Chapter 38

Chapter 39: Crossing the threshold (Part two)

At the door stood a smiling middle-aged man in his fifties, carrying two large bottles of Wuliangye in gleaming white crystal bottles, quite translucent. Beside him was a middle-aged woman carrying a box of the sort of supplements for middle-aged and elderly people sold in those days under brands like Intelligence Crown.

The middle-aged man at the open door wore dark glasses. When he saw Yin Shuying, he froze for a moment. The woman beside him nudged him in the waist, and only then did he say, "Er, this is Director Zeng's home, isn't it? Oh, you're having dinner? We really haven't picked a good time to visit. Oh dear..."

In fact, it was already past seven. It was just that the meal Su Can's family was having today was particularly lavish, so the preparations had taken rather longer. Yin Shuying looked startled for a moment. "And you are?"

"My surname is Tian. Tian Feng. I work at No. 1 High School. I've come to bring Director Zeng some good news today."

Yin Shuying immediately welcomed Tian Feng and his wife inside. Su Can's elder uncle stepped forward and greeted them warmly.

Tian Feng had only learned about the matter afterward. In the Party newspapers and magazines kept by No. 1 High School's Party branch secretary, he had seen a feature citing Su Can and Zeng Qu anming, and that had brought him out in a sweat. What was more, Xiao Fei had later alluded to the matter: Deputy Mayor Yu had personally spoken about this Su Can. Now, with the director of the Construction Bureau facing dismissal by the higher-ups over his dereliction of duty, those at the top had begun discussing a new bureau director, and Zeng Qu anming had come into view as an exemplary figure.

Tian Feng knew he had let things get out of hand. His son-in-law's current construction project still needed the Construction Bureau's help. If Zeng Qu anming rose to the top, it would all be too late. If he went after Xiao Fei, Tian Feng would certainly be lumped into the same camp, and there would be no escaping it. At his age, he was prone to waking in fright at night. He had tossed and turned without sleeping all night, worrying about this. Finally, half willingly and half reluctantly, he had let his wife drag him out, made some inquiries, and come to Zeng Qu anming's home. He had not expected to find the whole extended family having dinner, which made things rather awkward.

Tian Feng stole a glance at Zeng Qu anming, fretting that he might be displeased, and hastened to speak first. "Oh, we'll only sit for a moment before we go. Director Zeng, I was hotheaded when I spoke last time and caused you a great deal of offense. Please don't take it to heart. I gave it some serious thought afterward and felt I really had gone too far. Please don't hold it against me!"

Zeng Qu anming waved his hand. "Not at all, not at all. The timing today really is unfortunate. Sorry for the trouble of coming all this way over such a little thing. Next time, dinner's on me..."

"No, on me. It absolutely has to be on me!" Tian Feng had not expected Zeng Qu anming to refrain from giving him a cold reception. He relaxed, and the knot of worry in his heart loosened. Then he spotted Su Can, and his eyebrows rose. "Oh, there's some good news today, too. This must be Su Can. A bright young lad. No. 1 High School will certainly do its best to take in such an outstanding student. I've come today on behalf of our school to announce our decision. No. 1 High School has decided to admit Su Can. There's no complicated paperwork to complete. Just come straight to school and register when term starts! You can choose your own class, without going through computerized assignment!"

Seeing how calmly Su Can's family received the news, Tian Feng felt he had done enough. He left the gifts and went out with his wife. Once outside, he thought back to how this boy, Su Can, had actually lent a sudden golden luster to Zeng Qu anming, a man who should have been slowly fading away, and made him begin to shine again. Remembering the scene of the three of them appearing in his office, Tian Feng shook his head and murmured, "Who would have thought... who would have thought..."

In Su Can's memory, his family finished that meal in the crimson light of the setting sun. It was noticeably less boisterous than before. For once, his younger uncle did not trumpet his business successes, nor did he scold Zeng Yuan very much. The scene stood in stark contrast to Su Can's memories of his previous life, when every member of the family had shown him a different unpleasant face.

There was no excessive praise or amazement, either. There was less flattery and excitement, but a little more warmth.

Of the bottles of liquor brought by Tian Feng, the director of academic affairs, one had been opened. The other stood quietly on the table, its edges gilded by the sunset's lingering glow.

After leaving, Su Can's family walked home. Along the way, his mother secretly wiped away a few tears. When Su Can asked what was wrong, Zeng Ke shook her head and said she was simply too happy.

A few days later, "Su Can" appeared in large characters on No. 1 High School's posted admissions list. Naturally, there was no need to add a supplementary admission like his to the list; in many cases, everyone involved simply understood how it worked. Yet the school's attitude was rather amusing, as though it were trying hard to prove that Su Can had been admitted to No. 1 High School. In truth, though, almost no one knew this name, which had caused only a small stir at the provincial level and among higher-ranking Party officials.

Every ripple was like this amid society's tumultuous march forward. For a moment, spray might fly, whirlpools might surge, or something might rear its head and bare its claws. But once the great wheel of time rolled past, everything would be like a praying mantis crushed against a tire, leaving only a faint mark.

Occasionally, however, a few small tributaries would still branch off from the surging river of time.

Under the personal attention of Provincial Party Deputy Secretary Yang Zhengliang, a decision was reached on the flood-control dam breach in Xiahai City North District, which had flooded streets across nearly half the urban area and affected several towns and villages. Those originally responsible for the dam were dealt with. The director of the City Construction Bureau was suspended pending investigation on suspicion of dereliction of duty. Zeng Qu anming, formerly director of the Planning Office of the Xiahai City Construction Bureau, was appointed acting bureau director and would temporarily exercise the director's authority.

His old superior, Yang Zhengliang, had been losing influence within the provincial Party committee. Now he had found his old subordinate Zeng Qu anming again. Bringing a few old hands back into action, he began cultivating a new, rising faction of his own.

The three close friends, Liu Rui, Xue Yiyang, and Su Can, carried on with their lives and their usual antics. When the fancy struck them, they would run up to the rooftop to grill sausages over charcoal, or arrange to visit the first internet cafés opening in the city, where they got their hands on games of that era such as Red Alert and StarCraft and played to their hearts' content.

Wang Weiwei never called Su Can again, but Su Can thought little of it. They were fundamentally two incompatible kinds of people, clearly living in separate worlds. Su Can did not believe that a single clash in a game could make both sides disregard that gulf and distance.

In a game, all real-world identities and status could indeed be cast aside. But a game was a game, and life still had to go on.

Games made no distinction between high and low, but life meant facing differences in wealth and rank. That was a matter of reality. Although many people openly proclaimed and shouted that everyone was equal, anyone who was not a complete fool knew that the world had never been equal.

Having experienced rebirth, Su Can had once believed he could change this world, that he could change everything. But through the events surrounding the flood, he had discovered that there was still much he could not do. Vast areas across the country had still suffered disasters and losses of life and property. Xiahai City had still been hit. The broader tide continued its thunderous advance, its course unchanged by the adjustments his own meager strength could make.

The only difference was that his life and the lives of those around him had already become invisibly bound together, like an aircraft carrier changing course and sailing toward an unknown distance.

And that distant place, called the ends of the earth in ancient times, was now called the New World.