Song Xiaoxia walked to the security room and gently knocked on the window.

  The window was opened by a middle-aged man around fifty years old. Upon seeing Song Xiaoxia, he immediately smiled and said, "Xiaoxia, it's not the weekend, is it? Why are you back?"

  "I came back to pick up something. I forgot my access card, Uncle Li. Could you help me open the door?" Song Xiaoxia stuck out her tongue, embarrassed.

  "Sure." Uncle Li ughed heartily and opened the door for them.

  "Thank you!" Song Xiaoxia expressed her gratitude and pulled Su Yuan along to leave.

  It was only then that Uncle Li noticed Su Yuan standing with an umbrel nearby and asked curiously, "Xiaoxia, who is this?"

  "Ah... um, this is my cssmate. I'm taking him to my house to get some study materials..." Song Xiaoxia seemed a bit nervous, ughed it off, and hurriedly pulled Su Yuan away.

  "Oh..." Uncle Li nodded, watching them walk into the community, then muttered to himself, "Bringing a boyfriend home to meet the parents in high school, kids these days mature so early."

  Song Xiaoxia, who hadn't gone far, stumbled upon hearing this, almost falling to the ground.

  Su Yuan suppressed his ughter and steadied her. "Your community's security uncle is quite humorous."

  "Oh no, oh no, oh no..." Song Xiaoxia covered her face. "Uncle Li will definitely tell my mom. It's over."

  "Why?" Su Yuan asked. "Is he close with your family?"

  "Of course, Uncle Li has been the security guard here for over ten years. You could say he watched me grow up," Song Xiaoxia expined. "If he tells my mom, I'll be in big trouble."

  After saying this, she lightly punched Su Yuan. "I should have had you hide!"

  Su Yuan remained unfazed. "You can expin it to your mom."

  "There's no expining. My mom never listens to anything I say..."

  As they spoke, they arrived in front of an apartment block.

  "Forget it, there's no time to worry about that now. We have more important things to do." Song Xiaoxia clenched her fist, encouraging herself.

  Su Yuan put away his umbrel and nodded in agreement. "You're right, the important things come first."

  The yout of the community was somewhat old-fashioned, without elevators, so they had to take the stairs.

  Song Xiaoxia walked ahead, pulling up the hood of her school uniform to cover her head, whispering, "But still, we have to be careful. If my mom sees me coming back, it will be a hassle."

  "Mm." Su Yuan specuted internally that Song Xiaoxia's mom must be a very strict person, possibly even unreasonable.

  Otherwise, why would she be so afraid?

  Younger Sister floated in front of Song Xiaoxia, making faces at her. "Serves you right! Let your mom scold you to death!"

  Su Yuan looked at Younger Sister's antics, feeling a bit amused.

  However, Song Xiaoxia couldn't see any of this. As she walked, she whispered, "My family bought the house here before I was born, and so did Mao Houwang's family, so we've been neighbors for decades."

  "His dad is often on business trips, and his mom is a full-time housewife, so she should be home at this time."

  The two climbed to the third floor, and Song Xiaoxia suddenly quickened her pace, with Su Yuan closely following.

  Upon reaching the fourth floor, Song Xiaoxia finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That was my house just now."

  She then pointed to a blue iron door in front of them. "This is Mao Houwang’s home."

  "I'm quite familiar with his mom. When my parents weren't home when I was little, I used to come here for meals," Song Xiaoxia expined. "Once we go in, let me do the talking. She shouldn't be suspicious."

  Su Yuan listened carefully and nodded. "Okay, I got it."

  "Knock, knock, knock."

  Song Xiaoxia gently knocked on the door, and after a while, a weary-looking middle-aged woman opened it.

  She was Mao Houwang's mother, Wu Ping.

  Wu Ping's face lit up with surprise upon seeing them. "Xiaoxia, what brings you here? Come in, come in!"

  She immediately pulled Song Xiaoxia inside. Upon seeing Su Yuan behind her, she asked, puzzled, "And who is this?"

  Caught off guard by Wu Ping's sudden enthusiasm, Song Xiaoxia was momentarily stunned but then smiled and said, "Auntie, this is my cssmate. I brought him to my house to get some study materials, but my mom isn't home, and I forgot my keys. Can we stay at your pce for a bit..."

  "Of course you can." Wu Ping interrupted before she could finish. "I'm more than happy to have you as guests."

  She then turned to Su Yuan with a smile. "Cssmate, what's your name?"

  "Auntie, I'm Su Yuan," he replied with a smile.

  "Great, Su Yuan, come on in."

  "Thank you, Auntie."

  Upon entering, Su Yuan first took a look around the living room.

  The living room wasn't rge, but it was very tidy. The floor and coffee table were spotless, as if they had been cleaned repeatedly.

  Warm lighting illuminated the house, dispelling any coldness and loneliness, creating a very cozy home.

  Wu Ping warmly invited them to sit on the sofa. "You two sit here for a while. I'll go cut some fruit for you."

  "Thank you, Auntie..." Song Xiaoxia whispered her thanks.

  After Wu Ping left, Su Yuan leaned over to Song Xiaoxia and whispered, "This doesn't seem like just a familiar retionship. It feels like she treats you as her own daughter."

  "I don't know either." Song Xiaoxia looked bewildered. "It wasn't like this before. We would just greet each other when we met."

  "Suddenly like this..." Su Yuan frowned.

  Could it be that Wu Ping was projecting her feelings for Mao Houwang onto Song Xiaoxia, whom she had watched grow up?

  That would make sense.

  For a full-time housewife, her husband and son are everything in her life.

  Now, with such a significant emotional void, it's normal for her to transfer those feelings.

  Suddenly, Su Yuan's gaze was drawn to a photo frame on the coffee table.

  He picked it up; it was a photo of Wu Ping and a middle-aged man.

  This should be Mao Houwang's father.

  Song Xiaoxia leaned in, looking at the photo with a complex expression.

  After a while, she pointed to the space between the two in the photo and said, "Mao Houwang used to stand here..."

  "Really..."

  Su Yuan looked at the family photo in his hand, feeling equally complex.

  Although his retionship with Mao Houwang at school wasn't great, he couldn't help but feel a tinge of sadness at this moment.

  A person, just disappeared like that?

  No voice, no photo, no memory, no trace, nothing left behind.

  As if he had never been here.

  Su Yuan recalled the bloody writing on the bckboard from yesterday, the initial line.

  "Death is not the end."

  Indeed.

  This, now, is truly the end of a person...