Chapter 43: The Taste of Happiness (Part 1)

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  Looking at the extremely familiar environment and the twinkling lights emanating from the residential buildings, my heart feels warm. Even the cold wind blowing in this winter month, mixed with snowflakes, carries a hint of warmth.

  I wasn't always someone who didn't leave home, when I was studying abroad, I would almost go back home every half a year, and not just once did I return to this familiar place with my luggage, at that time I was only 15 years old. However, the feeling, no matter which time, even if it was the first semester break coming back, the excitement didn't feel as strong as this time! Maybe it's because of what I experienced in these half a year is completely different from before, two extreme lifestyles have already changed my mindset. The meaning of home to me is not just a simple haven, it has given me a kind of significance and feeling that can't be expressed with language!

  The piece of iron in my arms, which had been warmed by being held close to me, was constantly reminding me of my current identity. At the same time, it was also deeply and painfully piercing me, so painful, so painful...

  I shook my head vigorously, throwing away all the thoughts in my mind, including the tear at the corner of my eye. Taking a deep breath, I picked up my luggage and stepped into the deep snow, walking towards the light in my heart with big strides.

  As I arrived at the doorstep, my heart beat a little faster. I took another deep breath to calm down and pressed the doorbell. A hurried footsteps came, the security door was opened violently, revealing the person I had been thinking about day and night. My heart surprisingly calmed down, I smiled happily and said to my parents: "Dad, Mom, I'm back!"

  I'm home...

  At the moment when my parents opened the door, their facial expressions changed several times - joy, surprise, doubt, and heartache... I knew that it was all because of this face of mine. It had only been half a year since we last saw each other, but their own son had turned as dark as an African, so who wouldn't be shocked for half a day and unable to speak?

  "You're back! It's great that you're back!" The old mother, who was rushing to the front, held back her doubts and said happily: "Come in quickly! Come in quickly!"

  I smiled foolishly and walked into the house with my luggage. Dad took over the luggage, closed the door and then asked: "Was the trip smooth?"

  I was just about to answer when Mom interrupted me: "Son, how did you get so dark?"

  I chuckled again, just about to respond when my dad interrupted me: "Don't say anything for now, you've been sitting in the car all afternoon, you must be starving! Let's eat first, let's eat first!"

  I smiled foolishly and followed him into the kitchen without even changing my shoes. As soon as I sat down at the dinner table, Dad brought over all the dishes. There was chicken, fish, and braised pork ribs. Looking at the food that had been reheated who-knows-how-many times, a feeling that I hadn't experienced in half a year suddenly welled up inside me - that happy feeling!

  After sitting in the car for nearly eight or nine hours, the food I ate in the morning had been digested completely. Facing such a sumptuous dinner, I swallowed my saliva, grabbed a bun and took a big bite, then picked up chopsticks and put a piece of ribs into my mouth.

  Delicious! It smells so good!

  Mom and Dad looked at each other, both smiling happily. Mom finally couldn't help but express her doubts: "Son, how did you get so dark? You're almost as black as Judge Bao! The sun in the US isn't that poisonous, is it?" Her words were filled with loving concern.

  I spat out the clean bones onto the table, and quickly picked up a piece of fish and put it in my mouth. Without swallowing, I picked up a piece of chicken wing and gnawed on it for a few bites before blurting out an answer that had been prepared long ago and repeated several times: "Uh, I went to Africa a while back, just got back and was on vacation, so I ended up like this!"

  As soon as I finished speaking, my conscience was filled with guilt, my head felt hot, and I couldn't help but want to reveal the truth. However, the heavy USP45 in my pocket reminded me that I couldn't speak, couldn't speak!

  Go ahead and lie, at least it's a good lie! What I'm going through now can't be known to my family no matter what. Maybe one day they'll find out about the profession their son is in. Maybe one day my comrades will send me back to them, but not now! There are too many reasons to tell myself that I've already walked this path and there's no turning back!

  I had no choice but to bury my head and gnaw on the chicken wing, trying to cover up the deep sense of guilt in my heart! The crispy bones were bitten off and chewed into fragments by me, mixed with saliva and swallowed into my stomach.

  "Africa?" My parents were shocked and asked again: "We talk to you on the phone every week, why didn't you tell us?"

  I pushed the remaining bones in my mouth onto the table, stood up and took out those "photos" from the luggage placed in the living room, distributing them to my parents. I still lowered my head to deal with the food on the table, not daring to look at them: "Some time ago, our company had an investment project in Africa, so they sent a few of us to Africa for on-site inspection and study. It was about a month ago! I was afraid you'd worry, so I didn't tell you."

  After saying so much, I'm afraid only this last sentence is the most true words in my heart! I quietly raised my head and saw that Dad and Mom were enthusiastically admiring those "photos". I secretly sighed and sped up eating.

  Obviously, both Dad and Mom were attracted by the content of the photos, from time to time taking out a few more interesting ones to ask me, I had no choice but to eat while quickly turning my brain, one after another, using lies to make up for it.

  Finally, when I finished eating the last bun, my parents had also finished admiring all the photos. I let out a deep breath, feeling full and finally not having to make up those annoying lies anymore!

  Mom was picking up the photos and said happily: "The son has grown up, has achieved something, don't forget about Dad and Mom! We haven't even traveled abroad yet! Look at your dad, he has a lot of skills, but they are all hidden."

  "Dad said discontentedly beside him: 'What's wrong with hiding the truth? This is the ancestral rule, and I haven't let you suffer either, right?'"

  I burst out laughing, this is the taste of home, that kind of happy feeling. I stopped laughing and looked at my parents seriously and said: "When I make more money, I will definitely take you to travel around the world!"

  "Great! Great!" Dad and Mom laughed happily. Then Dad continued: "Next year, bring home a foreign daughter-in-law for the family..."

  "Looking for a foreign daughter-in-law?" Mom interrupted Dad and said: "Foreign daughters-in-law are unreliable, when the time comes, they will speak English loudly, and we won't understand. It's better to find a Chinese daughter-in-law, so we can also take care of our grandson in the future!"

  "What do you know!" The old man said discontentedly, "Are there no good people in foreign countries? Can't we just find someone who speaks Chinese later on? With our son's conditions, he can find a bunch of them! Moreover, our family is considered a high-ranking official family after all!"

  "Cut! Who cares about foreigners anyway? Look at how open-minded they are, but I still prefer Chinese wives..."

  Sweat! The more I listen, the more I'm sweating. This topic is going too fast, if we continue, they'll probably ask me whether to have a boy or girl next! I hastily coughed and interrupted their conversation: "Let's discuss this later, let's clean up and go to the living room, I still have gifts for you guys!"

  "Good!" Dad stood up and pointed at the big pile of fish bones in front of me, concluding: "You can't eat these things abroad!"

  "Exactly!" I smacked my lips: "No matter where you go to eat, nothing compares to this flavor!"

  This is a big truth.

  After finishing packing, I took out all the gifts I bought. For my dad, it was a famous brand windbreaker and tie. My dad has been working in the government for so many years as a leader, and he only wears thermal underwear, sweaters, and windbreakers in winter. What I bought for my mom was a diamond necklace worth over $6,000 and a set of high-end French cosmetics. I didn't dare to buy anything too expensive, afraid that spending too much money would be hard to explain, but my mom still guessed roughly. These things are worth at least 700,000 to 800,000 yuan, and after thinking about it for a moment, she asked me where I got so much money to buy these things.