Chapter 6

However, to Narumi's surprise, things only got worse afterward.

The elevator in the Kaihouse Building didn't give Chengshi a feeling of flying; instead, it made him feel oppressed and dizzy, causing him to feel nauseous. But in this confined space, Chengshi had to force himself to hold it in, not only because he knew he couldn't vomit, but also because he couldn't let Cheng Xinhua look down on him and call him a "coward" again. After reaching the VP's office on the 38th floor, Chengshi's memory was reduced to a blinding white fluorescent light and an extremely thin, skeletal-looking auntie. This auntie called Chengshi "little kid" and demonstrated how to operate the automatic water dispenser manufactured by Kaihouse, as if Chengshi were a complete novice: "Look carefully, little kid, this red button is for hot water, this blue button is for cold water, and there are paper cups over here. Come on, try it yourself. Be careful not to burn your hands when you get hot water, isn't it fun?"

Although he didn't want to be seen as a country bumpkin, Cheng Shi had indeed never seen an automatic water dispenser before, because his family still used thermos flasks, and the school used aluminum water bottles. Back home, nobody drank bottled purified water like this.

Even now, Cheng Shi has never forgotten the intense discomfort he felt upon seeing Cai Daosheng—he had never seen anyone so fat! Cai Daosheng's glasses reflected the light from his office, so Cheng Shi couldn't see his eyes at all when he spoke. But Cai Daosheng's voice was extremely loud, with a thick Hong Kong and Taiwanese accent that you only hear on television, and he almost shouted, seemingly not caring at all about the other person's response.

"Wow, what a handsome young man! What's your name? Do you like going to school? That's great, really great! You're so strong, you must like playing soccer, right?"

What Cheng Shi disliked most about Cai Daosheng was his large, wet, blood-red mouth. Every time his lips moved, saliva would jump up and down, making Cheng Shi lose his appetite during a formal lunch at the China World Hotel's 79th-floor Presidential Pavilion. Cheng Shi noticed that Cai Daosheng never closed his mouth when chewing, and he left a lot of white residue on the rim of his wine glass. When he eagerly stuffed a piece of steamed cod into his mouth, the fish slipped from his chopsticks onto his suit vest, leaving a very conspicuous oil stain.

Cheng Shi, a Virgo Moon, is naturally a bit of a clean freak—mainly a double standard directed at others. This tendency to think everyone else is dirty while he is the cleanest is precisely what infuriates Cheng Xinhua: "A worker's son, why so fussy!" Because of this, Cheng Xinhua often complains that Wang Xiuhua has raised her youngest son like a spoiled brat. He's never heard of sun signs or moon signs, let alone virginity; even if he had, he wouldn't believe such foreign nonsense.

“You’re right, Mr. Cai!” Cheng Xinhua kept repeating this throughout the lunch. “I completely agree with you!”

Throughout the meal, Cheng Xinhua barely paid any attention to Cheng Shi, and didn't even really look at his son properly. When he finally caught a glimpse of Cheng Shi, Cheng Xinhua always wore a surprised expression, as if he didn't understand why his son was sitting there, and he even seemed to be signaling to Cheng Shi to get lost.

Cheng Shi had completely forgotten who he met, what he did, what he ate, and where he went for the next two days. He only remembered that when he returned to Shenyang, Cheng Xinhua had given him a thorough dressing-down in front of countless strangers at the Beijing train station—because Cheng Shi had behaved poorly from the very first day, even failing to politely say something like "Thank you, Mr. Cai, I had a very happy day" after having lunch with Cai Daosheng. Moreover, in Cheng Xinhua's view, Cheng Shi's behavior only got worse, utterly disgracing him, the top salesman in Northeast China! Cheng Xinhua confidently declared that Cheng Shi would grow up to be a good-for-nothing, not even as good as his brother Cheng Guo, who ended up working in a demolition team. Finally, after boarding the train, after the train started moving, and after the sleeper lights went out, Cheng Xinhua finally finished his tirade.

