My Mister Ostrich

 Father & Daughter’s Promise
Did you get taller?

After school, Pang Qian was walking down the stairs with Sun Mingfang. Sun Mingfan was short and rather introverted. After sitting behind the easygoing Pang Qian for a few months, their relationship had become pretty good.

Usually they would ride their bikes home together, but today, Pang Qian said she didn’t bring her bike, so she’d take the bus home.

Sun Mingfang walked toward the bike storage, and Pang Qian hummed as she walked out of the school building. She walked west down the street, looking around on her way. After walking for a few minutes, she heard a boy’s voice to her side, “Pang Pang.”

Pang Qian turned around and saw Gu Mingxi standing by a bicycle repair station. Dumbfounded, she asked, “Why are you standing there?”

“This place isn’t easily noticed by people.” Gu Mingxi looked up to the dark canopy above him. Then he walked over to Pang Qian and smiled, “Let’s go home.”

Pang Qian was still smiling nonstop. “Like this, it’s like we’re part of the special tasks force.”

“Didn’t you say you didn’t like others talking about us?” Gu Mingxi said lightly, “Then we just won’t let them see us.”

Pang Qian opened her mouth, wanting to tell him that actually she didn’t care anymore. Xie Yi was right. How could the relationship between her and Gu Mingxi be affected by those stupid boys in their class? But seeing Gu Mingxi’s clear as water eyes, Pang Qian felt that if she said that now, it would seem a bit fake. So she just closed her lips.

While they were waiting for the bus, Pang Qian ran over to the small shop to buy a popsicle. She was eating it as she walked back. Gu Mingxi, who was waiting for her at the bus stop, saw her licking on the popsicle like a glutton and called out, laughing, “Pang Pang, if you don’t eat something on the way home every day, will you be unable to go home?”

“Shut up! I don’t!” Pang Qian gave him a light smack on the shoulder. “It’s so hot today so I was just thirsty.”

In the past, she would often show such intimate actions towards him – pinching him, hitting him, tickling him. When they were even younger, they would even sleep in the same bed, rolling around and playing. Gu Mingxi never tried to hide or hide his disabled body. But for some reason, when Pang Qian hit him this time, he took a step back and distanced himself from her.

Pang Qian was a bit taken aback, her hand still hanging in the air. She sulkily pulled her hand back. And as if it wasn’t a big deal, she continued licking her popsicle. Gu Mingxi didn’t say anything. After a few minutes, her popsicle was finished, and the bus arrived.

The bus was packed during the evening rush hour. By the time Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi boarded the bus, all the seats had long been taken. Pang Qian payed two coins and she and Gu Mingxi walked onto the bus.

In this kind of weather, Gu Mingxi was wearing a short sleeved shirt, and his disabled body was very eye-catching. The bus driver put on the reminder, the female voice repeating, “Please give up your seat for passengers who need it. Thank you.”

Before the announcement went on, it was still fine. Afterwards though, a lot of people took note of Gu Mingxi. But still, no one gave up their seat.

Gu Mingxi’s face didn’t show any particular expression. He just found a vertical pole and leaned against it.

The bus started. Gu Mingxi was standing sideways, his shoulder against the pole, and his legs spread to maintain his balance. Pang Qian stood at his side protecting him. She held onto a pole with one of her hands, and wrapped her other arm around his waist.

Gu Mingxi resisted a bit, trying to twist away from her hand. Pang Qian glared at him and said quietly, “Don’t move. Do you want another bruise to show up on your leg?”

So Gu Mingxi stopped moving. He turned his head away, toward the window. The street was busy, the shops were lively. People’s tired but somehow fresh faces… He did all he could to divert his attention, but he couldn’t help how sensitive his skin was. The thin cloth wasn’t enough to stop him from feeling the warmth of Pang Qian’s palm. He even felt her fingers rubbing slightly from the shaking of the bus.

He became a bit distracted, and then he felt ashamed for his thoughts.

Pang Qian quietly looked at Gu Mingxi’s side profile. His haircut was pretty good looking. It wasn’t as long as Xie Yi’s and didn’t look as supple either. Rather, it was short and looked rather furry. Under the sunlight, it gave off a healthy shine. As for his face… Pang Qian realized that she hadn’t taken a good look at Gu Mingxi in a long time. Was it really true that distance makes things appear more beautifully? Now, she saw his smooth facial lines, his straight nose, and his sharp eyebrows. Pang Qian had to admit that Gu Mingxi was actually pretty handsome.

