Chapter 17 — Want the house to be named after your father? So You Pay The Money

But because on some issues, we cannot agree. For example... should I live in the same area as my parents? For example… if your daughter later moves in with you, how should that room… be arranged. For the first time, I realized that many choices in this world... are inherently not "right" or "wrong", only appropriate or inappropriate. I've also gradually learned how to no longer use the standard "is he a good person or not" to judge a man. But just ask yourself a simpler question.

“Beside him, can I comfortably be myself?”

If the answer is no… then so be it. Until one day, I received an invitation. It was an international architectural design exhibition, the organizers hoped I would bring some projects to display, and even sent me a special guest invitation. Location... is Lo Island. The moment I read the email, I hesitated a bit. This city, to me, is like a healed scar... but sometimes it still itches. I've been here drawing countless versions of the future, and right here... completely burying those versions. But now, my name... is invited back again, with a different identity. I thought for a long time, then answered:

“I'm in.”

The opening ceremony took place in a renovated old factory, under a high steel roof filled with lights, the walls covered with drawings and images of the project. My projects are placed in a corner that is not too prominent, but not forgotten either. There are urban renovation projects, there are coastal homestays, and there is one... which is my favorite. An elementary library. It is one of the libraries I once sponsored for girls in the mountains. The designer is an architect a few years younger than me. He did it very meticulously, and also designed a large stepped reading area, so the children can roll around, read books, and take a nap. Looking at the actual photo, I couldn't help but laugh. I walked around the exhibition, greeted a few colleagues, then stopped in front of my exhibition area and listened to two young people standing next to me talking.

“Look at this staircase, it's really well done.”

A girl wearing a baseball cap said

“It's both a walkway and a reading space.”

“I know this designer.”

The boy next to him continued

“In her projects, there are always one or two places reserved for children or girls.”

I suddenly felt funny. It turns out, in the eyes of others... I have gradually become a person "with my own style". Music flowed softly in the large space, people's voices mixed together but not noisy. I took a glass of water and leaned against a pillar to rest. Not long after, a receptionist walked over.

“Miss Chu, there's a man outside who says he's your friend, asking if it's convenient for you to come meet him.”

I stopped

“What is his name?”

“He said his last name was Chu.”

The other person added

“My name is Chu Huy.”

At that moment, my spine tensed slightly. This name… I haven't heard it in real life for a long time. In my heart, it has been eroded by time into an unfamiliar sound. I don't know what he is like now, how he lives, nor do I know over the years... whether he has changed at all. But I know—there are breakups… that don't need to be repeated a second time.

“Tell him to come in.”

I told the staff

“Say I'm at my display.”

I don't go out the door. Just stand in the same place, holding a paper cup in your hand. A few minutes Afterwards, very soft footsteps were heard from behind. I turned my head. In the crowd, he was easier to spot than I thought. He is no longer the guy who wore cheap shirts and looked a bit student-like that year. Now he is thinner, but his eyes are covered with something heavy. He wore a simple gray shirt, the sleeves rolled up, revealing his slightly skinny arms. His eyes... were different from before. The eyes that were always averted, now seemed to be weighed down by something, becoming cloudy. We stood a few steps apart. There were still people passing by in the middle, no one paid attention to this meeting. He spoke first, his voice very low, as if afraid of breaking something. I nodded slightly

“Long time no see.”

He smiled bitterly. I noticed that when he talked, he always unconsciously pulled his hands into his sleeves, as if he wanted to make himself smaller.

“You… why are you here?”

“Currently… I work at a construction materials company on Lo Island.”

He avoided my eyes

“This time the company sponsored some materials for the exhibition, so my boss sent me over to check it out.”

“That's good.”

“At least you're still in the industry.”