A widower's entertainment

Chapter 338 [Together] (Please Subscribe)
Xinghua Hutong, Beijing.

Lin Youcheng had no idea that Lin Zhaomei had a friend named Gao Yuanyuan at the Children's Palace, nor did he know that Lin Zhaomei had even helped this friend become an actress and would later hire Gao Yuanyuan to direct her films. If he had known, Lin Youcheng would have only felt that it would have been even more difficult for his daughter to win the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

Of course, if Lin Youcheng knew that Lin Zhaomei wanted to cast Gao Yuanyuan in a movie, he might suggest that Gao Yuanyuan didn't need to go to a regular university to study secretarial studies, but instead apply to a professional art school to study acting properly. Although Gao Yuanyuan had already unexpectedly starred in the romance movie "Spicy Love Soup" before that, it would be best for her to go to a professional school to study acting. Learning makes people improve, and that's definitely true.

"Dad, your English is really good!"

Lin Zhaoxi looked at Lin Youcheng with admiration. He had only been learning for a short time, yet he had already become so good. He said, "You're even better than Zhaoqing!"

Lin Zhaoqing, who was standing to the side, was undoubtedly stabbed in the back.

Lin Zhaoqing hadn't expected his father to speak English even better than him. It's worth noting that Lin Youcheng was a latecomer to English learning, only starting in middle age, but he had to admit his English was quite good. He said, "Dad, you speak better than I do."

Lin Youcheng glanced at Lin Zhaoqing and said with a smile, "Then you'd better work harder."

"I know."

Lin Zhaoqing nodded. Being dragged into this situation by his father, who was starting to learn English in middle age, naturally put him under a lot of pressure.

Lin Zhaoxi truly felt that his father was incredibly amazing. He had never been exposed to English before, but now he could speak English sentences, and speak them very well. No wonder his father was able to become a great writer; he was truly remarkable. If his father had been able to finish high school, he probably would have gone to university long ago.

Of course, Lin Zhaoxi knew very well that his father was now more capable than college students because his father also taught those people. His father had previously taught Professor Xie Shuhua.

Thinking of teacher Xie Shuhua, Lin Zhaoxi couldn't help but ask, "Dad, isn't Teacher Xie coming today?"

Upon hearing Lin Zhaoxi's question, Lin Zhaoqing couldn't help but say, "Teacher Xie isn't coming; she's planning to go back to Tianjin for the New Year."

Lin Youcheng thought that Xie Shuhua had already graduated from the creative writing graduate program at the Lu Xun Academy of Literature. He glanced at the two older children, Lin Zhaoxi and Lin Zhaoqing, and thought about what had happened between him and Xie Shuhua. He felt that he should talk to Xie Shuhua in person again. He looked at the English book in front of Lin Zhaoqing and said, "Study hard. If you don't understand anything, ask your sister."

As he spoke, Lin Youcheng prepared to go to the Lu Xun Academy of Literature.

Lin Zhaoxi watched his father leave, and thinking of the teacher Xie Shuhua that Lin Zhaoqing had mentioned earlier, he felt that his father might be going to see Teacher Xie Shuhua, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he stared at Lin Zhaoqing and said, "Why don't you hurry up and memorize your English? Even though Dad is so old, he learns faster than you."

Well, Lin Youcheng, who had just stepped out the door, felt as if he had been stabbed in the heart when he heard that the person was so old.

Lin Youcheng paused, twitched the corners of his mouth, looked at the somewhat gloomy sky outside, went over to tell Song Ma that he was going out for a while, and then took a Jincheng Dafa taxi to the Lu Xun Academy of Literature.

The taxi that Lin Youcheng took, Jincheng Dafa, is the most common type of taxi in Beijing right now.

In 1984, to address the shortage of taxis, Beijing introduced the Jincheng Dafa yellow-faced taxis. These taxis were very popular, not only in Beijing but also in many provincial capitals. Yellow-faced taxis were ubiquitous on the streets of Beijing. They were the cheapest taxis in the city, and their bright yellow color and sheer number made them a nuisance. As a result, many Beijing residents called them "yellow bugs" or affectionately "noodle taxis."

At that time, only wealthy people could afford to hail a taxi, because the fare was 10 yuan for every 10 kilometers, which was not cheap at all.

