Shanghai Embroidery Lady

Chapter 88
"When did you disappear?" Meng Haoxiang sat on the sofa, his face livid.

Xiaoyue was born like a gnat, and said: "Zijin suddenly said this afternoon that she wanted to go out to bask in the sun, so I took her to the garden, where she sat on the swing in the garden, and I went to make her a cup of ginseng tea. Then she disappeared..."

Meng Haoxiang explained a few words after making the phone call, then got up and went out, and asked Xiaoyue before leaving, "Where does she usually go?"

Xiaoyue thought about it seriously, and said: "Apart from Shen Ji and Silk House, there is only Longhua Bookstore, and Zijin sometimes goes there to buy a few books."

Meng Haoxiang pursed his lips tightly, and hurried out the door without saying a word.

Throughout the afternoon, people from Jin'an Hall searched for Ye Zijin everywhere. Qian Jiang and Qu Xiangtian even searched every nook and corner of Jiaotong University, and even sent people to guard the alley where Ye Zijin's house was located.Xiao Xia heard Xiaoyue tell the news of Ye Zijin's disappearance, so he quickly took people to search for each street in the concession.

But until the evening, no one could find the slightest trace of Ye Zijin.As the sun went down, the lights on the riverside gradually came on, the steamships entering the port blew their whistles, and the slanting light sprinkled on the sparkling river surface, dyeing half of the river red like blood.A few pigeons returning home fluttered across the river bank, flew into a bustling picture, and gradually blurred into a few small black dots in the sky above the tall buildings.

Meng Haoxiang searched all the places where Ye Zijin could go. Seeing that it was getting dark, his heart became heavier and heavier.The young driver drove carefully. Seeing the serious and tired faces of the people in the back seat, he didn't dare to say a word.When driving into Huangpu Road, Meng Haoxiang saw the setting sun on the river surface like blood, and the twilight was heavy. Suddenly something came to his mind, and he hurriedly ordered the driver to stop.

He quickly got out of the car and went straight to the river.Meng Haoxiang remembered that the captain of the patrol unit in the patrol room had said that Ye Zizheng's body might be thrown into the Huangpu River.The young driver, who didn't know the situation, saw the boss running out, fearing that he would not be able to bear the responsibility if something happened, so he hurriedly followed.

There was a wind blowing on the river, and the fishing boats moored on the bank swayed shallowly in a few circles. The weeds on the bank were tilted by the wind, almost sticking to the soil.Meng Haoxiang searched along the way, burning with anxiety. He had never been so afraid like now, even when the gun was on his head, he was not afraid.His palms were full of sweat, looking at the flickering lights on the Jiangxin Ferry, Meng Haoxiang didn't dare to think about it anymore...

Suddenly, he saw a shiny white thing in the grass, walked over to pick it up, and it turned out to be a lady's leather shoe!Meng Haoxiang was startled, he held his breath and looked into the water, seeing a mass of black objects floating on the surface of the water not far away, Meng Haoxiang plunged into the river without thinking too much.

The river water in April was still chilly, and Meng Haoxiang only felt a biting cold intruding into his body. Fortunately, his water quality and physical strength were good, and he swam several meters away in a short while, racing against time to swim to the foreign object. He picked it up and saw it. It was just a broken suitcase, and his tight heart was slightly relieved.

At this time, there was a sudden shout from the shore.Meng Haoxiang looked up and saw that the young driver was pulling a woman, and the woman was desperately trying to break free and jump into the river.Even if that figure is only a vague outline, Meng Haoxiang can recognize her at a glance, that person is none other than Ye Zijin!
Meng Haoxiang took a deep breath and swam back quickly, only to hear Ye Zijin shouting Zizheng's name heartbreakingly on the bank, each sound was heartbreaking.The night was shrouded like a thick fog, and the river water slapped the pebbles on the bank to roll up bright waves. The surface of the river was gloomy, and the night wind blew the masts of the boats for a while.

Meng Haoxiang dragged his wet clothes onto the shore, Ye Zijin suddenly stopped crying, and stared blankly at the man who came out of the water.Meng Haoxiang saw that Ye Zijin was barefoot, her delicate snow-white feet were covered with mud, and there were still scratches on her insteps. She lost a lot of weight, her face was dull and dull, only a pair of black and empty eyes were particularly obvious.

Meng Haoxiang's heart throbbed, and regardless of how wet he was, he strode over and hugged her tightly, never wanting to let go.When he found the shoe and the floating objects on the river, he was about to collapse.

Ye Zijin slowly raised her head, stretched out her hand to caress his face, her slender fingers slid across his sword eyebrows, bridge of nose, corners of lips.Ye Zijin raised her pale lips slightly, and then wrapped her hands around Meng Haoxiang's waist, leaning against his arms.

A warm current flowed through Meng Haoxiang's heart, his throat trembled a little, he paused, pulled her hand to his chest, and said gently: "Zijin, let's go home, everything will be fine, trust me..."

Ye Zijin smiled weakly, and said softly, "Okay, Zizheng, let's go home with my sister..."

