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MY MISTER OSTRICH
Chapter 6 His Promise
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Chapter 6 ?His Promise
Translated by Twelve_Months_of_May
You'd better not wear this stuff tomorrow. It's too disgusting!
Pang Qian had indeed complained many times before, about not wanting to be deskmates with Gu Mingxi. Especially after starting third grade. Kids heights started to change, so Teacher Li would rearrange everyone's seats. People who were shorter or had poor eyesight would be moved to the front, and taller kids and those with good eyesight would be moved to the back.
Only Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi never had their seats changed. Even when they changed classrooms, she and Gu Mingxi were like fixed items, bound to one spot. In every classroom, they would sit in the last row, next to the window.
Pang Qian's birthday was in August, so she was the youngest in her class. She also wasn't very tall, so of course she wouldn't be happy being stuck in the last row. Moreover, not too far behind their seats was where the broom, mop, dustpan, and bucket were located. In the summer, when there was more garbage, there would inevitably be a smell. Pang Qian had complained many times about it. But because of the particular way that Gu Mingxi read and wrote things, there was no way he could sit in the front row. So, for a long time, Pang Qian would complain for the whole day that she didn't want to be deskmates with Gu Mingxi.
Gu Mingxi never said anything, and neither did he express any unhappiness. When they were going to start fourth grade, he even went to find Teacher Li to ask about moving Pang Qian's seat to the front.
He said, " Teacher Li, just let Pang Qian change seats like everyone else. I can sit by myself in the back. I already don't have any problems doing things with my feet now. Most of the time, I don't really need Pang Qian's help anyway."
Of course, Teacher Li couldn't answer this lightly. He took advantage of the next parent-teacher meeting to pull Li Han and Pang Shuisheng into the corridor, to tell them about this matter.
Teacher Li knew that Pang Shuisheng had arranged for his daughter to sit with Gu Mingxi because they had grown up together and were very close. Gu Mingxi wouldn't treat Pang Qian too cautiously because of his disability. And they thought that Pang Qian would be fine with it, helping a bit to take care of Gu Mingxi.
But now, both kids were expressing that they didn't want to be deskmates. Naturally, Teacher Li had to consult with their parents about it.
After listening to Teacher Li, Li Han's complexion didn't look very good. Leaving Gu Mingxi to sit alone in the back was something she wouldn't agree to. But changing deskmates... Even Pang Qian, who knew him so well, was unhappy about it, wouldn't others be even more unwilling? What if Gu Mingxi's new deskmate bullied him?
Seeing her head lowered, without a word, Pang Shuisheng understood. He told Teacher Li that it wasn't necessary to change Pang Qian's seat. When he got home, he would deal with his daughter.
Pang Shuisheng's method of dealing with Pang Qian was to give her a beating. He spanked her until her bottom was red, and her cries were splintered.
The next day, the red-eyed Pang Qian walked to school with Gu Mingxi. She was so angry that she didn't talk to him. When Gu Mingxi spoke to her, she just turned away and didn't look at him. Even when it was lunch time, she didn't help him get his lunch. Without another choice, he could only wait until all the other students had already gotten their lunch, and then asked the class representative to help him.
Pang Qian kept her head lowered, focused on her own meal. She didn't think she'd done anything wrong at all, it was all Gu Mingxi's fault! If he didn't want to change seats, fine. But why did he have to go complain to Teacher Li?! She got beat by her dad because of that!
This one-sided cold war ended after the first class in the afternoon. Gu Mingxi left the classroom on his own. When he came back, his head was tilted, a bag of Mylikes (candy; small crispy balls coated in chocolate, like Whoppers or Maltesers) between his cheek and his shoulders.
He turned in front of Pang Qian, and with a "pa ta" sound, the bag of Mylikes fell onto her desk.
"For you to eat," he said.
Pang Qian's face burned up slightly. Gu Mingxi sat down at his desk, looked at her, then asked, "Why are you unhappy today? Does your stomach hurt?"
The 10 year old boy asking her lightly, with a hint of concern in his voice, confused Pang Qian's little brain.
She silently took the bag of Mylikes, pulled it open, and put a piece into her mouth.
The taste of chocolate unraveled in her mouth. She turned to look at Gu Mingxi at her side. He stared at her with a pair of bright and clear eyes. Pang Qian suddenly thought of her ridiculous beating, and she felt wronged. She said, with a crying sound, "I won't change my seat! But in the future, you have to let me copy your math homework!"
Gu Mingxi, "..."
"When we're taking our math test, you have to let me look too," she sobbed as she ate another piece of Mylikes. "And when we have to draw, you have to help me draw. And in our natural (sciences?) class, you have to take care of digging earthworms and raising silkworms. I'm most scared of bugs! Also, you're not allowed to complain to Teacher Li or my dad again!"
With his mouth hanging open, Gu Mingxi couldn't say anything.
Pang Qian stared at him, "You're not agreeing?"
"I can agree to the rest, but about math... I can't." Gu Mingxi curled his lips, "If you don't understand, I can teach it to you."
Then, the seat-changing crisis ended. Pang Qian never brought up the matter of changing seats again.
-
After final exams, it was time for winter break.
That New Year's, Gu Mingxi's family didn't stay in E City. Rather, they went to a small city in the north, Z City. That was Li Han's hometown. Gu Mingxi's (maternal) grandparents, aunts and uncles were all there.
Gu Mingxi told Pang Qian that after his accident, his mom never went back to her hometown. But this year, his grandparents missed the, so Gu Guoxiang and Li Han decided to take Gu Mingxi there for the New Year's celebrations. After that, their family would go directly to Shanghai, and then return to E City.
"I asked my mom, and she said I wouldn't transfer to Shanghai," Gu Mingxi said to Pang Qian with a smile.
Pang Qian asked, "Then what are you going to Shanghai for?"
"I really don't know. My mom wouldn't say." Gu Mingxi shrugged. "When we get there, I'll know."
Gu Mingxi left for more than 20 days. In Pang Qian's memory, this was the longest time that she had been separated from Gu Mingxi. From when they were very young, they'd seen each other every day. Pang Qian realized that, after not having seen Gu Mingxi in so long, she missed him quite a bit.
It wasn't until winter break was almost over that their family returned from their long trip.
When Gu Guoxiang and his family entered the compound, Pang Shuisheng happened to be smoking on the balcony. He shouted to Pang Qian inside, "Qian Qian, Mingxi's back."
Pang Qian, who was lazing around in bed, watching TV dramas, jumped up, put on her slippers, and charged out.
When she got down to the third floor, she heard the sound of footsteps. And in a moment, Gu Guoxiang's family was in front of her.
Pang Qian saw Gu Mingxi walking behind his father, wearing a new down jacket. His hair was a little messy. When he saw Pang Qian, Gu Mingxi was a bit taken aback. Then he cried out, "Pang Pang, Happy New Year."
"Happy New Year," Pang Qian said to Gu Guoxiang and Li Han. All of them walked up to the fifth floor together. Seeing Pang Qian walking shyly behind them, Gu Mingxi asked Gu Guoxiang, "Dad, can I go over to Pang Qian's house to play a bit?"
