The rest of my life on the river and sea...
When he came out of the TV station, Wen Zichuan's breathing and steps were light and cheerful.
Cheng Sizhou opened his arms, caught him as he flew towards him like a swallow, picked him up, and spun him around several times.
"Brother Zhou, your suggestion is great!" Wen Zichuan was still excited after the live broadcast ended. "Although I used to do charity work, the number of people I could help with donations of money and materials was really limited. Since top influencers have such great influence, they should have used it for the most meaningful causes long ago!"
Cheng Sizhou imitated the fans' tone: "Yes, our teacher Wen is a high-quality artist with a strong sense of social responsibility. It's worth investing in him."
Wen Zichuan blushed with embarrassment. He pulled down his mask, stood on tiptoe, and blocked Cheng Sizhou's lips with a kiss.
The bells in the square rang, and flocks of white doves spread their wings and flew high behind them. Their snow-white wings swept across the sky, drawing countless arcs of freedom in the smoky twilight.
This global live broadcast created an unprecedented buzz in China. Wen Duo read the comments online and the smile on his face never faded. He was in an extremely good mood.
In the evening, he booked a high-end private kitchen and invited Cheng Sizhou and Wen Zichuan to dinner, and specifically mentioned that he would be the only one there.
Wen Zichuan was also in a good mood, but he was a little hesitant about whether to go.
Cheng Sizhou advised him, "Let's do this to save face. Don't we still need his help with the Pinot heart transplant?"
Wen Zichuan hummed, "With you here, I don't mind that much. But we agreed that if you want to drink, I'll drink it for you."
Cheng Sizhou grinned: "Oh, my wife is so nice!"
The wine and food were all ready. Wen Duo was obviously a veteran in the aristocratic social scene. The way he flipped his wrist when pouring wine and serving food had an overly refined artistic feel.
"Just treat it like a home-cooked meal. I've already ordered a few specials, so if you guys want anything else, add a few more."
In order to avoid embarrassing Wen Zichuan, Cheng Sizhou quickly took the menu and said, "Then I won't be polite."
The more prestigious the restaurant, the more emphasis it places on the dining experience. As each dish is served, the waiter next to you has to introduce the origin of the ingredients, cooking methods and nutritional value.
Among them was a sea cucumber stew, which had certain health benefits. The more the waiter talked about it, the redder Wen Zichuan's face became. The redder his face became, the more excited the waiter became to talk about it.
"Alright, alright, that's enough," Cheng Sizhou said to the waiter in English. "We are Chinese, and we believe in 'not talking while eating, not talking while sleeping.' Let's have our meal in peace."
"Anyway, thank you for your help this time." Wen Duo raised his glass solemnly. Normally, he should toast to Wen Zichuan, but he was afraid that his son would ignore him, so he turned the glass and floated it towards Cheng Sizhou.
"We know what you're concerned about, but we still did what we wanted," Cheng Sizhou replied. "Thank you for contacting the official TV station, too."
Wen Duo made a "please" gesture, raised his glass and drank it all. When Cheng Sizhou's glass was close to his lips, Wen Zichuan stopped him with his eyes.
"You take my place in the back," Cheng Sizhou whispered in his ear, "I'll just drink this one."
In front of Zichuan, he didn't dare to act recklessly, so he toasted twice with a glass of wine. Once was to state the reason clearly, and the other was to secretly thank Wen Duo for helping Wen Zichuan escape the short-lived gene and gain a complete and vibrant life.
If one puts aside all past grudges, Wen Zichuan will find that Cheng Sizhou and Wen Duo actually get along very well.
They both like and understand China's history, culture and cultural relics very well. One of them throws out the first half of an allusion, and the other can immediately catch the second half.
As night fell, a full moon rose outside the window.
Wen Duo's cheeks flushed, and he was already half drunk. "Do you know why the heart deal didn't go through? They refused to reveal the original owner's identity, so I had to investigate! I found out that the guy was a drug addict and had AIDS! Would I dare to transplant his heart to my daughter?!"
"Why can't people have two hearts?" Cheng Sizhou was also drunk. He patted his chest with a sad face, "If I had two, I would definitely give her one... I don't want to see Zichuan so sad. When he's sad, I feel so distressed... Do you know? I felt so sorry for him the first time I saw him, I felt so sorry for him..."
Wen Zichuan sipped his wine silently, but his hands were patting his legs under the table to comfort him.
He heard everything the two of them said when they were drunk.
