My Mister Ostrich

Ten years ago, I fell in love with you here.

Pang Shuisheng found a painter to help repaint the living room walls at Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi’s house. They hadn’t even had their wedding yet, and the nice, new house had already been ruined. Pang Shuisheng was very angry.

“Was it really Gu Guoxiang’s daughter who did this?” Pang Shuisheng couldn’t believe it. “The little girl’s just 9 years old. How can she be so thoughtless already?”

“Thoughtless? She did it intentionally.” When Pang Qian thought back to it, she got so angry. “Messing up the walls wasn’t enough, she even ruined seven or eight of Gu Mingxi’s paintings. Now he has to redo them. He needs to send in the draft by December, because they’ll be publishing it after the Spring Festival. Now he has to spend all day and night working on it.”

“You have to let him know that his health is more important.” Pang Shuisheng thought for a moment and then said, “Qian Qian, you’ll be getting married to Mingxi on National Day. Don’t have a standoff with Old Gu. After all, he’s still Mingxi’s father. He’ll definitely come to the wedding. Make sure you two don’t cause any unhappy feelings on that day.”

“He’s the one who came to provoke me, okay?!” Pang Qian felt offended. “In the past, he never treated Gu Mingxi like his son. He said he was too disgraceful! Behind Auntie Ah Han’s back, he got one mistress after another. Now he’s gotten his wish. He’s got a daughter. So he should stop coming to provoke us! Now he’s saying that everyone’s one big family, that siblings should develop some relationship. Tch– What a hypocrite! Gu Mingxi can take care of himself now, but if he was poor and destitute, would his father even look at him?”

Pang Shuisheng knew what his daughter’s temper was like, so he tried to appease her. “Alright, don’t get angry. How about this. We have to send out invitations next month. You two will be in Shanghai, so you can have Mingxi give a call to his dad to invite him, and I’ll personally deliver the invitation card to Old Gu. I’ll say that you two can’t make it back because of school. It’ll save all the awkwardness of you two meeting face to face, okay?”

Pang Qian giggled and grabbed onto Pang Shuisheng’s arm. “No one understands a daughter better than her father. Long live my dad!” (Note: Funnily, I believe the phrase is usually that no one understands a son better than his father.)

Three days later, Ding Jiankang boarded the plane by himself, with the service of ‘summer trip accompaniment for kids.’ He flew from Guangzhou to E City. Gu Mingxi and Pang Qian went to pick him up at the airport, and quickly saw the airline staff escorting the boy out.

“Teacher Gu!” When he saw Gu Mingxi, Dou Dou basically flew at him. Gu Mingxi crouched down and hugged him, who was crying and shouting. His tears even wet Gu Mingxi’s face.

Gu Mingxi smiled brightly. He looked over Dou Dou and realized that the boy had sprouted. “You’ve grown taller!”

Dou Dou grinned proudly as he looked at Gu Mingxi. “I’m 9 years old already! Teacher Gu, look at my teeth!” As he spoke, reached out to touch Gu Mingxi’s face and said, “Teacher Gu, you look like you’ve gotten whiter.”

Pang Qian giggled. After returning to E City for more than a year, he spent less time on outdoor activities compared to when he lived in Sanya. Naturally, his skin would lighten a bit.

Pang Qian asked, “Dou Dou, was it scary riding the plane by yourself?”

“It wasn’t!” Dou Dou smiled happily. “Auntie Crab, it was my first time riding the plane. They even had chicken rice! It was really good!”

On the car ride back home, Dou Dou sat with Gu Mingxi in the backseat. He opened his backpack and couldn’t wait to pull out his presents to Gu Mingxi and Pang Qian – two boxes of Guangdong-styled durian pastries and a bag of Guangdong-styled sausages. He also pulled out three test papers to show Gu Mingxi. “Teacher Gu, look. I got more than 95 points on all of them!”

When the three of them got back home, Dou Dou looked around Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi’s house, curious and excited. Gu Mingxi brought him to the baby room. Since they didn’t know what gender their future baby would be, the room was filled with pastel green toys. Because Dou Dou was visiting, Pang Qian had laid out a new set of sheets on the bed.

“Teacher Gu, is this going to be the baby’s room in the future?” Dou Dou asked cautiously.

Gu Mingxi nodded, “Yeah.”

“Then it doesn’t seem quite right for me to sleep here.” Dou Dou grabbed at his hair. “I can sleep on the sofa.”

