"Auntie, are we really going to do this? You have already paid too much!" The man entering the room couldn't bear to do the next thing he had agreed to. He put his hands on the woman's shoulders, caressing her thin skin, and tears mixed with the lake water and hanged down.

"It's okay, for my noun, it's okay!" The woman just repeated these words, and there was no fear in her face.

Her hand slowly put on the back of the man's hand, gentle like a mother. The man hugged the woman's shoulder and cried in silence, but for the sake of another person, he had to be cruel. He kept saying sorry in his heart, and his hand slowly wrapped the blue ribbon around the woman's neck.

The man closed his eyes and did not look at the woman's painful expression. It seemed that after a century so long, the man felt a burning heat splashing on his face and body. He quickly opened his eyes in surprise to check.

"Do you know what difficulties Kang Chen encountered before coming to the island?" Yun Yeyao interrupted. He was very interested in the reason why Kang Chen came to the island.

"I don't know," the middle-aged chef curled his lips and said, "Only Lao Nuo knows about this matter. He has never told us about it. It seems that there is any privacy involved."

"What about Xiaoju? What kind of person is Xiaoju? Is she here?"

While asking a question, Yun Yeyao looked around and wanted to see what Xiaoju looks like, but the answer he got was still no. The chef said: "Xiaoju is not here. She has never appeared since she quarreled with Kang Chen in the morning. I remember... By the way, it seems that an aunt saw Xiaoju, and we can go and ask her."

In fact, when Lao Nuo and Kang Chen knew that the things in the kitchen had been moved, they planned to let Xiao Ju and aunt go to the kitchen to clean up, and then pretended to encounter the detective and actors by accident to let them know each other. However, Lao Nuo did not find Xiao Ju at all, and during the quarrel, everyone on Bifang Island did not see Xiao Ju appear.

After the chef finished speaking, he turned around in the crowd to look for the aunt he mentioned, and soon found the target. Following the direction of his finger, a woman in an apron, bent down to fiddle with something appeared before them.

This woman is broad-minded, neither fat nor thin, she is about forties, with her hair tightly tied behind her head, and she is a little greasy and damp. She held a plate in her hands, filled with small pieces of food.

The three of them walked closer and heard a low cry of kitten. It turned out that the woman was feeding a few kittens, and the plate in her hand contained fresh fish cut into small pieces.

Yun Yeyao is the best at this kind of conversation, so Xie Yunmeng and the chef stood behind as bystanders. Yun Yeyao ran up and asked, "What a cute little cat, where is the female cat?"

When the aunt heard the voice, she turned around and happened to meet Yan Rushunying's face. She was immediately attracted. Her eyes were stuck on Yun Yeyao's face for a long time. She did not answer the question, but instead exclaimed: "It looks so good!"

"Uh...thank you." Yun Yeyao answered awkwardly, shook his hand in front of his aunt's eyes, and asked, "Auntie, what do I call you?"

"Oh, sorry, my surname is Tao, ceramic pottery."

Aunt Tao straightened up and a few little cats rushed under the table. Maybe they hadn't learned to accept strangers yet. Yun Yeyao didn't even see his appearance clearly, so they disappeared.

‘This thing should be replaced, it should be replaced…’ Aunt Ye kept repeating this sentence in her heart, as if it was a spell.

After all the windows were closed, the woman breathed a sigh of relief. A familiar voice came from the door of his room: "Xiao Ye, are you okay."

The middle-aged woman did not look back, but she couldn't control her tears falling from her eyes. She knew who the man behind her was? She also knew why this man came to her, so she only said: "Don't worry, you will change it, everything will be fine. I will remind them to pay attention to what they should do every day."

Although the voice was very light, it seemed to be so accustomed to the man at the door. He knew what she meant. She also knew that he was actually very concerned.

The two of them were silent for two or three minutes. The woman never looked at the man. Even the breath in the void seemed to condense. The man gently closed the door and walked out. The woman was still staring at the wooden blinds in a daze, wondering what she was thinking?

