Pandora’s Box

I’ll distinguish characters by spelling them slightly differently.
Cheng Yi Chen = (space) Uncle Chen’s brother and Lin Jing’s father’s friend
Cheng Yichen = (no spaces) Uncle Chen

I discovered a magical phenomenon here. That was, my time seemed to have stretched ever since I started living here.

In the past, I gamed daily, alternated through various apps, observed Los Angeles at four o’clock in the morning, slept until twelve o’clock noon, woke back up to eat, continued sleeping right after, woke back up again to eat, gamed some more, and my day continuously passed by.

Two years then flew by with a snap of my fingers.

Now, I also gamed and started a live streaming platform. Sometimes, I listened to Zhuo Wenyang’s storytelling, played basketball with Ke Luo, and visited Cheng Yichen’s bookstore. There were a lot of fun activities and I enjoyed them all.

Unexpectedly, I was acting properly and not skipping classes. With the support of Zhuo Wenyang and Yuan Keke, two top honor students, I was able to finish my homework with some assignments half-written and half-copied, barely surviving the semester.

It was the same 24 hours, so how was there such a big difference in what one could do in a day?

Sometimes in life, it seemed that if one’s direction was slightly deviated, the path would be completely different.

Entering finals week, I gritted my teeth painfully and joyously. As long as I survived the darkest days, I could endure welcoming dawn for two months.

One day, my dad suddenly called to ask me about my summer vacation plans and asked if he needed to pick me up in person. I was surprised at that and reactively expressed that I didn’t want to go back to his place. It was fine to stay for a short period but not for a longer time. He was taken aback by that.

Not discounting his reaction, even I did not expect to be happy here. After all, I was so gloomy at the beginning, acting as if I was sent to be exiled.

Within half a year, I felt like a fish in water here and abandoned my father as a result. Of course, it wasn’t as if I didn’t want to see my dad at all. This was especially so since he was my only relative with blood relations and remained in contact. However, I did not want to be with him and his “friend.”

It was fine if there were many people, and I could tolerate it if the time was short. However, the three of us would have to spend two months together, day and night. Thinking about this scene embarrassed me, imagining that I would pick out one of the three rooms and living room with my toes circling on the floor.

My dad didn’t criticize me, let alone would he say “Dad doesn’t want you anymore” to me, an unfilial son.

Yet, to my horror, he personally brought his “friend” to T City to visit me.

This was unprecedented. In the past, he wouldn’t see me for a whole semester, and would rather not for a whole school year. He was tired of my behavior, walking around him like a baby animal seeking for warmth. Even as a child, I could clearly recognize the relief in his eyes as he walked me out of the door.

Now that I was clearly an adult in my twenties, my wings were hardened and my mind was sound. I could take care of myself despite of lacking money. He could let go of me from now on, but he was willing to come to me out of his own initiative.

Did he reached the stage where the empty nesters began seeking their children’s warmth?

40 years old was not too old.

This time, all four rooms at home were occupied and there was no free space for them. Thus, they reserved a room at a five-star hotel nearby that was less than a kilometer away. They came here to eat and chat before heading back to their hotel to rest.

My father came to visit me and Cheng Yichen was able to see his brother in the meantime, killing two birds with one stone.

I didn’t know why, apart from respecting my brothers and friends, he also cared about me. When the day came, he even brought me a gift.

“Xiao Jing.” He handed me a big box, observing my face as he said, “I heard that you like to play games. This external keyboard should be more convenient.”

I was stupefied. I took a look and yo, this mechanical keyboard was pretty cool. It was a good gift. Seeing my dad glancing around at me, I thought it probably was him that picked it out, acting like he borrowed flowers to offer to Buddha.

If it was two or three years ago, there was a great chance that I would ignore them or completely sneer at him. After all, my parents were old yin and yang masters, and I knew the truth.

Now I was less hostile, and more civilized and polite. Therefore, I politely said, “Thank you.”

He seemed relieved and smiled, “You’re welcome.”

My dad rushed out without losing this opportunity and said, “Let’s go out to eat, stroll around, and buy you some seasonal clothes.”

“?”

Zhuo Wenyang was not here and Cheng Yichen had left to the bookstore. I was studying linear algebra intensely these days and recently finished the exam, so I needed to relax. Thinking about it, there was nothing else to do. Heading out for a walk wouldn’t be worse than staring at the two of them at home. So, I agreed, “Okay.”

We drove to a famous department mall.

We headed in and walked around, and we were greeted by Hermes, Cartier, Chanel, Bvlgari, Fendi, Versace… the smell of wealth lingered in the air.

Seriously, I felt that I had not been here to laviciously spend for a long time. It felt like another world = =

Thinking about it, half a year ago, I was very keen on luxury and fashion brands. When I saw a new model, I would desire to purchase it because I was afraid of not catching up with current trends and would end up less fashionable than others. I did not wear clothes and shoes that was worth less than four figures. Otherwise, I felt inferior to other people.

