Great Power Reclamation

October in London is mostly rainy with little sunshine.

When Ye Guigen came out of the library, it was already dark. Fine rain was falling obliquely, and the glow of the streetlights blurred in the moisture.

He didn't bring an umbrella, so he had to put his backpack on his head and jog back to the dormitory.

Halfway there, I suddenly heard someone shout from behind: "Wait a minute!"

He turned around, and a girl ran towards him with an umbrella. Her chestnut hair was a little messy from the wind, and she had big eyes and shallow dimples when she smiled.

She held the umbrella high, covering him: "Where are you going? I'll give you a ride."

Ye Guigen paused for a moment, recognizing the girl who sat diagonally behind him in his development economics class last week. She seemed to be an exchange student from Japan, but what was her name again?

“Thank you, I’m going back to the undergraduate dorms,” he said.

“What a coincidence, I live over there too.” The girl tilted her umbrella towards him. “You’re Ye Guigen, the one who posted on that forum, right? My name is Meixue, I’m from Japan, an exchange student.”

"Hello." Ye Guigen took the umbrella handle. "Let me hold it."

The two walked side by side in the rain. Miyuki was a head shorter than him, and occasionally her arm would brush against his as they walked; it was soft and carried a faint scent of cherry blossoms.

Ye Guigen felt inexplicably nervous, and his palms were slightly sweaty.

“I listened to your speech,” Miyuki said. “The story of the African girl who wanted to be a doctor really touched me.”

“I also volunteered in Japan, teaching English to children on remote islands. The children there are the same; even the smallest opportunity can ignite their potential.”

Ye Guigen turned to look at her. Her profile was soft in the rain, with tiny water droplets clinging to her eyelashes.

"What did you study?" he asked.

"Education. I want to research how to provide better education for children in remote areas." Miyuki smiled. "Sounds idealistic, doesn't it?"

"No, it's fine."

When they arrived at the dormitory building, Miyuki folded her umbrella and waved to him, saying, "Thank you for seeing me off. Next time we meet, I'll treat you to coffee to thank you for holding the umbrella for me."

After saying that, she ran into the building, splashing small water droplets from the hem of her skirt.

Ye Guigen stood there stunned for a few seconds until Hans leaned out of the window and called to him:
"What are you standing there for? Are you addicted to getting soaked in the rain?"

He finally came to his senses.

Over the weekend, Emily hosted a small party at her rented apartment.

When Ye Guigen arrived, there were already about ten people crammed into the living room. The music was playing loudly, some people were drinking, and some were playing board games.

"Ye! Over here!" Emily poked her head out from the kitchen. "Help me bring the beer over!"

Ye Guigen carried a case of beer through the crowd and found Raj there, playing cards with some classmates.

Li Ming sat on the sofa, next to a girl in a red dress, and the two chatted and laughed.

"Who is that?" Ye Guigen asked Emily.

"Miyuki, an exchange student from Japan. Don't you know her?"

Ye Guigen then noticed that the girl in the red dress was the same girl from the rain that day. Today, she had her hair up, revealing her slender neck, and her eyes curved into crescent moons when she smiled.

Li Ming whispered something in her ear, making her cover her mouth and laugh.

Ye Guigen looked away, put the beer on the table, took a bottle, and went to the balcony.

The rain stopped, the night breeze carried a dampness, and the lights of the London Eye spun in the night in the distance.

"Why are you hiding here all by yourself?"

Miyuki followed him out at some point, holding two bottles of beer, and handed him one.

"It's too noisy inside." Ye Guigen took the wine.

"Li Ming is quite interesting, but he's a bit...too enthusiastic."

Miyuki leaned against the railing, turning her head to look at him. "Are you familiar with him?"

"Unfamiliar."

"That's good." Miyuki took a sip of her drink. "He kept asking me about Japan, in very detail. He also said he's going to Tokyo for an internship this summer and wants me to be his tour guide."

Ye Guigen remained silent.

Miyuki suddenly laughed: "You don't talk much. Do you not like chatting with strangers?"

"No," Ye Guigen paused, "I just don't know what to say."

"Then I'll speak, and you listen." Miyuki turned around to face him:
“I grew up in Hokkaido, Japan. My family had a small farm where we grew lavender. When I was a child, the mountains were covered in purple in the summer, and tourists from all over the world would come to take pictures. Later, my grandfather got sick, and the farm was left unattended and abandoned.”

Ye Guigen looked at her.

"That's why I studied education and wanted to teach in remote areas. The children there, like I was when I was a child, need someone to tell them that the world is big and they can go out and explore."

Miyuki tilted her head back and took a sip of her drink. "And you? Where do you live?"

"In Northwest China, there is a place called Junken City."

What's it like there?

Ye Guigen thought for a moment, recalling the night market in Junken City, his grandfather's old friends, and the photovoltaic panels on the Gobi Desert.

He said, "That used to be the Gobi Desert. My grandfather's generation built it up. There were factories, schools, night markets, and Akhal-Teke horses."

"That sounds cool."

