My Mister Ostrich Chapter 97

97 (1/2) | Happy New Year
If I can’t trust you, then I probably shouldn’t trust myself either.

At Gu Mingxi’s suggestion, Pang Qian called Pang Shuisheng and Jin Aihua to take a look at the house.
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Pang Shuisheng and Jin Aihua were both taken off guard, as Pang Qian had been. After they looked around the house in confusion, Gu Mingxi told them that he wanted to buy this house. The two of them looked at him in surprise.

Pang Shuisheng pulled Jin Aihua over to the side and quietly chided her. “Look at you. You mentioned houses, so now Gu Mingxi must want to sell his house in Sanya to put a down payment on this place. This house costs nearly 3 million. Think about how burdensome the mortgage for it will be!”

Jin Aihua didn’t feel very good either. She said guiltily, “I was just saying it. I didn’t tell him to immediately buy a house, and I definitely didn’t tell him to buy such a big house. He could buy something different or smaller too.”

“You shouldn’t have mentioned houses at all!” Pang Shuisheng thought for a moment, and then he said, “This won’t do. Mingxi hasn’t even moved back here yet. I have to convince him that there’s no hurry to buy a house. Getting work is more important.”

There were a few days left before New Year’s. Pang Qian’s family of three plus Gu Mingxi had a family meeting.

They had two things they needed to discuss. One, should they buy this house in the Prosperous North district?

Gu Mingxi wanted to buy it and Pang Shuisheng was against it. Jin Aihua didn’t dare to add her opinion, and just said, “Didn’t we say that Mingxi and Qian Qian should decide their own matters. I’m not b.u.t.ting in.” Pang Shuisheng got very angry and glared at her.

He told his daughter, “Qian Qian, convince Mingxi. Don’t buy this house. There’s no rush to buy one. As parents, we don’t have any grand requests. Look, when your mom and I married, we didn’t have a house. Then we got a small three bedroom house, and didn’t we live well there for more than 20 years? You can also start out in a small place.”

Pang Shuisheng originally thought that Pang Qian would support him, because more than anyone else, she wouldn’t want to put pressure on Gu Mingxi. He hadn’t expected that Pang Qian’s expression would be one of deep consideration.

After the past few years, Pang Qian’s knowledge on real estate had increased. She’d been making money the whole time, and she wanted to buy a house in the middle of the city. Although housing prices had increased a lot from normal, and new residences in the suburbs cost more than 10k per sqm, but Pang Qian felt that the prices would only keep rising. The financial news had been talking about how the federal price regulation on housing would be introducing credit limits and restriction policies, and that might cause the prices to fall. But Pang Qian still believed that this wouldn’t really affect housing prices for property in the heart of the city. Rather, prices would rise, not fall.

If she were only considering for herself, she would definitely choose a smaller house. But she had to include Gu Mingxi in her future plans. Knowing that Gu Mingxi’s plans already included children, Pang Qian’s heart softened. She knew that what Gu Mingxi wanted was a family.

She sat down next to Gu Mingxi, resting her hand on his thigh. She asked, “Are you sure there are no problems with the funds?”

Gu Mingxi said, “No, there are no problems. The money’s already in my account. They just deducted the tax. Adding in my savings, I can make the 1.3 million down payment.”

Pang Qian thought for a moment, and then said, “Then let’s buy it.”

Pang Shuisheng cried out in surprise, “Qian Qian!”

Pang Qian smiled. “Dad, don’t worry. I have some savings too. If we add that onto the initial payment, the mortgage won’t be as high either.”

Now that the first topic was more or less resolved, Jin Aihua felt delighted. The next topic of discussion– Who’s name would the house be under?

Pang Qian and Pang Shuisheng both felt that it should be Gu Mingxi’s name. After they got married, they would add Pang Qian’s name to.

But Gu Mingxi said, “Write Pang Pang’s name.”