"Go on." Gu Guoxiang looked at him, before pulling their luggage inside their house.
Gu Mingxi was about to follow Pang Qian into 501, when Li Han called out and stopped him. She pulled out a plastic bag and gave it to him. Gu Mingxi's cheeks reddened, and then crooked his head to take the package.
The two kids went into Pang Qian's room. Pang Qian couldn't wait any longer and asked, "Gu Mingxi, so why did you go to Shanghai?"
Gu Mingxi's head was still tilted, carrying the package. He sat down on the edge of her bed and blinked at her. He said, "This is a New Year's gift for you. Take it."
"Oh! I have a gift!" Pang Qian happily took the package from him and pulled out its contents. It was a light yellow headband. She happily said, "Thank you, Gu Mingxi!"
"I bought it in Shanghai." Gu Mingxi's face was still a bit red. In a quiet voice, he said, "As long as you like it."
Pang Qian sat down beside him, and asked, "Did you take the train in Shanghai?"
"Yeah," Gu Mingxi nodded.
Pang Qian was very envious. "Was it fun?"
"Yeah." Gu Mingxi said, "The train was really fast. Stop after stop, and with a whoosh, we arrived. Only... It was all underground, so we couldn't see anything outside the window."
Pang Qian tilted her head in thought. She heard Gu Mingxi continue, "Oh, and I also took a plane."
"A plane?!" Pang Qian's mouth dropped. "Didn't you take the train (the big, intercity kind) to Z City?"
"Mm. But we took a plane from Z City to Shanghai. We couldn't get train tickets, and my mom can't ride the bus because she gets motion sickness." Gu Mingxi was in high spirits. "The plane looked really big, but it was actually pretty small inside. There was no space at all. When we were on the plane, it was really noisy. Oh! But on the plane, there were snacks and soft drinks. You didn't have to pay for them."
He kept talking, and Pang Qian listened attentively, sometimes interrupting to ask questions.
The two kids hadn't seen in each other in close to a month, so they had a lot of things to talk about. After awhile, their conversation turned to how they spent their New Year's. Gu Mingxi told Pang Qian that he saw his grandparents that he hadn't seen in a long time. But in the north, they were called laolao (instead of waipo for a maternal grandmother) and laoye (instead of waigong for maternal grandfather). He also said that the snow in the north was what you really called fluffy snow. It covered the ground, and was half a meter thick. When you stepped in it, it went past your knees.
"But our house had heat, so it was very comfortable, not cold like it is here." He laughed and then looked at her, Pang Pang, what did you do for the New Year's?"
Pang Qian scratched her head. "I didn't go anywhere. We just went to our relative's house for dinner. Even the lucky money I was given (for New Year's) was taken away by my mom." She suddenly thought of a very important matter. She plopped over to her desk and pulled out her winter break math homework. "Gu Mingxi, Gu Mingxi, did you finish your homework? Hurry and let me borrow it to copy down! I don't have time!"
"..."
When Gu Mingxi was leaving, Pang Qian asked again, "Hey, you still didn't tell me. Why did your parents take you to Shanghai?"
The boy's face strangely turned red again. Quietly, he said, "Mm... I'll tell you later, okay?"
"Why?"
"Right now... I'm not sure yet." He lowered his eyes, then said nervously, "You'll know in another month."
Not long after Gu Mingxi returned, the new semester started at school. He didn't guard his winter break homework well, and Pang Qian plundered all his math papers. She spent the whole night copying it.
She'd soon forgotten the question she was curious about all through the break, but in the middle of April, she suddenly got her answer.
That day, Gu Mingxi was different from usual. He was a bit excited, a bit nervous. He zoned out in class, and then he would suddenly laugh. Pang Qian thought it was strange, so she asked him, "What's wrong with you?"
Gu Mingxi shook his head. He was holding a pencil in his right foot, drawing aimlessly on the paper. After he drew awhile, he said, "Pang Pang, tonight, come over to my house to play, okay?
Pang Qian thought it was odd, and asked, "Why?"
"Just come over, okay? Just 10 minutes is enough." His eyes were very eager. "Okay?"
Pang Qian nodded, "Okay, after I eat, I'll go over."
That evening, Pang Qian went over to Gu Mingxi's house as promised. Li Han opened the door for her, her face bright with a smile. She said, "Qian Qian, Mingxi's waiting for you in his room."
Pang Qian thought it was strange, but she pushed open Gu Mingxi's door, "Gu Mingxi, I'm coming in."
She bent slightly, her head entering the room. In the dim lighting, she only saw a person's figure standing by the desk, blocking the light from the lamp.
Pang Qian knew that it was Gu Mingxi, she was very familiar with his stance. But the odd thing was that when she saw him, she felt that there was something different.
She walked into the room. Standing in front of Gu Mingxi, she saw the boy's nervous face, and also a few beads of sweat on his forehead. That's when she realized how he was different from before.
Under Gu Mingxi's shoulders were a pair of arms.
He had specially worn a long sleeved shirt. He stood upright in front of Pang Qian, and there was even a red scarf tied on his chest. Pang Qian remembered this shirt. When Gu Mingxi used to wear this shirt, the sleeves were always empty, hanging off his sides. But now, he looked just like any other boy, limbs intact, completely healthy. He looked even better than other boys though, more lively.
Pang Qian stared at him. Gu Mingxi also stared at her, with big, bright eyes. After awhile, he lowered his head and looked at his two stiff arms. He sucked on his lower lip, then said, "These are the prosthetic arms I had made in Shanghai over winter break. Dad said that next year, I'll be starting junior high. He told me to wear these prosthetic arms to school, it will look better."
Pang Qian lifted her hand and touched his left arm. Gu Mingxi kept his head lowered, watching her motions. Through the fabric sleeves, Pang Qian only felt something hard. She even knocked on them, with a bang bang sound.
Then she pulled at his left hand. Gu Mingxi didn't move. Pang Qian felt his cold, hard palm and fingers. It was an uncomfortable feeling. It reminded her of the scary mannequins on display at the department store.
Pang Qian stood for awhile, in a daze. Then she asked, "Gu Mingxi, can you use your hands?"
"..." He was silent, and then shook his head, "Doesn't seem like it."
"Eating, writing, holding things. You can't do any of that?"
The brightness in his eyes gradually dimmed. "No. My dad said it looked better this way."
"..."
Gu Mingxi smiled with great effort, his two canine teeth showing. In a soft tone, his voice slightly shaking, "Pang Pang, do you think I look good this way?"
"No, it's not goo!" Pang Qian pulled her hand back, pouting. She said with dislike, "What's so good to look at? Two arms that can't be used for anything! It's so ugly!"
She even took two steps back. With a frown, she stared at the Gu Mingxi's disappointed face. "I'm going back. You'd better not wear this stuff tomorrow. It's too disgusting!"
"..."
Before he could make a sound, she'd already turned to open the door. Without looking back, she'd already gone.
After that, Pang Qian never saw Gu Mingxi's two prosthetic arms again. She hadn't even taken a close look at them, and she didn't know how they were attached to Gu Mingxi's body. All she knew was that Gu Mingxi listened to her. It was the first time he'd rejected Gu Guoxiang's request, refusing to wear the prosthetic arms to school.
