In a tourist city in peak season, the time of traffic jam is directly proportional to people's enthusiasm. In response, Xu Tangcheng bought a small electric donkey to meet his daily travel needs.
The road here is different from Beijing, with many slopes and ups and downs. Riding a small electric donkey has a feeling of galloping. Slowly, Xu Tangcheng gained a hobby. Sometimes early in the morning, before going to work, sometimes at sunset, sometimes at noon when the sun is scorching, and sometimes at night when it is still hot, he will wear big pants, ride his bike, and shuttle across wide or narrow roads . At those times, I actually didn't think about anything, I only occasionally felt that I was doing something similar to a certain person, and the figure was also overlapping with him.
The only special thing is that in one summer, I saw Cheng Xu again.
Chengxu returned to Beijing to work on graduation, and when she learned that Xu Tangcheng was in Hainan, she flew over to see him on purpose. He shaved his hair a lot shorter, and the way he stood in the airport and waved at Xu Tangcheng was quite different from the soft boy in Xu Tangcheng's memory.
But when Xu Tangcheng approached, Chengxu lowered his eyes slightly and smiled shyly, but Xu Tangcheng felt that he had not changed.
He took Chengxu to eat at a Qingbuliang restaurant. Sitting in a store with plenty of cold wind, Chengxu asked him, "What happened to you and Yizhe?"
It had been too long since no one had mentioned this name in front of Xu Tangcheng, and it had been too long since no one had talked to him about him.
Xu Tangcheng scooped up the honey beans with the small spoon in his hand, and shook his head with a light smile: "No, it's just that the family knows it, and the opposition is more intense."
"Then what?"
"What can I do, my mother insists that we be separated for a while, I will slowly persuade us."
Among the difficulties, Xu Tangcheng explained in a few words, Cheng Xu did not follow up to ask, but the change of people is frank, he can clearly feel that this Xu Tangcheng in front of him has more thoughts and more silence.
The two girls in the seat next to him got up and left. Xu Tangcheng looked at the person with his head down, and finally asked, "How about you? Do you have someone you like?"
After hesitating for two seconds, Cheng Xu raised his head. This hesitation already told Xu Tangcheng the answer.
"Eat first," Xu Tangcheng said when he opened his mouth but didn't say a word, "There are many people here, let's talk later."
Walking out of the store, Chengxu said that he wanted to go for a stroll by the beach, Xu Tangcheng immediately laughed and asked him, haven't seen enough at the beach for so long
Cheng Xu pushed on her glasses and stepped on Xu Tangcheng's little electric donkey in the hot wind: "It's a different feeling."
Yalong Bay is not far away, and there are no people on the beach at this time. The two of them found a shady place to sit down and looked at the sea for a while.
"You just asked me if I had someone I liked," Cheng Xu turned her head and met Xu Tangcheng's gaze frankly, "Yes. In fact, when I left, I concealed some of the reasons from you."
Somehow, a picture jumped in front of Xu Tangcheng's eyes - the figure that overlapped in a corner of the bar on the night when Chengxu collapsed. There was a slight vibration in his heart, and Cheng Xu had lowered his head and scratched the sand beside his feet with one finger.
The sand dug out, revealing a name.
Xu Tangcheng was a little surprised when he saw the name gradually emerging in the sand.
After confirming that he saw it, Cheng Xu only paused for a while, and then gently wiped the name with his palm.
"The night I went to the bar, I suddenly realized that I didn't know myself at all. I didn't understand, I clearly like Fu Daiqing so much, how could I still have feelings for another person, I am... " There were doubts in Cheng Xu's eyes , also hesitated, "Are you a scumbag?"
"What nonsense." Xu Tangcheng squeezed his head and said, "Sometimes you may not even know yourself about emotional matters. Maybe you don't like Fu Daiqing exactly as you thought."
"What does that mean?" Cheng Xu asked.
"I can't tell," Xu Tangcheng laughed at himself, "It's just... It's complicated."
No one could tell, and the two of them were silent again. After a while, Xu Tangcheng asked, "Why do you like Zheng Yikun?"
He thought that Cheng Xu would give him a sufficient reason, at least, to say what qualities in Zheng Yikun attracted him. Unexpectedly, Cheng Xu said, "I don't know why I like it, or when I started liking it. Anyway, at the bar that night, he called me 'baby', and my heart beat faster. Very suddenly."
