Chapter 160: The Return of the Wanderer

Once again, Xiao Ran did not attend the Golden Horse Awards; instead, Lin Qingxia and Wei Dongling, who longed to step onto the stage to receive an award, went. At the Golden Horse Awards, “Spy Change” dominated, winning all the technical awards. “Hidden Flowers” naturally took home the Best Director award and retained its title as Best Screenplay, while “Mong Kok Carmen” won Best Film, and “The Story of Ah Lang” won Best Actor.

At this edition of the Golden Horse Awards, aside from a few awards going to local Taiwanese films, “Shadow” achieved a complete victory. After holding a celebration banquet, Xiao Ran spent the Spring Festival with Lin Qingxia and his family.

In March 1989, Lin Qingxia and other cast members went to the mainland to shoot “New Dragon Gate Inn,” and Xiao Ran followed them. He wanted to see his biological parents; the previous attempt had been delayed due to unexpected circumstances, and he couldn’t delay any longer this time.

At that time, Sony was already eager to make an offer to Coca-Cola. It seemed Coca-Cola also wanted to sell Columbia to Sony, and intense negotiations were underway.

Xiao Ran returned to his hometown, a beautiful small town filled with greenery. Spring had already left traces on the tree branches, bringing a fresh and pleasant atmosphere.

His memories of his hometown had faded over time, but this return immediately brought back every happy memory from his childhood. Shortly after arriving in the town, Xiao Ran suddenly stopped the car. Yang Guang and Monkey were also surprised and halted the vehicle.

A Mercedes in such a small town was quite eye-catching. Many passersby stared at it, wondering which wealthy person owned it. Yang Guang shooed away the curious children who gathered around, staring at the dazed Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran stood quietly on the narrow street, where the joys of his future years lay hidden. He stepped into the far from clean alley, with Monkey and An Yuxuan quickly following.

Inside the alley was a video rental shop. Xiao Ran stared blankly at the large characters written on the blackboard with chalk: Hong Kong action movies “The True Colors of Heroes” and “Romance in the World,” and the comedy “A Family Full of Joy.” There was also a list of movies playing in rotation, and Xiao Ran couldn’t resist the urge to go in and take a look.

Sighing, Xiao Ran finally left this place, which held his memories for many years. But years later, when it was demolished, those memories scattered like dust from the demolition. That day, he relived the thrill of watching movies in the video rental shop. If he hadn’t enjoyed Hong Kong movies at such a young age, he probably wouldn’t be who he is today.

This time, Xiao Ran didn’t get back in the car but walked slowly along the street. Everything in this small town was so familiar to him—things he thought he had forgotten. But now he realized that some things truly cannot be forgotten in a lifetime; one only thinks they have.

Look, isn’t this the ideal barbershop he used to frequent? But he hated that barber who always cut his hair very short. Now he realized just how forward-thinking that barber was—having anticipated trends from over a decade earlier.

Isn’t this the middle school he attended? He remembered there was a delicious snack outside the school, but he couldn’t recall its name. After inviting the three of them to sit down and enjoy some snacks, Xiao Ran then headed toward the students leaving school at noon, filled with joy as he relived those memories.

Look, isn’t that the guy who once rode on a little girl’s back and was scolded by a female teacher for being a scoundrel? And over there, Xiao Ran recognized him as a classmate from junior high. After seeing a woman give birth on TV, he asked Xiao Ran how it worked in class, and the female teacher almost threw him out the window by pinching his ear.

And there’s that very thin guy—Xiao Ran also remembered him; both of them were quite interesting. They weren’t hardworking students at school. Once, when the teacher asked them to hand in their homework, desperate, they jumped off the building twice, breaking their arms both times. Thinking back, it’s really amusing.

However, Xiao Ran didn’t see himself—he didn’t see the Xiao Ran from his childhood. When he arrived at his family’s house, he saw his third aunt and sixth uncle, whom he thought he had forgotten, as well as Grandpa Yao next door who kept coughing, and Aunt Ye who seemed to hunt for fights on the streets like a wolf dog. Of course, there was also Big Brother Wu, who often came with candies priced at one cent each to tempt little Xiao Ran to call him “uncle”.

When he saw his parents, they still looked quite young and energetic. His mother, standing in the door confusedly, asked these unexpected guests, “Who are you looking for?”

The local dialect was something An Yuxuan couldn’t understand at all, though Monkey could barely make sense of it. Xiao Ran resisted the urge to speak in his hometown dialect, knowing full well that given his status, he shouldn’t know how to speak this language.

So, he could only respond in Mandarin, “Are you Yan Wenfang? I’m here to see Xiao Jianguo!”

He used to think the name Jianguo was old-fashioned. But now, he no longer had such an opinion. Looking at his mother, who was young and quite attractive, he really wanted to hug her and vent his emotions. But he knew better—such behavior was completely inappropriate in the mainland; his father might even punch him hard.

They entered the house, a small apartment assigned by the government, not much better than public housing. His father was sitting at the dining table, asking, “Who is it?” When he looked up, he was shocked to see four guys dressed extremely stylishly (that was the word used at the time) and seemingly wealthy, examining the house.

“Are you Xiao Jianguo? I’m Xiao Ran. I’m here to deliver something for you!” Seeing his father, Xiao Ran couldn’t help but think of how frail he would be twenty years later, and his heart stirred so much that he almost cried out.

“Delivering something?” Xiao Jianguo was very confused. Still, out of courtesy, he invited Xiao Ran and the others to sit down. “Sit down first and talk slowly. You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”

Although the almost inelastic springs on the sofa made An Yuxuan frown, it was only then that Xiao Ran realized how comfortable it was to sit there. He knew this was what home felt like. Yang Guang shook his head and said, “We’ve already eaten. Thank you!”

