Lu Qingyuan’s choice stunned everyone. Even his teachers said it was a pity, unbelievable. For someone pursuing law, with that score, Renmin University of China, China University of Political Science and Law, and Peking University were his for the choosing. Any of those wouldn’t have been a waste, but staying at Nanjing University was truly a shame.
Although Nanjing University was a good school, its law program wasn’t outstanding, and comparatively, it fell short.
In this matter, only Lu Wenyuan was open-minded. He hosted a grand banquet for numerous friends and relatives at the Jinling Hotel, even opening several bottles of Moutai, as joyfully as if his son were getting married. Although Xiao Qingxiang was very angry, she still came and chided Lu Qingyuan, saying that if he had his own ideas, he should have told her earlier, not let her be a muddled mother who couldn’t even see her own son’s heart.
Lu Qingyuan offered no explanation for this. People didn’t know what was in his heart, just as no one knew about the private conversation he’d had with Lu Wenyuan that day.
It was just before the Gaokao, not long after Lu Wenyuan had returned from Wenchuan. In just over half a month apart, Lu Wenyuan had suddenly aged considerably. Lu Qingyuan looked at the deepened crow’s feet at the corners of his father’s eyes and felt his brows held great sorrow, yet also a newfound clarity.
The father and son went out to clear their minds. This season, the metasequoia trees along Xuanwu Lake stood tall. The main avenue was deeply shaded. The water’s surface, pushed by the evening breeze, rippled with countless glimmers, shining like crushed diamonds.
Lu Wenyuan said that when he was providing aid in Sichuan, he heard many stories from the people there, but eventually he couldn’t bear to listen anymore.
Lu Qingyuan quietly listened to his father speak. Such tall buildings, just like that, crashing down without any warning. Amidst the billowing dust that rose, countless families were torn apart. The remains buried in the collapsed rubble were so numerous it was terrifying.
People often say that only by witnessing the impermanence of the world do you learn to cherish those tiny, hidden blessings right before your eyes.
Lu Qingyuan and his father walked along the street. Lu Wenyuan’s hand rested on his shoulder, his palm broad and warmly heavy. “Whatever choice you make, Dad supports you. My child, as long as you can live a life of contentment and follow your heart, that is the best. Nothing else matters.”
Later, they went to Rooster Crow Temple to pray for blessings. Before the Gaokao, the temple was exceptionally crowded with parents, all there to seek a bright future for their children.
The two wandered through the city’s streets and alleys as if sightseeing, walking until they reached their old neighborhood.
The residential complex hadn’t changed much. The old white poplars at the alleyway entrance had been painted with white insect-repelling paint. Sparrows had built several nests in the tree branches. The streetlights still lit up promptly at half past six in the evening. The sizzling sounds of oil hitting water rang out from every household, making the entire small building sway amidst the burning aroma of life’s simple meals.
That day, Lu Qingyuan stood there watching for a very long time.
When he turned back, the sunlight elongated the tree shadows, splitting into light and dark at his feet. Three-year-old Lu Qingyuan wobbled past on his little bicycle, back then unaware that his father had already let go of the back. He pedaled fast ahead, then, losing his balance, took a big tumble and scraped his knee.
The bicycle wheel was still spinning. Lu Qingyuan lay on the ground, dazed for a few seconds, then puckered his lips and called for his father in sniffles. Lu Wenyuan hastily scooped him up, coaxing, “Oh dear, you scraped it badly, that must hurt so much. Come, let Daddy blow on it, and the pain will fly away~”
The coaxing sounds faded.
In the alleyway entrance, eight-year-old Lu Qingyuan walked from afar, holding a cartoon umbrella, silently using the back of his head to protest the new little kid Dad had brought home.
That day’s snow fell on Dad’s shoulders, but not on the children. The dim yellow streetlight elongated their figures. From then on, another ray of light extended into Lu Qingyuan’s life. That light transformed into a young, innocent face. He stared at the sleeping little one, slowly yet stubbornly trying to correct the child’s bad habit of biting the blanket.
Time flowed before his eyes. Lu Qingyuan had once thought turning eighteen was a very distant thing, yet unknowingly he’d reached a fork in the road of life. He lingered here, seeing his younger self, stubbornly and resolutely wanting to collect the newspaper for Dad. But his chubby, lotus-root-like little arms couldn’t even reach the newspaper box. In the end, Lu Wenyuan deliberately knocked the newspaper down, letting him pick it up and hand it to him.
