“Herbert, where have you been all these years? After your family’s accident, I heard that you were taken away by the police. My mother said that you were later sent to the orphanage by the police. Later on, I even went to the orphanage to look for you, but you weren’t there.” Ian asked Zhuang Long, “Where did you go after that?”
Zhuang Long did not expect this fellow to look for him. When he heard this, his heart warmed again.
He shrugged and pretended to be relaxed. “I was sent to another orphanage. After that, I was adopted by a rich couple.” However, he did not tell Ian how scary and dark that orphanage was.
Hearing this, Ian looked emotional.
He hugged Zhuang Long’s shoulder again and said to him, “Have lunch at my house today. I’ll let you try my good cooking!”
“Sure!”
Both of them were very happy to be reunited with their old friends, but Ian still had to open a shop and do business.
“I’m a little busy now. I’ll be fine after ten o’clock.”
“Yes.” Zhuang Long thought for a while and said, “Is there a place here that sells electronic products? I want to buy something.”
Ian said, “Then we have to go to the city. Do you have a car? If not, drive my car.” Ian was also a big-hearted person. He directly threw the key to Zhuang Long, not afraid that he was a liar. Zhuang Long took the key and stared at Ian’s busy back. A small fat figure seemed to flash across his mind.
Could that be Ian?
Zhuang Long shook his head and drove Ian’s car into the city.
He bought cameras and went home alone. He installed a few cameras in the hall, the kitchen, and the room. It was almost noon when he was done. Ian called and called Zhuang Long to eat. Zhuang Long answered the phone and went down the mountain to find Ian with his car keys.
Ian saw him coming down the mountain with a complicated expression.
“I heard from them that the house on the mountain has been bought by someone. It can’t be you, right?”
Zhuang Long did not hide it and nodded, admitting it.
“I want to come back and take a look.”
“Hey! Why do you have to do this!” Ian hugged him and the two of them walked into Ian’s restaurant.
Ian’s shop was closed for the afternoon. Ian’s wife and children were at home. When Zhuang Long arrived, they were all sitting at the dining table waiting. Ian’s house was at the end of the road. There was a small garden in a three-story bungalow.
Ian’s wife was called Mary. She was in her early thirties and was especially sexy. She was also tall. Both the boy and the girl had inherited their mother’s good looks.
Ian had already greeted Mary and the children in advance. When she saw Zhuang Long, Mary hugged him warmly and introduced the two children to him. “The brother’s name is Justin, and the sister’s name is Tia.”
“Hello.” Zhuang Long brought them gifts, a small rabbit doll and an airplane model.
The two children took the toys and called him uncle happily. They even hugged him and gave him a kiss.
Zhuang Long praised them for being cute.
He said to Ian, “How old is your eldest son?”
“Six years old.”
Zhuang Long said proudly, “My child is nine years old.”
Ian looked extremely surprised. “My God, you gave birth so early?”
“Yeah.”
Zhuang Long even took out his phone and showed Ian Zhuang Qilin’s photo. After looking at the photo, Ian only said, “This young man’s mother must be a peerless beauty.”
Zhuang Long thought of Xiao Li and looked even more arrogant.
Ian asked him again, “Why didn’t you bring your wife and child back?”
Zhuang Long’s expression was a little unnatural. He could not tell Ian that his wife was about to become someone else’s wife… Zhuang Long coughed and skipped this topic. The family invited Zhuang Long to the dining room for dinner. As they ate, they talked about their lives over the years.
Through Ian’s introduction, Zhuang Long learned that after Ian graduated from high school, he went to study financial management. After graduation, he opened a restaurant in the town because he could not bear to leave Monterey. Everyone had their dreams. Zhuang Long’s dream was to develop more antidotes for the virus and save more people. Ian’s dream was to wake up every morning and see the beautiful Monterey Bay.
Dreams did not differ in size. Zhuang Long respected Ian’s decision.
Ian finished speaking before asking about Zhuang Long’s life.
Zhuang Long smiled and said, “Your playmate is so awesome now.” Zhuang Long used his phone to Google and handed the phone to Ian. After Ian read it, he could not help but give Zhuang Long a thumbs up. “My awesome Herbert. When you were young, you always ran behind me and loved to run your nose. Who would have thought that the snotty little fellow back then was so powerful!”
Zhuang Long did not know whether to laugh or cry.
“Can you not mention those embarrassing things?” Zhuang Long really could not imagine himself with a runny nose.
Ian thought of something and suddenly got up. As he walked out of the dining room, he said, “I still have photos of my childhood here. Look, hey! You didn’t believe me when I said you love snot.” Ian searched the house for a long time and finally found a photo album.
“We’ll look at it after dinner.”
Hence, Zhuang Long ate faster.
After dinner, he opened the photo album.
Most of the photos in the photo album were of Ian and his parents. When he was young, Ian was indeed chubby. He looked the same as the image that flashed across Zhuang Long’s mind. He pointed at the photo and scolded, “Little fatty.”
Ian clicked his tongue and scolded him back. “Little bean.”
After cursing, both of them laughed.
Seeing that her husband and childhood friend were so happy, Mary cleared the dining table, washed the dishes, made two cups of coffee for them, and brought the children back to their rooms for a nap.
Zhuang Long saw the photo of Ian and his parents and asked, “Your parents…?”
“My daddy has already passed away.” Seeing Zhuang Long look over, Ian shrugged and said, “It happened six years ago. He suddenly died of a cerebral hemorrhage. He died very peacefully. Although it happened suddenly, we’re not too sad. My mother is currently traveling around the world with a tour group. She comes back every Christmas.”
“That’s good.”
Zhuang Long flipped through a few more photos and finally saw himself.
Just as Ian had said, Zhuang Long was especially thin when he was young. He wore coffee-colored casual pants and his legs were unbelievably thin. Ian pointed at his photo and said, “You can eat quite well. I don’t know why you never gain weight.”
“Physique problem.”
When Zhuang Long flipped to the last few photos, he suddenly saw a group photo. The person in the photo should be all the residents of the town at that time. The adults stood at the back, and the little fellows stood in front. Zhuang Long searched carefully and found the young Xiao Meng.
In the photo, Xiao Meng was wearing a pink long-sleeved V-neck dress. Her black hair was especially eye-catching in the group.
