Chapter 38 Chapter Thirty-Eight

Liu Dongqi's China Eastern Airlines flight arrived at Shanghai Pudong Airport at 5:00 am on August 25th, Beijing time.He dragged two big suitcases out of the airport, called a taxi, and asked the driver to drive to the Oriental Riverside Hotel. Along the way, the driver talked with him enthusiastically while driving, and introduced to him the changes in Shanghai in the past few years, as well as the grand occasion of bidding for the World Expo.The driver asked him how long he had not been to Shanghai, and Liu Dongqi told him that he had been away from Shanghai for more than eight years.He said: "Shanghai has changed too much. If I look for a place by myself, I might get lost."

The driver smiled and said, "That's not it?! But take my car, don't worry." The driver sent Liu Dongqi to Binjiang Hotel. Liu Dongqi opened a room, put away his luggage, took a shower first, and then went to bed.He has not closed his eyes for more than 20 hours. He has a habit. Every time he goes out, no matter on the plane, ship or train, he cannot close his eyes. Therefore, he is most afraid of long-distance travel, which is almost like suffering for him. .As soon as he lay down now, he fell asleep quickly. This sleep lasted until four o'clock in the afternoon. After he got up, he went out for dinner first, then went back to his room and called his home in Qindao, southern Fujian.His daughter Liu Qin answered the call. As soon as she heard Liu Dongqi's voice, she excitedly ran to call her grandparents.Liu's father asked him a few words first, and then handed the microphone to Liu's mother.Liu's mother asked him when he would return to Qindao, and Liu Dongqi said, "I want to stay in Shanghai for three days to learn about the situation of the legal profession here, and then go back."

Liu's mother said, "Ah Qi, have you made up your mind about what Mom told you last time? You are the eldest, and my little grandson is a big girl. You have to take the initiative." Liu Dongqi said: "Let's talk about it after we meet. I don't want to make a hasty decision like this. The last time I talked to Liu Qin's mother was too hasty, which led to this situation. Besides, Liu Qin is willing to I don't want me to find her a stepmother again, so I want to hear what she means." Mother Liu said, "What does she know as a child? After you get married, she won't be with you."

Liu Dongqi said: "I don't think Liu Qin can always be by your side and cause you trouble. After a while, I want to take her to the United States to get familiar with the environment. If it is later, the child will be finalized." At this time, Liu's father heard this and couldn't help but shouted into the microphone: "You brat, how dare you! What stereotype? What's wrong with being a Chinese?! Who do you think you are?!" Mother Liu told Liu Dongqi the name, address, cell phone number, and workplace of her student Xiaosun, and said, "Your mother has been Xiaosun's counselor for four years, and you still don't know her? Don't worry about her. Last time she came to visit me at our house, she liked Liu Qin very much. After graduating from graduate school, she just went to work recently. You must seize the opportunity. If you can talk, you Just come back with her."

Liu Dongqi sighed inwardly, and slowly put down the microphone. At night, the air in the hotel was a bit stuffy, so Liu Dongqi wanted to take a walk outside. He came to the street and called the law firm he used to work at a phone booth. A girl answered the phone. He said the names of several people he was looking for. The girl said she didn't know any of them.She said: "Many lawyers who used to work here are now separated out to do it themselves. But our director has been working here for six years. Do you want to find him?" Liu Dongqi said forget it, he has been away from here for more than eight years.

When he put down the phone heavily, he felt that the eight years, which were so fleeting in his impression, would be so strong and long now.It seems that in a certain sense, the space distance will relatively offset the illusion of time. Obviously, when he wanted to find the world in his memory, he had actually become an outsider in that world.The past can only exist in memory and can never be recreated.Whether he admits it or not. He walked slowly along the Binjiang Avenue, watching the lights on both sides of the river, and the twilight sinking, an indescribable sense of loss spontaneously emerged.

When he revisited the old place, what he felt was not the surprise he expected, but helplessly watching the changing world beyond the thick glass wall, gradually erasing those people and things that once existed in his memory. ,thing.Compared with his memory, the reality is becoming strange and indifferent, completely without the intimacy of his wishful thinking.An empty imagination is a luxury and a narcotic to reinvent yourself. He walked slowly like this, thinking, indifferent to the noisy flow of people and shuttle-like traffic around him.After walking for an unknown amount of time, he felt that his feet were numb, so he wanted to hail a taxi and go back to the hotel.At this moment, a car beside him suddenly stopped with a "crack", and then the glass window of the rear seat fell down, and a woman in the car waved to him with a smile.

Liu Dongqi took a look, and found out what happened to the woman.His heart suddenly became hot, and the haze accumulated in his heart just now was swept away unconsciously. The car was sent by the Far East Insurance Company to He Ru back to the hotel. He Ru said a few words to the driver and got out of the car.The driver drove the car back. Liu Dongqi looked at He Ru, smiled and said, "Are you still busy on Sunday? You look thinner, but more energetic. Shanghai is really a good place to cultivate beautiful women." He Ru said with a smile: "No way, our work has just started, we are under a lot of pressure, and we don't sleep well at night. I always sleep in bed. What a coincidence today, I ran into you here. You know, a few days ago I don't need to call you anymore."

