His Future
Yi e jie… te… o cuole. What does that mean?!
It was already 9 o’clock when Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi returned to the hotel. They were both exhausted. They hadn’t rested during the day, and they had been walking around all night. Not caring that she was covered in sweat, Pang Qian kicked off her sandals, and plopped onto the bed, crying out, “I’m dead tired.”
Gu Mingxi said, “Take a shower, then sleep.”
“You wash first…” Pang Qian rolled around on her bed. “Let me rest first.”
Gu Mingxi smiled, “Okay, I’ll wash first. You watch some TV.”
The washroom in the 4 star hotel was very s.p.a.cious and clean, so Gu Mingxi washed up comfortably. His legs were very flexible and could reach his head. Sitting down in the bathtub, he was even able to wash his own hair.
After he washed up, he stood in front of the mirror and put on his pants. The water vapor on the mirror was gradually disappearing, and Gu Mingxi saw his body. He turned his body left and right and saw his shoulders. In the places where there should have been arms growing, only vigorous roots remained, along with the hideous scars on the surface of his skin.
Naturally, he felt a bit depressed, because he was different from everyone else. The 15 year old Gu Mingxi lowered his head, his shoulders drawing in, as the water from his hair dripped down. Suddenly, he saw the chain on his right ankle. Before showering, he wanted to take it off, but that helpless fool Pang Qian had tied a knot on it. Gu Mingxi had no way of untying it with his left foot, so he just gave up.
Today, he looked at the light yellow around his foot, the warm color, the warm beads. And the corners of his lips sprang up.
Actually, there was nothing that was that bad. That’s what Gu Mingxi thought as he shrugged his shoulders.
With his upper body bare and his “help yourself” (back scratcher) in his mouth, he returned to the room. Pang Qian had already fallen asleep on her bed. Gu Mingxi walked over to her, bent down, and called to her softly. Pang Qian’s eyes remained closed, fast asleep. She was even snoring quietly. Gu Mingxi knew that she must have been very tired.
Let her sleep a little, he thought. Then he lifted his leg and pulled up the blanket to cover Pang Qian.
Gu Mingxi didn’t turn on the TV. Instead, he brought his bag over to his bed. He pulled all the things out, one by one, and then organized them.
There was a plastic bag carrying his toothbrush, toothpaste, and towel. Another bag was for his dirty clothes. Gu Mingxi sniffed it curiously. It was a very sweaty, sour smell, nearly suffocating him. Thank goodness he still had a pair of clean clothes. Gu Mingxi decided to just wear his shorts to sleep, like he had done the previous night. He figured Pang Qian wouldn’t still be afraid of his naked upper body.
He organized the things he bought at the comic convention, brushes, paints, colored pencils, and a set of his favorite ill.u.s.trator’s work. Gu Mingxi sat with his legs crossed, and happily stuffed these things, including the notebook with his convention ticket and drawing award, into his backpack.
Then he saw the small box that carried his anklet, smiled, and put that inside his bag as well. All that remained were a few comic books, all Pang Qian’s. The reason they were in his bag was because Gu Mingxi felt the books were heavy. As a boy, he should take care of the girl.
Finally, what was left on the bed was a photograph.
A photo encased in plastic. It was taken at the bund. It was pretty small, the colors weren’t very bright, but the image was still pretty clear.
It was a photo of him and Pang Qian. At the time, Pang Qian was carrying around her point and shoot camera. Gu Mingxi had no way of taking a photo of her, but she felt rather indifferent about it. She told Gu Mingxi that it was already her second roll of film. She had taken a bunch of pictures with the comic artists in the morning.
Later on, Gu Mingxi saw a photography station(?). If they used film to take a photo, they could leave their address and the boss would send it over later. If he used a Polaroid camera, they could get the photo immediately.
Gu Mingxi let the boss take out 30 dollars from his pocket. He had him take a photo of Pang Qian with the Oriental Pearl Tower in the background, and then another photo of the two of them together.
