Chapter 41: CH 41

When Sheng Min Ou and I were younger – I don’t actually quite remember how young we were, but back then I don’t think I had attended school yet. On one of those days, carried away by a whim I suddenly decided to ask my father what my name meant.

My father thought about it for a second and carried me downstairs as he pointed to a maple tree outside and spoke, “That’s your name, ‘feng’, it’s the same character as the ‘feng’ in maple trees.”

That was a summer day, the maple trees were a rich green, and when they were part of the landscape of ample greens alongside other trees, I didn’t see too much of a difference. In other words, being a maple tree was especially ordinary and uninteresting.

“Why is it a tree?” I asked with slight discontent, feeling that my father had not put much thought into the matter of coming up with a name for me, “It doesn’t look good!”

My father gave a genuine chuckle as he explained to me, “The tallest trees always get blown down first. Wind is a terrifying enemy for trees, even the largest oaks cannot defend against a typhoon. However, look at your character, it contains both the wind character and the wood character, they both coexist and live in harmony. I hope that in the future, when you have to brave the storms coming your way, you don’t become discouraged in the face of it. Everyone experiences life on this earth, and yet not one person will have a life that is complete smooth sailing. It’s therefore important to know how to enjoy something despite suffering.”

My father was exactly this type of person, he had a good temper and did things on a steady, slower tempo. On the weekends, he would sit in his rocking chair and have a cup of tea on one side and his newspaper on the other, and he could spend his whole afternoon savouring each detail. My mother was the polar opposite of him with a quick temper, acerbic wit, and her bustling enthusiasm carried over into how she got things done. If she could get one thing done today, she would never drag it on and leave it for tomorrow.

However, what did I care about wood and wind characters, I couldn’t even write my own name, so what was the point of telling me all of this? I was slightly stunned after hearing my father’s speech, and my one takeaway was that since my father had such an elaborate explanation, that probably meant my name had a pretty cool meaning behind it.

“Then what is the meaning behind ge ge’s name?”

Back then, I thought since my older brother’s name had one character more than mine, his name had to be even better, right?

My father carried me upstairs as he considered my question seriously for a second before he replied, “Ge ge’s name has a meaning behind it too, however here I’m quite limited by the confines of what I have to show as the real thing isn’t here. Wait for next weekend to come around, dad will take the two of you to find it.”

I nodded my head, pretending that I understood, though I didn’t take this whole arrangement too seriously. In the end, the next week rolled around and my father scooped us up from bed early in the morning as he was surprisingly committed to actually taking us out for a trip.

He told us to make haste when we were brushing our teeth, and once we had washed our face too, he shoved a meat bun each in our hands then started to push us towards the door.

“Old Lu, where are you guys heading to?” My mother asked in a rush as she hurried towards the staircases.

My father perhaps was scared of being scolded by her as he scooped me up in one quick move and began walking downstairs at a brisk pace as he responded to her in a clear voice, “To the sea!”

“The sea… the seaside?” As if it was inconceivable, my mother repeated her words as her voice suddenly blasted our surroundings, “What is wrong with you, why are you going to the seaside, it’s such a harsh sunny day! Old Lu! Lu Guang Rong!!”

With my mother’s lioness roars echoing in the background, my father had long since escaped, holding me with one hand and dragging Sheng Min Ou with his other, as we disappeared without a trace.

The sea being a natural sight to behold had always been far from the bustling cities and tucked away at places that had less people.

My father with us by his side had us exchange three or four buses, until it felt like we had made so many turns that our bones would disassemble themselves already. It was then that we finally saw the outline of the sea.

The walk from the bus stop to the seaside was scorching and strenuous. I realised that a weekend had just been wasted, all for seeing a blurry big patch of lake. A wave of reluctance rose in my chest as I wanted to return home and eat the braised pork that my mother made instead.

However, my father had already started sprinting down the mudflats without a care for anything else, as he ran wildly back and forth barefoot on the seaside. Whichever place he ran by would cause one seagull after another to be shocked at the commotion.

“Helmx, mbwf vbkc tfgf jcv ajxf j kjix!” Zs ojatfg fzafcvfv ybat tlr jgwr jcv kjnfv ab er ogbw j ibcu kjs jkjs.

Rjaegjiis, P tfiv atf tjcv bo atf sbecu sbeat cfza ab wf jr P gjlrfv ws tfjv jcv ibbxfv eq ja tlw, “Xf uf, vjv lr mjiilcu bea ab er.”

“Do you want to go?”

The sun shone from behind Sheng Min Ou, enveloping him in a blinding halo and causing his expression to be hidden in the shadows.

