On the eve of New Year's Eve, Lin Wanxing sat alone in her room facing the computer.
It was time to "write reports" again, and she found herself staring blankly at the email interface.
Suddenly, her WeChat lit up.
Wang Fa sent a sticker—a rabbit shaking a bell.
It was their secret signal for having a drink in the evening.
Lin Wanxing replied with a drooling little fox.
Lin Wanxing: I'm hungry!
Rooftop.
To keep the air moist and warm, a copper kettle was boiling water on the small charcoal stove on the rooftop.
Wang Fa removed the copper kettle, placed a long-handled pot on the stove, and poured the hot water from the kettle into the pot.
Lin Wanxing sat at the dining table with her laptop open.
The water quickly came to a boil.
Wang Fa tore open two packets of instant noodles. Under the awning, peaceful and faint sounds filled the air.
Lin Wanxing snapped out of her thoughts. Because of the upcoming New Year, she had specifically asked her students to finish all the food they had stockpiled at home. She asked, "Huh, where did these noodles come from?"
"Confiscated," Wang Fa replied.
Looking at the two packets of shrimp and fish board noodles, Lin Wanxing finally remembered—they were bought back when the students were obsessed with instant noodles.
Later, she thought it was too unhealthy and suggested they stop eating instant noodles. Everyone then embarked on a grand journey of cooking large communal meals.
But she hadn’t expected there to be leftovers that slipped through the cracks.
The charcoal fire was a pale orange hue. Golden noodles bubbled in the pot, and the air was filled with the comforting aroma of seasoning powder. Everything felt soothing.
Wang Fa added sausages and a fried egg to the pot. He pulled up a stool and sat in front of the small stove, leisurely cooking the noodles.
Steam rose into the night air, and the dim yellow light fell on him. His nose bridge was straight, and the lines of his profile were sharp. Lin Wanxing simply watched him.
Facing the stove, Wang Fa casually asked, "When are you going home?"
Lin Wanxing was taken aback, not expecting Wang Fa to ask such a question suddenly.
"What about you? When are you going home? Tomorrow is New Year's Eve," Lin Wanxing retorted.
"Our family relationships are quite distant. I don’t need to go back," Wang Fa said.
"Is that so?" Lin Wanxing was surprised.
"What about Teacher Lin?" Wang Fa asked.
The winter night was damp and cold. The weather forecast predicted a large-scale temperature drop, possibly with snow.
Lin Wanxing thought for a moment and replied, "My situation is a bit different from yours, Coach. I had a fight with my family."
The noodles in the pot continued to bubble softly. Wang Fa turned his head and looked seriously at Lin Wanxing.
Under the moonlight on this winter night, her hair was loosely tied up, and a hair clip held back the strands at her temples. She might not have realized it herself, but whenever she spoke of such matters, a flood of emotions would rise in her eyes.
Even if she appeared calm on the surface, her eyes never lied.
Wang Fa turned back and gently stirred the instant noodles in the pot.
"Why did you fight?"
"Well..." A soft sound came from the wooden table beside them as Lin Wanxing leaned forward, resting her head on the table. Whenever she couldn’t think of a solution, she would instinctively slump down.
Her voice was soft and slow as she said, "Because my parents are ordinary people, and of course, so am I. Many things are beyond their understanding. They don’t believe it and can’t accept it. That’s perfectly normal."
"Sounds like a horror story," Wang Fa said.
Lin Wanxing tapped her chin lightly on the table, as if nodding.
From then on, the only sound in the winter night was the crackling of the charcoal fire.
Students have things they don’t want to talk about. In the world of adults, there are also many things to avoid and problems that can’t be solved. This is normal, and it’s perfectly fine.
Later, they talked about what to buy at the market the next day.Lin Wanxing introduced the Spring Festival flower market, saying she could take him to see it on the first day of the lunar new year.
Wang Fa scooped out the instant noodles, served her a bowl, and questioned, "The employees worked hard all semester, and Teacher Lin’s year-end bonus is a trip to the market?"
Lin Wanxing’s hand, holding the chopsticks, shrank back slightly. Looking at the instant noodles in her hand, she immediately felt embarrassed.
Although she and Wang Fa didn’t have a clear employer-employee relationship, as the self-proclaimed highest leader of the football team, it felt impolite to let Wang Fa handle grocery shopping and cooking during the Spring Festival.
So she gave Wang Fa two options: a year-end bonus or a short trip to a nearby destination.
Wang Fa chose the all-inclusive luxury short trip.
Lin Wanxing waved her hand grandly: "Let’s go!"
The destination selection was simple.
Lin Wanxing took out a tourist map of the Hongjing area and let Wang Fa choose freely.
The coach glanced at the map and pointed to a patch of blue lake.
Wannan Village lay southwest of Hongjing, nestled against Xia Mountain and facing Tianxin Lake.
"Embracing shade while facing the sun, backed by mountains and overlooking water."
From a feng shui perspective, it was an auspicious location.
