Related to Your Family

Liu Chang'an parted ways with An Nuan and walked slowly toward the bridgehead.

The river breeze was gentle, and the setting sun had completely submerged behind Mount Lu. Only the afterglow remained, scattered across the landscape. Looking up toward the tip of Orange Isle, the most striking statue of the Great Man smiled, his gaze mild as he watched over the city where he had once studied and lived—a city that had endured the ravages of fire and the drenching of blood before being rebuilt.

Among humanity, there are the humble and the great, the ugly and the beautiful... Life spans a mere hundred years, yet generation after generation, they have performed the history of their entire species with breathtaking brilliance.

Humans call it an epic, yet standing from another vantage point, viewing it from beginning to end, it is nothing more than a play.

Su Shi once told a story:

Pour a basin of water onto the ground, and mustard seeds will float upon it; ants will cling to the seeds, lost and knowing not how to save themselves. Soon, the water dries up, and the ants simply walk away. Seeing their kin, they weep and say, "I nearly never saw you again; who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, there would be roads stretching in all directions?"

He viewed the lives and emotions of ordinary humans as no different from the actions of those ants. He wondered if there was still a Great Peng bird, soaring ninety thousand miles high, looking down upon him from the boundless space and time of the world.

Even if they were just ants, they were still worth missing. Liu Chang'an had never felt contempt or disdain for the panic and anxiety of those clinging to mustard seeds.

Ye Sijin was just such a lovable ant. Liu Chang'an realized that ever since he met Qin Yanan, his memories of Ye Sijin had become much clearer in his mind, beginning to surface. Perhaps there were many, many things he needed to see and ponder before his memories could become truly complete.

Yet, there was no need for that. The accumulation of countless years of memories pressed deep within his heart was, in itself, a form of self-protection for his spirit. Otherwise, if memories spanning hundreds or thousands of years were to ripple through his mind at will, he feared he would have gone mad long ago.

Returning to the residential complex, Liu Chang'an went to the base of the perimeter wall to pick some pumpkin vines. This was the only section of the original wall left in the entire complex; vegetables were planted beneath it, and vines crawled along its surface—pumpkin vines, luffa vines, bitter melon vines... Not far away, a grape trellis had been erected, and those who had finished their dinner early were already sitting underneath, enjoying the cool air and chatting.

"Eat your dinner early, Little Liu, and come play Pao Hu Zi..."

"Sure thing. We haven't been able to scrape together two tables for mahjong these past few days."

"At the turn of spring and summer, the internal fire rises, making it easy to fall ill."

After chatting for a while, Liu Chang'an returned home. He gathered the cilantro he had been drying all day, then took a broom to knock down the fallen leaves from the top of his carriage, swept the ground, and finally began to cook.

Today's meal was, of course, the pumpkin vines. He didn't add any meat, stir-frying them simply with chili. Having lived in Xiangnan for many years, Liu Chang'an had grown accustomed to the local palate.

Life is actually a very simple matter. As long as there aren't so many desires, and such a desperate craving for those desires to be satisfied immediately, there wouldn't be so much anxiety and worry... Yet, life is short, and not everyone can wait as slowly as Liu Chang'an, planning things out at a leisurely pace. How to realize and enjoy one's desires within a limited lifespan is the root of why this world is so impatient.

After showering, he changed into a white tank top and black linen shorts, slipped on straw sandals, and carrying a large cattail fan, Liu Chang'an went under the grape trellis to play Pao Hu Zi.

The rules of Pao Hu Zi are similar to mahjong, though it uses paper cards; the winning conditions and doubling are much the same, but it plays faster than mahjong. Liu Chang'an was, naturally, an old hand at it.

Pao Hu Zi requires scorekeeping, with money settled once a hundred points are reached. Liu Chang'an was young and had sharp eyes, so he was naturally in charge of the tally. However, the old men and women also wore glasses, peering over them from time to time to see if Liu Chang'an had written down too much or too little. Occasionally, they would stare blankly ahead through their bifocals, muttering to themselves as they counted on their fingers to verify the total.

"Little Liu, the college entrance exam is coming up soon, right?" Old Man Qian didn't have a runny nose today and was in much better spirits, thanks to having cleaned out the other three players the previous night. He was in high spirits, and as soon as they started, he caught a discard from Liu Chang'an.