With this soft sound, Meng Haoxiang's ignited hope was instantly extinguished, and he felt a dull pain in his heart, and became even more worried.She still couldn't accept the fact that Zizheng had died, and she was immersed in her own imagination.Meng Haoxiang held her hand tightly, picked her up and walked towards the car parked not far away.Ye Zijin let him hug her unexpectedly this time, without making any noise, just staring at him foolishly.

Just now the driver hurried to drive, Meng Haoxiang saw that he was a bit unfamiliar, and remembered that he held Ye Zijin, and asked casually: "What's your name?"

The driver timidly replied: "The younger one's name is Deng Fu. Fourth Master Qu sent me to be your driver. The brothers in the hall also call me Tofu..."

Meng Haoxiang knew that Qu Xiangtian had always been calm and meticulous in his work. Since he had sent such a person, he had naturally found out the details of this person in advance, and he should be reliable. Although Deng Fu's temper was a bit cowardly, it was still an emergency. I understand people, and I didn't think about it any more.

Mrs. He and Xiaoyue saw Meng Haoxiang entering the door with Ye Zijin in his arms, and hurriedly stepped forward to help.Seeing that the windbreaker on Meng Haoxiang's body was still dripping, Mrs. He asked him to change it first, and she and Xiaoyue helped Ye Zijin to the sofa and sat down.

Xiaoyue cried several times in the afternoon, her eyes were a little swollen at the moment, she saw Ye Zijin still looked dull and silent, she blamed herself and felt distressed, "Zijin, please don't be like this, okay? I feel uncomfortable looking at it..." Xiaoyue burst into tears as she said that.

Mrs. He brought hot water to wash Ye Zijin's feet. Seeing Xiaoyue crying again, she persuaded, "Girl, don't cry, what should Miss Ye do if she sees it and starts crying too."

Xiaoyue hurriedly wiped away her tears, she knew that Ye Zijin's mood was very unstable, with ups and downs, and if she was stimulated again, she might disappear.

Ye Zijin remained silent, her eyes suddenly fell on a book on the table.It was found by Xiao Xia after Zizheng disappeared. Ye Zijin kept it with her on weekdays. Ever since she lived in Meng Haoxiang's house, Ye Zijin would look for the book when she couldn't see it. Wang Xinyu later sent the book over.

She leaned over and picked up the book and hugged it in her arms, with a smile on her lips, as if she was in an inescapable dream.

At this time, Meng Haoxiang had changed into clean clothes and came out, his hair was still wet, seeing Ye Zijin sitting on the sofa quietly flipping through the book, he felt relieved, at least she would not do any harm when she was quiet own business.

Seeing Meng Haoxiang coming, Mrs. He pulled Xiaoyue away. Xiaoyue saw that Meng Haoxiang would stay by Ye Zijin's side every night after returning home to accompany her, and the two of them didn't speak. A pair of lovers.But Xiaoyue knew that Ye Zijin had no response to Meng Haoxiang, she only had the book in her eyes.

The living room was empty, and a dark blue curtain hung on the side of the long window opposite, separating the darkness outside the window.The lamps on the ceiling cast soft light, adding a touch of warmth to the deserted house.Against the light, the light shone on Meng Haoxiang's tired face, reflecting his clear outline more deeply.Ye Zijin next to him seemed unaware that there was a person sitting beside him, just flipping through the book page by page, carefully reading each line of text on it, muttering to himself from time to time, and reading the contents of the book in a low voice. A novel titled "An Evening Intoxicated by the Spring Breeze".

"The people in the slums have fallen asleep. In the row of western-style buildings facing Dengtuo Road in Rixinli opposite, there are still a few houses with red and green lights on, playing Lalayijia there. One and two are crisp Singing with a mournful tone... The sky is covered with thin gray clouds, like rotting corpses. You can see a little bit or two of stars in the clouds, but the stars are very dark. The sky that can be seen seems to be filled with boundless sorrow..."

Listening to Ye Zijin's recitation, Meng Haoxiang's heart gradually calmed down.Looking at her thin cheeks and thin figure, he felt a bitter sadness in his heart.No matter how long it takes, he is willing to wait for her to wake up, maybe trying to get her to wake up too eagerly will only be counterproductive, he must be more patient...

After nine o'clock, the doctor came regularly to give Ye Zijin a tranquilizer, because only in this way could she close her eyes and rest.But the moment the doctor took out the needle, Ye Zijin curled up aside in fright, frightened and helpless like a child, her body trembling uncontrollably.

Meng Haoxiang hugged her tightly, raised her arms, rolled up her sleeves, the doctor gave an injection carefully, and said "Okay", Meng Haoxiang came back to his senses, and took Ye Zijin's clothes Sleeves down.Ye Zijin leaned softly against Meng Haoxiang's chest, his arms were hanging down feebly, tears still remained on his face, and there was already a slender scratch on Meng Haoxiang's neck.

Mrs. He and Xiaoyue were watching in horror. After the two sent the doctor away, Meng Haoxiang had already carried Ye Zijin back to the bedroom.

Looking at the woman who was gradually falling asleep on the bed, Meng Haoxiang felt as if a knife was twisting his heart. When would she wake up? She tortured herself like this, and she was tearing out the flesh of his heart one knife at a time.Meng Haoxiang held her hand, buried his face in her palm, and closed his eyes in pain...

(End of this chapter)