Pang Qian immediately refused. “I’m not adding much money to it! At most, 30 or 40 thousand. It’s not because I want my name on the deed!”

Jin Aihua couldn’t help quipping. “30 or 4o thousand isn’t a small amount. Qian Qian, the two of you will definitely be responsible for it together in the future. Both of your names should be on it.”

Gu Mingxi shook his head. “No, Auntie, I don’t mean to add both of our names on it. What I mean is to put it in Pang Qian’s name only.”

Pang Qian cried out, “Gu Mingxi, are you crazy?!”

Pang Shuisheng was also shaking his head. “No, no, that won’t do!”

Even Jin Aihua didn’t take is lightly. “Mingxi ah, you’re putting down more than a million dollars. How can you only write Pang Qian’s name on it?”

Gu Mingxi thought it was really interesting. He smiled and said, “Uncle, Auntie, isn’t your trust in Pang Qian too little?”

Pang Shuisheng said, “It’s not that we don’t trust Pang Qian, but… We’ve seen too many things like this before. For a bit of money or a house, couples, siblings, and parents can all become enemies. Although Qian Qian is our daughter, we look at you as our son too. If you put out that much money for the house, of course your name has to go on it. As for Qian Qian, it’s too early for you two to discuss marriage. After everything is official later on, it won’t be too late to add Pang Qian’s name to the house. In any case, I won’t agree to putting Qian Qian’s name onto it. If your mother was still here, she definitely wouldn’t agree to it either.”

Gu Mingxi felt very touched. The two people in front of him were clearly Pang Qian’s parents, but they were genuinely concerned and considering things for him. He smiled and then explained his thoughts. “I really trust Pang Pang. Really. Uncle, I really trust her.”

He turned to glance at Pang Qian. Her hand was still resting on his thigh. Gu Mingxi continued. “Because of my situation, it will be harder to apply for bank loans. When I bought my house in Sanya, I didn’t have a proof of stable income, and I was disabled. The bank wouldn’t help me with the mortgage at all, until my teacher acted as my guarantor. They acted so harshly at the time when I was asking for a 500 thousand loan. This time, the loan will be more than 1 million, and you can imagine what will happen. Writing Pang Qian’s name is different though. She has a good job with high income, and acc.u.mulated funds, so the interest rate will be lower. That’s why I think that it’s the most convenient and reasonable method to just her name on it.”

His words made Pang Qian’s family unable to retort. Pang Shuisheng had also taken out a loan when he bought his house, so he knew a bit about it. Pang Qian worked in the financial sector, so of course she understood very well. For someone with the work history and physical condition that Gu Mingxi had, it would be impossible to get a loan for 1 million dollars.

But she really couldn’t ‘bully’ him this way. She said, “No, I still don’t agree to it.”

Gu Mingxi jumped in. “Pang Pang, don’t let your emotions cloud your thinking. After we finish, we have to quickly sign the contract.”

Pang Qian lowered her head and pouted, her hand drawing on his leg over and over. Then she lifted her head to look at her. She said, “Gu Mingxi, how about we get married.”

Gu Mingxi, “…”

Of course Gu Mingxi didn’t agree to Pang Qian’s suggestion to get married. Who got married after only dating for a month? Pang Qian scoffed. “A month? Why do I feel like we’ve been dating for the past 20 years?”

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The two of them sat inside Pang Qian’s room, where the heater kept them warm. Pang Qian held a large cup of ice cream and alternated between eating a spoon and feeding Gu Mingxi a spoon.

Gu Mingxi smiled. “20 years? Why don’t I remember that? From what I recall, you liked Xie Yi for quite a few years. You even used me to practice confessing to him. What does that count as? Does it count as an affair then?”

“You want to die?! Gu Mingxi, I can’t stand you sometimes! Ugh!” Hearing Gu Mingxi bring up Xie Yi, Pang Qian felt indignant and dropped the ice cream onto him.

