"When did it happen?"

"Ah! What?" Shirley, who was distracted, suddenly woke up and looked at Zhang Wei blankly.

However, Zhang Wei, who had already taken the matter astray, could only see the words "guilty as a thief".

"I'm asking you when did you get along with someone else!" Zhang Wei yelled hysterically.

"Crack!"

What he responded to was a slap in the face from Shirley and an angry look that couldn't be concealed by tears.

Zhang Wei looked at Shirley blankly.

After living together for so many years, they knew each other very well with every movement and look. This slap was enough to make Zhang Wei realize that he had thought wrong.

Similarly, Shirley seemed to understand. The anger in her eyes gradually disappeared, but the tears continued to flow.

"Dear, what happened..."

More than ten minutes later, the taxi stopped in front of the terminal building of Nanjing Lukou Airport.

The taxi driver glanced at the two people in the back seat in the rearview mirror, sighed, opened the door and got out of the car, and then helped carry out the luggage from the trunk. Then he returned to the taxi and opened the back door.

Open.

"Little brother, the old man at home is still waiting to see you for the last time, so don't delay any longer..."

Along the way, the taxi driver had understood from the young couple's conversation what had happened in their family, and he felt very sympathetic.

Zhang Wei suddenly woke up, looked at the taxi driver with trembling lips, and finally just nodded weakly.

Then when I got out of the car, I lost my footing and almost fell down. Fortunately, I was helped by the taxi driver who had quick eyesight and quick hands.

"Little brother," the taxi driver comforted, "be strong."

Shirley also got out of the car at this time, wiped her tears, hurriedly supported Zhang Wei, and then thanked the taxi driver gratefully.

Be strong...Reality is like a tireless teacher, always teaching a person how to be strong.

More than two hours of flight, more than three hours of train travel, plus the transfer time, it was only just over eight hours, and Zhang Wei had to learn to be strong.

However, learning to be strong does not mean that he is truly strong. When Zhang Wei rushed to the hospital and saw his mother on the bed with a respirator, there was only a blank in his mind at that moment...

No matter what, he couldn't believe that it was his mother who was walking there.

Zhang Wei's mother, who was in the hospital bed, may have heard the movement at the door of the ward. She opened her eyes through a crack, trying to see clearly who was coming in.

"My son is back." Zhang Wei's father, who was standing by the hospital bed, immediately understood what his wife was thinking.

The reason I persist until now is to see my eldest son for the last time.

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhang Wei's mother suddenly found strength from nowhere and immediately struggled towards Zhang Wei and raised her arm.

"Mom...I'm back...I'm back..."

Zhang Wei immediately rushed over, knelt beside the hospital bed, and held his mother's hand, which was cold.

He immediately put his mother's hand on his face and rubbed it, but he still couldn't feel the warmth of his mother's hand.

"You... what's wrong with you... weren't you fine before..."

"Alas..." Zhang Wei's father sighed: "Your mother has something to tell you."

After saying that, he stood up and gave up his position at the head of the bed.

Zhang Wei hurriedly knelt forward and walked a few steps to the bedside. He saw his mother's lips moving slightly, so he quickly put his ear close to his mother's mouth.

"Son... son, you... didn't... break the law... did you..."

Zhang Wei was struck by lightning and burst into tears.

"Mom... don't worry, my son has not broken any laws, his son is fine... his son is fine..."

At this moment, Zhang Wei hated himself extremely, but it was no longer helpful.

After hearing her son's words, Zhang Wei's mother raised the corners of her mouth slightly.

"Okay... okay... Mom... don't worry..."

…

That night, Zhang Wei's mother left, and Zhang Wei knelt in front of the hospital bed all night, as stubborn as a stone, and no one could persuade him.

After dawn, his brother told him that he could take his mother home. Zhang Wei seemed to have regained his soul and climbed up from the ground with difficulty.

He then carried his mother's body back home.

After that, from sorting out the remains to placing the coffin in the coffin, Zhang Wei knelt down and watched silently.

His father, brother, and Shirley all came to persuade him, but he still didn't say a word, stubbornly knelt down, and finally collapsed to the ground due to exhaustion.