Gu Guoxiang was very mad. Once, he even got drunk and slapped Gu Mingxi hard on the face because of this matter.
How could he not be angry? Originally, he'd already found an opportunity for Gu Mingxi to go to an excellent private junior high. The school's principal only had one condition, which was that Gu Mingxi had to wear the prosthetic arms to school. That way, they would be able to let him through the school gates. And during activities outside the classroom, he would look normal, less frightening.
But now, everything was ruined.
Gu Guoxiang looked coldly at Gu Mingxi and said, "Do you know what the partner school for Thirst for Knowledge Elementary is? It's Origin of Flight Middle School. Do you know how many students from Origin of Flight can test into Excellence High? Never more than one fifth (1/5)! Gu Mingxi, with your decision today, don't hope for me to ever care about you again!"
The boy stubbornly twisted his head, saying, "You never cared about me. After my arms were gone, you never once went to a parent-teacher meeting."
Gu Guoxiang was furious. He raised his hand and slapped Gu Mingxi on the face. It was hard for Gu Mingxi to control his balance, so he staggered back a few steps, before crashing into the wall.
His head was spinning. Li Han wiped away her tears, tightly clutching onto Gu Guoxiang. It was only at home, when only his wife and son were present, that Gu Guoxiang would forget himself so. He pointed a finger at Gu Mingxi, his angry voice shaking, "You- What did you say?!"
After awhile, Gu Mingxi finally found his footing. He bent his head and rubbed his left cheek against his shoulder. It was burning in pain. He said softly, "Dad, I'm willing to go to Origin of Flight Middle School. I promise you, I will get into Excellence High. Not only will I get in, I will also make sure that Pang Qian gets in.
His eyes were lowered, unable to look at Gu Guoxiang. Finally, even more quietly, he said, "Dad, I won't call you a disgrace."
One year later, Gu Mingxi and Pang Qian graduated from Thirst for Knowledge Elementary, and smoothly started school at Origin of Flight Middle School, 3 km away from the Golden Compound.
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Home My Mister Ostrich Chapter 7 Origin of Flight Middle School
MY MISTER OSTRICH
Chapter 7 Origin of Flight Middle School
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Chapter 7 ?Origin of Flight Middle School
Translated by Twelve_Months_of_May
I'd rather walk to school than have you take me.
Origin of Flight is an old-fashioned middle school. It's split into two sections, a junior high and high school. As per the the school district divisions, most of the students who graduate from Thirst for Knowledge Elementary will graduate into Origin of Flight Middle School. Other students will try to test into a private school, or they may pay the fees to study at a school outside their school district.
What Gu Guoxiang said was right. Origin of Flight was not rumored to be a very good school. The parents at the Golden Compound even called it a garbage middle school. There was a story that went around the compound. There were two boys who had similar (test) results, who graduated from elementary school at the same time. Boy A's family paid a sponsorship fee so that he could study at a better junior high school. Boy B enrolled directly into Origin of Flight. In the third year of junior high, Boy A was a middling rank in his class. But Boy B was always top five in his class. Boy B's parents were rather proud of that. They thought that Boy A's family had put tens of thousands of dollars to waste.
When it was time for high school entrance exams, both boys performed as usual. Boy A easily into Excellence High. However, Boy B's test scores were only enough to get into General High. Boy B's parents were very surprised, so they went to ask the school about it. That's when they found out that of the more than 40 students in the class, only one of them tested into Excellence High.
Let me just make a comment about the high school names. (You'll have seen Excellence High in the last chapter.) I'm not sure if they're actual names, just like how the author names her cities using single letters from the Roman alphabet. They might not even be individual schools and instead, represent good, reputable schools versus mediocre ones. The names for the high schools are originally zhong (meaning weighty or serious, to represent a good school) and pu (I assume, for the word putong, which means ordinary). I'm just going with Excellence and General High whenever they're mentioned.
From then on, Origin of Flight's graduation (to a good school) rates became a topic of anxiety for many parents in the school district.
Although Pang Shuisheng knew that Pang Qian's scores weren't very good, he still held onto the possibility of a miracle. So he let her take the entrance exam for a private school. Gu Mingxi, along with a great bunch of their class, also went for the test.
When Pang Qian was taking the exam, she felt like she was trying to read hieroglyphics. Those applied mathematics problems were just too scary. A storage pond had a water capacity of xxx. Inside, there were three water pipes, each piping in water at a different rate. That wasn't all though. This storage pond also had three floor drains, each also with a different rate of draining. The pipes and drains were simultaneously piping in and draining out water. The question asked when the storage pond would be filled with water. Just reading the question made Pang Qian's head dizzy. How was she supposed to come up with an answer?
Of course, she and most of her classmates did not pass the written exam. And Gu Mingxi was advanced to the interview portion.
This wasn't the same school that Gu Guoxiang had made arrangements with previously. When the teachers saw Gu Mingxi's empty sleeves hanging from his shoulders, and then saw his school record and written exam results in their hands, they were all stunned.
But the private school had their own rules for enrollment. They didn't look only at test scores, but also considered other aspects of the students. This allowed the school to have a fuller, more comprehensive view of the student and their future prospects. Regarding Gu Mingxi's situation, the recruitment officer offered a special explanation to Li Han. The recruiter said that they didn't mind Gu Mingxi's disability at all. But because each of their students were top-ranking at their previous elementary schools, this creates a strongly competitive atmosphere in their school. There was a lot of stress to do well in their studies. They (the school) were afraid that putting Gu Mingxi into such a competitive place would cause him a lot of difficulties.
Li Han only smiled and said, "I understand."
Gu Mingxi returned home with his mom. The moment that Pang Qian saw him, she asked how the interview went.
Truth be told, Pang Qian's feelings were a bit unclear. She wasn't sure if she wanted Gu Mingxi to pass or not pass the interview. She didn't expect for Gu Mingxi to think about the same thing and return this question to her.
"Do you want me to have passed or not to have passed?"
Pang Qian refused to answer, but kept asking, "Did you pass or not?"
"No," Gu Mingxi laughed as he shook his head. "I don't have arms. You know, it's a lot of trouble for me to go to school."
Pang Qian stared at his face, trying to figure out his feelings. After she was certain that he wasn't at all unhappy, she finally sat down beside him and said, "Nonsense. How is it troublesome for you to go to school?"
Gu Mingxi smiled at her, without responding.
Actually, they both knew, it was rather troublesome for him to go to school.
We don't even have to mention daily activities like eating, drinking, and going to the restroom. But talking about studies. Ordinary things like reading, writing, and drawing - Gu Mingxi could use his feet to do those things. But junior high and elementary school were completely different. There were a lot of classes that required the use of your hands. For Gu Mingxi, this really was a difficulty. For example, chemistry experiments, physics experiments, dissection labs... Not to mention physical education class, daily exercises, eyes exercises, being on duty, cleaning, the spring and autumn class outings, and other school events. Because of the limitations of Gu Mingxi's body, all of this would cause some difficulty for him.