"That's it?" Xu Tangcheng was dumbfounded, and after digesting the words for a moment, he reminded politely, "He was just acting at the time, and he should have... called many people 'baby'."
"I know," Cheng Xu nodded, "I know that he is acting, and I know that he has called a lot of people like this. I have only heard two before. But that day, when he called me, he called me very nicely. No one ever called me that."
These remarks made Xu Tangcheng speechless for a while, he sighed and looked at Cheng Xu.
"I found out that night that although I usually avoid him, I actually want to get close to him." Cheng Xu suddenly shook his right hand in the air, not knowing what he was holding, "He is different from me, I dare not He dares to do anything, and he knows how to do things that I don't know and don't know, and sometimes I'm actually quite envious when I hear him speak so eloquently."
Indeed, unlike Fu Daiqing, Zheng Yikun is a completely different person from Cheng Xu. He is free and easy, decisive, and at ease. And because it can never be learned, this difference can easily make people unable to take their eyes off.
Seeing Xu Tangcheng frowning all the time, Cheng Xu smiled and asked, "Do you not like him?"
"It's not that I don't like him," Xu Tangcheng shook his head after a little hesitation and expressed his concerns, "But if you like him, I will be worried."
Cheng Xu didn't comment on this, just patted the sand on the bottom of his trousers, and suddenly said, "Actually, he is a very good person."
Xu Tangcheng raised his eyebrows to look at him, and then he explained: "Do you remember, he was holding me at the bar that day."
Xu Tangcheng nodded. He not only remembered this, but also remembered that he was angry with Zheng Yikun because of the later scene.
"He held me all the time, but it was because I... my body reacted."
Speaking of it now, Cheng Xu still blushed immediately. Xu Tangcheng was a little surprised, but he didn't show it, he just continued to patiently listen to Cheng Xu's talk.
"I don't know why, but when I heard him call me and watch me come over, I suddenly..." Cheng Xu lowered her head and laughed, "It's incredible. At the time, I was very panicked and embarrassed, so I just rely on it. He must have felt it, so he kept holding me. I really drank too much that day, and I was not sober, but I still remember what happened. I was in a bad mood, drank again, and kept on He was a drunkard, and I don't know what happened to me at the time. After I separated from you, I kept crying and harassing him, doing things with my hands and feet. When I woke up, I knew it wasn't a complete drunkenness. It's just that he's drinking too much self-will, it's very despicable. So, between the two of us, he always looks like he's not serious, but he just loves to tease me and never does anything to me It was me who violated the rules, and all of a sudden, it was gone."
This reason was something Xu Tangcheng never expected. That night, seeing Zheng Yikun pressing Chengxu against the corner of the wall, he almost didn't think about it, and decided that it was Zheng Yikun who was taking advantage of Chengxu while he was still awake.
"Where's Zheng Yikun?" Xu Tangcheng recovered and asked, "Do you still have contact with him?"
Cheng Xu shook his head: "No, but he went to see me once. Once we were out at sea for half a month, the weather was bad and the boat almost overturned. When we got ashore, many people came to greet us from the school. The news that I got, also came. We had a meal, but he didn't say anything, and I didn't say anything."
If in the past, Xu Tangcheng might have persuaded Chengxu to stop thinking about Zheng Yikun, he would always meet someone who suits him. But now, he gradually understood the obligation to look back on that kind of love, and he didn't want to persuade him anymore.
"If you really like him, you can..."
"I said it."
Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Cheng Xu.
"Said?"
"Well," Cheng Xu nodded and pursed her lips lightly, "Didn't Zheng Yikun also come to see me off the day I left? He said a few words to me, to the effect that I wouldn't trust anyone in the future. Don't be sincere to anyone, and also said, let me stop thinking about Fu Daiqing, he is not as good as I thought, not worth it, and said that I will meet a really good person in the future. Then I asked him, are you a good person? "
Cheng Xu said this, Xu Tangcheng could already guess Zheng Yikun's answer.
"He said he wasn't."
Cheng Xu stayed in Sanya for three days, but Xu Tangcheng didn't let him stay in the hotel, but brought him home. Zhou Hui still remembered him, serving delicious food and drinking without any slightest neglect.
