Friends of an old friend
According to Sheng Dongsheng and Tan Yuanbo's plan, Zhang Chenglin and Ji Yuxing were supposed to set off back to Shandong the day after Jiang Guanyu's wedding.
However, because the General Secretary urgently convened a meeting of several key Party leaders, Tan Yuanbo could not leave, and Zhang Chenglin and Ji Yuxing were forced to stay in Shanghai for one day.
With nothing to do, and not wanting to return to the Chiang family, Zhang Chenglin and Ji Yuxing could only wander around Shanghai.
Zhang Chenglin and Ji Yuxing both lived in Shanghai for a short period of time when they were young, and Zhang Chenglin even lived in Shanghai when he was in his teens and twenties.
For them, Shanghai didn't really offer anything new or interesting.
Before long, the two decided to go to the He family to seek refuge with He Zhonghua.
At that time, He Zhonghua was being scolded by He Qidong for not saying goodbye to Jiang Yuanxing when he left after attending Jiang Guanyu's wedding the day before.
“No,” He Zhonghua said, feeling extremely unconvinced. “When I left, Mr. Jiang was surrounded by so many people. My presence would only have caused him more trouble. I might as well not have gone.”
"You bastard!" He Qidong was furious at his retort: "You'd better find some time tomorrow to visit Mr. Jiang again."
“I’m not going.” He Zhonghua was stubborn at this point, determined to go against He Qidong.
"Someone come here!" Just as He Qidong was about to call for someone to bring the family law, the old steward rushed over from outside: "Master, Mr. Zhang and Mr. Ji are looking for the young master."
He Zhonghua's eyes lit up—heaven is helping me!
He Qidong paused for two seconds, then asked the old butler, "Zhang Chenglin and Ji Yuxing?"
The old butler glanced at He Zhonghua and nodded: "Yes."
"Let them in," He Qidong said, watching the old butler leave. His gaze fell on He Zhonghua, and he said in an unfriendly tone, "Give them a good welcome. Don't let them act so carefree and slacking off."
Without waiting for He Zhonghua's reply, he left the living room first.
Upon seeing Zhang Chenglin and Ji Yuxing, He Zhonghua knew they had nothing better to do in Shanghai, so without saying a word, he led them into the card room: "To play mahjong."
Ji Yuxing chose a seat first and then said, "Three people aren't enough, shall we have Zhou Zhu?"
Zhang Chenglin's gaze fell on him, inscrutable and unreadable.
“I don’t know him,” He Zhonghua said. He didn’t know Zhou Zhu, and it wouldn’t hurt to play mahjong together, but seeing Zhang Chenglin’s look, he still said, “I’ll call Zheng Mingzhe over.”
"Didn't Zheng Mingzhe and his wife go back yesterday?" Ji Yuxing asked, puzzled.
“No,” He Zhonghua replied to Ji Yuxing’s question while arranging for people: “There’s something urgent at home. Peng Xi went back by himself. Zheng Mingzhe and his son are still in Shanghai. I heard him yesterday that they seem to be leaving in a day.”
More than half an hour later, Zheng Mingzhe arrived, carrying a tiny baby in his arms.
As soon as Ji Yuxing saw him, he said, "The winner in life has arrived."
Zhang Chenglin and He Zhonghua both turned to look at him at the same time because of his words. Sure enough, they saw Zheng Mingzhe with a big smile on his face. His steps were not as light as usual, and he was walking carefully as if he was afraid of falling.
As Zheng Mingzhe entered, while He Zhonghua and Ji Yuxing were still in a daze, Zhang Chenglin had already reached out and pulled out a chair for Zheng Mingzhe.
The moment Zheng Mingzhe met his gaze, he went straight to that spot without any hesitation.
Zheng Mingzhe sat down, and He Zhonghua and Ji Yuxing immediately came over to look at the child, as if they were seeing something new and interesting for the first time.
