After the show ended, the team members walked out of the TV station building, laughing and joking. Just as they exited the lobby, James caught up with them: “X, wait a moment.”

Yuan Xiu and the others turned around to see James smiling.

“Your performance today really impressed me.”

Yuan Xiu calmly responded, “The props prepared for your show also impressed me.”

They even managed to bring out a bedsheet with red flowers and green leaves that a certain female star wore on the red carpet. One could say they were very meticulous and sincerely intended to mock them.

“I think you must have seen my James Show before. Even if you haven’t, you should have understood it after we sent you the invitation,” James said, spreading his hands. “Our show’s… how should I put it, this is our style.”

Yuan Xiu smiled, “Mocking and ridiculing?”

James nodded, “So the fact that you still dared to come surprises me. The impression I have of Chinese people is that they always leave some room in their speech and don’t like to argue or debate.”

He initially planned to teach Team X a good lesson on the show. After all, they had been making quite a splash in New York recently, which many American team fans found hard to stomach. This opportunity was perfect to take them down a notch. However, to his surprise, James, with all his years of experience, ended up being outmaneuvered by this young team captain.

“I’m indeed not very good at debating,” Yuan Xiu said humbly. “Thank you for going easy on us.”

Ren Xiang whispered to Ah Heng, “Playing the fool to catch the tiger, no one does it better than Yuan Xiu.”

Ah Heng nodded appreciatively, “The captain is actually quite adept at handling people.”

Sure enough, James said, “In all my years of doing this show, you’re one of the few who have thanked me after appearing. There was a Hollywood star who posted a rant about me right after leaving this lobby.”

He extended his hand to Yuan Xiu: “Anyway, it’s been a pleasure meeting you, Yuan Xiu, and your team. You’ve greatly changed my impression of Chinese people.”

James shook hands with each team member, and with that, they parted on friendly terms, watching them leave.

Yuan Xiu sat back in the car and asked his teammates nonchalantly, “Am I being petty?”

Ah Heng turned around and said, “Captain, don’t pretend to be modest after benefiting. Remember that Hollywood star who posted a rant right after the show? She even called his face a monkey’s butt.”

Gu Zhefeng, lying lazily on the back seat, added, “The captain already posted on Weibo during the show, and I even liked it.”

Ah Heng, surprised, took out his phone and saw Yuan Xiu’s Weibo post: “The monkey face across from me is so boring. [Sleepy][Smoking]”

In less than an hour, the post had already garnered thousands of comments from fans.

…Such terrifying popularity and traffic. James’ face would probably go from bright red to deep purple if he knew about this.

…

Early in the morning, at the dining table, Lu Manman was eating a sandwich and muttering to herself while looking at her phone.

Alex walked over with a cup of coffee and glanced at the screen of Lu Manman’s phone. “What are you looking at?”

“‘Youth China Talk,'” Lu Manman replied.

“What’s that?”

Louis, while casually reading a financial report, explained indifferently, “It’s the source of her husband’s passionate speech on a talk show.”

Lu Manman snapped her phone shut and shouted angrily, “Can we drop the husband joke already? Is it fun? Really fun?”

Louis chuckled, “Yes, it’s fun.”

“Don’t mind Louis, he’s always unserious,” Alex said as he sat down next to Lu Manman. “Tell Dad, what is ‘Youth China Talk’?”

“It’s an essay written by a Chinese man named Liang Qichao during a time of national crisis, using ‘Youth China’ to inspire the people’s spirit,” Lu Manman explained, looking at her phone and reciting softly, “What use is the old and decaying? Their days in this world are numbered, while we, the youth, are newly arrived and connected to the world.”

“Do you understand such profound words?”

“I don’t understand this part, but I get some of it,” Lu Manman continued. “When the youth are strong, the nation is strong; when the youth are independent, the nation is independent; when the youth are free, the nation is free; when the youth surpass Europe, the nation surpasses Europe; when the youth are powerful on Earth, the nation is powerful on Earth.”

Louis put down his newspaper and commented, “Very spirited.”

Alex looked at Lu Manman and asked, “Manman, how do you feel after reading it?”

Lu Manman recited loudly, “‘Thirty years of fame and dust, eight thousand miles of clouds and moon. Do not let idle time turn youth’s hair white.’ That’s the line my husband recited on the show.”

“Husband?”

“Husband?”

Lu Manman covered her face. “Ah, no! You’ve got me saying it too! It’s not husband! It’s Yuan Xiu!”

The two men chuckled without saying a word. Lu Manman cleared her throat. “And I realized that I shouldn’t stay so down. My competitors are getting stronger; I should keep working hard.”

“Finally motivated!” Alex patted Lu Manman on the shoulder. “That’s what we call growing stronger with challenges. When the husband is strong, Manman gets even stronger!”

“Hey, how long are you going to keep playing with this husband joke?”

Alex and Louis exchanged a smile.

“Probably for a lifetime,” they said in unison.

***

At night, when Lu Manman came out to get some water, she heard voices coming from her dad’s room.

Alex said, “I have a feeling that Manman really wants to go to China.”

Louis replied, “She’s quite interested in that Chinese team, and that boy. Although she grew up in the United States, she doesn’t seem like an American kid at all. Whether it’s her interests or her way of thinking, it’s all very Chinese. This so-called national identity seems to be rooted in her very bones, something that can’t be changed.”

Alex said, “Yeah, don’t Chinese people talk about the importance of returning to one’s roots? After all, that’s her homeland. Sooner or later, she’ll go back.”