On the day Chengxu left, Xu Tangcheng took him to a restaurant that he usually eats for breakfast. Xu Tangcheng also liked the name of the restaurant, called "Under the Big Tree".
Wanting Chengxu to taste all the tricks here, Xu Tangcheng asked for a portion of Hainanese noodles and a portion of Hainanese noodles. While waiting for the meal, Xu Tangcheng asked Chengxu whether he had decided where to work or not. Cheng Xu didn't hesitate and said, "It's over at my house."
"Aren't you staying in Beijing?"
"No, although there are more suitable jobs in Beijing, but I came here for Fu Daiqing. Beijing is so far away from my home, it's not interesting for me to stay here by myself."
After dinner, Xu Tangcheng sent Cheng Xu to the airport. When Chengxu waved his hands away, turned around and walked forward, Xu Tangcheng stopped him again.
Cheng Xu turned back, Xu Tangcheng took a few steps forward, leaned over and hugged him.
"If you want to stay in Beijing, you can stay, and I'll go back soon," Xu Tangcheng laughed, "Brother will cover you then."
Cheng Xu quickly hugged him back, grinned, and said, "Okay, I'll think about it."
Just like a few years ago, Xu Tangcheng also watched Chengxu walk into the security inspection team. He knew more of Chengxu's secrets and was more at a loss, but this time he wasn't so worried.
In the past few days, he has thought about Chengxu, but he can't tell whether it is right or wrong for Chengxu to give up on Zheng Yikun, and if Chengxu and Zheng Yikun are together, will it be considered appropriate? These questions could not be answered until Cheng Xu left him. He believed that Cheng Xu was also unclear. Perhaps no one has ever been able to live a life clearly, everyone is groping in a situation where they don't understand or know what to do, helpless, at a loss, sometimes they don't know how to move forward, but they are confused, so it's the same. Move on.
Now that I think about it, Cheng Xu's departure back then should be right, no matter what kind of person he meets in the future, new or old, it's just a karmic meeting after going around. Those who should be together will always be together.
Since arriving in this city, Xu Tangcheng has been very busy. As long as there is one person working overtime in the company, he will be him. He will never forget to buy fresh milk with a three-day shelf life in the supermarket.
He rode a little electric donkey around every day, and even reapplied sunscreen, so naturally he couldn't avoid getting tanned. Xu Tangcheng doesn't look in the mirror very much, and many people around him won't notice the changes over time. Until this day, his neck has been itching. Xu Tangcheng took off his shirt and looked in the mirror to see what was going on, only to find his arm There is also a clear black and white dividing line at the neck and neck.
Xu Tangxi happened to come over to deliver fruit to him, and when he saw his naked upper body, he immediately noticed it.
"Wow, brother, it's already winter, why haven't you come back for nothing?"
Xu Tangcheng obviously has a physique that is not easy to tan, even if it gets darker in summer, he can recover quickly.
It's winter.
Xu Tangcheng's perception was a bit illusory. Why did he feel that he was still wearing short sleeves a few days ago
"elder brother."
He lowered his head and stared at his arm in a daze. Standing beside him, Xu Tangxi suddenly asked, "Did you miss Brother Yizhe?"
After a while, Xu Tangcheng came back to his senses. He didn't answer Xu Tangxi's question, but put on a long sleeve, rolled up half of his sleeve, and stretched his arm under Xu Tangxi's eyelids.
"I'm thinking, am I darker than him?"
Xu Tangxi immediately "giggled". After laughing, he bent his eyes and said, "I think, although you are tanned, you are still much whiter than Brother Yizhe."
The two brothers and sisters were plotting against the reputation of Yizhe's complexion. Xu Tangxi hid his face behind a pillow, revealing a pair of eyes, and asked Xu Tangcheng: "Brother Yizhe will be sad when he knows what I say?"
"No. He will say..." After quickly denying it, Xu Tangcheng imitated Yi Zhe's serious tone and said, "'Well, I think so too.'"
Seeing this imitation, Xu Tangxi laughed even more, calling it too similar.
The two chatted and laughed for a while before Xu Tangxi raised his phone and asked Xu Tangcheng, "Brother, have you seen this?"
It's an article on their school's public account, titled "Their Antarctic Year".
At the first sight of this title, Xu Tangcheng knew that there must be mistakes in it.
