Chapter 28: A Different World

Such a topic was inappropriate to discuss further. Johnson went on with his long speech while eating the buns, “Alright, young man. Don’t throw tantrum, you’ve got the freedom to join any citizenship of any country that you like after you’ve reached 18 and officially an adult. Nobody would interfere with your choice.”

“Do you really not want the buns? If not, I’m going to finish them.”

“Oh right, Song. Remember Director Chen from the Qu County Civil Affairs Bureau that you mentioned just now? There’s something interesting about him that I haven’t told you yet.”

“You know what? He kept asking me what’s the procedure to apply on a student program for his 13-year-old daughter to study in a private organization abroad.”

“Oh god, I kept thinking to myself when he asked me that. He should really get to know my dear cousin’s daughter Riel to find out what kind of inappropriate tricks a 13-year-old girl living in America would do when she’s longer living with her parents.”

“Anyway, I’ve already decided to send my kids to China to further their studies. Also, I won’t send them to those international schools where the rules are loose. Instead, I’ll send them to the strictest isolation school.”

“The educational model that discuss rights with kids is simply absurd and ridiculous. It might be able to produce one or two Bill Gates or Buffett but they’re producing a crazy amount of hooligans and addicts. The elite education in China is a genuinely good education model.”

“If that’s the case, let’s switch then. Your children will come to China and my grandkid will go to America. What do you think?” Hearing Johnson talking about the topic that he was most interested in, Song Xilin opened up and said while smiling.

“That would be really great. It could save me much of the transient student fee. I’ve inquired about how much would the transient student fee be for kids without local household registration to study in Chengdu. I found out that the burden is heavy for an ordinary American diplomat, like me.”

As the duo carried away with their conversation, the SUV had passed through the county town after driving out of the Qu County mountain road. They then arrived at the Shanghai–Chengdu Expressway’s toll booth.

Song Xilin drove into the expressway after paying the fee and immediately accelerated to the speed limit of 120 km/hr.

Within a short period of time, the Qu County that was filled with city lights outside of the window vanished completely. At that moment, Lili who had been anxious had clearly relaxing slowly.

Johnson, who had been secretly monitoring Lili’s mental state stopped chatting. He turned around, looked at her and said in all seriousness, “Ma’am Lili, I think we can speak properly now.”

“Mr. Johnson, I know I was being crazy just now but please, believe me, there’s a reason for everything.”

“But of course the reason is extremely personal, I can’t explain to you in detail. I’m sorry for all that, thanks for your kindness. Also, I’m really fine.”

“Ma’am Lili, it’s not about you who is fine or not. But now there’s a 16-year-old who is involved…”

“Mr. Johnson, perhaps you didn’t know that my father is the most senior judge at the New York State Court of Appeal. Otherwise, Counsellor Keane wouldn’t allow you to work for many nights like this.”

“Also, I’m a practical educator who graduated from Columbia University School of Education. I’m currently working as an education consultant at New York Lowbige Junior High.”

“Do you think there’s still a need for us to talk further?”

In America, perhaps a diplomat could use his own testimony to get the welfare bureau to investigate an incompetent mother to determine whether she was fit to have her children’s custody.

However, under the condition where there was no direct evidence, even the president of America could not make a State Court of Appeal judge’s daughter lose her custody for her son. Moreover, this daughter worked as an education expert in a popular school in New York.

It was also the other reflection of the country’s legal culture.

Johnson was stunned for a while, he shrugged and said, “Wow, Lowbich Junior High. That’s an Ivy League of junior high, even I, a cowboy from California heard about it.”

“There’s nothing that I would like to say anymore, Ma’am Lili.”

“Since you managed to guess what I’m trying to say, at least that has proved that you’re not so… You know what I mean, that’s great. Seems like it’s me who overthink.”

He then turned his head around and proceeded to chat with Song Xilin happily.

Zhang Lisheng who was sitting at the back row of the SUV looked outside of the car window while feeling lost. In his eyes, the reflective strips that were passing by quickly on both sides of the expressway were connected into a straight line.

He felt that his eyes were dizzy while his head was in a slight mess. Zhang Lisheng felt that his memory after he cultivated witchcraft, was a little scattered. He could not even recall how exactly did he gotten into this SUV all of the sudden and heading towards Chengdu.

“Aren’t I supposed to return to Damu High School to proceed with my study after I broke through to a Rank-2 Wizard a few days later?”

“Didn’t I plan to use Mountoad to teach those people from Eastern Guangdong who might come to me for revenge, a savage lesson?”

“Didn’t I say that I would give my mother a good scolding, even if I really found her and determined to stay in China forever? How did everything deviate from its original track out of nowhere?” Zhang Lisheng thought to himself.

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“Honey, there’re only two flights flying from Chengdu to New York per week so we can only fly back home on Friday. It’s alright because you’ll need some time to apply for your passport.”

“When we arrive in Chengdu, mother will let you stay in a hotel first.”

“We’ll have a good feast tomorrow morning and I’ll get you new clothes. Then you’ll get a standard passport photo taken…”

“Mother, mother. My － My head is in a big mess.” Zhang Lisheng who was in the dark told the truth while feeling lost, “What exactly happened?”