Gu Mingxi laughed. “It’s okay, I want you to sleep in here.”

Dou Dou and Gu Ziyue were the same age, but in Pang Qian’s eyes, the two of them couldn’t be compared.

When they went out to buy groceries, Dou Dou offered to carry the bags. When they were shopping in the supermarket, Pang Qian told him to pick up anything he wanted to eat, but he just followed Gu Mingxi obediently and didn’t ask for anything. If Pang Qian offered to buy him something, he immediately went to check the price. Then he would say, “Auntie Crab, I don’t like eating this.”

Actually, he just didn’t want Teacher Gu to waste money.

When they got home, Dou Dou wasn’t willing to stay in the living room to watch cartoons. Instead, he would slip into the kitchen, and then Gu Mingxi would chase him out. Taking advantage of the time when Pang Qian was collecting the dried laundry, Dou Dou went to the bathroom to get a cloth and started washing the floor. Pang Qian had to kneel down and spend quite a bit of time to persuade him to go back and sit on the sofa.

She gave Dou Dou a bag of fresh lychees. Dou Dou found an empty bowl and started to peel the lychees. Pang Qian looked at him curiously and asked, “Dou Dou, do you like to peel all of them before you start eating?”

Dou Dou shook his head. “No, I’m peeling them for Teacher Gu.”

That night, Pang Qian considerately told Gu Mingxi to sleep with Dou Dou, who was overjoyed. Gu Mingxi leaned against the headboard and talked with him.

Gu Mingxi had been very worried that Dou Dou would be bullied when he moved in with his mother, but Dou Dou said that his new dad treated him really well.

“Dad doesn’t talk a lot, he doesn’t hit anyone, and he cooks really well.” Dou Dou climbed onto the bed and laid on his belly, his feet swinging off the side. He prattled on to Gu Mingxi. “Mom likes my little brother, but Dad likes my little sister more. They said they weren’t going to have another kid. They already had three, and they had sons and a daughter, so it was perfectly good.”

Gu Mingxi smiled and asked, “Then do you like your little brother or sister more?”

Dou Dou thought about it a bit and said, “I like my little sister. She listens well, but my little brother’s a bit naughty. He’s always fighting with me.”

Gu Mingxi frowned. “You’re the older brother. If you argue with your little brother, there’s no pride in winning.”

“He ripped up my homework!” Dou Dou fumed. “But my grades are better. I’m always top three in my class, so my dad helps me scold him, haha.”

Gu Mingxi’s heart settled. Thankfully Dou Dou met a good stepfather.

Dou Dou blinked his eyes, and then he asked Gu Mingxi, “Teacher Gu, does Auntie Crab treat you well?”

Gu Mingxi laughed. “She treats me very well, don’t worry. You saw it all before. Auntie Crab and I are very happy together.”

Dou Dou nodded. Proud of all his experience, he said, “Teacher Gu, I came to visit this time to make sure you were doing well. If you weren’t doing well, we could return to Sanya and live at the school. I already learned how to wash and cut vegetables. I can help you out.”

Gu Mingxi, “…”

Dou Dou crawled over and lied next to him. He curled up and closed his eyes. “Teacher Gu, I always dream about when we lived in Sanya. Once I started crying as I dreamed, and my mom had to wake me up.”

“…”

“Teacher Gu, I really, really miss you.”

Gu Mingxi lowered his head and used his shoulder to pat the back of Dou Dou’s head. He said gently, “Sleep. Dou Dou, I’ll be here with you.”

Dou Dou stayed in E City for ten days, up until Qixi. Only after spending Gu Mingxi’s 28th birthday with him, did he get back on the plane to Guangdong.

During those ten days, Gu Mingxi and Pang Qian often took him out to play. They went to the Children’s Park, the aquatic center, museums, bookstores, the aquarium… They took him out to eat and watched animated movies. Every night, they went to the supermarket to enjoy the air conditioning.

Pang Qian brought Dou Dou to her parents’ house to eat. Dou Dou was a very smart kid and his greeting of Grandpa and Grandma left them overjoyed. After they ate, he helped Jin Aihua clean up, and he was very deft at it. Seeing this made Jin Aihua’s heart ache, so she gave him a red envelope.

When he parted with Gu Mingxi at the airport, Dou Dou was firm and didn’t cry. He carried his backpack, which was filled with new clothes and toys that Gu Mingxi bought for him and his siblings. He passionately waved goodbye to Gu Mingxi.

