TSMLI Chapter 30

Lin Chu also thought so.

The most magical thing in the world is time. It cannot be stopped or reversed, and its effects are often astonishing. Wrinkles appear on a flawless face, a slender figure becomes bloated, tsunamis and earthquakes destroy footprints, skyscrapers rise from the ground, lovers change their minds and leave, and mischievous children grow into adults. The strange and wonderful world turns innocence into sophistication.

Lin Chu, still holding her rice bowl, listened blankly as her father said, “So Xiangyang is coming back this time. He probably won’t leave again. His parents are getting old, and it’s always good for their son to stay by their side.”

Lin’s mother glanced at Lin Chu without saying a word and said, “Xiangyang used to be such an honest and simple person. I always treated him like a younger brother. If he didn’t call your parents ‘grandpa’ and ‘grandma,’ I would have made him call me ‘sister’!” She picked up a piece of meat and added, “But this time he actually caused such a big fuss as divorce. He’s almost forty and he’s just making a mess of things!”

Lin’s father smiled. “Don’t exaggerate his age. He’s only thirty-six, and looks like he’s in his early thirties. I just saw him on the street at noon, and he really hasn’t changed at all!” He sighed again. “His parents are really worried about him, trying to find him a girl through matchmaking. I’ve seen you helping Daodao with his matchmaking lately. Do you know any women you can introduce to him?”

After thinking for a moment Lin’s mother nodded and said, “Yes, there are quite a few girls in Meizhen’s workplace. But if Xiangyang is a divorcee, no matter how good his conditions are, it’s not certain that anyone will be interested in him. Besides, his conditions aren’t that great!”

“That’s not necessarily true!” Lin’s father said. “His looks speak for themselves. He’s an overseas Chinese, he has a good job abroad, and he already bought a house overseas. The new house that Lao Xiang and his family own now was bought by Xiangyang in one lump sum, costing several million! With those qualities, there’s bound to be someone who would be interested!”

Lin’s mother was about to refute again when Lin Chu could not help but interject, “Dad, is he really divorced?”

Mr. Lin exclaimed, “Ah! It’s true! I haven’t heard the specific reason, but they’re really divorced!”

Lin Chu was stunned for a moment and sighed inexplicably in her heart.

Back in the day Xiangyang and his wife were university classmates. A handsome couple, their love story of a science major and an engineering major was the envy of many. After their marriage they went abroad to work together, both landing jobs at top companies. A few years ago it was rumored that Xiangyang wanted to bring his parents abroad as well, but his parents were elderly and did not speak English, so they did not want the hassle. They only visited him abroad during holidays and traveled around a bit. Xiangyang and his wife were busy with work and only returned home twice: once when Lin Chu was on a graduation trip after her college entrance exams, and once when Lin Chu’s family went to another province for a funeral during her sophomore year of college. They did not see each other on either occasion, but neighbors said the couple was incredibly loving.

If you think about it carefully, seven or eight years have passed. Who would have thought that it would end like this? The magic of time is often cold and ruthless.

On the other end Shen Zhongxun was restless, staring blankly at the computer, occasionally calculating the age difference between Lin Chu and that person.

Lin Chu is twenty-three years old this year, while that person looks to be in his early thirties. The age difference is definitely greater than seven, and he is not Lin Chu’s type. Shen Zhongxun felt a little relieved.

But his gaze involuntarily drifted to the old photograph beside him. Shen Zhongxun shook the historically significant piece of paper, his mind beginning to conjure up the snowy scene of that year and month. Lin Chu had been full of youthful exuberance, and in her most innocent years she had such a person of the opposite sex by her side. No matter how much he thought about it he could not feel happy. He wanted all of Lin Chu, but that “all” absolutely could not include Lin Chu’s beautiful memories of others.

Now he just wanted that person to disappear quickly. He did not want to see him again the next time he opened the door, but that wish was dashed.

The next morning Shen Zhongxun called Lin Chu’s cell phone at exactly ten o’clock to ask what time she would be home. Lin Chu replied softly, “We have guests at home, so I can’t leave. I’ll go home by myself. Don’t wait for me!”

Shen Zhongxun frowned. “Then call me after you’ve finished entertaining your guests, and I’ll take you home so we can have dinner together.”

Lin Chu still refused. “I’ll eat dinner at home. I’m not going to talk to you anymore. My dad’s calling me!”

She hung up the phone hastily. Before Shen Zhongxun could respond he heard the urgent dial tone and felt a deep sense of loss and unease.

Lin Chu put her phone aside and returned to the living room. Her father said, “I’ve been calling you for ages. Who were you talking to? Go cut some fruit!”