A five-month-old baby is truly tiny; you hold them in your hands for fear of dropping them.
Although He Zhonghua and Ji Yuxing were extremely curious, they didn't dare to reach out and hug the child, fearing that Zheng Mingzhe might hurt the baby and kill them on the spot.
Zhang Chenglin remained seated, watching the child laughing happily in Zheng Mingzhe's arms from a distance that wasn't too close.
A few minutes later, Zhang Chenglin suddenly asked, "What's the child's name?"
“Xuewen, Zheng Xuewen.” Zheng Mingzhe explained with a smile, “Literature was the subject I studied the worst when I was in school. I tried my best but still couldn’t learn it well. I hope he can study literature well and not end up like me.”
His words made several people present laugh helplessly at the same time.
After playing with Zheng Xuewen for a while, the group had him held by a servant from the He family.
The four of them used to enjoy playing mahjong together when they were in Cambridge. Zhang Chenglin wasn't interested in playing mahjong, wasn't very good at it, and wasn't willing to learn, so even though he had been playing for several years, he was still not very good at it.
This gave He Zhonghua and his group an opportunity to get together and play mahjong whenever they had free time.
He specifically targeted Zhang Chenglin.
Zhang Chenglin lost a thousand in one morning.
Ji Yuxing couldn't bear to watch them lose so badly, fearing that Zhang Chenglin might lock them in this room and shoot them.
“I’m not playing anymore,” Ji Yuxing said, arranging the cards in front of him. “I’m tired.”
He Zhonghua was having a great time when he heard this and was stunned: "Huh?"
Zhang Chenglin also looked up at Ji Yuxing.
"There's nothing else to do, let's play a little longer." Zheng Mingzhe glanced at Zheng Xuewen, who was sleeping in He Zhonghua's guest room, then came back to arrange his cards and said.
"No..." Ji Yuxing was about to speak when Zhang Chenglin shook his head silently. Ji Yuxing sighed and remained silent.
After having lunch at He Zhonghua's house in the afternoon, Zhang Chenglin and Ji Yuxing had just stepped out when Sheng Dongsheng summoned them away.
"What's going on?" In the spacious back seat of the car, Ji Yuxing sat next to Zhang Chenglin, his brows furrowing slightly as he spoke: "Nothing happened at the wedding yesterday, right?"
“It’s nothing,” Zhang Chenglin nodded. “It’s probably something that was said at the meeting today.”
Ji Yuxing remained silent and did not speak.
No. 401, Huanhua Lane.
As soon as Zhang Chenglin and Ji Yuxing entered the room, they heard Sheng Dongsheng's voice: "The two people I'm going to introduce you to later are the best comrades I have. They're not much older than you, so you young people will have more to talk about."
Zhang Chenglin and Ji Yuxing pushed open the door and entered, greeting him first: "Mr. Sheng."
When Sheng Dongsheng saw them arrive, he quickly invited them to sit down.
Sitting to the lower right of Sheng Dongsheng was a man whose appearance was unfamiliar. Zhang Chenglin and Ji Yuxing exchanged a glance and confirmed that neither of them had seen him before.
Zhang Chenglin's gaze lingered on that person for a moment longer. He was about the same age and height as Zhou Zhu, but his overall demeanor was very pleasant to behold.
"Let me introduce you to a new comrade—Yan Jiangshang."
"Yan Jiangshang will be learning from me for a while, and you can communicate with him directly if you have any questions."
"Alright, now I'll relay the contents of today's meeting to everyone..."
The meeting wasn't important, and after Sheng Dongsheng finished speaking, he didn't keep them any longer.
Just as Sheng Dongsheng saw them to the door, Yan Jiangshang also came out.
Zhang Chenglin looked back at him one last time before getting into the car.
Yan Jiangshang's eyes held a complex mix of emotions that Zhang Chenglin couldn't decipher. He always felt that Yan Jiangshang was looking at someone else through him.