“Teacher Gu, bye! I’ll definitely study well and come back to E City for school!”

After Dou Dou left, Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi started preparing to head to Shanghai.

They drove there a week early with their luggage, preparing to rent a place near Gu Mingxi’s school.

Although they had known previously, Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi were still surprised to find how far apart their schools were. Fudan was in the Yangpu District and Gu Mingxi’s school was at Songjiang University Town. Pang Qian tested it out and drove from Yangpu to Songjiang Town, and it was more than 50km away, taking more than two hours by car.

She called Wu Feiyan and asked how long it would take by the subway. She said you had to transfer from the bus to the subway to another line to another bus… And it would take about two hours.

Pang Qian was in despair.

“What do we do know.” She was extremely depressed, dropping against the steering wheel out of sorts.

Gu Mingxi comforted her beside him, “It’s okay, Wife. I can take care of myself. Dorm or apartment is still okay.”

Pang Qian bit her lip and considered for a moment, before shaking her head. “No, I promised we’d live together. We can rent an apartment, and I’ll just commute into the city.”

They went around for two entire days before finding an apartment they were satisfied with. Three room and simply decorated. The landlord agreed to turn one of the rooms into a studio, so Pang Qian paid a year’s rent all at once.

After one week in Shanghai, the two of them were inseparable. They went to pick up some furniture and items to fill in their house. Pang Qian invited Wu Feiyan, Xue Wenwen, and Yang Lu out to eat. This time, Yang Lu finally showed up.

Yang Lu wasn’t the foolish girl that was utterly in love with Sheng Feng anymore. She’d gotten very pretty and confident. When she saw Gu Mingxi, she laughed and said, “Sorry for not making it out to the last meeting. Feiyan told me that Crab’s boyfriend was extremely handsome. I didn’t believe it, but seeing you here today, your reputation is well-deserved.”

Pang Qian extended her hand for them to see the sparkling diamond on her finger. “Boyfriend? I’m certifiably taken now.”

The three of them were startled. “Ah? Crab, you already registered it?”

Pang Qian opened her bag and whisked out three invitations. With a grin, she said, “Red bomb! October 2nd in E City. Anyone willing to be my bridesmaid?” (Note: A ‘red bomb’ is a colloquial(?) phrase for a wedding invitation.)

All three girls rushed to shout, “Oh, me! Me, me!”

The last week before the star of the school semester, Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi headed back to E City. They’d arranged to take wedding photos that day.

After the indoors shots, they went to a scenic area for a few more photos. And then a line of people headed to their last stop– E City’s First High.

Pang Qian had already made arrangements with the school in advance. One of the teachers on duty let them into the classroom, the one that Year 1 Class 2 used that year.

The classroom looked different from when they were students. Air conditioning had been installed in the school. There were also more water fountains and projectors. The desks and chairs had all been replaced. Since the school term had just started up, the board at the back of the classroom was filled with welcoming words to the students.

Gu Mingxi wore a white shirt, jeans, and a pair of white sneakers. Compared to when he was sporting a suit earlier, he looked much more like a student now.

He stood at the back window and looked out at the school yard. The school had put in a new running track. Red tracks around the green field, really quite eye-catching. The trees around the school yard were still there, but they’d grown a lot taller. Gu Mingxi laughed as he recalled the day he started school here. They’d sat around in a circle by those small trees to introduce themselves. Back then, Pang Qian’s speech was horrendous, but now she was easily able to hold conversations with foreigners.

A sound came from behind him. When he turned to take a look, he saw Pang Qian who’d changed clothes. She was wearing the same style of white shirt as him, with a jean skirt underneath. She was also wearing the same pair of white sneakers. She looked like a very lively student, her smile bright as a flower. Only the thin, white tulle on her head belied that she was a new bride.

Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi stood in front of the blackboard, looking and smiling at each other. There were four words written on the blackboard– It wasn’t puppy love!

Gu Mingxi took several photos in the school yard. At the end of the summer, it was sunny, and the sky was blue with some white clouds. Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi sat side by side on the stands. They closed their eyes and kissed tenderly. A light breeze blew at the wedding veil on Pang Qian’s head, and it also blew at Gu Mingxi’s empty shirt sleeves. He heard her whisper into his ear, “Gu Mingxi, did you know? Ten years ago, I fell in love with you here.”

Ten years ago, on a scorching hot summer day, the sun started to set behind the school yard, and they sat there together side by side.