The Sound of the Alley Breaks

In the Wanfeng convenience store in an old alley of Xingzhou City, the warm yellow light spreads over the mottled wall, and the fragrance of instant noodles wraps around the moss on the eaves. While wiping the shelves, Siru's fingertips brushed against the old headphones dropped by the customer, and a faint sound suddenly penetrated her eardrums: "Next time we meet, I'll wait for you at the fish egg stall at the entrance of the alley." She clutched the rag tightly - this was the secret she had hidden for three months: when you touch old things, you can hear the whispers of the alley wrapped around them. There was a whisper in the notebook, "It's time to return the comics from the bookstore at the end of the alley." Hidden under the folding umbrella was the soft thought, "I'll go buy grandma's bowl of cakes when the rain stops." These "alley sounds" have become the gentle codes of the old alleys: helping grandma find the orange cat hiding in the alley, giving sweets to students preparing for exams, and reminding riders to avoid loose stone slabs at the entrance of the alley. Until Jiang Che pushed the door open while holding the injured stray dog, a soft and trembling voice came out of the stethoscope: "Can the rescue center at the end of the alley survive this rainy season?" The light from the convenience store illuminates the stone road at the entrance of the alley, and Siru knows that these scattered sounds in the alley will become the warmth that illuminates the old alley.