Volume Two: Youth Unafraid of the Long Years
Should I miss it?
Jiang Cheng missed everything about Kyoto. As he left, the fleeting scenery flashed by. Sitting on the plane, he looked at these things but didn't feel anything special. He only saw the fiery red sunset peacefully arcing down to the other side of the horizon.
He suddenly felt very relaxed.
Let go of Kyoto, let go of the Institute of Biotechnology, let go of the ginkgo tree standing in the wind inside the institute.
······
One day during this unsettling summer, Jiang Cheng and Luo Xiaoli returned to their long-awaited home after a month-long absence.
The little house remained unchanged, except for a few more spider webs in the corner above the ceiling and some more dust on the windowsill.
The familiar scent still lingered in the air.
At this moment, Luo Xiaoli's thought was, "If only I could die in this little house with my brother forever."
Close the windows and seal the doors.
No one can disturb them.
And so they supported and stayed together.
They remained in one position, tightly embracing each other, frozen like statues.
They will transform into acacia trees, their hands and feet into rough branches, and their hair into spreading vines and tendrils.
The seeds that fall into the stomach will grow from the lungs and pierce the top of the head.
They climbed onto the floor, onto the table, and stuck to the wall.
Waiting for ten years, twenty years.
When someone opens this house, they will find that the whole room is lush and green, like a valley forest, with intertwined vines that resemble their misaligned and crossed necks.
Thorns grow among the dense, impenetrable leaves.
The entire wall was covered in flowers!
Dazzling and magnificent.
If the wall is the night sky, then the flowers covering the wall are like a grand fireworks display exploding in the night sky!
Luo Xiaoli imagined herself standing still, a strange and intoxicated smile on her face.
She was so happy.
Until Jiang Cheng slapped him on the back of the head.
"What are you standing there for? Come with me to the supermarket to buy some groceries and put them in the refrigerator. My parents are coming to Lanjing."
"Are Aunt and Uncle coming?" Luo Xiaoli was suddenly stunned and became nervous for some reason.
"Yeah, they should arrive tonight. Let's get ready."
"Huh? So sudden."
"I just heard the news too."
The two put their luggage in their room, tidied up a bit, and then went out again.
......
That evening, a pretty woman was walking up the stairs in the stairwell when she spoke to a middle-aged man carrying large and small bags.
"Xiao Cheng is really something, not telling us about such a big thing. As a mother, I only know what he's doing when I see him on the news. Isn't that ridiculous? Ugh, why is the elevator in this building broken? Climbing so many floors is exhausting... Lao Jiang, hurry up, you're walking so slowly."
The woman, dressed in a floral dress that looked like she had just returned from the tropics, fanned herself with her hand while urging the men below her who were carrying large and small bags to hurry up.
Jiang's father stared at his wife, who was far ahead of him on the stairs, feeling utterly exasperated. He felt like a complete jerk.
Eighty percent of the luggage belonged to Jiang's mother, but he carried the entire weight.
All I could do was sigh and lament.
Knock on the door.
The sound echoed in the empty corridor.
Open the door.
“Son!” Jiang’s mother immediately gave Jiang Cheng a big hug.
He stepped out the door and saw his father, carrying large and small bags, his face covered in sweat, in the stairwell.
His father looked at him with hopeful eyes.
He handed over the luggage he was carrying.
She tried to get her son to take the luggage.
Jiang Cheng smiled like a spring breeze, and for a moment the corridor was filled with the warmth between father and son.
"Oh, Mom, I made braised pork ribs today."
Jiang Cheng turned his head and walked straight into the door, leaving Jiang's father standing frozen in the hallway.
He was still holding his luggage.
"Treason!!!"
······
The atmosphere at the dining table was harmonious and joyful.
Jiang's mother seemed extremely happy, constantly putting food into her son's and Xiao Li's bowls.
"Mom, you must have had a great trip. Where did you go?"
"How many places did you go...?" A thoughtful look appeared on Jiang's mother's face. "I stayed in Sanya for more than half a month, and then I went to Macau, Zhuzhou, and..."
She couldn't even count on her fingers how long it lasted; it was almost two months in total, which could be considered a midlife honeymoon.
Jiang Cheng listened with envy.
While he was struggling to memorize the basics of eight languages, Jiang Ma was already sunbathing under a parasol on the beach in Sanya, feeling the waves crashing.
This is what life is all about.
Today was a small family gathering, and even Jiangcheng, who doesn't usually drink much, drank quite a bit during the toasts.
Xiao Li's cheeks were also flushed.
“Son, when did you become so outstanding? When I mentioned it to you the other day, I was talking about the fact that we share the same name. I never expected that it would be you who appeared in the news! Do you know that my phone has been ringing off the hook these past few days? Neighbors and relatives are all vying to come and visit.”
Jiang's mother smiled happily and patted Jiang Cheng on the shoulder, "You've grown up and achieved something without me even realizing it. I remember when you were little, you struggled a lot with math. You couldn't understand numbers, and you didn't write the number 2; you just drew it crookedly on the page."
She sighed with emotion.
Jiang's mother never had any expectations for her son to become a dragon. She and her husband were both doctors, and their only wish in raising Jiang Cheng was that he could live a peaceful and happy life.
But no one expected that Jiang Cheng would become a world-famous figure.
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