Time to Leave

Chug-chug-chug! Chug-chug-chug! A blue domestic light truck pulled up by the corner gate of No. 6 Lechunfang Courtyard. This load consisted entirely of large items. Every piece of furniture was carefully wrapped to prevent knocks and scratches. The corner gate wasn't very wide, and the movers carried each piece with great care, as though the wood itself was radiating the gleam of pure gold. The corner gate led straight to the back courtyard, where Chen Jianjun was already waiting and motioning them inside. "Is this the last batch?" "The last one! I have to say, this courtyard of yours is quite imposing. A new work unit?" "Right, we'll be running an office here." "Well then, your leader must hold a very high rank. Looking at that bed and sofa, none of this is ordinary stuff. He must be at least a vice-minister!" *Hardly vice-ministerial—he's just division-level!* Chen Jianjun grumbled inwardly, keeping the fact that it was private property to himself. He helped carry a large zitan painting table and a luohan bed into the study. The luohan bed's woven cane seat had been severely worn and couldn't support any weight; the furniture factory had patched it with substitute materials, which diminished its value considerably. Chen Qi and Yu Xiuli had been bustling inside the whole time, already arranging smaller decorative pieces, tables, and cabinets. Once everything was brought in, Chen Qi came out carrying a crate of chilled Arctic Ocean soda. "Come, have some soda! Thanks for the hard work, everyone!" "Soda for us too?" "Young Comrade Chen really knows how to treat people!" The workers didn't stand on ceremony. Each grabbed a bottle and chugged it down, emptying them in the blink of an eye. There were quite a few large pieces, and some couldn't be stacked together—the standing screen, for instance, had required its own trip. All in all, they had made four trips. As Chen Qi saw the three workers off, he handed them an extra fifty yuan on top of the agreed one hundred. These were all priceless cultural relics; any scratch or nick would break his heart. The workers left completely satisfied. Chen Qi turned back into the courtyard. His parents were utterly exhausted, but at long last, the furniture was fully set up. Looking around the presentable, well-ordered rear courtyard, Yu Xiuli felt a wave of emotion welling up within her. Her eyes grew moist, and she said, "You've been staying in that guesthouse all this time. Your father and I never said it to your face, but deep down, we always felt you ought to have a steady job. Seeing you finally have a place to settle down sets our minds at ease." "Then why don't you two move in? Stop living in the communal compound." "We're used to it there. We know all the neighbors and couldn't bear to leave. Besides, you have a career to run—what would it look like with us hanging around here?" Chen Jianjun asked, "Once you leave for Hong Kong, should I go straight to Liang Xiaosheng if anything comes up?" "Yes, he's my editor-in-chief." "All right!" Chen Jianjun nodded. His son was starting a magazine, and as parents, they had to offer full support. While he didn't possess any grand capabilities, he had worked in the Xinhua Bookstore system for decades and knew the distributors in various regions. In those days, magazine distribution followed two channels: first, selling copies through bookstores; once a steady readership developed, subscriptions could be handled via the post office. Yu Xiuli fired up the courtyard's kitchen and prepared their very first meal there. After eating and drinking their fill, the three took a stroll around Shichahai, and his parents stayed the night—experiencing what an "ocean-view home" felt like for the first time. Well, Shichahai had "hai" in its name, so it counted as a sea. It is always easy to shift from frugality to luxury; Yu Xiuli had fallen head over heels for the newly renovated courtyard. If not for the fact that her son needed to run a magazine here and that it was a bit far from her workplace, she really would have wanted to move in. After spending the night, they departed reluctantly the following day. Chen Qi stayed behind to keep tidying up. He rearranged items back and forth, obsessively trying to find the perfect spot for each one. After another full day of bustling about, he tried staying there by himself that night, only to wake up terrified in the middle of the night. He felt an eerie chill drafting through the empty rooms, swirling around and making uncanny noises. From the antique relics, calligraphy, and paintings, it seemed as if a goblin or