Chapter 74 A Tale of Two Cities (1)

Translated by Twelve_Months_of_May

A long distance relationship? I don’t think it will work out.

In the past years, Li Shiyu and Gu Mingxi had only met a few times. Although they were cousins, their relationship wasn’t much different from two strangers.

Ever since Li Shiyu could remember, he’d known that his aunt was a great beauty. She married and moved to the southern E City. His uncle had a decent job and his family qualifications were good. They also had a son. Unfortunately, his cousin had an accident when he was 6 years old, and he became a crippled child.

The first time Li Shiyu saw Gu Mingxi, he was really startled. At the time, he was just 8 years old and Gu Mingxi was 11 years old. That was the first time Gu Mingxi had come to visit his grandparents after his accident. When they saw their grandson, their grandparents cried until their voices were hoarse. The other members of their family were much the same.

During those few days, everyone had pampered Gu Mingxi. When they ate, the adults would keep giving him food. Even Li Shiyu’s favorite chicken legs were handed over to Gu Mingxi.

Li Shiyu watched quietly from the side as Gu Mingxi ate and cleaned up with his feet. When his grandparents gave him some stationary, he used his feet to flip through it as well.

Li Shiyu didn’t really dare to speak to Gu Mingxi. Every time that Li Mu told him to go play with Gu Mingxi, he would just turn on the TV and watch a random show together. He didn’t know how to interact with Gu Mingxi. Subconsciously, all he could think about was that this cousin of his was rather different than himself.

Under Li Han’s request, Gu Mingxi even put on a demonstration for their relatives, writing and drawing. His writing was very beautiful. When someone asked if Gu Mingxi could keep up in class, Gu Guoxiang would say lightly, “Mingxi is always top three in his year. He’ll definitely be able to get into a top university in the future.”

The ordinary student with scrawly handwriting, Li Shiyu was pissed. Just seeing Gu Mingxi writing, he would turn to the side and say a few belittling words.

Li Shiyu’s great dislike for Gu Mingxi emerged when Gu Mingxi was taking the high school entrance exams. Li Han called to give her family happy news that he’d gotten into a top high school. His score even placed him 5th in the entire year. Li Shiyu’s grandparents and parents immediately admonished Li Shiyu, with Gu Mingxi as an example of what he should be like.

Gu Mingxi lost his arms when he was young, and with his two legs, he was able to get such good grades. You have arms and legs, so why can’t you do a good job studying?

13 year old Li Shiyu retorted to Li Mu, “Gu Mingxi has a rich dad! His clothes are all name brand! His family has a big house! His dad even has a car! We don’t have any of that! What makes you think I should be a good student?!”

Li Mu was furious and couldn’t stop himself from slapping Li Shiyu. Li Shiyu started to cry. Disagreeing with this, Huang Lingli immediately pulled her son into her arms and said to Li Mu, “Xiao Yu didn’t say anything wrong! You don’t have any ability either! If you want to compare Xiao Yu to Gu Mingxi, why don’t you go compete with brother-in-law!”

The two parents started quarreling, and in the end, hits were exchanged.

In many families, the root of all family conflicts was one word, money.

– – – –

Gu Mingxi followed Li Han back to their rental, and he was still in a bad mood. He washed his face and went to bed early.

He laid on his bed for a long time, and then got up. Gu Mingxi bit onto a pen and sat down at his desk and wrote Pang Qian a text.

>> Pang Pang, I got your gift. I like it, thanks.

A little later, Pang Qian’s reply came.

>> Does it fit?

>> It fits pretty welll.

>> When I come to visit next summer, you’d better wear it for me to see!

Gu Mingxi bent his head and responded, “Okay.”

>> Gu Mingxi, when do you start school?

>> There’s still another week.

>> We’ve been doing military training these few days. I’m dead tired.

>> I also have to participate in the training, but it should probably be a lot easier for me.

>> Oh yeah, Gu Mingxi, I’m going to buy a computer. It will be in the dorm. Then we can chat.

>> Okay.

>> Ah, I have to go.

Gu Mingxi was startled when she said she was busy. He wanted to ask why she needed to go out when it was already past 9. But in the end, he didn’t ask and just responded, “Mm.”

He lied back in his bed again, staring at the ceiling, in a daze. This rental was near B University, and it was about a ten minute walk to the school. This place was just a bit more than 30 sqm. One bedroom, one living room, one kitchen, one bathroom. Li Han added a bed in the living room. They planned to spend the next half a year there.

This was a very simple and crude house. It really was a peasant’s house. The walls were stained by the leaking rain, the furniture was tattered, the closet door was nearly broken, the windows were covered in a layer of dirt and probably hadn’t been washed in years. In the hot summer, Gu Mingxi had seen cockroaches and mice, and the corners of the rooms were filled with cobwebs. In the past, he’d never thought that he would live in a place like this one day.

