His Promise
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 cla.s.srooms, she and Gu Mingxi were like fixed items, bound to one spot. In every cla.s.sroom, 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 cla.s.s. 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 cla.s.s 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 cla.s.s in the afternoon. Gu Mingxi left the cla.s.sroom on his own. When he came back, his head was tilted, a bag of Mylikes (candy; small crispy b.a.l.l.s 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?) cla.s.s, 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 s.p.a.ce 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 cla.s.s, 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 s.h.i.+rt. He stood upright in front of Pang Qian, and there was even a red scarf tied on his chest. Pang Qian remembered this s.h.i.+rt. When Gu Mingxi used to wear this s.h.i.+rt, 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 princ.i.p.al 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 cla.s.sroom, 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 cras.h.i.+ng 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.