Chapter 150: Shi Wanan and Ming Jingxing |
Because the timing was perfect, when Ming Po opened his eyes again, he was just getting up from his seat, slinging his backpack over his shoulders.
'Didn't I bring a suitcase?'
Ming Po calmly waited for the high-speed train to come to a complete stop and open its doors, then followed the crowd toward the escalator.
He knew his own habits well.
Whenever he traveled away from home for more than two days, he would bring a suitcase.
Since he only had his backpack, it meant that, as far as he knew, he would only be staying for a single night... He would be heading back tomorrow, or perhaps even tonight.
That meant he probably wasn't here on vacation.
Ming Po disliked rushed, jam-packed itineraries. Unless there was something particularly urgent, he would usually stay for at least a week. If he happened to be relatively free, he would simply rent a hotel room for half a month.
Strange.
Struck by a sudden thought, Ming Po unlocked his phone and began scrolling through his message history.
Soon, he found what he was looking for on WeChat.
"...Huh?"
Ming Po froze for a moment.
The person who had urgently called him to Wuhan was none other than...
His father.
'He returned to the country?'
'That really is rare,' Ming Po thought.
After swiping his ID card at the turnstile, Ming Po walked outside and spotted a familiar figure.
The man wore a gray suit and black-rimmed glasses. He was thin but stood perfectly straight. Distinct marionette lines creased his face, and his expression was stern. He exuded a rigid aura that would instantly make anyone mistake him for a strict school dean.
"Uncle An."
Ming Po nodded politely to him, offering a rare smile. "Happy New Year."
Uncle An's surname wasn't An; his name was Shi Wanan. He was Ming Po's father's secretary.
When Ming Po was very young, there was a period when Shi Wanan drove him to and from school. When Ming Po came home to do his homework, it was usually Shi Wanan who supervised and corrected it. Hiring private tutors only happened after they moved.
Whenever his parents were too busy to come home for the New Year, it was Uncle An who brought back the New Year goods.
It was safe to say that... since the move, Ming Po had probably seen Shi Wanan more often than his own biological parents. Sometimes, Ming Po couldn't be blamed for his cold and eccentric personality; his parents were even worse than Gao Fan's.
"Happy New Year, Little Po. It's been several years since we last met."
Hearing the voice, Shi Wanan turned around and waved vigorously. Like melting ice, a genuine smile broke through the rigid sternness of his face.
He stepped forward and patted Ming Po firmly on the shoulder.
Shi Wanan said approvingly, "You've bulked up... Very good, you haven't been neglecting your exercise. I don't think I've seen you since you graduated, have I?"
"Yeah, it's been a few years."
Ming Po offered a rare, warm smile.
"I heard you've been doing some extreme sports lately?"
Shi Wanan looked somewhat worried. "Exercise is a good thing... definitely better than my kid. He graduated too, but he won't go out and find a job. He just stays home playing on his phone all day...
"But we aren't usually in the country, Little Po, so you have to stay safe. Extreme sports... I know all about them. Not a single event sponsored by Red Bull is safe."
"I know," Ming Po smiled gently. "I always have professional coaches with me, and I don't pick anything too dangerous. It's just to experience the thrill."
'Of course, that was a lie,' Ming Po thought.
The part about professional coaches was true, but his activities were far from safe.
Extreme sports came in many forms: some emphasized competition, some focused on getting close to nature, and others were more street-oriented. To the old Ming Po, only the kind of activities where "a mistake means death" could get his blood pumping. Furthermore, he didn't like common sports like rollerblading, skateboarding, or parkour... mainly because he hated being stared at and judged by frowning crowds in busy downtown areas. He much preferred places with fewer people.
Naturally, he would never mention this to his elders.
Like many young people, Ming Po always reported the good news and hid the bad.
"Good, good."
Shi Wanan was very satisfied with Ming Po's answer.
He nodded and urged, "Don't skimp on money for this. It's a matter of life and death, so you must hire the most reliable people. If you ever run out of money, remember to tell me."
"I will. Thanks, Uncle An. But my savings are more than enough."
Ming Po gave a genuine smile.
"What a good kid, and a top student too."
Shi Wanan patted Ming Po's back, sighing, "It's great... the boss doesn't have to worry about you at all. If my daughter were half as good as you, I wouldn't have to stress so much."
Ming Po nodded politely and followed Shi Wanan toward the parking lot.
"You've been working hard too," he said softly. "Sorry for all the trouble my dad gives you. If the old man starts tinkering with crazy stuff again, remember to stop him."
Shi Wanan just smiled without a word, leading Ming Po toward a white Cayenne. He took the backpack from Ming Po's shoulders and opened the rear door for him.
"...Old man, why did you buy such an expensive car for no reason?"
Before even getting in, Ming Po spoke with a hint of distaste. "You're barely even in the country."
The other person sitting in the back seat was Ming Po's father.
His name was Ming Jingxing.
He wore a thick brown jacket and leaned back against the seat, tapping away on his phone.
He shared about seventy or eighty percent of Ming Po's resemblance, boasting the same coldly detached facial features and aloof, arrogant expression.
Ming Jingxing's skin was exceptionally well-maintained. He looked more like Ming Po's older brother than his father. Still, seeing the two of them together, anyone could tell at a glance that they were father and son.
Ming Jingxing looked a bit thinner and frailer than Ming Po, and was shorter by over a head.
His hair was much shorter, and he wore dark tortoiseshell glasses. The horizontal mustache he sported made him look more like a scholar from the Republican era than a corporate boss. Even if he swapped his thick jacket for a traditional long gown, it wouldn't seem out of place.
Ming Po knew exactly why.
Ming Jingxing's idol was Lu Xun.
When Ming Po first started learning to read, Ming Jingxing had used the collected works of Lu Xun to teach him word by word. Even before entering elementary school, he had been forced to memorize countless passages. Although he couldn't understand them at the time, that knowledge was forever etched into his core memory.
"It's for you. A New Year's gift."
Typing one-handed on his phone, Ming Jingxing glanced at him and said coldly, "You'll drive this from now on."
"Happy New Year—but why didn't you buy it in Shanghai?"
Ming Po furrowed his brow. "Wuhan is so far from Shanghai. Am I supposed to drive it all the way back?"
"Just stay in Wuhan from now on."
Ming Jingxing ignored the complaint, keeping his head down as he typed. "I found a job for you. Stop wasting your days drifting around outside."
Ming Po knew that seeing his old man would inevitably lead to an argument.
He just hadn't expected that he'd end up traveling back through time and space only to get a faceful of this crap anyway. Sure enough, there was no escaping it.
"It's not like I don't have a job back home,"
Ming Po said, his frown deepening. "Why didn't you discuss this with me first?"
Ming Jingxing didn't reply.
Seeing his silence, Ming Po leaned over to see who he was texting. "What are you doing? Flirting? Let me see."