Public schools are required to provide the nine years of compulsory education to all students. But private schools? Who would willingly bring in such a burden?
So, in the summer of 1997, Gu Mingxi and Pang Qian received their acceptance letters to Origin of Flight Middle School. Pang Shuisheng immediately went to determine the size of the desks at the school, and once again, asked the carpenter to build a new custom desk for Gu Mingxi.
By the recommendation of the elementary school teacher, Gu Mingxi and Pang Qian were, again, put into the same class. Their head teacher, Teacher Cao, knew in advance about Gu Mingxi's situation, and agreed to let Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi continue being deskmates.
The admission matters for the two kids were entirely taken care of by Li Han and Pang Shuisheng. Gu Guoxiang didn't step in at all. He would just go to work every day with a sullen face, then get off work. When he passed by Gu Mingxi, he didn't even look at him.
Gu Mingxi still called him Dad. And when he met any difficulties, he would still search him out to ask for help. For example, if there was a bottle cap that was screwed too tightly, or if something was placed too high up. Even when he had to take care of his bowel movements, he would find his dad to help pull his pants down and wipe his butt.
Each time, Gu Guoxiang would silently go to help, and when the task was complete, he would silently leave.
He knew he was behaving in an excessive manner. He was already a middle-aged man, but he acted this way toward his son. But every time he faced Gu Mingxi, Gu Guoxiang felt very depressed. He was afraid that if he spoke to his son, he wouldn't be able to hold back his temper. Although Gu Mingxi hadn't done anything wrong, Gu Guoxiang just couldn't bear to see him. To see his appearance, to see the way he did things with his feet. And most, to see his (Mingxi's) attitude toward himself (Guoxiang) - always respectful, polite, but also estranged.
This situation was continued on for another month. One day, Gu Mingxi and Li Han were sitting together, eating watermelon. It was sliced up on the table. Gu Mingxi lowered his head and bit at the watermelon directly. He inevitably ended up covered in juice, and Li Han would occasionally help him wipe his mouth. He suddenly said something in a very calm tone.
He said, "Mom, you're 39 years old. You and Dad should have another kid."
That evening, Li Han closed the door to her room. Tears running down her face, near collapse, she and Gu Guoxiang seriously spoke about it. They weren't young anymore. To bring up this topic after so many years, the atmosphere was really heavy.
Finally, they agreed that they would stop using contraceptives. Let things come as they will. If a baby really came, they would keep it and give birth.
-
Half a month before school started, Pang Shuisheng suddenly thought of a very serious problem.
Origin of Flight wasn't close to the Golden Compound at all. How should Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi get to school?
Of the other students in the compound that went to Origin of Flight, most of them would ride their bikes to school. And a few would take the public bus.
But Gu Mingxi couldn't ride a bike, and it wasn't convenient to have him take the bus on his own. The only remaining option was to have Pang Qian ride the bus with him.
This, Pang Qian didn't agree to.
When she graduated elementary school, her grandma gifted her an especially beautiful bicycle. 22 inches. Powder blue. She'd continually been thinking about riding her bike on the street, just like an adult. Now her dad was telling her she had to take the bus with Gu Mingxi. She was very, very, very unhappy!
From the Golden Compound to the bus stop, it was a 10 minute walk. Then they got after after four stops and then walked for another 5 minutes. It took a lot longer than riding the bike. Pang Qian threw a tantrum at her dad, "I don't want to! I don't want to! I want to ride my bike to school! I hate taking the bus! You get squeezed flat on there!"
Pang Shuisheng said, "Then what about Gu Mingxi?"
"..." Pang Qian didn't have an answer. Finally, completely angry, she said, "I don't care! Why does everything I do have to involve him?! So annoying!"
Pang Shuisheng couldn't handle his daughter. She was already 12 years old. He couldn't keep spanking her butt. He went next door to find Li Han to discuss it. Gu Mingxi accidentally overheard them.
Gu Mingxi walked over to his mom and Gu Guoxiang. He said, "Mom, actually... I can learn to ride a bike. Then I can ride the bike together with Pang Qian to school."
Li Han had a fright. "How can you ride a bike? How can you steer and brake?"
"Use my shoulders to steer. Actually, in the past, when Pang Pang was learning to ride the bike in the compound, I tried it too. I can ride it." Gu Mingxi bent over and moved his shoulders to demonstrate. "Braking is a bit more troublesome. But if I ride slowly, it's not a problem."
"No way!" Li Han protested strongly. "The compound is the compound, and the street is the street. There are so many cars on the street. For you, riding a bike would really be too dangerous!"
Gu Mingxi didn't pay any heed to Li Han's words. Taking advantage of the time that his parents were working during summer break, he asked Zhu Huiqiang, who also lived in the compound, about borrowing a bike. Then he called Pang Qian and Zhu Huiqiang to practice riding every day.
Zhu Huiqiang's bike was a male model. There was a bar in the front, which made it inconvenient to jump(?). He rode the bike, his body completely bent over, with his shoulders on the handlebars. He went round and round the flower garden in the compound.
He tried very hard to keep his head lifted to watch in front of him, but it was a struggle. And Pang Qian was at the side complaining, "Gu Mingxi, you're riding too slow! It's slower than a snail!"
Hearing her words, Gu Mingxi subconsciously accelerated his peddling. The bike did go faster, but it also became harder to steer. The front of the bike started shaking a lot, and he saw the wall approaching in front of him. Gu Mingxi had no way to brake, so he quickly stepped onto the ground with his feet. The rider and bike both fell to the ground.
Zhu Huiqiang and Pang Qian both ran over. Zhu Huiqiang was worried over his bike, and Pang Qian was naturally more worried about Gu Mingxi. She helped him stand up and brushed off the dust from his body. Angrily, she said, "Stop practicing! You can't even ride in the compound, how can you ride on the streets?!"
Gu Mingxi didn't say anything. He just twisted his neck and rubbed his right shoulder with his chin. His eyes looked down, stubbornly.
Pang Qian thought for a moment, then suddenly said, "How about I ride the bike and take you along to school?"
"No!" Gu Mingxi responded quickly. He was already 13 years old and was getting taller. His face also wasn't as round as it used to be, with edges starting to show up.
His voice was also a bit different. It was a bit rough, not as crisp as it once was. Under the hot sun, his forehead and nose had some sweat droplets. Pang Qian also saw that above his lip, there was a thin layer of fine hair growing.
She asked, "Why not? I'm really strong, I can carry you."
"I'd rather walk to school than have you take me." Gu Mingxi bit his lower lip, and got back onto the bike to practice. As if he'd been wronged, he rode really fast, scaring Zhu Huiqiang, who chased after him.
Inevitably, he fell off. Again and again. In the end, Old Zeng at the gate couldn't watch on anymore. He confiscated Zhu Huiqiang's bike and sent the kids home.
When Pang Shuisheng got off work, Old Zeng stopped him and told him about the events that happened the past few days.
Although Pang Shuisheng wasn't very cultures, he also wasn't stupid. He thought all night long in bed. The next day, he kept drawing on the paper with his pen, kept pondering and pondering. Finally, he walked into Gu Guoxiang's office.