"good."

The two remained silent for a while, gazing at the lights in the distance. Suddenly, Miyuki said:

"Did you and your girlfriend have a fight?"

Ye Guigen was taken aback: "How did you know I have a girlfriend?"

"Just guessing. With your looks, there's no way you could be single."

Miyuki laughed, "And the way you looked at Li Ming just now was a bit... I can't quite put my finger on it."

Ye Guigen did not deny it. He and Elizabeth had indeed seen each other less recently. She was busy with the restructuring of the foundation, and he was busy with classes and writing papers. They would occasionally talk on the phone, but only for a few words before hanging up.

Sometimes when he thinks of her, he feels a sense of distance—she belongs to a world of suits and ties, of clinking glasses and lively conversation, while he now only wants to drink beer and play cards with his classmates.

“It wasn’t exactly an argument,” he said. “It was just… we were both busy with our own things.”

Miyuki nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

It was almost midnight when the party ended. After Ye Guigen finished cleaning up Emily's trash, he went downstairs and found Meixue standing at the door, seemingly waiting for someone.

"You haven't left yet?" he asked.

"I'll wait for you," Miyuki said with a smile. "It's too late, I'm a little scared to go home alone. Want to walk together?"

The two walked slowly along the Thames. It was late at night, and there were few tourists along the riverbank, only the occasional jogger passing by.

The streetlights cast long shadows of them, overlapping and then separating.

"I'll buy you coffee next time," Miyuki said. "I owe you."

"Need not."

"Yes, I will." She insisted, "I hate owing favors the most. You held the umbrella for me, so I have to repay you."

Ye Guigen smiled and said, "Alright then."

When they arrived at Miyuki's dormitory building, she suddenly turned around, stood on tiptoe, and gently kissed him on the cheek: "Goodnight, Ye Guigen."

Then he ran into the building, leaving him standing alone under the streetlight, touching his cheek in a daze.

Over the next week, Ye Guigen found himself constantly thinking about Meixue without realizing it.

I would look for her during class, keep an eye out for her while eating in the cafeteria, and even hope it would suddenly rain while walking.

He felt a little ridiculous. He clearly had a girlfriend, so why was he acting like a clueless kid?
Raj noticed something was off and suddenly asked during a meal one day, "Are you interested in that Japanese girl?"

Ye Guigen choked on his water: "No."

"Come on," Raj rolled his eyes. "Every time she shows up, your eyes are like searchlights. Brother, you're taken."

"I know."

"Then what do you want?"

Ye Guigen was silent for a moment: "I don't know either." He truly didn't know. Elizabeth was wonderful—smart, beautiful, and capable; they had been through so much together.

But Elizabeth was too busy; their meetings were always arranged in coffee shops to discuss work, and their phone calls were always about the fund.

Sometimes he felt that she was more like a business partner than a girlfriend.

Miyuki is different. Her eyes crinkle when she smiles, she skips and hops when she walks, and she gestures with her hands when she talks, just like a little child.

When he's with her, he forgets all the complicated business dealings and dangerous rivals, and only remembers the present moment.

But isn't it unfair to Elizabeth to think this way?

On Friday afternoon, Miyuki texted me: "Are you free tonight? I need to pay you back for the coffee I owe you."

Ye Guigen stared at the screen for a long time before replying with a single word: "Okay."

They arranged to meet at a small café near the school. When Miyuki arrived, she was wearing a beige sweater, her hair loosely tied up, looking like she had just crawled out of bed.

"I stayed up all night writing papers," she explained. "My education professor is crazy; he made us analyze a hundred lesson plans."

Ye Guigen laughed: "Our development economics isn't much better."

The coffee was served, and Miyuki added three sugar cubes, stirring it noisily. She took a sip, her eyes crinkling with satisfaction: "It's alive again."

Ye Guigen looked at her and couldn't help but smile.

"What are you laughing at?"

"It's nothing. It's just that the way you drink coffee makes you look like a cat."

Miyuki glared at him, but a smile played on her lips: "Are you praising me or insulting me?"

"boast."

The two chatted for an afternoon, from their papers to their hometowns, and from their hometowns to their childhoods. Miyuki said that when she was a child, she was playing hide-and-seek in a lavender field and fell into a ditch, breaking her arm.

Ye Guigen said that when he was fifteen, he was a street urchin and got into a fight with a group of thugs, and was beaten black and blue.

"You? Fighting?" Miyuki couldn't believe it. "You look so gentle and refined."

“It was my rebellious phase,” Ye Guigen said. “Later, my grandfather took me back home and locked me up for three months, making me copy the Analects of Confucius every day.”

Miyuki laughed so hard she almost fell over: "Copying the Analects? Your grandfather is so creative."

“He said if you don’t understand after copying it once, copy it ten times; if you still don’t understand after ten times, copy it a hundred times.” Ye Guigen laughed, “I can still recite ‘learn and practice what you have learned’ to this day.”

As evening fell, the two stepped out of the cafe, and a light rain began to fall again. Neither Miyuki nor Ye Guigen had brought an umbrella, so they stood under the eaves to take shelter from the rain.

