My Mister Ostrich

52 | Indissoluble Interest
I’ve known her for quite awhile. I really like her a lot.

The delightful summer trip ended with a group photo.

Teacher Dai brought the students of Class 2 up a small mountain. A group of students huddled up all together, squeezing the three teachers in the middle of them. As they all laughed, they took their group photo.

Regardless of what they were doing, Pang Qian was always together with Gu Mingxi. Including when they took the photo. She was pressed right up to him, holding up a V sign, smiling as brightly as the sun shone in the sky.

Because they’d be in different classes the next semester, Pang Qian was a bit melancholic over the summer break. She had been classmates with Gu Mingxi for ten years, and deskmates for seven and a half of those years. Thinking about how they would have to walk into different classrooms at the start of the next school year, it would be a lie if Pang Qian said she said she was willing.

In the latter half of the summer break, while her parents had to work, Pang Qian went over to Gu Mingxi’s house to play. Gu Mingxi stayed home by himself, so lunch time was a bit of a headache to think about. He told Pang Qian that when Li Han left for work, she would cook rice in the ricecooker and make one or two dishes to leave for Gu Mingxi to eat later.

Pang Qian said, “Then wouldn’t everything be cold?”

Gu Mingxi smiled and responded, “It’s summer. It’s okay if they’re cold, as long as the rice is warm. I can’t cook meals, and having to heat things back up is rather troublesome.”

Pang Qian looked at the microwave in his house and was speechless. She wondered what Gu Guoxiang had thought when he put it there. If he put the microwave that high up, how could Gu Mingxi use it?

And so, Pang Qian volunteered to cook for Gu Mingxi. She pulled out a winter melon from the vegetable basket and picked up a knife to cut it up. As she was cutting, she kept her left hand far away from the knife, so one piece would be thick and then another thin. She seemed rather unfamiliar with the motions. Gu Mingxi watched from the side and then shook his head. He asked, “Pang Pang, can you cook?”

“I’ve watched my dad do it before,” Pang Qian said. “It seems to be pretty easy.”

Gu Mingxi, “…”

He lifted his foot and helped Pang Qian light the stove. After the oil heated up, Pang Qian dropped the cut up vegetables into the wok. There was a hissing, crackling sound, and then oil droplets burst out. Pang Qian was so scared that she jumped to hide behind Gu Mingxi.

The poor winter melon lied inside the wok, as Pang Qian poked at it with the spatula from afar. Gu Mingxi was afraid the melon would burn, so he said, “Forget it, let me do it. Help me add the seasoning.”

He stood in front of the stove, left foot on the floor, right leg raised up to the counter. He held the spatula with his toes and carefully started to stir-fry the winter melon. Because he didn’t have any hands to hold the wok handle, the wok was pushed to a slant. As he was stir-frying, a few pieces of winter melon fell out.

Pang Qian quipped up, “Hey, the winter melon’s falling out!”

“I know. It’s just a few pieces. It’s okay.” Gu Mingxi spoke calmly and he was standing very stably. His two empty shirtsleeves hung at his sides, as he used his foot to stir-fry the winter melon until it was glistening.

As he was cooking, he said, “Pang Pang, add salt.”

Pang Qian opened the salt container and scooped a spoon of salt. “Is this enough?”

Gu Mingxi glanced over at her, “Yeah, that’s fine. Add it in.”

A bit later, he said, “Add the MSG.”

“Is this enough?”

“Too much. Get rid of a third of it. Oh… That’s fine, add it in.”

And a bit after that, he turned off the fire and returned his right foot to the ground. He turned to Pang Qian, “Okay, help me plate it.”

After he cooked the winter melon, Gu Mingxi didn’t have any faith that Pang Qian would be able to cook tomato and eggs or seaweed and shrimp soup.

So the two of them ate the fried winter melon along with the edamame and sausage that Li Han had made, and also a bowl of rice.

Pang Qian tasted the stir-fried winter melon that Gu Mingxi made and said with surprise, “It tastes really good! You can actually cook!”

“If no one’s there to help me, I can’t do it.” Gu Mingxi smiled, “After all, I can only use one leg. And after cooking, I can’t plate the food either.”

“Then you have to make sure to find a wife who can cook in the future.” Pang Qian started to worry about Gu Mingxi. “Like your mom. Her food is really delicious. My mom won’t do though. The things she cook taste terrible.”

Gu Mingxi bit his lips and looked at her without responding.

Pang Qian ate a few mouthfuls of rice and then asked him, “Gu Mingxi, did your parents stop fighting?”

His bright and clear eyes suddenly went dim in that moment. He thought for a moment and then answered, “It’s true that they don’t fight. They don’t even talk to each other now.”

“Ah…”

“My dad often doesn’t come home.” Gu Mingxi picked up his chopsticks with his toes and poked around at the rice in his bowl. “Each week, there’s always three our four nights that he doesn’t come back.”

Pang Qian asked, “Where does he go?”

Gu Mingxi lifted his head and looked at her, “What do you think?”

Pang Qian didn’t respond.

Although she was only 16 years old, she still had an inkling about the answer to that question.

She asked, “Will they get divorced?”

“I don’t know.” Gu Mingxi shook his head. “If they do, I’m definitely staying with my mom. But I don’t wish that they’ll get divorced.”

Pang Qian was truly angry. “Your mom is so great. She’s pretty and nice. Why is your dad this way?!”

“Actually, before we talk about whether there are some problems about how they feel about each other, the way my dad treats me can’t be considered bad. He supplies food and clothes for me, he sends me to school. On the weekends, I can even go to art lessons. That’s really expensive. Whenever there’s something I want to buy, he usually won’t reject. The spending money he gives me each month isn’t little. But… He just won’t go to a parent-teacher conference. And he won’t go outside with me. He… He just can’t accept that I’m disabled, and severely at that.” Gu Mingxi smiled briefly as he continued, “Pang Pang, sometimes I wonder if my mom had taken advantage of her youth and had another child when I was first injured, if my dad had another child, he wouldn’t think of leaving my mom now.”