Three days later, Gu Guoxiang handed a blueprint and some money to Pang Shuisheng. Pang Shuisheng took the money to buy a male model bike. He brought it back to the plant and put on his welding mask. He added some new equipment to the bike. At the front, he added stainless steel shelves (?) so that Gu Mingxi could steer without bending all the way down. On the front wheel, near the right pedal, he added (?) brakes, so that he could stop the bike with his foot.
When Pang Qiansheng brought the bike to Gu Mingxi, he was pleasantly surprised. He tried it out and went in a few circles, not falling off even once.
September 1st, the new semester started.
Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi rode their bikes together to school.
From the moment he walked into the school, Gu Mingxi received countless strange looks and people were whispering about him.
This was what he'd anticipated, so he wasn't at all unhappy about it. On the other hand, it was Pang Qian who stared back at the curious eyes.
When they were parking their bikes, Pang Qian ran into Wang Tingting. Wang Tingting was her good friend from elementary school. They were also put into the same class in junior high. They were naturally very friendly with each other, whispering together along the way.
Gu Mingxi was carrying his backpack, with an even expression on his face. He walked up to Pang Qian and heard her suddenly shout out, "Really?!"
Gu Mingxi jumped in surprise. He turned to look at Pang Qian, whose face was red from excitement. She had her arm in Wang Tingting's, and kept asking, "Really? You're not lying to me? Didn't Xie Yi pay the sponsor fees to go to Fifth Middle School? Why is he studying at Origin of Flight?!"
Wang Tingting said, "It's true. My neighbor was Xie Yi's classmate. He wasn't willing to go to Fifth Middle, said it was too far away. He said that it didn't matter where he went for junior high. In the future, he would still get into First High. Ah, look, Xie Yi..."
Pang Quan turned her head to look. The first thing she saw was a red bicycle. A youth was on the bike. Like a gust of wind, with a "shua" he passed them.
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Home My Mister Ostrich Chapter 8 The Youth, Xie Yi
MY MISTER OSTRICH
Chapter 8 The Youth, Xie Yi
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Chapter 8 The Youth, Xie Yi
Translated by Twelve_Months_of_May
Gu Mingxi's clothes are dirty. Why don't you wash them for him, Crab?
If you asked the girls of Thirst for Knowledge Elementary who the most special boy in their school was, almost all would give the same answer. Of course it's Gu Mingxi.
But Pang Qian was one in ten. She would write down Xie Yi.
Many years later, there would be two words that could be used to describe him. One was gaofushuai (lit. tall, rich, handsome). The other was nanshen (god or male idol).
If the 12 year old Pang Qian could grasp the meaning of those words, she would happily slap her thigh and say, "That's right, that's right! Xie Yi is a gaofushuai! And he's my nanshen!"
However, that year's 13 year old Xie Yi was still only short, rich, and handsome. And at best, he would be described as a little god.
Xie Yi, Pang Qian, and Gu Mingxi graduated at the same time from Thirst for Knowledge, but they weren't in the same class. In sixth grade, he was the school's star student. He was good looking, performed well on tests, and was talented. Every year for the school talent show, he would perform on his violin. His family was very well off. When he was in third grade, he saw the cement ping pong table the school had was in a bad state. With a wave of his father's hand, the school was sponsored with five new match-grade table tennis tables. It caused quite the stir at school.
Xie Yi was a very particular and independent boy. He did a lot of things that no one could understand the reasons for. For example, he turned down the position of class representative, turned down the position to host the school announcements. He didn't participate in daily exercise. He turned down the offer to represent the school in various competitions.
The thing that Xie Yi was most famous for was what happened when he finished elementary school. He gave up the chance to participate in the exams for E City's foreign language academy. When this news got out, the whole grade was in an uproar.
E City's foreign language academy was like a god-like thing to the elementary students. One of the special things about it was that they didn't let just anyone take an entrance exam. You had to be recommended by your school. Often times, they would let the top 3 or 5 students from a school take the test and then accept the highest scorer.
A lot of parents, in order to get their children recommended, would do almost anything. They hired tutors to give their kids extra lessons to improve. They would try to get close to the teachers, going so far as to send them monetary gifts.
Gu Guoxiang had also once wanted to get Gu Mingxi recommended, but in the end, Li Han dissuaded him. She said, "You have to live in a dorm when you study at the foreign language academy. How can Gu Mingxi study there?"
Gu Guoxiang thought it over carefully, but could only give up the idea.
And Xie Yi, right after the teacher said they would recommend him, refused it immediately.
He said, "I don't want to take the test. That school is so remote. There's no TV to watch, no games to play. It's like going to prison. What's the point?"
Xie Yi's parents completely respected their son's opinion, and didn't force him at all.
Afterwards, of the three students that Thirst for Knowledge ended up recommending for the foreign language academy, none were admitted. When the grade supervisor got a hold of the exam papers, he quietly organized for several of the school's top students to take the same test, lying that it was just a training exercise.
After the exam, out of tens of students, only Xie Yi and Gu Mingxi scored high enough to get into the foreign language academy. Of course, they would never know about this.
-
Xie Yi parked his bike and put on his backpack. He walked over, but he didn't recognize Pang Qian or Wang Tingting. He did, however, recognize Gu Mingxi. With a bright laugh, he greeted him, "Hey, Gu Mingxi! What class are you in?"
Pang Qian didn't understand the world of top students. She just stood next to Gu Mingxi, quietly watching Xie Yi.
Xie Yi really was a very pretty boy. Thick eyebrows, big eyes, red lips, white teeth. He looked a bit like the Little Tornado, Jimmy Lin. And the clothes he wore were very fashionable. His backpack and shoes both felt very foreign-styled. He was fresh and clean. His disposition seemed like it was streets ahead of the other sloppy boys in the class.
Hearing Xie Yi's question, Gu Mingxi smiled and responded, "Class 6. What about you?"
"What a coincidence, I'm class 6 as well!" Xie Yi's eyebrows jumped up, eyes shining brightly. Just then, he took notice of the two girls at Gu Mingxi's side. He smiled at them, saying, "Hi, how are you?"
Pang Qian's face flushed red in an instant. Even her manner of walking had become very reserved. Gu Mingxi gave her a strange look and asked, "Pang Pang, what's wrong?"
Pang Qian glared at him, but her heart was delighted.
She was very happy! The Xie Yi that wore a black suit, playing the violin for their art show! She and he were actually in the same class!
-
Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi's junior high experience kicked off. New school, new class, new teacher, new classmates. All of it was very exciting, except- The seat that would never change in ten million years.
Pang Qian still sat with Gu Mingxi in the last row, in the corner by the window. After two weeks, the unfamiliar students in the class had already recovered from their shock at seeing Gu Mingxi. Some students were very friendly towards Gu Mingxi, but quite a large number of students also usually didn't dare to approach Gu Mingxi. From time to time, they would even observe him. They were very curious about everything about him, wanting to see the way he used his feet to perform a task. Whenever she came across these students and their probing eyes, she would stare them down with her big, white eyes.
So, not long after school started, there were already rumors forming in the classroom. When everyone saw Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi, their eyes would unintentionally glimmer and they'd banter. They all said that Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi were a pair.