Lin Chu responded and hurried to the kitchen to cut the watermelon. When she brought it out she heard her father say, “As soon as your aunt heard you were coming, she rushed off to buy groceries. You just came. Why did you buy so much stuff!”

Four gift boxes lay on the floor beside the sofa, all wrapped in foreign languages. Xiangyang, whom she had not seen for seven years, had lost his youthful, sunny appearance. Behind his conventionally styled metal-framed glasses were calm, unwavering eyes. Xiangyang smiled and replied, “These are all from Canada. They’re not expensive. I just wanted you to try something new!” He looked at Lin Chu, who was wearing a long dress, and beckoned. “Dao Dao, come here! It’s been so many years! You’ve grown so much!”

Lin Chu smiled, walked over and sat down next to her father, looking at Xiangyang sitting on the single sofa. “Big brother, I was this big when you left. I never grew any taller!”

Xiangyang could not help but laugh. “When I left you had a cavity. The dentist said you ate too much sugar. Only six or seven-year-olds get cavities like that. Do you think you’ve grown up yet?”

Lin Chu ground her teeth. The dental model from when she had her filling was still stored in her bedroom drawer, but she could not remember whether the cavity was on the left or right side, or whether it was the third or fourth from the bottom.

She chuckled to herself. “Look, amazing time magic.”

It seemed like Lin’s mother had brought half the market with her. When she reached the fourth floor she shouted for Lin Chu to open the door. The three family members helped her carry the plastic bags, each carrying four or five bags. It was a mystery how Lin’s mother managed to carry them all the way.

Lin’s mother smiled and said, “Our Xiangyang is finally back. He’s eaten too many hamburgers, so this time he must eat some white rice!”

Xiangyang put the plastic bag into the kitchen and said, “Auntie, I should have gone to the market to pick you up. It would have been so hard to carry all this stuff. I ate out when I was abroad, but I rarely ate Western food!”

Lin’s mother looked him over for a while and nodded. “You must not eat Western food very often. I haven’t seen you gain weight. All those foreigners on TV have beer bellies!”

Lin’s mother was quick and efficient. She pulled Lin Chu into the kitchen to help, and in no time she had cooked a table full of dishes. Such treatment was only given during holidays.

During dinner she asked about Xiangyang’s divorce, which earned her a few glares from Lin’s father. Lin’s mother tapped her rice bowl and said, “When I was dating you I would take Xiangyang to your parents’ house all the time. My relationship with him is not ordinary, so stop your nonsense!”

Xiangyang laughed and said, “It’s not something that can’t be talked about. We’ve been married for seven years, and there are too many trivial things. We rarely argue, but when we do it gets out of hand. We had another big fight during the Chinese New Year, and we couldn’t take it anymore, so we got divorced!”

Mr. Lin said regretfully, “You two were such a good couple. I never expected it to turn out like this.”

Xiangyang smiled faintly, glanced at Lin Chu who was hanging her head and not saying a word, glanced at the table, picked up a piece of fried eggplant and put it in her bowl, and said in a low voice, “Your favorite!”

Lin Chu raised her head, suppressed the sadness in her heart, and stuffed the eggplant into her mouth.

Since it was still early after dinner Lin’s father took Lin Chu to visit his grandparents.

She had not been back for three weeks, and the elderly people in her family kept talking about their granddaughter. Last night they called to say they wanted to come and see Lin Chu. Lin’s parents could not let the elderly travel all that way, so they told Lin Chu to come over this afternoon.

Xiangyang got up to say goodbye, then said, “I’m taking Daodao over. I just happened to have two bags of food in the car. I left two bags behind when I went to see my grandparents yesterday, and I was planning to go again today anyway.”

Lin’s mother naturally urged him to stay. “Let Daodao take this to you. We haven’t seen each other for so many years, and we have so much to talk about!”

Xiangyang laughed and said, “No, no. My parents have already told me to ask you to introduce me to someone, but I’m not thinking about that right now. It’s best to leave!”

Lin’s mother was taken aback, then laughed and cried at the same time. “Oh, so you already knew it!”

Lin’s mother escorted Xiangyang downstairs, still saying how much parents suffer and urging Xiangyang to remarry as soon as possible to be considerate of his parents. Xiangyang just smiled and brushed her off, and it took him a long time to get out and sit in the car. Lin Chu also picked her ear and climbed into the passenger seat.

On the way to Lin Chu’s grandparents’ house Xiangyang asked Lin Chu about her situation over the past two years and praised her for her competence, saying that she had managed to get into a state-owned enterprise. “I took the civil service exam three times and the public institution exam twice, and I failed every time. If I had been able to get into a state-owned enterprise back then, things would be different now!”

