As the plane took off, Zhou Yidan's emotions were heightened.
She gazed at the clouds outside the window, lost in thought.
Motherland, China...
She grew up in the United States, but longed for that distant land.
Grandma had said countless times that if she could, she would not want to immigrate, even if life there was hard and tiring, she would still be happy.
A slight touch pulled Zhou Yidan out of her own world. She lowered her head and met a pair of clear eyes, the gaze of a little girl shining brightly.
The little girl spoke in Mandarin, holding a chocolate in her hand, "Here you go, sister."
"Thanks."
Zhou Yidan took the chocolate, put it in her mouth, and it melted in her mouth. The rich sweetness and the slight bitterness created a complex and lingering flavor.
"Is it delicious?" the little girl asked.
"This is the best chocolate my sister has ever eaten," Zhou Yidan said honestly.
The little girl then stuffed all her chocolates into Zhou Yidan's arms, and then turned to her father and said, "Daddy, I've finished all the chocolates. I didn't waste any!"
Seeing this, Chu Fang smiled and shook his head.
A quirky and clever little girl.
Zhong Tingyue slowly withdrew her gaze, a slight smile curving her lips.
"Mr. Chu."
"Um."
What are your thoughts on this trip abroad?
"No."
"Didn't you bring your brain?"
"That's true." Chu Fang nodded. "And what about you?"
"I don't have any either."
They looked at each other and then smiled.
The journey from New York back to Shanghai took another ten-plus hours, leaving me almost numb from sitting so long.
In the last two or three hours, Chu Fang found fault with everyone, his face cold and indifferent, like a passenger on a Japanese video train.
After overcoming numerous difficulties, the plane finally landed in Shanghai at 3 PM Beijing time.
"Holy crap!" As the plane taxied, Chu Fang suddenly became energetic.
Then the flight attendants announced that the plane had returned safely, and applause and cheers immediately filled the cabin.
"Time to go home."
"It's still more comfortable at home."
“... ..."
Looking out the window and listening to the familiar voices around her, Zhou Yidan's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down.
She hugged her grandmother's ashes tightly and whispered, "Grandma, we're back."
The plane landed, and the passengers disembarked one by one.
Under the guidance of Chu Fang and Zhong Tingyue, Zhou Yidan completed the relevant procedures and formalities before leaving the terminal.
As they walked out of the airport, Zhou Yidan wanted to say goodbye, as she didn't want to cause any more trouble for Chu Fang and his companion. However, Chu Fang insisted on pulling her along.
They hailed a taxi and the three of them got in.
Chu Fang sat in the front row and said slowly, "You're new here and don't know anything. You don't even have the most basic apps. In today's rapidly changing China, you'll find it difficult to make any progress."
"You might have been kidnapped and you wouldn't even know it."
"Young man, you're talking complete nonsense." The driver slowly drove off. "These days, there's no such thing as human trafficking."
"Driver, can you please drive carefully?" Chu Fang was speechless. "This is a foreign friend."
"But we can't just say things like that," the master muttered, then turned to greet Zhou Yidan, "Kongli Qiwa."
Seeing that Zhou Yidan did not respond, he changed his words: "Your salt, my vinegar."
Zhou Yidan pursed her lips, a ripple of emotion spreading across her face: "Hello, Master."
"Huh?" The driver was stunned for a moment, then glanced at Chu Fang sideways. "You're talking nonsense, kid. This is clearly a Chinese person."
Chu Fang said quietly, "Is it possible that they are of Chinese descent?"
“They are Chinese too!” the driver said. “We share the same blood.”
Along the way, Chu Fang explained the basics of living in China to Zhou Yidan and downloaded the apps she would need for daily life.
As Zhou Yidan listened, she gazed out the window at the many people of the same skin color as her—adults, children, infants, office workers, white-collar workers...
Abroad, Zhou Yidan suffered a lot of bullying and harassment because of her skin color, which made her timid and hesitant. But here, she saw her fellow countrymen, children running and playing, their faces beaming with bright smiles.
At that moment, she finally understood why her grandmother was so attached to this country.
Zhou Yidan bit her lip, her eyes already unfocused.
A short while later, we returned to the Tanhua residential area.
As soon as Chu Fang got out of the car, the security guard saw him and immediately ran over: "Kid, did you do what I asked you to do?"
Knowing that Chu Fang was going abroad, the security guard gave him an important task: to steal US secrets, such as the design and structure of lithography machines, classified information on atomic bombs, and aerospace engines. If possible, he could even drive an F-35 back to China... and so on.
Chu Fang's pupils widened: "You really believe that?"
The security guard was also surprised: "You didn't do it?"
He paused, then raised his voice eight octaves: "I finally entrusted you with something, and you failed to do it! I can't count on you for anything. So what are you doing back here? Just here to eat? Why didn't you die in America?"