It's important to know that the average monthly salary in Yanjing is only 200 yuan. Of course, different jobs, years of service, and even within the same company, salaries can vary. 200 yuan is already a very high salary. A day's wage in Beijing can only cover a few kilometers by taxi. You can imagine that taking a taxi is quite luxurious, let alone buying a car.

Of course, Lin Youcheng is not short of money, but he has no intention of buying a car.

At that time, the base price of a minivan was 30,000 to 40,000 yuan. If someone sold their house in Yanjing and bought a minivan, they could make three-figure money in a day. Friends and neighbors all said the young man had good foresight. Later, when the car became worthless, he would have lost a lot of money on the house and would definitely regret it.

Lin Youcheng felt that if he really wanted to buy a car, the license plate would probably be more valuable, especially a Beijing A license plate.

Of course, Lin Youcheng had no need to earn money for this license; it was really unnecessary. If someone from Beijing were to do it, it would be beneath them. They simply didn't need it.

Lin Youcheng knew very well that this was a time of rampant growth for everything. For example, that young man with thin shoulders and a big head, who was a master of ideas, could easily earn more than 400,000 yuan with his ideas. He had already made such investments, but he didn't need to. Even more rampant investments were waiting for Lin Youcheng in the future.

Lin Youcheng watched as the snow began to fall again outside the car window. The snow wasn't heavy, and it covered the eaves and streets in a thin blanket, creating a beautiful scene. At that moment, Lin Youcheng felt that time was passing very quickly, really quickly.

"Brother, what are you going there for? It's snowing now."

The driver was clearly a chatterbox, and he took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Lin Youcheng, chatting about various topics.

Lin Youcheng didn't seem particularly interested in talking, and simply said, "I have something to discuss."

Lin Youcheng had always known what Song Ma was saying. He knew that things between him and Xie Shuhua couldn't be delayed indefinitely, especially since he knew that he had asked Xie Shuhua if she had finished her graduation thesis, thinking that they could talk about it after Xie Shuhua graduated from the School of Literature.

Lin Youcheng recalled that Aunt Zhao from the neighborhood office had tried to introduce him to divorced or widowed women, but he refused. At that time, he thought of Xie Shuhua.

Perhaps, at that moment, he was attracted to her beauty. The young and beautiful comrade Xie Shuhua had an outstanding temperament, with two long braids, holding a book in her hand, and her eyebrows were curved. She vaguely resembled the literary Ye Quanzhen. He had an impression of her when he gave a lecture at Yenching University. Later, when he saw Xie Shuhua again at the Lu Xun Academy of Literature, he gradually realized Xie Shuhua's feelings for him.

After the New Year, the child will be a year older, and the widower will be a year older as well.

Lin Youcheng felt that his aging widower really needed to start his love life. After all, if he delayed any longer, he might start his twilight romance or a love affair in his twilight years.

The scenery outside the car window kept receding, and Lin Youcheng didn't pay attention to what the taxi driver was saying. He was just thinking about his love and marriage, about the disparate love stories in "The Reader", about how the essence of love in "Everyday" and "The Beauty Inside" is the soul rather than the body, and even about the story he had planted in "The Reader" called "Love".

That story is like a love twilight, slow yet intense. The man killed his elderly wife in the end, but it was still love—love more contradictory, freer, broader, and more diverse than death. Love is not merely physical possession or mutual support in life; it is also understanding, respect, and freedom. This freedom even includes the freedom of the loved one to choose death.

Even in death, how many tender years can one look back on, how many loves that transcend life and death can last a lifetime? Even old age, death, illness, loneliness—those things one least wants to experience in life, those unspoken pains known only to oneself—cruelly intensify. No one can escape aging and death; even he, a visitor from another time, will face all of this. But the most important thing is love itself. In Lin Youcheng's view, perhaps the love depicted in the Oscar-winning film *Amour* is the most beautiful kind. Even in old age, like the ideal of all couples, they are inseparable, supporting each other through thick and thin—the kind of aging that all young people dream of, gracefully and calmly watching the clouds drift by. Even though cruel reality doesn't spare couples in their twilight years, inevitably afflicted by age-related diseases, whether they can accept their loved one growing old, or whether they can bear it, love never disappears.

Lin Youcheng was well aware of this point; the essence of these stories was ultimately love itself.

Lin Youcheng also thought of Xie Shuhua's confession to him that time, so direct and intense. He didn't agree directly, but his heart had already been moved, otherwise he wouldn't have asked Xie Shuhua if she had written her graduation thesis.