Lu Qingyuan watched the little child walk over with unsteady, tottering steps, a grubby bib still hanging around his neck. Finally, the child stood on tiptoe and handed him the newspaper.
The 18-year-old Lu Qingyuan took the paper, the Gaokao preference form clearly reflected in his eyes.
Outside the window, cicadas chirped incessantly, one call layered upon another. Several tall camphor trees outside the classroom had had branches cut because they were affecting growth, yet this season they were still lush and thriving. Sunlight sifted through the stacked leaves, scattering fragmented light. Lu Qingyuan’s pen tip paused. Ultimately, he re-traced the first horizontal stroke he’d written and changed it to “Nan.”
Finally, on the computer, without any hesitation, he typed out the words: Nanjing University.
Lu Wenyuan had no regrets over Peking University or Nanjing University; in his eyes, choosing either was fine.
The common folk couldn’t clearly differentiate between schools either. They only knew that Nanjing University was the best in Nanjing. When they ran into Lu Wenyuan on their morning strolls, they’d all laugh and say, “You, with such a good son, just wait to enjoy life in your old age!”
Lu Wenyuan wasn’t modest either, replying with immense pride, “Well, I actually have two good sons like this. Our youngest also won the Silver Award in the National Youth Singing Competition, organized by the TV station. You can even see it online.”
The person would promptly burst into loud laughter: “Oh my goodness! Amazing, amazing!”
Lu Qingyuan was ultimately admitted to Nanjing University’s School of Law. It was just a twenty-minute distance from home—very close. All he needed was to apply with the counselor, and he could live at home.
August arrived in full swing. The Beijing Olympic Games kicked off to the tune of “Beijing Welcomes You.” Everywhere you went, you could hear people passionately discussing competition results. Sometimes, when Chen Annan passed by shady tree areas, he could even hear the old men playing chess, their radios broadcasting the announcer’s impassioned cheers.
During this time, five differently colored mascots became ubiquitous store displays. Jingjing, modeled after the panda, became an instant hit across the nation.
Lu Wenyuan took the two kids to the countryside to escape the summer heat. The night sky in Jiangning was much prettier than the city’s—a pure raven black, like a large woven net holding countless stars, reflected in a small pond floating with lotus flowers.
Walking on the stone steps of a small bridge, Chen Annan held out both fists and turned around to ask Brother cheerfully, “The River God says you dropped a gift. Guess which hand it’s in, this one or that one?”
Lu Qingyuan stopped and looked. Chen Annan’s hands were small, so he couldn’t really hide anything well. There was no need to guess; anyone could tell the item was in the hand that was bulging.
Still, his fingertip wavered back and forth between the two hands before he seemingly agonized and chose the other, tightly clenched hand.
“Ha! You guessed wrong!” Chen Annan happily opened both palms at once. “Tada~ It was in the left hand. But since the River God sees that you truly like it, he’s decided to give you this gift anyway!”
With that, he placed a ceramic clay figurine onto Brother’s hand.
Lu Qingyuan stared at the little object for a long time, then asked, “Why are you giving me a little dog?”
Chen Annan’s eyes instantly widened. “It’s a panda! You couldn’t tell? A giant panda! We just went to Hongshan Zoo last week to see them!”
Lu Qingyuan: “…” He really hadn’t recognized it.
This lump of white clay had two tiny black bean eyes squeezed very small, with a nose that didn’t look like a nose and eyes that didn’t look like eyes. The black coloring was messy everywhere, like a dyed dog. Moreover, it required careful identification to barely tell it was supposed to be some kind of animal.
Chen Annan said, dejected, “Is it really that ugly?”
Lu Qingyuan was silent for two seconds. “…Not ugly.”
Chen Annan stared at him. “Your answer was two seconds late. You do think it’s ugly.”
Lu Qingyuan: “…”
“Fine, if you don’t like it, you don’t like it. It’s fine then.” Chen Annan’s tone was utterly pitiful. “Maybe it really is just ugly because I made it.” As he said this, he took the little trinket back from Lu Qingyuan’s hand.
He was truly too sad. So sad that that night, he went into his room and slept alone in his own room.