He took one of the photos. In it, he and Pang Qian stood side by side against a railing. The wind was blowing then. His sleeves were carried up by it, and even Pang Qian’s loose hair was scattered a bit.
When she smiled, she was rather pretty. Gu Mingxi carefully looked at the photo, and thought that Pang Qian was actually pretty cute. She was just as good as Zhao Jing and Qiu Lina and the like.
She just seemed too young. Whether it was her head or her heart, she was just like a child.
Gu Mingxi carefully put the photo into his bag. He thought, if it was possible, he wanted Pang Qian to grow up slowly.
At 11 o’clock, Pang Qian woke up, needing to urinate. With difficulty, she pulled herself up from bed and went to shower and wash her hair. After that, not even waiting for her hair to dry, she dropped back onto her bed.
And like that, she slept until 9 o’clock the next morning. Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi woke up refreshed and went down to the cafeteria to eat breakfast. When they returned to their room, the phone rang.
It was Lin Weibin calling. He asked Gu Mingxi what time his train left, and Gu Mingxi told him 3 o’clock. Lin Weibin said he wanted to treat him and Pang Qian to lunch, and then he would send them to the train station.
The reason why Lin Weibin initiated such a thing was because he felt he had forgotten his manners in front of Gu Mingxi the previous day. He couldn’t figure out what Gu Guoxiang’s att.i.tude towards his son was. What if this son missing his arms was Chief Engineer Gu’s precious treasure. Then if he goes home and complains, it will be difficult if they ever need to ask for Gu Guoxiang’s help in the future. After consulting with his wife, Lin Weibin came up with this remedy to show his care toward Gu Mingxi.
Gu Mingxi felt he couldn’t turn away this invitation. Lin Weibin was Gu Guoxiang’s friend. Gu Mingxi couldn’t reject him every single time. But… He had originally promised Pang Qian that he’d take her to the Oriental Pearl Tower. Well, it looks like those plans were dashed.
When it was lunch time, Pang Qian’s face was as dark as Lord Bao’s. Gu Mingxi was making polite conversation with Lin Weibin. Because it was Sunday, Lin Weibin had also brought along his wife and daughter. His daughter was called Lin Xuan. She was in fifth grade, a charming little Shanghai girl. Maybe because this lunch ruined her initial plans for the day, but her dark face was comparable to Pang Qian’s.
Some info from Wiki: Lord Bao, named Bao Zheng, was a government officer during the Song Dynsaty. He was extremely honest and upright, and made many changes according to the people’s problems. That’s not the relevant part though… Supposedly, he was born very dark-skinned and ugly. And in dramas and operas, he’s portrayed with a black face and white crescent shaped birthmark on his forehead.
Gu Mingxi used his feet to eat. Lin Xuan twisted her mouth and watched carefully, to see whether his feet were dirty or not. Any dish he picked food from, she wouldn’t touch again.
In front of Gu Mingxi was a plate of sweet and sour pork, something all kids liked to eat. It was convenient for him to pick it up, so he ate several pieces. Lin Weibin didn’t understand his daughter’s thoughts. Seeing that she wasn’t eating, he thought it was because she couldn’t reach the dish. So he grabbed a piece of pork and placed it onto Lin Xuan’s bowl. Lin Xuan put down her chopsticks with a clank. She said, “Wu qie baole, qie fa luole.”
Lin Weibin was still for a moment, then spoke in Shanghainese, “Ganggang kais.h.i.+ qie, nong na neng hui qie bao?”
Lin Xuan pursed her lips, and grumbled, “Yi e jie te o cuole, wu fa yao qiele!”
Lin Weibin snapped, “Xuan Xuan!”
Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi stopped. Pang Qian didn’t understand Shanghainese, so she just stared at Lin Xuan, not sure what was wrong with her.
Gu Mingxi quietly put down his chopsticks and put his leg down. He said, “Uncle Lin, I’m full. You guys, take your time.”
Pang Qian turned to look at him, thought carefully, then also put her chopsticks down. “I’m full too!”