But they had never met before, nor had they heard of each other from anyone. So who was he looking at?
This problem has been troubling Zhang Chenglin all along.
After they left, at the entrance of No. 401 Huanhua Lane, Sheng Dongsheng and Yan Jiangshang asked as they entered, "Do you know him?"
Yan Jiangshang was silent for a moment, then spoke in a low voice: "A friend of an old friend."
Sheng Dongsheng nodded, realizing that he didn't want to say more, so he didn't ask any further questions.
Yan Jiangshang narrowed his eyes, thinking about Zhang Chenglin's appearance today.
Zhang Chenglin was an old friend to him.
To Zhang Chenglin, he was nothing more than a complete stranger.
It's a bit of a shame to miss out on some things.
After all, no one knows if they will ever meet again.
*
Jiang Guanyu's wedding ended in December. A few days after Zhang Chenglin returned to Shandong, he received news from Ji Yuxing—
Ji Ruqiong is coming over tomorrow.
Zhang Chenglin's first reaction upon hearing this news was: "Mr. Sheng arranged this?"
“No, no, no, Madam took several young students from Peking University to study in the countryside of Zaozhuang, Shandong half a month ago. Mr. Sheng arranged for Ji Ruqiong to go there to teach them.” Ji Yu shook his head like a rattle drum and explained, “Madam and the Peking University students returned to Beijing yesterday. Ji Ruqiong and Mr. Sheng applied to stay in Shandong temporarily.”
Madam Dai Zining, Vice Chairman of the Communist Party of China, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, and professor of Chinese Literature at Peking University, is almost a national mother figure, so she has always been respectfully addressed as "Madam" within the Party.
Zhang Chenglin nodded and said, "It's not a good choice for her to come to Shandong at this time."
"Who cares about her?" Ji Yuxing said with a smile. "I can't control the decisions she makes."
Zhang Chenglin chuckled softly, recalling Ji Ruqiong's impulsive and fearless nature, but remained silent.
"Have you been to the Flower Moon Pavilion recently?" Ji Yuxing suddenly changed the subject.
Zhang Chenglin paused, his hand holding the teacup still. "No."
Ji Yuxing sighed and said weakly, "I'll go there later."
"What?" Zhang Chenglin lifted his eyelids to look at him.
“I want to go listen to some music,” Ji Yuxing said with increasing helplessness. “When Ji Ruqiong comes later, she will definitely not let me go. Just thinking about not being able to go to Huayuelou for countless hours in the future makes me feel sad.”
Zhang Chenglin glanced sideways, looking at Ji Yuxing as if he were an idiot.
Ji Yuxing choked: "...What kind of look is that?"
Zhang Chenglin chuckled lightly, his tone indifferent: "You found out."
Ji Yuxing: "...Am I some kind of brain-dead person that you would ask?"
Zhang Chenglin tapped the inside of the teacup lightly with his right index finger and said with a smile, "If you say so, then so be it."
Ji Yuxing: "...This world can no longer accept me."
"Then I'll go."
"Take care and don't bother seeing me off."
Zhang Chenglin answered quickly, without any politeness.
"I'm leaving. See you at Huayue Tower later." Before he could die of anger, Ji Yuxing spoke first, then turned and left without saying another word, afraid that the person behind him would start arguing with him again.
Zhang Chenglin watched his departing figure, his eyes slightly darkening, but he did not answer.
*
As dusk approached, we arrived at the Flower Moon Pavilion.
Zhang Chenglin sat in the lobby on the first floor for nearly two hours but did not see Ji Yu.
Left with no other choice, I asked Xinjie to inquire.
Not long after, Xin Jie returned and said, "The Ji family said that Mr. Ji hasn't gotten up from his afternoon nap yet, and he probably overslept and forgot about it."
Zhang Chenglin: "...He had better actually dare."
Zhang Chenglin listened to music downstairs, and Fengyue kept him company, serving him tea and water without needing anyone else to do it.
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