The Taming of the Ruffian Hero

Chapter 93 (I’m 7 cm tall) The Childhood Years of Childhood Friends

When Lin Wenxi’s car drove past the former compound of the countryside government office, he loudly insisted on getting down.

“I want to take a look! Just a look!” Lin Wenxi yelled.

“What’s there to see?” Lin Ziwei’s voice rose alongside his anger.

Lin Wenxi swiftly lowered the window and poked his neck out. In a moment of desperation, Hong Xuan pulled up by the road and steadily stopped the car. After the car was unlocked, Lin Wenxi threw the door open and flew out of the car so quickly that his father couldn’t grab him in time.

“What’s going on, Hong Xuan?” Lin Ziwei asked, easing his tone.

“Brother Wei, I watched this kid grow up. His happiest childhood days were all spent here. Besides, the building will be demolished soon. Let him take a look so he can have something to remember it by,” Hong Xuan answered.

“You’ve become sentimental.” Lin Ziwei was unhappy.

“Heh. Wenxi sometimes calls me his second dad, so I must have some right to educate him.” Hong Xuan smiled with some embarrassment.

“I agree,” Huang Xiya said, smiling. She pushed open the door and exited the car to go after Lin Wenxi.

Lin Wenxi entered the compound, and then the innermost room on the right side of the corridor on the ground floor, absentmindedly. He had spent nine years of his childhood here and it took another nine years before he returned again. Entering this place, he felt like he had once again become that inexperienced child. Was he four or five years old then?

He found the familiar white walls and red-painted corners, familiar wooden door with mottled yellow paint and pale blue screen windows inside. The furniture inside the building was all different now. Perhaps, it would be more accurate to say that even if the furniture hadn’t changed, Lin Wenxi wouldn’t be able to remember how they looked like anyway. He walked down the smooth limestone floor and found his childhood bedroom. Looking at it now, the room was much smaller than he remembered. However, the corner of the room was as spacious as ever. The wall was covered with messy handwritings made from charcoal pencils and mud-soaked wooden sticks. He had never allowed his parents to clean it up.

“A frog has four thighs...”

“I’m 7 cm tall now.” It ought to be 70 cm. Lin Wenxi didn’t know if he wanted to cry or laugh after seeing his childhood handwriting.

“I’m Yuan Yuan.”

Lin Wenxi stared fixedly at the last line of large handwriting—”Fangfang is my brother! He’ll protect me!”

Shock jolted him. Even his scalp felt numb. It was as if the time was rapidly reversing, turning him into that child not even a meter tall. The charcoal pencil handwritings were scribbled messily on the corner of the walls with shaky hands. Deep inside, however, these words contained his truest and purest desire. And the two neatly-written words at the end of the sentence—”I will.” Those were the promise that Fangfang wrote down while looking steadily at him back then.

Lin Wenxi reached out to caress the two words. He feared that he would smudge the writing, yet he also wished to touch them with force. For a moment, he didn’t know what to do.

His childhood memories grew manically like feelers. From the first time that Fangfang pulled him from behind the door to play, to the time Fangfang wiped his tears after he got a harsh scolding from his parents, to Fangfang’s companionship through the four seasons. For a little more than a year, it was as if the two of them had never left each other. Who knew that they would instantly lose contact upon their separation, never communicating for the next 14 years? He suddenly remembered the white poplar tree he saw on his way. It was tall, lean, and strong with lush green leaves. Could it be the same tree that he and Fangfang planted?

The white poplar tree was now more than 30 cm tall. Judging by the spot it was planted in, Lin Wenxi knew it was the same tree that they planted 14 years ago. Back then, he didn’t know how to plant a seedling and tried to bury the whole thing in the ground. It had put Fangfang in quite a bit of panic.

“That’s not a seed! How can you bury it?” That was what Fangfang told him back then.

Suddenly, Lin Wenxi burst out laughing—”When this tree grows tall, I’ll come back and count the stars with you.”

