Chapter Thirty: The Kite Runner
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Chen Yan整理 his thoughts and said, “Lin Cheng, I truly admire your ambition. But isn’t starting a business while you’re still in high school a little premature?”
The reason Lin Cheng was so “drawn” to Chen Yan was that Chen Yan genuinely wanted to rise above his ordinary life.
At such a young age, he had already become the head teacher of an elite class. His talent and ability had clearly won recognition from everyone around him.
He had graduated from the Chinese Department of East China Normal University, a place filled with hidden talent. In education, publishing, and many related cultural fields, former classmates and younger alumni of every level could be found throughout the industry.
More importantly, he was now the de facto editor-in-chief of the magazine Fireworks!
Though Fireworks was small, it had everything from sponsorship and contributors to distribution.
Chen Yan knew his limits, understood what was needed, and possessed genuine passion. He had the makings of a helmsman.
Teacher Chen respected his student’s grand ambition. He said:
“I understand. You have a famous entrepreneur for a father and have been steeped in business from an early age. Coming from you, I don’t think this is mere wishful thinking.”
“All I can say is that your most important task right now is getting into college. Still, I can make things easier for you in certain ways.”
“Teacher Chen, what I need is a partner!”
“All right. Once you’re in college, I can help you… I also want to send my children to the places they dream of reaching.”
Lin Cheng let out a sigh. He had been reborn, but he was no immortal.
How could it possibly be easy to persuade an outstanding teacher to start a business with him?
After thinking for a moment, Lin Cheng said, “Teacher Chen, I won’t neglect my studies. But I also hope you’ll step outside your comfort zone and do something meaningful with me!”
Chen Yan thought to himself that what they lacked was simply the right opportunity.
After all, being a teacher at Wuzhou High School was a respectable, well-paid, and stable profession. The dream of a high school student was not enough to change reality.
In truth, Chen Yan was also engaged in an inner struggle. He planned to finish teaching this class and then seek opportunities in Shanghai. The salaries there were higher, and making that move would also mean breaking free from the inertia of his life.
…
…
The fortieth-anniversary edition of Fireworks was published.
People in all sorts of moods read the entire article with curiosity. What stayed with them most deeply was the elevation at the end:
Zhuangzi said: A gentleman should possess the transformation of the dragon and the snake.
When circumstances are unfavorable, one becomes a snake—living among ants, dwelling in muddy holes, and eating filthy things simply to survive.
When conditions are right, one rises into the heavens as a dragon, soaring ten thousand miles, summoning wind and rain, swallowing clouds and exhaling mist, sending sweet rain across the earth, and displaying all one’s brilliance.
When you are a snake, do not sink into despair merely because you were once a dragon.
After becoming a dragon, do not feel ashamed merely because you were once a snake.
When a person reaches the lowest point in life, they must know when to remain hidden, like a dragon lying dormant.
When underestimated or lacking in ability, one must be willing to lower one’s head and bend one’s back, working hard to improve oneself.
But once the moment arrives, rise into the sky without the slightest hesitation!
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How could a golden-scaled creature be an ordinary thing confined to a pond? Once it encounters wind and clouds, it transforms into a dragon…
Even those who did not read the entire article found themselves resonating with these lines to some extent.
This resonance was different from the romance and sentimentality of teenage magazines for boys and girls.
Lin Cheng’s article remained rooted in youth, yet it possessed a certain elevation that touched the hearts of everyone who read it.
There were only five copies of the magazine circulating in each class.
Some students even copied several of the finest lines into their quotation notebooks.
“Wait, let me copy that too! Maybe I can use it in an essay someday…”
The teachers were reading it as well. They found the article’s sweeping momentum and its unabashedly profound message almost unbelievable.
Could a high school student really possess such a deep understanding of human nature?
The radically different style of the article immediately stirred a wave of excitement.
Zhuang Sijing gently closed Fireworks, pursed her lips, and asked, “What about Doraemon? How did things turn out?”
Lin Cheng smiled. “Stop calling me Doraemon all the time. You’re going to get me in trouble.”
“So you two made up,” Zhuang Sijing teased, though a trace of disappointment flickered in her eyes.