“And what happened between you and my father?”

Lili took a moment of silence then touched Zhang Lisheng’s cheeks. She said gently while tears flowing on her face, “My darling baby, as a mother, I can’t criticize your father who had raised you for more than a decade in front of you.”

“All you need to know is that we separated because there was really, really no choice. There was nothing else that I could do, otherwise, I wouldn’t have abandoned you.”

“I’ve loved you before and I’ll love you now, in the future and forever. I want to make it up to you. From today onwards, I’ll be the best and most competent mother in the world. Alright?”

Zhang Lisheng nodded hard and stopped asking a question. At that moment, he felt excitement within him from Lili’s pure and passionate motherly love. He felt even more excited than the time when he became a wizard. Now he had understood why he got into this SUV out of nowhere.

After driving fast for three hours, the SUV drove out of the Shanghai – Chengdu Expressway toll booth on the Chengdu section.

Song Xilin was relieved when he saw the bright streetlights on Chengdu Street. He yawned and said after looking at the time showing on the dashboard, “2:20 a.m., I can still take a nap after I showered when I got home.”

“Oh yea, Ma’am Lili, where are you heading to? I’ll send both of you there.”

“Golden Dragon Hotel, I’ve booked a room there. Thanks.”

“There’s no need to thank me, it’s destiny that we’re on the road together.”

“Golden Dragon Hotel, that’s a great place. I heard that they charge a couple of thousands yuan just to take a shower there. Tsk tsk.” Song Xilin turned at a junction as he spoke and soon, he drove into a big, grand hotel’s courtyard.

A few sleepy doormen wearing a uniform with tassels and round hats lifted their spirit when they saw the black registration plate on the SUV. They rushed towards the SUV immediately and opened the back seat door politely.

They did that not because they were xenomaniacs, but rather foreigners usually had the habit of tipping a staff in-service line. Meanwhile, a Chinese hardly had such a habit, no matter how rich and cultured they were.

However, to the doormen’s surprise, the person who they saw after opening the backseat door of the SUV with a black registration plate was not a foreigner with colored hair. Instead, it was an old fashioned village young man who looked like a skinny monkey wearing rubber shoes, working clothes and carrying a bamboo basket on his back.

After the young man gotten out of the car, he looked around the fancy world that he had never seen before while looking surprised. He mumbled to himself, “So this is how a grand hotel in the outside world looks like.”

“It looks like nothing much after seeing it on the computer many times, but when I look at it in real life, it’s really － really different…”

Lili who got out of the car felt sad when she saw her son looking blank at the hotel. She held Zhang Lisheng’s hand softly and turned around to bid farewell with Johnson and Song Xilin, “Mr. Johnson, Mr. Song, thanks to the both of you who made our reunion possible. Thank you for your hard work.”

“I’ll be grateful for your help for my life, goodbye.”

“Ma’am Lili, providing overseas service to a citizen is my responsibility as a diplomat. God bless both of you and your son, safe trip back to America. Goodbye.”

“I would like to wish you a safe journey as well. Goodbye Ma’am Lili, goodbye Mr. Zhang Lisheng.”

The SUV drove away slowly after bidding farewell. Lili, who had recovered her energy looked at her son next to her in contentment and shook the small luggage in her hand at the doormen and said, “Young fellas, which of you want to make a couple of USD for your tips? Come, get my luggage for me.”

“Mother, a couple of USD would convert to tens of yuan. Your luggage is so small, let me carry it for you.” Zhang Lisheng said after calculating to himself.

“Don’t be like this, my darling baby. Since we’re at the hotel, then we should accept others’ service at ease. They’re trying to make a living, don’t take it away from them. It’s rude behavior.”

“You’ll understand this naturally in the future. Just follow me now.” Lili said while holding Zhang Lisheng’s hand and passed her luggage to the doorman who was the nearest to her. They then walked into the hotel lobby.

As a five-star foreign hotel in Chengdu, the Golden Dragon Hotel’s exterior and interior decorations were considered luxurious. The hollow transparent tempered glass water column with a diameter that was over two meters and stands up to 20 meters filled with red koi fishes in the lobby was said to cost more than tens of millions yuan alone.

No matter where it was, ‘expensive’ was the best partner of luxurious. If it was not for her son that she had lost contact for more than a decade, as well as the name of the hotel which meant good fortune and chased misfortune away in Chinese tradition, Lili would not have booked a room here.

However, no matter how luxurious a hotel was, the female staff who was on the night shift at the front desk would be fewer during the day. Apart from that, they would inevitably doze off secretly while standing.

Lili took out her passport and passed it to a staff who looked the most exuberant across the imported gray marble table top counter, “I’ve booked a business suite at your hotel two days back, please check for me.”

The pretty staff in vibrant red traditional Chinese cheongsam took over the passport and subconsciously peeped at Zhang Lisheng who was spacing out while carrying a bamboo basket standing next to Lili. She did not say anything and begun to search on the computer which was in front of her.