Chapter 37 "I won't tell you! I'll tell you..."
Chapter 37
As the days went by, Yu Pan gradually got used to the rhythm of life, shuttling between home and school.
Shen Yanzhou gradually relaxed. At first, he would personally pick up and drop off the children without fail, no matter how busy he was. Later, he was able to arrange for a driver to handle the daily pick-up and drop-off, and he would only go over when his work schedule allowed.
This transformation alone took three months.
Yu Pan's high school life was relatively peaceful. Most of his classmates were easy to get along with. He usually stayed with Xu Rui at school. Sometimes, when Tan Bai went out for a walk after class, he would bring them some snacks and soft drinks.
The day before the final exam, the class began distributing forms indicating whether students should choose arts or sciences tracks.
Looking at the form, Yu Pan checked the box next to "liberal arts" almost without hesitation.
Asking him to learn those incomprehensible formulas and theorems is harder than asking him to climb to heaven.
That evening, he nestled on the sofa, waiting for Shen Yanzhou to come out after his shower. He then handed him the form to sign, muttering casually, "The teachers all say that if you master math, physics, and chemistry, you can go anywhere in the world without fear."
Shen Yanzhou took the form from his hand, looked at it, and wrote his name in the parent consent section. "What's there to be afraid of? Our Panpan can go anywhere in the world just by studying humanities. She can study whatever she likes. Being happy is the most important thing."
Seeing that Shen Yanzhou had said what she wanted to hear, Yu Pan was satisfied. She stood up and leaned most of her body on Shen Yanzhou's back, hugging his neck and whispering in his ear about the funny things that had happened in class.
…
With the final exams over and winter break officially starting, Yu Pan had already planned to take her winter break homework to Shen Yanzhou's office to do, and call out to him whenever she had a spare moment.
However, plans don't always go as expected. Just as the holiday started, Shen Yanzhou received an important project that required him to travel to Beijing for half a month. Seeing Yu Pan suddenly looking dejected, Shen Yanzhou simply took her along.
This wasn't the first time Yu Pan had accompanied Shen Yanzhou on a business trip, nor was it the first time she had been to Beijing.
Ever since he started school, whenever Shen Yanzhou had free time on weekends, he would always take him to visit nearby cities. This was partly to broaden his horizons, but mainly to help him relax.
The flight from Lanzhou to Beijing takes only two and a half hours at most. Yu Pan had been there several times with Shen Yanzhou before, and they had visited most of the famous attractions. After the initial excitement wore off, she didn't find it particularly special.
This time was different, though. Before, it was always summer, but this time when they arrived, Beijing had just had a significant snowfall.
As soon as the cabin door opened, a rush of cold air hit us, and as far as the eye could see, the area around the airport runway was a clean expanse of white.
Yu Pan has never actually seen snow. When he first came to Lanzhou, Director Wang, who treated him, said that it occasionally snows in Lanzhou during the winter.
As a result, he stayed in Lanzhou for two years without seeing a single snowflake. Later, when he was in school, he heard older teachers lament that Lanzhou used to really snow, but in recent years it has become less and less frequent, and is almost never seen anymore.
Therefore, upon first seeing the world covered in silver after a snowfall, just like the one described in textbooks, Yu Pan clung to the car window, her eyes wide with amazement.
While Shen Yanzhou was busy with important matters, he left Yu Pan in their hotel suite. The suite was very nice, with all the food, drinks, and entertainment provided.
Shen Yanzhou was worried that Yu Pan would overeat, so before leaving home he specifically told her that no matter how small the snacks were, she could only eat two kinds.
Yu Pan obediently replied, "Oh."
He was indeed very well-behaved most of the time, staying in the living room sofa to read and do his winter vacation homework. When he got tired of writing, he would run to the balcony to play with the snow that had fallen on it.
He would shape the snow into small balls and line them up on the railing, like glutinous rice balls lining up to be cooked.
After getting tired of playing in the snow, he curled up on the sofa to watch TV, flipping through the remote control from beginning to end and then from end to beginning. Although it was a bit boring, he preferred to stay closer to Shen Yanzhou than to be alone in his home in Lanzhou.
That day, Shen Yanzhou was going to finalize the details with the person in charge of the partner, and the meeting place was the other party's private garden in the suburbs.
Seeing that Yu Pan had been feeling really bored these past few days, he wrapped him in a woolen coat, wrapped a scarf around him several times, put a woolen hat on him, and then took him out together.
Upon arrival, the person in charge of the partner company had some urgent business to attend to and asked his secretary to take care of them first.
