Published at 26th of March 2019 12:09 am

Chapter 13

I’ve decided to pick myself up ……

However that did not include being dragged by Jiang Rui to board the aircraft at this moment.

“Sister, you are already so old, so don’t act childishly with me, okay?”

I was thunderstruck by his words ‘act childishly’ and said angrily: “Where got? I’ve already been deceived by you, I can’t even protest. You definitely said you were only going in July, but what is today’s date, ah? There are several days more before July.”

Jiang Rui chuckled: “I did this for your own good. Aren’t you afraid of taking the plane? Thus I deliberately said a few days late, so there is not enough time for you to feel worried and scared before boarding the plane. This is very good for your health ah! Am I brilliant or not?”

“…….”

Brilliant your head!

I found my place and got seated right away. Jiang Rui comforted me: “Okay, I know you are once bitten twice shy of airplane. The plane will be taking off immediately so you don’t need to be afraid.”

“Why?”

“You don’t get air sick. Actually you are just afraid of dying. Once the plane takes off, life or death is decreed by fate, riches and honor are determined by heaven. What’s the use of thinking too much?” Jiang Rui didn’t seem the least bit concerned, and shrugged his shoulders slightly.

“……” I silently pulled out a magazine to cover my face and lamented, “Why did I promise aunt to go travelling with you ah?”

“You get to travel, yet still complain.” He shook and swayed his head when quoting a sentence which I did not know where he saw it before, “Travel over land and water to look at the scenery, is like suffering untold hardships to pursue a relationship. Sister, take out your courage to look at the scenery!”

I can’t be bother to respond to this jerk who stabbed at my wound which has not been cured. I glanced at him apathetically.

“Oh, then what are you going to do after you’ve finished looking at the scenery? Just leave?”

Jiang Rui inexplicably said: “Otherwise, still stay for the scenery ah?”

I immediately gave him a look of pure contempt: “Therefore when you are in a relationship, you’ll also leave? You are a playboy!”

Very good, finally this time it was his turn to remain silent. The world was peaceful and quiet ……

In the end, the quietness only lasted for a short while. I did not know what he has in mind. He took away the magazine on my face, excitedly moved closer to me and said: “Come sister, let’s take a photo together to commemorate the start of our trip.”

I instantly pushed him away, “No, afterwards it becomes a funeral portrait.”

After saying that, I heard a “click” sound around me. Over at the aisle, an uncle was holding a mobile phone and taking a selfie showing the V sign. He turned around and looked at me in horror.

A long time later, Jiang Rui stiffly gave a loud laugh, “Sister, you want to take an ‘auntie’ (In Chinese funeral and auntie sound similar) photo ah?“

“Haha …..correct ah. …….”

The uncle silently drooped his head, as if …… to delete the photos?

More than ten hours later, the plane landed at London’s Heathrow Airport. When we were getting off the plane, finally that uncle could not resist but said to me: “Little girl, I was frightened by you and dared not sleep soundly throughout the flight ah.”

Jiang Rui and I apologized again and again. Seeing his heavy luggage, we asked if he needed any help. The uncle waved his hand and walked out of the aircraft with wobbly footsteps.

Jiang Rui and I looked at each other, burst out laughing and competed to run out eagerly.

Jiang Rui and I embarked on this study tour in name only. In fact, we planned to go sight-seeing. Then stroll around those famous universities. Jiang Rui was the one who prepared the itinerary for this trip. I was only a no-brainer follower. Jiang Rui said in a rather sorrowful tone: “Sister, have you played online game before?”

I shook my head ……

“If you’ve played before you would have known, you are exactly like a pet sidekick ah! One of those pets which follows their masters around in the game, understand?” He muttered, “At least, the pet can help its owner to pick up things.”

I: “…….”

Jiang Rui put the itinerary into my hand with a slap, “Well, if you like it here, we’ll stay two more days. However the itinerary behind has to be changed, so I’ll leave you to arrange them.”

My cousin brother may outwardly appear carefree, but in fact he is very observant. He probably wanted to give me something to do, so I won’t have time to think too much ……

How should I tell him that I no longer need him to worry about me? I beckoned him over and called him to sit together with me facing the lavender fields.

“Jiang Rui, it is really nice to come out to travel.”

Jiang Rui gave a deep sigh: “Who was the reluctant one at the beginning?”

“I am very happy now.”

“Really?”

I smiled at him. We sat side by side for a while. Then I shifted my gaze from the vast expanse of purple and threw back the itinerary to Jiang Rui, “I heard there are a lot more sunflowers ah. Why didn’t I see them? Let’s set off to our next destination!”

Coming out to have fun was really good. At least, it made me realize no matter how beautiful the scenery along the route, I must also be willing to say goodbye in a timely manner because it does not belong to me.

With us fooling around, Jiang Rui and I continued our sight-seeing. We arrived in Germany around August and unexpectedly received a call from father.

