Cruise ships occasionally have stunning fireworks displays.
Choose a night when the weather is clear and windless, the water is calm, the view is best, and the sea is the most peaceful and vast.
Fireworks bloom in the night sky, colorful lights reflected on the water, filling the field of vision in one breath, making people wonder whether they are in reality or a dream for a moment.
Fireworks are fleeting. Mr. Ming, who is slowly paying off his debts, sets up his easel on the balcony, trying to find the most appropriate opportunity to record the fleeting moment.
But in the end, when the painting was put into place, it turned out a little differently than expected.
…
Xun Zhen came to visit Ming Chi and was very curious about the half-finished new painting. Before leaving, he secretly asked Ming Zongguan: "Is the painting a fireworks display?"
As the first friend to hold Captain Ming, Dean Xun got the ticket as he wished.
Unfortunately, the timing was not right as he had to attend several domestic and international seminars. It took Xun Zhen a week to get away and he hurried to the nearby port to board the ship.
Questions like this should be asked to Mingchi himself.
Mingchi is the kind of postoperative patient who gives the team a lot of peace of mind - he doesn't deliberately hide his condition, goes for regular checkups, actively cooperates with follow-up visits, and his recovery speed is also quite surprising.
If we don't consider that he often overworks during rehabilitation and always forgets to rest and relax, this kind of behavior should be taken to Corey as a model.
So, of course it’s not that Doctor Xun Zhen’s visit is unwelcome.
The living room was simply too quiet, the atmosphere too unsuitable for disturbance, and absolutely unsuitable for lingering.
Xun Zhen checked the scale, signed his name when satisfied, folded it up and put it away. He couldn't help but think of what he had just seen.
In fact, there is really nothing special.
It was just that Mr. Ming had finished his work and was painting with his little son at home. When Xun Zhen came to pay a return visit, the two of them stopped to entertain him, and Mingchi even made tea for him.
Described this way, it does seem quite ordinary and bland.
…
But if I had sat on that sofa at that time, waiting for the light white steam and tea fragrance to rise up together. Watching Mingchi concentrating on skimming off the tea foam, sealing the pot and dividing the tea cups, and then watching Mr. Ming concentrating on watching Mingchi seal the pot and divide the tea cups, you will naturally feel that the third person in this space is quite redundant.
In that room, Dean Xun, who had not had time to bring his wife on board due to work reasons, drank three cups of tea, looked at the scenery outside the balcony, and admired the unfinished painting for a long time.
Finally, when Mingchi finished filling out the form, Xun Zhen took the form and said goodbye and left, and considerately helped to close the door.
…
Xun Zhen came back to his senses, saw Ming Lu's inquiring look, and responded: "There's no problem with the painting."
"Combined with the previous changes in style, composition and color, his condition is very stable."
Xun Zhen combined Ming Chi's answer with his analysis from a purely psychological perspective: "I probably won't need to do the scale so often in the future."
Minglu nodded and answered his previous question: "It's not a fireworks show."
"No wonder." Xun Zhen's last doubt was solved, and he couldn't help but be curious, "What is that?"
The day Xun Zhen boarded the ship, he happened to catch a fireworks show and was deeply impressed by the dazzling splendor.
The atmosphere of the performance was not so deserted. The fireworks were bustling and crowded to fill the sky. Half of the sky was bright, and the snow-white hull of the cruise ship was reflected in colorful colors.
Minglu put down what he was doing and looked up at him.
Xun Zhen was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head to check his clothes, but found nothing wrong: "Butler Ming?"
"Dean Xun." Minglu took a chair and said, "Sit down."
Manager Ming checked the timetable, took out his pocket watch, looked at the time, and put it back in his pocket: "This may take a long time to explain."
…
The story begins at the port where Xun Zhen boarded the ship.
After a round trip, the ship docked at a fixed transfer port on the route, where passengers boarded and disembarked.
Not only Xun Zhen boarded the ship at that port, but also a car.
A limited edition collector's car that is of the same model, produced on the same production line, and manufactured at the same time as the car Mrs. Ren gave her. It has exactly the same configuration.
"This car is very popular. Mrs. Ren asked us to order it."
The heir of the multinational jewelry group came to deliver the car and explained to Minglu: "I thought it was nice at the time, so I ordered one myself. I have only collected it over the years and have never driven it."
He had business to discuss this time and did not travel on the ship, but the place where he was discussing the business happened to be not far from here, so he brought the car with him.
Also coming was the elderly founder of the group.
The old man is nearly 90 years old, but he is still in very good health. In the past two years, he has been traveling around the world with a few friends of different ages to collect folk songs, and he happened to come here to see the sea.
