Professor Guderian handed over a letter next. It was short, printed—probably an email:
Dear Principal Anjou,
It’s been a long time since we last contacted each other. I hope you are as well as before.
We probably won’t see each other for a long time, as we’ve recently made new progress in our research, and we can’t leave.
There’s something I would like to ask of you. My son, Lu Mingfei, has turned eighteen. He is a smart kid; his grades might not be the best, but we believe he will achieve something academically. So, if possible, please provide assistance for his admission to Cassell College.
I can’t tell him this in person, so I ask you to convey my message: his father and mother love him.
Sincerely,
Giovanni
Lu Mingfei silently read the letter, remaining speechless for a long time.
Professor Guderian cleared his throat, suddenly looking into Lu Mingfei’s eyes, speaking in an extraordinarily sincere tone with somewhat unstandardized pronunciation. “Mingfei, your parents love you.”
Lu Mingfei’s eyes widened in shock.
“The principal insisted I bring your parents’ greetings; he cares about you too,” Professor Guderian said.
Such a blunt delivery made Lu Mingze unable to hold back a laugh, and even Lu Mingfei’s uncle and aunt couldn’t keep straight faces. The words from Lu Mingfei’s mother, Giovanni, were so tender in the letter that they were almost tear-jerking. But coming from the white-haired, disheveled Professor Guderian, it felt strangely out of place and comical. Ye Sheng and Aki also shook their heads, smiling wryly, while Professor Guderian patted Lu Mingfei’s shoulder heartily.
The atmosphere at the dining table suddenly became much more amicable.
“I’ll go to the restroom,” Lu Mingfei stood up.
Leaning against the restroom door, Lu Mingfei remained silent for a moment as tears streamed down silently.
Everyone was laughing, but he felt there was nothing funny about it.
In fact, it was quite moving. After all these years, as he turned eighteen, hardly anyone cared what he thought or what he did. Time and again, he walked home from school watching as his classmates were picked up by cars one by one. Looking back at the dust raised by those cars, he thought that perhaps there was really no one in this world who loved him.
“Mingfei, your parents love you.”
Lu Mingfei believed it. He hadn’t felt much when reading those words on paper, but hearing it from Professor Guderian suddenly made him believe.
Words like “I love you” must be spoken out loud; saying them is different from writing them down, especially for a neglected child like him.
Lu Mingfei felt a bit foolish for doing this, but he couldn’t help his sadness. He could only hide in the restroom. He crouched down against the door, tears streaming down as he traced circles on the tiles, planning to wait until the tears stopped before going out, claiming he was just using the restroom.
At that moment, a pair of purple patterned running shoes appeared in front of him.
Lu Mingfei looked up in surprise. Standing before him was a girl, wearing running shoes, fitted jeans, a white tank top, and a blue striped short shirt, topped with a baseball cap.
Lu Mingfei felt something was off, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it and blinked.
The tall, bright girl looked at Lu Mingfei sideways, the silver four-leaf clover pendant on her earlobe swaying back and forth, its embedded diamonds sparkling brilliantly.
“This is the ladies’ room,” the girl casually pointed out the issue to Lu Mingfei.
Lu Mingfei hung his head and returned to the dining table, the pretty tall girl following him with a cold expression.
“Hey? Nono, I thought you went out to play,” Professor Guderian stood up. “Let me introduce you. This is second-year student Chen Motong, of Chinese descent; she is one of our student examiners. This is your new classmate, Lu Mingfei.”
“Nono?” Lu Mingfei was taken aback; the name sounded familiar.
“I ate at a street stall last night and wasn’t feeling well, so I’ve been in the restroom the whole time,” Chen Motong said, sitting beside Aki.
“Why didn’t you call me to join? I also wanted to eat at that street stall,” Professor Guderian said regretfully. “I heard about it on the news.”
“You heard about that gutter oil stall on the news?” Chen Motong picked up her knife and fork, snagging the last salmon roll from Ye Sheng’s plate.
“I have another one; I’ll give it to you too,” Aki offered her own salmon roll to Chen Motong.
“You two work so well together; you really look like a couple. Why aren’t you married yet?” Chen Motong said, her mouth full of salmon roll, speaking indistinctly.
Ye Sheng and Aki exchanged glances, feeling a mix of helplessness and awkwardness.
Lu Mingfei felt grateful that this girl hadn’t mentioned his embarrassing situation, but the warm atmosphere that had been there immediately dissipated once she sat at the table. Chen Motong took the seat by the window, not looking at anyone, spreading butter on her bread. In the sunlight, her long hair shimmered with a deep red hue, like wine.
This was the first time Lu Mingfei encountered a girl like her. She didn’t seem to care about how others perceived her, unlike Su Xiaoqian, who was overly concerned with others’ opinions, or Chen Wenwen, who was delicate and silent, avoiding eye contact. Chen Motong seemed like a proud princess who was indifferent to everything; even when she looked directly at you, it felt like she didn’t really see you at all.
Lu Mingfei’s uncle was stealing glances at Chen Motong’s wrist, and Lu Mingfei knew what he was looking at: a silver Omega watch studded with diamonds.
“Do you mind if I eat your portion too?” Chen Motong wiped her mouth with a napkin and stared at Lu Mingfei.