Chapter 411 - Smile for Me (1/2)

Qin Sheng, though having been here for four and a half years, had rarely hung out around this city. Landmark skyscrapers are usually considered to be the symbol of cities. For Shanghai, it’s those extremely high buildings in Pudong. But the city’s original style is embodied in the Nongtang alleys, showing Shanghai’s culture and tradition.

Qin Sheng was kind of familiar with Sinan Road. He rode on a bike, going along Sinan Road to the north. It only took a five-minute ride to reach Shangshan Ruoshui. Qin Sheng parked the shared bicycle and stood under a tree, looking at the building where he used to work, having a sense of half familiar, half strange. Ms. An, Yu Fengzhi, Lyu Yuan, and his other good friends were asked by him to move to Hangzhou. Now, he had no friends here, only enemies.

He thought about the friends that had followed him to Hangzhou, feeling sorry for them. It had been two months since he left Hangzhou. How were they doing?

There were few cars passing by, for it was not mealtime. He heard from Ms. An that Shangshan Ruoshui was slow compared to when it was run by Jiang Xianbang. It was hard to maintain its high level, and it might have transformed into a normal restaurant.

Qin Sheng felt dull when he was waiting and watching. He didn’t run into any acquaintances, like Wang Haichao, the manager, who used to be unfriendly to him and became a deputy general manager then; like Yan Chaozong, one of the two people who planned to kill him on Mount Jiuhua; or like Han Zhengdong, who was in charge of Shangshan Ruoshui; and Ye Muyang, the youngest son of Boss Ye. Qin Sheng would never forget them and would get his revenge one day.

Since he was at Shangshan Ruoshui, Qin Sheng thought of Jiang Xianbang, who helped him and supported him. The last time they got in touch, Jiang was in Singapore. How was he doing now? And his foster daughter, Qing’er, who was a teacher at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and was good at playing Guzheng, a traditional Chinese musical instrument, how was she doing? Uncle Jiang asked him to take care of Qing’er, but he even didn’t take care of himself.

Jiang Xianbang’s old foreign-style house was on Middle Huaihai Road, which was close to here. Qin Sheng said he was going to meet up with an old friend, and it was Qing’er. But he was not sure if she lived in Jiang’s house now. It was the Spring Festival Holiday, so she might have left Shanghai, celebrating the festival with Uncle Jiang in Singapore.

Qin Sheng didn’t have Qing’er’s phone number and had lost Uncle Jiang’s number. He only maintained no more than 20 people’s numbers. So even if he went to the house, he was not sure if he could meet her.

He took a taxi and arrived there a few minutes later. The door was closed and he couldn’t tell if someone was in there. There were Spring Festival scrolls decorated by the door, which made Qin Sheng relieved. Whether Qing’er was still there or not, this house was taken care of by someone well and these people would help him get in touch with the owners.

Qin Sheng walked to the door and pressed the doorbell, waiting for a response.

The decoration of the house was not changed much, while the valuable collections were sold and only cheap decorations were kept.

At this moment, a woman wearing a grey linen Qipao dress was sitting on the sofa, reading. Her hair was tied casually. A small oven was lit beside her to heat an old iron kettle, which was made by a famous craftsman and was bought by Jiang Xianbang. This valuable collection was not kept on a shelf, but used in daily life to make tea. A Guzheng was set in front of the woman with a music score on it. It seemed that she was playing just now.

The sun shone through the window and lit up the woman. Tea was heated in the kettle, boiling into steam. She was like a fairy out of Chinese mythology, but it was weird in such a modern city like Shanghai.

Her reading stopped with the ring of the doorbell. She frowned and put down the book. “Uncle Wang, go and see who’s outside. If it’s Liang Chen, tell him I’m not home.”

Uncle Wang, the housekeeper of this old foreign-style house, had been staying here and taking care of Qing’er, who was unwilling to move to Hong Kong, though the house owner, Jiang Xianbang, had left.

Uncle Wang checked the surveillance video of the entrance and saw Qin Sheng, a kind of familiar face. Qin Sheng had come here a few times, but Uncle Wang didn’t have a good memory to remember him after such a long time. He knew that this young man must have come to meet Jiang Xianbang. Only a few people knew that Jiang Xianbang was not in China, and sometimes his old friends just came and asked about him.

Uncle Wang walked over to the entrance, opened the small door, eyed Qin Sheng and asked, “Hello?”

When the small door was opened, Qin Sheng was relieved. At least someone was inside and could help him get in touch with Qing’er or Uncle Jiang.

Qin Sheng found that it was the housekeeper, so he grinned and said, “Uncle Wang, I’m Qin Sheng. I came often two years ago. When Uncle Jiang left Shanghai, he asked me to take care of Qing’er, do you remember me now?”

Reminded by Qin Sheng, Uncle Wang recalled something and said, “Oh, I remember you, Qin Sheng. Your face is familiar. You’re coming to meet Lao Jiang, right? But he’s still abroad.”

Qin Sheng smiled slightly. “I know. I’m coming to meet Qing’er. I have been away from Shanghai for a long time and wonder about her situation. Uncle Jiang asked me to take care of her, but I got into some trouble and had to leave Shanghai. I failed to take care of my responsibility and feel regretful. Since I’ve come to Shanghai now, I must see her. Uncle Wang, what about Qing’er? Is she here or did she go to Singapore for Uncle Jiang?”

Uncle Wang said, “She’s here. I’ll take you to meet her. She’s so stubborn. She insisted on staying in Shanghai to accompany me. She said that this was her home, and someone has to be here during the Spring Festival.”

Qin Sheng was surprised. He thought that he might not be able to meet Qing’er today and didn’t expect that he would be so lucky. It seemed that he was becoming luckier since he went back to Beijing.

Uncle Wang let Qin Sheng in and led him into the house. The woman wearing the grey linen Qipao dress was definitely Qing’er, who had heard the footsteps and was wondering who the guest was.

Uncle Wang then took Qin Sheng into the room and said excitedly, “Girl, we have a guest.”

Qing’er looked at the entrance and remained still when she saw the face of Qin Sheng. She dropped the book in her hands unconsciously, feeling astonished.

It was hard to start a conversation after a long time of separation between old friends.