He lied on the bed and Pang Qian hit him with a pillow. “Stop bringing up Xie Yi!”

Gu Mingxi laughed. After Pang Qian had enough, she lied down on the bed next to him. After she let out a sigh, she turned to the side and supported herself up with her arm as she looked at him.

Gu Mingxi turned his head to look at her with his gentle eyes. Pang Qian’s lips curved up and she said, “You told me back then that you liked a girl in your drawing cla.s.s. You told me that you liked her, that you really liked her. Do you remember?”

Gu Mingxi blinked. “Ah…”

She reached over to touch his face, her fingers running along her jawline, down to his chin. Her fingers brushed over the stubble there, and she felt it was very scratchy and extremely interesting.

“After I went to Z City and couldn’t find you, I wondered if you might have contacted that girl. So I asked my dad to go to where you took drawing lessons to see if he could find the teacher.”

Gu Mingxi, “…”

“But your teacher said that for the past few years, you’d been studying drawing with two boys, and there was no girl working with you guys.” Pang Qian’s voice lowered. “At the time, I kept thinking that Gu Mingxi was really silly. How could he be so silly.”

He looked at her with his dark eyes, biting on his lips, not saying anything.

Pang Qian smiled. “But then later on, I started to feel more and more that the real fool was me.”

When she finished speaking, she lowered her head and kissed him. He finally closed his eyes and enjoyed her delicious lips. He felt that they were ten million times more delicious than ice cream.

After the two of them kissed for awhile, Gu Mingxi said, “Pang Pang, promise me that you’ll put your name down on the house.”

Pang Qian froze for a moment. Gu Mingxi smiled slightly and said, “It’s going to be our house. What’s yours is mine, what’s mine is yours. I want it to be our house in the future. If you don’t agree, I can’ buy it on my own.”

Pang Qian still wasn’t sure. Gu Mingxi suddenly sat up and bent over to kiss Pang Qian’s forehead. He said, “Unless, you’re going to cheat me?”

Pang Qian frowned and stared at him. “Who knows if one day I’ll just sell the house and run away with the money. Then what will you do?”

“Then we’ll just take it as a gift I sent to you.” He nudged her cheek with his own. “My mom’s no longer here. Pang Pang, right now, you’re the person I’m closest to in this world. Everything that belongs to me is yours. If I can’t trust you, then I probably shouldn’t trust myself either.”

His words shook Pang Qian’s heart. She thought, yes, why was she so adamantly against it? Gu Mingxi trusted her the same as he trusted himself, but right now, she wasn’t the same! Was she worried that she would leave him later?

Would she? Would she?!

Of course not!

Two days before New Year’s, Gu Mingxi and Pang Qian went to meet with the house’s owner and sign the contract. The house was in Pang Qian’s name, and just hers. Because it was nearly New Year’s, everyone decided to handle the rest of the formalities after the holiday. Gu Mingxi transferred the first payment to the real estate agency’s account, and like that, the matter of buying a house was settled.

On the eve of the new year, Pang Shuisheng and his three siblings reserved three tables at a restaurant to have dinner with his parents and their families.

Gu Mingxi went with them to the restaurant. He’d been neighbors with Pang Qian since he was young, so her family all recognized him and knew about his family situation. Even after such a long time without seeing him, each one of them treated him very familiarly.

Little Aunt-in-law said, “Mingxi, why have you gotten so tan? But you’re still very handsome. A bit of a tan adds to your manliness.” (Note: Or more literally, adds to his ‘scent of a man.’)

Little Aunt wiped away a tear and said, “Mingxi, you must have suffered all these years. It’s good that you’re back now.”

Grandma Pang had become a bit senile, and sometimes she couldn’t recognize people. But very curiously, she called out, “Mingxi! Isn’t this Mingxi? Mingxi’s come home!”

