Yonghe Road

Chapter 10 Four Dimensions
Xie Anmin felt that the night she interviewed Wang Zian was the happiest night she had ever had since she came to live in Baile Village.

From Wang Zian, she heard many stories about Secretary Wang Kai. Earlier, when she interviewed the villagers of Baile Village, she also learned a lot about Secretary Wang Kai's deeds. He was a responsible, daring, hardworking, and veteran Party member and village secretary deeply loved by the people of Baile Village. His image was so positive, like the sun in the sky, dazzling yet distant. But from Wang Zian, Xie Anmin heard more of a story about a father. In the eyes of his son, his father was not the sun, but a street lamp on the ground. In the parent-child relationship, he was absent, dim most of the time, but when he shone, he illuminated others.

Human energy is always limited. A person who works day and night will certainly not be able to take care of his family. Only Secretary Wang Kai is real and down-to-earth. Otherwise, he would be too perfect, and the artistic image created based on him would appear fake.

"Have you ever blamed your father? When you were growing up, he devoted almost all his energy to the people of Baile Village and paid very little attention to you. Look, you said at the beginning that when you were sick or had a fever as a child, it was your mother who took care of you, not to mention academic tutoring. He never even went to a parent-teacher meeting. He even almost became paralyzed in an accident while on a business trip for a project. If he had been paralyzed, your family would have been dragged down..."

"Why should I blame him? As his children, haven't we received enough support from him? His aura has also benefited me. Although he doesn't attend my parent-teacher conferences, the teachers will look at me differently because my father is him. I have taken advantage of the fact that a father respects his son."

Wang Zian's candor made Xie Anmin reflect on herself. There was no such thing as a genius girl. Her mother was a professional writer, a significant factor in her early fame. While ordinary writers struggled to submit their work, she, thanks to her mother's connections, had already climbed the ladder. This was also the most confusing and painful part of Xie Anmin's formative years. Her identity caused her to harbor serious self-doubt about her own talent.

Is she truly talented? Is she truly a qualified writer? Do she truly deserve the fame, wealth, honors, and applause? This constant self-questioning, inevitably entangled in her, drives her to seek change, to seek challenges. She abandoned her comfort zone as a writer, leaving the bustling city for a rural experience, hoping to examine herself through observing the world and ultimately find a breakthrough.

"You are more open than me."

Perhaps it was Wang Zian's comfortable temperament that made Xie Anmin open up her heart. She has always mostly listened to other people's stories and materials, and rarely, or almost never, opened her heart to others. She was actually defensive towards the world. Only when she was writing and reading could she relax, like a fish finally swimming back to its own ocean.

"I became famous at a young age, but I always wanted to get rid of my mother's halo and prove myself. It seems ridiculous." Xie Anmin smiled bitterly.

Wang Zian refilled her empty teacup. The first infusion had long since dried, and the tea in the teapot had already been steeped four, five, or six times. The tea was no longer the precious gelatinous consistency, but simply clear water. Its color was brighter than before, changing from a pale yellow to a brilliant, brownish golden hue. This was because Wang Zian had replaced the Baihao Yinzhen with aged Shoumei.

Xie Anmin felt a distinct bitterness in her mouth, which was consistent with her current mood.

"We might as well look at three-dimensional space from a four-dimensional perspective, and we will naturally feel at ease," said Wang Zian.

"Four-dimensional perspective, three-dimensional space?" Xie Anmin felt curious.

Wang Zian nodded. "We humans live in three-dimensional space. When we look at things in two-dimensional space, don't we have a kind of God's perspective? Do we think that things that live on two dimensions are insignificant? For example, when we look at ants, a group of ants search diligently, but in our eyes, what meaning does their labor have?"

Xie Anmin listened silently and motioned Wang Zian to continue.

"If this world has a fourth dimension, would the creatures there view us in our three-dimensional world the same way we view ants? Would all our activities, our ideals, our wars, our pursuit of fame and fortune, our meager reproduction... be meaningless in their eyes? While we don't know if the fourth dimension exists, why not each of us step outside ourselves and examine our own successes and failures in the three-dimensional world from the perspective of the fourth dimension? Wouldn't that free us from the pain and entanglement?"

Xie Anmin suddenly felt comforted, and the depression in his heart was relieved a lot.

"This cup of tea is not bitter anymore." Xie Anmin smiled.

"That's because it's been soaked too much and has become diluted." Wang Zian also laughed.

Xie Anmin said, "According to what you said, there is no meaning for ants to live, and there is no meaning for us humans to live either. So what are we still living for?"

"When you feel the emptiness of the four-dimensional perspective, you should close your eyes and return to the three-dimensional world. Don't look at things from a God's perspective, just look at things from a mortal's perspective. Will the ants feel that their foraging is meaningless?"