He took Xu Tangxi's phone and slowly pulled it down.
"Brother Yizhe went to Antarctica? What major did he study, and why did he go to Antarctica?"
"Remote sensing in near space," Xu Tangcheng said, "I don't know the specifics. Didn't this article write something about it."
Xu Tangxi stuck his tongue out: "I only read the part that mentioned brother Yi Zhe, I didn't understand anything else, and I didn't read it carefully. But I saw the last paragraph that said that the data they collected this time made their team in the This field is at least six years ahead, which is amazing!"
Xu Tangxi read the whole thing, but Xu Tangcheng read the article carefully, word by word.
"Well," Xu Tangcheng raised the corners of his mouth silently and said, "He has always been very good."
"By the way, I'm showing it to you mainly because I want to show it to you. There's a photo of Brother Yizhe in it! At the end!" Xu Tangxi couldn't wait. The final drawing area.
There are several pictures, there are glaciers, there are aurora, and there is another picture that seems to be where they live - five or six low-rise houses, with their backs against the half-exposed iceberg, the sky in the photo is half-dark, the sky The color is slightly darker than Dodge blue, the house is covered with snow without exception, and a lamp is lit at the top corner of the triangular eaves, illuminating the door under the eaves.
Is it where he lives
"You have to see the last one, the last one is their group photo."
The interface was pulled upwards again, so after two years, Xu Tangcheng saw Yi once again. He stood side by side with two other men in front of a blue sign on a white background that read "Geographic South Pole" in bold letters.
Half of the sign was blocked by them, a simple map was exposed in the middle, and there were a few lines on the right.
He was too tightly wrapped, and Xu Tangcheng would only be able to see his eyes, nose, and half-open mouth.
Xu Tangcheng enlarged the picture, but the enlarged person was blurred, which made Xu Tangcheng's heart suddenly filled with regret.
"Hey, I can't see this clearly," Xu Tangxi was equally annoyed and asked curiously, "Is this at the South Pole? Brother, look at the words on the right side of the sign?"
Xu Tangcheng's finger moved to the left, his two heads leaned in front of the screen, studying the sign as the background.
"Robert F. Scott, Januatry 17, 1912'. The Pole. Yes, but under very different circumstances from those expected."
"What is this? Who is this person?" Xu Tangxi asked.
"It should be the British explorer, the second person to reach the South Pole." Xu Tangcheng thought for a while, "The half that was blocked should be written by the first person."
Xu Tangcheng answered such a sentence based on his own knowledge, but he was actually a little absent-minded. He moved his fingers again, wanting to look at the unclear face again, but suddenly Xu Tangxi tugged his arm.
"mom."
Hearing Xu Tang's call, Xu Tangcheng retracted his gaze from the screen and looked towards the door.
Zhou Hui smiled and walked in, not knowing what to hold in her hand.
"Tang Xi, I have a few words with your brother, go and help your dad see how to get the phone."
Xu Tangxi glanced at Xu Tangcheng, nodded, took the phone, and went out.
Zhou Hui sat on the edge of the bed, Xu Tangcheng bent down to arrange the clothes he just changed, and put them on the stool near the door. Zhou Hui stared at the pile of dirty clothes for a while, and asked softly, "Tang Cheng, these two years, do you blame me?"
"No wonder." Xu Tangcheng was still thinking about the article and photos he saw just now, but he didn't delay his answer. Seeing Zhou Hui's hesitant eyes, he added, "I don't have any position to blame you. I made the decision. If I want to say it's weird, it's also my own fault for not going well."
"Do you still like him that much now?" Zhou Hui asked this question, but she didn't seem to want to hear the answer. She smiled bitterly and said, "You don't blame it, but I know that you are still unhappy because of us."
"No."
"Do you have any, can I not know?"
This time, Xu Tangcheng was silent.
In fact, Zhou Hui is right, even if he understands all the truth and understands that he is not qualified, but occasionally, missing and distressed emotions will still defeat reason and occupy the top.
"Before, you told me that if you are looking for a partner, don't pick on looks. That person should be kind, sensible, filial, and not selfish. So sometimes I think, if these conditions are met, can one gender really Is it all worth it? I really don't blame you, I understand your incomprehension, but sometimes, I also feel unfair. I know you are worried about my future, but you can't be worried about my life in old age. Just give up the previous decades of life?" Xu Tangcheng looked at the ground and shook his head, his tone was flat, "In my opinion, it's not worth it."