I did not have GSM in my mobile phone so he called Jiang Rui’s mobile phone. He said he has come to Germany to inspect a project and asked Jiang Rui and me to have a meal together.

I met my father who I’ve not seen for a long time in an ordinary small restaurant in a street in Germany. He still looked quite high-spirited. He has always been a handsome man, whereas mother is actually average looking. I remembered as a child, my father was always holding me when he bantered with my mother, “Fortunately, our daughter doesn’t look like you, or else difficult to marry her off in the future.”

Mother will pretend to be angry but liked to brag about me when she brought me to see her friends: “Fortunately our family’s Xi Guang doesn’t look like me but resembles her father very much. His whole family, be it male or female are all beautiful.”

The tone was always brimming with happiness and pride.

Before that woman appeared, my father and mother’s relationship was very, very good.

We ordered our not too salty or tasteless food and chatted while eating. The topics were as dry as the bread on the plate. After finished eating, my father praised Jiang Rui with a few sentences and looked at me. Jiang Rui has always been able to observe people’s words and gestures for a clue as to their thoughts, so he immediately stood tactfully and said: “It is very lively outside. Sister, I am going to buy some gadgets, so you eat your dessert first.”

This left only father and me facing each other. We did not speak for a long time before dad started to talk: “How is your mother recently?”

“Very good ah.” I replied casually, “I heard godmother said there are suitors knocking at the door. She is more sought after than me. Dad, perhaps mom will remarry earlier than you.”

“What nonsense are you talking about!” Dad pulled a long face instantly, “I’ve said before that I would not remarry. An old friend who I’ve known for decades is in poor health and at most will only have a few more years to live. Don’t tell me I should not take care of her? My relationship with other people is pure in mind and body. Your mother likes to chase the wind and clutch at shadows (a Chinese idiom meaning groundless accusations) and indulge in flights of fancy (a Chinese idiom meaning to let one’s imagination run wild). She can’t tolerate even a grain of sand in her eyes.”

Yes ah yes ah, only to take care of an old friend for a short while ……

I sneered in my heart. Dad’s ‘old friend’ had been his first love. Later, she cannot accept the Nie family was poor and also residing in the countryside, so she married a person with a city residence permit which was the cause of envy at that time. The outcome was a reversal of the wheel of fortune. Twenty years later, that woman’s husband was unemployed and also died unexpectedly. She immediately unable to make a living. Not even seven days after her husband’s death, she dragged her frail body and fainted in front of Mr. Nie Cheng Yuan who was now a very successful businessman. Mr. Nie was naturally shocked. For someone who has tender, protective feelings for the fairer sex, he let her stay in his villa and also found a doctor to heal her. He even adopted her daughter as his god-daughter.

How can my mother accept this? Against the opposition from her whole family, she resolutely married him who was just a poor youngster who had come to the city to work. Thus she also resolutely divorced him now.

My dear father actually felt he has been wronged.

Really funny.

I can’t be bother to argue with him again. What has to be said, they had already said them before the divorce. Saying anything more will only infuriate oneself. I held up my teacup and took a sip: “You only wanted to ask this? If there is nothing else, I am going. Jiang Rui is waiting for me.”

He was probably annoyed by my attitude, but he still managed to control his temper, “I came looking for you to discuss about your work. Last time, you said you sent your resume to Sheng Yuan, so are you going to work there after you’ve returned home?

I shook my head: “I don’t intend to go anymore.”

“The Sheng family has been collaborating well with us in these two years. I even joked with Sheng Bo Kai to exchange our children to teach.” He looked somewhat regretful, paused and continued to say, “Anyway it is also good that you are not going there. Xi Guang, come and work for me. You should start to familiarize yourself since I am going to hand over my business to you in the future.”

I did not expect him to talk to me about this, so I was taken by surprised.

“I know your mother does not like you to get close to me. Humph, your mother’s temper ……” He took a quick look at me, and in the end did not continue his sentence. He thought over for a moment before saying, “Follow me around to observe and learn first. In the first place, you should not start work on those trivial matters which will only waste your time.”

I was about to decline when I heard dad’s deep sigh and said, “Xi Guang, dad is getting old.”

I wanted to say no, you are still very handsome. However when I looked up, I caught sight of the white hair root on his temples. He looked a little depressed, as if the recent high-spirited Nie Cheng Yuan has grown old in a few seconds.

He is not even fifty years old yet? How come he already has white hair?

Although I was still very angry at him, I also felt exceptional pain. The images of him treating me very well in my childhood kept on floating in my mind. He carried me on his back and walked half of the city to buy KFC which was not that many around at that time. Later, the family started to get more wealthy, they also got more and more busy. However, as long as he did not go on a business trip, whenever I came home late after self-study, there was always his figure waiting under the lamp in front of the house.

However, it was also true, that he betrayed mother and me, our little family which pained me even more. I resisted from thinking about those warmth images of yesteryear. I stubbornly shook my head and said: “Mom doesn’t want to let me go, so I will not go.”