“En!”

I squinted as I nodded heavily. In the next second, the person holding my hand slowly moved towards the sea.

I was of a young age, and the sandy flats were not easy to walk on. Consequently, every time I made a few steps I would trip and fall. Sheng Min Ou might have thought that supporting me while I walked was too tiring, as he instead lifted me up and carried me as he walked towards my father.

“My son, do you see these birds? They are seagulls, the ‘ou’ character in Sheng Min Ou’s name.” My father had rivulets of sweat running down his forehead from his wild sprints earlier, as he huffed and pointed to the flocks of seagulls that were casually making their way back and forth on the seaside.

I held onto Sheng Min Ou’s neck as I leaned on his shoulder, “So many ge ge’s.”

A quick, gentle smile rang out from beside my ear. When I lifted my head to look, there was already no sign of it left on Sheng Min Ou’s face.

“My little one, was there anything else you wanted to ask?” My father picked me up from Sheng Min Ou’s hold, and asked as he tapped the tip of my nose.

Is ge ge a bird? Why is he different from me?” I scrunched my brows, starting to become annoyed at my name once more, “I want to be the same as ge ge.”

“The character ‘Ou’ means bird, but ‘Min’ represents a pure, beautiful fine jade.” My father completely disregarded the fact that a child might not be able to understand his speech, as he continued talking to his heart’s content, “Strictly speaking, your older brother is a seagull that is as pure as fine jade.”

He hugged me with one hand, and with the other, he softly circled his hand on Sheng Min Ou’s head. “The person who gave you your name must’ve wished for you to be free and to live as you wanted, not to be tainted by matters of this secular world we live in.”

Sheng Min Ou’s expression remained indifferent as he stared at the indolent seagulls, his voice calm as he asked, “Then why did they abandon me?”

My father stilled hearing his words, as he bent down and placed me on the ground, his hands coming to his kneecaps as he stared Sheng Min Ou in the eye and said, “Why do you think of it as them not wanting you? Perhaps, despite all their efforts, they couldn’t keep you. Right?”

Now that I think about it, my happy-go-lucky attitude and personality where I could survive multiple, incessant hits yet still recover quickly with fresh blood pumping through my body… this was all inherited from my father.

Sheng Min Ou was stunned, and didn’t say another word afterwards.

“Feng Feng, quick, take your older brother and go run around in the waters.” My father shoved me from the back, pushing me towards Sheng Min Ou.

“Ge ge, hurry up.” I had received my command, and therefore without speaking another word I held onto Sheng Min Ou’s hand and dragged him along towards the waves.

Sheng Min Ou was forcibly tugged along by me into the water, and a second later my father splashed him square in the face with a handful of seawater. In an instant, his expression darkened.

Ever since I was young, I had been afraid of seeing Sheng Min Ou angry. Therefore, after witnessing this change in his demeanor, I immediately splashed a handful of water back at my father. It was a fast blow, and an accurate one too. The seawater went up his nose as he coughed in response, so I counted this as my ‘revenge’ for Sheng Min Ou.

“Don’t bully ge ge!”

My father geared himself to run up and chase me as I squealed and ran behind Sheng Min Ou. Sheng Min Ou scooped me up and ran towards the shore, and when he looked back, the smile on his face was exceptionally radiant and bright.

I spent many occasions thinking back to this moment. This was, in my twenty something years of life, probably the time when I was the most carefree. If I could pause time so it remained still forever on that day, that would be fine by me. Even if I had to re-experience returning home drenched in seawater, and then be blasted by my mother as she chastised us for what had happened.

I woke up early in the morning and went to meet Shen Xiao Shi at the pawn shop. The two of us waited it out until midday as we finished eating, then straight afterwards we headed towards Sheng Min Ou’s law firm, as we arrived at the parlor early in wait.

“Feng Ge, this time I’m really in your debt.” Shen Xiao Shi lowered his head as he spoke. His complexion appeared better than a few days ago but he was still languid when he spoke.

I attempted to tease him as I pinched his chin and spoke, “If you say this then you’re really not counting me as a close friend. What kind of relationship do we have that requires you to be this formal and appreciative?” After saying so, I hooked a finger under his chin.

It was at this precise moment that the door to our room was opened, and my gaze diverted to see who had come in, just to see Sheng Min Ou and Wu Yi standing outside, their stares converging on my… hand.

Great, after having a bunch of witnesses seeing Mo Qiu hugging me on the streets, I’ve now been caught once again teasing another boy within his own office space.