And then she had another amazing discovery.

“Gu Mingxi.”

When Pang Qian called him, he turned to look at her. His expression looked a bit unnatural, and he asked, “What?”

“Did you get taller?” Pang Qian stood on her tiptoes to compare. And then cried out, pleasantly surprised, “Hey, you really have gotten taller! Last semester, I was still up to your ear. Now, I’m only at your chin. You’ll be taller than my Dad soon!”

Gu Mingxi’s face reddened a little. In a quiet voice, he said, “I think I got a little taller. My mom said that it was easiest to grow taller in the spring.”

Pang Qian laughed, “Will you grow as tall as your dad in the future? Then you’ll be too handsome!”

Just then, the bus driver slammed on the brakes. Unable to grab onto anything, Gu Mingxi swayed heavily. Pang Qian anxiously grabbed hold of his waist to help him steady himself.

Finally, a passenger realized that for this boy without arms to stand on the bus was a rather dangerous thing, and got up to let Gu Mingxi sit. Gu Mingxi’s face reddened. Pang Qian thought that he was embarrassed because no one had given up their seat before, so she pushed into the seat. Then she put both of their backpacks onto his lap.

Pang Qian felt that Gu Mingxi was acting a bit strangely. He didn’t say anything and just looked out the window. It was finally their stop and they both got off. They still had to walk for another 10 minutes before they’d be back at the Golden Compound. Gu Mingxi finally opened his mouth to say, “Pang Pang, when I get home, I’ll tell my mom that my leg doesn’t really hurt anymore. In the future, let’s just ride our bike to school.”

Pang Qian asked, “Why?”

“It’s too annoying to take the bus,” Gu Mingxi answered seriously. “And when it comes to walking, you walk too slow.”

Pang Qian, “…”

Gu Mingxi laughed, “Don’t worry. I already got my bike fixed. I can ride it.”

Pang Qian asked with concern, “What if you slip and twist your ankle again? When I used to ride with you, you slipped a few times already.”

Gu Mingxi replied gently, “Normal slipping like that isn’t a big deal. Just don’t tell my mom.”

After he mentioned Li Han, Pang Qian had to ask, “Oh yeah, is your mom any better?”

“A lot better.” Gu Mingxi’s eyes darkened a little, as he continued, “The doctor put on her bed rest for a few days, and he said it wasn’t major. My grandma is taking care of her for now.”

“That’s good.” When Pang Qian thought about that evening’s events, she still felt a bit of lingering fear. She’d never seen anything like it before. Gu Mingxi and Li Han were both covered in blood. Their bathroom was also heavily stained with it. There were traces of Gu Mingxi’s footprints in their living room, all the way out their door to Pang Qian’s front door.

He had slammed his body into the door and he’d kicked it with his feet. Jin Ai’hua had washed scrubbed at the floor for a long time with detergent before she was able to clean off the blood.

There was something that Pang Qian still didn’t quite understand. She didn’t like to keep things from Gu Mingxi, so she asked him, “Gu Mingxi, why did your dad say that about you the other day? What did he mean?”

Gu Mingxi was silent and then said, “My mom lost the baby.”

“I know.” Pang Qian still didn’t understand. “My mom said that it was an accident, not your fault. So why did you dad say that about you?”

“You know, my dad has always wanted to have another kid,” Gu Mingxi said evenly. “Now the baby is gone, so he must be very disappointed. Also, I’m not completely without fault. If I didn’t bring up going to the market, my mom wouldn’t have bought the rice. If she didn’t buy the rice, nothing would have happened to her. And… If I had arms, I would have been able to help her carry things. Then nothing would have gone wrong.”

Pang Qian didn’t understand. “What does this have to do with buying rice? Wh-what does it have to do with whether you have arms or not?”

Gu Mingxi glanced at her, and with a click of his tongue, “You’re still a kid. You wouldn’t understand.”

Pang Qian cried unhappily, “I’m not a kid!”

Seeing her bare her fangs, Gu Mingxi couldn’t stop himself from laughing. He patiently explained, “My grandma said that when a woman gets pregnant, they can’t carry heavy things for the first three months. They have to be especially careful when they do things, otherwise the chances of a miscarriage increase. It was like that in a TV show too. Moreover, my mom’s already 40 years old. Getting pregnant is already a very risky thing for her, so she can’t be neglectful. How could she carry something as heavy as that, and all the way back home too.”

