Simon asked, "Great-Grandfather sings so well, what's the name of this song?"
Lu Xuefeng replied, "People Without Ideals Don't Feel Sad." He smiled, "You should still be able to find this song. They didn't say New Pants was banned back then. You can listen to it after you turn fourteen."
Su Xiangli's voice was urgent, "Is this rock and roll?"
Great-Grandfather turned his head and saw the little girl's face flushed with excitement. There were blazing golden sparks in her eyes. He hadn't seen such an expression in decades. That kind of madness… He had once overlooked tens of thousands of people from the stage, cheering for his music. Now, only this one little girl was shaken by rock and roll. It truly echoed that old saying, "Rock and roll never dies."
"Yes, a part of rock and roll."
"I like rock and roll now," Su Xiangli said.
Simon was startled, "What do you mean?"
"I want to be a rock musician!"
"..." x2
Lu Xuefeng couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you studying ballet? Children should focus on one skill and learn it well, don't get distracted." Simon quickly joined in, "Yeah, yeah, Great-Grandfather is right."
Su Xiangli raised her hands and squinted her eyes happily, "The noodle god said to do what you like and not care about gossip!"
Simon: "How come everything is said by the noodle god? Lu Xun's status is in jeopardy."
Lu Xuefeng: "Indeed, you children are still young and don't understand. Nothing in this world is simple. Learning both ballet and music could lead to achieving nothing, and it would also neglect your studies."
Su Xiangli tilted her head, "But I'm a genius."
The Lu family grandfather and grandson simultaneously slapped their foreheads, looking at each other.
Su Xiangli got angry, "If I say it's possible, then it's possible!" She downloaded a music simulator on her phone and started a guitar beginner's tutorial.
From the station to Great-Grandfather's house, the drive was half an hour. Su Xiangli mastered the basics in thirteen minutes. Before getting out of the car, she could already play'Song of the Nine Rings'.
Hmm, the Song of the Five Rings has also evolved.
Simon was indeed a little shocked. Su Xiangli really had great artistic talent. Dance and music, truly impeccable.
"I believe in geniuses now," Great-Grandfather suddenly laughed, shaking his head. "But ballet and rock and roll are completely different genres. You'll be very tired doing both."
Su Xiangli was indifferent to the old man's lecture. Young people hate listening to advice the most. Simon knew this well, so he almost never talked about life philosophy with anyone. Peers wouldn't like to listen, and elders wouldn't deign to listen to a child's suggestions. Therefore, he always remained silent on such topics.
Lu Xuefeng never discussed these things with Simon, but he couldn't help but want to advise Su Xiangli. In the old man's eyes, she was undoubtedly his future great-granddaughter-in-law.
"You need to study hard, understand? You'll have to pass the social studies exams later, try to aim for higher education. Hobbies can be put aside for a while when it comes to studying."
Seeing Su Xiangli growing increasingly impatient, Simon quickly nudged the nagging old man, "Oh, Great-Grandfather, it's almost noon, we're all hungry. Let's make some food."
Lu Xuefeng snorted, "All you know is eating." He naturally raised his hand and ruffled his great-grandson's hair. His expression was cold, yet there was an indescribable fondness.
Su Xiangli quietly took two steps back. Lu Xuefeng caught a glimpse of this from the corner of his eye and froze for a moment. He withdrew his hand and walked towards the kitchen, like a dark fish slithering into the water. Only then did Simon notice that Great-Grandfather's back was hunched. He tutted, then turned and quietly said to Su Xiangli, "My Great-Grandfather is really old."
Everyone changes. Simon had long been prepared to watch Great-Grandfather grow old. There was only a tiny bit of sadness in his heart, very little, not even as much as the pity he felt when he first saw Lu Xuefeng slaughtering birds with a nail gun.
Some things, once experienced, can make one very cold-blooded. Simon still understood the pain of losing loved ones in his previous life. This scar, like a festering wound, would not fade with the passage of time or the cycle of reincarnation, but would suddenly burst forth at some point in the future, stinging him again.
But once the pain passed, it would be fine. Great-Grandfather was old, and in the future, Great-Grandfather would die. Simon could almost completely understand this process, even imagining Great-Grandfather's corpse, wrapped in layers of burial clothes, in an incinerator or a frozen pulverizer, turning into bone fragments, scattered into the sea or space. In short, there would be no grave left.
By then, he would only live in the memories of his descendants, slowly becoming an inconspicuous figure among the ancestral images, a vague ghost in the hearts of the superstitious, perhaps with three words to commemorate his existence in a prayer shrine or at a Ghost Festival feast.
Death always leaves people with loneliness. Fear is merely the breakdown of confronting loneliness.
Su Xiangli patted Simon, "You're spacing out again."
"Hmm. I was just thinking about whether to learn eternal life... I'm a bit..." Simon was at a loss for words, "A bit, a bit..."
Su Xiangli stood on tiptoes and ruffled his head, "Don't be sad, don't be sad." She grinned, "People Without Ideals Don't Feel Sad."
Simon swatted away her little paw, "Don't say I have no ideals."
"Oh, then what is your ideal?"
[Lu: To be with you always.]
Simon tutted, "When I grow up, I want to play all the games in the world."
Su Xiangli laughed, "A big homebody, that's a rather meaningless ideal."
Simon shamelessly shrugged, "Men are boys until they die, you know."
[Su: Then I'll play with you, for as long as it takes, even a lifetime.]
Su Xiangli: "Hmph, I don't want to be a child, I want to grow up quickly."
"Why?" Simon couldn't help but smile.
"Time passes faster. I want to learn the guitar, then learn more and more. I want to hold a concert, and then invite you and your Great-Grandfather to come see it."
[Su: Just to make up for your Great-Grandfather's regret. He must still love rock and roll, right?]
"One person can't hold a concert."
"Then you have to help me."
"I'll definitely help you."
"How long will you help?" Su Xiangli again pressed her finger to her lips, a familiar teasing gesture that always made Simon's heart skip a beat.
"Whenever you don't want my help anymore, then I won't help, right?" He smiled like a simpleton, his hands flailing helplessly, until Su Xiangli took one in each of hers, gripping them firmly.
"Hey, look into my eyes."
Simon merely evaded, "Nah."
"If you just look into my eyes, I won't tease you anymore, okay?"
Simon looked up, "Then I'm willing to lose."
Su Xiangli threw his hands away, "Hmph, you're so glib now. I'm not talking to you anymore, I'm going to check out the bedroom."
Simon pressed his chest, then slid his hand down to his stomach, "I'm really hungry! Great-Grandfather, what are we eating today!" He ran into the kitchen, laughing.
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