Did My Wife Break Up With Me Today? - Chapter 97

Chapter 97: Extra 4 — Childhood Memories: “Gege.”

“Xiaoman, why don’t you want to go to school?” Fang Cuihua knelt down and asked the little bundle huddling by the threshold, unwilling to step outside.

Chen Kongqing pursed his lips, the grievance in his eyes piling up.

“Come, tell Grandma why?” Fang Cuihua stroked the little bundle’s soft cheek. “Didn’t you say school was great just two days ago?”

“School is not good,” the little bundle said, rubbing his eyes with his hands. “Grandma, they all talk about me.”

A flicker of distress crossed Fang Cuihua’s wrinkled eyes, but her voice remained gentle. “What are they saying about our good boy?”

Chen Kongqing fell silent for a moment, biting his thin lip. “They say I don’t have a father. Grandma, I miss Daddy.”

He could no longer remember the last time he saw his father. He was afraid that one day, he would even forget what his father looked like.

In the next second, he was pulled into a warm embrace. Grandma’s hugs were always so warm, carrying the faint scent of floral soap. Chen Kongqing snuggled into that warmth, feeling safe.

“Good boy…” Fang Cuihua stroked his head, not knowing what to say. “Good boy…”

The little bundle in her arms spoke up sensibly, “It’s okay, Grandma. If you stay with me, I won’t think about it anymore.”

Fang Cuihua kissed his soft cheek, her heart aching. “Alright… Xiaoman can stay home today. Grandma will make fried chicken legs for you, okay?”

“Okay!” At the mention of fried chicken, Chen Kongqing’s eyes instantly lit up.

He didn’t go to school that day. After making the chicken and sweet soup, Grandma locked the doors and windows and told him to be a good boy and watch TV. He obeyed, nibbling on a drumstick while watching Ultraman. He kept wishing Ultraman would appear to teach “Er Pang” a lesson for calling him names the day before.

He didn’t know that while he was watching Ultraman at home, a real Ultraman had actually gone to the school for him.

Little Chen Kongqing knew nothing; he only knew that the next day, Grandma told him he could go to school with total confidence. Then, Er Pang and his little cronies all came to apologize to him, even bringing him small candies. Chen Kongqing accepted the candies and decided to reluctantly forgive them.

From then on, no one in class ever teased him again. It was only when he grew older that he realized why: his grandmother had protected him with an iron fist. Rumor had it she went straight to the principal’s office, and then directly to Er Pang’s house. Er Pang’s parents were terrified of this woman—who was a neighborhood official and had faced much tragedy alone—so they promised to educate their son. Er Pang didn’t escape a stern ear-tugging lesson from Grandma Fang, either.

…

In September, in the town of Zijin, the weather was turning cool. The maple leaves were painted with fresh red pigment.

Chen Kongqing and his new friend, Liang Pengfei, were walking home from school. Being at a mischievous age, the two boys chased falling leaves all over the ground. It soon turned into a competition: who could find the largest, most intact leaf.

Chen Kongqing crawled out from a bush, holding a leaf bigger than his face. But it wasn’t enough; it wasn’t as big as Pengfei’s “giant” leaf. He wiped his small face and decided to keep searching. Finally, he found a massive leaf—perfect and likely just fallen—but it was stuck high in a tree branch.

He stood on his tiptoes, reaching up with his small hands, but he was always just an inch short. He felt a bit angry—not at the tree for being tall, but at himself for being short.

Suddenly, he heard rustling footsteps. He had a bad feeling. Sure enough, when he turned around, the leaf he had left on the side of the road had blown into the path and was now being stepped on by a shoe. He thought he heard the sound of the leaf shattering.

Chen Kongqing scurried forward to save his leaf. The person stepping on it immediately backed away.

“My leaf…” Kongqing knelt down. The dried leaf was already crushed.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t notice,” a voice said awkwardly.

Chen Kongqing looked up. The person before him was much older, tall, and very good-looking. Even from his low perspective, he could see the person had very beautiful eyes—the kind that usually only appeared in cartoons. Later, he would learn these were called “phoenix eyes.”

Kongqing instantly lost his anger and adjusted his backpack. “It’s okay. You didn’t see it.”

The tall boy nodded and apologized again. He pulled a bottle of Yakult from his bag. “Here, for you.”

Chen Kongqing looked at the Yakult. Although he really wanted it, he shook his head. “No thank you.” Then, he thought of something and tugged on the tall boy’s sleeve. “Gege, can you help me pick another leaf instead?”

The tall boy paused, then looked around. Finding a leaf in a maple forest was easy. “Which one do you want?”

“That… that one.” He led the boy to the large maple tree. The tall boy let himself be led. The little sprout, who was much shorter than him, pointed to the branch. “Just get that one for me.”

What was a daunting height for the little sprout was just a simple reach for the boy. The leaf was retrieved effortlessly. The boy leaned down and handed it over. “This one?”

The fiery red maple leaf was perfectly intact, its veins glowing in the sunset. Chen Kongqing’s eyes sparkled. “Yes! That’s it! Thank you, Gege.” He held the leaf up and beamed at the boy.

“You’re welcome.”

“Gege, what’s your name?” Kongqing asked, introducing himself. “I’m Chen Kongqing. You can also call me Xiaoman.”

