I'm really good at this.

Grandpa Zhang Hong's home is in a village not far from Songxian County at the foot of Mount Song.

Starting from Beijing, I flew to Luoyang, then drove for nearly two hours to Song County. After passing Shaolin Temple, I drove for another half hour before finally arriving at the village.

The road has long been built, and the village has had water and electricity for twenty years.

Even the houses are all three-story buildings with yards.

To be honest, apart from the lack of supporting facilities such as shopping districts, hospitals, and schools, as well as the inconvenience of food delivery and express delivery, Zhang Hongzhen felt that living here was much better than living in the city.

They drove in silence. Lin Muqing, who had deliberately driven his Porsche Panamera to keep a low profile, stopped in front of a courtyard.

But after the engine was turned off, she remained motionless, still holding the steering wheel.

Zhang Hong, in the passenger seat, was surprised: "You can be nervous too?"

"I'm not nervous." Lin Muqing looked straight ahead, her hands still gripping the steering wheel. "Why would I be nervous about something that has nothing to do with me?"

"Then aren't you getting off the bus?"

"No, I'll wait for you in the car."

"..."

Zhang Hong said helplessly, "Miss, we might be staying here tonight. Are you planning to spend the night in the car?"

Lin Muqing remained expressionless, unbuckled her seatbelt, got out of the car, and closed the door in one smooth motion.

Then she walked to the passenger side and looked down at Zhang Hong.

Zhang Hong grinned, got out of the car, closed the door, and then walked into the yard.

Lin Muqing didn't say anything and followed behind Zhang Hong silently.

When he walks, she walks; when he stops, she stops.

She hesitated only slightly when she stepped into the courtyard.

Upon entering the courtyard, Zhang Hong stopped and looked around.

Then he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, and he started seeing stars.

He turned around, clutching the back of his head, and saw Lin Muqing glaring at him with her hands covering her forehead and tears welling in her eyes. "You did this on purpose."

"I really don't have that." Zhang Hong rubbed the back of his head, grinning. "Your forehead is really hard."

He bumped his head so badly that a bump appeared on the back of his head.

Tsk, isn't it usually the forehead that bumps into the back?

So here's the question.

Is this long, straight black hair too tall, or am I, Zhang, too short?

This matter cannot be discussed in detail.

However... this long, straight black hair does make her more popular.

Tsk.

Zhang Hong turned around, leaving the back of his head to her, and continued to survey the yard.

It seems that even in parallel worlds, some things remain unchanged.

The furnishings here are very similar to those in his grandfather's house in his previous life.

Back when he was a dreamer, he once asked his grandfather if the tables and chairs in his house were made of mahogany, rosewood, or golden nanmu.

Then Grandpa would rub his dog's head and tell him with a smile that those were just ordinary wood, only painted.

Just as I was reminiscing, an elderly man wearing plastic gloves and holding a hair dye stick came out.

This is Zhang Hong's grandmother, Cui Xiulian.

"Oh my! Zhang Hong's back? Why didn't you let me know beforehand?" Grandma said with a smile. "Please sit down first, I'll finish dyeing my hair."

It's basically just dyeing gray hair black.

Zhang Hong smiled and was about to speak when his grandmother suddenly asked, "Come, come, young lady, please sit down. Zhang Hong, quickly go to the refrigerator and get a bottle of orange juice for them."

As she spoke, the old man stopped dyeing his hair, casually put the hair dye stick aside, took off his gloves, and then took out a plastic cap from his pocket and put it on his head while waiting for the hair dye to dry.

Then she pulled the bewildered Lin Muqing into the house.

As he walked, he kept calling out, "Come out and see your granddaughter-in-law!"

Zhang Hong smiled and followed him inside.

He grew up here until he was six years old, then went back to Los Angeles with his parents, and only comes back during winter and summer vacations each year.

After starting university, he rarely came back, even during holidays.

As Zhang Hong entered the living room, his grandfather came out of the bedroom.

The old man was in good health and had a very upright demeanor; he looked just like a retired professor.

But in reality, he was just an ordinary retired truck driver who went back to his hometown, built a house on his homestead, and lived out his retirement years in peace.

However, the old man completely lost his composure: "Where? Where is my granddaughter-in-law?"

As he spoke, he saw Lin Muqing sitting on the sofa, looking embarrassed, being pulled by Grandma Zhang Hong's hand.

Seeing Grandpa Zhang Hong come out, Lin Muqing quickly stood up and said, "Hello, Grandpa."

"Alright, alright, what's your name? How old are you? Where do you work? How did you meet Zhang Hong? When are you planning to get married?" Old Master Zhang asked a bunch of questions in one breath, then glanced at Zhang Hong, "This kid won't say anything. I thought he was going to spend his whole life clinging to his damn art."

Lin Muqing was particularly reserved: "My name is Lin Muqing, Grandpa. Zhang Hong and I... are not boyfriend and girlfriend, we are just colleagues."