Outside the hotel lobby

The lunch was almost over, and everyone was cleaning the dining table. Lao Nuo was commanding alone, while looking at Kang Hong in the warehouse from time to time. Kang Hong seemed to have compromised with him and had been working silently. He came over after everyone had settled down. After dinner, he immediately returned to the warehouse.

Lao Nuo did not argue with this. His expression was not proud and he was not dissatisfied. When facing these workers, he had never had any emotions unless it was a special situation.

However, there is one exception, that is Xiaoju. So among the reasons why Xiaochen made him angry today, his bad attitude towards Xiaoju was also one of them. Lao Nuo naturally would not tell Kang Hong about this. This old man had not had a good impression of Lao Nuo. If he had not been working here shortly after the artificial island was built, Lao Nuo would have driven him away without mercy.

Thinking of Xiao Ju, Lao Nuo looked around and saw her on the dock. Lao Nuo frowned and walked towards the dock without saying a word. Kang Ju was there alone, which made him feel very uneasy.

After he walked a few steps, Kang Hong in the warehouse noticed that Kang Hong did not move his steps, but secretly observed where Lao Nuo wanted to go. When he found that Lao Nuo was actually heading towards the dock, he immediately turned around and hid behind the cargo box in the warehouse.

Amid the noisy and busy sound of the artificial island, a slight sound of falling into the water came from somewhere. No one noticed it. Lao Nuo accelerated his pace and walked towards the dock corridor, and his expression gradually became anxious.

The whole village likes Nuonuo very much, especially Lao Yan, who is like his own son. So, the most impatient person on the edge of the lake is Lao Yan. He wore a thin coat and let the wind on the lake blow his hair and clothes, pacing back and forth there, constantly looking at the lake in the distance, hoping to see a miracle.

But the more I hope that the miracle will happen, the more I will feel disappointed. There is no shadow of a boat on the lake, only the green water plants are constantly lifted to the shore. Lao Yan can no longer control it. He said to the fishermen beside him: "Why should I go out to sea to see it first? My water is good. Even if I fall into the water, I may not drown. You can continue to wait on the shore."

"How can this be? Such a big storm, no matter how good the water is, you can't control it. Lao Yan, Besides, you are old and haven't sailed for many years, so we can't let you take risks." The fisherman who called him to the lake immediately denied his thoughts.

Then the two of them continued to circle around the shore like two tops, thinking about better countermeasures.

However, in this situation, what else can they do besides waiting? The worry on Lao Yan's face became increasingly heavy, and the people around him were not much better. Until the sky gradually darkened and the day was about to pass, the lake finally calmed a little.

This time, no one was trying to persuade him. Lao Yan immediately unlocked a boat and drove to the middle of the lake. The fishermen behind him were also ready. They continued to observe that as long as the waves on the lake calmed down a little, they would sail with Lao Yan to find Nuonuo and his son.

——

Nearly half of the day had passed, and the black shadow could not stay under the lake for too long. He occasionally poked his head out to breathe and observed whether the ship he was waiting for had reached the designated area. Today, he deliberately attracted the man to the lake just to take advantage of the wind and waves to stop him from death. However, the matter has been a long time since the incident has not appeared, which made the black shadow very anxious and felt a slight uneasy in his heart.

Finally, when his heart was beating faster and he wanted to give up, he saw a familiar boat from afar, heading towards him. The middle-aged man on the boat was also familiar with him. He could recognize who this person was just by looking at him from a distance.

The black shadow took a breath and hid himself into a place that was not easy to find at the bottom of the lake. It was estimated that the ship would be about to sail near him, and in these few minutes, the black shadow seemed to have been waiting for centuries until he felt that the air in his chest was about to melt away, and a shadow finally passed over his head.

The black shadow quickly brought the mask prepared in advance, and gradually floated under the lake like a ghost, preparing to take the life of the man on the boat...

"Why can't you know? Tell me the reason!" (A questioned by the loud voice)

When the conversation ended here, Yun Yeyao paused for a moment, continued to look at the floor, and murmured with numbers: "One or two, and then another or two or three, why are they all heading towards the door?"

