"In this morning's 23rd Los Angeles Olympics shooting competition, our Chinese participant Xu Haifeng won the first gold medal for the self-choice pistol shooting game. This is also the first gold medal won by a Chinese in the Olympics, representing a breakthrough in China's Olympic history."
"Let's congratulate Xu Haifeng on his brilliant performance, and at the same time congratulate other Olympic athletes who have achieved outstanding results in foreign countries, bringing glory to our nation, and returning with honor!"
"Next, please enjoy the song 'Sweet Honey' performed by renowned Hong Kong musician Teresa Teng."
......
Through the loudspeakers, Teresa Teng's gentle and sweet singing seems to have sweetened every listener's heart.
Shen Lin lays in his bed, but he's not really listening.
Staring blankly at the ceiling...
The old ceiling is all mottled and cracked, with a patterned wire dangling a bare bulb...
Looking at the familiar scene, he's lost in a thousand thoughts.
I've been reborn...
I've gone back 40 years, to July 29, 1984...
Memories that have been burdening his heart for years surged up clearly in his mind.
He will never forget this particular day...
1984 was the year of the Olympics; the first time the representatives from New China participated in the Olympic Games.
On this day, July 29th, the Chinese athlete Xu Haifeng won a shooting gold medal, standing on the Olympic podium for the first time as a Chinese.
On this day, the whole nation is filled with excitement!
However, for Shen Lin, it marks the beginning of the tragedy in his life.
Before he reached twenty years old, his life had been relatively smooth.
His father was the chief of a large state-owned factory, and his wife was the most beautiful girl in the factory.
But everything changed when his father fell suddenly ill.
With his father's illness leading to retirement, the factory got a new boss. The new chief had been severely criticized by his father for his lifestyle in the past, and he held a grudge against it.
In the shadows, he commanded the workshop director to pose difficulties for Shen Lin and shifted all the blame to Shen Lin. After Shen Lin had been working night shifts for a month straight, the exhausted Shen Lin made an operation error, causing a batch of produced parts to become defective.
Normally, the loss of parts due to an operation error would only require compensation based on internal prices. However, the boss instantly announced to fire Shen Lin.
This incident became the fuse that ignited the powder keg; at a staff-wide conference, the emotionally uncontrolled Shen Lin rashly raised his hand and attacked the boss.
Not only he lost his job, but he was also arrested and thrown into detention.
Both his career and life turned bitter.
He became extreme, turning to alcohol and hanging around with a gang of good-for-nothing friends.
His wife, Lu Xiaorong, pleaded with him time and time again to mend his ways. Yet rather than appreciating her plea, Shen Lin turned abusive to his wife.
Just today evening, he would hit Lu Xiaorong again in a drunken rage, little did he and Lu Xiaorong knew then, Lu Xiaorong was already more than a month pregnant.
And because of his severe hand, the child was miscarried...
By the time he sobered up, it was all too late!
Exactly because of the miscarriage, Lu Xiaorong, devastated, decided to divorce him firmly, fell sick, and passed away in grief three years later.
When he lost everything, Shen Lin was overwhelmed with regret.
If only God could give me another chance to start over, I would never...
"Click!"
A soft sound woke Shen Lin from his thoughts. He looked up to see a figure that was both familiar and unfamiliar walking in.
Her towering figure was still there, but she was even thinner than he remembered, her complexion was a bit pale.
It was her, my love!
Shen Lin got excitedly to his feet, his gaze fixed on the sight of his love returning.
His mouth gaped open, thousands of words stuck in his throat, but he had no idea what he wanted to say first, and he couldn't utter a word.
However, what Shen Lin paid most attention to was the bruise on Lu Xiaorong's face!
Although Lu Xiaorong had lightly covered the mark with makeup, if you looked closely, you could still see the signs of injury.
It had happened the night before last, when he got drunk and accidentally knocked her over during an argument, causing her to bump into the door frame.
At that moment, a wave of heartache and guilt washed over Shen Lin.
Carrying a plastic vegetable basket, Lu Xiaorong glanced at Shen Lin, then walked expressionlessly towards the inner room.
