Su Mei and Ye Sijin

The ephemeral mushroom knows not the cycle of day and night, the cicada knows not the Spring and Autumn Annals.

Life may seem short, but compared to a mushroom that lives only a day, it is very, very long. Even compared to a cicada that only experiences one summer, it is very, very long.

Only when Liu Chang'an saw Qin Peng did he feel that he had lived long enough, but most of the time, he had a different way of measuring time.

If we convert billions of years into years, the Big Bang occurred 130 years ago, the earliest stars and galaxies appeared about 120 years ago, the sun and solar system appeared 40 to 50 years ago, the earliest life forms appeared 40 years ago, dinosaurs went extinct about seven or eight months ago, the so-called evolution of Homo sapiens in Africa occurred eight or nine hours ago, the earliest agricultural prosperity occurred 50 minutes ago, the earliest cities with written records appeared half an hour or a minute ago, the modern industrial revolution occurred one minute ago, and World War I occurred about twenty seconds ago. As for all the major world events that followed, they all happened in those last ten seconds.

Liu Chang'an and Qin Peng disappeared in just a few seconds.

However, Qin Peng had already turned white, and not everyone's unit of time measurement was the same as Liu Chang'an's. For ordinary people, changing the unit of time measurement was meaningless.

Liu Chang'an scrutinized Qin Peng. His hair was sparse and silvery-white, neatly combed and lying flat against his scalp, yet age spots could be seen directly through the strands. His skin wasn't too dry and lifeless; beneath it were only thin muscles clinging to his bones. His eyes held a weariness born of countless vicissitudes, but he stood upright, not dominated by the fear of impending death, and still possessed a strong spirit.

Liu Chang'an grasped his thin hand and smiled.

"Over seventy years..." Qin Peng still remembered clearly, slapping Liu Chang'an's arm heavily with his other hand, "You could do that... you could do that, you..."

Liu Chang'an didn't explain anything, but gently stroked Qin Peng's back to help him calm his breathing.

"Come, come."

Qin Peng wiped away his cloudy tears, grabbed Liu Chang'an's hand tightly, and pulled him into the study.

Qin Peng likes camellias. The old camellias in this courtyard are said to have been planted in the early 20th century. They were planted with tangled roots, and it's hard to say whether they were planted later or branched out from old roots. They spread out in patches in the courtyard behind the patio.

Qin Peng's study was located behind the camellia garden. Liu Chang'an noticed a calligraphy scroll on the wall. "The camellia flourishes in the snow, possessing the strength of pine and cypress, and the grace of peach and plum. It remains unchanged through spring, summer, autumn, and winter, almost like a divine being among plants. Moreover, there are countless varieties, ranging from light red to deep red, all are present. The light ones are like powder and rouge, like a beautiful woman's cheeks, like a drunkard's face; the deep ones..."

This is an excerpt from "Leisure Notes". It seems that there weren't so many camellias in the Qin Family's courtyard before, just a few, not enough to form a garden. Ye Sijin did grow some camellias, but neglected to take care of them. It seems that Qin Peng, living here, planted a garden full of camellias as a way to express his longing.

Qin Peng walked slowly but steadily, suggesting that he was in good health for the time being. Otherwise, someone of his age and status would never be allowed to walk alone with someone for an extended period of time.

Upon entering the study, Liu Chang'an was captivated by an oil painting hanging on the wall.

"I painted this twenty-eight years ago," Qin Peng sighed softly.

The creation of an oil painting is certainly different from that of a photograph. In the painting, Qin Peng is already very old, Ye Sijin is dressed in military uniform and is full of vigor, but Ye Chenyu's age is a bit hard to tell. His figure is not depicted as clearly and meticulously as the other two, and he has a somewhat hazy feeling. The contrast between Ye Sijin and Qin Peng gives a sense of the passage of time, while the remaining person seems to be outside of time.

"Many paintings and calligraphy works not only embody a person's spirit and energy, but also represent a once-in-a-lifetime flash of inspiration, a moment of clarity after a sudden enlightenment, when a masterpiece can be created. Like Wang Xizhi's 'Orchid Pavilion Preface,' one cannot recreate it at another time." Liu Chang'an greatly admired it. "This painting is probably similar for you."

"I felt a little lost at the time, and I thought of Sister Jin and you." Qin Peng stood under the oil painting, pointed to himself, and said, "I'm a bit older now."

