Inside the resplendently decorated private room of the Jianye International Hotel, a group of well-dressed men and women were toasting and drinking heartily, their faces glowing red.
"Mr. Chen, I ask for your continued favor in our future business deals."
"Mr. Chen, I'll propose another toast. Please, drink at your leisure, I'll drink to the bottom."
"Mr. Chen, I wish you a prosperous future, ever-ascending."
⋯⋯
The protagonist at the table was a man named Chen Han Sheng. Basically, all the toasting and flattery revolved around him.
"I wonder which lucky woman will have the chance to marry such a man as Mr. Chen."
A woman with a flushed face lifted her cup, cooing as she put into words.
Chen Han Sheng, at thirty-five, was at the prime male age of vitality, wisdom, and ability. His societal status allowed him to be carefree, and his sophisticated demeanor, combined with his eloquence, consistently attracted the gaze of women.
"Does Ms. Zhang not know? Mr. Chen is still unmarried. He is a true diamond bachelor," someone immediately chimed in.
"Then it must be that Mr. Chen's standards are too high, and he can't see us ordinary women."
The woman replied with a seductive laugh, then handed over her business card. Her eyes shimmered like water, and she said in a soft, sweet voice, "Mr. Chen, you've built a tremendous business, but you must find a balance between your work and your personal life."
Chen Han Sheng politely accepted the card, yet at the moment their hands touched, he suddenly felt a tickle in his palm. It turned out that Ms. Zhang had gently traced her index finger across his palm, all the while gazing tenderly at him.
Chen Han Sheng shared a carefree smile and sat down quietly.
When the social occasion was over, and most of the people at the table had become tipsy, Ms. Zhang left with a lingering glance towards Chen Han Sheng.
Chen Hansheng noticed and made a phone-call gesture, finally prompting her to crack a smile.
One of his subordinates approached him and said, "Mr. Chen, let me see you home."
"No need."
Chen Hansheng dismissed him with a wave of his hand, "I bought a new condo just across the street. I can walk, it's less than 100 meters."
Once his subordinate had left, Chen Hansheng slowly made his way back to his Range Rover. Leaning back against the genuine leather seats, exhaustion clearly etched on his face.
After every business party, other than his stomach being filled with alcohol, his mood was always inexplicably depressed, even filled with a sense of directionless emptiness.
Despite one's will, one must exist in this society.
He exhaled a heavy breath, full of impurity. If vulgar money was the measure of happiness, he was already happier than most. He had no right to complain.
He turned on the car radio, was just about to buckle the seatbelt and start the car when Chen Hansheng suddenly felt a hard object in his pocket- it was the business card from the beautiful Miss Zhang at the party.
"Zhang Mingrong, not a bad name."
Chen Hansheng chuckled, then flicked the card lightly. The exquisite business card traced an arc in the night before landing on the ground, and then mercilessly crushed under the Range Rover's tire.
The adult world of fame and fortune was always filled with insincere performance, who took it seriously was a fool.
Inside the Range Rover, the melody of "500 Miles from Home" looped.
If you miss the train I'm on.
If our trains cross paths,
You will know that I am gone,
You can hear the whistle blow,
A hundred miles away...
The lyrics of this song seemed far removed from Chen Hansheng's present life, yet its poignant messages deeply resonated with him. Employing frequent repetition and numerical figures to underscore the strenuous journey of life.
Throughout history and around the world, there are those who had to leave their hometowns to make a living, some become wealthy, others poor. Regardless of their financial circumstances, the sense of nostalgia and homesickness is a feeling that can never be erased.
"It's been a long time since I last saw my parents, maybe I should visit them tonight.”
Thinking this while under the influence of alcohol, Chen Hansheng subconsciously swerved the steering wheel.
Suddenly, a harsh white light filled the car from the side, then 'BOOM', Chen Hansheng knew nothing else.
...
"Chen, wake up. The bus is about to arrive at the station."
Caught between conscious and unconscious, Chen Han Sheng was awakened by a voice. The sight that greeted him was the dazzling sunlight and the sting of hangover pounded his head.
"Damn it, I've got to stop drinking so much next time." Chen Han Sheng swore with a furrowed brow.
"Last night was the final gathering for the high school class. Everybody had a few too many drinks, not to mention you, drowning your sorrows because of your failed love."
The speaker was a teenager around 17 or 18, slightly chubby and tanned. He smirked and said, "I told you not to confess your feelings to Xiao Rong Yu, but you wanted to give it a try after the college entrance exam. And look what happened?"
"Among all those who liked her, you're just another nameless casualty."
The dark-skinned chubby boy scoffed, and seeing Chen Han Sheng staring at him, he got a bit petulant. "Now, you're mad just because I spoke ill of Xiao Rong Yu?"
"We grew up together, and you've only been her classmate for three years in high school. I suggest you treat last night's incident as a memory and let it drift with the wind."
Seeing him ready to prattle on, Chen Han Sheng couldn't help but interrupt, "Who are you?"
"Me!?"
The teenager looked surprised at first, then angry. When the vehicle arrived at the station, he dragged the feeble Chen Han Sheng off the vehicle, shouting, "Heartbreak doesn't mean amnesia! I'm your good brother Wang Zi Bo. You are not going to forget your name is Chen Han Sheng, are you?"
"Wang Zi Bo?"
Chen Han Sheng indeed had a close friend named Wang Zi Bo, but he wasn't in the country.
"Isn't Wang Zi Bo in Iraq?"
"Damn you, Chen Han Sheng! Are you cursing me to die young?"
This time, Chen Hansheng didn't speak. He was staring blankly at a reflective glass on the bus stop. The reflection was of a teenager, both familiar and yet unfamiliar, with a hint of fuzzy moustache on his face.
The sky was cloudless and blue, and the road was still made of dirt. The raised dust particles were clearly visible under the sunlight, and the speakers of the barbershop near the road were audaciously playing music.
"Accompanying you to see the meteor shower falling on the earth, letting your tears fall on my shoulder..."
With the scenery in front of him, coupled with the song playing from every corner of the street, Chen Hansheng suddenly felt dizzy. This clichéd sequence of events was actually happening to him. Suddenly, there was another surge in his stomach, and Chen Hansheng couldn't help but walk to the side of the road and vomit.
Wang Zibo didn't mind, he walked over and comforted by patting his back, saying: "You'll feel better after throwing up."
After vomiting everything in his stomach, Chen Hansheng's mind gradually cleared, and the present image of Wang Zibo finally started to overlap with his memory.
"Where are we going now?" Chen Hansheng asked, laboriously lifting his head.
"We're going to school to get the admission notices."
Now, this phase didn't surprise Wang Zibo anymore. He just assumed that his friend's odd behavior was due to his abrupt confession last night.
Upon hearing this, Chen Hansheng indeed recalled that he and Wang Zibo had initially gone to school to collect their admission notices. Chen himself was admitted into an ordinary college and Wang Zibo got into a premier one.
This year was not 2019, it was 2002.
......