Her deskmate was no longer merely “Lin Junjie.” People inside and outside the classroom frequently cast curious glances in their direction, which made Zhuang Sijing feel both novel and thrilling.
The students at Wuzhou High School were exceptionally capable. Many of the truly remarkable ones did not spend all their time poring over textbooks. They often distinguished themselves in competitions—or even through their hobbies.
These days, many students from well-off families or with outstanding grades would approach her whenever they saw her sitting beside Lin Cheng, asking about embarrassing incidents from his middle-school days.
They would giggle and chatter, then widen their eyes and ask:
“Really?”
“You two were deskmates even back then? That’s hilarious!”
Zhuang Sijing found the sensation deeply pleasant.
…
…
Small tests soothed the nerves; major examinations terrified the heart.
Senior year was like a young woman—its monthly suffering never arrived late, reminding you that you were still a vigorous young person!
In the final subject, chemistry, there was still half an hour before the examination ended when Su Xiang handed in her paper.
Even in the first examination room, where the school’s top students were gathered, very few people submitted their papers that early.
Lin Cheng handed in his paper as well. He was now among the top twenty students in the entire grade!
This left Chen Zishi, who was checking the papers, somewhat incredulous.
Had Lin Cheng really become this formidable?
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The blazing red sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting a dappled shimmer along the corridor.
Su Xiang and Lin Cheng walked one after the other, their shadows stretching long beneath the slanting light.
The setting sun touched Su Xiang’s fair neck, gilding even the fine down there with a soft, lovely radiance.
The fantastical sight sent a warm rush through Lin Cheng’s heart.
He asked softly, “What book are you holding? Is it an English edition?”
Su Xiang replied, “The Kite Runner.”
“Is it good?”
Everyone was still taking their exams, so Su Xiang’s voice was very quiet, as though drifting out of a distant memory. It possessed an inexplicable allure.
“It’s a bestselling novel throughout the United States. It tells the story of two boys in Afghanistan during the 1980s. It was published this year, and it’s deeply moving.”
“Oh? Tell me about it.”
Lin Cheng had read it years later, after the book had won countless awards.
“Afghanistan has a tradition in which catching a kite represents a certain kind of victory.”
“For the sake of friendship, the servant boy Hassan desperately chases a kite for his young master, Amir. Even when a bully threatens him with his life, he refuses to yield. In the end, he would rather be—well…”
Su Xiang paused at that point. Lin Cheng nodded to show that he understood.
“But Amir, his master, watched helplessly as Hassan was abused, then abandoned him. After returning home, he used lies and despicable methods to clear himself of all blame.”
“That incident tormented him for decades. When he reached middle age, he chose to become a better man.”
“The way this part is written is wonderful. The story moves back and forth across twenty years. It feels as though he has crossed a turbulent sea of time, walked into a country ravaged by war, and rescued the son of the servant boy he knew all those years ago…”
“The suffering that runs through the entire book—oppression, flight, war, invasion, people destroying one another—is expressed through a child’s eyes. Yet somehow it possesses a quiet, brutal beauty.”
“There are two lines in particular. Hassan, the servant boy, says: ‘The only thing I knew for sure was that I would never let go of that kite.’”
“For the forty-year-old Amir, after rescuing the boy, says: ‘For you, a thousand times over.’”
After finishing, Su Xiang smiled at Lin Cheng, who looked a little foolish.
It made Lin Cheng feel that she inhabited a life utterly different from his own.
There was a heroic spirit about Su Xiang. In truth, remaining uncorrupted by wealth, unshaken by poverty, and unbowed by force was not merely the defining quality of a great man. It was also the bearing of an extraordinary woman.
By then, many people had begun emerging from the corridor. Yang Mingcheng walked toward them, smiling broadly as he greeted the boys and girls coming out of the examination rooms.
One girl gave him an admiring smile. “President Yang, this issue of Fireworks is really worth reading!”
Yang Mingcheng pointed casually in their direction. “There. He wrote the opening page.”
In truth, Yang Mingcheng had only been looking for an excuse to get closer to Su Xiang. He had never expected Lin Cheng to steal the spotlight so completely…
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