Chapter 6


    “Luo Gang, I’m only going to say this once. I, Chu Feng, have only one home and that’s Jiangling. I


    want nothing to do with the Chu family in the capital or that high-and-mighty Lord Chu. Am I


    understood?” Chu Feng said this with an extremely calm tone and expression, but it still gave off the


    oppressive feeling of a tall mountain that made people feel breathless.


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    “Y-Yes, sir.” Luo Gang was already covered in cold sweat, still feeling heart palpitations out of fear.


    Chu Feng simply nodded and closed his eyes before leaning back in his seat. “Start driving. Wake


    me when we’re there.”


    Dongyang Town, Plum Blossom Vige was where Chu Feng’s adoptive father, Zhou and his family


    lived, a ce Chu Feng already knew by heart.


    He knew it so well that he would return to it countless times in his dreams, to this cosy little home in


    the ten long years he’d fought as a soldier. Everything was different now, after ten years. There


    were many familiar faces who had aged, and new ones that felt very unfamiliar.


    The paddy fields he remembered were now reced with factories and bungalows, giving off the


    impression of modernity but at the expense of that feeling from his childhood. He remembered how


    he loved kite-flying in the paddy fields and catching crickets, stealing melons and catching fish in


    the summer, bird-hunting and snow-watching in the winters. Every time when spring came, the


    whole ce would be full of apricot blossoms, turning the whole scene into a sea of flowers that


    looked incredibly beautiful.


    Around this time every year, the alcoholic Zhou Lie would give him a rge sum of money’ to get a


    gallon of home-brewed plum blossom wine. With the change as payment for his errand-running, he


    and Zhou Ying would use that money to get candy, spicytiaos (spicy bars, a kind of Chinese


    snack), hair ties, slingshots… Such was the beauty of childhood.


    “After ten years, I’ve finally returned.” Chu Fengposed himself andughed.


    At an intersection near Zhou Lie’s house, Chu Feng got out of the car and Luo Gang tactfully drove


    off, not wanting to interrupt Chu Feng’s family reunion. After an intermittent half-hour walk, Chu


    Feng was finally at the Zhou family’s doorstep. At the moment, the doors were wide open and


    guests were passing here and there in the front yard; it was very lively, as if someone was holding a


    banquet.


    “Third Aunt, do go on without me, I’m going to wee the other rtives.”


    “Of course. It’s Ying Ying’s engagement, so you all must drink some more. Let the wine and meat


    flow.”


    Just then, a forty-year-old woman responded to someone’s call and walked into the front yard


    positively glowing, then froze when she saw Chu Feng, “And you are...?”


    “Mom,” Chu Feng called out softly when he saw thedy before him, and said with a little pity.


    “You’ve grown so many wrinkles and white hair.” Thisdy was his adoptive mother, Liu Minn.


    “Young man, y-you can’t just go around calling people ‘Mom’...” Liu Minn hastily waved her


    hands. “I don’t have a son your age, I only have a daughter.”


    “What, I leave for just a few years and you can no longer recognize me, your son?” Chu Feng


    smiled and took her calloused hands. “You’re still wearing the jade bangle I bought you. It took me


    half a month of hauling goods to earn the money for that, and I even dislocated my shoulder.”


    “Y-you’re Feng!” Liu Minn’s mouth fell open. After a moment of staring at him, her tears started


    streaming down. “Damn bastard, so you do know how toe home. It’s been ten years, where


    have you been?” Liu Minn smacked Chu Feng’s chest over and over out of both love and


    frustration. “I’ve missed you so much.”


    Chu Feng’s eyes were filled with joy, his strong body unmoving as he enjoyed his satisfaction and


    bliss. “Well, I’m back now, Mom. And why’s it so lively in here?” He nced at the front yard and


    asked, “Is someone getting married?”


    Liu Minn wiped her tears, overwhelmed but happy as she answered, “Of course, our girl Ying


    Ying is getting married and today is the engagement banquet. To have my daughter married and my


    son returning on the same day, a double happiness indeed!”


    Chu Feng smiled. Ah, yes, Ying Ying must be about twenty years old by now, and she was already


    getting married. How time flew! Chu Feng remembered that when he was a kid, Zhou Lie would go


    out of his way to encourage him and Zhou Ying to get together, thinking that would make them


    closer than before. Their bond as childhood friends only served as more gossip fodder for their


    friends and family, but Chu Feng had only ever seen Zhou Ying as his sister. After realizing that fact,


    there was nothing Zhou Lie could do.


    “Come, Feng! Come in!” Liu Minn dragged Chu Feng and hollered. “Ying Ying,e see who


    came back! It’s your brother. He’s home.”


    The guests in the front yard began gossiping and before long, a young and beautiful girl stepped out


    from the house—the tag-along girl from Chu Feng’s past was now a grown woman, waiting to be


    married.


    “Ying Ying, it’s been a while.” Chu Feng stepped forward.


    “Mm hmm.” Zhou Ying merely nodded, her facepletely emotionless. It was as if Chu Feng was


    nothing but a stranger to her or worse, someone to be wary and disgusted of, as if this brother of


    hers was someone unweed.


    The well wishes Chu Feng had thought of saying all disappeared. All of a sudden, the Zhou Ying


    before him felt so unfamiliar and distant.


    “What’s wrong with you, Ying Ying?” Liu Minn said with distaste. “Your brotheres back, and


    you show him this attitude?”


    “What do you want me to do, then?” Zhou Ying impatiently looked Chu Feng up and down, then


    scoffed. “He left without saying a word ten years ago, and now he’s back without saying anything


    yet again. What does he think our house is, a motel? Would you like me to get the carriages and


    wee him home with open arms?”


    Zhou Ying shot Chu Feng a re of disgust, then turned to leave with a huff and a lot of thoughts on


    her mind. Of all days, this man had chosen the day of her engagement banquet to return? Why? If it


    was to demonstrate his sess and let her share in the glory, then so be it, but he instead returned


    being dressed like a poor man? It was clearly an attempt to spoil her day and embarrass her.


    “Oh, this child…” Liu Minn was furious.


    Chu Feng, on the other hand, simply smiled and took Liu Minn’s hand. “Forget it, Mom. I was in


    the wrong for leaving like that. Ying Ying has every right to be angry at me.”


    Liu Minn could only sigh, not knowing what to say to him.


    When Chu Feng looked around, he saw Zhou Ying socialising with their friends and family,


    confidently holding multiple conversations like a social butterfly. Was this still the girl who used to


    hide behind his back, and blush if a boy spoke one sentence too many to her? Chu Feng sighed.


    “Everything’s changed.”


    “Are you still drinking that god-awful wine, old man? Come outside!”