Short, Light, Free

Preface.

Dad has passed.

I received this news through an international mail.

The address written on it was my school’s.

It was written by my mom; she had an imposing handwriting.

The content was actually very simple. Dad’s passing time.

No other details mentioned.

Oh, but she did take the chance to blame me for not having my mobile switched on.

I took my phone out. No missed messages or calls.

I suddenly remembered the phone that I had been using in China. It’s been kept in a drawer at home ever since I moved here.

I wasn’t interested in staying in touch with my family and the reason was simple.

If you had a father worth tens of billions of dollars…

If your father’s photos were all over magazine covers, the Internet, television, and everywhere within the country…

But you’re just a worthless son of his.

Of course, by worthless, I meant that I’m just not outstanding enough.

I would never surpass a tenth of what my father has achieved no matter how many distinctions and certificates I get.

There had been a lot of news about children of entrepreneurs and officials committing fraud.

In order to prevent such negative coverage, my father has thrown me into the other half of the world.

Into this exclusive university, with a name unheard of in China, to further my studies.

Until today.

He’s passed…

———-

I did not apply for a leave of absence. Neither did I skip classes.

Instead, I finished up my day in school earnestly.

I was the only Chinese over here.

When my best friend, also my desk-mate, asked about the content of that mail, I paused before smiling bitterly. I lied and told him that it was a love letter.

His eyes lit up. He took the ‘love letter’ and looked it over for a long time.

I did not snatch it back since I knew that he would not be able to understand a word in it anyway.

When I had first arrived at this school, he had asked me how to write the Chinese character for dragon.

I wrote it down for him but he insisted on double-checking it on his phone.

He pointed at the screen, at a traditional Chinese word on a game character’s t-shirt, and said that that was the correct ‘dragon’.

I didn’t know how to explain.

He continued inspecting the letter for a while before he put it back in the envelope and returned it to me.

He asked, dully, about the girl’s appearance and why there wasn’t a photo of herself in the envelope.

I could only smile and explain that Chinese girls were usually more conservative and introverted.

“I think you people are more romantic than us French.”

Again, I could only smile.

———-

After school, I returned to my condominium apartment.

I have no idea when Dad had gotten it.

Houses in the city, no matter their locations, were extremely expensive.

A condominium was even more costly.

I haven’t taken the China mobile phone out of the drawer ever since I locked it up upon arriving here.

It has been two years.

The phone that had been trendy at that point was now considered an antique.

I switched it on with an uneasy heart.

One second…

Two seconds…

Five seconds…

Ten seconds…

The battery had probably run out of charge.

I looked at its port. An old model.

I rummaged through the drawers and finally spotted the charger.

Plugging it in, I waited anxiously.

Three minutes later, I turned it on urgently.

After a brief silence, I started worrying that perhaps the call charge had run out as well.

A few of mom’s messages came in.

Mom’s strange too. Did she really think that I’d be able to use the China number when I’m overseas?

Then again, they did not have my foreign number.

And I haven’t been home for two years.

I gave mom a call.

“Luqiao, is that you?” mom asked.

“Yeah. Is dad gone?” I asked faintly.

Silence. Followed by spasmodic sobs.

“Heart attack from over-exhaustion,” she managed.

“You want me to go back?” I continued.

“The seventh day is in two days’ time. You must come back quick. Your grandmother, grandfather, and I are quarreling,” she said.

“Quarreling? Over what?”

“It’s hard for me to explain over the phone. Come back and we’ll talk,” she pleaded urgently.

I hung up.

———-

I booked the air tickets from Paris to Beijing and forwarded the information to my mom.

While I was packing my luggage, I realized how easy it was to leave this place, yet I had been unwilling to return home for the past two years.

I packed whatever I could bring but I only managed to fill half a suitcase.

I went around the house once more but there was nothing else to pack.

I thought about the items I might’ve missed out.

Oh right, leave of absence.

I grabbed my phone but I realized that I did not have the teacher’s contact information.

I called the only person I could.

That’s right, my desk-mate.

“What’s up?” he greeted.

“I’m going back to China,” I said without preamble.

“So urgent? All over a letter? She must be a beauty. Remember to bring a photo back,” he responded.

“Alright. I’ll need you to get me a leave of absence,” I requested.

“How many days?”

I remained silent for a little while.

Inhale. Exhale.

“What’s… what’s the limit?” I asked.

“Fifteen days. Any longer and you’ll need a letter from a hospital. I’m starting to get curious about that girl. She must be a charming lady.”

“We’re childhood friends, I guess. Alright, I’m out of time. I’ve got a plane to catch.”

With that, I hung up.

———-

30 hours of flight.

I was practically sleeping onboard for the first half of the flight but I was wide awake for the second half.

I thought about how I wouldn’t have been able to fall asleep at all if not for my first class cabin.

The silence around me induced thoughts of my father.

His name was Chen Ansheng and mine’s Chen Luqiao.

Grandmother mentioned that she had a smooth delivery of my father.

She had felt no pain and she had held my father in her arms, with a smile on her face, when getting pushed out of the birthing ward.

In her embrace, my dad had cried, loud and proud.

As such, grandfather discarded potential names like Chen Dalong and Chen Dapao and opted for Chen Ansheng instead since he had a smooth birth.

My father was great. He’d been obedient since young.

I wondered if his excellence was genuine or had been amplified by fame.

Father was very poor when he first got married, but he worked diligently, starting from the bottom.

He started his first shop and eventually opened a chain of multiple outlets.

He then moved into real estate and excelled even without guidance.

Everything at home had been obtained through his hard work.

He earned a huge sum when he clinched a deal with a hotel.

He then moved into mobile devices, electronics, and cars.

He started a foundation for the Hope Project.

He visited all sorts of places, going on television to give speeches.

He attended the news conference and invested in Hope Elementary School.

He was unstoppable.

———-

The plane landed safely.

Someone was already waiting for me at the arrival gate.

It was Uncle Fu, my personal chauffeur.

He had always been busy taking care of my father so his time was now freed up.

“Uncle Fu, how long has it been since we last met?” I greeted.

“It’s been a few years, Young Master.”

“About my dad…” I started.

The smile on Uncle Fu’s face vanished. He replied slowly, “He’s gone, Young Master. It was very sudden. I couldn’t believe it.”

“How did it happen?” I asked immediately.

“Cardiac arrest. You’ve heard from Madam, haven’t you? She’s arguing with Old Madam over Master’s body.”

“Isn’t he already dead? What’s there to quarrel about?”

“This… It’s not good for me to say too much. Go home and you’ll see, Young Master,” Uncle Fu answered.

“Got it.”

After some time, we arrived at the house.

It was exceptionally quiet and I knew that it was the calm before the storm.