Chu Fang: "..."
Is this old man really taking this seriously?
A smile spread across Zhong Tingyue's delicate face, and she then pulled Zhou Yidan into the residential area.
As soon as I opened the door to my home, my three pets immediately surrounded me, with the tabby cat even meowing softly.
"Alright, alright, I'm back," Zhong Tingyue comforted her three pets.
... ...
Night falls, and the city lights begin to twinkle.
Chu Fang bought some vegetables and meat and then started cooking.
"Brother Chu, let me help you," Zhou Yidan said.
"You go ahead and play, I can handle it myself." He smiled.
Chu Fang rolled up his sleeves and began to cook.
He hadn't had a decent meal in the US these past few days, so he was going to treat himself to a big dinner tonight.
I just bought a lively sea bass at the market. It weighed over three pounds. The sea bass has tender flesh and few bones, making it perfect for grilling.
Grilled fish originated in Chongqing and combines three techniques: marinating, grilling, and stewing.
To grill the fish, Chu Fang specifically bought a fish grill rack instead of frying or microwaving, in order to seek the authentic taste.
“Mr. Chu, your mother sent a message.” Zhong Tingyue leaned against the kitchen doorway. “She asked you, but you didn’t reply.”
While cooking, Chu Fang said, "Could you reply to this for me?"
"That won't do. If your mom finds out, she'll scold me for meddling."
"So you've stopped interfering?"
"Then I'll go back."
Zhong Tingyue took Chu Fang's phone and began replying to messages.
[Solo player in dating: ... ...]
[A little fairy: What do you mean by replying like this?]
[A little fairy: I don't understand.]
[Solo player in a dating game: Mom, you're so stupid.]
[Solo player in a dating game: This means nothing happened.]
[A Little Fairy: Are you a bad woman?]
[A little fairy: You're messing with my sweetheart's phone again! I'm going to make her divorce you!]
Just as Chu's mother was about to continue speaking, she suddenly saw a red exclamation mark.
"Ugh, you bad woman!" She broke down.
Chu's father smiled and shook his head.
... ...
Yang Meina and Wang Wenhao brought Zhong Rou's daily necessities back. As soon as they entered the door, Yang Meina smelled the fragrance filling the room.
"You two finally decided to come back." Yang Meina put down her things. "How was it abroad?"
"It doesn't mean anything." Zhong Tingyue shrugged.
They were not used to many aspects of life abroad, including lifestyle, culture, and customs...
The sea bass was quickly grilled, its body fried to a golden brown with a slightly charred exterior, the skin taut and gleaming with an enticing sheen.
Then Chu Fang stir-fried various side dishes, potatoes, onions, bean sprouts, and green peppers. After stir-frying them, he poured the soup and side dishes over the grilled fish, which sizzled instantly.
The aroma bursts forth like smoke, a rich blend of spicy, savory, and refreshing vegetable notes.
Chu Fang called out, "Dinner's ready!"
The group sat together, and he asked, "How does it taste?"
Yang Meina, as always, did not give a good review: "Not good!"
"Then don't eat it."
"I'm going to eat it anyway!" Yang Meina retorted, "Do you know how much effort and energy I've put into taking care of Zhong Rou these past few days? This is what you owe me."
Zhong Tingyue asked, "Zhong Rou didn't cause any trouble, did she?"
"No," Yang Meina answered directly, but after thinking for a second or two, she asked, "Not doing the test, skipping class, secretly eating self-heating hot pot in class, sticking your head into the desk and not being able to get it out, selling snacks and treats—these things shouldn't count as causing trouble, right?"
“No,” Zhong Tingyue said calmly.
This is her younger sister's daily routine; she's already used to it.
“Then she didn’t cause any trouble. Rou Rou is quite well-behaved at school. Even when she was caught bringing breakfast to a classmate and was fined five thousand yuan, she didn’t do anything wrong. That’s good.”
Chu Fang's pupils widened: "How much?"
"Five thousand."
"How could you be fined five thousand?"
How could an ordinary high school student be fined 5,000 yuan? What heinous thing did he do?
Yang Meina explained, "There are many boarding students at the school, and the school breakfast is not good. Rou Rou started bringing breakfast to her classmates. After a while, she found that the profit was quite large, so she started a team to bring breakfast to the boarding students every morning."
"As we continued, many day students joined in, and the team grew again. There were already few people eating breakfast, and with Rou Rou's efforts, the school cafeteria almost went out of business."
"In the end, the principal caught him and fined him five thousand yuan."
Chu Fang: "..."
Zhong Tingyue: "... ..."
Wang Wenhao smiled.
Zhou Yidan had heard many stories about Zhong Rou, and she felt that if Zhong Rou had been born in the United States, she would definitely have been able to accomplish something extraordinary.
... ...
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