The airport hall.
A tour group passed by. The guide, wearing a small red hat, shouted next to Zheng Su Nian like she was herding ducks: “Keep up, keep up!”
He stepped aside to let the group pass, and when he turned back, he saw Zhang Qi pulling a suitcase.
At first, Zhang Qi didn’t recognize Zheng Su Nian, his neck stretched long, and he was trying to look cool by wearing a pair of black-rimmed glasses. Zheng Su Nian quietly walked up behind him and jabbed him in the waist.
“Who…” Zhang Qi turned around, swallowing the rest of his sentence. “Su Nian!”
“I spotted you from a distance, playing the part of a returning overseas Chinese. What, couldn’t keep up and got expelled?”
“Bullshit,” Zhang Qi casually tossed the bag he was holding into Zheng Su Nian’s arms. “I’m doing great. Today is my grand return home, triumphantly.”
“If you shout any louder, you’ll sound like you just won a Nobel Prize.”
“Uncultured, are we?” Zhang Qi put his arm around Su Nian’s shoulder. “There’s no math in the Nobel Prize. You artsy types need to improve your cultural literacy.”
Zheng Su Nian laughed and cursed, causing Zhang Qi to sprint toward the parking lot.
Once they were on the highway, Zheng Su Nian asked, “Take you straight home?”
“No, once I’m home, I won’t be able to leave. Let’s go see Si Yuan’s kid first.”
“This Dou Yan Xi must be quite important. You just got back, jet-lagged and exhausted, and the first thing you do is pay respects.”
“I brought him two tubs of imported baby formula. Might as well deliver them directly.”
As Dou Yan Xi grew older, he had become quite the treasure of the household. Yu Dongge and the others, being at the age where they adored children, always smothered him with kisses and hugs whenever they saw him. Zhang Qi, having missed his full-month and first birthday celebrations while abroad, bought two tubs of imported baby formula as a gesture of apology.
Fu Qiao Mu held the child on her lap and had him greet the dusty, far-off uncle.
Dou Yan Xi, however, burst into loud cries, showing no respect.
“He’s shy,” Dou Si Yuan said. “What kind of big man cries like that?”
“What big man? He’s only two,” Qiao Mu gently scolded as she took Dou Yan Xi back to the bedroom. “He’s still little.”
“Two years gone, and I’m already ‘uncle,’” Zhang Qi laughed. “You two got married and had kids. Su Nian, you’re next, aren’t you?”
“What does that have to do with me? I’ve got plenty of time,” Zheng Su Nian shot him an annoyed look.
Now that Dou Si Yuan was a father, his perspective had shifted. He and Zhang Qi had a long discussion about whether to send the child abroad for school when he grew up. Then, from a biochemical standpoint, they analyzed the differences between domestic and imported baby formulas.
From the bedroom, Dou Yan Xi’s excited shouts could be heard. Fu Qiao Mu was busy in the kitchen, so Zheng Su Nian hurried in to check on him.
The child had made a complete mess of the drawer and somehow managed to find some photos. Most of them were pictures documenting the restoration process of porcelain. As Zheng Su Nian absentmindedly tidied them up, he suddenly noticed a portrait hidden among them.
He pulled the photo out.
Outside the window, the snow was pristine white. The snow weighed down the bare branches, and the winter sky over Beijing was so cold and clear that there wasn’t a cloud in sight. Shao Xue stood beside him, covering her head, her face full of nervousness.
It had been two years since Shao Xue left him.
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