Pandora’s Box

Today, Cheng Yichen returned early and was busy cooking in the kitchen. I could smell an herbal scent mixed in with the strong, bitter taste in the living room.

I couldn’t help myself and asked in fear, “Uncle Chen, what are you cooking?”

Was this our dinner?

Cheng Yichen poured out a large bowl of green liquid and said, “Lu Feng has been overheating internally as of recent so I boiled some of these herbal medicine for him. It’s very frustrating.”

“…where did it come from?”

“It’s planted on the balcony,” Cheng Yichen explained, “When we went on a walk, we saw two batches in the bushes and we pulled them out to plant them. When I was young, whenever I suffered internal heat and soreness, whether it was from blisters in the mouth or sore throat, my mother would boil this for me to drink. Although it is very bitter, the effects work very well.”

“…..”

After Lu Feng returned home, he meekly picked up the medicine bowl of evilness and gulped it down as soon as he raised his neck. He was then rewarded with an extra rock candy.

From the side, I was amazed.

This methodology was too medieval, and he was not living like a rich man at all. The strange thing was that both of them were willing to accept this way of life, and were content with it.

Not to mention, based on his daily conversations, Cheng Yichen had never been wealthy throughout his life. With his peaceful personality, he appeared to be a good-natured herbivore with no desires to material goods.

However, Lu Feng was completely different. He was born as a predator on top of the food chain, in which luxury and lust was part of his nature.

I understood very well that it was difficult to transition from extravagance to frugality. The taste of superiority was addictive. Once you indulged in the feeling of being superior to others, it was difficult to be willing to descend into the mortal world.

Yet, Lu Feng lived in an ordinary apartment with an average community, and even had to clean after himself.

How luxurious was his large mansion? I was under the impression that the gap between his house and this apartment was similar to the difference between the plane’s first-class cabin versus the train’s economy class car.

Why on earth would someone give up that standard of lifestyle for this type of place ah?

It didn’t matter if there wasn’t any private swimming pool or private garden. Even regarding the bathroom, one had to stand outside the door from time to time with their arms folded, waiting for the person inside to finish using it first.

As for the one who had to suffer this?

The main victim was usually me. Whenever I realized that Lu Feng was waiting on me, I would be scared and hurried myself up. =__=

Over time, I became really confused.

What was going through wealthy people’s brains that were so unpredictable to us?

Lu Feng went to bed early that night. He was like this frequently, looking extremely tired. Cheng Yichen remained in the living room, turned off the TV’s sound, and concentrated on catching the finale of his favorite TV series in silence.

I came out to eat some fruit and chat with him during the commercial intermissions, “Lu Feng has been going to bed early as of recent.”

Cheng Yichen whispered, “He’s been very exhausted recently.”

“Why was he so tired?” I asked, “He’s not short of money.”

Now that he was content with living a life with an Engel coefficient close to 100%, Lu Feng could now retire on the spot. Not to mention that his current standard of living didn’t cost much, one million a year was more than enough. It was not as if he was planning to live another hundred years.

Even if all the assets under his name were changed to all liquid cash and I extended a helping hand in spending it all, I probably wouldn’t be able to spend it all into my next life.

What on earth was he still struggling for?

Cheng Yichen paused for a moment and said, “It’s not about money.”

“What’s the problem?”

If the money situation had been solved, then what else couldn’t be resolved?

Cheng Yichen said, “When he was young, he was impulsive and offended too many. If he decides to live as an ordinary person, those people will definitely take revenge on him.”

“…..”

“If he wants to wash his hands in a golden basin, others must let him go.” Cheng Yichen stared at the TV screen and softly said, “That’s not easy.”

“…..”

The TV series started up again and Cheng Yichen didn’t talk anymore, but at this very moment, I understood the meaning of “one cannot do as you please and must compromise in this world.”

As long as one became involved, it was hard to be completely clean.

It was not as if he could entirely stop. However, if he wanted to live a stable life without the hatred of the world, he would need to have no weaknesses.

For the first time, I slightly pitied Lu Feng.

There were also things in this world that ordinary people could naturally attain, but he could not even if he longed for them.

It would be the end of year soon.

The reason why I realized this was because the usually crowded T City was suddenly deserted.

Express deliveries ceased, Taobao purchases were suspended, and my favorite restaurants closed their doors. Entering directly into the city center, the flow of people decreased and there was no traffic jam on the road.

This was because many visitors who worked hard in the city would return to their hometowns to prepare for the New Year.

Even Yuan Keke told me, “I bought an airfare at noon on New Year’s Eve! It was only 30% off! My dad said that a relative happened to be picking up someone at the airport that day. If he can take me back, I can get home that night!”

She hadn’t returned to her hometown for a year so her tone was full of joy.

I also had not been back to S City for a year but it was different.

I had no intention of going back to my dad at all. I stayed in T City for the entire winter vacation and my dad didn’t express any objections.

After all, I was not his own child.

The closer the Spring Festival was, the less interesting life seemed to be. A few friends of mine who often gamed with me eventually stopped showing online one after another. When I asked, they said that they were going back to their parents’ house for the holidays and the internet back home was too weak to play games. The live streamer I loved to watch had also notified us of his absence with the title reading, “Went home for the New Years. The broadcast will start on the seventh day of Lunar New Year.”

