Chapter Thirty-two in Beijing

  Body - Three

  No plan, no preparation; perhaps it was just Jason's whim, or his thoughtful gesture to alleviate my melancholy mood. Please use the pinyin domain name of this site to access us. That afternoon, Jason and I boarded a flight from Paris to Beijing and arrived at Beijing Capital Airport the next morning. I had no idea that I would return to my hometown in such an unprepared state, with intense excitement and turmoil in my heart. When the plane landed, my heart was like a drum beating fiercely, pounding rapidly. I told myself: it turns out that the journey back home is just this short flight of less than ten hours; but the road back home is so long and endless.

  We took a taxi out of the airport and arrived at our pre-booked hotel in Beijing. After settling everything, it was already 3 am. Jason looked tired, took a shower and fell asleep quickly on the bed. But I had no sleepiness, standing by the window, looking through the bright glass window at the night view of Beijing city with lights twinkling, my mind was filled with thoughts.

  The city has lost its daytime bustle, and the towering buildings are now filled with the lights of a thousand families; it's unknown whether the brightly lit houses have people working overtime, or those who are troubled and can't sleep, or happy people enjoying sweet moments... Unbeknownst to me, the sky had already begun to brighten slightly.

  As I gazed at the horizon where the morning glow was faintly visible, a sudden thought occurred to me - go to *** Square to watch the flag-raising ceremony.

  I gently patted Jason's shoulder to wake him up. Jason opened his sleepy eyes and asked, "Why did the catfish get up so early?" I said lightly, "I didn't sleep at all. By the way, I'm going out for a bit now, if there's anything, send me a message." Jason said, "Oh, okay, can you tell me what you're going to do if it's possible?" I replied, "Going to watch the flag-raising ceremony!" Jason said, "Okay, go and come back quickly, be careful, *** Square has many plainclothes special police, don't get caught by them."

  When I heard Jason say that, a sour feeling arose in my heart: I didn't commit any crime, and in my own country, why should I still be hiding and not dare to see the light. But then I asked myself, who can prove that you haven't committed a crime? "Hey..." I sighed softly and smiled, saying: "Don't worry, my 'wanted notice' is only posted on the 'Allied Forces Network', ordinary people can't see it."

  Jason said, "Be careful, don't be too careless." I nodded and said, "Okay, I'll be careful." Jason asked, "Before coming to China, I didn't ask for your opinion, but I know you really wanted to come back. Now that we're back, what are your plans for the next few days? Are you going to go see your parents and sister?" I thought for a moment and said, "Forget it, I don't want to disturb their peaceful life. My current situation and identity aren't suitable for going home." Jason said, "Then I'll accompany you to take a look at the army base from afar; but if there's an opportunity, I'd like to meet Liu Hui." "Okay, let's go take a look at the army base then..." I nodded in agreement. Jason said, "I'll go book our tickets now, and we can leave tomorrow." I said, "Okay, but don't bring your dagger with you, it's still in the gift box. In China, it's against the law to carry guns or controlled knives privately, unlike in America." Jason said, "Don't worry, I'll take care of it." I nodded and said, "Alright, you can sleep for a bit longer. I'm going to Tiananmen Square." After finishing speaking, I turned around and left the room, taking the elevator out of the Beijing Hotel and heading straight to Tiananmen Square.

  In the early morning, people on Chang'an Street have already started their busy day. The road surface is very clean, and occasionally you can see a few withered leaves that are still standing on the branches but finally can't withstand the cold wind blowing and falling, rolling around on the clean road surface for a few times, but soon they will be swept into the trash can by sanitation workers wearing orange vests. Today's weather is good, there is no wind, it's just a bit cold, every light breath can blow out thick fog. I wrapped my coat tightly and quickened my pace. The sun peeking out from behind me shines on my back, casting a long shadow in front of me... I walked towards *** Square like this, stepping on my own shadow, one step at a time.

  When I arrived at *** Square, the soldiers of the national flag guard had already come under the flagpole. The surrounding area was crowded with people who came to watch the ceremony. There were old people, children, Chinese and foreigners in the crowd. The soldiers of the national flag guard were tall and handsome, and the national flag they guarded was extremely bright. Since there were many people watching the ceremony, I couldn't get close, so I could only look from a distance.

  The national anthem sounded, and with a flourish of the flag bearer's arm, the five-star red flag began to rise slowly. The soldiers raised their hands in salute to the national flag, the children raised their hands in salute to the national flag, and some people simultaneously sang the national anthem softly along with the melody of "The March of the Volunteers". I was not wearing a military uniform, so I could only stand at attention and pay homage to the national flag, but in my heart, I yearned to put on my uniform again and give a solemn salute to the national flag. The north wind kindly blew gently, and the five-star red flag fluttered in the wind. As I looked at the flag fluttering in the wind, my tears began to well up in my eyes, but ultimately I did not let them fall.