After hearing about this from Wang Tingting, Pang Qian became very upset.
She didn't understand. After six years of being deskmates with Gu Mingxi, no one had ever started such a rumor before. But now, after changing classes, and only after one month, these new students had already started erroneously circulating that she and Gu Mingxi were a pair.
Moreover, even Xie Yi seemed to think so.
That day, after using the restroom, Pang Qian ran into Xie Yi in the corridor. Xie Yi looked at her and then said, "Crab, tell Gu Mingxi that we're playing football later."
Thanks to Wang Tingting and their other old classmates, the new students all called Pang Qian "Crab" (pangxie).
Pang Qian's face was red and she said somewhat oddly, "Tell Gu Mingxi yourself."
Xie Yi flashed a knowing smile at her, saying, "Telling him or telling you, it's the same, isn't it?"
After he finished speaking, he turned and left, leaving behind a stunned and dazed Pang Qian.
After school, Gu Mingxi and a group of boys went to play football at the sports field. Pang Qian grumbled nonstop. She wanted to head home quickly to watch her cartoons, but she also was a bit worried about Gu Mingxi.
Gu Mingxi said, "Why don't you go home first? I can ride my bike home by myself."
Pang Qian thought it over seriously, but rejected. "No, my dad said that there are a lot of cars on the street. I have to ride back home together with you."
Gu Mingxi pursed his lips, then said, "Then wait a little. After we finish our game, I'll treat you to ice cream."
Pang Qian lit up with a smile, and said, "Really? I want chocolate!"
Seeing her happy, he also smiled, "No problem."
As the boys played football, Pang Qian sat on the side of the field, head in her hands, watching.
During this time, China's national team was competing in the final round of the 1998 World Cup qualifications. The grouping was advantageous, the lineup was neat, and people were looking at the World Cup promisingly. This resulted in a wave of interest across the country. Even a group of 12 and 13 year old boys were very excited.
A group of youths surrounded the goal, running and kicking cluelessly, chasing after the football. Pang Qian didn't understand the game, but with the boys kicking all over the place, she understood even less. She felt it was very boring, so her sights focused onto one person on the field.
Xie Yi ran around on the field, but sometimes he would stop to rest. He often waved his hands around, shouting out commands. And the other boys actually listened to him. Pang Qian started looking over his clothes. Xie Yi wore a red t-shirt and black shorts. The t-shirt and shorts both had a check mark on them. Gu Mingxi told Pang Qian before, this was a brand called Nike. The mall sold it, and it was pretty expensive.
Pang Qian's best pair of shoes were Double Star brand, and Jin Ai'hua had bought them at a discount. The truth was that Jin Ai'hua had bought most of her clothes from the children's wholesale clothing market, very few were from the mall. Unlike Gu Mingxi. All of his clothes and shoes were from the mall, and they were pretty expensive. But Pang Qian felt that, even though their clothes were similar, Gu Mingxi wasn't as handsome as Xie Yi.
The other girls in the class all said that Gu Mingxi was good looking. Wang Tingting said before that Gu Mingxi was better looking Xie Yi. Pang Qian thought that their ideas of beauty must have some problems. How could Gu Mingxi be better looking than Xie Yi? Gu Mingxi...
When she though of Gu Mingxi, she looked over at him. In the midst of the ten plus boys, Gu Mingxi was easily spotted. He was running with long strides, his t-shirt sleeves flapping in the wind. He was scrimmaging with the other boys. When she saw, Pang Qian broke out in a cold sweat.
He didn't have arms, but they would inevitably end up wrestling for the ball. He didn't seem to care though. When he fell down, he just got back up. He fell again and got back up again. It was like he wasn't afraid of getting hurt, just happily enjoying.
About an hour later, the boys were tired from playing. They ran off to the side of the field in groups of twos and threes, getting ready to go home. Pang Qian saw Gu Mingxi was covered in dirt from playing, even his face was dirty. She couldn't help but say, "You got your clothes all dirty. Your mom's going to scold you when you get home."
Covered in sweat, Gu Mingxi shook his head, "She won't."
His good friends, Jian Zhe and Liu Hanlin were both also in Class 6. The two of them, along with Xie Yi, walked along with Gu Mingxi. Liu Hanlin said, "Gu Mingxi's clothes are dirty. Why don't you wash them for him, Crab?"
Pang Qian didn't react, and just foolishly asked, "Why would I wash them? What's it got to do with me?"
Liu Hanlin smirked and said, "Aren't you his girl..."
"Don't say nonsense!" Gu Mingxi cut off Liu Hanlin's sentence, his face reddish, looking a bit embarrassed. In that moment, Pang Qian understood.
"How stupid." She put on her backpack, and turned away in a huff to walk off. As she went, she saw Xie Yi. He was standing on the side, drinking water. As he drank, he was smiling and looking at her.
Gu Mingxi had Jian Zhe help him put his backpack on. Then he ran after Pang Qian. She was already getting her bike. Gu Mingxi stood at her side, not sure what to say.
After Pang Qian got her bike, she looked up at him, and with a muffled voice, "What? Are you going or not? The sky's getting dark."
"..." Gu Mingxi said, "I haven't changed my shoes yet. Wait a minute, okay?"
Pang Qian looked down, "Then, hurry up!"
Gu Mingxi quickly moved his shoulders, shaking his backpack off. Then he sat on the ground, bent over, and starting biting his shoelaces loose. He kicked off his shoes with his feet.
He did his best to work quickly. He used his feet to unzip his bag, then pulled out his shoes, and then put his gym shoes inside.
But when he was zipping his bag up, maybe because the zipper got caught on the cloth, it wouldn't close. Gu Mingxi was in a bit of a rush. When he couldn't zip the bag with his toes, he just bent his head over and used his teeth to pull at the zipper.
Pang Qian stood on the side for a long time, and finally walked over. She crouched down and helped him zip up his bag.
"Dummy," she said.
Gu Mingxi didn't say anything. After he put on his shoes, he stood up next to Pang Qian. Pang Qian looked up at him, and seeing the mud on his face, she naturally lifted her hand and gently wiped it off. Gu Mingxi was nearly a head taller than her. Looking down at her then, his eyes looked really calm.
It was at that moment that an explosion of screams came from behind them, "Oh, oh-" Pang Qian turned around in panic, and saw six or seven boys carrying their backpacks and clothes, heading to the bikes. It was obvious that they'd all watched the scene that had just occurred. Each of them was very excited, as if they'd caught a glimpse of a big secret.
Gu Mingxi's face turned red. Pang Qian was extremely angry. She shouted at the group, "Oh, oh, oh! Oh yourself! So annoying! You guys are so stupid!"
And then, she saw Xie Yi in the midst of the other boys. He was still holding his bottle, drinking water. His bright eyes were full of laughter.
On their ride home, Pang Qian ignored Gu Mingxi again. Even when Gu Mingxi tried to tempt her with chocolate ice cream, she scowled without saying anything.
To a girl in her first year of junior high, this kind of rumor wasn't something she could ignore. Whenever she heard classmates teasing about her an Gu Mingxi, Pang Qian would jump up and retaliate.
