Chapter 2.1

2 . 1

(There Will Be) One Day

Qin Sheng didn’t take planes, but he liked sitting on trains . It wasn’t because he had a fear of heights or anything like that . On a train, you saw the passing roadside scenes and the way of life . There was a kind of charm in that . And you could look out for some interesting people in the area .

But more importantly, he didn’t have the money for a plane ticket .

The train ride would be 17 hours long . Qin Sheng had a hard bunker and shared his car with a few students going back to school after the National Day holiday . They were all from Northwest China and were chattering about how great Shanghai was . A few people even mentioned that they wouldn’t leave after graduating .

It reminded Qin Sheng of when he went to university in Shanghai . He’d taken a train back then too . Everything had been so exciting at the time since it was his first time leaving home and his first time traveling alone . And four years passed like that .

So what was his conclusion after four years in Shanghai?

The good things were better there, and the bad things were worse . Most of the people simply existed; they didn’t live .

After sleeping a bit, Qin Sheng chatted with the boys . They were all at decent schools, and they would probably end up achieving great things . Going to school really is the only way to pave yourself a better path .

A lot of people have been saying that school is useless, but in Qin Sheng’s eyes, school was the only way for most ordinary people to better their lives . It might not make you rich, and it might not get you an amazing job, but it gives you better opportunities in the future, and it allows you to meet a better version of yourself .

The books you’ve studied, the roads you’ve taken, the people you’ve met, the things you’ve overcome… Whether good or bad, everything will settle in the end, and your life will bloom .

For most of the train ride, Qin Sheng preferred to keep to himself . He sat in his seat and admired the passing scenery .

When they arrived in Shanghai, it was already evening, and the sky was getting dark .

Stepping on that ground again, Qin Sheng took a deep breath of the less-than-clean air . It had been three years since he left this place . The people and the things from that time all flooded into his head .

Qin Sheng thought to himself that if would be so wonderful if things could always remain the way they were at the first encounter .

“Shanghai, I’m back!” Qin Sheng cried out . Around him, people turned to stare like he was some kind of maniac . But he didn’t care . He never worried about how others saw him .

His grandfather used to say that Shanghai was his ‘dragon-rising ground’ . Qin Sheng wondered if he would be able to succeed now that he was there .

A bus took him from the train station directly to his destination, Tomson Golf Villa on Longdong Avenue in Pudong . He was going to meet someone, a person whom he once made a promise to .

Although he’d spent four years there during university, Qin Sheng had never really ventured around Shanghai . If his grandfather hadn’t called it his Promised Land, he would have never gone back to the city .

Tomson Golf, one of the most expensive residences in all of the ‘Magical City’ . Only the best of the crop could live in Pudong, where land prices were exorbitant .

Qin Sheng was meeting with one of those people .

The car arrived at the gates of Tomson Golf . Shortly after speaking with the security office, a guard came to escort him inside . Qin Sheng was quiet .

A few minutes later, they arrived at his old friend’s villa . It was a three-story mansion, near about 3,000 square meters . The entire property was gated off, and inside, there was a private garden and pool .

The house was brightly lit . When Qin Sheng walked onto the property, he saw an old man squatting on the ground, tending to the garden . The guard bowed his head slightly and said, “Mr Wu . ”

Qin Sheng also gave a slight bow . The old man gave a glance to Qin Sheng and quickly lost interest in him .

After entering the house, the guard pointed to a room and said, “Mr Han is waiting for you in the study . ”

Qin Sheng smiled and thanked the man . Then he headed straight to the study .

Knock knock…

He waited…

After a moment, a middle-aged man’s voice finally called out, “Come in . ”

Qin Sheng pushed open the door and walked inside .

The study was filled with smoke, leaving you barely able to open your eyes . If one didn’t know better, they might think there was a fire inside .

A middle-aged man with a greying head of hair sat on the sofa smoking . The ashtray was filled with cigarette butts, and there was no shortage on the floor either .

“Young Qin, you’ve finally come . ” The middle-aged man looked at Qin Sheng a moment before putting out his cigarette and getting up to walk over to him . He laughed cheerfully .

Qin Sheng also gave a laugh as he said, “Uncle Han, it’s been a year and three months since we bid farewell at the Kunlun Mountains, hasn’t it?”

“Kid, you said you’d definitely come to Shanghai to make it big . You said I’d be the first person you’d seek out . It’s been so long that I thought you were just tricking me . Who’d have thought? You’re actually here . ” The man that Qin Sheng called Uncle Han laughed .

He pulled Qin Sheng over to the sofa and poured two cups of tea . “Uncle Han, you once said that if a man can’t do something, he shouldn’t make a promise . Young people, they don’t understand . But the older you get, the more important it becomes . Besides, you did save my life . ”

“This kid…” Uncle Han pointed at Qin Sheng and said, “So when did you arrive?”

“I came here after getting off the train . ”

“Honest as ever . I’m a bit too busy these days . We’ll find another time and I’ll throw you a welcome dinner . ” Uncle Han pat Qin Sheng on the back .

Uncle Han, Han Guoping . Qin Sheng had never looked into what business the man was in, but he said he was a businessman . When he first started his travels across China, the two met at the Kunlun Mountains . They were headed to the same place, so they decided to travel together . Qin Sheng was too young at the time, and he didn’t have enough experience . If not for Han Guoping, he’d likely have died in that avalanche .