Chapter 48
When getting off the plane, Lin Mian almost thought he had entered some strange place.
There was a sea of white before my eyes, filled with flashing lights.
A microphone was brought to her lips.
"Regarding the results of this Xingyue Cup, does chess player Lin Mian have anything to say?"
"Everyone is curious about how Lin Mian manages to achieve excellent results in both Go and piano. Does anyone have any tips you can share?"
"I heard that Lin Mian is about to enter his second year of high school this year. How does he balance his studies with his hobbies?"
The dense stream of words came down, and Lin Mian didn't know which one to answer first.
How did it suddenly become like this?
Just when Lin Mian was confused, a hand grabbed her.
"Sorry everyone, Lin Mian needs to rest. Please call me later. I'll be back to answer your questions once I've rested."
Some reporters wanted to move forward, but were stopped by the people brought by Chen Xiaoqiu.
"Go home, Xiao Mian."
"Um"
Under Chen Xiaoqiu's protection, Lin Mian talked to the coaches and got on the car smoothly.
While fastening his seatbelt, Lin Mian heard Chen Xiaoqiu say, "Your mother is very proud of you."
Are you proud of her?
But, “Why are there so many reporters?”
"Xiao Mian, don't you know? The competition you're participating in this time is incomparable to the previous ones. At least this time it's being broadcast on the sports channel."
"ah"
Then Lin Mian understood why there were so many reporters.
She is a little distressed. Will this affect her life?
"I haven't even won a championship, so how could so many people notice me?"
In Lin Mian's opinion, only the one who gets first place will get attention. She didn't get first place this time. Will there still be so many eyes on her?
Is this even human language?
Chen Xiaoqiu's expression twisted for a moment. If Lin Mian wasn't her boss, she would have had a good talk with her today.
"Of course, this was broadcast on a sports platform, so they'd definitely notice it. Besides," Chen Xiaoqiu paused, "it's only natural they'd pay attention to you. Twelve really is an age with endless possibilities."
Lin Mian propped himself up with his arms and looked outside. In recent years, China has developed rapidly, especially the big cities, which are really changing every year.
But at the same time, amid the hustle and bustle of traffic, one can increasingly feel the insignificance of human beings.
Will humans, who have temperature, be affected by the huge cement mixture?
Will they be assimilated or will they choose to resist?
Just like her current life, on the road formed by countless lines, what kind of person will she become?
Lin Mian didn’t know, but she was looking forward to it and would enjoy every moment of it.
Humans are emotional animals, and their thoughts may change every day. Even the ideals that are firm at the moment may be shaken the next moment.
She is still young and can achieve what she wants step by step.
When I got home, Lin Mei was not there. Under the care of nanny Aunt Wang, the house was very warm even though it was decorated in cold colors.
Looking at the flowers on the dining table, Lin Mian realized something. She put her luggage in the living room and turned to leave.
"Xiao Mian, you haven't finished the soup yet. Drink it first before you leave!"
Aunt Wang called out to him, but Lin Mian didn't even turn his head. "Auntie, you drink first. Don't wait for me. I have something to do."
This time she did not disturb Chen Xiaoqiu. She put on a mask and a hat and blended into the crowd. Even in the hot summer, she was running.
By the time they reached the subway station, drops of sweat were dripping onto the ground, but Lin Mian still didn't stop.
When she arrived and got out of the subway station, she started running again.
It is difficult to breathe through the mask, and the sticky feeling makes people feel uncomfortable.
Lin Mian stopped when passing by the flower shop.
When she came out again, she was holding a bunch of sunflowers in her hands.
Sunflowers symbolize having the courage to pursue what you want, and she thought this was perfect for Zhong Yuqi.
Standing at her door, Lin Mian felt a little annoyed. He should have called first. If he came here rashly, Zhong Yuqi might not be at home.
It was Jiang Dan who opened the door, but Lin Mian had already heard Zhong Yuqi shouting "Who is it?"
She greeted Jiang Dan briefly, then walked past him and ran towards Zhong Yuqi.