Dad’s voice sounded a bit angry and sad: “You still do not believe me? I’ve already said so many times, it is not what you think!”

“Then why didn’t you have her move out of my family home!?”

“…… It’s just an empty house that we’ve never stayed before, nothing significant.” Dad looked somewhat weak, “She still has to go for a surgery. After that is done, I’ll not care about her anymore.”

The last sentence succeeded in making me feel anger and pain at the same time, something which I’ve not felt for a long time. However looking at his exhausted appearance, I was unable to say words that will stab him. I could only say in a stiff voice, “Okay, I’ll wait for you to make a clean break from her, then I’ll only go to your place.”

Dad looked at me, and finally has no alternative but to sigh: “I don’t know who you’ve inherited this stubborn character from. Outwardly, you seem to have no temper but in fact bad and hard, you …… ai (sigh).”

Jiang Rui circled one round outside. When he returned, father had already left. The moment Jiang Rui sat down, he asked: “Sister, is everything all right?”

I shook my head: “Dad asked me to go to work for him. What do you think?”

Jiang Rui thought for a moment before asking: “What exactly did uncle say?”

I told him the details of our conversation. Jiang Rui considered for a moment, then said: “Sister, go la. Firstly aunt also put in a lot of effort in building up uncle’s company, so it is perfectly justifiable for you to go there. Secondly, that pair of mother and daughter shamelessly stick to uncle for what?”

Surprisingly, his young face revealed a contemptuous sneer: “The more people covet something, the more you’ve to hold everything tightly in your hand. Let them be able to see, but unable to eat. In fact, this is quite fun ah …”

“……” I was speechless and patted him on the shoulder, “Brother ah, have I told you that your future will certainly be very promising?”

Jiang Rui nodded and said: “Sister, I am telling you this. I am disappointed in my dad for a very long time. He can actually endure how aunt was bullied, just for that little bit of business dealings. However, I am a junior, so I am not in the position to say anything. But in the future, if you get bullied, I will definitely be the first to fight for you.”

I was moved instantly and went up to hug him: “Brother ah, you make me feel very secured until I am reluctant to marry you off ……”

Jiang Rui cannot maintain his serious expression. His face was very red and he was flustered: “Hey hey, what are you doing? I am not someone who you want to hug and can hug easily …….”

We stayed in Germany for a period time, and also went to Austria. Then we completed our two-month study tour and took the plane home. Jiang Rui went back to Nanjing, ready to go to Shanghai to study in F University. Whereas I went directly to Wuxi ……

The moment I arrived home, my mother reproached me: “You still know how to come back ah? Tell me, how many times have you called home in your two months away?”

I frowned and said anxiously: “Aiya, I dare not call back often.”

Mom was baffled: “Why?”

“The food in the foreign land is so awful. Hence I am afraid you can hear over the phone that I’ve grown thinner and worry about me ah.”

“……” All of a sudden, mom did not know whether to laugh or cry (dumbfounded).

After I ate a hearty meal of braised pork at home, mum brought me to go and visit godmother. She has been my godmother since I was a child so our relationship has been quite good. However, we have actually not met up that often because she had settled in Beijing long ago. Every year, she will return to Wuxi to live for a short while only ……

After arriving at godmother’s home, I gave her the gifts I brought back from Europe first. Then she asked me about my study, job, and so on before my mom got rid of me. I suspected she wanted to talk about matters concerning father. Thus I tactfully went to the garden to play with the kittens ……

On the way home, my mother seemed to be deep in thought throughout the journey. Before going to bed that night, all of a sudden she asked me: “Xi Guang, last time you said you are going to find a job yourself, so how is the job search going?”

I felt a little guilty: “I am going to send my resume tomorrow.”

Suddenly my mother stopped talking. After a while, suddenly she said, “While you were in Europe, your dad paid me a visit.”

“Oh?”

Mom stopped talking again. Then she sighed and said: “Go la.”

I was a little surprised: “You let me go to work for father? Did he mislead you because I did not promise him?”

Mom started to smile: “Of course, I know you did not promise him. Otherwise Chief Nie will not come to look for me in splitting anger.”

Suddenly my heart has a little wish, so I tactfully made discreet inquiry: ” …… Then both of you had a good talk?”

Mom was lost in thought for a while, before saying with a very calm expression:. “A few years ago, our family and the Sheng’s family co-invested in a manufacturing enterprise in Suzhou. Go there to work first, to learn something practical.”

I really did not know what kind of agreement was reached between father and mother. However all of a sudden, I felt that maybe what father said is true? He merely took pity on that woman. Hence there is a turning point in his relationship with mother now? Although I still felt difficult for mother, if dad would acknowledge his mistake and come back and they can be back together again, I will still feel very very happy ……

The little wish in my heart seemed to be one step nearer to fulfillment. Thus I nodded my head firmly to express my compliance with their arrangements.

As a result, a week later, I was dragging my suitcase, hugging my parents and looking forward to commence my bright future right away. I cheerfully went to Suzhou to start my career.

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