Wu Yi also did not look like he was someone who was tight-lipped on things, and I had a feeling that after today my image and reputation in the eyes of the lawyers who worked here would go from ‘the boss’ younger brother’ to ‘the guy with interesting male-male relationships’.

I retracted my hand at lightning speed, and attempted to cover up what had happened by pulling away from Shen Xiao Shi and leaving a conspicuously large gap between us.

I had no idea what Sheng Min Ou’s thoughts were, but at least on the surface level he appeared calm and collected. Wu Yi was less so, with his smile being somewhat awkward.

“Hel- Hello, I’m Jin Shang law firm’s lawyer, Wu Yi. The person next to me is Sheng Min Ou, lawyer Sheng. You have probably met each other, so I won’t overdo the introductions. Let’s… dive into it.”

After Wu Yi shook hands with Shen Xiao Shi, he saw that Sheng Min Ou had already taken a seat on the sofa, and didn’t appear to have any intention to extend the same courtesy to the other party. Seeing this, Wu Yi’s expression changed minutely in response.

After everyone had sat down, I patted Shen Xiao Shi’s shoulder as I gently remarked, “Okay, take your time explaining everything to them, don’t feel as if you need to rush through it.”

Shen Xiao Shi was currently in a state where outwardly he appeared like he had everything under control and looked alright, but he actually had long since lost his spirit, distracted by the circumstances in his life. He softly muttered an ‘en’ in response, his elbows propped against his knees, both his hands clasped together as he lowered his head and began to recount his experience.

Sheng Min Ou crossed his arms at his chest as he reclined onto the sofa, his expression a clear display of not wanting to deal with the matter but was being forced to do so regardless. Though he looked as if his mind was elsewhere for every minute of the conversation, I knew that he was listening attentively. Once he had decided to take on something, he would definitely carry it out to the best of his ability, even if he himself wasn’t all that happy to work on it. To back-stab and double cross others wasn’t his style.

Shen Xiao Shi repeated everything that he had told me previously, during which no one interrupted him. After recounting the events fully, he gripped his hands tightly as he raised his head and looked apprehensively towards Sheng Min Ou as he asked, “My mother… will she be given the death penalty?”

“No.” Sheng Min Ou replied brusquely, “She faced long-term abuse and turned herself in, so she won’t be handed the death penalty. For a guilty plea, the sentence usually won’t be over twenty years.”

Shen Xiao Shi was stunned, “Twenty years… of jail time? No, that’s too long, my mother… she only killed a scum of a human being. To be sentenced to twenty years, when she comes out she’ll be seventy already, what’s the difference between her spending the rest of her life in that cell?”

Sheng Min Ou remained unmoved by the plea, as he spoke with a cold voice, “There isn’t any term in the law which stipulates that scum deserve to die. Do you know why the legal system exists?”

Shen Xiao Shi was taken aback by his demeanor, and shook his head weakly in response.

“To protect and uphold the order in society. Humankind has evolved to reach the present age, and we’ve already established our own rules. People who don’t obey these rules must accept and receive punishment served by law.”

Wu Yi saw that the atmosphere had changed and so tried to jump in, “Actually…”

“There’s a good person, and a bad person. If the good person doesn’t kill the bad person, they’ll instead be killed by the bad person. If the good person kills the bad person, then the good person will receive severe legal punishment. You want to talk about rules with me? What if… what if…” Shen Xiao Shi’s eyes were red as he suddenly turned to glance at me, “What if that good person was a member of your family, what if he was Feng Ge, then could you still speak such apathetic, cynical words?”

I stared at him, stunned.

This little bastard, I was even about to suspect whether he had heard about the previous occurrences, otherwise how could he ask a question that was such a precise dilemma?

Each word in that sentence was exactly like… a reflection of what had happened that year.

I couldn’t help it but look towards Sheng Min Ou, as I wanted to see what he had to say. Sheng Min Ou ended up looking my way at the same time, as we looked into each other’s eyes.

His gaze was like it always was, indiscernible and abstruse. I couldn’t be sure whether I really caught a glimpse of disappointment and frustration in his eyes, but quickly afterwards, his eyes were filled with contempt directed at Shen Xiao Shi again.

“Then what do you think should be done?” He shifted his gaze, as he directed his question to Shen Xiao Shi.

Shen Xiao Shi clenched both fists as he exclaimed resoundingly, “Of course it would be to give it my all for them to not be faulted for their actions. They did kill someone, that’s undeniable, but that isn’t a crime, that’s an act of self-defence!”

Jiraiya (Translator’s note): The beach scene is so precious…….  literally me rn.