Grandma Pang had often taken care of Gu Mingxi when he was younger. The day of his incident with the electric transformer, it was Grandpa and Grandma Pang who had been watching the two kids. The day that Gu Mingxi had his arms amputated, Grandma Pang had cried so much that she’d fainted. She felt that it had been her responsibility, that it was her fault for not taking care of this child, that she’d ruined the rest of his life. Afterwards, every time she came over to the Pang house and brought things for her granddaughter, she never forgot to prepare something for Gu Mingxi next door.

Gu Mingxi crouched down to Grandma Pang, who was shedding tears. With his face next to hers, he said, “Grandma, it’s me, Mingxi. I’m home.”

Grandma Pang patted his head and said, “Good child, good child. This time, don’t leave again. I heard Shuisheng say that your mother pa.s.sed away. Aiya, Ah Han was such a good person. Why did she suffer so much. But you’ve come back, and that’s good. That’s good.”

Pang Qian walked over to her grandmother’s side and said, “Grandma, Gu Mingxi and I are dating now.”

Grandma Pang didn’t respond, and Grandpa Pang reminded her, “Wife, Qian Qian said that she and Mingxi are meeting.” (Note: The words he used imply that two people are meeting with the intent of marriage.)

“Meeting? Qian Qian and Mingxi are meeting?” As if waking from a dream, Grandma Pang quickly pulled out a red envelope. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner? I should have prepared a meeting present for Mingxi.” She stuffed a red envelope into Gu Mingxi’s pocket. “Mingxi, I know that you’re a good kid. I’ll leave Qian Qian in your care. Don’t worry.” (Note: The term used here for ‘meeting present’ is for gifts that one gives to a relative or junior when meeting them for the first time. Here, what’s going on is that they’re meeting Gu Mingxi for the first time as part of their own family.)

The food and drinks were served, and the three tables ate and enjoyed their reunion dinner. Other than the young kids present, everyone else had watched Gu Mingxi grow up, so they were very accustomed to his manner of eating.

Pang Qian sat beside Gu Mingxi and helped him put more food in his bowl. She also helped serve him soup and drinks. They knew each other’s tastes, so the food she gave him were all his favorites.

Gu Mingxi had already forgotten when the last time he’d had a proper New Year’s dinner was. For the past years, he’d spent New Year’s in Z City, S City, and then in Sanya.

His first year in Hainan, he declined Shark’s invitation and spent the New Year’s in his Sanya house by himself. At the time, his house had just finished its renovation, and he didn’t have the money to install all the electronic appliances. He didn’t celebrate New Year’s and just made himself a bowl of boiled dumplings. He didn’t take the food out of the kitchen when it was done either. Instead, he stood in front of the stove on his left foot, and raised his right foot to the pot to eat.

The second and third years he spent in Sanya, he had Dou Dou beside him, and the house had a TV. He and Dou Dou would have New Year’s dinner and then watch the celebration programs on TV.

Dou Dou was still young and didn’t really understand the programs, so he would fall asleep pretty quickly. Sitting on the sofa, Gu Mingxi saw the joy and laughter lighting up the TV screen, and he couldn’t help thinking of the people thousands of miles away from him.

Pang Qian’s 4 year old niece, Lin Lin, ran over to Gu Mingxi’s side. She looked curiously at him and pulled on his s.h.i.+rt sleeve. “Uncle, where are your arms?”

Gu Mingxi smiled and said, “I got sick when I was little and my arms went bad, so the doctor had to take them away.”

“Will the doctor return them to you?”

Gu Mingxi shook his head, his eyes very gentle. “No, he won’t.”

“Then what are you going to do?” Lin Lin thought about it and then said, “Uncle, you can go buy two arms.”

Gu Mingxi laughed. “Where do I go to buy them?”

“Taobao!” Lin Lin cried out happily. “Mom says that you can buy anything on Taobao!” (Note: Taobao’s like Ebay)

As midnight approached, Gu Mingxi and Pang Qian started counting down together.

