Simon lay in the back row. He sat up. Outside the car window, it was dimly lit, probably around five or six in the morning. His father was in the driver's seat and his mother was in the passenger seat, but they were both asleep. The car was currently in autonomous driving mode.
They're so carefree; there's a child in the car.
Next to Simon lay a small cardboard box. He had used it as a pillow earlier, and it was now dented. Simon opened the box, inside was a pair of headphones, Great-Grandfather's precious ones.
So, this visit is over?
Just like all visits to elders, you bring things the elder needs before going, and when you return, the elder will fill your hands with good things.
Simon was very satisfied with these headphones. They could connect wirelessly via Bluetooth or with a cable. He had checked online; some people collected them and listed them on e-commerce platforms for a hefty price.
They say, 'To have an elder in the family is to have a treasure.' Well, his own Great-Grandfather certainly had a lot of 'treasure' to offer.
Simon began to miss Great-Grandfather. In his mind, Great-Grandfather was pretty much a lovable tsundere, who, despite saying he wouldn't take the social credit exam, was probably already reviewing those mock test papers?
On the flat western horizon, the red sun rose high, and the sky vibrated with light.
A new day began.
Today is January 29, 2082, the first day of the Lunar New Year, a Thursday.
So, what exactly was Great-Grandfather doing?
...
Lu Xuefeng placed an old paint bucket, which had once held cement, on the drying ground. He lit some straw with a lighter. This was his autumn reserve, used to light small charcoal stoves for grilling meat. For the past few Spring Festivals, he and Zheng Qilu would go boating and drink wine on the aquaculture lake to the southeast.
This year, he would probably have to spend it alone; You Tou Guai had other important matters.
But it didn't matter.
He fed the test papers Zheng Qilu had given him, one by one, into the bucket. Beautiful orange-red flames licked the white plant fibers into black butterfly wings, which fluttered away. Lu Xuefeng enjoyed this process, one might even say he was exceptionally satisfied.
He didn't stop, and the thick stack of papers quickly dwindled. In the early morning, the firelight illuminated his aged face.
He hummed an old song from his band.
"If people had no past.
"If the world would not forget.
"Living today, just living.
"It wouldn't steal our minds,
"Just like now, what we see is the future,
"Gray clouds, in the wind,
"Drifting little by little.
"Hmm...
"Not all! Not all the storms!
"Will take away sorrow.
"Not all, not all the sadness!
"Can be held back...
"What it can take away is memory.
"We who live can only look to the distance.
"Those who died, are those who never lived,
"In my heart."
Lu Xuefeng slumped to the ground. Old friends, I won't abandon you. Time can take away our music and our personalities, but it cannot take away our memories.
...
As the old saying goes, happy times are always fleeting. It was time to say goodbye again. Simon's winter break flew by. Looking back, besides gaining Great-Grandfather's treasured Beyerdynamic headphones, the only other thing he learned in that month was a good technique for sharpening pencils.
You Tou Guai truly misled people!
He never intended to teach properly!
Simon grumbled and cursed Zheng Qilu, but every night he would send Teacher Zheng an email to say hello and ask about any difficulties he encountered while learning to draw.
You Tou Guai was truly a master of empty words and platitudes; he repeatedly emphasized that if Simon intended to pursue art professionally, he couldn't learn from him, as the unified exams required something different from normal drawing.
Simon then emphasized that he was just learning for fun. You Tou Guai then told him to first master the academic content before coming back to him, this 'wild fox Zen' practitioner.
"So, after all that, you just don't know how to teach, do you?"
"What nonsense are you spouting? How can you slander someone's good name out of thin air!"
"By the way, why did you leave in such a hurry the other day after Great-Grandfather went home?"
"I went to see my girlfriend."
"You have a girlfriend too?"
"┗ - ｀ O ′ - ┛ How can a child talk like that! I'm a ladies' man!"
"→ _ → Uncle, you're not young anymore, please face reality, okay?"
"..."
Email system message: The recipient has chosen to reject your emails.
Simon comfortably put away his phone. School starts tomorrow, time to turn off the lights and sleep.
The next day, at Chun Ya New Kindergarten, the Four Heavenly Kings of Chun Sun Class reunited after thirty-one days and eight hours apart. The scene was truly moving. Little Su Xiangli, full of energy, let out a 'hoo-ha' and wrapped her arms around Simon's neck, trapping him under her armpit. The two children bent over, laughing loudly.
Zhang Yingxuan wasn't wearing a suit today, but loose sportswear, looking red like an old tomato. His hands were in his pockets, looking cool. However, as soon as he approached the two silly friends, Su Xiangli also grabbed him by the neck, greatly diminishing his imposing aura, transforming him from 007 to Ling Lingqi.
Little Qiu Qiongzh, who had gotten a bit tanner, raised her hand.
Simon struggled desperately, gasping for breath, "This classmate... please speak."
"Class is about to start, you know."
"Received!" Su Xiangli let go, and the two little boys immediately retreated a thousand miles. Then the two little girls took off running, chasing them. The other children, seeing this, were also startled and, thinking class was about to begin, all hurried to run. Some even had breakfast in their mouths, eating as they ran, full of momentum.
With a whoosh, the kindergarten was about to become lively again.
Simon was the first to rush into the classroom. Three or five children were already seated, and the teacher hadn't arrived yet, so he could swagger around: no internal spies, act a little arrogant.
The familiar classroom, the familiar peers—Simon felt all the reclusive, cold, and resentful energy accumulated during the winter break dissipate.
When interacting with adults, he was never taken seriously, but with these little rascals, Simon was truly the center of attention.
Life was moving in a good direction. Another semester flew by. The quartet was inseparable, and Zhang Yingxuan finally convinced his father to join their weekend picnic activities. The four children, leading four robots, wandered the endless streets of Jiangzhe City, every step bathed in the bright spring sunshine.
At the end of the semester, there would be a class placement exam, and they had agreed to all enter the preparatory class. The goal was to be classmates for another year; if they went to the regular large class, there would be two classes, and whether they could reunite then would truly depend on fate.
"The preparatory class," Qiu Qiongzh said, cupping her face, "will definitely be full of smart kids. Will we make new friends?"
Simon patted his belly, "That's very possible."
"Friends, strangers, and enemies!" Qiu Qiongzh mimicked a gun, making shooting sounds, "Bang, bang, bang!" "We can't let our guard down for a moment!"
"You should watch less cyber machine love." × 3
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