Cheng Sizhou was right. When he learned what Wen Duo had done in the past twenty years, he felt less and less resentful towards him. But this did not mean that he had to have the role of a father in his future life.
He only occasionally had some unrealistic but insignificant fantasies, such as Wen Duo, Lin Hanzhen, he and Pinot were a family, and it would be such a warm and happy thing to be able to treat Cheng Sizhou to a home-cooked meal on a full-moon night.
After getting drunk, it was time for the routine poetry recitation.
Who would have thought that this "Poetry Conference" would have new members? Wen Zichuan held his forehead, feeling both amused and helpless.
The moonlight outside the window was just right. Cheng Sizhou and Wen Duo pulled each other and swayed to the window.
Under the clear sunlight, Wen Duo raised his wine glass and recited aloud: "When will the bright moon appear? I raise my wine glass to ask the blue sky."
Cheng Sizhou, unwilling to be outdone, immediately added, "I wonder what year it is in the palace of heaven."
Wen Duo sighed deeply, "I want to ride the wind back home, but I'm afraid the jade buildings are too cold up there. Dancing with my shadow, it doesn't feel like being in the human world."
At the next verse, Cheng Sizhou turned slowly and gave Wen Zichuan a deep look: "Turning around the red pavilion, lowering the beautiful window, shining on the sleepless. There should be no hatred, why does the moon always appear when we are parting?"
Wen Duo laughed out loud: "People have joys and sorrows, separations and reunions, the moon waxes and wanes, it is impossible to have everything at once."
Finally, Cheng Sizhou clinked his glass with his: "May we live long and share the beauty of the moon together even though we are thousands of miles apart."[1]
In the past, when I encountered poetry, I always needed someone to explain it to me, or I would search for an explanation, but today is an exception.
As the well-known song "Song of Water Melody" slowly flowed by, Wen Zichuan recalled everything they had experienced, and found the lyrics profound and memorable.
All good things must come to an end. At midnight, Wen Duo returned home, and they still returned to Qin Zhihan's villa.
Cheng Sizhou was extremely drunk. Wen Zichuan helped him to the bed and soon heard his even and long breathing.
Wen Zichuan was sitting on the edge of the bed, trying to sober up, when there was a steady knock on the door.
"Brother, are you asleep?" It was Pinot's voice.
"Come in," Wen Zichuan opened the door, "We drank a little too much, please don't mind."
Pinot shook his head and quietly closed the door. "Look, Brother Cheng is asleep. You should lie down too. I just want to talk to you for a while."
Wen Zichuan moved a stool to the bedside and asked her to sit down. He leaned against the head of the bed and listened quietly.
Although his mind was in a daze, he thought of one thing: since the live broadcast was so effective, they couldn't hide the fact that they were going to see Wen Duo from Pinot.
Fortunately, Pinot was not overly emotional. Instead, his eyes were gentle, his breathing was steady, and he even had a faint smile on his face.
"Brother, let me tell you a story."
"A bedtime story? Did Mr. Qin tell you one often?"
"Yes, Dad Qin has told you so many stories. Will Mom... tell you some too?"
"That was my treatment until I was five. When boys grow up, there are no more bedtime stories."
"Then let me tell you a story about a kitten."
The kitten was raised by Pinault when he was in elementary school. It has pointed ears, round eyes, and black and white fur.
The kitten is a bully in the nest. It will be scared if it sees a sparrow outside, but when it comes home, it dares to knock over Qin Zhihan's teacup, take Pinault's hat to make a nest, and even occupy the swing that Qin Zhihan made for Pinault.
The whole family loved the kitten, tolerated its shortcomings and indulged its habits, until one day, the kitten disappeared.
Qin Zhihan accompanied Pinot to search for a long time and finally found it in a small corner of the garden.
The kitten died. It didn't want to make its owner sad, so it hid quietly, but it was a bully in its own nest, so it didn't dare to go far away.
"Do you miss the kitten?" Wen Zichuan was so sleepy that he could barely open his eyes. "How about picking out a kitten tomorrow? We'll raise it with you."
"No, kittens have a short lifespan and are destined to part ways with humans." Pinot covered him with a blanket and turned off the light. "If possible, I hope this is the last time you experience separation."
In the darkness, Wen Zichuan was still trying hard to understand what she meant: "What... separation?"
Pinot smiled and shook his head: "Brother, when you and Brother Cheng go back, remember to take me back with you. Every treasure that is lost outside must go home, right?"
Her words fell lightly, followed by the sound of quiet footsteps and a door closing. Driven by drunkenness, Wen Zichuan fell asleep.
