You were supposed to have a fake marriage with the diva, so how did you become her father?

Chapter 375 Farewell

After breakfast, Chen Xiaoming called Lu Ran to the yard.

The courtyard was quiet, the shadow of the pomelo tree fell on the ground, and a few sparrows hopped around on the treetops.

Chen Xiaoming squatted on the steps, took out a pack of cigarettes, pulled one out, looked at it, and then put it back.

"Brother Lu Ran, I want to talk to you about something."

"explain."

"I know I've been a pretty scumbag these past few years. I've smoked, drunk, hung out in internet cafes, fought, skipped classes—I've done everything. My mom has cried many times, I've seen it, but I don't care. Not that I really don't care, I'm just afraid to care."

Lu Ran leaned against the pomelo tree trunk, looking at him.

"Why are you afraid to care?"

"Because if you care, you'll feel like a jerk. Feeling like a jerk makes you feel bad. When you feel bad, you want to find something to do, but you always end up doing the same things. When I'm with my friends, at least I don't feel lonely."

Lu Ran nodded.

"Who are your friends?"

Chen Xiaoming thought for a moment: "I can't really say. Some are junior high school classmates, but they didn't study much after entering high school. Some I met at internet cafes, we're all from the same town, and we get along well. And two are from the underworld, people who hang out in the county town."

"What did you say when they tried to persuade you to smoke?"

"I didn't say anything. They just handed it to me and I took it."

"Did you enjoy smoking the first time you tried it?"

"I was choking so badly. I coughed for ages."

"Then why did you smoke a second one?"

Chen Xiaoming paused for a moment: "Because they're watching from the sidelines. I don't want them to think I'm a loner."

Lu Ran squatted down to be at eye level with him.

"So you smoke, drink, skip classes, and fight not because you want to do these things, but because you're afraid of not fitting in."

Chen Xiaoming didn't speak, but Lu Ran saw his Adam's apple move slightly.

"Your grades dropped from the middle of the class to the bottom. Was it because you didn't study, or because you were afraid to study?"

"I dare not learn it," Chen Xiaoming said softly.

"Why are you afraid to learn?"

"Because none of my friends learn it. If I did, they wouldn't play with me anymore."

"They're not taking you to internet cafes anymore, they're not taking you to fights anymore, do you think that's a good thing or a bad thing?"

Chen Xiaoming looked up at him, a vague sense of confusion in his eyes.

"Let me rephrase the question. Are you happy when you're with your friends?"

Chen Xiaoming thought about it for a long time.

"I can't say whether I'm happy or not. I'm just used to it. I don't know what to do if I don't go to internet cafes, and I don't know who to chat with if I don't look at my phone. I just live day by day until I graduate."

"And now? You're back in school, what will your friends think of you?"

"Let them think what they want. I just don't want to live like that anymore."

Lu Ran sat down next to him. The steps were cement and a bit cool, but the sunlight felt warm on their skin.

"Xiaoming, I have something to tell you."

"Um."

"When I was in high school, I also had a group of friends. They smoked, drank, gambled, skipped classes, did everything. I hung out with them for a while, but then I stopped."

Chen Xiaoming turned to look at him: "Why?"

"Because I found that when I hung out with them, they didn't get better, but I got worse. After I left them, they remained the same, and I slowly reverted to my old self."

Lu Ran paused for a moment: "Squeezing in is important. But if you're in the wrong group, it's self-destructive. Do you think your group is worth destroying yourself for?"

Chen Xiaoming remained silent for a long time.

"not worth."

"That settles it then."

Chen Xiaoming lowered his head, drawing circles on the ground with his finger. After a few circles, he suddenly said, "Brother Lu, can I use your song?"

"How do I use it?"

"I want to sing at the school's New Year's Eve party. Our school has a party every New Year's Day. I even sang a song on stage last year, and I sang it terribly, but the people below still applauded. This year I want to sing your song, in Hokkien."

Lu Ran thought for a moment and said, "Okay. But you have to promise me one thing."

"What is it?"

"Practice your singing well. Don't sing so off-key that even your mom won't be able to recognize what you're singing."

Chen Xiaoming smiled.

This was the first time he had smiled in the past two days. When he smiled, he revealed two small tiger teeth, and his eyes were curved. He looked like an ordinary teenage boy.

"Don't worry, I won't embarrass you."

"You're not trying to save me from embarrassment, you're trying to save yourself from embarrassment. I wrote the song, but you're the one standing on that stage. If you sing well, everyone praises you. If you mess it up, everyone laughs at you. It has nothing to do with me."

Chen Xiaoming was taken aback for a moment: "You're so realistic."

"I've always been this realistic."

...

At noon, Aunt Chen prepared a large table of dishes, saying she wanted to treat Lu Ran and Shen Yuege to a meal to thank them.

There were eight dishes and a soup on the table, including chicken, duck, fish and meat, which was even more sumptuous than during the Chinese New Year.

Lu Ran looked at the table full of dishes and felt sorry for Aunt Chen for spending so much money, but he didn't say anything.

He knew he couldn't refuse her gratitude; refusing would only make him feel worse.

