A Broken Mirror Never Mends - Chapter 3

The name that popped out of the brat’s mouth was like a spell falling from the sky, hitting Shi Tian right on the head.

The little boy’s crying echoed through the lobby. The man and woman at the entrance were clearly distracted by the noise and looked over.

…

“Master Zhou!”

Fourteen-year-old Shi Tian, wearing slippers, climbed the vine-covered backyard wall in a few steps. He poked half his head over the top like a thief. “Keep your voice down! My mom and dad are still home!”

Outside his backyard wall grew a lush locust tree. A teenager in a school uniform lay on the thickest branch, his schoolbag hanging between the twigs, swaying slightly in the afternoon breeze.

The thick leaves blocked the hot sun and most of the boy’s face. Looking up from the top of a trash can, Shi Tian could only see half of an ankle peeking out from the boy’s pants. The boy’s skin was paler than most, as if he never saw the sun, or perhaps he was just born that way.

Seeing Shi Tian making a “shush” sign from the other side of the wall, the boy on the tree rested his head on his arms and stared at the sky expressionlessly. “It’s not ‘Master’ Zhou.”

“Repeat after me: Zhou—Si—Fu.”

Shi Tian clenched his fists and used all his strength to repeat it syllable by syllable: “Master. Zhou. Fu.”

“…”

Zhou Sifu finally gave up.

He shifted his position on the tree and crossed his legs. “Seriously, ‘Ten Days’ (Shi Tian), is the gap in your front teeth still not fixed?”

A few days after the start of eighth grade, Shi Tian had tripped and fallen flat on his face while helping a teacher carry homework back to class. This guy named Zhou happened to be passing by. Even though the bell had rung and students were rushing to class, Zhou Sifu had leaned against the stairs, eating a popsicle and enjoying the show.

He and Zhou Sifu were neighbors and grew up together. But one was second in the grade while the other was last in class—the top student versus the slacker. They couldn’t stand each other. Naturally, Zhou Sifu loved seeing him embarrassed in public.

Although Zhou Sifu eventually helped him to the school clinic to treat his scraped knees, Shi Tian still didn’t like him. The reason was simple: because Shi Tian had chipped half a front tooth in the fall, Zhou Sifu mocked his lisp every time they met.

But recently, for special reasons, they had become temporary allies.

Shi Tian’s parents were going through a divorce. Zhou Sifu’s foster father was a well-known local civil lawyer. Shi Tian wanted Zhou Sifu to help him see if Lawyer Zhou could represent them in court and get his custody assigned to his mother.

Zhou Sifu said he could do the favor, but only if Shi Tian did his homework every day. Shi Tian thought that compared to his parents’ issues, this was nothing, so he agreed.

To do Zhou Sifu’s homework, he even practiced writing with his left hand to mimic Zhou’s handwriting. He did his own work with his right hand and copied Zhou’s with his left, doubling his efficiency. To make sure the teacher wouldn’t find out, he had to purposely get some answers wrong to match Zhou Sifu’s level.

Taking the crumpled test paper Shi Tian handed over the wall, Zhou Sifu waved his hand. “Ten Days, come here.”

In eighth grade, Shi Tian hadn’t hit his growth spurt yet. He struggled and stood on his tiptoes to pull himself up halfway over the wall.

Locking eyes with the person on the tree, Shi Tian asked crossly, “What do you want?”

As soon as he spoke, he saw Zhou Sifu pull a paper model of a sports car out of his wobbly schoolbag.

“This is for you. I made it by hand; I didn’t look up a guide.” Zhou Sifu’s tone suddenly became serious, and his eyes quickly moved away from Shi Tian’s face. “Ten Days, give it a name.”

“…For me?” Shi Tian was surprised.

The paper model was delicate and detailed, but the material looked very fragile. Shi Tian took it and held it carefully in his palms, not knowing where to put it.

“It’s okay if you haven’t thought of one yet,” he heard Zhou Sifu say quietly. “Whenever you think of one, tell me. That will be its name.”

—

The little boy stood there crying by himself for a while, finding that no one was coming to help him. Especially “Master Zhou”—he had clearly heard the cry for help but stayed still.

Only two restaurant waiters hurried over. One gave a towel to the “uncle” who had been bumped to help clean his clothes, while the other knelt in front of the boy, asking quietly if he was okay.

Shi Tian saw that man just standing there, frozen.

The boy’s sobbing grew weaker. The sound of his crying mixed with the upbeat cello music in the restaurant, creating a strange atmosphere.

Slowly looking away from the man and woman, Shi Tian wiped the chili oil off his palms with a towel. He nodded politely to the waiter cleaning him. “I’m going to the restroom.”

Under the gaze of those around him, he turned decisively and walked toward the restroom.

As he passed the little boy, he saw the child’s big eyes looking at him with guilt and tears. Shi Tian finally couldn’t help himself. He turned back and told the waiter, “Please, take the little brother back to his parents.”

The little boy left with the waiter, looking back at Shi Tian every three steps as if he didn’t want to leave.

The waiter relayed Shi Tian’s words to the couple. The man’s expression suddenly became complicated and strange.

Just as Shi Tian was about to push open the hallway door, the waiter ran back to him and called out, “Mr. Shi!”

“Mr. Zhou asked me to tell you that you might have misunderstood,” the waiter repeated Zhou Sifu’s words exactly. “The child is his nephew. That lady is not his wife; she is his brother’s wife.”

Shi Tian’s hand paused on the door. “…”

…That’s even weirder, okay?

His company just went public, and instead of staying in New York for the Nasdaq celebration, Zhou Sifu came back to China to have a private dinner with his sister-in-law??

He had no interest in other people’s family business, especially the Zhous’. But he remembered that when the two walked in, the woman’s eyes were slightly red, as if she had just been crying.