  The flag-raising ceremony has ended, and the crowd dispersed. I stood there for a long time, watching the soldiers of the national flag guard march in neat rows, taking neat steps towards the Tianmen Gate, watching the snow-white bayonet disappear from the Jinshui Bridge.

  "Hey, young man!" I was suddenly pulled back to reality from my deep thoughts by an old lady's call. "Huh? Auntie, what's up?" I softly asked the old lady. The old lady pointed at her little granddaughter and said with a smile: "Would you mind taking a picture for us?" I smiled and said: "No problem, just tell me how to use your camera." The old lady said: "This is a shutter release, just press it when everything is in focus!" "Okay."

  I took the camera and smiled at the old lady, saying: "Hold your granddaughter tightly, ready... 1, 2, 3... okay, one more... 1, 2, 3! Done. Are you satisfied?" After taking the picture, I smiled and handed the camera back to the old man. The old man looked at it and smiled, saying: "It's really good, thank you, young man!" Little granddaughter also snatched the camera and said in a cute tone: "Grandma, let me see too... hmm! It's really good!" She looked very well-behaved and lovely.

  I patted the little girl's head, smiling at the old lady and saying, "Your granddaughter is so lovely! Well, I'm off." The old lady smiled and said to her little granddaughter, "Quickly say goodbye to Uncle." The little girl waved her small hand and said, "Uncle, goodbye!" in a voice as sweet as silver bells. "Goodbye!" I softly said to her, then turned around and strode away from the square.

  As soon as I returned to the Beijing restaurant, I saw Jason sitting on the sofa in the first floor lobby waiting for me. "Jason!" I called out to him. Jason stood up and walked over to my side, saying: "How come you're back so late? I've been waiting for a long time." I said: "After watching the flag-raising ceremony, I also strolled around Zhongshan Park. Why didn't you send me a message? I could have come back earlier and not let you wait here like an idiot." Jason said: "I didn't want to disturb you. Forget it, let's go eat something, I'm starving!" "Okay! By the way, is the ticket booked?" I asked Jason. Jason said: "Booked. 11:30 tonight." I looked at my watch and said to Jason: "There are still more than ten hours left." Jason said: "Yes, since you're in China, play host and use these few hours to take me around to have some fun."

  I said: "This is no problem, but I'm a first-time visitor to Beijing and not familiar with the city. I really don't know how to make the most of these few hours. How about this? The hotel next door is Wangfujing, where there are many delicious foods and fun things to do, and on the pedestrian street, there are many century-old shops. We can just take a stroll around here, or if not, Xidan Shopping Mall is probably not far from here either. If all else fails, we can go there too. What do you think?" Jason smiled and said: "Okay, let's follow your plan then. After all, two big men like us don't have much to do anyway, just wandering around aimlessly. You Chinese have a saying, 'steal a leisurely half-day', right?"

  After finishing breakfast, we came to Wangfujing Pedestrian Street. We didn't have any shopping plans, so we just wandered aimlessly. The greatest joy that walking around the street brings me is those unfamiliar but happy and smiling faces, because it makes me temporarily forget about bloodshed, death, and war; at the same time, it also tells me that I am back in my motherland. However, the greatest joy that walking around the street brings Jason is beautiful women and delicious food, which makes him extremely intoxicated. But during our walk, a small incident occurred, which kept the distance between Jason and me more than one meter for the whole day.

  This little episode took place on the snack street, where Jason ate a small food that I had been avoiding since childhood, but he was eager to try - fried stinky tofu. I know that fried stinky tofu is absolutely delicious for many people, but for me, the smell is really unbearable. Of course, I couldn't deprive Jason of his right to enjoy the wonderful taste of fried stinky tofu, nor could I force myself to accept its smell. Therefore, in the few hours after he ate it, I could only maintain a balance of this mental struggle by keeping a certain distance from him.

  Jason laughed and said he saw another side of me that was different from usual. He asked why I could accept eating snakes, rats, and raw fish in the tropical jungle, but couldn't accept this delicious fried stinky tofu. I told him that people always have to reserve some habits that are neither good nor bad, and it doesn't matter whether they change or not.

  In the evening, we left our luggage at a restaurant and then changed into light windbreakers. We only brought one camera and hailed a taxi to head straight for the Capital Airport.

  The next morning at four o'clock, we arrived in Xishuangbanna.