Walking northward, he walked out of the gate of Hedong No. 1 Prison, with haggard face and messy hair.

"Bang!" The door was closed heavily, and a harsh sound was made between the rusty areas between the iron rings.

Xiangbei did not look back. If possible, he would never be willing to look back in his life.

He looked up at the sky. A long white line formed by the track clouds seemed to cut a hole in the blue sky. It was the product of the mixture of exhaust gas discharged from the aircraft as it crossed the clouds and the atmosphere, but it looked so beautiful.

This was the first time he had breathed out the air in three years, and the first time he felt the value of freedom.

Hedong City No. 1 Prison is located in the outskirts of Hedong City. It is the only virgin land in the city: spacious asphalt roads, dilapidated bungalows along the streets, large trucks roaring by, and cicadas croaking on the sycamore trees above your head.

For decades, the city's steel jungle has been extending to the surroundings, but excavator bulldozers have not yet opened up to this territory.

At noon, the sun transfers heat to the earth without hesitation, reflecting through the asphalt pavement, forming a huge "oven", which is the standard temperature in Hedong City in midsummer.

Looking north, he hid under the shade of the tree, groped in his worn-out top pocket, and suddenly he was stunned again, with one hand hanging in the air. After hesitating for half a minute, he seemed to have recovered his memory: he had no work, no home, or even his wife and children.

This city that has lived in 12 years is familiar but strange.

Xiangbei thought of the friends he made when he was a reporter, and they called each other brothers all day long, but now they all seem to have encountered a plague and are afraid of themselves and avoid them.

It's better to stay in a hotel.

He thought of the New Town Hotel, where he had been around for weeks about three years ago. In one of the most critical reports of his career, the hotel almost became his second office.

I took a taxi to the hotel, took out my ID card, and checked in.

"Sir, I must have seen you." The front desk customer service handed him the ID and room card. When Xiangbei turned around and was about to leave, someone stopped him.

"You are" Xiang Bei turned around. The other party looked like he was in his twenties, wearing a frameless myopia mirror and a navy blue suit and uniform.

Xiangbei looked at the badge on the suit: Jin Yu, lobby manager.

"You may have forgotten me a long time ago, but I have an impression of you. I just looked at your registered name and became more certain."

"Oh? Is it?"

"You moved here about three years ago and stayed there for half a month." The man in the suit explained hurriedly.

"It's true that this is the case." Xiangbei tried hard to recall the intersection with the other party, but he had no clue.

"I was still the front desk customer service at the hotel," perhaps because I rarely communicated with customers like this, the man seemed a little shy. "Three years have passed, and although your appearance has changed a lot, I can still recognize you. I still work in this hotel, but my position is different. Now I finally have my own nameplate."

The man looked proud.

Xiangbei had some impression. At that time, there was indeed such a young man who was very enthusiastic, fair-looking, a little thin, and always looked humble to his guests.

Now many years later, this young man has finally survived.

"I have some impression. Do I remember when you were in your early twenties? I didn't expect you to still work here."

"Yes, I was 24 years old at the time and I just worked right. The luggage you asked me to keep was still in the hotel." The man seemed to remember something, quickly turned around and opened the small door behind the front desk, and took out a small box from it.

"My luggage?" Xiangbei was a little skeptical.

"Yes, you may have forgotten. You left in a hurry and said that you would put your luggage here first and come to pick it up in a few days. But it didn't appear later. There were several times when the hotel cleaned up debris, and I thought these things were very important to you, so I kept them for you. Now you are finally here."

"Oh, I remembered it. I didn't expect that it's been so long, and you still remember it, thank you very much."

Looking back on the north, I suddenly felt inexplicably moved in my heart - someone would protect a worthless broken box for three years.

Just like the plot in the movie.

He said a simple thank you. He went back to his room, opened his suitcase, recorded the recorder, newspaper and newspaper collection certificates of honor, and he seemed to have returned to those years that he thought were the most glorious and glorious.

In 2006, Xiangbei graduated from the Chinese Department of a key university in Beijing and returned to his hometown, Hedong City, the capital of Beijiang Province. He was admitted to the Beijiang Evening News Agency and became a reporter who went to the political and literary office.

The so-called political and cultural aspects are all connected with the core departments of the Hedong Municipal Government.

In 8 years, the 34-year-old Xiangbei grew from an intern who was ignorant of the world to a business backbone, and his career and life went smoothly. Two years ago, Xiangbei still wanted to get a son as he wished. If there were no accidents, he would compete for the deputy editor-in-chief of the newspaper, and raising the child to study abroad seemed to be in his plan.

At that time, the Internet and mobile Internet had not yet emerged, and traditional media such as newspapers and TV stations still monopolized this industry and had a high social status. Being able to work in the newspaper office was the dream of every college student majoring in Chinese journalism.

What's more, Beijiang Evening News is a provincial-level metropolitan newspaper in Beijiang Province. It is affiliated to Beijiang Daily Group. It has a significant influence in the province and has a huge readership in the country. Its status cannot be underestimated.

There are three deputy editors in the editorial office of Beijiang Evening News: Yu Chongming, Chen Luqu Changguo. The three of them together formed a very interesting combination.

Yu Chongming is 48 years old, the oldest among the three, and is the executive deputy editor-in-chief. Perhaps because of his many years of hard work in the workplace, Yu Chongming is cautious in his work, does not seek merit in everything but seeks no mistakes. If there is hope, sitting in the position of vice president before retirement will be considered safe to land.

Chen Lu, 42, is a typical southern woman. Although she is almost middle-aged, she still looks like a bird. She speaks as if she has added candied fruit, and she does things like she is talking. She never forces others to do it. No matter what others say, she always has the catchphrase in her mouth - "Everything is OK"

The 38-year-old Qu Changguo was the latest to join the company, and he ranked last according to the requirements of professional title and qualifications. In a small circle within the system like Beijiang Evening News, seniority is the unspoken rule that everyone defaults to, and Qu Changguo's "rise" is also regarded as a dark horse. In a sense, this is also related to the shrewd character of the southerners of Qu Changguo: they speak directly and do things with great ability and dare to do things.

Speaking of the relationship between Qu Changguo and Xiangbei, there is another relationship. Both of them studied in the same university and the same major, and were direct alumni. They were several seniors from Qu Changguo and were Xiangbei's senior brothers. They were both teachers and friends.
Chapter completed!