhibitors gathered around to watch, and Ji Xiaocai also poked her head out from the second floor to observe the movement below.The woman was lying on the ground, seemingly fainted from the fall, while the man who caught her was slowly sitting up from the ground.
The siren sounded outside soon, and the medical staff broke through the crowd and rushed in: "Let's make way, let's call 119 first aid." The woman was lifted up and put on a stretcher and quickly transported to the car.Someone came up to help the man, but the latter waved his hand and said a few words to him.The doctor took him aside for an examination, then shook his head and led the team away, as if he couldn't figure it out.
The people in the hall also dispersed, and the cleaner came over with a mop.
Ji Xiaocai was about to leave, but a gentle and gentle voice suddenly came from her ear: "Thank you just now!"
He froze for a moment, then looked down, and in the silhouette all over the place, the man raised his head and met him face to face.Tall, soft and slightly curly short hair, and a beautiful face, this person does not look weak, but has a kind of hidden power, and the air is flowing all over his body, with a pair of dark eyes The strange dark green pupils, the reflection of light and shadow, makes the brilliance flow in those pupils, which is extraordinarily deep and changeable.
"Thank you for your help just now," he said.
Others could not hear their conversation and just hurried past.
"No, it's nothing, it's just a little effort." Ji Xiaocai quickly declined.
"Where, without your help, I'm afraid I'd still be hurt a little bit." The man smiled, and once that face smiled, it seemed to see the sun shining down through the gaps in the sparse branches and leaves, and the ground was golden, almost fascinated human eye.
"I don't know how to call you, but I'm Zhong Yeqing from Nanlin University of Technology."
Ji Xiaocai was taken aback, but couldn't help laughing: "Hi, my name is Ji Xiaocai."
It turns out that the world is so small, and Professor Zhong from Nanlin University of Technology is not alone...
※※※
Within 2 minutes of returning home, the doorbell rang, and Ji Lanye stood at the door on time, carrying a half-person-high suitcase in his hand.When Ji Xiaocai saw the suitcase, she secretly thought that something was wrong. It seems that his elder brother had a fierce fight with Daoist Zhou this time.
Ji Lanye walked into the house and ran to the guest room by familiar ways. Every time he quarreled with Zhou Zhaoji or visited Ji Xiaocai, he would come and stay for a few days, completely treating this place as his own home.Gu Tailai, who was hindered from certain activities, was of course quite dissatisfied with this, but for Ji Xiaocai's sake, he had no choice but to swallow it.
After Ji Lanye packed everything, he leaned against the kitchen door to watch Ji Xiaocai cook as if bored.
The cooker hood made a whirring sound. He didn't say a word, just watched silently, and occasionally touched his neck habitually, wondering if he thought the neckline was too tight.Ji Xiaocai felt something was wrong. Normally, within a few minutes after his elder brother came, he would mention what happened to Zhou Zhaoji. On the surface, he was arguing, but in his tone, he simply couldn't let it go. After a while, Zhou Zhaoji would come to press The doorbell greeted Ji Lanye with a smile.For Gu Tai, this is the way the two of them get along, noisy, but not in a bad relationship, but this time it always feels different.
The atmosphere was stuffy, but it was hard to find a topic.After chatting for a few words, Ji Xiaocai found that she had nothing to say. While trying the saltiness of the soup, she listened to the movement outside, and when she heard the phone ringing in the living room, she hurriedly called out, "Brother, answer it for me." .”
The sound of Ji Lanye's footsteps faded away, but soon came back, and the phone was still ringing.
"I won't take it," he said.
"Brother, I'm cooking!"
"I don't accept it."
Ji Xiaocai looked at him helplessly, turned on the radish soup and ran out, and it was indeed Zhou Zhaoji's voice who picked it up.
"Xiao Caiji, is Ono with you? 』A listless voice came from the microphone, almost making people wonder if it was Zhou Zhaoji calling.
"That's right." Ji Xiaocai glanced at the kitchen, and the figure over there swayed for a while, then walked into the kitchen, deliberately concealing it but showing more seriousness.Only then did Ji Xiaocai relax a little bit, held back her laughter, and asked softly, "Daozhang Zhou, what's the matter with you and my elder brother? He seems to be in a bad mood, when will you come pick him up?"
I thought that Zhou Zhaoji would answer "immediately" with a playful smile again, or deliberately said to Qiao, "Do you want me to pick you up? Tell him to come and call by himself", but this time Zhou Zhaoji was silent on the microphone, so silent that Ji Xiaocai felt uneasy.
"Daoist Zhou, what's wrong with you...?"
Zhou Zhaoji coughed lightly: "Little vegetable chicken, help me take care of your elder brother." 』
Ji Xiaocai's heart sank, and she deliberately joked: "Why leave it to me, it's your business."
This time Zhou Zhaoji replied quickly, he said: "We broke up. 』
Ji Xiaocai hung up the phone and turned around to look hesitantly.Ji Lanye was standing by the kitchen, staring straight at the quietly placed telephone, his eyes were extremely dark and tired.
"That..." Ji Xiaocai was at a loss, "Zhou Daochang said that he is stuck with some facts, but he will come to pick you up soon."
Ji Lanye lowered his eyes, and a smile curled up on his mouth: "He won't come, he has someone else, we broke up." He said, brushing past Ji Xiaocai, and went to the guest room, "So, keep an eye on Gu Tailai." Patting Ji Xiaocai on the shoulder, she was about to close the door.
Ji Xiaocai chased after her and stood against the door: "Brother, do you have any misunderstanding? You should be very clear that Daoist Zhou is not that kind of person. You forgot that he used to give up his life for you!"
Ji Lanye narrowed his eyes, and asked coldly, "Xiao Cai, how long ago was that?"
"how long ago……"
"1000 years ago."
Seven years can be boring, but how about a thousand years?
Ji Lanye sighed quietly: "It's all over, Xiao Cai, what happened 1000 years ago, who still cares about it?"
The door of the room was gently closed, as if cutting a thread from the past to the present. Ji Xiaocai didn't understand that a thousand years of time could really waste everything. hate?
He doesn't believe it!
In the evening, I couldn't help but secretly called Zhou Zhaoji a few more times. Except for the first call, he answered it. When Ji Xiaocai asked what was going on, he just said, "This is the end of the matter, I have nothing to say." Didn't answer the phone.Ji Xiaocai felt uneasy, so she called Gu Tailai again, but the phone rang for a long time but no one answered, I don't know if she was busy or didn't hear it.Made up a text message and said, "Master Taoist, I have something to discuss with you." 』After a while, there was no reply.
In a panic, I pressed the TV switch button, and the screen jumped, and it was the heart-to-heart show from yesterday again, with the blood-smeared expert shouting at the table: "There is nothing wrong with falling in love!"Now because of these four words, how many people's families have been destroyed! 』
Ji Xiaocai subconsciously touched the jade pendant hanging around her neck. The ancient jade pendant glowed softly under the light, which seemed to be able to give him a little comfort.