Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Zhang Xiaotong and I split up. She went back to find Lu Wei so they could meet him at the station together, while I headed to the pool hall to find Guo Zhen.

When I reached the pool hall, I saw Guo Zhen and Yang Yuanzhe happily playing on a Super Famicom... Wait, a Super Famicom? I rubbed my eyes and checked again. Yes, it was a Super Famicom, complete with a disk drive. They were playing an American game most people called My Neighbors Are All Ghosts. Beside them, someone was playing the computer game Uncharted Waters II. It seemed strange at first, but on second thought, Guo Zhen had probably suggested that the owner expand his business. That made sense.

The owner, who knew me by now, smiled in greeting when he saw me come in. Busy as he was, Guo Zhen turned to see who could have put a smile on the owner's face. He hadn't expected it to be me. He dropped his controller, turned, and pulled me into a hug. "Hey, Jinqiu, Yuanzhe! Look who's back!"

Ge Jinqiu, who had been battling away at Knights of the Round nearby, and Yang Yuanzhe, who had been beside Guo Zhen, each came over and punched me as though they'd planned it. I pretended to cough from the blows. "Guys, guys, go easy... Your little brother here can't stand a stiff breeze..."

"You disappeared right after the exams. Where'd you run off to enjoy yourself?" Yang Yuanzhe looked me up and down. "Haven't seen you in days. What schemes have you been cooking up?"

I made a show of coughing a few more times before saying, "I've been busy. International welfare, world affairs, mice fighting outside my door, aunties arguing at the market-I have to take care of it all... Enjoy myself? Seeing you guys like this makes me jealous from the bottom of my heart, you know?"

Yang Yuanzhe looked thoroughly unconvinced. "Keep bullshitting. Who'd believe that? Come on, why'd you suddenly show up?"

"It's payday at the FBI. Let's go rob them." While spouting nonsense, I made a gesture at Guo Zhen. Nothing else-just a gesture meaning "weigh." A flush spread across his face when he saw it. Anyone who knew him knew that meant he was overwhelmed with excitement.

Guo Zhen steadied his breathing and asked me, "When does he arrive?"

I laughed. "Hey, isn't your comprehension a little too good? I haven't even said anything, and you've already figured it all out?"

Guo Zhen laughed and punched me again. "How could I not? When does he get home?"

I had nothing to say. This guy really did have an IQ approaching 190.

I looked down at my watch. "Four thirty. The train's bound to be late. No need to rush."

Guo Zhen glanced up at the quartz clock overhead. Once he'd confirmed there was still plenty of time, he said, "Wait here for half an hour. I'll go get ready before we leave."

I sat down casually. "Sure. We'll keep playing."

Yang Yuanzhe and Ge Jinqiu were baffled by our exchange, but they knew my temperament well enough. I'd tell them when it was time, so they stopped asking. The three of us rampaged through the game, killing zombies and rescuing civilians, oblivious to the passing time until Guo Zhen returned.

The moment Guo Zhen stepped into the game room, everyone laughed. He had changed into a white jacket of the sort that was especially popular in the mid-nineties. He had clearly showered, and even his hair had been carefully styled. With his thick eyebrows and large eyes, he'd already been handsome. Now he looked every inch the young master of a wealthy family. How many people would have guessed that this was Blackhand Guo, whom even the middle school bosses across the city feared?

The three of us froze at the sight of his outfit, then pointed at him and laughed mercilessly. I laughed hardest of all, nearly crying. I'd seen this man go out in the middle of the night wearing a black trench coat and carrying a shotgun to make trouble for someone. Compared with the good little boy he looked like now, how could I not laugh?

Yang Yuanzhe grabbed Ge Jinqiu, laughing hard enough to shake the earth. "Fuck, are you going on a blind date? Dressed like that... Hahaha..."

Guo Zhen couldn't lose his temper with us. Helplessly, he gave each of us a punch. "Quit fucking showing off. Let's go."

I stopped laughing and nodded. In truth, I was a little touched. His bond with Third Brother was beyond reproach. Plenty of actual fathers and sons I knew probably didn't share feelings this sincere. Reflecting on my own attitude toward my family, I felt a little ashamed.

We said goodbye to the owner and headed straight for the train station. In the car, I asked Guo Zhen, "Excited?"

Guo Zhen had the answer written all over his face. His whole body was trembling.

I patted his shoulder and comforted him. "All right, Third Brother's coming home safe and sound, so don't get too worked up. Seeing how worried you've been will make him happy, sure, but it might not feel good either."

Guo Zhen understood. He took a deep breath, and his body stopped shaking so much.

Yang Yuanzhe understood what I'd said and asked in delighted surprise, "Third Brother's had his operation?"

I nodded. "And he recovered so quickly that he's coming back early."

Ge Jinqiu said from beside us, "Guo's been worried all this time. I didn't expect you to bring him good news as soon as you came back."

I smiled. "I can't really call it good news. Third Brother was in good health himself, and the operation succeeded without any danger."

I knew Guo Zhen was turning his head, not knowing what to say. He wanted to thank me, but felt that words were far too feeble. At a time like this, I could only change the subject myself. Back when a bunch of us friends ate together, whoever paid would always crack a joke or start a conversation to distract everyone so the people being treated wouldn't feel awkward. That was a useful way of getting along with friends, too.