They were at Shark’s house. Shark had a business and was also a bit superst.i.tious. He bought 5000 dollars worth of fireworks and said he wanted to set them off so that the new year would be booming.

When Shark set off the fireworks in front of his house, Pang Qian hid beside Gu Mingxi. She wrapped her arms around his waist and peeked out to look. After all these years, she was still scared of fire, scared of the smell of burning gunpowder, scared of the scent of scorched air. Gu Mingxi knew that this fear came about from the accident when he was 6 years old.

When the bell sounded for midnight, the sky was filled with fireworks, and the air was filled with a deafening sound. Gu Mingxi turned and lowered his head to look at Pang Qian’s cheek. The fireworks s.h.i.+mmered across her face. He could see her scared eyes and pursed lips.

Gu Mingxi smiled as the woman beside him held onto him tightly. He rested his chin on her head, and then turned his head down.

“Pang Pang, don’t be scared, don’t be scared.” The fireworks were very loud, but his voice was surprisingly clear. Pang Qian was enchanted by his voice, and her panicked heart gradually calmed.

He was injured 20 years ago. It was a long time, 20 years. But it was also a very short time, 20 years.

He whispered in her ear, “Pang Pang, Happy New Year.”

“Mm, Gu Mingxi, Happy New Year.”

On the first of the new year, Pang Shuisheng gave Gu Mingxi a thick red envelope and said it was a meeting present. Jin Aihua stood beside him and said, “Don’t bully our Qian Qian, you got it? If you dare to bully her, I won’t forgive you!”

One sentence made everything so very clear. A smile gradually spilled out from Gu Mingxi’s eyes. He turned to look at Pang Qian, who was blocking her face with a pillow, obviously embarra.s.sed. Gu Mingxi quietly said to Pang Shuisheng, “Uncle, don’t worry. I’ll definitely treat Pang Qian well.”

97 (2/2) | Happy New Year
If I can’t trust you, then I probably shouldn’t trust myself either.

Over the Lunar New Year break, Pang Qian was very relaxed and she would laze around with Gu Mingxi every day. On the first day of the new year, she ate at her own home. On the second night, they went to her (maternal) grandparents’. On the third night, they went to her uncle’s. On the fourth night, Pang Shusheng and Jin Aihua’s old colleagues came over to their house for dinner.
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Pang Qian asked Gu Mingxi, “Have you contacted your dad all these years?”

He shook his head, “No.”

“Then… Are you going to meet up with him now that you’ve come back?”

Gu Mingxi pondered for a moment, and then he shook his head again. “I don’t want to.”

Pang Shuisheng was popular, so he had quite a few colleagues and friends from the metals company. Some of them hadn’t retired yet either. In that case, it wasn’t convenient for Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi to stay home. After they ate lunch, Pang Qian dragged Gu Mingxi out for a walk.

They arrived at the New Century Square, which housed a large commercial center, a movie theater, an ice skating rink, a mall, a market, and luxury brand stores. There were also restaurants, tea houses, and coffee shops of all sizes.

Pang Qian dragged Gu Mingxi to a few different male clothing stores. She helped him buy several sets of clothes for winter and even spring. It was all pretty expensive.

After he’d returned to E City, all of Gu Mingxi’s clothes were bought by Pang Qian. Gu Mingxi would say that something was too expensive, even as Pang Qian helped him adjust the collar. She would say, “I’m returning to you all the years we missed out on. I’ll buy all our clothes from now on. All my single colleagues say that I have good taste. Clothes make the man after all. And my boyfriend is so handsome, if he dresses well, that’s just icing on the cake.”

Gu Mingxi curled his lips. “During school, the clothes you wore made people scared to compliment you. A rose red top and a gra.s.s green skirt. And you even dared ask me if you looked good… Tsk, tsk.”

“Ugh!” Pang Qian glared at him. “Say that again! Would you believe me if I said I was going to sell the house and run away?”