The secretary wanted to invite them to sit in the warm tea room, but Shen Yanzhou saw that the snow scene outside was nice and thought that Yu Pan had been cooped up for days, so he said, "No trouble at all, let's just take a walk in the garden and wait for President Qin."
The secretary then accompanied them on a stroll through the garden.
The dry cold of Beijing winters had frozen the ponds in the garden solid. Apart from a few hardy pines and cypresses that still retained some green, most of the trees were bare, making it look rather desolate at first glance.
But the essence of traditional Chinese gardens remains; pavilions, terraces, rockeries, and courtyards, adorned with white snow, possess a unique charm.
As Shen Yanzhou walked, he answered a work call, and his pace unconsciously slowed down.
Yu Pan followed beside him, curiously looking around at the unfamiliar garden.
For some reason, he felt a strange sense of familiarity with this place.
After passing a stone screen covered in snow, the secretary led them toward the warm corridor. Yu Pan couldn't help but turn back and take another look at the path behind the screen, completely covered by snow.
He was inexplicably certain that below was a path paved with bluestone slabs. If he followed it and turned right, there would be a fairly large lotus pond with a rockery beside it. And from the crevices of the rocks...
The thought flashed through his mind, and Yu Pan was stunned, a little confused. What was he thinking?
Yu Pan shook her head and quickly followed Shen Yanzhou. But the strange feeling didn't disappear; instead, it grew stronger.
They passed a round moon gate, walked for a while and then began to descend the steps. Beside the steps stood an old tree with a thick trunk and bare branches that spread out like a large umbrella hanging overhead.
Yu Pan stared at the snow-covered branches, and suddenly an image of them covered in pink blossoms flashed through her mind, even...
He stopped and stared blankly up at a low branch in the tree. It seemed like he had fallen from there before...?
"Panpan?" Shen Yanzhou answered the phone and suddenly realized Yu Pan hadn't followed, startling him so much his heart skipped a beat. Turning around, he found Yu Pan staring blankly at a tree, so he hung up and went over. "What's wrong? Are you cold?"
Yu Pan snapped out of her daze, shook her head, and suppressed the absurd sense of familiarity in her heart. "It's not cold. I was just looking at that tree, covered in snow, it looked like... like tomatoes mixed with sugar."
Shen Yanzhou frowned, looking back and forth between the dark brown branches and Yu Pan's eyes, before finally smiling and reaching out to adjust his scarf. "Hmm, it does look a bit like him."
The secretary accompanied them for a short stroll in the garden. When she estimated that it was about time, she led them back into the house. Just then, Mr. Qin, the person in charge of the partner company, also came over after finishing his business.
Shen Yanzhou asked Yu Pan to sit and wait in the side hall, poured him some hot tea, and brought him a few magazines before going in to talk business.
The side room was well-heated. Yu Pan was wearing a wool coat, and after a few sips of hot tea, her nose began to sweat.
He sat for a while, but couldn't sit still any longer, still thinking about the strange feeling he'd had in the garden. He asked his secretary quietly, who was standing beside him, "May I go back to the garden for a little while longer?"
The secretary was very easy to talk to, and nodded with a smile, "Of course, I'll go with you."
"Thank you." Yu Pan breathed a sigh of relief.
He didn't wander off; he simply retraced his steps and came to the path that had been troubling him the most. He crouched down, brushed away the snow, and sure enough, a gray rectangular stone slab was revealed underneath.
Following my instincts, I walked further in, turned a corner, and came to a frozen pond. Beside the pond stood an old-looking artificial hill.
Inside the artificial hill...
Yu Pan felt a stirring in his heart, as if drawn by something. He went around to the other side of the artificial hill and squatted down in front of a seemingly ordinary stone.
For some inexplicable reason, he felt there should be a small hole behind the rock, big enough to crawl into, if he just moved the rock...
"Panpan?"
Shen Yanzhou's voice suddenly came from behind, interrupting Yu Pan's thoughts. He turned around and found that Shen Yanzhou had been standing not far behind him at some point, with a man standing next to him. Yu Pan guessed that this was President Qin.
Realizing that it was impolite to 'explore' someone else's yard like this, Yu Pan quickly ran back to Shen Yanzhou's side.
Qin Yu looked at the boy running over, a hint of surprise flashing across his face. He smiled and asked Shen Yanzhou, "Engineer Shen, who is this?"
"This is my younger brother, Yu Pan. I brought him out to play during his vacation," Shen Yanzhou introduced simply.