"I didn't tell the old man about those things." The heir said to Minglu, "I heard that the little boy was here, so the old man wanted to meet him, have dinner and chat."
"That's right, the old man said that the inspiration for his last design came from a child's drawing."
The heir smiled and said, "According to the rules of our industry, whether it's compensation or profit sharing, he has to come in person to discuss it."
After Mingchi heard what Uncle Lu said about dinner, he took a blanket to the study and took a nap with his teacher for the whole afternoon.
Before dinner, Mingchi took a hot shower, did not bring his walking stick, and followed Uncle Lu off the boat to the reserved restaurant.
The old man really didn't know those things.
He is already quite old and has long passed the age when he needs to worry about social interactions. He has handed over the business to young people, but he still occasionally personally designs one or two sets of jewelry.
This design is related to the newly mined diamond mine. That mining area has produced a lot of pigeon-blood grade rubies, which are pure in color, rich in saturation, and the overall quality is quite high.
The old man was considering a design plan when he happened to receive the painting of "Sunset" sent from the Ming family, and he immediately became inspired.
Throughout the dinner, they talked mostly about color inspiration. The old man discussed with his friend for a while and came up with several new design ideas, which he asked Mingchi one by one.
Mingchi understood things very quickly. He immediately grasped the point after listening to the explanation. When asked about his opinion, he tried to speak while thinking.
After all, he doesn't have a deep understanding of design, so his opinions are inevitably not professional enough. But also because he was not bound by the inertia of thinking, his seniors were quite surprised and they talked to him for the whole night.
The meal lasted until the moon was setting. Before the friends could finish their conversation, the old man poked them away one by one with his cane, leaving the children alone to talk for a while.
The old man said he wanted to see the sea, so Mingchi helped him to the terrace, and suddenly the old hand grabbed his wrist.
…
The moonlight was dim, but the old man's eyes were still sharp and bright as he looked at the young man in front of him.
After Ren Shuangmei passed away, the child who she would bring to parties for tea, and who she would support on the back and gently push out to chat, never appeared in their sight again.
Ten years passed in a flash.
In the eyes of older people, ten years is actually not a long time. After all, compared with the entire life, it is just a small period that is neither too long nor too short.
But older people tend to miss the past easily, just like the dinner that Mingchi came to today.
These friends who came to see Mingchi also sat at the table, half-jokingly asking the child all kinds of questions, and were quite surprised and impressed by the answers that far exceeded their expectations.
The friends are still the same friends, with different ages and interests. When we are in the mood, we get together for a while.
This child seemed to be the same as he was then, without having acquired any unpleasant traits in the past ten years. It is still as pure and clear as before, but calmer and more stable than before.
The only change seems to be that Ren Shuangmei is no longer here.
"The pictures you sent me."
After a while, the old man finally spoke: "I've seen them all, and every one of them is very good."
Mingchi's eyes lit up slightly.
He has maintained correspondence with the old gentleman over the years. Mingchi would send the paintings to the old man, and the old man would also send him a letter in return.
Those letters are still there, carefully preserved. Mingchi has read every one of them again. The old gentleman always gives very professional opinions and comments on his paintings.
The founder’s grandfather was not at all strict with him like he was with his students. His opening remarks every time were “Every one of them is good”.
Mingchi took out a note and a pen from his pocket and wanted to write it down, but the old man held his arm.
"We won't talk about paintings today." The old man motioned him to put away his pen. "We have talked about enough paintings. Too many."
The old man said, "Let's talk about you."
Mingchi was about to put away his pen and paper, but was stunned when he heard the words and stopped.
"You are thinking about something." The old man looked into his eyes.
"You're thinking that the paintings you sent me were in the right order, and the changes in style make sense."
The old man looked at him and said, "A very talented child who encountered some difficult things, got through them successfully, and grew up successfully."
"That's it." Ming Chi curled his eyes and put the note back into his pocket. "Grandpa, I'm doing great now."
The old man also smiled.
This sentence was the same as it was ten years ago - at that time he liked the child's talent very much and wanted to take this child named "Huo Miao" away from Ren Shuangmei.
Since this child has distant relatives, he can live with me at home, learn design from me, study and live abroad, and become a designer in the future.
He found that the child was interested in car toys, so he told the child that he had a garage full of cars for collection and they could all play with them, and that life at home would be great with them.
At that time, not only did Ren Shuangmei disagree, she held the child and refused to let go no matter what. The child himself also absolutely disagreed.
The child bowed politely to express his gratitude, and then tried to open his eyes wide and look at him seriously.
"Grandpa." The child tightly grasped the corner of Ren Shuangmei's clothes, stood straight with his chest and head held high, and was extremely proud. "I am living a super good life now. I am the luckiest person in the world."
