Li Zhiqiang looked at the rolling snow outside the window and felt extremely heavy. This weekend, Beijing received heavy snow not seen in years, and the entire city was covered in a thick layer of snowflakes.
"Zhang Wei, are you really going out? It's snowing so hard outside. Li Zhiqiang looked at his wife with concern and persuaded worriedly.
"It's okay, I'll drive carefully, I'll go to the supermarket next door to buy something, and I'll be back soon." Zhang Wei replied while tying a scarf, her voice full of excitement about the snow.
"At least wait until the snow stops, or I'll stay with you." Li Zhiqiang said uneasily.
Zhang Wei smiled and replied mischievously: "No, don't you still have a report to rush?" I'll just go by myself, you just work well at home, don't worry about me. ”
In the end, Li Zhiqiang was still moved by Zhang Wei's persistence. He helped Zhang Wei clear the snow from the car, told her to be careful on the road, and watched his wife drive away.
It didn't take long for supermarket shopping to become Li Zhiqiang's eternal wait. Because Zhang Wei didn't go home on time, she couldn't even get through the phone for several hours.
Li Zhiqiang was so anxious that he paced back and forth at home alone, trying to make a phone call, but it was still the same sentence "I'm sorry, the phone you dialed cannot be connected for the time being". He tried to reassure himself that maybe the signal was not good, or that his phone was dead.
That night, Li Zhiqiang's worries became a reality - Zhang Wei did not return. Li Zhiqiang put on the thickest down jacket and decided to go out to find it. The sound of shoveling snow and the sound of children laughing and having snowball fights are intertwined, but there is no trace of Zhang Wei.
He first went to the supermarket, asked every cashier, and searched every corner, but still did not find any news of Zhang Wei. Subsequently, he knocked on the door from door to door to inquire, and everyone looked at him with sympathetic eyes, but no one knew the news of Zhang Wei.
Late at night, Li Zhiqiang could only call the police for help. Police said they would immediately launch an investigation, but the search would be delayed due to weather conditions. Li Zhiqiang sat exhausted in the snow, helpless and desperate.
"Li Zhiqiang, you have to be strong, we will find your wife as soon as possible." Although the policeman's words comforted him, Li Zhiqiang's heart could not be calm. Thinking that Zhang Wei might encounter an accident, he was so distressed that he couldn't extricate himself.
At the end of the day, Li Zhiqiang returned home, the room was empty, there was no laughter from Zhang Wei, and the four walls seemed to be satirizing his incompetence. Tired, anxious, and panicked, Li Zhiqiang couldn't sleep for a long night. A full year has passed since Zhang Wei's disappearance, but for Li Zhiqiang, it seems like a year that has lasted for centuries. His heart was full of longing and guilt for his wife, and in the dead of night, Li Zhiqiang would always ask himself if everything would have been different if he had insisted on not letting his wife go out at that time.
Intense and busy work has become Li Zhiqiang's way of paralyzing himself, but whenever he returns to his cold home after work, the emptiness and loneliness will strike again. The layout of the home is still the same as before Zhang Wei's disappearance, and every corner exudes Zhang Wei's breath, which makes Li Zhiqiang feel both comforted and painful.
One night, Li Zhiqiang's sister Li Jing called him: "Brother, have you eaten?" I've made you some food, come and eat. ”
"No, I'll get some myself." Li Zhiqiang's voice was full of exhaustion.
"It's not an option for you to go on like this all the time, so why don't you consider starting over?" Li Jing tried to persuade her brother.
Li Zhiqiang was a little excited, "How can I start again?" How could I possibly forget Vivi? ”
"I know you can't forget her, but you also have to take care of yourself, if Vivi knows that you are like this, she will be distressed." Li Jing's tone was soft, trying to appease her brother.
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a while, and Li Zhiqiang sighed deeply, "I know, I'll give it a try." ”
Li Zhiqiang began to try to gradually get out of that depression, although the pain in his heart never lessened. Friends would also invite him to parties from time to time, hoping that he would be able to relax.
"Brother Qiang, let's go mountain climbing together this weekend, change the environment and relax." An old classmate called.
Li Zhiqiang wanted to refuse, but thought that he needed to get out of the haze, so he reluctantly agreed to this outdoor activity.
On the day of climbing, the sun was just right, accompanied by the cool mountain breeze, Li Zhiqiang felt calm after a long time. The classmates talked and laughed, and occasionally ridiculed Li Zhiqiang: "Look at you like this, you are out of touch with society." ”
Li Zhiqiang smiled slightly, although his heart was still so heavy, but this relaxation and the jokes between his classmates did make him feel better.
On the way down the mountain, a classmate brought up Li Zhiqiang's wife and asked about the progress of the case. Li Zhiqiang shook his head weakly, "The police tried their best, but there were no clues." ”
"Don't be too sad, Brother Qiang, there will always be an answer, time will solve everything." The classmate comforted.
Back home, Li Zhiqiang meditated for a long time in front of his wife's photo. Late at night, he picked up the phone and dialed the familiar number again, still the voice prompt that broke his heart: "I'm sorry, the call you dialed is temporarily unavailable." ”
By chance, work required Li Zhiqiang to go on a short-term business trip. For him, such a shift could be an opportunity to escape for a while.
