My Mister Ostrich

Chapter 70-80

But she never came.

That day, there was a heavy rainstorm. Mister Ostrich kept waiting. He imagined that Miss Crab couldn’t find the place, or that she’d been delayed by other matters. Or even, maybe she was embarrassed, so she was hiding behind some tree, silently watching him.

Drenched in rain, Mister Ostrich waited a very, very long time, until he finally admitted that Miss Crab wouldn’t show up.

His world lost all color. In that heavy storm of torrential rain, Mister Ostrich stood alone in that dark park. In that moment, he decided to let go.

Pang Qian opened her eyes, surrounded by quiet. She fished up her phone to check the time, 7:10 AM.

She had slept in a simple hostel, but it had heating so it wasn’t too cold. Pang Qian got up, walked to the window, and pulled open the curtains. She looked out at the snow-covered world and watched as the snowflakes flew through the air. She let out a sigh and made a call to the airport. She was informed that because of the blizzard, the airport was still closed. The weather condition was too poor, so no flights would be taking off.

Pang Qian immediately decided to ask for a refund.

She collected her luggage, braved the snow, and hailed down a taxi to the train station. The train station was filled with people. Pang Qian wanted to buy a sleeper ticket back to E City, but there weren’t any. She asked about Shanghai. Yes, there was a soft sleeper. She immediately bought the ticket without hesitation.

Because of the snow, the train was also two hours late arriving to the station. While they were waiting, Pang Qian called Jin Ai’hua. She asked, “Mom, do you remember when we moved, I brought along a crystal picture frame? It was pretty big. The one that Gu Mingxi gave me when we graduated high school.”

“Gu Mingxi?” Jin Ai’hua hadn’t heard that name in a long time. She thought for a moment, and then said, “Didn’t you pack up all your things? Gu Mingxi gave you a lot of stuff. Didn’t you put it all into one box?”

Pang Qian was silent, and then said, “Oh, that seems about right. As long as we didn’t throw it away, that’s good.”

“What? Why did you suddenly mention Gu Mingxi?” Jin Ai’hua asked, “Did you find him?”

Pang Qian smiled and said, “No.”

“Where are you right now? The plane still can’t take off?”

“Nope. Don’t you watch the weather report? There’s a blizzard up north. I got my ticket refunded and bought a train ticket. We get on at 12 PM, and we’ll probably be back in Shanghai tomorrow morning. And then I’ll take the railcar back home. If things go smoothly, I should be home tomorrow afternoon.”

Jin Ai’hua exclaimed, “So much trouble!”

Pang Qian sighed, “Yeah, there’s no other way.”

“Did you call Xiao Yu yet?”

“No, I’m not calling him. If he asks you, don’t tell him when I’m coming home.”

Jin Ai’hua chuckled. “Got it.”

When she entered the sleeper car, Pang Qian was met by two men, a 40 year-old and a 20 year-old, who seemed to be on a business trip together. And there was also a young mother with a 3 or 4 year old boy. The young mother had bought the top bed and Pang Qian had the bottom. The young mother sheepishly asked Pang Qian if she wouldn’t mind switching beds, and Pang Qian smiled and agreed. The young mother was about to repay Pang Qian for the difference, but she said forget it, since it was only a few dollars’ difference.