Chapter 5
The "lucky" Cheng Shi got the precious opportunity to accompany Cheng Xinhua to Beijing to "broaden his horizons," and when Cheng Xinhua arrogantly used this as a reason to ask the school for leave for Cheng Shi, it was actually approved. Even more unexpectedly, it didn't take long for the entire school to know that Cheng Shi was going to Beijing, and Cheng Shi received unprecedented treatment because of this reason.
In Cheng Shi's memory, those were among the few days in his father Cheng Xinhua's life that could be described as "kind and pleasant." Every day at mealtimes, Cheng Xinhua would mention the mysterious "Mr. Cai Daosheng" several times, along with words like "Beijing," "headquarters," "foreign company," and "Fortune 500." Cheng Shi's mother, Wang Xiuhua, would always echo Cheng Xinhua's words, exclaiming, "That's wonderful! My youngest son, aren't you happy? You can go to Beijing with your father to broaden your horizons, aren't you?"
On the night of his departure for Beijing, Cheng Shi nearly had a breakdown: it was his first time traveling by train, let alone a hard sleeper carriage that departed in the evening and arrived in the morning. Lying on the swaying upper bunk, Cheng Shi was incredibly nervous. Due to extreme anxiety and motion sickness, he vomited up almost everything he had eaten—whether it was lunch or dinner—which earned him a severe scolding from Cheng Xinhua. The other four passengers in the carriage also complained, and Cheng Shi became the target of everyone's ire that night.
The next morning, when Cheng Shi arrived at Beijing Railway Station, he was starving, but he didn't dare tell Cheng Xinhua. As a result, he felt nauseous again while on the bus and almost vomited again. Fortunately, Cheng Xinhua hadn't figured out the exact address of Haosikai's headquarters, so they got off the bus two stops early. After walking in the fresh air for a while, Cheng Shi's mind gradually cleared, and he slowly returned to normal. Even more surprisingly, he didn't seem as hungry as he had been when he got off the train that morning.
“Look over there,” Cheng Xinhua said, gripping Cheng Shi’s hand tightly as they crossed the street. The bustling Guomao area seemed to make Cheng Xinhua even more nervous than Cheng Shi. “There’s a barbershop over there. Let’s get our hair done there first. You should tidy up your clothes too, they smell! Look, that should be the subway station. You know what a subway is? It’s like a train, running underground. I think we should have taken the subway earlier so we wouldn’t have wasted our time. Hey, look at that shop. Its shop window is as wide as this building! It’s much bigger than the shops back home. Hey? Aren’t these our company’s products? We’re here! Look, aren’t these our company’s products in the shop window? This is for washing dishes, that’s what we use at home, it’s gentle on hands; and this, you can eat it before drinking to protect your liver; look, look, that’s for women to use on their face, your mom uses this, and her face is so smooth after using it…”
Cheng Shi's gaze shifted from the bottles and jars in the shop window to his reflection in the glass. He felt that the suit he had bought at the department store before leaving today made him look very smart, and his suit and tie were almost identical to Cheng Xinhua's. He had never heard of "matching outfits for parents and children," let alone worn any such outfits, but he liked the image of him and Cheng Xinhua standing together in front of the bright glass: a man and a boy, a father and son.
Countless pedestrians and vehicles passed by the father and son. After a while, Chengshi took a few steps back, looked up, until his neck touched the back of the new suit collar.
"Wow!" the boy exclaimed in surprise.
Narumi had imagined the Hoskai Building would be the kind of skyscraper he'd only seen on television, but he'd never imagined a skyscraper in reality could be so ugly! The layers of blue glass curtain walls, reflecting the blinding sunlight, stretched endlessly upwards, each layer smaller and lower than the last, until the increasingly thin edges seemed to merge together. Narumi couldn't help but imagine someone falling from the top floor. Then he saw the windows high above slowly and steadily moving towards the ground—meaning the entire building was collapsing towards them!
After a moment of tension, Narumi suddenly realized it was just an illusion. It was the sky, not the building, that was moving. As the white clouds slowly brushed past the edge of the rooftop, Narumi understood everything. A shiver ran through his body, and he couldn't help but exclaim from the bottom of his heart, marveling at how solid and sturdy the building was. He exclaimed again, "Wow!"
"Let's go," Cheng Xinhua said, patting Cheng Shi on the head. "Let's go to the barbershop over there first, get ourselves all tidied up before we go in. We need to look our best when we see President Cai. We'll have enough time. We'll take the elevator in a bit. Have you ever ridden an elevator before? Don't be so scared you throw up again, you little softie!"
Cheng Shi hadn't expected that the time spent walking from the Haosikai Building to the barbershop across the street would be the most pleasant experience of his trip to the capital. Not only Cheng Shi, but even Cheng Xinhua had never seen a barbershop like this before: as soon as they reached the door, someone automatically opened it for them, and two thin young men in tight black clothes with brightly dyed hair shouted in unison, "Welcome!" What followed was a dazzling array of attentive service. In no time, Cheng Xinhua and Cheng Shi were stiffly handed their luggage and each put on a black cloak. Then, a huge black hardcover book was presented to Cheng Xinhua. Looking at the staggering prices listed, Cheng Xinhua, suppressing his heartache, chose the cheapest wash, cut, and blow-dry service for himself and his son.
However, Narumi, completely unaware of the situation, thoroughly enjoyed the barbershop: the entire building was filled with sweet smells, bright mirrors, warm water, gentle touches, and complimentary candy, all of which made Narumi feel happy and even secretly determined that she would come to Beijing to work as a barber when she grew up!
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