Adults say that a girl doing well in elementary school is useless. When she get gets into junior high and high school, her results will slowly decline. That's because girls mature earlier than boys. It's easier for them to fall into a mess of things earlier. For example, pretty clothes and makeup products. They pay more attention to their figure, and also- There will be boys that they like.
Although this saying was biased, there was just a bit of truth to it. At least, with regards to Pang Qian, it was more or less true.
Being deskmates with Gu Mingxi for six years, Pang Qian's scores put her in the middle of the class. But after the first midterm exam in junior high, she looked down the list of scores and was so startled she almost cried.
There were 47 students in the class. The scores combined results from the language, math, and English exams. Xie Yi was first, Gu Mingxi was second.
Pang Qian was 41st.
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Home My Mister Ostrich Chapter 9 Come to My Place
MY MISTER OSTRICH
Chapter 9 Come to My Place
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Chapter 9 Come to My Place
Translated by Twelve_Months_of_May
After all, you're not stupid. You're just lazy.
On the way home, the weather outside was clearly very nice. But Pang Qian felt like there was a great bit cloud above her head. With a troubled face, she sighed. She wished she would fall off her bike and break her leg. Then she'd have to be sent to the hospital, and maybe her parents wouldn't scold her.
Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi returned to the Golden Compound and parked their bikes. Gu Mingxi retrieved his backpack and got it on his back, and saw Pang Qian standing by her bike. He called out, "Pang Pang, let's go."
Pang Qian looked up at him with her long face and said, "Gu Mingxi, let's go out for awhile. I don't dare to go home."
If you walk down the road in front of the Golden Compound for 10 minutes, you'll come across a big, bustling street. On that street, there's a KFC. Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi walked inside and sat down at a corner table on the second floor.
Pang Qian pulled out her test papers from her bag. (Chinese) Language, 78 points. Math, 69 points. English, 65 points. Seeing the shocking large and small Xs all over her paper, she was thoroughly in despair.
There wasn't a parent-teacher meeting after the midterm exams, but the test papers needed to be signed by your parents. Pang Qian examined the score on her papers for a long while, and then she asked Gu Mingxi, "Do you think if this 6 was changed into an 8, it would be very obvious?"
Gu Mingxi pursed his lips. "Then how are you going to change it back when you hand it to the teacher?"
"Use correction fluid, or white tape... That won't work?" Seeing Gu Mingxi's incredulous expression, Pang Qian pouted. She thought for a moment, then said, "Then, Gu Mingxi, how about you sign it for me? Your writing is good, you copy my dad's signature."
Gu Mingxi was speechless. "Then when your dad asks for the test paper, what are you going to give him?"
"I'll just say they haven't returned it." Pang Qian scratched her head. In the end, she let out a "ohhh" sound. "Gu Mingxi, what do I do! How did I do so badly on the test?!"
She sobbed quietly. Gu Mingxi also didn't know what to do, and he could only sit by her side quietly. Then someone came over with a tray and said, "Kids, are you done eating?"
Pang Qian wiped away her tears and then looked up. She realized it was peak mealtime and the KFC was packed full. Some people thought they were taking up a spot without ordering anything, but she still didn't want to go home. So she said, "We still haven't eaten yet!"
The person with a tray looked at them suspiciously. Gu Mingxi felt a bit embarrassed and said, "Pang Pang, why don't we go home?"
"Why, I came to eat." Pang Qian stood up. There were still some tears hanging on the corners of her eyes. She asked Gu Mingxi, "What do you want to eat? I'll go down to buy it."
Seeing her say that, the people waiting for a seat could only walk away. Gu Mingxi looked up at her and asked, "You really want to eat?"
"Mm," Pang Qian nodded. "When we got here, I wasn't hungry. But it smells really good in here, so I'm hungry now."
"Then just buy a little something. I'm not eating." Gu Mingxi thought again and then asked, "Do you have enough money?"
Pang Qian sniffled, pulled out a 10 dollar bill from her pocket and said, "Yeah."
Gu Mingxi, "..."
Pang Qian bought a small fries and also an ice cream cone. She looked at the few coins she got back and felt distressed. 10 dollars was her whole week's allowance. And in an instant, most of it was gone.
The two of them sat there, taking up the table. Pang Qian was licking her ice cream as she compared her test papers to Gu Mingxi's.
He got full points in math! Full points! Is he really human?! She felt so defeated and frustrated inside, even as she kept on her stubborn facade.
"I could have solved this question. This is what I thought, but I don't know why, when I was solving it, it ended up being wrong. That was 5 points!" When she finished her ice cream, she picked up a fry, dipped it in ketchup, and then started looking over another question. "Oh, this one was really B? I thought it either had to be B or D. Oh...bad luck."
Gu Mingxi, "..."
Pang Qian picked up another fry, dipped it in ketchup, and brought it to Gu Mingxi's lips. "Ah, open up.'
Gu Mingxi's body recoiled, and quickly took a look around. Only when he found that no one had been watching them did he take a bite, face red.
"Just eat by yourself, I don't want any," he said very quietly as he chewed.
Pang Qian glanced at him, "I bought it to eat together."
He didn't say another word. When Pang Qian finished looking over his math and language exams, she stared at the English exam. During this process, she very fairly distributed the fries. She would eat one, and then she would feed Gu Mingxi one. But she was still a little selfish. Each time she dipped Gu Mingxi's fry in ketchup, she dipped very little.
"How come you can get 98 points on English?" Pang Qian couldn't understand. "Why did I do so much worse than you? We started learning English at the same time."
Gu Mingxi didn't say anything. Pang Qian continued, "But, Xie Yi's better than you. He scored full points!"
This made Gu Mingxi unhappy. He said, "I could have gotten full points, but I just made a small mistake."
"You're still showing off!" Pang Qian angrily stuffed a fry into his mouth, saying, "Blame your desk for being so low! I couldn't see your paper at all during the exam! We sit in the corner. If you just let me see a little, I wouldn't have done so poorly!"
Gu Mingxi licked his lips. There was a little ketchup there, a little sweet, a little sour. With a rigid voice, he said, "Even if you looked this time and got a high score, what would you do when you're taking your high school entrance exam?"
"..." Pang Qian pushed away the papers, and in a tone that said she was wronged, "Entrance exam?! I'll think about that when it comes!"
Gu Mingxi looked at her for a long time. Then he suddenly asked, "Pang Pang, do you do the preview, review, dictation, and recitation exercises that the teacher gives?"
Pang Qian glared at him, "Of course I do them!"
"Really?" Gu Mingxi was still staring at her, his eyes carrying a trace of disbelief. With him looking at her like that, Pang Qian shrunk and said quietly, "You know that I don't do the previews and reviews. And the dictations... I just copy them. My radio is broken, and the tape won't go in. My parents can't read it. As for recitation... Sometimes I'll do it for a little bit."
