Liu Chang’an drank some water, rinsed his mouth, and cleared his throat. He was about to follow his original plan to visit the second-hand bookstore when he saw Ma Benwei, who was wearing a white cloth on his head, leading five people to stand under the wutong tree. They stood in front of Liu Chang’an.
“Liu, sorry! We didn’t recognize you, and we were too reckless!” The six people bowed in unison, very neatly.
“No need to apologize. You offended my sister, and I taught you a lesson. We’re even,” Liu Chang’an said, being a reasonable person who never held grudges.
That was his sister? Ma Benwei stole a glance at Liu Chang’an. If he didn’t know that Liu Chang’an was a student at Fuxi Middle School, he wouldn’t have been able to guess his age from his worn-out pants and torn jacket. But Ma Benwei already knew that the young woman he had tried to recruit as a web celebrity today was someone important, and now he was just grateful that Liu Chang’an had only beaten them once. If he had really done something to that young woman, the Ma family, with their roots in Junsha, would have been completely uprooted. His father, who had a promising official career, and his brother, who was about to ring the bell at NASDAQ, would have all been ruined because of his recklessness.
He didn’t know that the “sister” Liu Chang’an was talking about was not the one he was thinking of.
“We’ll go self-report and be detained for fifteen days. Here’s a small gift, please accept it.” Ma Benwei handed over an envelope.
“No need,” Liu Chang’an refused, thought for a moment, and asked, “If I don’t accept, won’t you be worried?”
Ma Benwei sneered, “Of course, if you don’t accept, doesn’t that mean you’re not willing to settle the matter?”
“How about this? You send me a small hen every day for a month, and you can consider it settled?” Liu Chang’an smiled and said, “The key is, I’ll tell Qin Yanan that you’ve apologized… As for her, you don’t need to go bother her again.”
After finishing, Liu Chang’an ignored them and walked away, locking the door and fanning himself with a big fan. There were many mosquitoes at night, and although they couldn’t bite through his skin, he was still very attractive to them.
These almost brainless small animals had a keen sense of smell for fresh blood, just like vampires.
As Liu Chang’an walked away, Ma Benwei and the others stood there, looking at each other in dismay. Did they really have to send a small hen every day?
“What does he want so many hens for? Is he going to eat them?”
“Watch your mouth!” Ma Benwei slapped him.
“Ma, do we really not need to go apologize to that girl?”
“That requires my dad’s involvement! I don’t have the qualifications to apologize to her, can I just go to the 1st ward and wait?” Ma Benwei was quite unhappy, feeling that he was really at a disadvantage when facing strong opponents.
“This Liu Chang’an’s family is so powerful, how can he live in such a broken dog house?”
“Maybe he’s a illegitimate child…” Ma Benwei said, and then slapped himself, Why did he always say such stupid things?
Ma Benwei waved his hand, “Let’s go, we’ll go self-report and take our punishment. We can’t livestream for fifteen days… This is going to affect our popularity so much, it feels like we’re going downhill.”
…
…
Liu Chang’an walked slowly, fanning himself with a big fan, towards the familiar bookstore. After his afternoon nap, the small alleys had many people dressed similarly to him. He arrived at the bookstore, which he hadn’t visited for a while, and greeted the boss as usual, “Old Lan, business is good?”
Old Lan adjusted his old glasses, slowly turned his head, and listened carefully. “Young master, no big deal.”
Liu Chang’an walked around the small bookstore, which had a musty smell and was filled with old books and second-hand books that didn’t have any collector’s value, just cheap.
However, cheap was the most important thing for most people. Liu Chang’an flipped through a few books, looked around, and then went to the counter, “Old Lan, have you sold the books that Professor Liu stored here?”
Perhaps because Liu Chang’an had changed his way of addressing him, Old Lan looked up, adjusted his glasses, and examined Liu Chang’an carefully. “Young master, how do you know about Professor Liu?”
“Professor Liu won the first provincial young and middle-aged scientific fund in 1995, was selected as the leader of the cross-century science and technology project in 1996, became a national hundred thousand talent project candidate in 1997, and received a special allowance from the State Council in 1998… It’s not unusual for me to know about such an outstanding talent,” Liu Chang’an asked back.
“What about 1999?” Old Lan raised an eyebrow, looking at Liu Chang’an.
“I’d rather not talk about the ugly past.” Liu Chang’an said matter-of-factly.
“1999, it’s said that Professor Liu got into trouble with his student, and the scandal broke out during the academic corruption crackdown. He was doomed. But before that, he stored some books here, as if entrusting them to me. I always felt that there was something fishy about it,” Old Lan stroked his white beard, “What do you think?”
“You still believe in his character.”
“I believe in my own judgment.”
Liu Chang’an said, “You can sell them all, or you can give them to me. I’m his son.”
Liu Chang’an’s face remained calm and unbothered, one of the few people who could claim to be their own son.
“How can you prove you’re his son?” Old Lan asked, stretching out his hand. “Where’s your household registration?”
“He didn’t say I needed to prove it when I came to find you. I just need to say a poem: ‘Immortals touched my top, received blessings and longevity.’ Then I can take the books,” Liu Chang’an pointed to the bookstore, “If not, I’ll just choose a few books, and you won’t cheat me blindly.”
Old Lan took off his old glasses, smiled, and nodded.
Liu Chang’an also smiled.
Old Lan slowly walked to the back room, pulled out a ladder, and climbed up to retrieve a book box that had been stored for many years. Liu Chang’an helped him carry it down, and Old Lan said, “If you have time, come visit me, and we’ll have a cup of tea.”
“He’s dead,” Liu Chang’an replied.
Old Lan nodded, closed his turbid eyes, and slowly walked back to his original seat, not saying a word. The oblique sunlight cast a warm glow, creating a nostalgic atmosphere.
Actually, Old Lan wasn’t that old, and his wife looked even younger, wearing a white silk dress, with a gentle and elegant aura. She walked out of the back room, saw Liu Chang’an holding the box that had been stored for many years, and looked surprised.
“Professor Liu is dead. This is his son,” Old Lan said, his eyes narrowed.
The old lady’s eyes suddenly welled up, and she let out a long sigh. “It’s been almost twenty years… How could this person be gone?”
As she spoke, the old lady reached out to touch Liu Chang’an’s face, but he dodged it.
“Look, this young master is still shy,” the old lady chuckled.
Old Lan snorted, not paying attention.
“I’ll leave first. See you later,” Liu Chang’an said to Old Lan, “I’ll play chess with you at Baisha Park. My chess skills are not bad.”
Old Lan nodded, waved his hand, and glanced at the dusty wooden box under the counter, where an old chess set had been stored for many years.
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