The boy glanced down following his gaze, frowned, and took off the "egg beater," muttering, "Chezi Ming, that little rascal."

"What is this?" Laura Bennett couldn't help but ask.

"It's for massaging the scalp, the kind used to open up the brain meridians for mentally challenged children."

?

The other person casually tossed it into the trash can. "My name is Brian Clark, how should I address you?"

"Aron." His English name sounded a bit like his Chinese name.

"Oh. Is someone picking you up?"

Laura Bennett's lips pressed into a thin line, and he gave a soft "mm."

Brian Clark picked up his phone and said slowly, "I'm here to pick someone up too, my cousin just got back to the country. I'll call her first, then go with you to find your ride, and have him compensate me. You two can settle it privately after, how about that?"

It didn't really make a difference—whoever was picking up Laura Bennett was a stranger anyway, but Laura Bennett had no other choice and could only nod.

Brian Clark turned away to make a call, while he stood not far off, watching.

After a while, Brian Clark hung up, muttering as he typed, "Did she leave already..."

Laura Bennett asked casually, "What time was the flight?"

"Landed at 4:50, it's been twenty minutes and her phone's still off."

Laura Bennett instinctively touched the ticket in his pocket. "Your cousin came from London?"

"Yeah. Huh?" Brian Clark suddenly looked up at him. "You too?"

Laura Bennett nodded. "Maybe she's waiting for her luggage, or at customs. Try waiting by the exit."

Brian Clark clicked his tongue. "Totally forgot about that. Uncle Martin even made a sign, so she could feel the warmth of the motherland as soon as she got off the plane."

As he spoke, he pulled a folded poster out of his backpack, unfolded it, and two big, bold lines were revealed right in front of Laura Bennett's eyes.

Lan Xie Laura Bennett

Welcome home! (smiley face)

Handsome guy's expression: shocked.

"This is your cousin??"

"Yeah." Brian Clark held the sign across his chest and walked forward.

"Wait!"

Laura Bennett reached out and grabbed his sleeve, blocking those two lines with his body.

Brian Clark lifted his eyelids. "What?"

Laura Bennett asked, "Do you know what she looks like?"

"No idea what she looks like now, but I have a photo from when she was six or seven, a rebellious little girl." Brian Clark tapped his phone a couple times and held it up to Laura Bennett. "Here."

A little kid with black eyes and red lips stood under a pine tree in the park, looking a bit unhappy at the camera.

Little shirt, little scarf, little trench coat, little leather shoes—a typical British little boy's outfit. The only thing a bit girlish was a red hair clip on the forehead, which was forced on him by his mom to keep hair off a cut on his forehead.

Laura Bennett's eyes went blank; he suddenly felt like going back to the UK.

James Bennett was truly ruthless, actually sending such a little monster to drive him back in style.

He snatched the poster from Brian Clark's hand and folded it up in a few quick moves.

Brian Clark frowned. "What now?"

Laura Bennett looked at him with resentment. "Are you sure it's a girl?"

"Isn't it obviously a girl? What's it to you?"

Laura Bennett stared at him in silence. After a while, Brian Clark suddenly frowned.

His Adam's apple bobbed slightly. He tried to stay calm as he reopened the photo and held it up next to Laura Bennett's face.

A long pause.

"Um—"

"May I ask, young hero, your Chinese name—"

"Laura Bennett."

"......"

After checking the ID information, the two of them stood in silence for a while.

Until Laura Bennett spoke first, greeting, "Nice to meet you."

It sounded very much like, "Nice to meet you, why aren't you dead yet."

Brian Clark's mouth twitched, and after a moment he gave a slight nod. "Yeah. Pretty good, you?"

Before Laura Bennett could roll his eyes, Brian Clark clicked his tongue again, leaned in, and asked in a low voice, "Did you like wearing hair clips as a kid? Do you still have that... unique hobby?"

"......"

Laura Bennett pressed each of his other eight finger joints with his thumbs before managing to keep his expression together. "Does your mom know I'm a boy?"

Brian Clark thought for a bit. "She probably knows, just didn't make it clear on the phone."

"Who else knows about this?" Laura Bennett asked again.

"About what?"

Laura Bennett's eyes were full of irritation. "Cousin."

"Oh... that..."

Brian Clark reached into his pocket for his phone and said in a very low voice, "Just some fans, yeah, about a million or so."

Laura Bennett didn't catch that. "What?"

"Nothing." Brian Clark looked up steadily. "I guess it was just my mistake. Let's go, the driver's waiting in the parking lot."

*

The driver, Little Martin, was a chubby guy with single eyelids and a smiling face, very friendly when greeting them.

The car quickly left the airport expressway and got onto the H City overpass. Below the bridge, the river split the city in two, the setting sun sparkling on the water, the city's reflection shining brilliantly in that golden light.

As he drove, Little Martin introduced, "Our neighborhood is called Wangjiang Liying, remember that. It used to be called Wangjiang Xiangwai, either name works for the taxi."

Laura Bennett knew Wangjiang Xiangwai; that name had appeared too many times in his mom's journal. Wangjiang Xiangwai had towering plane trees, thirty-two steps to run up from the house, sunlight filtering through the leaves, leaving bright patches of light on your face.