Chapter 53 - 43: Treating Guests
"You say whenever you look back at the setting sun’s red glow,"
"Whenever you hear the evening bell toll,"
"Memories of the past come flooding back,"
"Into a heart too quick for sorrow."
...
A faint, almost imperceptible hoarseness and a choked sob began to creep into the song.
"My brother in the bunk above me,"
"Who lives on in my lonely memories,"
"Those questions you once asked me,"
"No one asks them anymore."
"The brother who shared his smokes with me,"
"Who shared his happy past with me,"
"Those questions you once asked me,"
"No one asks them anymore."
...
"No one asks them anymore..."
As the final lyric faded, the song dissipated into the air.
The dorm room fell completely silent.
Only the drone of cicadas outside the window and the gentle hiss of the air conditioner accompanied them through their last night together.
「Saturday. Early morning.」
As dawn broke, the sound of birdsong outside the window roused the slumbering campus.
Chen Lin opened his eyes and glanced at his phone. It wasn’t even 7:30.
He had to catch the 9:45 a.m. high-speed train back to Jiangdu.
The dorm room was quiet, filled only with the steady breathing of Wang Tao, Fatty Zhao, and Li the Monkey.
They were all sound asleep.
His suitcase and backpack, packed the night before, stood silently by the door.
Chen Lin didn’t wake them.
He slipped quietly out of bed, changed as quickly as he could, and took his toiletries to the washroom.
When he returned, he took one last look at the small space he had called home for two years, his gaze lingering on the three familiar, sleeping faces.
Then, he picked up his luggage and walked silently, step by step, to the door.
He turned the doorknob, pulled the door open, and stepped out.
Then, he gently pulled the door shut behind him.
Chen Lin barely slept during the five-hour train ride. He just leaned against the window, watching the scenery flash by as the flat, open northern plains gradually gave way to the fields and low-slung houses of the Jiangnan region.
The high-speed train glided smoothly into Jiangdu South Station, and the familiar arrival announcement echoed through the carriage.
The doors slid open, and a wave of heat, thick with the humidity unique to a southern summer, washed over him.
This was the scent of home.
Chen Lin took a deep breath, grabbed his suitcase, and followed the flow of people out of the station.
He hailed a taxi and gave the driver the name of his residential complex. The driver responded in a local dialect and expertly started the car.
Listening to the long-missed local accent and watching the familiar yet slightly foreign streetscapes pass by, Chen Lin finally felt himself relax completely.
In less than fifteen minutes, the taxi pulled up smoothly to the entrance of the Canal Pavilion complex.
Chen Lin paid the fare, thanked the driver, and pulled his suitcase into the complex.
It was still the same few, slightly dated, six-story residential buildings, and the same elderly men and women chatting and enjoying the cool air in the shade of the trees.
Everything was exactly as he had left it.
He made his way up to the third floor with practiced ease, took out his key, slid it into the lock, and gave it a gentle twist.
CLICK.
The door opened.
"Dad, Mom, I’m home," Chen Lin called out by habit as he changed his shoes.
However, no one answered.
Chen Lin found it a little strange. ’Shouldn’t Mom and Dad be home at this hour?’
He was just about to pull out his phone to call them when the security door clicked behind him.
CLICK. The door opened from the outside.
Chen Lin turned to see his mother, Lin Xiaoqi, and his father, Chen Xian, each struggling to squeeze through the door while carrying two shopping bags stuffed to the brim.
"Oh! Son, you’re back!" The moment Lin Xiaoqi saw him, her eyes lit up, and all traces of fatigue vanished from her face.
Chen Xian, meanwhile, silently shifted the shopping bags to one hand, freed the other, and closed the door behind them.
"Dad, Mom," Chen Lin said with a smile, walking over to them. "Went on a major shopping run?"
"You know it," Lin Xiaoqi said, setting her bags on the floor. She walked over, squeezing Chen Lin’s arm and patting his cheek as she began to chatter, "You silly boy, you didn’t even call to say you were coming. Your father and I thought you wouldn’t be here until four or five this afternoon. We just went to the market to get the freshest long-snouted catfish and ribs to make you a big welcome-home dinner tonight."
Torn between laughter and exasperation, Chen Lin let his mother fuss over him. "I wanted to give you a surprise," he replied.
"Some surprise," Lin Xiaoqi grumbled, shooting him a playful glare, but the smile in her eyes was impossible to hide. "Alright, alright. Look how thin you are. You must not have been eating properly at school. Go on, put your luggage away, wash your face, and get some rest."
"I’ll get it." Chen Xian, who had been quiet until now, walked over. He effortlessly lifted Chen Lin’s large, twenty-four-inch suitcase with one hand and picked up his backpack with the other, heading toward his room.
"Thanks, Dad."
Chen Xian just waved his hand, as calm and steady as always.
Lin Xiaoqi, meanwhile, deftly picked up the four large shopping bags from the floor and bustled toward the kitchen. "I’ll get dinner started. Your dad will help you with your bags. You go and rest."
Watching his parents’ seamless teamwork, a wave of warmth washed over Chen Lin.
He walked into his bedroom. The room wasn’t large, but it was spotless, clearly having been cleaned in advance.
The bedding had been changed, and it smelled of sunshine and fresh laundry.
Chen Xian was crouched on the floor. He had already opened the suitcase and was taking out the neatly folded clothes one by one.
"Dad, I can do it myself," Chen Lin said quickly.
"It’s fine," Chen Xian said, looking up. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, his eyes scanning Chen Lin from head to toe. "You seem to have grown taller this semester," he said suddenly. "Filled out, too."
Chen Lin chuckled to himself.
’Wow, Dad never misses a thing,’ he thought. ’His powers of observation are something else.’
Chen Lin himself had only noticed the changes in the last two weeks. The enhanced "Little Champion" title provided a 200% boost to his physical fitness, and its optimization of his physique was a gradual, imperceptible process. His overall energy and build were now worlds better than before.
"Of course," Chen Lin said, rubbing his nose and playing along with a little white lie. "I didn’t have a part-time job this semester, so I spent all my time at the school gym. The results are pretty clear, huh?"
"Yes, not bad," Chen Xian nodded in approval. He then pulled a few textbooks from the suitcase. "Finals are all over? How do you think you did?"
"They were fine. I’m sure I passed everything," Chen Lin answered vaguely. He didn’t dare mention how hard he’d studied this semester or how good his grades were likely to be; he’d rather wait for the report card to prove it.
Chatting as they worked, the father-son duo made short work of emptying the suitcase.
Chen Xian gathered the dirty clothes into a bag to take to the washing machine. As he stood up, his gaze fell on the backpack Chen Lin had casually tossed on the desk.
Several elegantly packaged coffee boxes peeked out from the side pocket.
"What’s this?" Chen Xian asked casually.
"Oh, a gift from one of my student’s parents," Chen Lin explained. "From that tutoring job I had."
Chen Xian just grunted in acknowledgment and left with the dirty clothes, asking no more questions.
Chen Lin knew that was just his dad’s way. Erudite and highly capable, he was a man of few words whose concern was always hidden in the small details.
He stretched, flopped onto his wonderfully familiar and comfortable bed, and immediately sank into the mattress.
’Got to say,’ he thought, ’it’s great to be home.’
Just as his mind was drifting, Lin Xiaoqi’s powerful voice boomed from the kitchen. "Chen Lin! Get in here and help me snap the green beans!"
"Coming!"
Chen Lin shot up from the bed like a spring and scampered eagerly toward the kitchen.