"Yeah." Zhou Hui smiled reluctantly and said, "Maybe what you said makes sense, but your dad and I have been thinking this way for so many years. We always want you to be safe and sound. Live a lifetime, don’t seek fame or gain, just be safe, we… are not so open-minded, I hope you don’t blame us.”
The meaning of these words is intriguing. It is an apology, but it seems to be expressing Zhou Hui's shaking.
Xu Tangcheng was a little stunned, and when he had such a guess, he suddenly became nervous and looked forward to it.
He looked straight at Zhou Hui, and sure enough, Zhou Hui nodded in the eyes of him and said, "Go find him, we agree."
When the period of hardships and hardships is over, and the moment when freedom is announced, joy and happiness will not come so soon. The accumulated emotions are too heavy and heavy, and the transformation of emotions will be heavy and solemn, like a wheel that is difficult and easy to rut in the snow.
"But grandma, don't talk about it. She was not in good health during the last physical examination, so let's hide it from her first. As for the rest of the family, I'll tell you, and you don't have to worry."
"mom… "
His chest was so hot that Xu Tangcheng was speechless.
"To be honest, I'm still worried now. But... I said before that I'd let you all break for a while, but it's been two years and you haven't changed. I don't dare to waste you like this anymore." Zhou Hui's compromise is so confusing Feeling helpless, she was really afraid. She was afraid that if it was consumed like this, it would be Xu Tangcheng who couldn't hold on first. "Since you insist, then you can go your own way, we don't care."
you
As if knowing Xu Tangcheng's doubts, Zhou Hui wiped her tears and handed him the envelope she had been holding in her hand.
"That child wrote it to me. It was sent from Antarctica and sent to our home in City C. It's been a while since the letter arrived. Auntie Wang downstairs saw it and told me, and I asked her to mail it here again. Zhou Hui wiped her face and smiled with red eyes, "It's the first time I've received a letter so far."
Looking at the unfamiliar postmarks on the envelope, Xu Tangcheng was not willing to open it immediately.
"He told me a lot, but the most important thing is to let me not worry, saying... I will take good care of you... "
Xu Tangcheng raised his eyes and found that Zhou Hui had been staring at the letter in his hand.
Thinking of the last few words of the letter, Zhou Hui's mixed feelings came back again, helpless, funny, ironing... He was in a complicated mood, but he knew clearly that he couldn't beat Xu Tangcheng, and he couldn't beat Xu Tangcheng, nor could he write for her The person who wrote this letter.
"He said that he is six years younger than you, and he has been exercising all the time now. Even if you are old, he will definitely take care of you healthily. In the future, he will give you the old age and the death of you."
Two tears fell, and Zhou Hui still insisted on laughing: "This child, I promised to go in with my last worries. I have nothing to say anymore... It can be seen that he really likes you."
Give him retirement
How could anyone say such a thing
After a brief shock, Xu Tangcheng didn't know whether to cry or laugh. He was thinking and moved, and his heart was in a complete mess. He didn't have time to make clear judgments and thoughts, and his eyes were already hot.
Yi Zhe could say anything for Xu Tangcheng.
He always talks to Xu Tangcheng, so he can do everything.
"mom."
After Zhou Hui finished saying what she wanted to say, she got up and left. Xu Tangcheng stopped her.
"Mom, although you agreed, I still have a few words to say."
Seeing his expression, Zhou Hui immediately took two steps back and sat down again.
"You're right, he really likes me." Xu Tangcheng rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, turned the envelope over, and put it in his hand, "Actually, he asked me to come with you back then. I know how much he doesn't want me to go, but he is reluctant to make it difficult for me, and he is reluctant to let you be so sad, so he told me, let me go, he can carry it himself. You said that you are afraid that we will be left alone when we get old , he said he cares about me... He is just such a person, he is not crooked, he is full of thoughts, Zuo is just me."
Zhou Hui lowered her head and was silent for a while, then nodded, finally agreeing.
