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The plane landed at Longchuan Airport just past midnight. The temperature was relatively low in the country, so both Xin Yi and Shen Shanshan had put on coats as they exited the aircraft. Shen Shanshan dared not look directly at Xin Yi, keeping her head down, her expression filled with uncontainable joy and shyness. As soon as they stepped out of the cabin, a gust of cold wind blew, causing Shen Shanshan to stumble slightly, her delicate body seeming as if it would be swept away by the wind. Xin Yi quickly reached out to pull her back, but unexpectedly, she immediately took the opportunity to link her arm with his.
Xin Yi realized he had fallen for her trick again; this girl was quite cunning. Shen Shanshan continued to hold onto Xin Yi's arm as they walked out of the airport. Just as they entered the main hall, a pleasant female voice called out, "Shanshan, I'm here!"
Following the voice, they saw an elegant and graceful middle-aged woman waving at Shen Shanshan.
"Mom, what are you doing here? I thought you weren't feeling well?" Shen Shanshan exclaimed in surprise, quickly releasing Xin Yi's hand and rushing over.
Seeing the mother-daughter reunion, Xin Yi didn't want to get involved. Such scenes always pierced deep into his heart. He headed straight for the exit.
"Xin Yi! Xin Yi!" Not even twenty steps away, Shen Shanshan's voice called out to him. He turned around to see her searching for him in their previous spot, her voice tinged with deep disappointment. Sighing, Xin Yi was about to turn away when Shen Shanshan spotted him.
"Xin Yi, why are you running so fast?" she called as she ran towards him. Reluctantly, Xin Yi turned back to meet her.
"Come on, let me introduce you to my mom." Shen Shanshan grabbed his hand again.
"Mom, this is Xin Yi, my college classmate."
"Hello, Auntie," Xin Yi said lightly with a smile, nodding at Mother Shen.
"Oh, so you're classmates with Shanshan?"
"Just alumni."
"Do you also work at Lusan?"
"No, I'm just visiting."
"Oh, where do you work then?"
"I don't have a job; I have a farm and work as a farmer."
"Oh..." Mother Shen responded thoughtfully, looking Xin Yi up and down before turning away. "Come here, Josen; let me introduce you. This is Shanshan." Mother Shen waved over a young man.
"Shanshan, Josen is the son of Secretary Qiao of the Provincial Committee. Come on, get to know each other." Mother Shen's voice was filled with unhidden enthusiasm.
"Hello, Shanshan. I've heard for a long time that you are a famous beauty, and seeing you in person today, you are even more beautiful than I imagined!" Josen was impeccably dressed from head to toe in high-end brands, which roughly added up to at least several hundred thousand. His words were spoken with great confidence, clearly indicating that he was someone used to being in a position of power.
"This is..." After greeting Shen Shanshan, Josen turned his attention to Xin Yi.
"This is Shanshan's university classmate, what's your name..." Mother Shen's voice suddenly cooled down.
"Xin Yi!" Shanshan quickly interjected.
"Hello, nice to meet you." Josen said as he extended his hand.
"Hello." Xin Yi replied lightly.
As soon as their hands touched, Xin Yi immediately sensed Josen's intentions. Judging by the strength of his grip, it was clear that Josen was not just tall and strong; he likely knew some Kung Fu as well. It seemed he intended to use this tactic to intimidate Xin Yi. However, he had chosen the wrong target this time. To Xin Yi, his level of Kung Fu was nothing more than gravel and dust—completely insignificant. With a slight exertion of her strength, Josen's face turned red and veins bulged on his forehead; he was just short of baring his teeth and shouting. Not wanting to make things too difficult for him, Xin Yi promptly released his hand. A flash of malice crossed Josen's eyes; perhaps he thought this fleeting expression went unnoticed by anyone, but Xin Yi caught it.
The two mothers and daughters nearby were happily catching up after a long separation and completely oblivious to the fact that the two men had begun a competition that would last for quite some time.
After Shanshan insisted repeatedly, Xin Yi finally agreed to ride in the same car with them. Josen drove an Audi, showing that he understood restraint; indeed, the more restrained an opponent is, the more formidable they can be. Watching Shanshan and her mother holding hands, Xin Yi had no choice but to sit in the passenger seat.