Jiang Dan, who stayed where he was, withdrew his hand that wanted to touch. He stared at his palm in a daze, not knowing what he was thinking.
Seeing Lin Mian, Zhong Yuqi covered her mouth and then hugged Lin Mian tightly.
"What? I thought you were still in Neon. If I hadn't seen the news, I wouldn't have known you were competing in Neon."
Although it was a complaint, it revealed some sadness.
Zhong Yuqi has been feeling lost ever since she started high school and no longer walked the same path with Lin Mian.
She knew that distance might not change the feelings between them, but the line between them would gradually become thinner with time.
They live in different environments. Even if they want to get along with each other, there will be a gap between them because they have not experienced life together.
Zhong Yuqi was afraid that one day this line would break, one afternoon when she was not aware of it, and then when she wanted to repair it, she would find that she could no longer connect it.
But now, looking at Lin Mian who appeared in front of him, the growing distance and the out-of-sync life became nothing more than this.
"I came to see you, Yuqi. I missed you so much."
Zhong Yuqi wanted to scream, but Jiang Dan was still there, so she couldn't do that.
She pulled Lin Mian into her room. She had a lot to say to Lin Mian.
But before that, Lin Mian handed the flowers to Zhong Yuqi.
Before she spoke, Lin Mian briefly told her about Jingming's situation in the well.
"I just want to ask you, are you happy now?"
Many people have mentioned to Zhong Yuqi the responsibilities she has to bear.
She is the person her mother loves the most, but she is also a pawn in her mother's struggle for power and profit.
She used to be her father's favorite child, but now he has a new family and children, and she rarely even answers his calls.
Her grandparents said she was their favorite granddaughter, but before her there was Jiang Dan, who was their favorite grandchild.
In the end, everyone thought she was happy and saw the shackles on her as a blessing.
Zhong Yuqi knew that she was born away from poverty and was already luckier than many people in the world.
But the definition of happiness is never static. Zhong Yuqi does not feel that she is unhappy. She is happy enough in the secular sense.
But, “I’m not happy.”
Zhong Yulan has now started to take Zhong Yuqi into contact with the family business. In the past, Zhong Yuqi had to get along with the children of her mother's business partners, but now she has to get along with her mother's business partners.
What she said not only represented herself, but also represented Zhong Yulan's attitude and the attitude of the Zhong family.
There are so many things to learn, and you have to keep your emotions under control and become someone who is understood by others.
Sometimes, even if you don't want to smile, you have to find ways to put on a fake smile.
Lin Mian held Zhong Yuqi's hand tightly. "Have you ever thought about living like this? Just live according to what Auntie said."
"No," Zhong Yuqi shook her head. "I want to be stronger than my mother. If I do what she says, I can only become the next Zhong Yulan. But I want to be Zhong Yuqi. I want the Zhong family to become even stronger under my leadership."
What's a fake smile? What's wrong with being treated as a puppet? It's all because she is not strong enough now.
These words made Lin Mian feel relieved. Zhong Yuqi was a different girl from Jingxia Jingming.
One chooses to continue to follow the rules, while the other chooses to break away from the rules and make his own rules.
So Lin Mian chose to tell Jingxia Jingming not to agree with the fate that others attached to him, and said to Zhong Yuqi -
"I will always support you, no matter what you want to do, as long as you are happy."
She was infinitely tolerant of Zhong Yuqi, and Zhong Yuqi was also infinitely tolerant of her.
An unbreakable thread connected them together, so close that they could hear each other's thoughts.
When Lin Mian returned home, Lin Mei was already there.
"Why did you run out as soon as you got back?"
Lin Mei picked up a comb and tidied up her daughter's curly hair, which was messed up from running.
"So do you want a daughter who runs around everywhere, or a daughter who sits at home obediently?"
Lin Mei doesn't buy it now.
"I want to call Lin Mian's daughter."
"Okay," Lin Mian pretended to be angry, "Then everyone named Lin Mian will call you mom."