Liu Dongqi said: "I was bored in the hotel, and I wanted to go out to relax. I didn't expect that it would take more than two hours for a stroll." He Ru said with a smile: "I really admire you, in such a crowded crowd, you can actually walk for more than two hours! You feel like a countryman who lost his luggage. No wonder you hiked last time So strong." As soon as the Hiking was mentioned, the two looked at each other unconsciously and smiled.Liu Dongqi said: "What an unforgettable wild poppy! Next spring, we will go to Antelope Valley again!" He Ru smiled and said, "It's a deal!"

The two came to a Sichuan restaurant and asked for a table to sit down.Liu Dongqi looked at the restaurant and said: "The layout and decoration of this restaurant are not worse than the Sichuan restaurant we often go to in LA, and the spicy taste also smells authentic." He Ru asked him, "It's been a long time since you came back, how do you feel?" Liu Dongqi said: "The biggest feeling is that I don't have the intimacy of 'coming back' as I originally imagined, which makes me very disappointed. We are already outsiders to the ever-changing Shanghai. , can only settle in our minds. The world in front of us is just a strange world to us, no matter in appearance or in deep structure. Tell me, how many eight years can a person have in his life?!"

He Ru sighed and said: "I feel the same way. Yesterday I went to my alma mater and found that the past I was looking for was actually woven by myself with empty memories. We originally wanted to go outside for a change. Air, pursuing some brand-new life experiences, but couldn’t help but want to look back, and ended up carrying the burdens that I wanted to unload over the years. The Pacific Ocean is more like a period of time, not just a spatial distance.” Liu Dongqi said: "I think so too. I had the idea of ​​coming back to start a business, but after walking for a few hours today, I felt that it might just be my own wishful thinking. Surrounded by a sea of ​​people, I suddenly had a kind of The indescribable loneliness, and the resulting sense of fear. So when I suddenly saw you just now, you didn’t know how surprised I was! It’s like a lost lamb seeing an old shepherd.” He Ru smiled and said, "Isn't what you said too poetic? It's not bad for coaxing little girls. It's not bad for you to say it the other way around." Liu Dong laughed unconsciously.He Ru recalled what he said, and his face turned red. He Ru asked Liu Dongqi, "Which day did you book the flight ticket back to Lucheng?" Liu Dongqi said: "I want to stay here for two more days, do some shopping, and have some things to do." He Ru jokingly said with a smile: "Your family members are anxiously waiting for you to go back for a reunion. Is there any unresolved old love here?" Liu Dongqi murmured for a while, thinking, anyway, he and that little grandson had never met, and he would not really talk about it after meeting, so he decided to tell He Ru about the meeting with his little grandson. Good to hear her opinion.He said: "It's like this. My mother introduced me to a girl in Shanghai. She was a student of my mother when she was teaching at the Art Academy. My mother praised her so much that she asked me to meet her. But I don't have any hope. I don't know each other very well. If we get together, I'm afraid that I will repeat the same mistakes. So I think I will find a chance to talk to her in the next two days, and explain to her clearly, yes She and my mother have an explanation." Although He Ru was a little surprised when he heard this, he still smiled calmly and said, "When we ate at a Sichuan restaurant last time, I guessed that you would have a blind date in addition to visiting relatives when you return home. Isn't that a good thing? In this kind of thing, women's psychology is always fragile, you must not hurt others." Liu Dongqi laughed and said, "Women see the same thing, so I just wanted to hear your opinion." He Ru thought for a while and said: "First of all, you have to decide for yourself whether you want to find a realistic, humane, and able to manage a family, or a purely emotional, romantic partner. If your mother You can't be wrong, I think this little grandson should be a combination of the two, and it is more suitable for you, so there is no need for you to reject people thousands of miles away before meeting." After hearing this, Liu Dongqi nodded slightly, but felt a little lost in his heart for no reason. He Ru added: "In addition, although it is not sweet to say that twisted melons are not sweet, emotions can still be cultivated. Of course, the premise should be that the other party is a trustworthy person." Liu Dongqi said: "So, do you agree with me getting in touch with her?" He Ru said: "Since there is an opportunity, why do you miss it?! What I said is just for your reference." Liu Dongqi thought to himself, hearing what He Ru said, his emotional orientation is obviously irrelevant to her.He couldn't help feeling uncomfortable.He told He Ru: "I thought your opinion would be the same as mine." He Ru smiled and said: "Don't you want to listen to my opinion? Of course, the final choice is not up to you?!" Liu Dongqi thought about this sentence, and felt that there seemed to be another meaning in He Ru's words.He observed He Ru's expression, but saw that she was looking away from the window.He thought to himself, a woman's mind is really elusive, like a bottomless pit.