However, a while ago, my basketball shoes gave out. Based on Yuan Keke’s recommendation, I went to a store and bought a pair of common brand shoes that were worth several hundred yuan.

It was over. My concept of spending limits had seriously downgraded.

Cheng Yi Chen asked me, “Is there any brand you particularly like?”

“Anything will do.”

“Then let’s go for a walk.”

Maybe because I was wearing an old Gucci T-shirt, he led me into a Gucci store first. I glanced around and stopped to look at an item. Cheng Yi Chen immediately asked the sales associate to pick it up and gestured the item towards me.

“It seems to be quite nice,” he said courteously, “Would you like to try it on?”

I glanced at it casually, “…..”

My dad also encouraged me, “Go and try it; it looks good.”

I went to the fitting room and changed into this top.

Cheng Yi Chen smiled and complimented, “It’s very good-looking. It suits you very well.”

Really? These t-shirts looked relatively the same. Compared with what I had on, the only difference being was the logo on the chest. In the end, they still purchased it for me without any reason. They also bought both black and white with a pair of cotton shorts to match.

More than 10,000 yuan was gone. Wouldn’t it be nicer to buy games on stream with this money?

Then they bought me a backpack and pair of shoes.

“…you don’t need to buy so many things from the G family.”

Cheng Yi Chen seemed to come to his senses and stated, “Oh, yes. Otherwise, the style will be too monotonous. Then let’s go to the next one and see to buy more different ones.”

“…..”

They dragged me to a Tom Ford again, and were hyped up by the marketing ploy; they forced me to choose a shirt and pants.

To be honest, I seldom wore button-ups because buttoning them up was too troublesome. I preferred something like a pullover t-shirt, sweater, or something with a zipper. It was more convenient to wear.

Conservative and formal button-up shirts should be worn by people like Zhuo Wenyang.

I was in a dilemma. Yet, Cheng Yi Chen looked forward to it. My dad was like a dog following his master, repeatedly praising, “Give it a try. You’ve grown up and you can’t always dress so sporty. These shirts are nice, and James Bond wore them too.”

Come on. 007 was too old for me = =

However, it should be mentioned that my rebellious nature had greatly reduced during my period of residing in T City.

Combined with my dad’s eager eyes and Cheng Yichen’s young brother carrying my clothes, I was not intending to strain the atmosphere. Therefore, I reluctantly changed into the shirt and trousers.

Honestly, the tailoring and fabric was sophisticated. Although it was annoying buttoning up all the buttons, the well-fitting shirt gave me a refreshing look compared to the large and comfortable t-shirts.

However, I always felt that I couldn’t project that type of mature and composed image. I really didn’t have self-confidence and felt that I could not compare as a low-budget copycat version of Zhuo Wenyang.

I awkwardly came out and Cheng Yi Chen looked at me with wide eyes. There seemed to be light sparkling in his eyes.

“Ah, our little one is now a big kid.”

My dad agreed, “Yes.”

“He’s grown so tall, he’s grown up.”

“Yes!”

Was my dad the reincarnation of the respondent? = =

With an expression of relief and happiness blatantly on Cheng Yi Chen’s face, he continued on his task of choosing clothes for me. “This one should look good on you, and so does this one.”

I pondered. What was the matter? Were they playing a live-action version of dress-up doll with me? But the feeling of acting as a dress-up doll wasn’t too bad. They helped me choose carefully regardless of the price.

From childhood to adulthood, no one ever accompanied me to purchase clothes. Lee and I had a relationship, and his greatest kindness was giving me his credit card so I could head to the store and swipe it.

During this crazy shopping experience, my dad would simply nod his head indiscriminately while Cheng Yi Chen continued praising me.

While my appearance was made certain of, it felt different. He sincerely complimented me without any other intention. His eyes were always on me, delighted, happy, and satisfied.

It felt foreign and a little strange.

But not annoying.

Seeing that they could not stop spending like a shopaholic, who’d save enough money for many years to spend it all in one go, I quickly stopped them with, “I’m hungry.”

Cheng Yi Chen stopped as if woken up from a dream, saying, “Yes, it’s already time. Let’s eat first. What do we want to eat?”

I casually said, “Thai food.”

There was no reason. They “swiped their card” one by one at every store, making it difficult not to think of anything other than Thai food.

They chose a rather unique restaurant, a two-story building with an open-air garden.

There were golden Buddha and dance statues inside. It had a strong Siamese style. The decoration was full of Thai classic red and olive green, with bamboo curtains and wooden screens. It felt zen and cool.

We finally sat down to order dishes. Sporadically, my dad sprung up and claimed that he needed to use the restroom, leaving me alone with Cheng Yi Chen.

He looked at me, seeming a little baffled, and so I looked right back at him too.