When he woke up, there was no one around him.
He had a vague bad feeling in his heart, so he threw off the quilt and got out of bed, opened the door, and bumped into Cheng Sizhou head-on.
Cheng Sizhou didn't say anything, just took him into his arms and hugged him tightly.
"What's wrong?" Wen Zichuan was still a little weak after just waking up from his drunken stupor, so he simply leaned on his shoulder for support.
"Zichuan, you have to be mentally prepared." Cheng Sizhou was full of hesitation, not knowing which way to tell him that would not seem so cruel.
Although Wen Zichuan didn't remember clearly what Pinot said last night, he had a vague impression of it. Coupled with Cheng Sizhou's reaction, his heartstrings suddenly tightened.
"Is it...her?" But he still hoped that he was wrong.
"Pinot, gone." Cheng Sizhou closed his eyes regretfully.
When the servant got up early to clean the garden, he found Pinault lying on the swing.
He thought the young lady was just looking at the moon in the garden as she used to, and fell asleep while looking at it.
It was a cold morning and the servants wanted to wake her up and ask her to go back to her room to sleep, but no matter how they called, she did not respond.
Wen Zichuan and Cheng Sizhou rushed to the garden. Pinot's face on the swing was calm and peaceful, as if he was asleep.
She was wearing a silk cheongsam. Wen Zichuan knew it was a gift from her mother, Lin Hanzhen, when they first met. Although he hadn't measured her size beforehand, it surprisingly fit her perfectly.
She was holding a copy of "Three Hundred Tang Poems" in her arms. The book was very well read and was given to her by Zhou Yitang.
On the open space next to the swing, there was a pile of burnt things, which could be seen as the remains of posters, peripheral materials and other star-chasing materials.
Cheng Sizhou could almost foresee how sad and upset Wen Zichuan would be when he saw this scene. He even asked the servant to contact a doctor in advance and prepare some sedatives to prevent Wen Zichuan from having an emotional breakdown and hurting himself.
But Wen Zichuan was not as excited as he had imagined. He just silently picked up Pinot and sent her back to her room.
"Brother Zhou, do you have any change?"
"Yes, what are you going to do?"
"She wants to eat waffles. I came home too late last night and the store was closed. I'm going to buy her some now."
"...Calm down, please."
"I was calm. I just wanted to buy her waffles. I promised her. I promised her."
Wen Zichuan took the change and ran out. When he reached the street outside the villa area, he found that the stall selling waffles was a mobile stall, and it was not open because it was too early.
Cheng Sizhou caught up with him and forcibly pulled him into his arms as he sat on the street, hugging his knees and crying: "Let's send her off together and let her go in peace."
Pinault's funeral was presided over by Elise. According to her will, the ashes were divided into two halves after cremation. One half was buried next to Qin Zhihan and Song Xiang, and the other half was taken back to China and buried next to Lin Hanzhen.
Wen Duo had only met Pinault twice, once at Lin Hanzhen's funeral and once at her own funeral.
It seemed as if the word "daughter" suddenly became unfamiliar to him. His eyes were dry and he couldn't shed tears as he bowed in respect, but his heart felt like a piece had collapsed, and perhaps it would never be filled in his lifetime.
On the seventh day after Pinot was buried, Wen Zichuan and Cheng Sizhou returned to China with "half of her" and the cultural relics shipped by Qin's Company.
In order to block the virus transmission chain, there were no direct international flights to Dengyuan at that time. In the end, it was Wen Duo who helped and bought tickets at a high price of 100,000 yuan each, which allowed them to return home.
"Goodbye, Mr. Wen." Out of courtesy, Cheng Sizhou shook hands with Wen Duo and said goodbye.
"Maybe we won't meet again," Wen Duo glanced at Wen Zichuan's back, "knowing that you treat him well, I feel relieved."
Cheng Sizhou's reply was still decent: "There is still a lot of time. Let's not talk about Zichuan. The beautiful mountains and rivers of the motherland also welcome you. Come back often to visit."
Wen Duo smiled the most candid smile of his life: "I hope that day will come."
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The author has something to say: [1] Quoted from Song Dynasty Su Shi’s “Water Melody: When Will the Bright Moon Appear?”, to create a more vivid atmosphere, the full text is quoted.
[2] The title and abstract of this chapter are quoted from Linjiangxian: Drinking in Dongpo at Night, Waking Up and Getting Drunk Again by Su Shi of the Song Dynasty.
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