"Oh?" Qin Yu's smile became more amiable. His gaze lingered on Yu Pan's face for a moment before he smiled and said, "You look so well-behaved and quiet. It reminds me of the little brother next door when I was a child. He was also fair-skinned and well-behaved."
Shen Yanzhou smiled politely, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then took his leave with Yu Pan.
Back at the hotel, Yu Pan was still pondering what had happened in the garden. The more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed. Just as she was about to talk to Shen Yanzhou about it, she noticed the cover of the scroll she had brought, which featured an illustration of a classical garden.
He suddenly realized something, and most of his doubts vanished... Had he been watching too many books and TV dramas? In period dramas, aren't artificial hills always used to hide people or for secret passages? And falling from trees is a common trope too...
Thinking about it this way, it seems to make a lot more sense. That strange sense of familiarity is probably just my imagination.
Yu Pan thought about it more and more and realized that it made sense; she was indeed overthinking things.
I need to watch less TV dramas in the future.
…
The official business went smoothly, much ahead of schedule, so Shen Yanzhou decided to stay in Beijing for two more days, taking Yu Pan around to see the sights, sample local snacks, and buy a lot of interesting trinkets.
The day before they left Beijing, snowflakes began to fall again. Qin Yu heard that they hadn't left yet, so he recommended that they visit a temple called Hongshan Temple, saying that it was a popular place for locals, had many worshippers, and was considered auspicious.
So, they decided to spend their last day here.
The temple is built halfway up the mountain, and the ancient temple in the snow is filled with the smoke of incense, making it appear quiet and solemn.
They followed the example of other worshippers, lit incense, and knelt on the prayer mats.
Yu Pan clasped her hands together and closed her eyes.
He was actually a bit confused, unsure of what he wanted. He seemed to have many wishes, such as hoping the old lady and the bookstore owner would be healthy, and hoping to improve his studies, especially that damned math...
But after thinking it over, it seems that Shen Yanzhou is still the most important.
Finally, Yu Pan silently prayed in her heart with utmost sincerity: "I hope Shen Yanzhou is healthy, safe, and always well."
After he finished bowing, he opened his eyes and happened to meet Shen Yanzhou's gaze.
The two stood up, and after brushing the dust off Yu Pan's trousers, Shen Yanzhou casually asked, "You were praying so earnestly just now, what did you wish for?"
Yu Pan turned her head to look at the ancient tree in the temple courtyard, then beckoned to Chen Yanzhou, signaling him to come closer.
Shen Yanzhou bent down slightly and turned his head to look over.
Yu Pan put her hands to her mouth and whispered, "I won't tell you! If I do... it won't work!"
After saying that, as if afraid that Shen Yanzhou would realize she was being forced to confess, Yu Pan turned around and ran towards the temple courtyard.
Shen Yanzhou was taken aback when Yu Pan suddenly ran away. He was stunned for a moment, watching Yu Pan's retreating figure disappear into the pilgrims and the drifting snowflakes. He shook his head helplessly, but couldn't help but smile.
Yu Pan used to be timid and dependent on him wholeheartedly, filled with anxiety about the outside world. Now, although this dependence hasn't diminished, she has developed her own edges and her own little world. She makes friends, teases him, and then runs away.
Shen Yanzhou didn't rush to chase after her, knowing that Yu Pan wouldn't run far and would probably be "hiding" in the most conspicuous place.
He strolled slowly into the courtyard, glanced around, and headed straight for the tree covered with red ribbons.
Before he even got close, he saw Yu Pan standing by a stone tablet about the height of a person under the tree, pretending to be engrossed in studying the inscriptions on the tablet, while her eyes kept glancing in his direction out of the corner of her eye.
Upon discovering Shen Yanzhou, Yu Pan quickly turned around, gesturing with her fingers on the stone tablet, unaware that half of her scarf had fallen off.
Shen Yanzhou strode closer, not exposing his lie, but simply helping him rewrap his scarf. "Why are you running? Let me guess, it's related to me, isn't it?"
Yu Pan's eyes widened instantly when she realized she'd been caught out, but she stubbornly insisted, "No way...!"
"Oh?" Shen Yanzhou raised an eyebrow. "So you hope to pass math next semester?"
Yu Pan: "...!?"
"Alright, I'm not teasing you anymore." Shen Yanzhou put his arm around his shoulder. "No matter what wish Panpan makes, it will definitely come true."
Looking at the smile on Shen Yanzhou's face, Yu Pan softly hummed in agreement.
It will definitely happen.
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Author's Note: Panpan: Family, does anyone understand? I'm already so annoyed by failing math! [Crying][Crying][Crying]
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