After a year away, I returned to Lanjiang City.
Even the airport here felt familiar.
More familiar still were the people waiting for me at arrivals.
An Ning hadn't changed much, but she looked even more dopey.
Meng Yifan had changed a little. He wore a thick gold chain and looked like he had made a fortune, with a touch more of a nouveau riche air.
I had seen Song Xiaotian not long ago, but he hadn't shaved today. Since his grandfather passed away, he seemed to have matured considerably, too. He was holding a chubby baby boy.
Seventh Master hadn't changed much either. He looked just as he had when I left, but perhaps because he had returned to a peaceful life and spent his time looking after a baby, I kept feeling that he had grown more kindly.
Xiuzhu had changed the most. Compared with when I left, she seemed to have become a supersized version of herself. She was dressed like a good-luck doll, and she could walk now.
A year apart was no short time, yet she recognized me in the crowd at a glance and came tottering toward me.
Afraid she would fall, I hurried over and picked her up.
I carried her over to the others and smiled, filled with emotion. "I'm back."
Seventh Master nodded. "Looks like that year wasn't wasted. You've filled out quite a bit. Never mind how much martial arts you learned, that presence of yours is enough to intimidate people. Haha."
Meng Yifan took my luggage and smiled as well. "You've changed quite a bit in a year. But you picked the wrong time to shave your head. It's a little too short. Anyone who didn't know better would think you'd just finished serving a prison sentence."
I had