Su Kun had a very restless night. Perhaps it was because he had been exhausted from the past two days. As soon as he lay down on the bed, he felt like he had fallen into a state similar to "sleep paralysis".

He had experienced this before, mostly after being overworked during the day or staying up for a night or two - his limbs felt as heavy as if they were nailed to the bed, and his chest and neck also seemed to be pressed by something, giving a heavy, stifling feeling. Even his heart was pressed down, sinking all the way, with the illusion that it was about to stick to his back. But his consciousness was still struggling against this fatigue, always in a strange state between dream and reality.

He dreamed that he grabbed the collar of the little ghost, ignoring its kicking feet, and lifted it up in front of him, shaking it and mocking like a hooligan, "You think you're great just because you can float? Huh?! When I die, I'll float two meters high and scare you to death!"

It was as if the dream and consciousness were separated. In the dream, he was a third-party observer lying on the side, watching himself bully the little ghost while calmly commenting on the side: This must be a dream! How could I possibly grab the collar of that little ghost? It's too inconsistent with reality! Thumbs down!

He also dreamed that the little ghost was riding on his chest, hugging his neck with both hands, its head buried in the side of his neck, looking extremely docile and dependent, which gave him goosebumps all over. He was so pressured that he didn't even dare to take a deep breath, and could only look at Geng Zimo standing by the bed with teary eyes, helplessly wailing, "Why the hell does this little ghost always stick to me and I can't shake it off!! Do I look particularly handsome?!"

Geng Zimo had a face full of pity, with a halo on his head, like God looking down at his miserable people: "Perhaps it's - imprinting."

Su Kun was so choked up that he couldn't catch his breath and woke up.

Sure enough, it was the habitual posture of curling to the right, just facing the coffin face to face. The hour hand of the alarm clock beside him was pointing obliquely at the six o'clock position. The curtains were not drawn, but it was already light outside. The sun was probably still hidden in the east, and the light coming through the curtains was very gentle, without the kind of scorching heat that people couldn't stand.

The wall-mounted air conditioner was still working with a hum. The unit was already a few years old, and the sound was not loud but definitely not small either.

"..." Su Kun twitched the corner of his mouth, turned over to lie flat, lifted the thin blanket wrapped around his chest, and the sweat that had been startled out of his body by that creepy dream was instantly a bit cold and clammy on his skin as it was blown by the air conditioning.

After thinking about it, he still got up and pulled open the curtains. A large patch of unobstructed light poured in, falling on the coffin at the head of the bed, making the deep brown lacquer color feel much warmer.

A night of very poor sleep obviously didn't allow Su Kun to recover his energy. Even though he was startled awake, it was only for that instant that his eyes were wide open. Soon, his still-tired brain began to become muddled again under the sunlight, like a pot of porridge simmering over a low fire, with the thick rice soup bubbling in the pot.

Some faint movement came from the next room, followed by the slapping of slippers, extending from the room all the way to the living room, balcony, and kitchen. In his already blurred consciousness, he wondered: How come Geng Zimo gets up so early...

After a while, he remembered in a daze that Geng Zimo had said at dinner yesterday that he was going to take advantage of the last day off before work to buy some things and go home to visit.

Here, "visit" means literally. Since Geng Zimo accidentally let his parents find out about his sexual orientation two years ago, he moved out of the house... To be precise, he was swept out by his father, who was so conservative that he was almost old-fashioned.

In the past two years, he had tried countless times to convince his parents to accept his sexual orientation through reason and emotion, but each time ended with him not being able to enter the door at all.

In the past six months, his mother had finally begun to soften a bit. At least she could open the door and pull him to chat for a few words at the entrance. She would also accept the fruits and supplements he brought over. However, every time his father couldn't help roaring in the house, he still had to retreat outside the door, say goodbye, and then quickly get lost.

Every time Su Kun saw him come back and curl up on the sofa like a sick chicken, he couldn't help but say, "You're going to fight a long-term war of attrition like a daughter-in-law enduring the mother-in-law."

That being said, Su Kun was actually envious in his heart. He would rather have two such people who could grab his ears and roar at him, "You little brat, get back on the right path!"

Unfortunately, those two people had already turned into two lumps of yellow soil many years ago. He still felt that the big fire caused by the thunderstorm was simply unbelievable. But no matter how small the probability, if you encounter it, you encounter it. It's useless to not want to believe it.

Outside, Geng Zimo's slapping, slow footsteps were like a monotonous and regular lullaby. Plus, the little ghost in the coffin was relatively well-behaved in broad daylight.

Su Kun, who hadn't slept well after tossing and turning all night, covered himself with a thin blanket and fell asleep again to the sound of the air conditioner running and stopping.

When he opened his eyes again, it was already past lunchtime.

"Well, I saved two meals in one go!" Su Kun mumbled, sitting up and grabbing his messy hair. He glanced at the coffin at the head of the bed, still enveloped in sunlight, and thought to himself: As the saying goes, if you vomit and vomit, you'll get used to it. I was so scared before, but now I dare to sleep soundly facing a coffin... Habit is indeed a terrifying force _(:з」∠)_

Maybe one day, he would become so numb that even if the little ghost stood on his head and tiptoed to do ballet, he wouldn't even frown.

As he walked to the bathroom yawning, Su Kun couldn't help but imagine: Before the little ghost shrank... he must have been about 1.8 meters tall, right? A big, tall man doing ballet... Tsk - that's a horror movie!

