My Mister Ostrich

Chapter 34

“How can it be that expensive?” Pang Qian’s eyes grew wide. “The DHS ones I saw at the market were only 30 dollars! What’s the difference?!”

“…” Xie Yi knocked on her head. “Street stalls sell watches for 10 dollars, even 1 dollar. The mall sells ones for thousands. They can all tell the time. So you tell me, what’s the difference?”

Pang Qian answered honestly, “I really don’t see the difference.”

Xie Yi laughed crazily. “Can’t beat you with words. Make sure you practice. Don’t waste the paddle, and don’t disappoint the person who gave it to you.”

Just as he finished speaking, Pang Qian’s eyes flicked over to the side of the gym. But this time, she didn’t see that person.

That’s when she remembered that Gu Mingxi moved. After school, he would go home on his own. He didn’t have to wait for her anymore.

The place Gu Mingxi lived at now was called the New Gold Park. It was located west of E City, and the Golden Compound was located east of First High.

What that meant was that after school, Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi would walk out the school gate together. Then one would head left as the other went right, their paths never to cross again.

Pang Qian returned home that evening. She looked at her several hundred dollar paddle, completely not understanding. Pang Qian called out at her parents door and said that there was a homework problem she didn’t understand, so she wanted to call Gu Mingxi.

She hid in the living room and dialed Gu Mingxi’s home phone. Gu Guoxiang answered, and she said, “Uncle, it’s me, Pang Qian. Is Gu Mingxi there? I wanted to ask him a question.”

Gu Guoxiang was silent for awhile, then he said, “He’s here. I’ll call him to the phone. But… Qian Qian, I want to give you some advice. In the future, if there are questions you don’t understand, you can ask the teacher at school the next day. After all, Gu Mingxi doesn’t live next door anymore. Courses are getting more rigorous, so he’s also having a hard time.”

Pang Qian was still, before finally saying, “I know. I’m sorry, Uncle. Next time, I won’t. I…”

She suddenly heard an a faint sound on the other side of the phone, “Dad, is it Pang Qian?”

Pang Qian quieted. Gu Guoxiang said, “Mm.” Then she heard some sounds, like the phone was being handed over. Then Gu Mingxi’s fresh voice came on. With some delight in his tone, he said, “Pang Pang?”

“Mm, it’s me.” Pang Qian’s voice was a bit stuffy sounding.

“Is there a question you couldn’t solve? Which subject? Tell me.”

“No…” Pang Qian bit her lip, then told him the truth. Quietly, she said, “I just wanted to talk.”

“Ah?” Gu Mingxi was very surprised. Then he also lowered his voice, “What’s the matter?”

Pang Qian recalled the original reason for calling. She complained to Gu Mingxi, “Today, Xie Yi told me that the paddle you gave me is very expensive. Why did you give me such an expensive paddle? Do your parents know? If my dad finds out that I accepted such an expensive gift from you, he’ll definitely scold me.”

“That’s why you called?” Gu Mingxi spoke leisurely. “Don’t worry, they don’t know. I used my own pocket money to buy it. I don’t usually spend much money, so after a long time, I saved up a bit.”

Pang Qian still felt very unsettled about it. She said, “Also, if you’re moving house, move your stuff. Why did you leave so much stuff to me? And that CD player. Won’t your mom realize that it’s missing?”