By the time Zhang Wei woke up, it was already that night.

There were a lot of people in the house, some he knew and some he didn't know, and he just felt that it was very noisy.

When Shirley saw Zhang Wei wake up, she immediately went to the kitchen and brought a bowl of porridge.

"David, eat something first. You haven't eaten or drank all day and night."

Looking at Shirley's haggard face, Zhang Wei couldn't bear to refute her kindness and obediently took the bowl of porridge.

The millet porridge was still warm, obviously it was specially kept warm for him.

Zhang Wei took a few sips indiscriminately, and suddenly thought of his mother, and his eyes immediately turned red again.

"Mom...how are things settled?"

"Mom has been moved to the mourning hall. I will accompany you to watch mom's funeral tonight."

Zhang Wei hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

At this moment, he had recovered some sense from his grief, and was a little worried that Shirley's body would be unable to bear it, but seeing Shirley's firm eyes, he did not refuse.

It has just passed the beginning of summer, and the temperature has become much warmer than in early spring, but it is still very cold in the late night in the north.

The mourning hall was built in the yard of Zhang Wei's house. Zhang Wei knelt and sat in front of the mourning body, burning a handful of paper money in the brazier from time to time.

Shirley found a copy of "Ksitigarbha Sutra" from somewhere, leaned next to Zhang Wei and recited it quietly.

A gust of cold wind blew by, the wreaths outside the mourning hall rustled, and the candles inside the mourning hall also swayed.

Shirley subconsciously leaned against Zhang Wei. When she calmed down again, she continued to read the scriptures.

After a while, maybe because she was a little tired, Shirley stopped, frowned, and raised her hands to rub her temples.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling uncomfortable?" Zhang Wei asked with concern.

"Um."

Shirley said: "I have a little headache. Maybe it's because I haven't had a good rest in the past two days."

Zhang Wei said with some distress: "How about you go back to the house and rest, there is no need to accompany me."

Shirley shook her head: "I would be very scared alone."

Zhang Wei then remembered that Shirley was very timid.

Over the years, Shirley had often mentioned to him that she was most afraid of seeing other people's funerals, especially seeing coffins in coffins.

When Shirley was in junior high school and high school, her family lived in a bungalow in a small alley. The alley was long, narrow and dark, and there were no street lights.

Moreover, whenever there is a family holding a funeral nearby, the spacious space in the alley will be occupied to build a funeral shed.

And Shirley, who had finished her evening self-study, was already very scared walking in the dark alley, and she would inevitably have to pass by the funeral shed and the coffin. For a girl, this is definitely a very scary thing.

things.

Therefore, the experiences of that era left a considerable psychological shadow on her.

Even after the two got married, Shirley told Zhang Wei many times that she hoped Zhang Wei could live longer than her so that she would not have to face psychological fears in painful times.

This has nothing to do with distance or depth of relationship. It is a psychological barrier that is difficult for a person to overcome.

At this moment, when Zhang Wei saw Shirley accompanying him, he felt both moved and guilty.

The night is getting darker and colder, and the wind is getting stronger and stronger.

Zhang Wei's father came to the mourning hall and brought two cotton-padded clothes.

"It's cold at night, you two put on your cotton-padded clothes."

Zhang Wei took the cotton-padded coat and put it on Shirley first. Then he saw that his father was only wearing a single coat, so he handed the remaining cotton-padded coat to his father.

"Dad, I'm not cold. Just put it on so you don't catch a cold."

Zhang Wei's father didn't answer, and said with some emotion: "I remember there should be a thicker one at home. Your mother bought it for me during the Chinese New Year last year. I don't know where your mother put it. I'm looking for it."

I haven't found it after a long time."

Zhang Wei also felt a little uncomfortable when he heard this. When his mother was here, everything in the house was tidied up by her mother.

While talking, Zhang Wei's father also knelt down in front of the soul, took out a wad of paper money, and put them one by one into the brazier to burn.

Zhang Wei put the cotton coat on his father, and his father stopped and looked at him.
To be continued...