Lin Youcheng gazed out the car window, and Xie Shuhua's words echoed in his mind again—

"Comrade Lin Youcheng, I like you, and I want to be with you."

"I love you!"

As Lin Youcheng pondered this blatant confession, he could tell that the young and beautiful Xie Shuhua had undoubtedly mustered a lot of courage to do so, a fact he had always been well aware of.

Thinking back to that moment of confession, Lin Youcheng's smile deepened.

He knew very well that Xie Shuhua's confession was sincere, heartfelt, and had touched his heart, but at that moment, reason told him to give a different answer.

The driver quickly drove the car to the Lu Xun Academy of Literature. After paying and getting out of the car, Lin Youcheng prepared to go find Xie Shuhua.

"Youcheng, what brings you here?"

Yu Hua was quite surprised to see Lin Youcheng at the entrance of the Lu Xun Academy of Literature. He quickly stepped forward and asked, "Is there something you need?"

Lin Youcheng said with a smile, "I've come to see Shu Hua."

Cheng Hong, who was standing nearby, was a little surprised and said, "She was just about to go back to her dormitory. If you hurry over, you might be able to see her."

Cheng Hong looked at Lin Youcheng, seemingly sensing that Lin Youcheng had come to see Xie Shuhua at this time because of something particularly important, especially since Lin Youcheng had just mentioned seeing Shuhua, which made Cheng Hong feel that something special was going on.

Yu Hua noticed Cheng Hong staring at Lin Youcheng's retreating figure and couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"

Cheng Hong shook her head and said with a smile, "It's nothing, I just feel like something good might happen."

Yu Hua didn't know why Cheng Hong suddenly said something good would happen, nor did she know what good things would happen. She just found it strange that Lin Youcheng would come to see Xie Shuhua at this time, and said, "What is Youcheng doing here to see Shuhua at this time?"

Cheng Hong smiled and said, "Perhaps it's something important."

The snow seemed to have started falling again, drifting down slowly, carrying a hint of coolness, yet exuding a tranquil and elegant beauty.

After hearing what Cheng Hong said, Lin Youcheng nodded and walked towards the dormitory. He had taken classes at the Lu Xun Academy of Literature before, so he knew which way Xie Shuhua's dormitory was. He hadn't gone far when he saw Xie Shuhua ahead and couldn't help but call out, "Shuhua."

Xie Shuhua heard someone call her, and the voice sounded familiar, like Lin Youcheng's voice. She was a little confused, wondering if she had misheard. She turned around and saw that it was indeed Lin Youcheng. Her eyes instantly lit up with a smile, and she turned and walked quickly towards Lin Youcheng, asking in surprise, "Why are you here?"

In just a few steps, Xie Shuhua reached Lin Youcheng, her pace seemingly even faster than Lin Youcheng's.

Lin Youcheng looked at Xie Shuhua standing in front of him. She was still as beautiful as ever, with two long braids and a red scarf that made her look even more gentle and graceful.

For a moment, Lin Youcheng remained silent, simply gazing at Xie Shuhua.

Their eyes met.

The soul is not actually old; perhaps it is still quite young. The widower Lin Youcheng suddenly understood what it feels like to fall in love, and why such intense emotions could be contained in such a brief moment, whether it be love at first sight, love that grows over time, or lust at first sight...

His heart, that of the old widower, was truly beating!

Clearly, Xie Shuhua also understood the meaning in Lin Youcheng's eyes at that moment.

The light snowflakes fell on their heads, perhaps gradually turning their hair white.

For a moment, it was as if everything around her had frozen in time. Xie Shuhua couldn't help but recall how she had looked at Lin Youcheng with unwavering determination, trying to be as brave as Lin Yu in "Atonement," and telling him her true feelings, unwilling to leave behind the regret of Yang Shu in "Love Letter" who never spoke...

"Comrade Lin Youcheng, I like you, and I want to be with you."

"I love you!"

Xie Shuhua looked at Lin Youcheng, thinking about the words she had once said to him, and then, just as she expected, she heard Lin Youcheng's real answer the next moment.

"Comrade Xie Shuhua, I like you, let's be together."

Then, in that instant, Xie Shuhua smiled, her eyebrows curving upwards, her eyes sparkling.

"Yes, Comrade Lin Youcheng."

(End of this chapter)