Pang Qian listened and then pouted, saying, “But that’s not your fault. How can your dad say something like that to you?”

Gu Mingxi could only smile. “My dad was just worried about my mom, so he got angry about it.”

Pang Qian suddenly thought of something. She was a bit worried about Gu Mingxi, and said, “If your parents really do have a baby in the future, then it will be a lot younger than you. When you’re 20, your little brother or sister will just be starting school. So then what?”

Gu Mingxi thought for a moment, then said with a smile, “What about it? That seems pretty good.”

“How is that good?”

“I’ll already be working by then, and I’ll be making money. I can bring them to eat, buy them toys and clothes.” Gu Mingxi looked at Pang Qian, “My dad will definitely like him or her. And they’ll be a very cute kid. Is that a bad thing?”

Pang Qian really couldn’t see how that was bad. She couldn’t imagine her parents giving her a baby sister or brother right now. She wouldn’t be able to accept it. What’s more, Gu Mingxi didn’t have arms. Wasn’t he afraid that after his parents had another baby, they would stop caring about him?

Although it wasn’t really her business, Pang Qian couldn’t help but feel worried. She always thought that Gu Mingxi’s parents shouldn’t have another baby. She felt that she should get rid of Gu Mingxi’s idea of having a younger sibling. She said to him, “Don’t forget, your house only has three rooms. Your mom and dad use one, you use one and the third one is a study. If your parents have another baby, where will it live? Will it live with you in one room? Who knows if you’ll be kicked out onto the balcony to sleep!”

Gu Mingxi was so amused by her thoughts that he had a great big laugh. He shook his head and said, “No.”

“What do you mean ‘No’?”

He looked at her and said softly, “Did you forget? I already told you that the company already started building a new housing unit west of the city. It has an elevator. The smallest place will be 90 sqm and the biggest will be 120 sqm. My dad said that he’s already received the papers for changing houses. In about two or three years, we’ll move there.”
—

Pang Qian kept working at Pang Shuisheng for a long time because of this. She found out a bunch of important information from Gu Mingxi. All current employees of the metals company, old or new, could apply to live in the new housing building. Seniority, job title and position, along with contributions to the company would be used to determine who could live there. Those who didn’t already have housing were held to more demanding conditions. Older employees who already lived in company housing could still apply for the new place, but they would have to give up the old place, and they could have to pay some ten thousands dollars (RMB) as compensation for moving to a bigger house.

Pang Qian actually didn’t want to live in a big house. She didn’t quite know why, but knowing that Gu Mingxi was going to move away made her heart feel a bit uncomfortable, as if she couldn’t bear it. She pestered Pang Shuisheng to turn in their current house, but he felt that it wasn’t necessary. The Golden Compound was already sufficiently large and it was located at the heart of the city. Exchanging that to live in a place where even birds don’t shit (a remote, desolate place), and having to pay extra money on top of that, really felt like a poor decision.

In the end, Pang Shuisheng was pestered so much by Pang Qian that he decided to discuss the conditions.

“I can put in an application, but you have to promise me that you’ll test into Excellence High.”

Pang Qian, “!”

Pang Shuisheng pulled out a cigarette. “The high school entrance exam is in two years. If you can get into Excellence High, and the construction on the house is complete, then we’ll move. If you don’t get in, then I’ll ask for the application back and we’ll treat it as if none of this happened. Do you agree?”

“…” Pang Qian clenched her teeth. “Dad, you’re not lying to me, are you?”

Pang Shuisheng knocked her on the head, “When have I ever lied to you? What, you don’t have the confidence?”

Pang Qian carefully thought it over for half an house. Then she clenched her hand and promised, “Who doesn’t have confidence?! It’s a deal!”

A few days later, Pang Shuisheng put in an application to the company for a change of residence. Carrying her backpack, Pang Qian knocked on Gu Mingxi’s front door.

When she went into Gu Mingxi’s room, the boy was extremely surprised. Pang Qian sat down in front of him and noisily pulled out her notebook from her backpack. As she was pulling things out, she said, “Gu Mingxi, I’ll come over every day to do homework from now on. When I don’t understand, you’ll explain it to me.”

“Oh…” Gu Mingxi nodded, but couldn’t help asking, “Pang Pang, what’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Pang Qian shook her head. With a calm expression, she asked, “Gu Mingxi, can you get me into Excellence High?”