I asked them, "Who suggested putting Super Famicom consoles and computers in the pool hall?"

With that question, Guo Zhen knew what to say. "Me. I had the owner get a few from Sister Lu's Electronics City to see how they'd do."

"Impressive," I said with exaggerated admiration. "You can actually predict the trends of the times. Just watch. Over the next six months, game rooms and computer rooms are bound to spring up faster than pimples on your faces..."

"Quit talking nonsense," Yang Yuanzhe said. "Xiaotong doesn't have a single pimple. How do you know we'll have any in six months?"

"My sister's a natural beauty. How can ordinary mortals like you compare?" I dragged the conversation further off course. "The way you guys love spicy food, I can tell that in a couple of years you'll all look like the landscape of Guilin, with strange peaks jutting up all over your faces."

Yang Yuanzhe played right along and followed my lead. "Speaking of landscapes, I think Uncharted Waters II, which I've been playing these past few days, is really good. That concept is way more awesome than the made-up worlds in older games. Everything's real. You can find it on a world map or in a history book. It uses the whole world's resources for one game without paying a cent in royalties."

Guo Zhen picked up the thread. "The game's just average, really. Relatively open-ended. I still think Koei's Romance of the Three Kingdoms series is more interesting."

Ge Jinqiu said, "In terms of immersion, it's a little better than Three Kingdoms, isn't it? Three Kingdoms is grand strategy, while Uncharted Waters feels a bit like managing a life, like an RPG."

I nodded silently to myself. These guys already counted as half-professional gamers. After all, being able to play games and understand them was the first step toward making them. Where a game's strengths lay, which details were worth learning from, what successful games had in common... Those things required a certain intuition to grasp. These three brothers before me all had unparalleled talent in that regard. Their futures held limitless possibilities.

Uncharted Waters II... Watching the three of them discuss it, I thought back carefully. I seemed to have first encountered the game in 1995 or 1996. It had been 2.73 MB, on two disks. Back then, countless people had played through the night just to catch a glimpse of the legendary Chinese ports. After reloading my save, my living conditions had improved, and I could actually play it ahead of time. It seemed that plenty of things really were changing constantly.

The taxi took us to the train station without a hitch. Zhang Xiaotong and Lu Wei were already waiting there. The two radiant beauties, one older and one younger, stood together like sisters, a delightful sight for the four of us. When they saw us coming, Lu Wei said a few words to someone beside her who might have been a station employee, and we all went straight onto the platform without any trouble.

It was July, and the weather was hot enough to melt a person in the sun. We stood out of the sunlight on the platform, waiting together for the train to pull in. I could still see a little excitement on Guo Zhen's face. Looking at him left me feeling gloomy. When had I ever been this excited about my parents? Had I been too extreme before? Should I correct my attitude?

There wasn't a breath of wind. In the hot air, only sweat slowly seeped out. In the distance, the rails seemed to flow and twist in the heat, gradually blurring in my vision. I remembered dropping out, struggling, triumphs, disappointments, looking again and again without seeing a single person, coming and going all alone, brothers and friends, everything, everything that had come before...

Had I ever looked forward to life like this?

Had I ever looked forward to seeing someone like this?

Whom had I trusted? Whom had I understood? Whom had I cared about?

Had my heart ever been this full of regret?

Could I repent? Could I change? Could I become different?

Was I worthy of trust?

The train pulled into the station with a rush of wind. Its shrill whistle pierced our eardrums, and the wind swept a tear from the corner of my eye.

While no one was looking, I wiped my tears away and went forward with a smile.

If there was a burden, I would bear it myself.

Just as that line in Spider-Man said.

"With great power comes great responsibility."

When chance allowed me to cunningly obtain some power, I would also have to shoulder an equal measure of responsibility. I should have been mentally prepared for that long ago.

Guo Zhen was in much worse shape than I was. Though he smiled as he went forward, he couldn't stop his tears. By contrast, Third Brother looked calm. He simply stroked Guo Zhen's head.

Lu Wei went to greet the young woman who had been looking after Third Brother, leaving the four of us standing there awkwardly, unsure what to say. Third Brother looked at us and smiled. "Guo's made some good friends."

I smiled too. "Welcome back, Third Brother."

Third Brother glanced at Guo Zhen beside him. "I really don't know what to say this time. Let me treat everyone to dinner tonight."

Zhang Xiaotong pinched me, and I hurriedly said, "That might be difficult. Surely we should be the ones throwing your welcome-home dinner today? I'm afraid you won't get to treat us today, Third Brother."

Third Brother said, "Then I'll treat you to a late-night meal."

I said, "Counting Sister Lu, five people here want to treat you. How could you possibly get a turn with just one late-night meal?"

Third Brother casually glanced behind us. "Looks like I really won't get a turn. There certainly are a lot of people wanting to treat me today..."

Something about that sounded wrong. I quickly looked back and discovered that, at some point, dozens of people of all ages had gathered behind us. Some I knew, some I didn't. Every one of them was dressed haphazardly and wore a fierce expression. If these weren't the hoodlums of legend, what were they?