Yun Yeyao's words seemed a little strange here, one, two, three? What does it mean? In fact, Yun Yeyao was counting footprints, but as explained, the problem arose again. The curtains were pulled in the room, and it was pitch black, and even the light was not turned on. Yun Yeyao did not lie on the floor and looked closer. How could he see the footprints on the floor clearly?

Before explaining this, we need to talk about the location of the prefabricated house, the location where Yun Yeyao stood and the general structure of the room.

We have described before that Bifang Island is rectangular, with the hotel and the boarded house on both long rectangles respectively. The hotel is located on the east side, with the gate facing west, and the entire house is located in a posture of facing west and back east.

The prefabricated house is located on the west side of Bifang Island, close to the pier, but the location is completely different from the hotel. Its gate faces the south dock harbor, with its back close to the north edge, and is the same as all warehouses. There is also a large area in front of the prefabricated house for people to walk.

Although the external structures of the hotel and the boardroom are different, the internal structures are consistent. The doors of the second floor rooms are open to the south, including the balcony. (There is no balcony on the hotel. Please find the previous description for the structure of the internal rooms and kitchen)

Yun Yeyao is now entering the first room on the east side of the second floor of the board house (all rooms on this island are arranged from east to west, headed from east and tailed from west). The position he is standing next to the window of the room, that is, to the wall on the north side of the room, facing the door.

Starting from both hands, on the right side: on the north wall are windows and small wardrobes against the wall. There is nothing hanging on the west wall, and there are a few wooden boxes piled up near the floor, which should be for clothes and daily necessities.

On the left: the same north wall, leaning against a small desk and a small backrest chair, right next to Yun Yeyao. Then turn directly to the east wall, with some protruding shelves on it, and there are many materials on it. Yun Yeyao doesn't recognize what these materials are for? He can't see clearly what they look like. He thought in his mind that it was probably materials for making umbrellas, or some tools to use to dismantle and build a house.

Then there are both sides of the gate directly in front. Due to the distance, the ornaments here are clearer in Yun Yeyao's eyes. Yun Yeyao has a long-sighted vision. The farther the distance, the clearer it is for him. However, there are no furniture and electrical appliances on both sides of the gate, but they are just some decorations that are not easy to break.

"Yes, but I still think..." Aunt Tao seemed to want to say something, but changed halfway. She continued: "Xiao Ju's skin is very white, her height is a little taller than us. She probably reaches your shoulders and is very thin. Well... one leg is a little lame, but that is already a thing of the past, and she is recovering well now, and she can't tell. In terms of personality, she can only be said to be silent and introverted, not very much communicating with people on the island, and likes to lock herself in the room and make trouble."

"... Does his personality have something to do with love?" Yun Yeyao leaned close to Aunt Tao and asked. His eyes flashed a little, as if he felt that he was asking questions he shouldn't have asked, or was testing what Aunt Tao knew?

Aunt Tao avoided his gaze and said, "How could I know? But Xiaochen's irritable temper is quite tormenting. Maybe there is something to do with this."

"Oh, aunt, are you going to make a Chongming umbrella in the afternoon?" Yun Yeyao asked.

Another aunt replied: "We will help polish the umbrella bones and do some rough work. As for the weaving and painting of the umbrella surface, it is not something we can do. Those are the work of Xiaoju and Lao Nuo."

"Lao Nuo, by the way, it's Uncle Li, what's his full name?"

"You handsome guy has many problems, but when you think about it, we are like you. We never know what Lao Nuo's full name is. We only know that his surname is Li, and there is a Nuo in his name."

"Maybe Nuo is not in his name." Aunt Tao added: "We are just used to calling him Lao Nuo, and he never said there is a Nuo in his name."

"Has no one ever asked Uncle Li's name for so many years?"

"Who cares about these people here? Working hard every day is not like you people in the city, who have more free time and think more." Aunt Tao replied.

The atmosphere was pretty good when a few people spoke, Yun Yeyao reached out to help the aunts fold the clothes they had collected because he folded them crookedly and was ridiculed by the aunts for a long time.