Indeed, most residents of Wannan Village shared the surname Zhou. Benefiting from favorable feng shui and a tradition of scholarly heritage, the village had produced three top scholars in ancient times. During the Ming Dynasty, one ancestor rose to the position of Grand Master of Imperial Entertainments, the highest official rank in the Zhou family.
On New Year’s Eve, Lin Wanxing and Wang Fa stood by Tianxin Lake.
A few people sketched by the lakeside, capturing the subtle atmosphere of the Spring Festival. The blue sky and white clouds reflected on the lake’s surface, while camphor and pine trees remained evergreen along the shore. Across the lake stood a millennia-old village with white walls and black tiles, a classic ink-wash depiction of Jiangnan.
Lanterns swayed gently on the eaves, and the village bustled with returning residents, filled with the lively spirit of the Spring Festival.
After explaining the history of Wannan Village, the guide began detailing the excavation and water diversion of Tianxin Lake. He mentioned that a ancestral worship ceremony happened to be taking place that day, and they were lucky enough to witness this traditional folk activity.
Lin Wanxing breathed in the crisp, cold air by the lake and took two photos of the scenery across the water.
Just then, a WeChat notification popped up.
She opened it to find a photo of the locked rooftop door, sent by Qin Ao.
She showed the photo to Wang Fa: "I told them we’re on a seven-day break. As expected—"
"Good thing we left," the coach remarked.
Lin Wanxing sent the Tianxin Lake photos she had just taken.
Qin Ao immediately replied with a voice message: "Damn! You went out with the coach? You abandoned us just like that!"
Lin Wanxing held down the voice message button, but Wang Fa suddenly looked down at her. She raised her phone and held it to his lips.
"Yes."
Wang Fa leaned slightly closer to the phone, and two simple, crisp words slipped softly from his thin lips.
His warm breath brushed against Lin Wanxing’s wrist.
She instinctively released her grip, sending the message.
The other side immediately protested, as WeChat ringtones chimed incessantly.
Qin Ao directly initiated a WeChat video call, and Lin Wanxing could almost picture the students bouncing around in agitation.
She raised her phone and looked at Wang Fa: "What do we do? The kids get worked up so easily."
Wang Fa was straightforward. He tapped the red "end call" button on the WeChat interface.
Lin Wanxing understood immediately. She muted her phone, and together with Wang Fa, stepped onto the stone bridge leading into the village.
The lake breeze was cool, but the sunlight was warm.
The ancestral hall of Wannan Village stood directly across the lake.The side halls on both sides resembled exhibition galleries, displaying old-fashioned looms and modern water-jet looms, with photographs hanging on the walls chronicling the Zhou family's developmental history.
Due to historical issues, Wannan Village was once impoverished. After the reform and opening-up, under the leadership of Old Madam Zhou Zhixian, the Zhou family revived their textile business. Later, facing constraints on chemical fiber raw materials from abroad, the family resolved to enter the petrochemical industry and now operates the world's largest PTA production plant.
Every time she visited Wannan Village, Lin Wanxing had to endure the guides' explanations about the villagers' struggle history.
Now, most villagers no longer lived there, as the place had become a tourist attraction.
But during the New Year, when wanderers returned home, Wannan Village took on a different kind of lively atmosphere.
In the main ancestral hall next door, long incense sticks burned, their blue smoke drifting past the horse-head walls, beneath a plaque inscribed with the four large characters: "Zhou Family Ancestral Hall."
The scale of ancestral worship in Wannan Village wasn't particularly grand.
The center of the hall displayed numerous large ceremonial bowls filled with colorful pastries and other offerings.
Red and gold confetti from that morning's dragon and lion dances littered the floor, while the courtyard housed a massive incense burner flanked by red candles. Zodiac-themed lanterns hung around the ancestral hall.
When Lin Wanxing and Wang Fa entered, they saw parents bringing their college-returned daughter to offer incense.
The suitcase stood directly beside the hall's entrance pillar. The girl took incense from her mother, lit it, and solemnly bowed three times toward the shrine.
The guide explained that in the past, clan rules were strict—only the entire clan could worship together, and those with different surnames weren't even allowed to step inside.
But now, entering a new era, the old madam said they needed new-era methods, simplifying everything.
Not only could anyone enter the ancestral hall,
but villagers returning for Spring Festival could also come offer incense anytime, all to give wandering descendants a sense of homecoming.
After the parents finished worshipping with their daughter, they left together. The suitcase wheels rumbled over the bluestone pavement, fading into the distance.
Wang Fa imitated the family, taking three incense sticks.
A staff member stopped him: "Young man, this is for villagers to worship ancestors. Tourists don't need to perform such formal rites."
Wang Fa slightly raised his head, gazing at the nearby shrine.
Remembering how Comrade Wang Fa had specifically requested to visit Wannan Village, Lin Wanxing suddenly realized: "Is this your hometown?"
Wang Fa nodded, telling the staff member beside him: "My grandmother was from Zhou Family Village."
The staff member suddenly understood.
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