Pandora’s Box

I followed Cheng Yichen to a big supermarket. And I meant it when I said it was really big. As soon as I entered through the door, there was a wide refrigerated area, refrigerated shelves for fresh produce, fresh vegetables, fruits, meats, and seafood. I was dazzled by the abundance.

Cheng Yichen picked out some rosemary and skillfully selected the mutton (sheep meat). He said, “Today, this is on sale, fresh, and cost effective.”

I helped him push the shopping cart around and observed my surroundings curiously.

This was such a strange sight for me. After all, I did not cook at all. As a big glutton, I visited countless restaurants but this was my first time buying vegetables in person.

Shuttling between dazzling arrays of shelves was actually very soothing. There was more freedom here without the overly warm services and greetings from shopping assistants when shopping in the mall.

Cheng Yichen asked, “Do you want Dungeness crab or brown crab?”

“Brown crab!” I said, “There are more yellow ones.”

“Lets buy a couple little blue lobsters. What do you like,” he asked again, “Do you want it steamed in garlic vermicelli noodles, stir-fried, or in salt and pepper?”

I immediately drooled at that, “Garlic vermicelli steamed is the best!”

In this large and empty space, the two of us strolled slowly together and surveyed everything relaxingly. He selected items seriously and I not so much. We occasionally conversed quietly and the feeling of not being disturbed was surprisingly calming.

Cheng Yichen bought a yellow croaker fish, half a chicken, and added some beer into the shopping cart.

“Buying so much?”

He smiled and said, “Yes, Wenyang is coming home for dinner in the evening. I will make his favorite braised yellow croaker, which goes well with rice. I’m buying mushrooms to stew with chicken soup and he also likes that.”

Cheng Yichen was happy.

“Two days in a row,” he mentioned, “It’s a good sign and it’s thanks to you.”

I was taken aback for a moment, “Ah? Me?”

He picked up another box of enoki mushrooms on sale, explaining, “Wenyang is willing to come home because of you.”

I was stunned, confused, flattered, overjoyed, and embarrassed. For a moment, I had trouble suppressing conflicting emotions that were shown blatantly on my face.

“Where ah…,” I stammered, “he came for you.”

Cheng Yichen smiled and shook his head.

I rushed to say, “Really. You are his father. He has such deep respect for you. How could it be for me?”

What was this desire to survive with my tail tucked in, not daring to compete with the parents?

Cheng Yichen said, “Of course he has a good relationship with me, but he hates Lu Feng as much as he loves me. This love and hate cancels each other out, like a pair of balancing forces. So, he has no motivation to return home, but now he has you in the family. There is one more person he wants to see and with an additional reason, he naturally is willing to come.”

I was still lost in thought about it. Cheng Yichen picked up a few ice cream boxes and indicating at them with his hands, asking me, “Do you want ice cream? What flavor do you like?”

Immediately, I responded, “I want vanilla!”

Evening arrived and Zhuo Wenyang came early, bringing two boxes of Qingwang grapes.

On the contrary, Lu Feng had a prior social engagement so he was unable to come back for dinner as usual. Because there was one missing beast occupying the exclusive position of the kitchen helper, Zhuo Wenyang and I helped the chef prepare ingredients in the kitchen.

Cheng Yichen cut the mutton into small pieces and patted it with flour. Zhuo Wenyang was next to him, peeling and dicing potatoes and carrots. As for me, I was washing vegetables and peeling garlic. It was great since I was not causing any trouble.

Watching Cheng Yichen wrapped up rosemary into a spice bag, I asked, “Why did you add rosemary?” That thing smelled strange by itself.

“Because it can neutralize the greasiness of mutton,” Cheng Yichen explained gently, “and it can eliminate gassiness, which is also a good aid for digestion.”

Zhuo Wenyang interjected, “It can also freshen your mind and enhance your memory. People who don’t do well with schoolwork should eat more.”

“= = Really?” It felt like he was making fun of me.

He laughed and said, “It is a quote from Hamlet, ‘There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance. Pray you, love, remember.’”

I casually asked, “So this thing can help me restore my memory?”

They both instantly fell silent.

Confused, I asked, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing,” Cheng Yichen forced a smile and softly whispered, “Perhaps. Wenyang, get me soy sauce.”