Lunch ended on bad terms. Gu Mingxi didn’t even take along the bag of snacks that Lin Weibin prepared for him. He and Pang Qian just got up and left together.
When they were waiting on the train (subway), Pang Qian was filled with indignation. She asked Gu Mingxi, “What did that brat say? You understood, right? Tell me what she said! Did she scold you?”
Pang Qian kept pestering him. She recalled a sentence, “Yi e jie… te… o cuole. What does that mean?!”
Gu Mingxi turned to look at her, and said lightly, “She said, ‘His feet are too dirty, I don’t want to eat.'”
I thought it was better to leave the sentences untranslated for effect. But also, I don’t know Shanghainese at all. I just popped the sentences into Google Translate and copied the pinyin. It might not be the most accurate representation, I don’t know. The translation obviously doesn’t make sense, since the author’s just picking out words that make the same sounds as the word in Shanghainese, but don’t make sense in standard Mandarin… It was simple enough though, so I think they just said, “I’m full, I can’t eat anymore.” “We just started eating, how can you be full?” “His feet are too dirty, I don’t want to eat.”
With just that sentence, Pang Qian quieted down. She held onto her backpack as she sat next to Gu Mingxi. The two of them looked at the window into the darkness. They could see their own reflections too.
The pa.s.sengers pa.s.sing by would always look over to Gu Mingxi, whether intentionally or not. Gu Mingxi had his head up the whole time, and he would exchange glances with them calmly. Pang Qian, on the other hand, kept her head lowered, fingers clenching onto her bag.
Just because there are things you don’t encounter, it doesn’t mean they can’t happen.
Just because there are people you’ve never met, it doesn’t mean that they don’t exist.
Leaving E City, leaving the Golden Compound, leaving the nearby roads, leaving Thirst for Knowledge Elementary, leaving Origin of Flight… Leaving that lonely, but peaceful, corner in the cla.s.sroom, leaving that game he couldn’t play, but he could stand to the side of the ping pong table and chat… Pang Qian suddenly realized that when Gu Mingxi left all those familiar places, those familiar teachers, cla.s.smates, neighbors, relatives… He really did become a very “strange,” very “particular,” very “eye catching” person.
Although in her eyes, Gu Mingxi wasn’t even as strange, particular, or eye catching as Xie Yi, in most people’s eyes, he was different to them. Completely different.
With this understanding, Pang Qian felt very sad. She didn’t know if the situation would get better as time pa.s.sed and they grew older. She didn’t know what his future would be like. In the past, she didn’t think it was necessary to think about that. After all, he was just too amazing! But now, she didn’t dare to think about it. Really, she didn’t dare at all.
While they were waiting for the train [back to E City] in Shanghai, Pang Qian suddenly said to Gu Mingxi, “Gu Mingxi, I still think that it’s better if you don’t go to First High.”
“Why?” Gu Mingxi asked.
“First High isn’t good enough. You should go to Vast Voyage.” Pang Qian gave him her detailed a.n.a.lysis, “Last time, when your mom came to talk to my mom, she asked my mom some things about finance. She said that she kind of wanted you to work on finance in the future. Something like cost accounting, where you don’t have to run back and forth to the bank, and can just sit in an office every day. And you like math and science, so you’ll definitely be able to learn it well. But… If you want to do something in finance, you have to go to a good school and choose a good program. And it would be best if you went to graduate school too. It will give you a compet.i.tive edge.”
Pang Qian rarely spoke in such a serious manner. She carefully tried to recall the words she’d overhead between Li Han and Jin Ai’hua that day. “If you go to First High, your chances of getting into a famous university will be lowered. If you go to Vast Voyage though… Who knows, with your results, you might just be able to go straight into a good university. And when you graduate, you’ll be able to find a stable job in finance. My mom said not to think too much about the fact that there are a lot of females in financial work. Actually, the ones doing the good finance jobs are all men.”
Gu Mingxi watched her mouth open and close, going on and on. Finally, he asked, “Then are you going to go to First High with Xie Yi?”