The Audi made a smooth turn onto the airport avenue. It seemed Josen's driving skills were also top-notch; perhaps he wanted to regain face after what had just happened, as the Audi weaved through traffic with impressive overtakes, causing horns to blare continuously.
"Oh, Brother Qiao, let's drop Xin Yi off first. Xin Yi, where do you live?" Shanshan pulled away from her conversation with her mother to ask.
"Never mind, just drop me off at Vatican Square; I can take a taxi back myself."
"That's not okay! It's late and hard to get a taxi. Just tell us where you live." Shanshan insisted.
"Yeah, come on Xin. It's no trouble at all; I actually want to see where you live." Josen said with double meaning.
"Alright then, I live at Muyu Farm in the suburbs." Xin Yi understood Josen's implication but agreed to let him take her home because she wanted to see what tricks this Provincial Party Secretary's son could pull.
The car turned onto the road leading to the suburbs. Twenty minutes later, they arrived at Muyu Farm's entrance. Xin Yi got out of the car, followed by Shanshan and Josen.
"Xin Yi, your farm is right here! I must come visit another day; it must be so much fun!" As soon as Shanshan got out of the car, she ran to the gate and peered inside through the fence, but unfortunately, it was too dark to see anything.
"I don't know if it's fun or not, but it is very quiet here; I'm just afraid you won't be able to handle this kind of solitude."
"Isn't there still you? With you here, I won't feel lonely," Shen Shanshan tilted her head, blinking her bright eyes at Xin Yi.
"Hehe," Xin Yi could only smile.
"Shanshan, it's time to go. What are you chatting about? It's late," Mother Shen's voice came from the car.
"Yes, I'm coming," Shen Shanshan called back to the car, then turned to Xin Yi and whispered, "Always urging me, so annoying. Xin Yi, I'm heading back now. I'll definitely come find you when I have time, but you can't run off." After saying that, she bounced back to the car.
At that moment, Josen walked over: "I'll come to see you too."
"Suit yourself," Xin Yi replied calmly.
The car started, and Shen Shanshan rolled down the window to wave goodbye: "Don't run off! I'll come find you when I have time."
Watching the car lights fade away, Xin Yi took out a cigarette and lit it, taking a deep drag. He usually didn't smoke; his profession didn't allow for any addictive habits. But when he was alone and had to endure the endless darkness, he didn't want to control himself. For him, the destructiveness of darkness was scarier than any enemy, not to mention a bit of low-quality tobacco.
Muyu Farm was home to only Xin Yi. The people who usually worked on the farm were local farmers. Although they claimed to be helping with the farm's work, Xin Yi had never sold any crops from the farm; they were all managed by the farmers themselves. Xin Yi had given the land of the farm to the surrounding farmers for free, solely because he enjoyed watching the busy people and flourishing crops in the garden. This made him feel calm and fulfilled, which was his long-desired ideal life. So during his free time, he liked to help the farmers tend to their crops. Watching them thrive under his careful nurturing brought out a childlike innocence in his smile. The blooming and withering of life were just like those crops; the only difference was that humans could think and thus felt the horror of life's passing.
The farmers were very grateful for Xin Yi's generosity. When he first announced the free lease of land, no one believed him; they thought he was just another greedy capitalist trying to make money in some tricky way. Later on, when they truly believed him, they began speculating that Xin Yi must be a wealthy young master from some prominent family here for leisure pursuits. So they started respectfully calling him Young Master Xin. Xin Yi was not pleased with this title; eventually, after discussing it in terms of land rights, everyone began calling him Little Xin as he requested. Thus, throughout the farm, older individuals called him Little Xin while younger ones referred to him as Brother Xin. Xin Yi was satisfied; this was his imagined home.
Entering through the door, Xin Yi walked towards his simple two-story building. Just as he stepped onto the wooden stairs, he bent down to take a look and then retreated before leaping around to the back of the house. The moonlight hid behind thick clouds while a few scattered stars lazily blinked their eyes. Xin Yi looked up at the windows of the upstairs room before moving quietly like a raccoon towards the corner of the wall.
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