The miniature General Gu, curled up in the coffin, sneezed violently, thinking: Who is cursing me?

After washing up, Su Kun hastily stuffed two biscuits, took his wallet and went downstairs. He bought two large bags of lotus root powder at the supermarket, weighed some fruit, and then hurriedly got on the bus. He swayed for nearly an hour before getting off.

The old alleyway and houses before his eyes were where Su Kun had lived with his parents. The surrounding areas had already been mostly demolished, leaving only this middle section of about a dozen houses, looking lonely and desolate amidst the unsightly ruins and rubble. Carrying the bag in his hand, Su Kun walked along the path he took every month, stepping on the stone slabs as he headed deep into the alley.

The old house of the Su family was the one at the very end on the right. The door was locked at this time, with most of the old red paint already peeled off, exposing large patches of wood grain. The laughter of children could be vaguely heard from inside. The migrant workers had probably gone out and locked the kids in the courtyard, fearing they would run around.

A few pieces of paper were stuffed in the dusty mailbox at the door. Su Kun pulled them out for a look, took two pieces, and stuffed the rest back in.

This time, like every month, he was not returning to his own home, but going to Aunt Zhang's place across from it.

Aunt Zhang was the same age as Su Kun's parents and was one of the elders who had watched Su Kun grow up. Whether in his childhood or after his parents passed away, Su Kun had received a lot of care from her. After he moved out of this old neighborhood and rented out the old house, it was Aunt Zhang who had been looking after it for him.

Standing at the door of Aunt Zhang's house, which was always half-open during the day, Su Kun took a deep breath, habitually knocked on the door, then lifted his foot over the high threshold and walked in.

Sure enough, as soon as his feet stood still in the courtyard, before he could even walk towards the hall inside, Aunt Zhang's dog called "Black Wolf" rolled up from under the loquat tree and barked at Su Kun like crazy.

Su Kun: "......" QAQ

Damn it, I've known you for almost ten years, how come every time you see me, you bark as if I'm your father's murderer!!

Hearing the dog barking, a young female voice came from inside: "Why is Black Wolf suddenly barking so fiercely? Is Ah Kun here?"

"......" Su Kun stood still, pretending to be a wooden stake, his voice weak and light: "Yingzi, hurry and take it away~~~~~"

He had never been a person who liked to tease cats and dogs since he was a child. Theoretically, he definitely wouldn't have formed some inexplicable grudge with this dog during his rebellious phase, but it always saw red whenever it saw him. Its barking was so urgent, as if Su Kun was going to set the whole world on fire in the next second, leaving Su Kun baffled and confused every time.

As if hearing Su Kun's inner call, a girl a few years younger than Su Kun quickly came out from the inner room and shouted to the inside: "Mom, don't wash anymore, leave it there and I'll do it. You go to the hall first."

While shouting, she swiftly grabbed Black Wolf's waist a second before it pounced on Su Kun, hugged it on the spot and rubbed the soft skin under its neck, stuffing it back into the kennel, while muttering to appease it: "You're getting old, take it easy. I'll mix some meat for you later."

After coaxing Black Wolf back, Yingzi led Su Kun into the hall, then went to the kitchen fridge to forage for several kinds of iced drinks, lining them up in front of Su Kun: "Pick one yourself."

Su Kun: "......" This girl was always so impetuous, her behavior and actions were becoming more and more like a man's. =_=||

He casually took a can, and Yingzi took the rest back. She had just disappeared outside the door when another voice, hoarse as if scraping on sandpaper, spoke up: "Ah Kun's here?"

Su Kun turned his head and saw Aunt Zhang stepping in from the other side door. She squinted, her face deeply wrinkled, and slightly hunched over, looking unwell.

In just a month of not seeing her, she seemed to have aged a lot compared to last time. The first time he discovered this problem, Su Kun thought she had suddenly fallen ill. Later, he found that she was visibly aging at an alarming rate every month. So he took Yingzi and Aunt Zhang to the hospital for a thorough check-up, but the results showed no problems at all.

They had wanted to take her to a better hospital in another city, but Aunt Zhang refused to go, insisting she knew her own condition. She was so stubborn that no one could persuade her otherwise, so Su Kun and Yingzi had to let it go for the time being.

Every time Aunt Zhang saw Su Kun, the first thing she would do was to walk over, pull him in to pat his shoulders and pinch his arms, muttering things like "You've lost weight! Lost weight again!"

Then she would have Su Kun take out the jade pendant hanging around his neck from under his collar, rub it with her aging fingers to examine it for a moment, then nod and tuck it back in.

When Su Kun was younger, he would occasionally ask her the reason for looking at that piece of jade, but Aunt Zhang always waved her hand and said nothing. So as he grew older, he stopped asking.

"When I called you yesterday, that young man said you were unavailable..." Aunt Zhang spoke again, her voice still hoarse.

Her original voice was actually very pleasant to hear. When Su Kun was young, he often heard her humming little tunes, her timbre not sharp but with a very gentle feel. But later, her throat was damaged by the smoke in that accidental fire that claimed the lives of Su Kun's parents. It wasn't treated in time, and since then it had become the somewhat frightening voice it was now.

She was only willing to speak at home and rarely made a sound outside. Usually if there was something, Su Kun would call her. She seldom took the initiative to call Su Kun, at most having Yingzi help send a text message. But last night, she unexpectedly called to find Su Kun because this old neighborhood, where countless generations had lived, was finally going to be demolished.

For Su Kun, apart from the reluctance, this was definitely good news.