Downstairs, Lu Wenyuan cut up some watermelon. Lu Qingyuan came over to call him down to eat, but Chen Annan ignored him, hugging his little trinket to himself, saying mournfully, “What should I do, little panda? It’s my fault. I made you so ugly. You won’t blame me, right?”
Lu Qingyuan: “…”
Lu Wenyuan was now completely accustomed to the dynamic between the two of them. After finishing the watermelon and cleaning up, he shuffled off in his slippers to attend to his own business. Before leaving, he didn’t forget to remind them, “If you two finish arguing and go back to your rooms, remember to turn off the hallway light for me.”
That night, the hallway light went off very quickly, because neither of them spoke. After eating, they each went back to their own rooms.
Chen Annan lay on the bamboo mat, tossing and turning restlessly. In the countryside, there were many mosquitoes at night. Even with the mosquito net blocking them, the buzzing sound still reached his ears relentlessly, like they were holding a meeting right beside him. It was maddening.
He pulled the small blanket over his head. As a result, when he woke up the next day, the mosquitoes had bitten several large bumps on the soles of his feet. The more he scratched, the itchier it got—it was practically torture.
Seeing him like this, Lu Wenyuan said “Oh,” and remarked, “These mosquitoes must have a foot fetish, going only for the feet.”
Chen Annan gritted his teeth, thinking: Damn mosquitoes, tonight I’ll definitely light ten coils of mosquito incense to smoke you all to death!
He went back to the chair in his room, took out his little panda to admire it again. Suddenly, someone downstairs started singing. He didn’t know who was singing that song “Beijing Welcomes You.”
The pitch was wandering all the way to Siberia. Out of five lines of lyrics, only three words were on key. It could truly be described as harsh and grating on the ears.
Chen Annan had just pushed open the window when he heard Lu Wenyuan’s reprimand from downstairs: “Lu Qingyuan, it’s early morning—you’re disturbing the peace. Let me tell you, if you sing again, you’re going to live on campus. Don’t shorten my lifespan.”
Lu Qingyuan was about to start singing again when a slipper flew out right after.
Chen Annan leaned on the windowsill, poking his head out, and was amused into a “pfft” laugh by the commotion downstairs. Lu Qingyuan glanced up, frightening Chen Annan into quickly pulling his head back in.
Not long after, Chen Annan heard thumping footsteps coming from the hallway. He immediately sprawled on the bed, collapsing as if playing dead.
The mattress suddenly dipped heavily downward. He heard Brother say, “Done being angry?”
Chen Annan mumbled sullenly, “No.”
Lu Qingyuan didn’t respond to that directly. Instead, he clenched both his hands into fists and extended them in front of Chen Annan, saying, “Got you a gift. Guess which hand?”
Chen Annan blinked his round eyes. He thought Brother was very silly, because the tail of the thing was already sticking out. How could he possibly not guess right? So, he immediately pointed to one hand and said, “This one.”
“Oh, so clever.” Lu Qingyuan opened his palm. Inside was a glob of something mushy, completely unidentifiable as anything at all.
Pointing to a deer and calling it a horse, Lu Qingyuan said, “Made a panda. Looks like one, right?”
Chen Annan was stunned for two seconds. Unable to tolerate something so ugly, he burst out laughing, rolling on the bed. “Hahaha, yours is so ugly, and you still said mine was ugly!”
“Is that so?” Lu Qingyuan said, deadpan. “I think it looks quite alike.”
Chen Annan burst into giggles again and, refusing to concede, took out his own panda for comparison. “Clearly mine looks more like a panda!”
Truthfully, both were ugly. The difference lay only in one being ugly, and the other being uglier.
The two little trinkets were placed side by side. The one in Lu Qingyuan’s hand was bigger, while the one in Chen Annan’s hand was smaller.
Lu Qingyuan argued, feigning unwillingness to accept defeat, “Panda eyes aren’t as small as yours.”
Chen Annan retorted, “Giant pandas’ eyes are naturally small. It’s their eye circles that are big!”
Lu Qingyuan said, “My ears look more like them.”
Chen Annan said, “Your ears look like mouse ears. Nothing alike!”
The two debated for a long while. At the end, somehow, it turned into: “Still itchy? Want me to catch mosquitoes for you tonight?”
“Fine, then I’ll save you half the spot.”