spirit might leap out at any moment to siphon away his yang energy. "No wonder the Forbidden City needed so many people—otherwise, there's no suppressing the energy! If someone encased me in cement and sank me in Shichahai, nobody would ever know!" *** The next day, he scurried right back to Beijing Film Studio. A crowded place felt far more comforting after all. At noon, in the main cafeteria. Beijing Film Studio had a low production quota this year, producing only seven films, which included *Teahouse* and *Rickshaw Boy*—indeed, neither had finished shooting yet. With *Tai Chi 2* carrying Beijing Film Studio's name, it also counted as one of their productions, and the crew had staked out a quarter of the cafeteria's tables with formidable presence. "Can you finish shooting next week?" Chen Qi asked. "Yes, I don't have many scenes to begin with," Gong Xue replied with a smile. "Once I wrap up, I'll move over to *Mama, Love Me Once More*. I specifically asked my mother how to look after children, and I even visited coworkers at the studio who have kids to observe them. When that little actor arrives, I plan to eat and live with him to build our bond and experience what it feels like to be a mother. Director Wang agrees—I need to truly treat him as my son, feeding him, clipping his nails, washing his feet..." "He's lucky he's only five; otherwise, I'd beat him senseless. Even I've never received that kind of treatment from you," Chen Qi remarked. "Some adult you are, bickering with a child." Gong Xue rolled her eyes, then lowered her voice. "I could feed you, clip your nails, and wash your feet too—and I wouldn't even hold being disabled against you." "Hey, your knack for picking arguments with me is really coming along. You..." As they were speaking, two men walked in from outside. After looking around, they headed straight toward their table. Chen Qi glanced up and recognized one of them—the very security operative he had met during his detention. Realizing at once what was going on, he said hurriedly, "Hello, comrades. Do we need to step outside to talk?" "No need." "Ah, please, have a seat!" Both men wore plain clothes and appeared to be in their twenties. Their faces and demeanor were thoroughly unremarkable, yet their physiques were lean and fit, their exposed forearms clearly packed with strength. "Comrade Chen Qi, good to see you again. Allow me to make a formal introduction: my name is Mo Youming, but you can just call me Xiao Mo!" "My name is Geng Jianfeng. You can call me Xiao Geng!" "We are responsible for your security while you are out of the country. We are already briefed on the specifics. Set a time and place, and we'll pick you up and take you to the airport. You won't have to worry about anything else." "Then let's make it next Monday at the guesthouse. Just myself and one administrative staff member from the company—two of us in total." "Understood. We'll see you then!" With that, Xiao Mo stood and left. Gong Xue hadn't spoken the entire time. Blinking softly, she let out a sigh. "Four days left. You're leaving in just four days... How long are you actually going to stay?" "I really can't say for sure. Six months at most, three months at least." "Don't end up waiting until Spring Festival to come back. I'll be heading back to Shanghai for the holidays then." "I won't. It won't take that long!" Gong Xue looked melancholy. Chen Qi cracked a few jokes, but they did little to dispel the heavy gloom of an impending parting. She ate her meal in silence, lost in thought. As she was nearly finished, she seemed to make up her mind and said, "Your house is fully decorated now, right? Why don't we invite everyone over, fire up the stove, and have a meal together?" "Sure, but let's not invite too many people. I don't want them trashing my place." Chen Qi thought for a moment before adding, "We'll invite Old Liang and his partner—he's going to be working there anyway. We'll invite Ji Chunhua, and Li Lianjie too. After all, he counts as part of the company." "So six of us in total?" Gong Xue pondered it and said, "Tomorrow I'll head out early to buy groceries. Old Liang's partner knows how to cook, right? She and I will handle the cooking. You get some wine and meat, and we'll all enjoy a nice feast." "Sounds good. Lately, I've come to feel that more people around is definitely better." Chen Qi picked up his last bite of food and said, "You'll understand once you see it. One person really can't live there—it feels haunted. And even if it isn't haunted, you'd go crazy. The magnetic field is just too overwhelming to keep down alone."