My Mister Ostrich

Chapter 14

There were no young kids who didn’t envy Xie Yi.

They envied his carefree personality, unrestrained lifestyle, being able to do as he pleased. After a decade of being oppressed by her parents and teachers, Xie Yi appeared in Pang Qian’s life like a star on the horizon, shining brightly but always out of reach.

Gu Mingxi couldn’t wait for Pang Qian’s answer, so he said, “Pang Pang, really. Don’t change seats. I know that you’re unhappy sitting in the back all the time, but…”

“Gu Mingxi,” Pang Qian gently called out his name. Gu Mingxi stopped talking. Pang Qian pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them, buried her chin in her knees and then looked at him.

She said, “I’ve already been your deskmate for six years, Gu Mingxi. It’s been long enough. You’re right, I don’t want to sit in the back anymore. Not even just the last row, it’s in the corner. When class is over, no one talks to me. I don’t really know why, but Wang Tingting and I used to be really good friends, but now, she always goes to play with Zhang Wei and Qiu Lina on the weekends. She never calls me along. They all say that I’m dating you because we’re always together. They even say that I’m really lucky. I get to copy your homework and cheat off of your test, so then I get a high ranking.”

As she spoke, Pang Qian cried. She continued, with tears dropping, “Teacher Cao even said that I was only let into the fast class because I was your deskmate. I was originally supposed to be in the slow class. Gu Mingxi, I can never join in when the girls in class talk to each other. And the boys are always teasing you and me. I really hate this, really. I hate it so much. Gu Mingxi, why do I always have to accommodate you in everything I do? It’s been six and a half years. That’s long enough. You’re really good at using your feet to do things now. Why do I still have to be your deskmate?”

As Pang Qian continued on, Gu Mingxi’s originally clear and bright eyes dimmed and lost their glimmer. He looked at her carefully, lips pursed tightly.

The two of them sat there quietly, and only the sound of Pang Qian’s light sobs remained. Awhile later, Gu Mingxi said, “Then… Pang Pang, if you change seats, then we also won’t go to school and come back together?”

“Can you ride your bike on your own?” Pang Qian asked with red eyes. Sobbing, she said, “If you can ride by yourself, it’s best if we don’t go to school together anymore. I hate them talking about us.”

Gu Mingxi clenched his teeth until his gums hurt. He asked again, “Then next semester, will you keep coming over to my house to do homework?”

Pang Qian sniffled and then slowly shook her head.

Gu Mingxi frowned, “Then what if your scores drop again? I promised you before that I’d make sure you never scored as poorly as you did on the midterms again.”

Pang Qian looked away and murmured, “I’ll study well on my own. Gu Mingxi, you’re not a teacher. Whether I score well or not, it doesn’t have anything to do with you.”

Hearing this, Gu Mingxi let out an “Oh,” and then stood up.

Pang Qian still had her head lowered to her knees. After standing for awhile, Gu Mingxi finally said, “Okay, I got it. I’m going home.”

He got to the door and lifted his foot to open the door. When his foot touched the handle though, he let go. He turned back to look at her.

Pang Qian’s position hadn’t changed at all. Gu Mingxi kept staring at her, the two of them were as still as statues. A long while after, Gu Mingxi finally turned, lifted his foot to open the door, and then slowly walked out.