"Urban clamor and the pollution of neon lights gradually faded behind the man in the gray shirt. Standing at the airport gate, he looked back at the land where he had once strived. The shadows of skyscrapers blurred in his eyes—the streets of day-and-night hustle, the brightly lit nights—all were about to become a closed chapter in his life.
Zhang Zhou and Lin Lingxin held his hand tightly, their eyes filled with both reluctance and blessings. They knew the man, weary in body but with a heart no longer easily broken, was about to embark on a journey back to his hometown. They made a promise: when the coffee shop opened, he must return for a cup of rich coffee and reunite.
The 300,000 yuan he carried was meant for his return to the hometown that had given him endless joy—a small town where he wished to spend his entire life. There, he imagined no scheming, no office politics.
As the roar of the airplane taking off echoed, the man took one last look through the window at the city full of memories. He knew that this time, he had chosen to leave, but his confidence never faded. In the tranquility of his hometown, he would rediscover himself and rebuild his own world with his own hands.
The plane soared through the clouds, heading toward the county near his hometown. But the man's heart had already drifted to that familiar land—the starting point of his dreams and the place of new hopes. He envisioned the water towns, the ancient yet elegant stone bridges, the winding alleys, and the leisurely gondolas. There, he would open his coffee shop, a place where every customer could find their own utopia.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard Yunlan Airlines. This flight will take two hours. We wish you a pleasant journey."
Not long after, the plane landed with a gentle thud.
"Brother Li! Brother Li!" A man with a cigarette in his mouth jumped up and waved at him from a distance.
"Li Sen, I told you not to come pick me up!" Lu Li smiled and hugged Li Sen. The two took a bus to the small harbor.
A small boat was docked at the harbor, bearing the name Sen Ran Hao, with a decal of a forest python on both sides.
"Is this yours and Xiao Ran's boat?" Lu Li touched the vessel.
"Haha, yes! Xiao Ran's family agreed to it. I bought this boat a year ago—usually, it shuttles between Yunlan County and White Island, ferrying passengers. You know how Xiao Ran loves freedom. She's at home with Xiao Xun and Xiao Xiao, preparing a welcome feast for you."
As Li Sen and Lu Li enjoyed the breeze, smoke curling from their lips, Lu Li reminisced about their childhood days—the five of them walking to and from school together.
"Brother Li, do you think we'll be friends for life?" The youngest of the five lay on the beach, stretching his hand to let sunlight filter through his fingers.
"No one can say for sure what the future holds. Who knows what the outside world is like? Is it beautiful? Free? Terrifying? Heartbreaking? A lot will happen between us, too." Lu Li glanced at the thick white clouds.
"Stinky A Li, you always ruin the mood! Good A Xun, we'll definitely be friends for life!" The assertive Ran Yunyun gave Lu Li a light knock on the head.
"Brother Li, why are you always so grown-up?" Wu Xiaoxiao sat up and patted A Xun's head.
"You just don't get it. That's why my brother Li is so cool!" The sycophant Li Sen glared at Ran Yunyun, his eyes full of admiration for Lu Li.
"Mu Zi, do you want a beating?!" Ran Yunyun raised her fist and charged at Li Sen.
Li Sen scrambled to his feet and ran, the two chasing each other barefoot across the sand.
Waves crashed against the boat, sending foamy ripples everywhere.
After an hour's journey, they arrived at the island's only harbor. The island was small, with just two large ships and a dozen small fishing boats docked.
By the harbor stood a rectangular marble slab, about two people tall, inscribed with the words "White Island." It was said to have been left by the first settlers. Initially, only the Lu family lived on the island. Families like Li Sen's and others had settled there after their ancestors discovered the beautiful island.
The island's streets spiraled upward from the harbor, where small shops and markets were located, to residential areas further up, and finally to the Lu family ancestral hall and the Wenbai Pagoda at the summit. All the buildings were painted milky white, creating vast stretches of white amidst the green hills.
By tradition, Lu Li needed to visit the ancestral hall to pay respects to the elders upon returning. The current family matriarch, Grandma Lu Shuang, lived there.
"Brother Li!" Three figures waved at him from the harbor. The petite Ran Yunyun still had her short hair, the adorable Wu Xiaoxiao was eating tanghulu, and Sun Xun stood beside them, looking as youthful as ever.
"Everyone, I'm back." Lu Li greeted them one by one.
The five stood together, as if childhood had never ended.
They drove up the hill in Sun Xun's pickup truck. An aged ancestral hall came into view—not grand or majestic, with peeling walls and an ancient locust tree at the entrance, just as they remembered from their childhood. Back then, when they misbehaved and were punished by kneeling, they would often fall asleep, and Grandma would carry each of them to bed.
"Grandma, I'm back."
"Grandma, we're here too."
"It's good to have you back. Your room has always been kept for you, and I've been cleaning it regularly. Are you staying for good this time? If you leave again, this old lady might not live to see you return." Silver-haired Grandma Lu Shuang sat in the courtyard sunbathing, her rocking chair's armrests polished smooth by their little hands over the years.
"I'm not leaving, Grandma." Lu Li felt a pang of guilt. In five years, he had returned only for the Spring Festival, staying for just a few days before rushing off again.
This grandmother had raised him since he was four, after his parents passed away, all the way until he turned 18.
"Alright, just seeing you is enough. Today, you childhood friends should catch up. Come see me again later." Grandma waved them off.
"Grandma, we'll head out now."
As they walked toward Li Sen's home, they discussed Lu Li's plans.
"I'm back to open a coffee shop. Of course, the details will reveal themselves once it's ready. With Yunlan County developing and tourism on White Island growing, I want to create a place for busy people to pause and catch their breath." Lu Li gazed at the setting sun in the distance.
"Have you decided on a name? Let us help you brainstorm," Ran Yunyun said. She knew Lu Li was independent, but she wished he could still be like the child he once was.
"I've decided. It'll be called Fúguāng."
Translation into English: "Lucent"