Extra Chapter - Ji Lu Wushuang - As If He Had Always Been Here

It's good to have you back.

Ji Jianguo said, his voice a bit hoarse.

They had come by car.

An old car that had been running for almost ten years.

The money Ji Wushuang had transferred to their bank card was enough for them to buy a villa in the best part of Tangzhou and get a luxury car.

Then, they wouldn't have to do anything, just enjoy their retirement in comfort.

But they hadn't.

The car slowly drove away from the new high-speed rail station area.

Back to the familiar, old urban district.

"Why haven't you changed the car?"

Ji Wushuang asked.

"This one still runs."

Her father, who was driving, kept his eyes on the road.

"If we got a new one, we'd be afraid of dings and scratches, wouldn't even feel at ease leaving it parked downstairs."

Her mother added from the passenger seat.

"We didn't move either, still living in the apartment assigned by the factory."

"All the neighbors are familiar, we're used to it."

Ji Wushuang looked out the window at the streets that were familiar, yet somehow strange.

"You... are you still working?"

Her father answered plainly.

"Your mom works at the factory clinic, an easy job. As for me, I'm a consultant in the technical department, not tiring either."

"Have to find something to do. Otherwise, a person just rusts away."

Ji Wushuang didn't say anything more.

She understood.

She could give them more money than they could ever spend.

But she couldn't change the way of life they had lived for a lifetime.

Work, save money, be frugal.

It was already carved into their bones.

The money she gave them, they probably hadn't touched a single cent.

Just left it sitting in the bank.

As if they were just keeping it safe for her.

The car drove into the Tangji No. 3 Residential Compound.

Stopped in front of that gray Soviet-style apartment building.

Everything seemed unchanged.

On both sides of the road were still those drab Soviet-style apartment buildings.

The peeling paint on the walls was even worse now.

On every household's balcony, colorful laundry was hung out to dry.

Like weary flags, announcing that life was still going on.

Ji Wushuang got out of the car in front of her building.

Dragging a simple suitcase, she walked into the familiar, dimly lit corridor.

The air was filled with a complex smell.

Cooking oil fumes, food, and a faint, elusive damp mustiness.

This was the smell of her childhood.

She walked to that familiar door.

A faded "Fu" character was pasted on it.

Her mother took out a key and opened the door.

The apartment was still so small.

The furniture was still the same old furniture used for decades.

But the room was spotlessly clean.

"Come, come, sit down."

Her mother pulled her to sit.

"You must be tired, right? Are you hungry?"

Just then, a somewhat unfamiliar young man's voice came from the kitchen.

"Uncle, Auntie, you're back."

Ji Wushuang was taken aback.

Then, she saw a man in blue work clothes walk out of the kitchen.

He was tall.

Ji Wushuang was actually quite tall herself.

This man was even taller than her.

He was still holding a wrench in his hand.

There was a bit of dust on his face.

Seeing Ji Wushuang, he also froze, as if he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Wushuang?"

It was Chen Lei.

He looked much more mature than she remembered.

The lines of his face were sharper.

His gaze was steadier.

Chen Lei was no longer that shy, awkward boy who would blush.

"You... you're back."

A somewhat clumsy smile appeared on Chen Lei's face.

"Mm." Ji Wushuang nodded.

"Chen Lei, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, Auntie said the kitchen pipe was leaking a bit, so I came over to take a look."

Chen Lei raised the wrench in his hand slightly.

Her mother explained with a smile from the side.

"Your dad's getting old. Xiao Lei helps with a lot of things around the house."

"Light bulbs burning out, pipes clogging, your dad's old arms and legs can't manage. We're really grateful to Xiao Lei."

Ji Jianguo also nodded beside her.

"Xiao Lei has done well for himself now."

"A senior engineer at the Tangji Research Institute."

"He's in charge of several new projects at the factory. Even the veteran masters admire him."

Ji Wushuang looked at Chen Lei.

She hadn't expected that the awkward boy next door from back then.

Had now become an important figure in this steel city.

Chen Lei seemed a bit embarrassed by the praise.

He scratched his head.

"Uncle, Auntie, you catch up. I'll just tighten the pipe and be on my way."

He turned and went back into the kitchen.

Soon, the sounds of metal clinking and twisting came from the kitchen.

Not long after, he came out.

Having washed his hands.

"All done, Auntie. It shouldn't leak for the next few days."

"Oh, thank you so much, Xiao Lei."

Her mother said gratefully,

"Quick, don't leave, stay and have dinner with us."

"No, Auntie."

Chen Lei waved his hand,

"You're having a family reunion. I won't intrude."

His gaze fell on Ji Wushuang, pausing for a moment.

"Welcome home."

He said, then turned and left.

The door closed softly.

Also shutting out the sound of his departing footsteps.

A feeling Ji Wushuang couldn't quite name stirred in her heart.

This wasn't quite the reunion she had imagined.

No awkwardness.

No distance.

It was like an old friend had just helped fix a leaky pipe.

Then, calmly left.

As naturally as if he had always been here.

And as naturally as if she had always been here.

Dinner was plentiful.

Her mother kept putting food into Ji Wushuang's bowl.

Piling it up like a small mountain.

"Eat more, look how thin you are."

"What do you eat when you're out there? Can you eat properly?"

Her father didn't say much.

Just drank one cup of liquor after another.

The look in his eyes as he watched his daughter held heartache, pride, and a trace of something unfamiliar she couldn't decipher.

They asked Ji Wushuang about her work over the past year.

Ji Wushuang didn't know how to explain.

She couldn't say she had spent half a month lying low in the jungles of Africa.

Nor could she say she had dodged airstrikes in the deserts of the Middle East.

Even less could she say she had accompanied a girl named Lu Qianqian, witnessing the most extreme poverty and war in this world.

All she could say was,

"I work as an assistant for a boss."

"Travel everywhere on business."

"It's very safe."

Her parents nodded, somewhat understanding, somewhat not.

They didn't press further.

They knew their daughter's world was already too far from theirs.

The only thing they could do was let her have a bite of hot, home-cooked food.

The meal was very quiet.

Yet Ji Wushuang's nerves, which had been taut for a year, slowly began to relax at this moment.

This was the familiar warmth of home.

It had no taste, no shape.

But it could soothe the deepest weariness in a person's heart.

That night, Ji Wushuang slept in her own small room.

The bed was new.

The mattress was soft, the quilt was warm.

On the wall, there was still the poster of the movie star she liked as a child.

The poster had yellowed.

Everything was exactly the same as when she had left.

She had some trouble sleeping, her mind a jumble.

Life-and-death situations from her time in the forces.

The sound of gunfire at the S country border.

Every little moment with Lu Qianqian.

Lu Chenyuan's eyes in the study, eyes that seemed to see through everything.

And Chen Lei's clumsy, dust-smeared smiling face.

She closed her eyes.