In 2011, in the hotel

After Xie Yunmeng and Yun Yeyao separated, they walked straight to the hotel. He did not expect that he had passed by at this time and happened to catch the terrifying incident in the hotel, which also confirmed what Yun Yeyao saw behind the kitchen in the morning.

"But Xiaoju's level..."

"You can teach her, Aunt Ye, Xiaoju learns things very quickly." Xiaochen insisted on his opinion.

Aunt Ye didn't want to argue with him, saying, "Okay, let Xiaoju live in my room these days so that she can learn more."

"No, Xiaoju must live by my side!" Xiaochen suddenly said with a gloomy face.

Aunt Ye asked back, "Are you still worried about me, a middle-aged aunt?"

“…”

"I will protect her and will not let her go around in other people's rooms. Is this OK?"

"...Okay, but please let me stay here together during the day, okay?"

"Oh! It's up to you, you can stay as long as you want."

Aunt Ye lowered her head, as if she was helpless. Yueyue listened to the conversation between the two and felt that Xiaochen had become unreasonable again, so she sat next to Aunt Ye, patted the middle-aged woman's back, and began to chat intentionally or unintentionally.

Xiaochen glanced at the two women and walked towards the door. He wanted to go to the kitchen to see if there was any place to help? Anyway, the work here has been completed for the time being, and he can't even get insulted.

After Xiaochen left, Aunt Ye grabbed Yueyue's hand and said, "Little girl, you should leave this island as soon as possible. There is nothing fun here."

"But Uncle Li said that the ship will not be empty these days."

"Don't listen to him. In order to attract customers, the old man always says this. You see that there are so many cargo ships parked on the dock. Which one can't take you to the ashore? Wait a minute, I'll tell Lao Li that you can go back with the cargo ship."

"But..." Yueyue was a little hesitant.

"What else? Don't you want to go home?" Aunt Ye adjusted her sitting position and asked Yueyue.

Yueyue naturally held up Aunt Ye's hand and helped her gently soothe the skin around the wound. She said, "It's not that I don't want to go home, it's Xiaodou. He seems to have a deep obsession with the village on the north shore of the Great Lakes, and he must want to go and see it. I don't know why this matter. In short, Xiaodou wants to go, so I am willing to go with him."

Hearing Yueyue say this, Aunt Ye pulled her hand back from Yueyue's palm and placed it on her knees. She looked out the window as if she was a little unhappy and said, "Although the village there has been rebuilt, it has nothing to do with the past, and the people from the past are no longer there. What's the use of you going?"

"Xiaodou is an orphan, and there is no relative. It is understandable that he wants to find some traces of the past. I think there should be his relatives there." Yueyue replied.

"It's impossible. It's been 30 years, and everyone is gone." Aunt Ye's voice was so soft that only she could hear it clearly. Yueyue looked at her in confusion, not understanding what she meant, so she didn't continue to say it.

When Lao Nuo stood up tremblingly, Chef Yan, who was standing in front of him just now, disappeared. He probably rushed into the hotel with the crowd. Outside, only Lao Nuo stood alone at the edge of the lake, as if he had encountered the end of the world.

Things are far from over. Just as everyone had just entered the murder scene and had not yet gained a foothold, a heavy impact suddenly came from outside the hotel gate, and the sound of a man turning down the railing and falling into the lake.

Chef Yan was closest to the gate at this moment, and he stood in the middle of the stairs leading to the second floor. After hearing the sound outside, he immediately turned his head and ran out. However, the outside of the gate was empty. On the railing near the gate, the bursting blood was still dripping down. Lao Nuo, who was supposed to be standing there, could not even see the figure at this moment.

"Everyone come back soon, Lao Nuo has jumped into the lake! Who has good water quality and hurry up and go and catch him up!" Chef Yan lay on the railing beside the bloodstains and shouted loudly. He couldn't see clearly what was floating on the water? But at this time, what else could this place besides Lao Nuo who jumped down?
To be continued...