Chapter 25

Cheng Lang usually went back to his parents' house for lunch every Saturday. Three years ago, he'd bought his parents a house in the Lower North Shore Chinese area. The location was very close to where his parents ran their restaurant, and life was very convenient.
Cheng Lang was born in Sydney. When he was young, his parents worked at a relative's restaurant. Although he got out of school at 2 or 3 PM every day, as soon as he got home he had to go to the tutoring classes his parents had signed him up for.
All Chinese parents continued the tradition of pushing their children. Most Chinese children also gathered at various tutoring classes after school.
His parents had great expectations for Cheng Lang, hoping that after finishing public elementary school, he could go to a selective high school that required good grades to get into. Those schools charged public school tuition but gathered all the high-achieving "nerds"—the best choice besides expensive private schools. Cheng Lang remembered his school was mostly Chinese, mostly Indian, and a small, very noticeable group of local kids.
But Cheng Lang understood his parents' good intentions. Kitchen work was hard. If he didn't work hard too, life would just continue being hard with no end in sight.
He got into a local university, finished his PhD. During that time, Cheng Lang had spent a year on exchange in the US. American universities and research results naturally far exceeded Australia's. All the most powerful researchers stayed there. After his exchange ended, Cheng Lang had thought about staying in New York.
But that year, his parents had just left the relative's restaurant and rented their own restaurant in the Chinese area. His mother had gotten sick from accumulated exhaustion and couldn't continue working. After Cheng Lang finished his PhD, he could only first find a teaching position at a local school to help get the family restaurant running. But over time, he stayed.
Opportunities don't wait, and neither do impulses.
Life seemed to continue peacefully. The family restaurant hired employees and did very good business in the Chinese area. Cheng Lang also kept getting projects and grants and quickly rose to associate professor.
His parents occasionally talked about buying a house. Relatives had moved to the Chinese area and bought detached houses. Buying a house in Sydney really wasn't easy, let alone in the Lower North Shore.
Hearing that industry paid more, Cheng Lang had been persuaded many times.
Jumping to industry, then later starting a new company seemed natural. Cheng Lang was someone who lived quite well in the worldly sense. Starting a company was very profitable. Within a few years, he'd bought his parents a detached house in the Chinese area.
That day when Shuangyun asked him if he liked teaching students at school, Cheng Lang was actually somewhat surprised.
Because no one had asked him what he actually liked, including himself.
He was very unclear about his own preferences. Perhaps he felt people should follow society's template downward, and that would be a perfect life. It wasn't that he'd never heard others say "I like you," but when those words came from Shuangyun's mouth, everything became especially clear and powerful.
She liked him, so she also listed all the evidence of her liking him.
Each and every thing was something she'd done because she liked him. She wasn't cowardly or shy, as if she could be forever unhesitating and never regretful for things she liked.
Like a flame, not making people feel unbearably hot, but bright like the sun.
That bright Shuangyun, expressing clear, flag-waving liking.
Cheng Lang was moved.
When she sat on him, her kisses also seemed to use all her strength. As if in the entire universe, she now cared most about him, only about him.
Of course, Cheng Lang couldn't deny her beautiful appearance.
Just as when she'd first asked him, he'd answered truthfully: very beautiful.
"So what?"
The moment Cheng Lang asked Shuangyun if she just wanted to sleep with him, he also gave himself an answer.
Shuangyun was slightly surprised when she saw the key. She wasn't inexperienced with people giving her house keys, but she hadn't expected it to be so fast, hadn't expected Cheng Lang to be so fast.
"You want me to come to your place often?" Shuangyun asked him with a smile.
Cheng Lang turned away to open the refrigerator. "Come when you have time."
"I'm free every day." Shuangyun persisted.
Cheng Lang laughed very lightly: "I've given you the key. You can come whenever you want."
He took some more vegetables from the refrigerator, planning to make two side dishes.
Cheng Lang wanted to tell her to go rest for a while, but only then realized his apartment really didn't look welcoming to a "second person."
The living room had no sofa or TV, only his work desk.
Cheng Lang asked: "What do you think about me adding a sofa and TV to the living room?"
Shuangyun nodded: "I agree."
"Go look on my computer. After you pick, I'll order them."
"No problem."
Shuangyun then sat at Cheng Lang's work station.
Sitting there the second time felt very different—already had the meaning of being the owner.
Shuangyun opened a webpage to look for suitable sofas and TVs.
His bookmarks were neatly organized. Shuangyun saw one bookmark folder was the name of an American university.
Shuangyun asked about it. Cheng Lang said he'd been on exchange there when he was a student.
"I've never been to New York. I really want to go." Shuangyun said. "I heard there are a lot of homeless people there? More than Sydney?"
Cheng Lang thought about it: "If we're comparing, Sydney is more like a civilized society."