Xie Anmin was inspired, "So, when we need it, we open the four-dimensional perspective, and when we don't, we close it, and keep our feet on the three-dimensional world. We Chinese are indeed pragmatic."

Wang Zian smiled and clinked his glass with Xie Anmin's. It was interesting to chat with an intelligent woman. Xie Anmin agreed. It was also interesting to chat with an intelligent man, unlike that "strong-limbed, simple-minded" athlete. Xie Anmin laughed in silence. For some reason, he thought of Zhong Ziqi again. Perhaps it was because Zhong Ziqi and Wang Zian were good friends.

"Xie, writer, when is a convenient time for you to visit my tea factory? I really hope you can write some articles for my tea factory. You know that publicity and marketing are very important for running a business now..."

Xie Anmin said, "I can make time for you, but you also have to help me arrange an interview time for your father."

"No problem." Wang Zian agreed readily.

Xie Anmin continued, "If we go to your tea factory, can we meet your soulmate?"

Wang Zian nodded. "Of course, if you come to visit the tea factory, as one of the shareholders, he will definitely come out to receive you." Xie Anmin was very satisfied and stood up to take her leave. Wang Zian hurriedly picked up the gift box of tea and escorted her out. Although the new district was not completely dark at night, the lonely streetlights could not dispel the fear brought by the darkness. Zhong Ziqi was so pretentious the last time he came, let alone Xie Anmin, a girl? Wang Zian personally escorted Xie Anmin out of the new district.

It was a midsummer night, with a gentle breeze. There was a bright moon in the sky, two figures on the ground, dim lights in the distance, and the clear chirping of insects nearby. Wang Zian felt a sense of beauty and couldn't help asking, "Miss Xie, do you have a boyfriend?"

"No."

"Then Miss Xie is already married?"

"Who would be so desperate to get married in this day and age?"

Xie Anmin's answer made Wang Zian's mood fluctuate, and he didn't know whether to be happy or sad.

"Miss Xie is a celibate, or a non-marriageist?"

The two had already walked to the plaque of the new district, and the large street lights in the distance illuminated the cement road at the entrance of the new district in a snow-white manner.

Xie Anmin sensed something, looked up at Wang Zian, and said with a smile, "Why are you asking so many questions? Mr. Wang, you're not falling in love with me at first sight, are you?"

Isn't it normal to fall in love at first sight with a beautiful, talented and unique girl?
"Report to Miss Xie Anmin, I am single." Wang Zian straightened his waist like a soldier.

Xie Anmin walked all the way from the new district back to the Rural Revitalization Hotel, hoping the night breeze would clear her chaotic head, but it remained a mess. She had actually been confessed to. It had been a long time since she had received such a serious confession.

As a well-known young female writer, it is impossible for men to not appear in her life, and the men who come and go are all successful men. These men have entered the ranks of middle-aged and elderly people, and have long been indifferent to love. They often deal with relationships between men and women in a utilitarian way, and there is even some greasy behavior of taking advantage of others.

One time, Xie Anmin was groped while attending a dinner party. Given her fiery personality, she couldn't let herself suffer such a loss in silence, so she made a big fuss about it and let the whole world know about it.

The topic of sexual harassment in the workplace caused an uproar on the Internet. Xie Anmin received sympathy from thousands of women, and while the greasy man was being criticized by female netizens, he also received support from many middle-aged and elderly men with status and position. Some people even jumped out and accused Xie Anmin of destroying his reputation.

So when Xie Anmin was supported by female netizens, she was attacked by male netizens, which made her fall into a vortex of cyber violence.

Time has passed, and Xie Anmin doesn't like to recall the days of cyberbullying; it was a very unpleasant feeling. But tonight, after listening to Wang Zian's perspective on viewing the three-dimensional world from a four-dimensional perspective, he suddenly felt relieved.

Yeah, it’s no big deal.

It was as if someone lit a lamp in her heart, immediately dispelling the thick haze buried deep in her heart.

His mind was clear, and his eyes were bright. Xie Anmin finished his shower, wrapped in a towel, and looked at himself in the mirror. Perhaps because of the hot shower, his cheeks were flushed, and his heart was beating fast.

Xie Anmin, you are a slut.

Xie Anmin cursed himself in his heart, and smiled foolishly at himself in the mirror, laughing so hard that his body shook.

Humans need love, right?
Look, at this moment it seems like a flower that has withered in the desert for a long time has suddenly revived.

And tonight Wang Zian was also very nervous and couldn't sleep at all.

He was nearly thirty, and this was the first time he'd ever felt attracted to a member of the opposite sex. It was like a dream come true. This feeling left Wang Zian flustered, overwhelmed, yet also thrilled. He'd always suspected he had an unusual sexual orientation; otherwise, why would he have such a close relationship with Zhong Ziqi? Now, the question that had been nagging him for so long had been answered.

Oh, Wang Zian, so you like women. It's just that the woman just appeared.

(End of this chapter)