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The sedan glided down from the far end of Huacheng Avenue, brilliant sunlight shimmering and scattering across its polished surface. In the distance, the faded sign of the ‘Mingzhu Community,’ its paint peeling in places, appeared faintly.
Seated in the passenger seat, Huang Xiu gazed out the window at the community sign, momentarily lost in thought. It had only been a month since she last came home. Then, she had been him; now, everything had changed.
As the community sign drew near, Professor Yuan gently pressed the brake, glancing left and right through the windshield.
“This community is quite old,” Huang Xiu murmured. “There’s no underground parking. You can just drive straight through the main gate.”
“Alright,” Professor Yuan nodded, turning the steering wheel left. The Mercedes-Benz executed a smooth turn and headed towards the entrance.
A sharp screech! The brake pads locked, bringing the vehicle to a halt before the electric barrier. The window, tinted with reflective film, slowly lowered.
From the security booth, an elderly man emerged, clad in a faded security uniform and old, worn green military shoes.
“What are you doing here?”
“Grandpa Li, could you open the gate?” Huang Xiu said with a smile.
Her community was not only old, but its management company had long since abandoned it. Thus, the residents collectively funded the re-employment of retired elderly men from within the community to serve as security guards.
“Wait a moment, you’re not from our community, are you? A pretty girl like you, I couldn’t possibly forget.”
Grandpa Li adjusted his reading glasses, a shrewd glint in his eyes.
“Who are you? What brings you here?”
Having lived in the community for over a decade and served as a security guard for several years, he had an impression of most residents.
Huang Xiu’s delicate face flushed slightly. However, she had anticipated this very situation and had already prepared an explanation on the way.
“I’m here to visit relatives,” she softly explained. “Huang Qinian from Building 3, Unit 2, is my uncle.”
Grandpa Li smiled and nodded, then scrutinized Huang Xiu from head to toe before adding, “You certainly do bear a resemblance.” With that, his gaze swept past Huang Xiu and landed on Yuan Fei. He then briefly glanced at the two individuals in the back seat, finally lingering for a moment on the Mercedes-Benz and the BMW following behind it.
“Are you also a relative of Huang Qinian?” he asked, a hint of suspicion in his voice. When did Huang Qinian acquire such wealthy relatives? Usually, hardly anyone came to visit for New Year greetings.
“Indeed!” Yuan Fei replied, his voice thick with a genuine Yanghai accent layered over his heavily accented Mandarin. “I’m his grand-uncle.”
“Alright, wait a moment.” Hearing the familiar dialect, Grandpa Li’s reservations dissipated. He entered the security booth, returning with a registration book. “Please sign your names and license plates; it’s standard procedure.”
Yuan Fei and Li Qinyue signed their names, and Grandpa Li pressed the electric key in his pocket.
The electric barrier rose, and the two cars drove in, one after the other.
It was past eight, and most residents of the community were already awake. Elderly men could be seen practicing health exercises, while young people jogged with headphones on. They watched the two approaching cars, a flicker of curiosity in their eyes.
While Mercedes-Benzes weren’t uncommon in Ying City, they were certainly a rare sight in this particular community. After all, those who could afford such vehicles typically wouldn’t reside in an old community lacking even an elevator.
“The security guards in your community are quite vigilant,” Yuan Fei remarked, his accent returning to normal.
“Grandpa Li used to be a retired scout,” Huang Xiu explained, then turned to Professor Yuan, asking curiously, “Professor Yuan, are you from Yanghai?”
“No, I just had a friend from Yanghai,” Yuan Fei said, smacking his lips.
Just as they finished speaking, the car slowly pulled to a stop in front of Building 3, Unit 2.
“We’re here. Let’s get out!”
Huang Xiu nodded and pushed open the car door. For today, she had deliberately chosen a more neutral outfit: long pants and a short-sleeved shirt.
Snap! The trunk lid slowly closed. Yun Ning approached, carrying a large red gift box in each hand. The gift boxes were adorned with ancient Daxia patterns, along with the university’s name and emblem. What lay inside, however, remained unseen. Yet Huang Xiu could sense their considerable value.
“All these gifts… weren’t really necessary, were they?” she said, a touch of embarrassment in her voice.
“We are here representing Tiandu University,” Professor Yuan said with a smile. “We cannot neglect proper etiquette.”
“Moreover, you are an important talent. How else can we demonstrate our sincerity without bringing gifts?”
“Besides, these things were just sitting in the trunk. Might as well put them to good use now.”
Professor Yuan’s words flowed one after another, leaving Huang Xiu utterly speechless.
“Alright.”
She could only nod, then turned and headed into the building.
The unit doors in the community were originally meant to be kept closed, but residents found the constant opening and closing troublesome. Furthermore, no thefts had ever occurred, so over time, the doors were simply left open. This proved convenient for Huang Xiu, who hadn’t brought her keys.
The group of five passed through the open metal door and entered the building. Perhaps due to the lack of an elevator, the hallways were not cramped, with airy, well-ventilated windows on every floor. The stairwell walls were somewhat yellowed, bearing the faint remnants of various small advertisements that had been scraped off. The green coating on the stairwell railings was cracked in places, yet the sound-activated lights remained intact and responsive.
After ascending to the seventh floor, Huang Xiu paused before a familiar brown security door. The ‘Fu’ character pasted on the door for the New Year and the Spring Festival couplets on the walls flanking it had not yet been removed.
They had arrived!
Huang Xiu bent slightly, her throat, no longer outwardly prominent, still subtly moving. Her right hand then slowly rose, index and middle fingers together, poised to knock. Yet, just as she was about to strike, her hand suddenly froze in mid-air. She tried again… but it was the same. She stared at her right hand, slender as a spring onion, trembling almost imperceptibly.
The situation offered no turning back, and she was but a single step away from resolving the turmoil in her heart. Yet, now that she stood at this threshold, she found herself unable to commit.
Silence, profound silence. As if a pause button had been pressed, Huang Xiu’s right hand remained suspended in the air, neither knocking nor lowering.
Behind her, Yuan Fei and the others simply watched in silence; no one came forward to disturb her. But Huang Xiu could feel their intense gazes, as if urging her on, pressuring her.
Suddenly, crisp footsteps echoed from downstairs, reverberating through the empty stairwell. Another resident was returning. The approaching footsteps were like a countdown to a charge; she could delay no longer.
‘Alright then, what must come, will come!’
Huang Xiu took a deep breath, her resolve now absolute.
Knock, knock, knock! Her right hand gently rapped twice on the door. No sound came from within, so she reached out to knock again.
Knock, knock, knock! Still no response.
Huang Xiu: “???”
‘Where is she? Mom isn’t home at this hour?’ A very unsettling thought surfaced in Huang Xiu’s mind: ‘Could she have gone out to play cards?’
“She doesn’t seem to be home… Perhaps—” Huang Xiu turned, offering Professor Yuan an apologetic smile, about to continue speaking.
Just then.
A woman with gentle eyes, delicate features etched with the marks of time, ascended from around the stairwell corner, carrying a large bag of groceries. The moment she saw the woman, Huang Xiu’s pupils contracted sharply, and she instinctively recoiled a step.
“M-Mom?” she stammered, her voice barely a whisper, yet it did not escape Liwen’s ears.