Liu Chang'an didn't comment further, but just looked at the three people in the oil painting... When humans learned to carve marks on sand, rocks, and wood to paint, Liu Chang'an had painted his own likeness on the rock walls of a cave. However, it seems that it wasn't until the invention of the camera that a truly clear and believable image of him remained in the world. Even so, it was very rare. There might be a little bit in the archives of Xiangtan University, and the identity of Ye Chenyu was only recorded in Qin Peng's place.

"I heard you have a girlfriend, she's eighteen." Qin Peng looked at Liu Chang'an with a half-smile.

Even Liu Chang'an has his awkward moments.

"Yes, the same age as me." Liu Chang'an nodded with his expression remaining unchanged. Awkwardness was just a state of mind and didn't necessarily have to be shown.

Qin Peng threw his head back and burst into laughter.

"Don't do that, you'll kick the bucket soon." Liu Chang'an feigned anger, helping Qin Peng sit down. He was over a hundred years old; excessive joy, anger, and laughter were all harmful to his health, didn't he know that?

"I've seen the girl's photo, and I feel there's a resemblance between her features and Su Mei's when she was a teenager. Is that why?" Qin Peng stopped smiling, but he didn't really think there was a problem. His elder brother was no ordinary person, so naturally he would do extraordinary things.

Liu Chang'an shook his head, not wanting to talk to Qin Peng about An Nuan anymore. "The Su Mei in Taiwan isn't Su Mei, it's Su Xiaocui, did you know that?"

Qin Peng was taken aback, and raised his hand in surprise to signal for tea. Then he realized who he was facing, patted his leg, and tried to stand up, but Liu Chang'an pressed his shoulder and brought over the tea.

Qin Peng accepted the tea with both hands, frowning as if processing the news Liu Chang'an brought. He then took a sip of tea, pursed his lips for a while, and said, "I don't have many worries; I really didn't know about this."

Although the Zhu Family was invited by the Qin Family to invest in the mainland, and Qin Peng also oversaw the Zhu Family's business there, and Qin Peng and Su Xiaocui had frequent phone conversations, both of them were getting old. Whether Qin Peng went to Taiwan or Su Xiaocui came to the mainland, it would be a difficult decision. People of that age are prone to illness and fatigue, and they might die from even a small problem. No one could bear that responsibility, and it might even become a political event, triggering countless conspiracies and public opinion.

"Su Mei might not be dead; she's hiding behind the scenes."

"Sister Mei is still the same as before... Come to think of it, she was the only one who could have made the decision to run off to Taiwan back then. If Su Xiaocui had made the decision on her own, she certainly wouldn't have had that determination." Qin Peng thought for a moment and nodded. "If she hadn't run away back then, thinking about taking care of old feelings, I would have been the one to raid their family's garden myself."

"You went and ransacked someone's garden, and you're still showing consideration for our past relationship?"

"It's an inevitable trend, and no one can escape it. I'll just try to keep an eye on things personally, so at least their family won't suffer too much... But I can't control what happens later." Qin Peng sighed. "You're a hermit who has given away all your wealth and is no longer in this world, while Mei-jie is ultimately a more traditional woman. For a woman, family is always more important than country. After all, she's not a heroine like Jin-jie."

"She put in a lot of effort back then, including raising funds for you; don't forget that."

"Of course, we still define her as a patriotic capitalist. The fact that the Zhu Family now has unimpeded access to the mainland is a reward for what happened back then." Qin Peng smiled. "The third daughter of the Zhu Family's younger generation is also eighteen years old."

Liu Chang'an pretended not to hear him teasing his elder brother.

"If Su Mei were still alive, she would probably be old by now, otherwise she wouldn't be hiding behind the scenes." Qin Peng knew Su Mei's character very well. "She still thinks about you, and doesn't want you to see her growing old... even if she has no idea where you are or whether you'll ever see her."

"It's hard to say."

"That's true, you never know." Qin Peng nodded meaningfully, then looked up at his oil painting.

Liu Chang'an followed his gaze and it fell on the oil painting, then on Ye Sijin's face.

"Back then, Jin and I used our status as husband and wife as a cover to carry out our mission. You didn't know that, did you?"

Cover? Liu Chang'an turned to look at Qin Peng, a flurry of thoughts and speculations flashing through his mind.

I highly recommend the masterpiece "Night Player" by the Kindergarten Boss; it's a very interesting work.