Did My Wife Break Up With Me Today? - Chapter 99

Chapter 99: Extra 4 — Childhood Memories: A kind doctor offered to take him home.

For the New Year, Xu Jingmo left.

However, Su Jingjing came back. She brought many cookies and milk candies that he loved. Chen Kongqing held the jar full of milk candies, thinking that if he only ate three a day, he could save some for Xu Jingmo. Then he thought better of it—maybe only two a day.

As he was thinking, he peeled the wrapper off a candy and popped the creamy white treat into his mouth.

“Xiaoman, do you want to go to the market with Mom? We’ll buy some meat,” Su Jingjing said, entering his small bedroom with a smile.

Chen Kongqing scrambled out of bed. “Yes! I… I want to buy Jiangmi strips too!”

“Okay, we’ll buy everything.” Su Jingjing laughed and draped a sky-blue knitted scarf around his neck. “Look, Mom made this for you. Try it on.”

Kongqing’s eyes lit up. He stood proudly in front of the mirror. It looked great. He couldn’t wait to show Xu Jingmo.

The day before New Year’s Eve, Grandma Fang was busy frying meatballs—his favorite carrot and meat ones. Every year, she made a whole basin of them, and he would dive in like a rabbit in a vegetable patch.

“Grandma, can we save some?” Kongqing asked, his mouth still full.

“Save some for later? Don’t worry, there’s plenty in the pot,” Grandma replied.

“No… I want to save some for Gege,” Kongqing said, putting down his spoon.

“For Jingmo?” Grandma Fang was mending clothes under her reading glasses. “No need. When he comes back, I’ll fry a fresh batch. They don’t taste as good if they sit too long.”

“Yay!” Kongqing cheered. “He likes chopped celery, Grandma, add some of those next time.”

…

On New Year’s Eve, Chen Kongqing slept in the big bed with his grandmother and mother. The bed was a bit hard, but he loved being squeezed between them. At midnight, fireworks turned the dark sky into day. He watched from the windowsill, eating a bowl of white, round tangyuan.

Years later, when Chen Kongqing recovered these memories, he realized this was the happiest New Year of his life.

A week later, Xu Jingmo returned as promised. Besides toys and candy, he brought a massive carrot plushie. It was half as tall as Kongqing himself. It was soft, firm, and most importantly, a gift from Xu Jingmo. Soon, the carrot became his favorite pillow; he couldn’t fall asleep without hugging it.

He shared his saved snacks and milk candies with Xu Jingmo, and Grandma fried the celery meatballs just for them.

…

Soon, it was time for the new semester. One afternoon, Xu Jingmo walked into the yard and knocked on the old wooden door.

“Is Xiaoman home?” he asked politely.

Grandma Fang watched the boy. He had a steady, mature aura—not like most kids his age. But she liked him; she knew Xiaoman was safe with such a “Gege.”

“He’s in his room playing with blocks,” she said.

The door flew open, and Kongqing bounced out. “Gege! Are you here to play?”

“Mhm.” Xu Jingmo looked down at him. “Grandma, I want to take Xiaoman to the amusement park in the city today.”

Kongqing’s eyes widened. “The amusement park? Really?”

“Yes.” Xu Jingmo let the rabbit swing his hand back and forth. He turned back to Grandma. “The driver and Auntie Sun will be with us. We’ll be back around 8 or 9 PM since the city is far. Is that okay?”

“Go on, go on,” Grandma Fang waved her hand. “Xiaoman, put on your new coat and your scarf.”

…

Inside the sleek black Mercedes-Benz, Kongqing was bouncing on the leather seats. “Gege, what kind of car is this? Is it a BMW?”

“No,” Xu Jingmo laughed. “It’s a Mercedes.”

“A Mercedes? Is there a Merce-afternoon?”

“No, but maybe you can build one when you grow up.”

After thirty minutes, Kongqing got carsick. He rarely left the town. He leaned his head on Xu Jingmo’s shoulder, frowning. “Gege, I feel sick. I don’t want to be in the car anymore.”

“Just a little longer, we’ll stop at a rest area,” Xu Jingmo soothed, massaging the boy’s temples. He had brought snacks and a pillow, but he had forgotten the possibility of carsickness.

However, the moment they arrived at the amusement park, the sickness vanished. It was a wonderland. He rode the carousel, the pirate ship, and the bumper cars. He played until his hair was damp with sweat and his blue scarf was tucked away in Xu Jingmo’s bag.

As night fell, they lined up for the last ride: the Ferris wheel.

“Are you scared?” Xu Jingmo asked. “I’ll hold your hand.”

The small hand squeezed his tightly. As the gondola rose, the ground shrank. The pirate ship, the houses, and the streets turned into tiny, twinkling lights.

“Gege, thank you,” Kongqing whispered.

“You don’t need to say thank you.” Xu Jingmo pulled him close. “You already call me your brother.”

“But I want to. You’re the best brother in the world.”

At the highest point of the Ferris wheel, Kongqing made a wish to the moon: Please let Gege always stay by my side. And please let Grandma live to be a hundred.

…

But the moon didn’t listen.

First, Xu Jingmo graduated from middle school and had to go to the city for high school. They only saw each other on holidays. Then came the news: Xu Jingmo was going abroad.

Kongqing didn’t know what “abroad” meant, only that it was very far away. Grandma told him he shouldn’t cry when he said goodbye because going abroad was a good thing for Xu Jingmo. So he smiled as he watched the car drive away. He remembered the deep, heavy emotion in Xu Jingmo’s eyes—a look that was burned into his memory.

“I’ll come back for you,” Xu Jingmo had promised.

But two months after Xu Jingmo left, Grandma fell ill. One afternoon, she collapsed. The ambulance came with its terrifying sirens.

Grandma was saved, but she never truly woke up. Kongqing spent his days in the hospital, wringing out hot towels to wipe her face and hands because he knew she liked to be clean. Then one day, his mother told him they could take Grandma home.

Eleven-year-old Chen Kongqing thought she was better. But she didn’t get up to fry meatballs. Instead, she was eventually put into a small jar—just like his father.

He felt empty. Grandma was gone. Gege was gone. He had no one left.

Chen Kongqing fell into a high fever. He babbled in his sleep about “Gege” and “Grandma.” When he finally woke up, his memories were a blur. His mother told him it was okay to forget. Whenever he tried to remember, his head throbbed, so he stopped trying.

In high school, his peaceful life was disrupted when he met a classmate. That boy had eyes that were 50% similar to the ones in his dreams. That classmate protected him from bullies. He was hopelessly attracted.

In college, more things happened. His body developed a strange illness. The relationship he thought was destiny began to crack. He tried to mend it, but he changed nothing.

Then, on a rainy day, he walked into a hospital.

And a kind doctor offered to take him home.