Thinking of this, Shi Tian glanced back. His look toward Zhou Sifu was very meaningful.

Seeing Shi Tian looking at him from a distance with a “pitying” look that said I get it, the perfect expression on Zhou Sifu’s face cracked. He could clearly tell that Shi Tian was already imagining a family drama in his head.

This person had been like this since they were kids. When he started overthinking, his micro-expressions were very vivid. He thought people couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but it was actually very easy to see through him.

“That’s an old friend of mine,” Zhou Sifu said to the woman beside him. “Want to go over and say hello? And let this kid apologize.”

Zhou Sifu specifically emphasized the word “old.”

Holding her son’s hand, Zheng Ying gave Zhou Sifu a gentle smile. “Sure. I just moved back to China; I should meet more of Sifu’s friends.”

Led by the restaurant manager, the three of them walked across the lobby to Shi Tian. Zhou Sifu reached out a hand. “Long time no see.”

Counting the two years Zhou Sifu spent in Singapore as the Asia-Pacific President of Danofe, it had indeed been several years since they last met. Their last encounter was two or three years ago at a large local business mixer. They had locked eyes for a second in the crowd but ended up passing each other by.

Shi Tian didn’t expect Zhou Sifu to just walk over like this. He instinctively leaned his back against the door behind him and pressed the handle down hard. It didn’t open.

They were nearly thirty; neither was a child anymore. Shi Tian couldn’t just turn and run away on a whim like he used to. In front of the waiters and guests, he also reached out a hand and gave a polite, gentlemanly smile. “CEO Zhou, what a rare sight.”

When he shook Zhou Sifu’s hand, he felt the rough calluses on the man’s fingers. It made his own palm sting slightly.

Since he was a child, Zhou Sifu loved tinkering with models and studying their precise structures. He had suffered countless scrapes and bruises because of it. That was also why he chose to major in vehicle systems engineering in college.

Zhou Sifu was different from him. Shi Tian’s family was well-off; he had started his company with his parents’ support. Zhou Sifu had entered an auto plant right after graduation, working in the workshop for several years before rising to management.

Realizing he was spacing out again, Shi Tian noticed Zhou Sifu had already let go of his hand.

“Hello, I am Zheng Ying.” The woman handed Shi Tian her business card, her smile carrying a hint of apology. “My son was running too fast and accidentally bumped into you. I apologize on his behalf.”

The little boy hid behind his mother, showing only his bright eyes.

Shi Tian took the card and noticed that, like Ji Yuanlin, she was an assistant professor researching applied materials at a local university.

Shi Tian also handed over a card. “Hello, I am CEO Zhou’s high school classmate.”

As he handed over the card, he noticed Zhou Sifu’s gaze linger on the couple’s ring on his left hand for a second before quickly looking away. It was so fast it felt like an illusion.

He knew that the hand Zhou Sifu hadn’t reached out used to have a ring tattoo. After they broke up, Zhou had it removed. He heard that removing a tattoo is much more painful than getting one, but Zhou Sifu had cleaned it thoroughly, leaving no trace. Zhou cared for his hands deeply; as reckless as he was when he got the tattoo, he was just as decisive when he removed it.

According to their mutual tattoo artist friend, Zhou Sifu went back six or seven times just to completely remove the italicized English words “Ten Days” from his finger.

But that was just hearsay. He didn’t have Zhou Sifu’s contact info then, so he didn’t know if it was true.

After the introductions with Zheng Ying, Shi Tian and Zhou Sifu stood in the hallway looking at each other. No one spoke.

The silence was heavy.

Just as Zheng Ying was about to say something to break the tension, Zhou Sifu spoke. “Let’s go and order.”

Zhou Sifu checked the time on his wrist. With one hand in his suit pocket, he turned and walked away without looking back. His leather shoes made a dull sound on the carpet. His profile was hidden in the shadows, making it impossible to see his expression.

—

A few minutes later.

To the sound of running water, Shi Tian slowly looked up from the sink. His phone was buzzing on the counter. Several messages popped up from Ji Yuanlin, asking why he was taking so long in the restroom.

Shi Tian replied “Coming soon.” He shook the water droplets off his hair and stared at himself in the mirror. The red wine he drank was starting to take effect; a light blush rose to his cheeks.

His reaction time seemed slower because of it. He had tried several times to push open the hallway door in front of that man earlier, but it just wouldn’t open.

His shirt was stained and definitely couldn’t be worn again. Feeling a bit dazed, Shi Tian picked up his phone to ask a waiter to bring a change of clothes from his car. But as he went to send the message, he saw that someone had @-mentioned him on social media.

Opening the app, he saw that five minutes ago, Ji Yuanlin had posted a new update on his work account.

A photo showed two custom Harry Winston wedding ring boxes under candlelight. The caption read: [He said yes. @Fengyu-Shi Tian]

The post was almost buried by likes from their mutual friends. Among dozens of congratulations, Shi Tian saw a familiar name—Danofe Greater China-Milton Zhou.

He and Zhou Sifu didn’t have each other’s private contact info. He had only added this business account a few years ago and had never used it.

He stood still in front of the sink for a moment. For some reason, he lowered his eyes and clicked on the man’s avatar, opening the chat box for the very first time.

@Fengyu-Shi Tian: [Congratulations on going public. I wish your stock price a huge surge! [Confetti][Confetti]]

Very quickly, the status changed to “Typing…”

@Danofe Greater China-Milton Zhou: [Thank you.]

Shi Tian breathed out slowly. Just as he was about to turn off his phone and stand up from the sink, he felt it vibrate again.

@Danofe Greater China-Milton Zhou: [I also wish you a happy marriage.]