Chapter 1 — The Day I Return

Thich Ky Lang for eight years. The number of times he rejected me was more than the number of university entrance exams I had ever taken. Every time it's just the same sentence: "We are absolutely incapable." I believe it's true. Until the day my brother and sister stood next to each other wearing wedding clothes. Oh, it turns out these two words "impossible" were aimed precisely at me alone. The day I went abroad, he sent 93 text messages. The first time he said to me: "I beg you". I told myself, I begged him for eight years and he didn't agree once. If you ask me just once, I have to respond, right? This calculation is wrong. Three years later, I returned home. Not because of you. But because my father's grave needs to be moved. But the way I was welcomed... How should I put it, it was even more grand than his previous wedding. **【Chapter 1】** Forty minutes before landing, the loudspeaker on the plane rang twice. Nguyen Tieu Ngu sat next to me, holding the phone to look at her lipstick in the mirror. She heard the speaker read, "Miss Giang Duong, there is a VIP receptionist waiting at the tube." Her little hand suddenly trembled and she wiped the lipstick on her nose.
“Second sister, are you sure we're going back to move the grave?” She used a wet towel to wipe the tip of her nose, "I thought you were coming back to be crowned queen."
I didn't answer, just stared at the outline of the city gradually appearing under the clouds outside the window. It's been three years. The skyline of this city has not changed much, only a few new buildings have added, making the old TV tower no longer stand out as before. TV tower. I withdrew my gaze. That year Ky Lang took me to a revolving restaurant on the TV tower for a meal, on the occasion of my birthday. Eighteen years old. He gave me a fountain pen and told me to study properly and not to think about things all day. At that time I thought he was hiding something. Later I found out that he meant exactly the literal meaning of that statement.
“Jiang Tang.” Nguyen Tieu Ngu snapped his fingers next to my ear, "You're absent-minded again, your face is very unsightly."
"Do not have." I adjusted my sitting position, opened the notes on my phone to see the schedule for moving the grave, "Go to the funeral home at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, go see the new land location in the afternoon, officially break ground the day after tomorrow. Stay for five days at the latest, then fly back to Zurich."
“Five days.” Nguyen Tieu Ngu put her lipstick in her pocket, "Is five days enough?"
"Enough."
“What I mean,” Nho lowered her voice, “Is there enough time for your ex-lover to kneel down and crawl in front of you?”
“He's not your ex.” I lowered my voice.
“Ah yes, crush, unrequited love, 8 years.” Nguyen Tieu Ngu nodded, his expression extremely sincere, "It's even worse."
“…”
“Okay, okay, I won't say anymore.”
The plane landed. At the end of the tube, there were indeed two people standing, a man and a woman, wearing dark uniforms, with the badge of the city's Department of Foreign Affairs on their chests. The woman in her thirties saw me and her eyes lit up: "Dr. Giang?"
"It's me."
“Welcome home.” She quickly walked over and took my carry-on luggage, "The car is waiting outside the VIP entrance. Deputy Mayor Tran told me to convey: This time you return, if you have any requests, please contact us at any time."
Nguyen Tieu Ngu mumbled behind me: "Being crowned queen is a certainty." I gently stepped on my little foot. Exiting the VIP entrance, a black commercial vehicle was waiting On the side of the road, the driver got out and opened the back door. The moment I bent down to get on the bus, the corner of my eye scanned the large door of the station, and I saw a person. The black overcoat, tall and thin figure, stuck firmly in the sea of people like a nail. Passengers walked back and forth, some girls secretly took photos, some people looked back a few more times, but no one dared to come close to him. Ky Lang. He just stood there, his hands in his coat pockets, his eyes looking straight towards the usual exit. Three years no see. He has become much thinner. The jawline is sharper than before, the lips are pressed tightly into a line. My vision and his were hundreds of meters apart, in between was a busy stream of passengers, suitcases, taxis... He couldn't see me - the VIP entrance and the exit were usually not in the same direction. You are waiting for me. But you're waiting in the wrong place. Same thing three years ago. He chased me to the airport, also standing in the departure area, usually searching for half a day — while I went through the first class aisle. That's the plane ticket I bought after receiving my first angel investment. He's always so slow. Always one step slow. I withdrew my gaze, bent my back and sat in the car. The sound of the car door closing was very soft, like a sigh.
"Older sister." Nguyen Tieu Ngu leaned closer, "Just now I seemed to see an extremely handsome guy standing at the station door, is that..."
“No.”
“But he looks a lot like the person I deleted from the photo album…”
“Nguyen Tieu Ngu.”
"Have!"
"Order."
“Yes!”
The car left the airport. I leaned back and closed my eyes to meditate, my fingers unconsciously caressing the small string of purple sandalwood beads on my wrist. Three years ago, during the most difficult time in Geneva, the experiment failed 142 times, my partner withdrew capital, I couldn't pay the rent, I lived on dry bread and instant noodles for three months, my weight dropped to less than 40kg. At that time, every night when I woke up at 3 am, the first thought that flashed in my mind was still Ky Lang. Miss you. Hate you. Later the experiment was successful. Thesis was published. Patent approved. Venture capitalists lined up to put money in my hands. My name appeared in The Lancet magazine, was on the list of keynote speakers at the Geneva Medical Conference, and was among Forbes' elite under 30 years old. Later, when I remember him, I no longer feel pain. Like a healed wound, on rainy days it will sometimes itch, but you know it will never bleed again. So, when the lawyer called to inform me that because of city planning, my father's grave had to be relocated, requiring immediate relatives to be present to sign - I did not hesitate. Five days. Finish processing and leave. It has nothing to do with him. The phone vibrated once. I opened it to see. A strange number, the number of this city. The content of the message was only one line: "Giang Duong, I'm the second sister. Can we meet for a moment?" I stared at the screen for three seconds, then pressed the delete button. Nguyen Tieu Ngu turned his head to look: "Who is that?"
“The stork sells the house.”
"OH." She shrank her neck, trusting her.
The street scene outside the window rushed backwards. Autumn in this city is still the same, yellow maple leaves cover the sky, the wind blows, littering the ground with broken pieces of gold. I used to like autumn the most. Because Ky Lang's birthday is in October. You Now whatever. The car finally stopped in front of a five-star hotel. The person from the Department of Foreign Affairs helped us check in. When giving us the room card, she said: "Dr. Giang, Deputy Mayor Tran said, tomorrow at 4:00 p.m., I would like to invite you to have a cup of tea and discuss the biopharmaceutical industrial park — if you feel comfortable."
"Okay."