My Mister Ostrich

Chapter 1

Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi were both fifth graders at Nanlin Intellectual Elementary. They were the same year, in the same class, and they were deskmates. Not only that, their parents were also colleagues and friends. The two families were neighbors. Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi were childhood friends, two kids who grew up together.

I’ll make a brief point about the term “childhood friends” used here and as the chapter’s title. It’s used to mean two people who grew up together since childhood, but also often carries an implication that those two people are then also a best match for marriage.

In the 1980s, factory jobs were very popular. It was a secure job. Not only was it easier to find a partner, there was also housing supplied. Pang Shuisheng and Jin Ai’hua, along with Gu Guoxiang and Li Han, were all employees at a metals company in E City. Pang Shuisheng was a welder. Jin Ai’hua was a cashier. Li Han was a statistician. Gu Guoxiang was one of the few factory workers with a university degree, working as a technician.

Pang Shuisheng and Gu Guoxiang were neighbors. Growing up together since they were young, they were like real brothers. The two of them got married the same year, and happened to get into the factory housing. According to the conditions, Gu Guoxiang got a 3-bedroom house. Pang Shuisheng and Jin Ai’hua, who were also both working parents, only got a 2-bedroom house. Because Gu Guoxiang was on good terms with the manager, he was smart and his mouth was sweet, he was able to help Pang Shuisheng get a 3-bedroom house. He and his wife were so grateful for this kindness, and they would always remember it.

The factory had four buildings of housing. It was near the factory, surrounded by walls, and it was called the Golden Compound. The winter before Gu Mingxi was born, the Gu and Pang families happily moved into the recently built small building. What’s more, they were neighbors on the same floor. The north and south facing 3-bedrooms on the 5th floor. The Pang’s were in 501, the Gu’s in 502. Their doors were across from each other. Their balconies were adjacent. When it was sunny outside, the south facing house would be bathed in sunlight.

At that time, Gu Guoxiang and Pang Shuisheng were both young. They were hardworking, blessed with marital harmony, their parents were healthy, and they lived in a building that was the envy of many. Each and every day, they walked happily with a smile into their homes. They were just like any other regular couples in the city, living their ordinary, cozy lives.

In the summer of 1984, Gu Guoxiang and Li Han had a son, Mingxi. The end of the year was the end of Jin Ai’hua’s pregnancy, and both families were at the peaks of happiness. Gu Mingxi’s (paternal) grandmother had looked at Jin Ai’hua’s big belly and smiled, saying, “Ai’hua’s baby is a girl. How perfect, she can be betrothed to our Mingxi. Really, what a perfect match (between two well-matched families).”

But later, whether it was the Gu family or Pang family, even the other Golden Compound neighbors and colleagues didn’t mention this arranged marriage again. The twists and turns that came were something that everyone knew very well.

By the time Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi arrived to school, they were already 20 minutes late. But because of the snowstorm outside, only some more than half the students had arrived. Pang Qian stuck out her tongue, letting out a relieved sigh. And when the head teacher, Teacher Li, saw that Gu Mingxi had arrived, the heavy stone in their heart also dropped (out of relief).

The students inside were doing their morning reading. Pang Qian helped Gu Mingxi take off his raincoat outside the classroom door, then hung it up on the hook on the back of the door. She put her umbrella in the corner, and walked to her seat with Gu Mingxi.

This was the only fixed desk in the fifth grade classroom. Even when seating charts were being rearranged, it wouldn’t change. The desk was against the window, in the last row. Pang Qian’s father, Pang Shuisheng, had custom ordered it from a carpenter.

The desk was as long as all the other desks, but one side was raised higher, the other lower. The higher side was the same height as other desks, but the lower side was more than 20 cm shorter. Also, all the other students sat on benches. Only Gu Mingxi sat on a chair with a back.

The two kids sat down at the desk. Pang Qian helped Gu Mingxi take off his hat and scarf. Then she looked into her backpack to pull out her notebook, not bothering him any longer. Gu Mingxi leaned back in his chair, kicked off his shoes, and rested his feet on the short desk.

He was wearing socks that left the toes open. He grabbed onto his backpack with his left foot. And with his right, he skillfully unzipped the bag, pulling out the textbooks he needed and his pencil box.

The rest of the class didn’t pay any particular attention to him. They continued with their reading and dictation. Teacher Li stood at the lectern, watching over everyone, also not paying much attention to him.

Gu Mingxi’s eyes lowered, he looked calm. Sometimes he would whisper things to Pang Qian.

Pang Qian worked on her assignments as the absently listened to him. Everything seemed as usual.

Except for Gu Mingxi’s narrow shoulders, where a pair of empty sleeves hung in the air.

Prev Chapter

Next Chapter
Chapter error report
FreeWebnovel.Com
Read Books Online & Free Novels Online
Contact - Sitemap
Privacy & Terms of use