Chen Xiaoming sat opposite him, eating quietly without smacking his lips or spitting bones on the ground, and using his chopsticks properly.

Looking at her son, Aunt Chen's eyes reddened again, but this time she held back her tears and raised her glass to toast Lu Ran.

"Mr. Lu, thank you. I don't know how to thank you properly, so I'll offer you a toast with tea instead of wine."

Lu Ran raised his glass and clinked it against hers: "Aunt Chen, don't thank me. I didn't do anything. Xiao Ming figured it out himself."

"He can't understand without you." Aunt Chen drank the rest of her drink in one gulp, put down the cup, and tears still fell.

Shen Yuege handed over a tissue, and Aunt Chen wiped her eyes and smiled.

"I'm sorry you had to see me like this. I'm just easily moved to tears; I cry at the slightest thing."

"It's okay, it feels good to cry it out," Shen Yuege said.

Chen Xiaoming put down his chopsticks and looked at his mother: "Mom, don't cry. I promise I won't let you cry anymore."

Aunt Chen was stunned for a moment, then cried even harder.

Lu Ran and Shen Yuege exchanged a glance but neither spoke.

At times like this, saying anything is superfluous.

...

In the afternoon, Lu Ran and Shen Yuege packed their things and prepared to set off.

Aunt Chen crammed their refrigerator full of things: braised chicken feet, braised duck necks, braised tofu, pickled dried radish, homemade cured meat, and vegetables picked from the backyard. The refrigerator door was almost too big to close.

"That's enough, that's enough, we can't eat that much," Shen Yuege said.

Aunt Chen wouldn't listen and stuffed another bag of dried sweet potatoes she had made into the bag: "Eat this on the way, and have a snack if you get hungry."

Chen Xiaoming stood to the side, holding the dusty guitar in his hand.

He handed the guitar to Lu Ran: "Brother Lu, this is for you."

Lu Ran glanced at the guitar.

It's an entry-level guitar that cost a few hundred yuan. The neck is a bit bent, and one of the six-string knobs is missing. I just used a wire to fix it and it's still usable.

The instrument was covered in a layer of dust, with several cracks on the soundboard and the frets worn shiny, clearly indicating that it had been played seriously for a long time.

"Keep it for yourself," Lu Ran said.

"I don't want it anymore." Chen Xiaoming shoved the guitar into Lu Ran's hands. "You fix it for me. Once it's fixed, give it back to me after I get into university."

Lu Ran looked into his eyes.

Those eyes held expectation, reluctance, and a trust that said, "Please keep this very important thing for me safe."

"Okay." Lu Ran took the guitar. "I'll fix it for you. Focus on your exams, and I'll return it to you if you pass."

It's a deal.

It's a deal.

Chen Xiaoming smiled, revealing his two small tiger teeth.

...

The RV started, and Lu Ran saw Chen Xiaoming standing at the gate of the yard, waving his hand in the rearview mirror.

Aunt Chen stood next to him, her apron still on, her hair a little messy from the wind, and she was waving.

Shen Yuege leaned out of the passenger seat and called out to them, "Let's go back! It's cold outside!"

Chen Xiaoming didn't go back. He stood there and watched the RV turn the corner and disappear at the end of the mountain road.

Shen Yuege sat back in her seat, fastened her seatbelt, and glanced at Lu Ran.

"You brought his beat-up guitar?"

"Yes. I said I'd fix it for him."

"Can you fix guitars?"

"No. But some people can. There are so many music stores in Shanghai, you can find any one to repair it."

Shen Yuege shook her head: "You always try to take on everything."

"If I've taken it on, I've taken it on. It's not like I can't afford it."

Shen Yuege looked at him for a few seconds, then a smile appeared on her lips: "That was a pretty cool thing you said today."

"I look pretty handsome every day."

"You look especially handsome today."

"You said the same thing yesterday."

"They'll say the same thing tomorrow."

Lu Ran smiled, stepped on the gas, and the RV drove forward along the mountain road.

In the rearview mirror, the farmhouse grew smaller and smaller until it became a white dot and disappeared among the rolling mountains.

The car stereo was playing a song, not "The Prodigal Son Returns," but a demo that Shen Yuege recorded herself.

The melody is simple, the lyrics are simple, and it tells a story about the sea and the mountains.

After listening for a few moments, Lu Ran suddenly said, "This song is good. Should it be the theme song for 'Super Boy'?"

"No. This song isn't suitable for male vocals."

"Then who should it be given to?"

"I don't know. Let's keep it for now; it might be useful later."

Lu Ran nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

The road ahead is still long.

The landscape of Fujian Province rushed past the car window frame by frame, like an unedited road movie.

Shen Yuege leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, listened to her own singing, and smiled.

As Lu Ran drove, something was on his mind.

Just a few days ago, he felt that he couldn't do anything except write songs, games, and scripts.

He has now discovered that some things are more important than songwriting.

For example, saying the right thing at the right time.

For example, handing over a box of tissues at an appropriate time.

For example, sending a suitable song at the right time.

These things don't need a system, they don't need cheat codes, and they don't need memories of past lives.

All you need to do is sit down and listen to someone finish telling their story.

...