But Chengshi, who had been thoroughly scolded, couldn't sleep. Using the faint light that occasionally peeked through the window, Chengshi secretly observed Cheng Xinhua on the opposite upper bunk. Cheng Xinhua was also awake, staring blankly out the window. Chengshi saw an exhausted, frustrated old man; he looked so old, so helpless, so lost—completely unlike the Cheng Xinhua who had fought so fiercely.

Many years later, Cheng Shi finally pieced together the fragments of his trip to Beijing. When Cheng Xinhua became the top salesman in Northeast China that year, he thought he had seized a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He even secretly discussed with Wang Xiuhua a plan to move the whole family to Beijing to build a great business. It was precisely because of Wang Xiuhua's suggestion that Cheng Xinhua specifically brought the intelligent and handsome Cheng Shi with him to Beijing. According to Wang Xiuhua, her youngest son's good looks could support Cheng Xinhua and let his bosses and colleagues, whom he had never met, see how capable and energetic the Cheng family was. Besides, Wang Xiuhua felt that her unlucky youngest son, born into misfortune, was finally about to have his luck turn around. Wang Xiuhua saw the trip to Beijing as an opportunity for Cheng Shi to change his fortune, and Cheng Xinhua could also benefit from Cheng Shi's good luck. Perhaps Cai Daosheng would proactively transfer such a talented salesman as Cheng Xinhua to work at the Beijing headquarters!

But to Cheng Xinhua's surprise, this trip to the capital was nothing short of a disheartening experience. Beijing's prosperity, affluence, fast pace of life, and exorbitant prices far exceeded his expectations. He hadn't anticipated the sheer width of Beijing's roads and the sheer number of cars; he hadn't imagined that even a casual shop could be so large; he hadn't expected a simple haircut for two men to cost nearly a thousand yuan; he hadn't expected the security guards at the Haosikai Building to be dressed better than his new suit; he hadn't imagined the 79th floor of the China World Hotel to be so high, making him dizzy; he hadn't expected people to actually eat from gold plates and bowls; he hadn't expected the top sales performers from other regions to be so glamorous and confident, as if they'd seen it all; and he certainly hadn't expected that his seemingly clever youngest son, despite being ten years old, would still be so easily frightened and prone to vomiting…

Cheng Xinhua had only one feeling: Beijing is simply not a place for humans to live.

In the following years, Cheng Xinhua never won another championship, not even a runner-up or third place. His business declined year by year. To make matters worse, the large amount of Haosikai products he had purchased earlier ended up being a burden, consumed only by him and Wang Xiuhua. At that time, the economic situation in Northeast China was deteriorating, and many people had left to seek a living elsewhere, leaving those who remained without the money to buy health supplements. Amidst increasing frustration, Cheng Xinhua finally admitted that his health was declining, and Wang Xiuhua was aging rapidly. Even consuming large quantities of Haosikai health supplements had no rejuvenating effect.

What frustrated Cheng Xinhua even more was that his eldest son, Cheng Guo, whom he had always valued, was a bad influence and a disappointment. Because of the demolition work, he had offended many of his old friends, coworkers, and neighbors. He had even been to the police station more than once for fighting and violent demolitions. Cheng Xinhua, who was always concerned about his reputation, even threatened to sever his father-son relationship with Cheng Guo in a fit of pique. Later, although Cheng Guo made a lot of money and bought a big house, Cheng Xinhua and Wang Xiuhua refused to acknowledge him as their eldest son, let alone move in with him.

What brought Cheng Xinhua some comfort was that his youngest son, Cheng Shi, had become quite promising. He not only got into Peking University but also secured a place in the postgraduate program after completing his undergraduate studies. However, this promising son became completely estranged from his family once he arrived in Beijing. He would only come home for a few days during the Spring Festival, and would immediately return to Beijing by the fifth day of the new year. Cheng Xinhua couldn't understand how Cheng Shi could possibly stay in Beijing, a place that was practically uninhabitable for humans.

Although he verbally acknowledged that his younger son was more promising than his elder son, Cheng Xinhua still felt biased and thought that his elder son was more like him. Therefore, deep down, Cheng Xinhua still disliked his younger son, Cheng Shi, who had been spoiled and arrogant since childhood.

In Cheng Xinhua's words, Cheng Shiyong can be described in two words: forgetting his roots!