"It's coming up," Liu Chang'an smiled. "I'll just take the test at any school."

"That won't do... Once we finish playing today, you need to study hard. No more playing before the exam," Old Man Qian said with concern. If they stopped playing today, the game would fall apart, so he figured he would just let him study starting tomorrow.

They played all night. Tonight, Old Man Qian started strong but ended weak, losing in the end.

"Come back tomorrow!" Old Man Qian grabbed Liu Chang'an's hand, his gaze resentful and clearly unwilling to accept defeat.

"Sure." Liu Chang'an laughed heartily, counting his winnings with great satisfaction.

"You just wait!" Old Man Qian snorted heavily and walked away.

Liu Chang'an contentedly tucked away his eight yuan and folded up the table and chairs to lean them against the wall. These weren't anyone's property; long ago, various families had moved their idle furniture here, and since no one ever took them back, they had become public recreational equipment.

The cards, ballpoint pen, and scorebook were things Liu Chang'an had brought himself. He packed them up and then smiled toward a shadow not far away.

Qin Yanan hadn't expected Liu Chang'an to have already discovered her, so she walked over.

Auntie Xie from the small shop had been waiting for the game to break up. She had intended to turn off the lightbulb hanging from the grape trellis, but seeing this, she quickly pulled back. She fanned herself listlessly with a cattail fan, yawning while occasionally casting glances in their direction.

The light from the large bulb was intense, making shadows stand out with startling clarity. Qin Yanan was tall, and her shadow seemed even more elongated. She wore black culottes with a rose-red ribbon tied at her waist, giving off a light and fiery aura, though her waist seemed so slender that one couldn't help but worry if it could support her heavy bust.

Qin Yanan had finished dinner at her father's residence that evening, accompanied by a little wine and a conversation about her great-grandfather and Liu Chang'an. Her heart was truly filled with confusion and growing frustration.

Liu Chang'an smiled as if that were his greeting, then walked toward his home on his own. Qin Yanan paused, momentarily stunned. She had originally intended to just walk away, but since she was already here, she felt unwilling to leave without saying something or venting her feelings, so she followed him.

The sparse leaves of the phoenix tree, the cold moonlight, and the quiet courtyard reminded Liu Chang'an of a poem:

The waning moon hangs on the sparse phoenix tree, the water clock stops, and all is quiet. Who sees the recluse walking alone, a drifting, lonely swan's shadow?

Startled, I turn my head back, with regrets no one understands. I pick through the cold branches, refusing to roost, lonely on the cold sandbar.

A thousand years later, the poet's situation and state of mind were naturally different from Liu Chang'an's, but certain emotions within it were the same.

Qin Yanan felt that Liu Chang'an's back looked lonely, even reminding her of the first time she heard Tchaikovsky's "Symphony No. 6." Why was that piece, which sounded as calm as water and even had some cheerful little ripples, called "Pathétique"? Only after listening to it more and growing up did she realize that true loneliness is difficult to put into words. It is the composure and calmness that comes after one's heart has been pierced a thousand times over and then recast—like a calm sea surface hiding the turbulent undercurrents of a storm.

What can be seen at a glance is sorrow; what is hidden is pathos. Liu Chang'an turned his head, looking at the face that had become increasingly familiar as his memories revived, and revealed his usual smile.

"I have a very good relationship with both the Qin and Ye families. Especially with your great-grandmother—we were very close," Liu Chang'an said, still smiling as he glanced at the phoenix tree, which was missing many of its leaves, speaking in a way that caught Qin Yanan off guard.

Qin Yanan had talked to her father about Liu Chang'an today, but her father didn't know much more than she did. Her great-grandfather's intention was for Qin Yanan to spend more time with Liu Chang'an, and they would discuss other matters later.

What matters would be discussed later?

When her grandfather passed away, her father was still in swaddling clothes. It could be said that her father was raised by her great-grandfather, and her father had never once disobeyed him. Qin Yanan knew very well that if her great-grandfather wanted to do something, her father would offer absolute support.

Liu Chang'an had a kinship with her great-grandmother's side? But that seemed a bit too distant, and besides, in all the time Qin Yanan could remember, she had never had any impression of or contact with relatives from her great-grandmother's side. Could it be that because they had finally found a trace of the bloodline left behind by her great-grandmother... namely Liu Chang'an, that her great-grandfather had been moved to harbor these thoughts?