"Just an ordinary childhood sweetheart, I guess," Zhang Hong added from the side.

Lin Muqing secretly gave him a disdainful glare.

The elderly Zhang couple immediately understood.

It's like being more than friends but less than lovers.

There's no need to embarrass the girl.

Grandma Zhang Hong and Lin Muqing were left chatting in the living room (gathering information), while Grandpa Zhang Hong glanced at him and went into the study.

Zhang Hong followed him inside.

They closed the door and sat down at the table.

Grandpa Zhang Hong picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then asked, "Tell me, you haven't been back for several years. What brings you back so suddenly?"

Zhang Hong grinned and said, "I was just busy, what? Now that I'm free, I can't come see you two?"

"Don't give me that." Old Master Zhang curled his lip, then looked Zhang Hong up and down. "What's wrong? Got a beating from the streets? You used to be quite arrogant. But it's good this way, a simple life is the best."

The old man sipped his tea with a satisfied smile, seemingly forgetting that he was the one who had ruined Zhang Hong's father's peaceful life.

Anyway, he's living a pretty comfortable, ordinary life now.

"I still can't hide it from your discerning eyes." Zhang Hong continued with a grin. "Grandpa, I just wanted to ask about my great-grandfather."

Upon hearing this, Old Master Zhang's face immediately fell: "Why are you asking him?"

Zhang Hong explained with a smile: "It's like this. I knew a story about a novelist who sacrificed his life in that war. His name was Wei Laisheng. But people who knew him thought I looked a lot like him. I even asked my dad if my great-grandfather's name was Laisheng. My dad said my great-grandfather's name was Zhang Laisheng."

He shrugged: "But there are also two people in this world who look alike and have absolutely no connection. One of them has the surname Zhang and the other has the surname Wei. Maybe it's just a coincidence."

"It's not a coincidence." After a moment of silence, the old man spoke up, "His surname is Wei, but because he married into the family, your great-grandmother was afraid that others would look down on him, so she changed his surname when she was registering his identity."

"Wait a minute."

After giving his instructions, the old man left the study.

A few minutes later, he returned carrying several items.

A bound book, a photo frame.

The frame contains a black and white photograph.

There were two young people inside, a man and a woman.

The man looked remarkably like Zhang Hong, wearing an old-fashioned long trench coat, and had a gentle and refined appearance.

That demeanor and those eyes were something Zhang Hong couldn't fake.

Beside her was an extremely beautiful woman wearing a moon-colored dress and a phoenix hairpin in her hair, with a gentle and graceful demeanor.

In the photo, she tilts her head slightly to look at the man's profile, her eyes full of tenderness.

These must be Zhang Hong's great-grandfather and great-grandmother.

He opened the bound book again.

This should be something like a family history.

It also contains the story of my great-grandfather and great-grandmother.

The Zhang family had a tradition of having only one son per generation, but by the time of her great-grandmother, she was the only woman.

So they had no choice but to find a son-in-law.

However, her great-grandmother's parents also believed in free love, so she found her former classmate, who was also her great-grandfather, with whom she had a mutual affection.

Her great-grandfather loved her very much and didn't care about whether or not she married into the family.

But his great-grandmother cared and didn't want him to marry into her family; she wanted him to have a normal marriage instead.

My great-grandfather simply changed his surname, from Wei Laisheng to Zhang Laisheng.

In this way, the issue of whether or not one should marry into another family becomes irrelevant.

My great-grandfather originally came from a scholarly family, but the family fortunes declined. After graduating from school, he became a storyteller, as well as an editor and contributor for a newspaper.

After getting married, he found a job as a teacher.

A few years after his grandfather was born, a former classmate invited him to go to the East to become a teacher.

Because the wages are higher there, my great-grandfather decided to go there first, and then bring my great-grandmother and grandfather over once things have settled down.

As a result, he disappeared without a trace after he left.

What happened next is not described here.

However, Zhang Hong already knew about it.

Seeing him close the book, Old Master Zhang sneered, "Now you know what kind of person he is, right? He looks respectable, but he's a beast in human clothing, capable of abandoning his wife and children!"

Zhang Hong sighed, looked up and said, "Grandpa, what if I told you... that the reason Great-Grandpa didn't come back was because he sacrificed himself on the battlefield?"

The old man fell silent.

Actually, after Zhang Hong finished speaking, he felt that maybe it really was him.

But having watched his mother raise him with great hardship since childhood, he never remarried.

His once beautiful and gentle mother aged rapidly due to the hardships of life, passing away before the age of fifty. Even on her deathbed, she told him not to blame his father, assuring him he must have his reasons...

Looking at his mother like this, how could he not resent that person?

He refused to listen to that person's story and wouldn't even allow the person to be mentioned at home.

But it was his grandson who brought it up now.

And the person he was talking about...

Looking at his sincere-looking grandson, Grandpa Zhang lowered his eyes slightly and said, "Tell me, how did he become a martyr?"

I like it, I'm really good at it, I'm really good at it.