Lin Chu laughed and said, “You clearly passed the civil service exam the third time, but someone just happened to use connections and squeezed out your ranking!”

Xiangyang shook his head. “So this is what happens when someone who didn’t pass the exam gets pushed down in the rankings by using connections. My grades are nothing special. If I had gotten first place, who would dare to push me down? Nobody could!”

“If you’re going to do something, just aim for first place. Nobody sees second place.” This was the kind of education Xiangyang instilled in Lin Chu from a young age. When she was in the middle school entrance exam she ranked second in her class. While her whole family was happy for her, only Xiangyang poured cold water on her enthusiasm, which forced her to work harder. In the high school entrance exam she ranked first in her class and successfully entered Chuqian Key High School.

Looking back, it was all thanks to Xiangyang’s high standards. Back then Lin Chu’s elementary school had a weak teaching staff. Even being first in the class was not necessarily considered outstanding, let alone second. Lin Chu’s academic ability was not high. She could only rely on sheer perseverance to get into a top high school, which opened up a whole new world for her.

As they approached the apartment building Xiangyang glanced at Lin Chu and said, “My divorce from your sister Xin Xin wasn’t due to any external factors. It’s just that no one can predict or estimate matters of the heart. If feelings fade, they fade. There are also many couples who grow old together. When I see your grandparents I always feel particularly envious.”

Lin Chu nodded. “My grandparents have always been poor, and they’re not exactly wealthy now, but their relationship has always been good.” She tilted her head and smiled. “Be careful. My mom might find you a girl to go on a blind date tomorrow. She’s been really enthusiastic about playing matchmaker lately!”

Xiangyang smiled and shook his head, saying he was not afraid of Lin’s mother’s threats. A moment later they arrived at the bottom of the residential building. The empty parking space from yesterday was already occupied by a car. He found another empty spot and parked there before following Lin Chu into the building.

Reaching the second floor Xiangyang pointed to his front door. “We rented our house to a man. I saw him yesterday. He doesn’t seem like some kind of laborer. He looks quite respectable!”

Lin Chu smiled slightly. Xiangyang was treating the tenants like laborers. She wondered what Shen Zhongxun’s reaction would be if he heard this.

Lin Chu and Xiangyang entered the house, and their grandparents were overjoyed. They each pulled one of them aside to chat and ask questions, and then looked Lin Chu up and down, saying, “You seem to have lost weight again, and your dress doesn’t fit anymore!”

Lin Chu glanced down and said, “No way. This dress is too old. The size is no longer right!”

The four were chatting happily when Lin Chu’s phone suddenly rang. She turned to answer it, and Shen Zhongxun on the other end asked, “Does dinner have to be at home? I’ll be busy again starting Monday, and I won’t have time for a date then!”

Lin Chu could not help but chuckle at his enthusiasm for “dating,” and said with a smile, “I’m at my grandparents’ house. I’ll have dinner here. Don’t wait for me. It’s easy for me to take a bus back to the city after I finish eating!”

Shen Zhongxun asked in surprise, “Didn’t we have guests at home? Why are you here at Grandpa and Grandma’s?” Only then did he hear the background noise on the other end of the phone. Besides the two loud, aged voices, there seemed to be other people, but he could not make out who they were, whether male or female.

Lin Chu replied, “I’m just accompanying guests to my grandparents’ house!” Her grandmother patted her leg, urging her to continue the conversation, but Lin Chu quickly finished her sentence and hung up the phone.

Since Lin Chu was upstairs Shen Zhongxun decided to continue waiting. The thought of stepping on Lin Chu’s feet above his head made him feel warm, even though they were only separated by a wall.

He then moved his work to the living room, occasionally glancing up at the ceiling and then at the wall clock, patiently waiting for Lin Chu to come downstairs.

He heard the noise when the sky was half dark. Footsteps came from the stairs. He quickly put down the documents and went to the door. As soon as he opened the door he saw Lin Chu and Xiangyang stepping down the last step. Lin Chu smiled and said, “You don’t need to take me to the city. I can go back by myself!”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Shen Zhongxun stood at the door with a stern face, his gaze fixed on Xiangyang. The cold air from inside the room seeped out through the door and surged into the narrow stairwell, seemingly carrying other unspeakable chills that fiercely enveloped the two of them.

Shen Zhongxun glanced at Lin Chu, who was wearing a long dress for the second time, and said with a smile, “Dao Dao, is it over? I’ll take you home!”

Xiangyang raised an eyebrow, adjusted his glasses, and looked thoughtfully at the tall man in front of him who had called him “Dao Dao.”