Chapter 41 Orange (4) In this orange ocean, they...
The sunrise in Beidaihe in January is around 7 o'clock. If you want to see the full sunrise, you need to arrive at least half an hour in advance.
Lin Xia set seven or eight alarms on her phone to avoid oversleeping, and finally, at the last minute, she struggled to get up. She washed her face with cold water, quickly freshened up, put on her down jacket, hat, scarf, and gloves, and tiptoed out the door.
He Chuan was already waiting for her in the yard.
The sky was getting light and the whole world had not yet woken up. There were scattered firecracker fragments on the ground and the street lights were half-bright and half-dark. Everything was in sharp contrast to the hustle and bustle of yesterday. They ran through the darkness and ran towards the dawn, like a pair of eloping lovers who were not blessed by the world.
The place where I live is very close to the beach. I can smell the scent of sea water in the wind just by crossing two streets.
The first time Lin Xia saw the sea in her life was a frozen sea in winter.
Before me lay the vast, boundless horizon of the sea. Without railings or concrete steps, it felt like a flowing snowfield, as if one could walk straight and straight into it. Where sea and shore meet, frozen solid, layers of white ice piled up like surging waves, frozen in time, maintaining their final, unyielding form. The gentle water, laden with tiny particles of ice, repeatedly lapped against the beach, creating a clear, melodious sound. Countless seagulls hovered and danced over the fading horizon, like a solemn mass.
Ice and snow make everything look unreal.
The usually bustling beach was practically deserted today. Lin Xia felt a little cold, so He Chuan reached out and hugged her tightly. They shared a scarf, their fingers intertwined in their pockets.
While waiting, they chatted casually, but when the sunrise really began, no one spoke anymore.
At first, a faint glow emanated from the eastern sky, and then a full sun slowly emerged from the horizon and climbed higher. Refraction from the winter clouds gave the rising sun a reddish-orange glow, instantly covering the entire gray-blue sea. The floating ice, the snowy waves on the beach—everything was dyed orange. Land and sea, ice and sand, merged into a bowl of warm orange soup, absurd yet romantic.
Lin Xia and He Chuan embraced each other in this rare and beautiful scene, and the same thought occurred to them:
Happy New Year.
No one knew that she and he were the ones who greeted the first sunrise of the Lunar Year of the Rabbit.
They never forgot this orange ocean for many years.
.
On the way back, Lin Xia deliberately walked slowly. She knew they needed to get home quickly, but she just didn't want to be separated from He Chuan. She walked childishly along the checkered bricks on the sidewalk, taking small steps at a time, trying to break one minute into two halves.
He Chuan let her be willful, holding her hand and walking slowly with her.
"Xia Xia, have you thought about your future plans?" he suddenly asked her.
"What? You mean after graduation? Not yet." Lin Xia said as a matter of course, "I'm only a freshman. I haven't even taken my major classes yet. I haven't planned what I want to do in the future."
Taking the postgraduate entrance examination or working, staying in school or studying abroad, these seem to be issues that she needs to think about now as she has just completed one semester of basic courses. Her current primary goal is to see more, learn more, and gain more knowledge, just like a sponge, desperately absorbing water from the vast ocean.
Before college, her parents, teachers, and everyone around her told her that the best path forward for an art major was to become an art teacher. Ultimately, the difference was simply whether she taught in elementary school or middle school, in Wangchun or in the provincial capital. But after attending Qingmei, Lin Xia's world suddenly expanded. She discovered so many uncharted directions in this field, a thousand possibilities for her life, and all her past assumptions and experiences became meaningless. She felt both timid and delighted, eager to try and ready to take the plunge.
"Have you decided which city to go to?"
"Of course not, but I definitely won't look back at Wang Chun." Lin Xia said with a smile.
With her current major, she would definitely not be able to find a job if she returned to Northeast China.
"Why are you asking this all of a sudden?"
"Because I want to plan our future with you."
He Chuan held Lin Xia's hand tightly, then stopped and looked at her seriously.
"Xia Xia, I got an offer from UCL."
"Really? That's great!"
Lin Xia was very happy for him. She knew that he had been making various preparations to study abroad and had been applying to various universities for some time. The University of London was one of his top goals, and now it could finally be realized.
He Chuan nodded: "But an interview is still needed."
"It's okay, there will be no problem with what you said." Lin Xia was very confident in him. "Then when will you go to school?"
"All graduation matters at CUHK will be completed in August, so September should be over."
“So fast!”
Lin Xia was reluctant to leave He Chuan, but then she encouraged herself, "But it doesn't matter. I checked, you only have one year left to study for your LLM, right? We can see each other again when you come back in a year! It's only a year, we can make it through it. By then, I'll be a junior and will have a clear direction for the future. Then we can plan our future together, what do you say?"