For every summer afterward, he would walk around the tree in hopes that it would grow as soon as possible. He even compared their heights, wishing for the tree to soon grow into a tree tall enough for him to take cover from the sun. Only afterward did he realize that he himself was also growing alongside the tree. By the time the poplar tree was as tall as he was, he had to go along with his father’s work transfer and move to the county town. Just like that, everything was gradually forgotten.

Lin Wenxi’s eyes widened. He stared at the person under the tree in disbelief.

That was once a child who liked being on his own, with his hands clasped behind his back. He was now a youngster dressed in a fiery-red short-sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans, looking as sturdy as the white poplar tree. His handsome looks, bright eyes, tall nose, chiseled jaw, as well as the maturity and wisdom that were for a 20-something youngster could be found in his gleaming pupils. The only thing unchanged was that faint smile on his lips, partially concerned and partially helpless. No wonder. It was no wonder Lin Wenxi felt like he had seen him before when they first met. Even though things had gone through a million changes, the person remained unchanged when facing the current Lin Wenxi.

“It’s you...” Though he had no proof, Lin Wenxi was sure that it was him—Zhao Yuan, who stood under the tree, was surely the person he had longed for more than 10 years. He had shown up when Lin Wenxi least expected him. As if a long-time desire was finally answered, Lin Wenxi was at a complete loss of what to do. Tears fell from his eyes.

“Let’s go!” After seeing Huang Xiya’s repeated failed attempts at persuading Wenxi to leave, Lin Ziwei got out of the car and grabbed his son’s hand. He pulled his son to the car without another word.

“I’m not a child anymore! My 18th birthday is already over!” Lin Wenxi said hoarsely.

“Long conversations bring no benefit!” Lin Ziwei grabbed Lin Wenxi and dashed to the car.

“Uncle Lin, I’m the one who asked Wenxi to stay for a few more days. I admire him greatly and treat him like my real younger brother!” Zhao Yuan said. He couldn’t help himself. He felt like he couldn’t catch his breath and his forehead was drenched with sweat. His entire face was red.

“If you really think of him as your real younger brother, you shouldn’t be his accomplice in tricking us and allow him to donate in his grandfather’s name! Student Zhao Yuan, you’re smart and capable. You have a bright future ahead of you. I hope you’ll take good care of yourself. Wenxi still needs to cultivate his character so he can distinguish right from wrong. There’s no haste to have a reunion between classmates. We still have a lot of business to attend to. Why don’t you go home? Please relay my thanks to your uncle.” Lin Ziwei eased his tone ever so slightly, his voice carrying only power and no anger.

“Fangfang, Fangfang...” Lin Wenxi loudly called for Zhao Yuan, his voice gradually turning distant.

“Fangfang?” Zhao Yuan looked around and saw no girl around him. Then, he returned his gaze to the car and watched it drive away.

“He’s my childhood playmate, Fangfang. Remember him? The boy who used to play with me,” Lin Wenxi kept saying throughout the car ride.

After racking her brain for some time, Huang Xiya finally said, “Back then, your father and Uncle Hong Xuan were always away on business trips. I suppose they haven’t met him. I myself was quite busy too. I don’t have much of an impression.”

“But you ought to remember that my playmate was called Fangfang,” Lin Wenxi said hopefully.

Huang Xiya shook her head. “You did have a pretty close playmate then but that was more than 10 years ago. I really can’t recall his name or appearance but I’m sure he’s not called Fangfang. Besides, he’s the son of our rather affluent neighbors. I don’t think your classmate resembles him.”

“Then, do you remember if his surname is Zhao?” Lin Wenxi continued to ask.

Huang Xiya shook her head. “I’ve gotten old and my memory is failing me. I’ve only met the kid’s mother, Liu something Xiaomei a few times.”

“Then... Then was Liu something Xiaomei... was Aunt Liu a good cook? Was she especially good at frying fish?” Lin Wenxi asked, hanging onto one final shred of hope.

Huang Xiya shook her head apologetically.

“I don’t remember seeing you being this tenacious when I told you to trace our ancestry history and records!” Lin Ziwei couldn’t help feeling a stab of anger.

Lin Wenxi lowered his head and said no more for the rest of the car ride.

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