As Pang Qian listened to his words, she felt that something wasn’t right. She recalled the words that Pang Shuisheng used to comfort Gu Mingxi over the New Year’s. She said, “Gu Mingxi, their adult business has nothing to do with you. Don’t overthink it.”

“I’m not overthinking things. All I can do now is to spend more time with my mom.” Gu Mingxi grinned. “I’m fine. It’s a fact that my dad doesn’t like me. It’s also a fact that I don’t have arms. I can’t just keep pretending otherwise. Right now, I just want to get into a good university and a good major. Being able to take care of myself is also a way of helping my mom.”

When Pang Qian left, Gu Mingxi insisted on sending her to the bus stop. The two of them walked, one in front of the other, down the road. Seeing him so glum, Pang Qian wanted to find an interesting topic to talk about.

She said, “Did you know, Li Xiaoyan called me a few days ago. She said that she agreed to go out with Wang Song.”

“Really?” Gu Mingxi smiled. “Then Wang Song must be extremely happy.”

“Yeah. But she told me not to tell anyone else, because she was afraid Teacher Dai would find out.”

Gu Mingxi raised his eyebrows. “But then you told me about it?”

“You’re not (just) anyone else.” Pang Qian giggled, and then lightly pat his back. “What is there that I hide from you? You’re the one who hides things from me.”

“What did I hide from you?”

“The girl that you like,” Pang Qian said. “It’s already been so long, but you still won’t introduce us. I don’t even know what her name is.”

“Pang Pang.” Gu Mingxi suddenly stopped in his tracks and called to her. Pang Qian turned around and looked at him. Under the beating sun, he was wearing a light blue shirt, shoulders out and back straight. His hair was choppy and his face was full of youthful spirit, with little beads of sweat covering his forehead. He’d long ago shed that tender boyish look he had several years before.

Gu Mingxi was already nearly 180cm tall, a great deal taller than Pang Qian. Standing in front of him, she had to lift her head to look at him. She heard him say, “Please forgive me, as I’m unable to introduce that girl to you. Because she very clearly told me that she likes another boy. Before she changes her mind, I definitely won’t let her know that I like her.”

He spoke very seriously and with a gentle gaze, enough to produce an illusion inside of Pang Qian. She actually felt a sour feeling inside. Realizing that Gu Mingxi had such a girl in his heard, Pang Qian really had mixed feelings.

What kind of girl was she? Was her hair as long as Jiang Zhiya’s? Were her eyes as big as Li Xiaoyan’s? Did she look as fresh and pure as Xiao Yujing, and was she as smart as her? She must be very special, gentle and pretty for Gu Mingxi to like her this much.

In any case, Pang Qian felt that she (herself) definitely wasn’t as good as her (the girl GMX likes).

She pulled the corners of her lips up and smiled a strange smile. “Gu Mingxi, don’t exaggerate that much. How long have you known her? Can you really like her that much?”

Gu Mingxi looked deeply into her eyes, then nodded his head. “I’ve known her for quite awhile. I really like her a lot.”

The second year of high school started. Pang Qian didn’t understand the way the school arranged things at all. Her classroom was at the most east end of the second flood. Gu Mingxi was in Year 2 Class 1 and his classroom was at the most west end of the fourth floor.

After heading into the school doors, they each took their own staircases. Between Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi, one went east, the other west. Even when they were walking up and down the stairs, they’d rarely meet up.

Fortunately, she and Zheng Qiaoqiao were in the same class. Xie Yi and a few other ping pong members were also in their class. Pang Qian naturally sat together with Zheng Qiaoqiao. The two of them really hit it off, and after being deskmates, they grew even closer.

What made Pang Qian even happier was that she’d very casually taken the preliminary diagnostic exam, and when the results came out, her score actually put her in the middle of the class. That really made her ecstatic. Spending a year at the bottom of her class, never having scored better than 10th from the bottom, Pang Qian just tucked her head in and lived her days dejectedly. After the classes were rearranged, her test results really boosted her self-esteem, letting her know that she wasn’t really garbage.

When it was time for lunch, Pang Qian carried her lunch box to the entrance of the school building. Numerous students passed by her, but her sights were set on someone walking over. She immediately waved her hand and called out, “Gu Mingxi!”

Gu Mingxi’s head was bent over, holding his lunch box, and his meal card was in his mouth. Xiao Yujing was walking next to him, and after seeing Pang Qian, she smiled. She didn’t say anything, but just walked away.

Pang Qian took Gu Mingxi’s lunch box and meal card. As if she were making a great gesture, she said, “Actually, you can eat with Xiao Yujing, you know.”

Xiao Yujing was Gu Mingxi’s new deskmate, and their head teacher was still Teacher Dai. Pang Qian felt that Teacher Dai was worried that Gu Mingxi would behave poorly again, so she found a way to supervise him again.

Gu Mingxi looked at her and said, “Really? Then I’ll eat with Xiao Yujing tomorrow. She already told me, if you don’t have time, she can help me get my meal.”

“I was just saying.” Pang Qian was a bit anxious for some reason. Then she called out brightly, “Gu Mingxi! On the diagnostic test, I scored 559 points! 32nd in the whole class! Hahaha… 32nd! Our class has 51 people!”

“How many points?”

“559!”

“Oh…” Gu Mingxi glanced at Pang Qian. “Pang Pang, are you sure you want to go to Fudan (University)? In our class, your score would probably be last.”