Under the sunlight, her eyes sparkled, filled with infinite anticipation for what was about to happen. He Chuan couldn't refute her, so he just reached out and touched her head:
"good."
"Let's go back."
.
Later that morning, they went back separately for fear of being caught.
Lin Xia was lucky. While no one was paying attention, she tiptoed upstairs to her room. When He Chuan came back, he was seen by He Ping who had gotten up early. He calmly said that he was going for a morning run. He Ping didn't ask any more questions, but it scared Lin Xia who was having breakfast in the living room and made her heart beat fast.
The first day of the new year passed peacefully and uneventfully.
From the early morning of the second day of the Lunar New Year, people began to arrive at the house to wish Lin Haisheng a happy new year. They all came to pay their respects to him. There were former students, friends from the calligraphy and painting world, and some whose identities Lin Xia didn't know. They came one after another, filling the house. The entrance was filled with luxury cars, and the living room and kitchen were piled high with New Year's gifts.
Although Lin Haisheng was unwell, he still tried his best to receive every guest, and He Ping was beside him, gracefully and gracefully arranging everything. In this contrast, Lin Xuedong and Zhao Qianyi, the son and daughter-in-law, seemed like outsiders.
Zhao Qianyi was full of complaints, but Lin Xuedong remained silent. However, the latter was definitely not without opinion on this, and everything broke out on the fifth day of the New Year.
On the morning of the fifth day of the New Year, Liu Kairen came to the door. Besides him, there were two middle-aged men, both of whom looked like successful people.
They were talking in the study. This time, Lin Xia couldn't eavesdrop like she did in the small forest farm. She went downstairs under the pretext of pouring water or getting food, pretending to pass by the study casually. She didn't hear anything, but through the half-open door, she vaguely saw Lin Haisheng writing calligraphy at the table surrounded by people.
Among the people who came to his door these days, there were many who asked for calligraphy, but Lin Haisheng did not nod to any of them. But today, he made an exception for Liu Kairen.
Lin Xia became more and more curious and could not help but go back to the room and send a message to He Chuan:
[Do you know what Grandpa and Liu Kairen were talking about in the study?]
Although he was not at the scene, for some reason, Lin Xia had a hunch that he knew.
Not long after, He Chuan's reply came:
[Why do you care so much about Liu Kairen? ]
Lin Xia didn't know how to explain it to him, so she hesitated for a moment and replied:
[I have a feeling this person has ulterior motives.]
He was being overly attentive without any reason. From the first time she met Liu Kairen, Lin Xia could feel that he was too enthusiastic.
He Chuan did not deny it, but just told her:
【Have you ever heard of the story of rare goods being valuable? 】
[Businessmen will do anything that is profitable.]
He's probably here to discuss a touring exhibition with Uncle Lin. He's planning a year-long national exhibition themed around the four great disciples of Master Ji Songting. This has been a long time in the making, and Uncle Lin is quite excited. The person accompanying him today is probably a sponsor.
It's another exhibition. Back then it was in the name of Mr. Ji's birthday, and now it's in the name of his disciples. I didn't expect that grandpa has become so powerful in the industry. Lin Xia felt a little emotional, but at the same time very worried. A national tour lasting more than a year will definitely require visiting many cities and consuming a lot of energy. Can Lin Haisheng really handle it with his current health?
This is also something that Lin Xuedong has always valued, and Lin Xia has a bad feeling in her heart.
As expected, after Liu Kairen and his group left, a fierce quarrel broke out between the Lin family father and son.
This time Lin Xia didn't need to eavesdrop because they were arguing in the living room, and the noise was so loud that Lin Xia could hear it clearly even at the door of her bedroom on the second floor.
The content was nothing more than the usual clichés. Lin Xuedong accused Lin Haisheng of being greedy for fame and fortune and ruining his health. Lin Haisheng was stubborn and refused to listen to anyone. He Ping came to mediate, but it backfired. Lin Xuedong pointed the gun at her, scolding her for having ulterior motives and constantly "exploiting" Lin Haisheng. He Ping retorted sharply that she had devoted all her life to taking care of her teacher. What right did his son, who was away all year, have to criticize her?
Everyone quarreled fiercely, as if pouring out all the dissatisfaction they had with each other over the years. The happy reunion that lasted only five days finally collapsed. Beneath the whitewashed peace, there was only ugliness and unbearableness.
Things have come to this point, there is no need to continue celebrating the New Year. Lin Xuedong was so angry that he wanted to slam the door and leave on the spot, but Zhao Qianyi stopped him after some persuasion. The couple locked themselves in the room and talked about something unknown.
After a long time, Zhao Qianyi came to Lin Xia's room and asked her to pack up her things tonight. The three of them would take the earliest train back to Wangchun tomorrow.
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