(Note: There are a lot of instances where Pang Qian will say ‘[you’re so] hateful!’ or ‘[I] hate [you]’ which means that Gu Mingxi is irritating or annoying her. I’m pretty sure I used to translate it literally as ‘Hateful!’ for awhile, but I think recently, I’ve been translating it more as ‘Ugh’ to signify irritation and disdain, because ‘Hateful!’ sounds so stupid… Just to let you know.)

As if it had become her mantra, this sentence would always come out when they quarreled. Gu Mingxi smiled and shook his head. “Go ahead, sell it. If you sell the house, I’ll go back to Sanya to teach, draw, and live in my little house with a view. And then I’ll find another girl…”

“You dare to, you dare to!” She grabbed at his ear, but since they were in public, Gu Mingxi didn’t dare to scream out loud. In a low voice, he said, “It hurts, it hurts…”

Pang Qian released her hand and then helped him rub his ear. Gu Mingxi looked at her, aggrieved. “And your mom even told me not to bully you. You should let her see how her precious daughter is bullying a kid without a mom.”

This person! This person! This person’s face was really getting thicker! Pang Qian was carrying two bags of male clothing, unsure whether to laugh or cry. The two of them stared at each other, and then they both started laughing.

After they finished buying things, they went to a Chamate (Note: A tea place/restaurant, I a.s.sume) to eat some things. Pang Qian said she wanted to watch a movie, so the two of them headed down to the movie theater. The theater was decorated festively for New Year’s. There was cheerful music playing and tons of people. Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi were discussing what movie to watch when suddenly a commotion started up.

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A woman’s sharp and shrill voice sounded, “Cheating sc.u.m! Adulterers! I’ve caught you this time!”

Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi couldn’t help turning to look. They saw a middle aged woman with curly hair leading a few men and women towards a couple. The man in the couple looked to be more than 40 years old, carrying a few extra pounds, and wearing gla.s.ses and a fresh outfit. The woman was about 30 years old with good looks. On this cold day, she was wearing a short skirt with tights and heels.

Things developed very quickly. The middle aged woman had obviously gathered the people with her in advance. Two other men quickly grabbed hold of the man, while three other women gathered around the woman. She wanted to run away, but someone grabbed her arm. How could she escape three other people? The curly haired woman was already standing in front of her. Left and right, she slapped the woman seven or eight times.

The sound was loud and crisp. Pang Qian jumped from the surprise, as she thought about how painful it must have been. The three women had already started to pull at the pretty woman’s clothing.

The pretty woman cried out miserably. Crawling on the floor, crying and screaming. (Note: Lack of p.r.o.nouns makes me unsure which of them is doing what at times.) The man wearing gla.s.ses on the side kept calling for the other women to stop. Some pa.s.sersby were about to try to calm them, when the curly haired woman started wailing.

It was that old, stereotypical story again. A couple married for twenty years struggled together for years, and their family business was finally going well. But then at this time, her husband cheated on her.

Everyone in the crowd sympathized with the curly haired woman. Her eyes were red as she pointed at the man with gla.s.ses. “If you want a divorce, that’s fine! I’ll help you with that! But don’t think about touching the house, the car, the company, the stocks, or the savings! You can try to take me to court, but see if you’ll make it to the hearing with your life intact! And our son! I’m telling you now, don’t ever think of meeting him again for the rest of your life!”

The man with gla.s.ses’ face turned ashen. After the curly haired woman finished speaking, she suddenly pulled out a bottle from her bag. She took off the cap and poured it onto the pretty woman, whose hair and clothes got drenched.

No one knew what the liquid was, but then the curly haired woman pulled out a lighter. The pretty woman was terrified as she collapsed to her knees. She knocked her head on the ground and pleaded for her life.