After she said that, she couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"I just want you, okay?"
Lin Mei tried to pick up Lin Mian and spin around with her daughter in her arms like she used to.
But now it’s no longer possible. Her daughter is almost as tall as her, and it is no longer realistic for Lin Mei to pick up Lin Mian like she did when she was a child.
Lin Mian understood what Lin Mei wanted to do. She stood on the sofa and acted coquettishly to Lin Mei: "Mom, can you carry me to the bed?"
Although he couldn't lift Lin Mian up and spin around, carrying him on his back was no problem.
Lin Mei is a woman who grew up doing dirty and hard work. Even though she is not as strong as before, she can still carry her daughter to the bed in her room.
Lin Mian pressed her face against Lin Mei's back. Through the thin clothes, she could smell the fragrance of her mother's body, the smell left by being completely soaked in foam.
It smelled like the countless nights she'd placed her hand on her forehead to help her sleep more peacefully.
When Lin Mei got up, she found that Lin Mian was not silent, but had fallen asleep.
She was sleeping so soundly, with a faint blush on her fair face, she must be tired.
Lin Mei was reluctant to wake up Lin Mian, so she let her sleep like this. How tired must she be when she was alone abroad?
We must not only deal with the traps set by the media, but also face the tough opponents that will come next.
Every chess game that Lin Mian wins is not that simple. Her victory cannot be summarized by "easy", "lucky" or "talent" as described by the media.
Lin Mei carefully tucked the quilt for Lin Mian and turned on the air conditioner.
Just let her have a long sleep and have a sweet dream, she will be there to accompany her.
When Lin Mian opened her eyes again, the clock hand opposite her pointed to "12". She stood up suddenly, and memories slowly emerged.
Looking at the pajamas on her body, Lin Mian felt a little happy. She didn't even wear slippers. Her feet made a "crunching" sound when they stepped on the wooden floor.
Lin Mei heard the noise, turned around and said, "Are you awake? Go wash up and then come to eat. Mom made this dish specially for you today."
"Wow!"
Lin Mian hadn't eaten Lin Mei's cooking for a long time. As they moved to bigger and bigger houses, they didn't see each other as often as before.
Lin Mian couldn't remember how long it had been since she had eaten the food cooked by Lin Mei. When she took a bite, Lin Mei's nervous eyes drifted over.
Before she could swallow it, Lin Mian gave a thumbs-up gesture with both hands, and she swallowed it in one gulp with a slurp.
“It’s so delicious!”
Lin Mei finally felt relieved, and she smiled and advised Lin Mian to eat more.
"I'll eat well!"
Lin Mian replied loudly.
She will cherish it, and she doesn’t know when she will eat it again.
Even if Lin Mei hasn't cooked for a long time and she didn't control the heat correctly, making the meat hard to chew, so what?
These are the fruits of his mother's labor, and Lin Mian just wants to eat them all.
However, after finishing his meal, Lin Mian noticed something unusual when he saw Lin Mei still watching him eat instead of going to work.
"Isn't Mom working today?"
"Have you finished eating?"
They spoke almost at the same time and nodded almost at the same time.
I don’t know who laughed first, but in the end they both laughed out loud.
Lin Mei took Lin Mian by the hand and walked to the room where Lin Mian's various trophies and medals were stored.
"This is from your teacher. I think it would be best if you opened it yourself."
Lin Mei handed the document bag in her hand to Lin Mian.
She opened it and found a qualification certificate issued by the Go Association.
Lin Mian was stunned. It was the written document that certified her as a professional 6th-dan Go player.
"Although you didn't win the championship, everyone saw your performance, so we're giving you this certification. We hope you can keep up the good work, win the championship in the next tournament, and become the youngest 7th dan player in the world."
"That's what your teacher said."
Lin Mian hugged Lin Mei and said sullenly, "Thank you, Mom."
Rather than honor, Lin Mian wants to express gratitude to her mother who has always supported her.
"I thank you too. Thank you for being my daughter."
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