The boy paused again before answering, “I’m Xu Jingmo. Hello, Xiaoman.”

Chen Kongqing nodded, wondering how to write those characters. As he was daydreaming, Xu Jingmo handed him the Yakult again. “Drink it. Where do you live? Can you find your way home?”

“Of course I can!” Chen Kongqing felt his abilities were being doubted. “I’m already in first grade! I’m a Young Pioneer in Class 4!”

Xu Jingmo suppressed a smile. “Alright, Student Xiaoman.”

Satisfied, Kongqing began to march away. “I don’t need the drink. You found me a new leaf, so you don’t have to pay me back.”

“It’s not to pay you back. Let’s call it making a friend?” Xu Jingmo found this child far more adorable than his own cousins.

“Making a friend?” Kongqing stopped, thought for a moment, and accepted the Yakult. “Okay…” Then, he pulled a small bag of beef jerky from his own backpack. “My grandma made this. It’s delicious. Here.”

Xu Jingmo looked at the jerky and took just one piece. “I’ll just have one.”

“You eat so little?” Kongqing asked sincerely.

“Mhm. I don’t eat much,” Xu Jingmo said seriously.

“But Grandma says you have to eat a lot to grow tall. How did you get so tall eating so little?”

“You’ll be this tall too when you reach my age.”

“Really?” Kongqing was half-skeptical. “Then I’m still going to eat the whole bag. I want to be even taller than you.”

Xu Jingmo laughed. “Alright.”

…

And so, Chen Kongqing made a new friend—one several years older. Xu Jingmo’s family had just moved to Zijin, which is why he hadn’t seen him before. But that didn’t stop Xu Jingmo from becoming his favorite person to play with.

In November, Chen Kongqing lost his front tooth, making his speech a bit “breathy.” He also caught a cold as winter set in. After a few days of staying home, he finally returned to school, hoping to see Xu Jingmo. He didn’t find him at the school gate, so he kicked a pebble all the way home.

When he reached his yard, he saw a familiar figure in a white school uniform holding a bag of fruit. It was Xu Jingmo.

“Xu Ji-mo!” Chen Kongqing called out excitedly. But because of the missing tooth, “Jing” came out as “Ji” (Chicken).

Xu Jingmo didn’t mind the pronunciation; he immediately noticed the gap in the boy’s smile. “What happened to your tooth? Did you get into a fight?”

“What fight?” Kongqing frowned. “I’m a top student. I don’t… don’t fight.”

“Then where’s the tooth?” Xu Jingmo squeezed the boy’s soft face to get a better look.

“I’m… losing my baby teeth,” Kongqing mumbled.

Xu Jingmo let go, relieved. “I thought you were hurt.”

“How hurt could I be?” Kongqing was annoyed by his lisp. He pointed to the fruit. “Is that for me?”

“Yes. Grandma told me you were sick.”

“Why didn’t you come in?” Kongqing took an orange and started peeling it. “I’ve been thinking about you the last few days.”

Xu Jingmo took the orange and peeled it for him. “Grandma said you had a fever and shouldn’t have visitors.”

“Oh, okay. Xu Ji…” Kongqing tried again. “Xu Qi…” He couldn’t get it right. He got frustrated and blurted out, “How about I call you Gege? You’re so much older, and it’s too hard to say your name without teeth.”

“Alright,” Xu Jingmo agreed readily, handing him the orange. “Eat up. Fruit builds immunity.”

Chen Kongqing split the orange in half and gave one to Xu Jingmo. “Gege, you eat some too. I am a child who knows how to share.”

Xu Jingmo stroked the boy’s soft hair. “Alright. Gege will eat too.”

Chen Kongqing was very happy to have a “Gege.” He had always been envious of children with siblings or fathers. Now, he had one more person in his life.

…

Near the end of the term, Xu Jingmo was in his second year of middle school, and his studies were much more intense. Chen Kongqing didn’t want to bother his “Gege,” so he stayed home or went on “adventures” with Pengfei.

One sunny winter day, he and Pengfei were playing on a seesaw. Pengfei was much rounder and had a weight advantage.

“Aaaah!” In the next second, Kongqing was kicked high into the air.

“Xiaoman, you really need to eat more!” Pengfei laughed.

Kongqing stubbornly tried to push the seesaw down, but his legs just dangled in the air.

“Liang Pengfei, what are you doing!” a voice barked. It was Pengfei’s older brother, Liang Zhenfei. He scolded his brother for bullying a classmate.

Pengfei jumped off so quickly that Chen Kongqing hit the ground with a hard thud.

“Are you okay, Xiaoman?” Liang Zhenfei asked.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Kongqing said, though his backside felt numb. He waved them off. Zhenfei continued to lecture Pengfei, promising to tell their parents.

Kongqing, seeing Pengfei’s pleading look, chimed in, “Um… Brother Liang, Pengfei wasn’t bullying me. We were just playing.”

Zhenfei eventually took Pengfei home. Chen Kongqing said goodbye politely: “Brother Liang, I’m going home now.”

But as he turned around, he saw Xu Jingmo standing by the fence. He froze, his eyes widening. “Gege? Why are you here?”

Xu Jingmo stood in the distance, looking at him with an uncharacteristically serious, stern expression.

“Brother Liang?”