After his mother also came and sat down, Xiao Ran finally suppressed his excitement and spoke slowly, “Mr. Xiao, do you have an elder brother?”

Xiao Ran had an uncle. In his memory, this uncle was a very strange person who was always busy running around and often brought back some peculiar items. It wasn’t until he grew up that Xiao Ran learned his uncle was actually dealing in gold and antiques, but he never succeeded in anything.

His uncle was very kind to Xiao Ran. He often held him and told stories about the big tree downstairs, such as stories from the Three Kingdoms period or the tale of Xue Rengui rebelling against the Tang Dynasty. Although Xiao Ran couldn’t remember these stories at all, he still remembered the beautiful scene: a tall middle-aged man with a beard sitting on a chair, holding a child and telling those stories that once captivated him, as the leaves swayed in the wind below.

Xiao Ran even thought that it might have been because of these stories his uncle had told him in his early years that he became interested in such legendary things. That’s why he got caught in class reading Jin Yong’s novels and was made to stand as punishment, and why he went from being a model student to a troublemaker who skipped class to watch videos in the eyes of his teachers.

Unfortunately, Xiao Ran remembered that after his uncle came here in the second half of last year, he mysteriously said he was going abroad and has not been heard from since. Until Xiao Ran left that era in 2005, there was no news of his uncle, and his fate remained unknown. Everyone thought he had died abroad long ago, perhaps as early as 1988.

This was also why Xiao Ran chose to come at this time—he could attribute some unexplainable things to his uncle. Though it might seem too calculated, Xiao Ran knew it was a helpless option. It was the only way to avoid suspicion, at least to a large extent.

“That’s how it is…” Xiao Ran blurted out the lie he had fabricated without hesitation. “Your brother, Xiao Jianmin, helped me. Later, he passed away in an accident. So, to repay him, the only thing I can do is offer you some help!”

Xiao Jianguo and Yan Wenfang were shocked. They had had no news of Xiao Jianmin for nearly a year and had been worried. To their surprise, Xiao Ran brought news of his death. Xiao Jianguo’s eyes immediately filled with tears. Xiao Ran sighed softly—only by saying this could he ease his parents’ ongoing worries.

He gave An Yuxuan, who was restless, a subtle signal. An Yuxuan understood and took out a large sum of money from her bag and handed it to the couple. Xiao Ran felt his nose sting and wanted to cry just to feel better. But he had to hold back his emotions. “Please accept this money!”

Xiao Jianguo looked up at Xiao Ran in astonishment, then at the money on the table—probably no less than ten thousand. He was so frightened that he trembled all over and kept refusing. “This can’t be. I can’t accept this money!”

Xiao Ran smiled faintly. He knew his father would say that. So he was prepared: “Your brother helped me; I owe him a favor. What’s a little money compared to that? I think they all hope you can live better!”
Xiao Ran didn’t intend to let his parents leave here because he was well aware that he no longer belonged to this world. It wasn’t a big deal to come and check things out like this, but if they came often, it would definitely arouse suspicion. They weren’t from the same world, so it was hard for them to be together.
Most importantly, both of his parents were stubborn and deeply attached to this place. Even when Xiao Ran left that era, his parents were still in that small town, which showed just how attached they were. Xiao Ran only gave them 20,000. He knew many families broke up over money, and if he didn’t want his parents to have conflicts, this amount had to be sufficient.
After persuading them a few more times, Xiao Jianguo finally accepted the money. Xiao Ran waved at An Yuxuan, who took out a camera. Xiao Ran forced a smile and said, “How about we take a photo? Let’s go outside.”
They went downstairs to the big tree in the yard. An Yuxuan called out to the three people standing together before snapping a photo. Xiao Ran knew that this photo was the only thing that could preserve and sustain that bond.
Just after taking the photo, a boy in his early teens rushed into the yard, covered in dust. Seeing Xiao Jianguo and Yan Wenfang, he shouted happily, “Dad, Mom, why are you here? I’m starving!”
Xiao Ran stared at the boy in disbelief. This wasn’t the Xiao Ran he remembered from his youth; at most, he looked somewhat similar. Shaken, Xiao Ran suddenly realized—could it be that because of him, the real Xiao Ran didn’t exist in this world?
Sure enough, Xiao Jianguo patted the boy’s head and introduced him to Xiao Ran, “Xiao Ran, this is my son. His name is Xiao An. Xiao An, call him uncle quickly!”
After Xiao An called Xiao Ran “uncle,” Xiao Ran was utterly shocked. Everything else in the world remained unchanged, but only this had changed automatically. Xiao Jianguo no longer had a son named Xiao Ran; instead, he had another son named Xiao An.
Xiao Ran took a business card from An Yuxuan and handed it to Xiao Jianguo, saying calmly, “Mr. Xiao, if you need anything in the future, you can call me at this number. I forgot to mention—I’m in Hong Kong!”
Let’s end it here, put a final stop to this whole affair! Xiao Ran thought to himself. Now he and his parents were from different worlds. There might be moments of intersection, but they could never coexist. The only outcome could be this…
Moreover, he didn’t want to disrupt his parents’ lives. He would just act as if he was on a trip. Just like at first, traveling for years without returning home. Only this time, the trip was special—it was a lifetime…
Yan Wenfang watched from afar as those figures got into the car, but it seemed as though she could only see one of them. A tear involuntarily rolled down from her eye. Wiping it away, she felt extremely puzzled: “Jianguo, I think that young man seems to know us, and I feel like I also know him—there seems to be a deep connection between us!”

Xiao Jianguo’s gaze never left Xiao Ran until the car disappeared, after which he murmured to himself, “I feel the same way…”