"We have to wait for the rain to stop again," Miyuki said.

"Ah."

After a moment of silence, Miyuki suddenly said, "Ye Guigen, you seem to have something on your mind."

Ye Guigen turned to look at her.

“You’ve been spacing out every now and then since just now,” she said softly. “Do you feel guilty for coming out with me, like you’re letting your girlfriend down?”

Ye Guigen remained silent.

Miyuki sighed: "Actually, I know you have a girlfriend. I asked Emily after the party that day. She said your girlfriend is the daughter of a British financial dynasty, and she's really impressive."

She looked up at the rain: "I don't want to be a third party. But I really enjoy talking to you. You're different from other guys. You don't brag about how rich your family is, you don't boast, you just listen quietly."

"Miyuki..."

"So I've made up my mind." She turned to face him. "Let's be friends. Just friends. We can have coffee together, chat, but we won't cross any lines. Is that okay?"

Ye Guigen looked into her clear eyes and nodded.

"it is good."

The rain lessened a bit, and the two ran back to their dorm. As they parted ways downstairs at Miyuki's building, she suddenly said:

"Ye Guigen, go back and think carefully about who you really like. Don't hold them back, and don't wrong yourself."

After saying that, he ran inside.

Ye Guigen stood still, his shoulders soaked by the rain.

Over the weekend, Elizabeth finally made time to ask him out to dinner. She chose the restaurant herself; it was a Michelin one-star establishment in the Mayfair district, and she had booked it two weeks in advance.

Ye Guigen, dressed in a suit, sat opposite her and suddenly felt somewhat unfamiliar.

Elizabeth wore a black dress, her makeup was impeccable, and she spoke with her usual capable air.
"The fund restructuring went smoothly and it will be operational again next month. In North Africa, Hassan has discussed two new projects and wants us to invest."

As Ye Guigen listened, he felt that those things were far removed from his own life.

"What's wrong?" Elizabeth sensed keenly. "Is something on your mind?"

"No," Ye Guigen said, "I'm just a little tired."

Elizabeth glanced at him, then put down her knife and fork. "Ultimately, there's a problem between us, isn't there?"

Ye Guigen remained silent.

“I know I’ve been busy lately and have neglected you,” Elizabeth said.

"But the fund just went through such a big storm, I have to keep a close eye on it. How about we go on a trip after this period is over?"

“Elizabeth,” Ye Guigen began, “have you ever thought about what else is between us besides work?”

Elizabeth was stunned.

“Every time we meet, you talk about funds, projects, and investments,” Ye Guigen said. “I understand that’s your business, but we’re a couple, not business partners.”

Elizabeth remained silent for a long time, then said softly:
"I'm sorry. I'm used to it... That's how it is in my family. We've always been taught to put our careers first. Relationships... require effort, but I don't think I'm very good at it."

She looked up, her eyes a little red: "Gui Gen, I don't want to lose you. Give me some time, I'll change, okay?"

Ye Guigen looked at her, a complex mix of emotions welling up inside him. He remembered them working late into the night together at the Knightsbridge villa designing plans, remembered her standing up for him in front of the regulatory agencies, remembered her saying, "You've chosen a difficult path, and I'll walk it with you to the end."

He took her hand: "Okay."

On Monday, Ye Guigen ran into Meixue at the library. She was sitting by the window, sunlight shining on her face, looking down at a book. He hesitated for a moment, then walked over and sat down opposite her.

Miyuki looked up, smiled, and said, "Hi."

"Hi."

They each read their books in silence. After a while, Miyuki pushed a note towards them: "Did you talk to him over the weekend?"

Ye Guigen wrote: "We talked. Let's continue."

Miyuki read it, nodded, and wrote on the note, "That's good. Good luck."

Then crumple the paper into a ball and throw it into the trash can.

Ye Guigen looked at her profile, sunlight dancing on her eyelashes. He suddenly felt that this was good enough—having a friend to talk to, and a lover willing to wait.

His life has just begun, and he has a very long way to go.

Not urgent.

In the afternoon, Ye Guigen received an email from the school's International Exchange Office, saying there was an exchange program to the University of Tokyo in Japan and asking if he was interested.

He stared at the screen for a long time.

Then I shut down my computer and went to class.

That evening, Hans played Ye Yini's songs again. This time it was a new song, with a light and cheerful melody, and the lyrics were about the sea in summer.

"Your sister is coming to London for a concert next week," Hans suddenly said. "I've already bought the tickets."

Ye Guigen was taken aback: "How come I didn't know?"

"You're too busy." Hans proudly waved his phone. "It's a message from the official website. I managed to snag two tickets. Will you come with me?"

Ye Guigen smiled and said, "Okay."

Outside the window, the London night was gentle. In the distance, an airplane flew by, its lights flashing faintly.

He suddenly remembered what Miyuki had said: "The world is big, you can go out and explore it."

Yes, the world is vast.

And he had only just begun his journey. (End of Chapter)