"I didn't sleep well before, so he went everywhere to buy me curtains with good light-blocking properties. When my hands were cold, he wanted to cover me. Someone deliberately messed with him. He was obviously not wrong, but he could apologize for me... I can't say how good he is, and in the future, you will also know how good he is." Xu Tangcheng paused, and finally entered the topic under Zhou Hui's waiting eyes, "Mom, I am very grateful, You can agree with us. Now I tell you this, not to show off, nor to help him in advance, because there is something else that I must let you know."
Zhou Hui's acceptance was thorough and sincere. She nodded and said to Xu Tangcheng, "You say it."
"This thing is, when I was with him, it was never about how much sacrifice I made or how much concession I made." Xu Tangcheng rubbed the envelope in his hand, bowed his head, and smiled lightly, "Being with him, always It's my luck, I've never been wronged."
He didn't know what he did to become the special one in the Yizhe world, but he always thanked himself at that time.
Zhou Hui left, but Xu Tangcheng was still holding the letter and didn't dare to read it.
He had already received a consumer text message from his bank card, and he knew that Yi Zhe was now in Beijing. There were countless confusing thoughts in his mind, the clearest one was that he should book a flight back to Beijing immediately.
The phone was charging, Xu Tangcheng threw himself on the table, just picked up the phone, but a call came in first.
Even if there is no contact for two years, he will not forget this number. He quickly connected it, and when he held the phone to his ear, he forgot that the charging cable was still being pulled, and his arm shuddered before he hurriedly pulled the cable off with his other hand.
"Hey?"
He said such a word in a dry voice, but the person on the other side did not reply.
Why don't you speak
Did you drink too much, that's why you called
"Yizhe, I..."
He brushed off a bunch of guesswork in his head and couldn't wait to tell the good news to the person on the other side, but was stopped by an unceremonious call.
"Xu Tangcheng."
Hearing this, Xu Tangcheng was stunned.
No wrong call.
Didn't drink too much, sober.
The person who made the right call and didn't drink too much was soberly calling him by his first name.
"I haven't seen you for two years, you have gained a lot of promise?" After relaxing, Xu Tangcheng was no longer as anxious as he was just now. His question was nasal and affectionate: "Who do you call no big or small?"
He was joking, but the people on the other end didn't cooperate. Yi Zhe called him by name and surname again, and without waiting for Xu Tang to respond, he said in the same hard tone, "You lied to me."
This accusation made Xu Tangcheng puzzled.
"What you sang to me is not an Ecuadorian birthday song at all."
Finally understood what he was doing, Xu Tangcheng only felt that his heart had fallen into an infinite corner, secretly hiding a winter night. That night, there was a camera that was always facing him, every sentence asking for a birthday present, and someone who stepped over the golden steps and ran towards him.
"It's not Ecuador," he teased him, "it's Ecuador."
"It's nothing." YiZhe suddenly choked his throat and said in a low voice, "You lied to me..."
His sudden change made Xu Tangcheng realize that his mood was not right, and he was a little flustered.
"My fault, my fault, I lied to you." Afraid that he would cry, Xu Tangcheng hurriedly admitted his mistake, "Yizhe, where are you, are you at home? Then wait for me at home, and I'll go to you, okay?"
He decided not to talk to him over the phone anymore, he wanted to see him now.
"No." YiZhe said.
"Huh?" Xu Tangcheng was stunned. He stood up straight and cast his eyes aimlessly at the swaying leaves outside the window, "Why?"
A bird fell on the branch, raised its head and closed its wings.
"How do I take the subway from Phoenix Airport to your place?"
"Huh?" Xu Tangcheng said subconsciously, "There is no subway in Sanya..."
Before he finished speaking, he immediately reacted to the information in those words.
But without waiting for him to ask, YiZhe has already opened his mouth.
"Yes," said Yi Zhe, "the Airport Line, transfer to Line 10 at Sanyuanqiao, and transfer to Line 13 at Zhichun Road."
Xu Tangcheng froze at the table, covering his ears to the receiver.
"I'm here to pick you up. If my uncle and aunt don't agree, I won't leave. I'll keep begging them, shameless, and begging until they agree." YiZhe paused, as if holding back , "Anyway, whatever I say, I will take you home."
"Yizhe..." Xu Tangcheng called out his name, but was silent again.
Another bird came out of the window, the branches trembled, and the figure became a double.
Yi Zhe, Yi Zhe, Yi Zhe, obviously has such a name, but this person is stubborn and never follows.
"Okay." Xu Tangcheng said.