Liu Chang'an rinsed his mouth after drinking some water, clearing the stale air from his throat. He planned to stick to his original plan and check out the secondhand bookstore, even if he only browsed—or maybe found a few books to take home. But then he saw Ma Benwei, his head wrapped in white gauze, returning to the parasol tree with the five men from that morning. They stopped in front of Liu Chang'an.
"Brother Liu, we're sorry! We failed to recognize Mount Tai and looked down on someone we shouldn't have!"
All six bowed in unison, perfectly synchronized.
"There's no need to apologize. You offended my younger sister, and I beat you up. We're even." Liu Chang'an was a reasonable man. He never pressed his advantage.
That was his younger sister? Ma Benwei stole a glance at Liu Chang'an. If he hadn't known the guy was a student at the Affiliated High School, he wouldn't have been able to guess his age from those oversized shorts and shabby undershirt. But Ma Benwei now knew who the young woman he'd tried to recruit as an internet celebrity was. He could only be grateful that Liu Chang'an had taken them all down with a single blow each. If he'd actually done anything to that young woman, the Ma Family, with its deep roots in Junsha, might have been uprooted. His father, whose promising political career had once seemed assured, and his ambitious older brother, who was on the verge of ringing the bell at Nasdaq, would both have been finished because of his recklessness.
He had no idea that Liu Chang'an's younger sister and the person he had in mind were completely different people.
"We'll turn ourselves in shortly. We'll accept fifteen days in detention. And this is just a small token of my sincerity—please accept it." Ma Benwei didn't believe they were really even. Only an idiot would. At least he had that much sense.
Ma Benwei held out an envelope.
"No need." Liu Chang'an refused, then paused. "If I don't take it, will you feel uneasy?"
Ma Benwei gave an awkward laugh. Of course he would. If Liu Chang'an didn't accept it, wouldn't that mean he wasn't willing to let the matter go?
"How about this? Bring me one young hen every day from now on. A young rooster will do, too. Keep it up for a month." Liu Chang'an smiled. "The main thing is Qin Yanan. I'll tell her you came to apologize... As for the other girl, don't go bothering her."
With that, Liu Chang'an paid them no further attention. He locked the door and left, slowly fanning himself with his large palm-leaf fan. There were plenty of mosquitoes at night. They couldn't pierce his skin, but they did seem to be especially fond of him.
These tiny creatures, almost mindless as they were, had a sense of smell for blood as sharp as a vampire's.
As they watched Liu Chang'an leave, Ma Benwei and the others stood there, exchanging bewildered looks. Was bringing him a young hen every day really all they had to do?
"What does he want so many chickens for? To fuck them?"
"Watch your mouth!" Ma Benwei slapped him.
"Brother Ma, are we really not going after that young girl?"
"That'd take my dad. Who am I to apologize to her? Could I even get an appointment? Or should I go camp outside No. 1 Courtyard?" Ma Benwei was miserable. He'd been a local bully for so long, and it felt awful to have to bow his head to a more powerful outsider.
"How can someone with such powerful relatives be living in this dump?"
"Maybe he's an illegitimate son..." As soon as Ma Benwei said it, he slapped himself. His loose tongue had caused trouble again, and he still hadn't learned his lesson. He waved a hand. "Come on. Let's go turn ourselves in. If we can't livestream for fifteen days... How many followers will we lose? I think we're done for."
Liu Chang'an ambled down the street with his large palm-leaf fan, heading for the familiar bookstore. In the hours after his afternoon nap, plenty of old fellows dressed just like him could be seen in the little streets and alleys. He reached the bookstore, familiar to him but not visited in a while, and greeted the owner as usual. "Old Lan, business is booming."
Boss Lan adjusted his reading glasses and slowly turned his head. The voice sounded young. He took a closer look and spat out, "You young rascal, show some respect."
Liu Chang'an made a round of the little bookstore. Secondhand bookstores rarely smelled of books; instead, they were invariably filled with a stale, musty odor. The three walls were lined with old books of every kind, piled together without any organization. Most had no real collectible value. They were simply cheap.