Louis continued, “When we first went to the orphanage, all the kids gathered around us with big, expectant eyes. But there was this little girl, sitting alone on a bench in the corner, hugging her knees. It took us a long time to get her to speak.”

Alex laughed, “I remember, the first thing she said was, ‘My name is Lu Manman. I’m from China. I’m five years old, and I’m a girl.'”

“And she said it in Chinese.”

“The orphanage workers said that was the only Chinese sentence she knew, probably taught to her by her mother.”

Louis sighed, “Maybe her mother hoped that no matter what she forgot, she would never forget where her home was.”

Hearing this, Lu Manman couldn’t hold back the surge of emotions. She bit her lip hard, her eyes welling up with tears, but they didn’t fall.

That night’s moon was exceptionally clear and bright.

Lu Manman’s bookshelf was filled with many Chinese books, all bought for her by her father, Louis. One of them was “The Complete Tang Poems,” which contained the line, “The dew turns white tonight; the moon is brighter in my homeland.”

Lu Manman had never felt like a stranger in a foreign land. However, whenever she heard someone in the team or in other places mocking the Chinese team, she instinctively felt uncomfortable.

In truth, having black hair, black eyes, and yellow skin wasn’t a big deal in the diverse racial landscape of America. It was, after all, a country of many ethnicities.

But why was it that every time she got goosebumps, it was related to that distant, unfamiliar country across the ocean? It was as if there was a sort of psychic connection.

Sometimes she wondered… if the moon in China might be bigger and rounder.

“The dew turns white tonight; the moon is brighter in my homeland.”

Maybe, just maybe, she had a little desire to go back and see it for herself.

…

In the evening, Team X’s official Weibo account posted a message:

“New York trip successfully concluded. The team made it to the top eight in the world championship. In the friendly match, Yuan Xiu led the team valiantly, securing 15 kills and almost achieving victory, impressing the Americans and bringing glory to the country. #NeverForgetTheGlory #StayTrueToOurOriginalAspiration”

The comments exploded:

[?????]

[Just 15 kills? That’s nothing to brag about. (facepalm)]

[Everyone knows you three were hiding under a tree drinking Wong Lo Kat and playing cards. Valiantly killing enemies and bringing glory to the country, seriously?]

[Lol, have some shame!]

[Almost winning? Give me a break!]

[I bet this Weibo post was made by the clueless Yuan Xiu himself.]

Two minutes later, the official account posted again:

“Flight at 8 AM tomorrow morning, goodbye New York, goodbye Manhattan, goodbye, darling. [Heart emoji]”

[Wow wow wow wow wow]

[“Is this an official announcement??”]

[“The official account is forcing us to die of curiosity.”]

[“Does anyone know if ‘w’ has a Weibo account? I want to manually @ her.”]

[“I don’t think so.”]

[“Ah, I really hope our little fairy comes to China for development and continues her relationship with our Captain Xiu.”]

[“Count me in.”]

[“Add her ID number too.”]

Lu Manman was nibbling on an apple while scrolling through Weibo when she stumbled upon Yuan Xiu’s post about leaving New York, startling her.

“So they’re leaving already?”

She raised an eyebrow and set down her phone.

Outside the window, a drizzle was falling steadily, darkening the sky as evening approached. Distant clouds loomed ominously, and the wind stirred the curtains, creating ripples upon ripples.

“The weather doesn’t look good. I wonder if the flight will be delayed.”

She sighed.

“Why am I even thinking about this? What does it have to do with me?”

Lu Manman listlessly continued lounging on the couch.

Alex emerged from the gym, sweaty, wiping his face with a towel. “She just got motivated recently, and now Manman’s feeling down again?”

Louis casually remarked, “Her husband’s leaving, she’s reluctant.”

Lu Manman leaped up from the couch. “It’s not that! It’s not because of that! It’s because… because my… aunt, my aunt’s visiting and it’s just… ugh!”

Alex went to the kitchen to make her some brown sugar water, comforting her, “Once you get to China, you can still arrange to meet him.”

“But how do I arrange that? It’s awkward, and besides, he only knows me as ‘w’. He doesn’t know I’m the fairy he rescued in the men’s restroom that night… Wait, why am I explaining? It’s not because he’s leaving that I feel down! Ahhh!”

Louis calmly remarked, “The more you explain, the worse it sounds.”

Lu Manman buried her face into the couch, mentally rebooting.

Alex brought over the brown sugar water and handed it to her, encouraging her to drink.

“Has the school arranged your flight yet?” he asked.

“It’s booked for early next month,” Lu Manman replied, sitting up and taking a small sip of the brown sugar water from Alex.

“Be careful, it’s hot,” he cautioned.

“Dad, are you sure you won’t come to see me off?”

“We’ll at least take you to the airport,” Louis replied. “If we sent you all the way to China, we might end up not wanting you to come back. You know how your dad, Alex, is—he’s sentimental and impulsive. If he stays, I might just quit my job and stay in China with him.”

Lu Manman wouldn’t want to pressure her two dads into coming to China with her. She hugged Alex’s waist, reluctant as she said, “I’ll just stay for a year, then I’ll come back.”

Alex gently patted her back. “Go live there for a while first. If you like it, you can stay longer. We can’t predict the future.”

“Yeah!”

“Should we go to see off your husband tomorrow then?”

“Yeah, why not? It’s a good chance to get acquainted.”

Lu Manman suddenly reacted, “He’s not my husband! No, no!”