Pang Qian pulled at Gu Mingxi to leave as she reached for her phone to call the police. She was really scared that it had been some sort of gasoline like substance. Then she realized that Gu Mingxi looked very solemn, his feet stuck in place.

The curly haired woman started to laugh as the crowd around started to hide and run. A few people were even recording the scene in front of them.

The curly haired woman tossed away her lighter. Looking down condescendingly at the shaking woman on the ground, she said coldly, “This is water, you won’t die. Fang Hui, I remember that you seduced another man before, and not just one. Have some morals, if just for your daughter. She’s only 7 years old! Do you think everyone will be as forgiving as me? Haha. Be careful, else you might not know what causes your death one day.”

When she finished speaking, she turned and walked away. The ones who had come with her followed suit. The man with the gla.s.ses stood there in a daze. He looked at the disgraced woman on the ground and then at the spectator’s mocking eyes. He turned and chased after his wife, “Wife, Wife, I was wrong. Wife…”

Now that the lively scene had ended, the crowd dispersed. Only Gu Mingxi still stood there, looking at the woman on the ground.

Her face had swollen already, and there were marks from the fingers that hit her. Her nose and lips were bleeding. Her stockings had been torn to pieces, and her coat had been pulled off long ago. Her sweater was ripped, her bra strap exposed. Her whole body [censored], as she sat on the ground, breathing heavily.

After a long while, she finally stood up, shaking. All the people pa.s.sing by glanced over at her. Fang Hui wanted to tidy up her clothes, but she realized that she couldn’t. She took off her heels and carried them in her hands as she limped towards the door.

When she walked past him, she looked at him.

Gu Mingxi was wearing a down coat. With the bulging and puffy sleeves stuffed into his pockets, you couldn’t tell that he was disabled at a glance.

Fang Hui had just suffered a major shock, her eyes filled with fear and resentment. Her face was extremely pale. She just glanced briefly at Gu Mingxi before walking past him.

Gu Mingxi watched her figure walk off, and he knew that she hadn’t recognized him.

Pang Qian pulled at his coat. “What are you looking at? Let’s go, let’s buy our tickets.”

Gu Mingxi turned to her, “What did you want to watch?”

“How about ‘My Own Swordsman’? It’s supposed to be pretty funny.”

Gu Mingxi nodded, “Okay.”

When they went to buy their tickets, he turned back once more, but Fang Hui was nowhere to be seen.

It was evening when Pang Qian was sending Gu Mingxi off. Just then, Gu Guoxiang’s call came.

Jin Aihua answered the phone. Gu Guoxiand, “Aihua, this is Guoxiang. I heard that Mingxi came back.”

Jin Aihua was cracking melon seeds on the sofa as she asked, “Who’s Mingxi?”

“…” Gu Guoxiang’s voice was cordial and solemn. “Aihua, don’t joke around. My son, Gu Mingxi.”

“Haha!” Jin Aihua perked up. “You know that Gu Mingxi is your son? Why are you looking for him at my house? Your son came back but didn’t contact you? Your son, and we have to be responsible for helping you find him?”

Gu Guoxiang held down his temper. “Someone told me that Mingxi was together with Qian Qian at your building. Is it true?”

“Ask the person who saw it,” Jin Aihua said coldly. “In any case, I didn’t see it. To be honest, I really do want to see Mingxi. To ask him if he’s suffered all these years. To ask him how he got through all these years, after his mother pa.s.sed away, without any arms, all by himself!”

“Aihua…”

“If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up.”

“…”

“Oh, by the way, don’t you dare come to my house. We don’t welcome you as a guest.”

When she finished speaking, she mercilessly hung up the phone. The now retired woman wasn’t at all scared of Gu Guoxiang. She harrumphed and then turned to Pang Shuisheng sitting beside her. “Don’t stare at me. I’m just outraged at the injustice for Ah Han.”

Pang Shuisheng wrapped his arm around her shoulders and said, “Who’s staring at you? Wife, that was beautiful!”