It probably had to do with their family education. Gu Mingxi's mom finished high school, and his dad finished college. If Gu Guosheng were younger and still working on getting his engineering certifications, he would also have to participate in professional exams every so often. He even had to prepare academic papers. Gu Guoxiang was always very upright with his studying habits, and his enthusiasm for it was also passed on to Gu Mingxi. In their home study, Gu Guoxiang had an innumerable amount of books. When Gu Mingxi was in kindergarten, Li Han started to teach him how to read, by giving him simple books to read. During his year of recovery after his amputation, Gu Mingxi read a lot of books, in addition to learning to use his feet to do things. At the time, although he didn't recognize that many characters (or words), it still influenced and increased his thirst for knowledge and enthusiasm for learning.
Additionally, Gu Guoxiang and Li Han had told Gu Mingxi many times. Because he didn't have arms, studying was the only road he could take.
But Pang Qian's family was different. Pang Shuisheng and Jin Ai'hua both only finished junior high. Jin Ai'hua relied on self-studying to become a cashier. While raising their daughter, the two of them only cared for her results, but never taught her the method or attitude toward studying. Elementary school homework was easy, so Pang Qian got by just on her smarts alone. But now in junior high, she was met with subjects like English that required a lot of effort spent to memorize things. Of course, the lazy Pang Qian wouldn't get good marks.
There was only one fry left in the paper bag. Pang Qian stared at it for a long time. Then she picked it up, dipped it in ketchup, and then brought it to Gu Mingxi's lips. Gu Mingxi smiled at her, eyes bright, "You eat it."
Pang Qian looked at him and blinked. Then she retracted her hand and stuffed the fry into her own mouth.
Gu Mingxi said, "Pang Pang, in the future, do you want to come over to my house and do homework together?"
Pang Qian looked at him absentmindedly. Gu Mingxi continued, "My desk is too low for you to use, but we have a folding table. We can bring it into my room for you to use. We can do the dictations together, and practice speaking in English with each other. When you're doing math and don't understand something, I can explain it to you."
Pang Qian was still a bit hesitant. Because she knew that Gu Mingxi was actually very strict about studying. Usually, he wouldn't let her copy his homework, but he'd rather explain it to her. Unless there was no more time to get the work done and Pang Qian was so rushed that she went to extremes and forced Gu Mingxi, there was no way that he'd let her copy his homework.
Seeing that she didn't respond, Gu Mingxi continued more, "That... You might not know yet, but at the end of the semester, they switch up the classes. We're in the fast class, but the the bottom ranked students will be moved into Class 5. If you're dropped into Class 5, I suspect... Your dad will scold you."
In that moment, Pang Qian was really given a scare. Being dropped into the next class because your scores were too low is really too big a hit to your pride. If she were kicked out of Class 6, Pang Shuisheng wouldn't scold her. He'd just beat her to death!
When Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi went home, it was already dark. Standing outside Apt. 501, Pang Qian was very frightened, and she grabbed onto Gu Mingxi's sleeve, refusing to let go. "Gu Mingxi, does this exam really need to be signed by my dad?"
He shook his head, "No."
Pang Qian was ecstatic, "Really?"
He said seriously, "You can have your mom sign it."
Pang Qian was depressed.
"Gu Mingxi, I'm dead. Come back later to pick up my corpse."
Her shoulders dropped in defeat as she readied herself to walk through the door. Gu Mingxi stopped her, "Pang Pang."
"Hm?" Pang Qian turned around.
Gu Mingxi walked in front of her, his shoulders moving slightly. He turned to the side and nudged her with his damaged shoulders, "Listen to me. In the future, come to my house to do homework. I promise, you'll never score as badly on your exams again."
Pang Qian raised her head to look at him. Gu Mingxi looked as he always did, calm eyes, standing in front of her, a light smile on his face. Although Pang Qian spent every day with him, but she realized that she'd never actually taken a close look at his face. Her eyes traveled across his face as she looked at his features. Suddenly, a though popped into Pang Qian's mind. It seemed that there weren't any problems with the girls in her class after all. Gu Mingxi was really rather good looking.
Gu Mingxi watched as Pang Qian's face started to turn red for some reason. He was very confused, and called out to her. Pang Qian came back to her senses and asked, "Will I be able to rank in the top 20 on the final exam?"
"Yes," Gu Mingxi nodded satisfactorily, like he was cheering her on. "But you have to listen to me. You can't be lacy and try to copy my homework."
"..." Pang Qian asked, "What if I don't score well enough?"
"That won't happen," Gu Mingxi shook his head. "After all, you're not stupid. You're just lazy."
Pang Qian, "..."
That evening, Li Han carried some grapefruit into Gu Mingxi's room. She asked, "Mingxi, is Qian Qian having some trouble at school?"
"No," Gu Mingxi said. "What's wrong, Mom?"
"I was just hanging some clothes to dry on the balcony, and I heard your Uncle Pang scolding her. Qian Qian was crying very loudly. It sounded like she was even beat."
The words had just come out of her mouth, and Gu Mingxi already ran out. He stood on the balcony, and faintly heard "pa, pa" sounds from next door. There was also faint sounds of an angry Pang Shuisheng and the wah-wah cries of Pang Qian.
Gu Mingxi wasn't sure where Pang Qian was getting beaten. Her bottom? Her palms? Or was he slapping her? He recalled the time that Gu Guoxiang had slapped him. That was the first, and the only, time that he'd hit him. That slap had really hurt. His face was swollen for two days. Gu Mingxi lowered his eyes, thinking of how much pain Pang Qian must be feeling that she would cry so loudly.
-
The next day, after Pang Qian finished dinner, she brought her backpack over to Gu Mingxi's house.
Gu Guoxiang looked coldly on at Gu Mingxi's "warm-heartedness." Li Han was very welcoming to Pang Qian though. She thanked this little girl from the bottom of her heart. Ever since Gu Mingxi's injury, this girl had always stayed his side. It was really like something between blood siblings.
Li Han brought the folding table into Gu Mingxi's room. She even prepared a comfy chair for Pang Qian. Lastly, she brought in a plate of cookies, a bowl of cut up slices of dragon fruit, and two cups of hot orange juice. Then she backed out of the room with a smile.
This kind of treatment made Pang Qian feel very flattered. Her attention was already on the plate of cookies. Not waiting for Gu Mingxi to start talking, she'd already grabbed one and started eating.
"This cookie is really good." She sat on the chair, happily swinging her legs back and forth. She took a sip of the orange juice and frowned, "Aiya, hot, hot!"
Gu Mingxi looked at her silently. Suddenly he raised his legs onto very low desk. With his big toe, he opened his cassette player and put in the English tape. He said, "Stop eating, let's do the diction exercise first."
Pang Qian, "..."
Gu Mingxi turned to look at her, "Take out your English book. First, write down what you can. Whatever you can't write out, go back to memorize it until you can write it out. Then we'll practice conversing, then do our English homework. Then we'll do math last. You can do your Chinese homework when you go home."
Pang Qian was in a daze. Gu Mingxi turned and leaned back in his chair. Using his foot, he opened one of his desk drawers. Then he pulled out a new English workbook. He tossed it to Pang Qian's table with his right foot. Then he picked up a pen with his toes.
"Listen and write. Get ready, go."
Pang Qian held half a cookie in her left hand and a glass of orange juice in her right. She saw as Gu Mingxi pressed down on the tape player's play button with his heel.
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