The old man raised his hand and slowly rubbed the child's head, just like he did before.
"I've grown up and have the ability to live a good life. I don't need to be protected and cared for anymore."
The old man said: "Of course there is no doubt about that."
He spoke slowly, and seeing the same little pride in the eyes of the young man in front of him, he couldn't help but smile and shook his head slightly.
"I heard that the car Shuangmei gave you broke down."
The old man asked softly, "How did it break?"
Mingchi came back to his senses, lowered his eyes, and thought seriously.
He actually couldn't remember the incident, but after thinking about the cause and effect and the pictures stored in his phone, he could probably guess: "I didn't protect it well."
"I should be the one protecting it," Ming Chi said. "I—"
The old man shook his head slowly: "Nothing is more important than people."
"Shuangmei actually left a car for you." The old man said, "You know, she asked us to order two cars at the time, just to prepare for this kind of thing."
Ming Chi was stunned.
He looked at the old man seriously, slowly bent his fingers, clenched them, then pursed his lips and shook his head: "Probably not."
His aunt wouldn't reserve a second car just for him.
Because if there was no accident, he would never let the first car break down.
As for the accidents that happened later, they were so unexpected and unpredictable that even my aunt could not have thought of them at the time.
"Did Uncle order one?" Ming Chi thought about it and immediately guessed what was going on. "Grandpa, may I ask--"
He knew the request was a bit presumptuous. But that car was a limited edition, and most of them were bought as collectors after leaving the factory. It has never been reproduced since then, and it is difficult to buy it even at a higher price.
"Excuse me...does uncle often drive it?"
Ming Chi took a deep breath. He had never asked anyone for this before, and now he felt a little embarrassed: "I—"
The old man looked at him quietly for a while, and when he saw that he still couldn't say this sentence, he sighed.
The old man waved his hand, motioning Mingchi to come to the terrace.
"The inspiration for the last design came from your painting Sunset. I should give you a share of the profits or compensation."
The old man took the initiative to bring up the matter, and then asked gently, "What do you want?"
Ming Chi was stunned for a moment and shook his head: "Grandpa is my teacher."
"Nothing."
The old man nodded and held his wrist: "The fabricated comfort can be seen through at a glance."
"I want to buy the car with my own money, but I don't know how to say it or how to ask."
"I remember Shuangmei used a lot of force to correct you on this point."
The old man walked to the balcony railing and said, "If you want something, you can ask for it."
Ming Chi was pulled over by him and reflected on himself, feeling that he was indeed much worse than his thirteen-year-old self in this regard.
He simply made up his mind, took a deep breath and was about to speak, but when he looked up, his peripheral vision swept across the parking lot below the terrace, and he was suddenly stunned.
Mingchi turned around and couldn't help but look carefully at the parking lot outside the window, then turned back to look at his grandfather.
"Shuangmei has put a lot of effort into correcting you on this point."
The old gentleman said, "You are the most obedient child I have ever met. You would not forget what she taught you for no reason, and you would not fail to meet her expectations for so many years."
"So when I first saw you today, I was thinking."
The old man took the car keys out of his pocket with his other hand and put them in Ming Chi's hand: "This little friend, when he grew up, the world was very bad to him."
Mingchi held the key.
His chest rose and fell several times, and his fingers tightened unconsciously until the key was pressed hard against his palm, and he finally remembered to shake his head.
Ming Chi shook his head slowly: "No."
"No, Grandpa." Ming Chi whispered, "I am the luckiest man."
He held the keys tightly in his hand and bowed.
"Here is your reward."
The old man interrupted him before he could say thank you and reminded him: "Remember what Shuangmei taught you."
Mingchi swallowed his words hard, clenched the key bunch again, and couldn't help pursing his lips, his ears turned red.
The old man smiled and said, "Little friend."
The child's mouth was so happy that it couldn't be lowered.
The child has grown very tall. He no longer needs to be held tightly or have his ears rubbed, nor does he need to have his clothes pulled at him. But he still holds his head high and stands straight and proudly.
Ming Chi stood up straight and said softly, "I am the luckiest man."
He was holding the bunch of keys so tightly that when he curled his fingers he accidentally touched the button on the remote control.
Mingchi was very familiar with the remote control of this car. When he noticed this, he looked up almost reflexively and walked quickly to the railing to look over.
The car that looked exactly the same as in my memory was parked not far away.
Stop where he can reach by running quickly in just a few minutes.
The car received the signal and beeped twice, and the headlights suddenly lit up, illuminating the ground in front.
…
It was probably some kind of childish hallucination that only children could have.
The pendant hidden in his shirt felt hot, and gently touched his chest in a heartbeat, greeting him.
His car flashed its lights twice in the night and smiled at him.
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