But for most people, cheap was what mattered. Liu Chang'an flipped through a few books, looked around, then went to the counter. "Boss Lan, have all the books Professor Liu left here been sold?"
Perhaps hearing Liu Chang'an use a different form of address, Boss Lan raised his head again and peered closely at him over his glasses. "Young man, how do you know Professor Liu?"
"Professor Liu received Xiangnan Province's first Young and Middle-Aged Scientists Fund in 1995, was selected as one of Xiangnan Province's cross-century academic leaders in science and technology in 1996, became a national-level candidate for the National Hundred, Thousand and Ten Thousand Talents Project in 1997, and received a special State Council allowance in 1998... Is it really so strange that I know about such an outstanding person?" Liu Chang'an asked in return.
"And what about 1999?" Boss Lan narrowed his eyes as he studied Liu Chang'an.
"If it's not something to be proud of, there's no need to bring it up," Liu Chang'an said matter-of-factly.
"In 1999, they say Professor Liu got a student pregnant. Then the scandal broke just as the country launched a crackdown on academic corruption, and he was in deep trouble. But before all that happened, he'd left some books here with me, almost as if he were arranging his affairs before he died. I've always thought something about it was strange." Boss Lan stroked his grizzled beard. "What do you think?"
"You still believe in his character."
"I trust my own judgment."
"That's all in the past. If you've sold them all, so be it. But if you still have them, give them to me. I'm his son." Liu Chang'an said it without batting an eye. Few people in the world could claim to be their own son.
"How can you prove you're his son?" Boss Lan held out his hand. "Where's your household registration book?"
"He never said I had to prove I was his son when I came to find you. All I had to do was tell you this line of poetry: 'The immortal stroked my crown; I received the gift of longevity at the age when my hair was bound.' Then I had to ask for the books he'd left here." Liu Chang'an pointed around the bookstore. "It's fine. If that doesn't work, I'll just pick out a few books. Just don't overcharge me like you always do."
Boss Lan took off his reading glasses. A hint of a smile appeared at the corners of his mouth, and he gave a quiet chuckle and nod.
Liu Chang'an smiled too.
Boss Lan slowly walked to the back room and brought out a ladder. He refused Liu Chang'an's offer to help, then climbed up step by step, his calves wobbling. He pulled down a woven sheet thick with dust from the side of the bookshelf. After coughing a few times, he brushed the dust from the top of his head, grabbed the handle of a wicker book trunk that had been revealed, and struggled to lift it down. Liu Chang'an took it from him.
"It's been a long time. If you get the chance, bring him by for a cup of tea." Boss Lan climbed down and put the ladder away.
"He died."
Boss Lan nodded, closed his clouded eyes for a moment, then slowly returned to his seat without a word. The slanting sun streamed in, just the kind of scene documentary photographers loved. He looked so old that it seemed one could see life draining away.
But Boss Lan wasn't really that old. His wife looked younger. Wearing a white gauzy dress, she still had the charm of a woman past her prime. She came out from the back room and, seeing Liu Chang'an holding the trunk the deceased man had left there for years and forbidden anyone to touch, looked surprised.
"Professor Liu died. This is his son," Boss Lan said, narrowing his eyes.
The shopkeeper's wife instantly scrunched up her face, putting on a sorrowful expression. She sighed deeply. "Nearly twenty years have passed in a flash. How could he just be gone..."
As she spoke, she reached out to touch Liu Chang'an's face. He quickly dodged.
"Look at that... The young man is shy." The shopkeeper's wife gave an awkward laugh.
Boss Lan snorted and ignored her.
"I'll be going now. See you again," Liu Chang'an said to Boss Lan. "You should come play chess at Baisha Park sometime. I'm pretty good."
Boss Lan nodded and waved him off. He glanced beneath the counter at a dark, grimy wooden box. Inside was a chess set that hadn't been taken out in many years.
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