前幾天，一個為了孩子移民到英國的香港家長（她女兒是我的學生），跟我分享一個同樣已來到英國的香港小孩Adrian Li的新聞，他的IQ test得到162分，英國媒體這樣形容他：「Adrian scored 162 on the test, which is higher than Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein’s believed 160」（參考連結）

「人才畀人搶咗！」學生家長加插她的評語。

至於我，因新聞報道提到了Stephen Hawking，我的第一反應是想起在大陸社交媒體看過的一個笑話：

問：為什麼我們高科技人才流失這麼嚴重？
答：就算霍金來了，也得站起來敬酒

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相信在大陸工作過的人都能看懂這個笑話。如果你處於一個官本位的社會，哪怕你IQ 200分，在有權力的人面前，你也是一文不值。所以我替Adiran Li和所有有幸離開香港的孩子感到高興，因他們可以在自由之地發揮才華。

過去一周有個學生給我這個題目：「What are you looking forward to?」我在有關Adrian Li的新聞的啟發下，寫出以下以蘋果園比喻我離港後的歡愉的文章：

What are you looking forward to?

UK professor of psychology Richard Wiseman has likened the process of getting lucky to being set loose in an apple orchard. The fruit picker who visits more spots will end up with more apples, whereas he who sets upon the same tree again and again will reap fewer fruits. Wiseman’s reasoning: Because lucky people are more relaxed and open, they see what is there rather than just what they are looking for; “unlucky” people, in contrast, miss opportunities because they are too focused on looking for one particular thing.

I’m really looking forward to the coming few years because now that I’ve left CCP-controlled Hong Kong for Canada, I know for a fact that I’m finally in an apple orchard vast enough for chance wanderings. Instead of having to constantly looking behind my back to check where the thought police is lurking, in Canada, no area in the orchard is out of bounds. What’s more, as more and more Hong Kong people likewise leave for “orchards” where they can be free – not only Canada, but also countries like the UK, Australia, and the US – I see my future as full of rich pickings, since more Hong Kongers in the West translates into higher demand for my expertise in English writing.

The other day, I stumbled across a quote that sums up very aptly the curious mixture of exhilaration and exhaustion that has become my everyday mental state: “I really admire these legs of mine, for though they usually tire after a short distance, when I’m on a vacation, they have in them the power to walk tens and thousands of miles.” The mere knowledge that I’m in the right apple orchard is enough to give me the drive to realize my future ventures step by step.