When he was packing, he opened the old wardrobe and looked at Zhang Wei's previous clothes, which were once warmed by the body, but now had a biting chill. Li Zhiqiang's fingers slid over Zhang Wei's favorite sweater, and his heart ached. As if every thread tugged at his heart, he buried his head deep in the clothes, tears quietly slipping down. On the day of the business trip, Li Zhiqiang hurriedly went downstairs and called an online taxi with his mobile phone. The phone rang and a familiar car pulled in front of him. Li Zhiqiang was stunned - isn't this his car?
"Master, this car..." Li Zhiqiang got into the car, with complicated emotions in his heart, and asked the driver tentatively.
The driver looked in the rearview mirror and replied calmly: "This car is a second-hand car I bought newly, and it is very easy to drive." Dude, where are you going? "
"Go to the train station." Li Zhiqiang was full of doubts in his heart, but he tried to remain calm. Inside the carriage, he noticed a strand of hair in the gap in the saddle, which was unusually familiar. It was Zhang Wei's hairpin. There can't be such a coincidence, right?
"Master, where did you buy this car? What's the story? Li Zhiqiang tried to find out more.
The driver said, "Oh, I bought this car in a second-hand car market." You don't say that I forgot, the seller is a middle-aged uncle, and he said that he was in a hurry to cash out, and the price was quite fair. "
Li Zhiqiang's heart tugged, could this be related to Weiwei's disappearance? He shuddered slightly, but he knew he couldn't act too excited. "When you bought the car, did the seller mention the previous owner of the car?"
"It's been mentioned, but it's nothing special, just say that the original owner unfortunately encountered a little accident, and now it's not open. Dude, what's wrong with you? You don't look right. The driver glanced at Li Zhiqiang with concern.
"No, it's fine. I just think I've seen this car before. Li Zhiqiang forced himself to calm down, and his eyes unconsciously wandered around, looking for more clues.
Then, his gaze stopped at a small scratch on the edge of the dashboard. It was a forgotten mark, which Zhang Wei accidentally scratched, and the two joked for a long time because of it. All the memories came flooding back to him, and he was almost certain that it was his car.
"Master, can you tell me where the market where you bought your car is? I'd like to check it out too. Li Zhiqiang tried to make his voice sound as casual as possible.
The driver nodded, told him the address, and asked Li Zhiqiang if he needed to go with him. Li Zhiqiang shook his head and said that he would go himself.
After arriving at the destination, Li Zhiqiang hurried to the train station, and along the way, he was thinking about how to go to the second-hand car market as soon as he came back. But just as he was about to get out of the car, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a yellowed shopping receipt posted above the dashboard, the same date as the day Zhang Wei disappeared.
Li Zhiqiang couldn't control his emotions for a while, and said in a trembling voice: "Master, I'm sorry, I suddenly have an urgent matter and need to go back." "
The driver was obviously taken aback, but nodded in understanding, and turned the car around to see him off. The atmosphere in the car became silent, the driver stopped talking, and Li Zhiqiang's heart was turbulent, and a storm was coming. Li Zhiqiang immediately rushed home, jumped on his electric car and went straight to the second-hand car market. The market is filled with all kinds of vehicles and noisy people. He found the middle-aged uncle who sold the car, and asked anxiously, "Uncle, do you remember the car you sold to the online car-hailing driver?" ”
"Remember, it's been a few years since that car, what's the matter?" The uncle looked curiously at the eager young man in front of him.
"I want to know the original owner of the car, do you have contact information?" Li Zhiqiang tried to suppress his excitement.
The uncle thought for a moment, nodded, and pulled out a faded note. "Here, this is the gentleman's mobile phone number, and he said that if anyone is interested in the cause and effect of the car, they can look for him."
After the phone was connected, the other party's voice was unusually calm: "What are you looking for me?" ”
"Is there a woman missing in that car?". Li Zhiqiang clenched the phone.
After a moment of silence, a low answer came from the other end: "Yes, it was my wife's car, and it happened on a snowy day last year, but it's a pity." ”
Li Zhiqiang trembled, not knowing what to do. "What about you, your wife...?"
"My wife was seriously injured in a car accident and has been in treatment now, and she has also lost her memory." There was an almost suffocating silence on the other end of the line.
At this time, Li Zhiqiang remembered the old photo in Zhang Wei's hand, often looked at it with a smile, and thought of the yellowed shopping receipt. "Excuse me, can you tell me my wife's name?"
The other party hesitated for a moment, and confided a familiar name, "Zhang Wei".
Li Zhiqiang's whole person was almost collapsed, and tears couldn't stop flowing. "Zhang Ji, can I go see her? I am her husband, Li Zhiqiang. ”
The other end of the phone was silent for a long time, and then said hesitantly: "Okay, you come, I'll tell you the address." ”
When he came to the hospital, Li Zhiqiang saw his wife Zhang Wei, whom he hadn't seen for a year, lying quietly on the hospital bed, with peace between her eyebrows. The eyes of the two met, although Zhang Wei did not have any memories, she smiled slightly, and that smile seemed to be full of intimate warmth and faint questions.
Seeing his wife, Li Zhiqiang's mood was like a long drought, and all the sadness and resentment in his heart seemed to be swept away, he sat next to Zhang Wei, took her hand and said, "Weiwei, it doesn't matter, we can start again." ”
Zhang Ji stood at the door, watching this scene, his eyes showed relief, and he gently closed the door.
And Li Zhiqiang's endless doubts and thoughts seem to have found an answer at this moment. He looked at Zhang Wei deeply, his eyes full of love and gratitude. A question echoed in his heart: "If fate gives us a chance to start over, will we cherish this regained love?" ”