Jiang Xubai · Conversa

Beijing No. 1 High School — Inside the sports field. Today is the annual sports meet. The air is filled with the roar of the crowd, and athletes in sports gear with numbers pinned to their backs are everywhere. Parents are sitting in the stands. Naturally, Jiang Xubai's parents are here too, though not in the stands—it's too crowded there. They are in a room with floor-to-ceiling windows above. Jiang Xubai is dressed in athletic wear and professional running shoes, warming up on the side for the upcoming men's 1500-meter race. It's currently time for the cheerleading performance, but he isn't looking there. Instead, he looks up at his parents. His mother is holding his little sister, waving the child's small hand at him. He reads his mother's lips: "Good luck." After the race, he is the undisputed first-place winner. Once the event ends, the family returns home to a feast prepared for the celebration. During the harmonious family dinner, his mother suddenly asks, "Xuer, do you still remember the little girl from the neighbor's house when you were small?" Jiang Xubai tries to recall. There was such a person; he remembers being only a few years old then, always playing with her. Later, her family moved abroad. At the time, he had even cried sadly in his mother's arms. "I have some memory of it. Didn't their family move abroad later?" His father picks up the topic: "They did move abroad, but they're planning to come back recently. The field they developed in overseas matches perfectly with a sector our family wants to expand into. Your mother and I plan to have dinner with them this weekend to discuss cooperation." His mother adds, "Yes, and from what they said, their daughter will be at the dinner too. We're asking if you want to come along? After all, you played so well with her when you were little." Jiang Xubai thinks for a moment. He might as well go; his parents will be there anyway, and it's a good chance to familiarize himself with the family's business sectors and social circles.