From Lu Xiaorong’s expression, Shen Lin felt that the pair of them were like strangers.
Shen Lin instinctively reached out his hand, wanting to caress the person who had been a lifetime of guilt to him. However, the moment his hand landed on Lu Xiaorong’s shoulder, she swung her arm and forcefully pushed Shen Lin's palm away.
Without uttering a single word, all that existed between them was indifference.
Lu Xiaorong's reaction caused the memories deep in Shen Lin's mind to resurface, becoming clearer and more numerous. It made him think of more incidents from his past life, all stemming from times of self-destruction and reckless actions.
No grief is more devastating than disillusionment!
Lu Xiaorong's attitude towards him was of someone who had become disillusioned!
"It's good to see you now," he said, even though Shen Lin wasn't sure whether Lu Xiaorong would understand him, he couldn't help but say it.
Lu Xiaorong held onto her vegetable basket tightly, not understanding what was wrong with Shen Lin today. Past experiences led her to not wanting to converse with Shen Lin.
Hence, she simply silently put down her basket, then silently picked vegetables as if they were two strangers residing within the same house.
An awkward atmosphere lingered between the two.
At that moment, even Shen Lin with his two lives' worth of experiences didn’t know what to say.
"Knock knock knock!"
Suddenly, a knocking noise came from outside the door, disrupting the current awkward situation.
"Is Lu Xiaorong home!" A voice came filled with a touch of age.
Upon hearing this voice, a change came across Lu Xiaorong's face. Her hand paused for a moment before walking towards the door.
As the door opened, Shen Lin's eyes fell onto an old lady with white hair, dressed in patched clothes.
It was the landlord, Aunt Chen.
Upon seeing Lu XiaoRong, the old lady looked a bit hesitant in her eyes, but eventually, She said, "XiaoRong, it's been half a year since you've paid your rent."
"I know it's not easy for you, but my old man's blood pressure has been high lately, we don't even have the money for his medicine now."
Upon hearing this, Lu XiaoRong's pale face turned crimson. She rubbed her hands, her expression full of embarrassment.
"Aunt Chen, I... I should have paid the rent long ago," stuttered XiaoRong, "How about this, I'm getting paid in a couple of days. I'll give you the rent as soon as I get it."
The old lady's face turned sour, she pondered for a bit before saying, "XiaoRong, I understand you're struggling. If there was any other way, I wouldn't press you, but now, I am in dire need of money."
"Well, how about this, I'll try to borrow some from our relatives. You, too, should ask your friends or relatives for some help. I won't ask for much, just pay me this month's rent." The old lady's voice was low, "if still you cannot, you will have to find somewhere else to stay."
As she finished speaking, the old lady cast a glance at Shen Lin inside the house then shook her head and left.
From the old woman's expression, Shen Lin felt a sense of disappointment.
Rent, back then... He never seems to have paid rent ever!
Shen Lin subconsciously touched his pocket. There was a crumpled fifty-cent piece that he roughly grabbed from Lu XiaoRong two days ago to buy alcohol.
All the while, his guilt was growing, Lu XiaoRong had already taken out a packet from the run-down drawer.
A packet, withered, ugly, with several traces of black threads sewn on it.
As the packet tipped over, a few airy notes fell onto the table.
A dime, two dimes, then the biggest - a fifty-cent note!
Looking at these sparse paper bills, Lu Xiaorong didn't make a sound. She gently picked up each of the notes then turned to walk towards the door.
"What are you going to do?" Shen Lin, watching Lu Xiaorong about to leave, asked loudly.
Lu Xiaorong paused but didn't turn around. However, she finally spoke, "Borrow money!"
As she said this, the sound of the door being closed followed.
Lu Xiaorong went to borrow money. Not only that, she was going to borrow money while pregnant. Thinking about Lu Xiaorong's current situation, a great wave of guilt immediately arose in Shen Lin's heart.
After a slight delay, he quickly followed her out the door.
However, by the time he chased out, Lu Xiaorong had already ridden off on her bicycle.
With a deep sigh, Shen Lin returned home.