On Near Year’s Eve, I discovered that there was something wrong with my headphones. I couldn’t distinguish directions clearly when listening to footsteps in the game. Unfortunately, because e-commerce stopped delivering, I could only head out in person to buy a new headset for myself.

There were very few people on the streets. Although the city square was decorated with lights and festivities, it was very clean.

There was only one store opened in the electronics district that I frequented. A clerk reminded me, “We will be closing at four o’clock.”

It made me feel so bored.

Another thing to consider was that it was inconvenient and not bustling out during big holidays. It wasn’t as interesting as usual.

So, what was the point of Chinese New Year?

After selecting a spare of headphones, I ran out the store doors under the watchful eyes of the clerk who was eager to see me off. I went shopping in a nearby supermarket, buying a few packs of snacks habitually. I was preparing them so I could snack throughout the night of playing games.

In the evening, the sky was already dark, streets remained empty with no one passing by, and stores were closed. The lights appeared particularly dim in this silence.

And snow fell from the sky.

The emptiness and solitude of this city echoed along the blowing, cold wind.

I pulled up the hood of my sweater, shrunk my neck, and waited on the side of the road because the number of drivers dropped drastically. I didn’t know when I would get a driver after requesting for one online.

What was the point of Chinese New Year?

When I pushed open the door lifelessly, the excitement and warmth inside the house almost threw me off.

Ke Luo and Zhuo Wenyang already arrived, helping to clean and set up the table. Cheng Yichen called out to me, “Hurry up and wash your hands. We will have a family reunion dinner later.”

I was taken aback for a moment.

Of course I knew what the phrase family reunion dinner meant, but it seemed so foreign to me.

I put down the bag hesitantly and glanced around.

It dawned on me that the New Year atmosphere was already immersed in this household. The Spring Festival decorations were all pasted up in bright red on the windows, the coffee table contained chocolate candies with nuts and candied fruits. These were all part of New Year’s goodies and it looked like they were made by Cheng Yichen.

Was this Chinese New Year?

Cheng Yichen was still delegating, “Wenyang, help me bring that plate over there. Lu Feng, bring out the soup. It’s full so be careful.”

Lu Feng was the best server in this household since he was powerful, stable, and hardworking.

The dishes on the table looked very rich, but in fact, we usually ate very well at home. Cheng Yichen treated us as kindly as possible when it came to meals, but today, there were additional and variety of dishes available. The retractable dining table stretched out to its maximum size and it was fully occupied.

“It looks delicious, right? It’s rare to see such a big, great lobster,” Ke Luo boasted, “I was responsible for killing it. It’s really strong and powerful and I almost couldn’t pierce its shell. It was so hard that my arms ached from chopping it.”

Zhuo Wenyang looked at me and said, “There are king crabs today. The crab roe was cooked with a steamed egg that you’ll like.”

“Tonight’s dishes were ordered by Lu Feng,” Cheng Yichen said with a smile, “It was only delivered in the afternoon and they are all fresh and delicious food.”

Ke Luo fussed, “We’ve been busy for a while and you just get to eat ready-made food when you came back.”

I wanted to argue back with Ke Luo, but the crazy secretion of my saliva prevented me from speaking.

The whole family sat down around the table to eat, the TV was on, and the lively Chinese New Year program became the best, comforting background music.

I didn’t know why, but it may be due to the really fresh and high-quality ingredients. This meal was most festive meal than any other feast I had ever enjoyed. Zhuo Wenyang also helped me break open the plump claws of the king crab. The dense meat of the crab leg was so delicious, I was speechless.

There was shouting and laughter during the feast. Although the program was boring, Ke Luo and I sang together and made complaints about it, making it more exciting.

To be honest, I thought that if I couldn’t find a job or play games in the future, I could talk as a host with Ke Luo.

Cheng Yichen ended up laughing along, and my mood was unprecedentedly clear. Even Lu Feng appeared to be merry — mostly because Cheng Yichen allowed him to open an extra bottle of wine.

After the meal, Cheng Yichen invited us again, “Come, everyone eat a section of sugar cane.”

“Why do we need to eat sugar cane?”

Zhuo Wenyang said, “It’s a custom in my father’s old hometown.”

Cheng Yichen said with a smile, “Every step of the way, you will be rewarded after suffering.”

The whole household sat in rows like pandas, gnawing on bamboo and sugarcane. Then, the outside became lively again — it was almost twelve o’clock.

Ke Luo exclaimed, “Look, fireworks!”

I raised my head and a gorgeous firework bloomed outside the window. One after another, large pieces of bright lights exploded and gracefully made its way down, rendering the night sky with color.

There was actually a designated place to set off fireworks here; it truly was the suburbs. =.=

Yet I had to say, the explosion of gold and silver, images of fiery trees and silver flowers really set the tone of the invigorating year.

I had grown up to this age and for the first time, I felt that Chinese New Year was finally a bit interesting.

Lu Feng and Cheng Yichen also stood side by side in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, looking out together.

Cheng Yichen sighed and whispered, “Lu Feng, it’s been another year.”

Lu Feng also looked back, “It’s been another year.”

The two looked at each other deeply, no longer making a sound, and smiled.

After the excitement was over, Cheng Yichen turned around and said with a smile, “It’s been a long time since I had such a lively New Year.”

He placed his hand on my shoulders and looked at me tenderly, “Thank you, Xiao Jing.”

“…..”