After stewing the mutton in the pot, Cheng Yichen began concentrating on the lobsters.

Zhuo Wenyang gave me a bag of edamame, “Take these to the living room first and carefully peel them. I’ll help my father cook these two dishes.”

“Okay.”

I headed out to sit on the couch and watched TV while pealing beans. Occasionally, I would peek at the harmonious backs of both father and son. Zhuo Wenyang skillfully helped his father cook and cracked a joke, making Cheng Yichen laugh.

I now felt happy knowing that I was the positive change, attracting Zhuo Wenyang to come here.

The food was served on the table. There were soft and crispy roasted lamb with potatoes, steamed lobster with garlic vermicelli, fried brown crab with green onion and ginger, braised yellow croaker fish, stewed chicken soup with mushrooms, and stir-fried garlic sprouts.

It was so fragrant that I could care less about my image in front of Zhuo Wenyang. I scooped a spoonful of mutton onto the rice and began to heartily eat.

Zhuo Wenyang already started to eat while Cheng Yichen grabbed a large plate and served a portion of each dish onto it. He explained, “It’s for Lu Feng.”

“Huh? But he most likely already ate before coming back.” Was he a pig?

Cheng Yichen smiled and said, “He still needs to eat home cooked meals to feel comfortable.”

=_= See, I was used to this mushiness.

Towards the end of the meal, Cheng Yichen distributed leftovers on the table among us because Lu Feng, the dish sweeper, was not around. Everyone sat and finished eating it all obediently, not wasteful in one bit.

Because he was at home, everything maintained order.

After packing up, Zhuo Wenyang asked, “Dad, where is the projector’s remote control?”

“Do you want to use the projector?” Cheng Yichen said, “Then I’ll go and put down the curtain.”

“Well,” Zhuo Wenyang opened his laptop he brought and explained, “Xiao Jing wants to know more about the universe so I prepared some information for him.”

“= = ???”

Zhuo Wenyang continued, “I spoke a bit to abstractly last time. I think it wasn’t enough to simply communicate it verbally so I made a PPT.”

“????!!!”

Wasn’t he too serious ah?

Therefore, Cheng Yichen and I sat together in a row, holding ice cream bowls and listening to Mr. Zhuo’s lecture in front of the projection screen.

“Let’s choose what you like to listen to first,” he said, “The planet that humans are most likely to migrate to is also our closest planet to Earth, Mars. Although it’s Mars, it is actually very cold…”

He showed me a huge panorama image of Mars and the high definition stunned me.

“This is a panorama of Glentoridon region of Mars in Gale Crater. Of course, this image was possible because it is composed of more than a thousand high-definition photos.”

“This is a tall mountain in the center of Gale Crater – Mount Sharp with a height of 5.5 kilometers. The tallest mountain on Mars is also the tallest mountain within the solar system, called Olympus Mons with a height of 27,000 meters. If you are unable to grasp this height, just think of it as about three times the height of Mount Everest.”

His voice had the ability to involuntarily draw people in to focus and rid of all distractions. He continued, “Why is there such a massive mountain? Someone speculated that it may be formed by accumulation of magma, and the gravitational force of Mars is particularly small….”

He talked about the Mariner project, Viking 1, Pathfinder, Insight… He presented on the conspiracy of NASA’s photos, immigration plans to Mars, and Jezero Crater. He showed us the “Allen Chaos” in the southern highlands of Mars, craters on the plains of Elysium, and sand dunes covered by seasonal dry ice in the “North Pole” of Mars…

I held the melting ice cream with my mouth open.

He was too good at presenting. It was so concise, eloquent, and clear. Everything about this planet and everything about this universe was completely unnecessary to remember about, but it was naturally held in his mind.

I was intoxicated by his voice, rhythm, quiet confidence, and calmness.

I finally understood what was meant by “smart was now the new sexy.”

At this moment, even if he was short, fat, bald, and ugly, the charm he radiated from inside out was enough to make him shine like a star.

This night, I fell asleep to the aftertaste of the lingering light of the stars.

Before I fell completely asleep, being in the state of half asleep and half awake, I suddenly remembered.

Hey, where was the big bowl of edamame beans I peeled??? Didn’t he cook it at night? Did I peel it for nothing?