That day, Gu Mingxi was feeling rather down. He let out a sigh and decided not to think about unhappy things. Just sleep early.

Pang Qian ran down to the first floor of the dorm and saw Sheng Feng waiting there for her.

“Sheng Feng? What is it?” Pang Qian asked.

She and Sheng Feng were in the same major and year. They had just started military training and most people didn’t know each other yet. But since Sheng Feng was also from E City, when they had breaks, he and Pang Qian would often chat together. And so, they naturally grew closer.

— “You’re from First High? I’m from Vast Voyage.”

— “Do you know Wu Min? Ah, we went to the same junior high. He’s at Beihang now.”

— “What about Wang Song? You guys were in the same class too? What a coincidence. Wang Song and I were from the same primary school. We got along really well.”

— “He’s dating, I know. He and his girlfriend both got into Nanjing. What was his girlfriend’s name… Something Xiaoyan. Ah! That’s right, Li Xiaoyan!”

— “Yesterday I called Wang Song, and he told me that your nickname is Crab.”

Sheng Feng wasn’t very call, just barely 170 cm tall. He wore a pair of glasses and looked very intellectual, but his gaze always carried an air of arrogance.

When Pang Qian walked up to him, he handed her a stack of papers. “You’re buying a computer the day after tomorrow, so you should look over these configurations first. Then you won’t be fooled when you go to pick one out.”

Pang Qian took the papers and looked at them. It looked to be different computer configurations, each with a pricing underneath. Sheng Feng even wrote down the pros and cons of each setup.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Pang Qian looked at him, “When did you put this together?”

Sheng Feng said, “Yesterday afternoon, I went to look around at the computer store. I found a few places that fit your price range and got a list of their specs.”

Pang Qian felt very apologetic. She just occasionally mentioned that she wanted to get a computer, and then Sheng Feng said that he’d go to the computer store with her on Sunday. When Pang Qian told Pang Shuisheng about it, he agreed. It wasn’t convenient to buy it in E City and then move it to her, so she might as well buy it in Shanghai.

“Ah, thank you. I’ve troubled you too much.” Pang Qian looked at the papers in her hand and Sheng Feng smiled. “No problem. Then I’ll get going first. Take your time looking through it, and if there’s something you don’t understand, feel free to call me.”

“Mm.”

“We’re going to the computer store the day after tomorrow. Don’t forget.”

“Mm.”

Sheng Feng’s left hand was stuffed into his pants pocket and he waved at Pang Qian with his right. “Goodnight, Crab.”

Pang Qian took the papers and headed back up. After hearing about it, her roommate Yang Lu said with a giggle, “It’s really obvious. Sheng Feng is pursuing you.”

Pang Qian made a face 囧 (embarrassed emote). “How could that be! I only met him a few days ago!”

Yang Lu said, “You underestimate these boys whose biological hormones were destroyed by high school life. When they get to college, they’re just like male dogs, running around a girl’s ass.”

“Oh come on.” Pang Qian couldn’t take Yang Lu’s analogy. “I don’t intend to date anyway.”

“Why not? Sheng Feng’s not bad.” Yang Lu didn’t understand. “Crab, do you already have a boyfriend?”

Pang Qian didn’t know how she should respond. She thought for a moment, and then said, “There is a boy. We grew up together. Originally, we agreed to come to Shanghai together, but in the end, he went to another city. There were times that I thought that after we got here, we would start dating, but maybe we’ll only be able to come this far, unable to reach that last step. Right now, we’re in two different cities, and he hasn’t really said anything to me. I’m not really sure what I feel for him right now either. Next summer, I’m going to visit him. After I see him, I’ll probably know what kind of existence he has in my heart. Maybe at that time, we’ll be together.”

Yang Li bit on her lollipop and shook her head. “A long distance relationship? I don’t think it will work out.”

“Really?” Pang Qian looked at her suspiciously. “It’s just four years, and we can see each other before then.”

“You’re too naive,” Yang Lu said. “If I were you, I would definitely consider Sheng Feng. A long distance relationship really isn’t reliable.”

Pang Qian pursed her lips, without a word.

Two days later, Sheng Feng went to the mall with Pang Qian to buy a computer. She spent 5200 dollars. Pang Qian offered to buy lunch, and he happily agreed.

When they were eating, Sheng Feng tested the waters with Pang Qian. She pretended she didn’t see the signs, and since Sheng Feng was a smart person, he could see her reaction. He immediately retracted his questions so that the two of them wouldn’t become awkward.

– – – –

Gu Mingxi finally started school. Li Han went with him to take care of the special admission procedures. He was studying software engineering, which was considered a popular major at B University. But Gu Mingxi didn’t tell Li Han that he didn’t actually like this major.

He didn’t live in the dorms. Every day, he woke up in the rental house, washed his face and ate breakfast, and then put on his backpack and headed to class. After morning classes, he didn’t have to go eat in the cafeteria, and he just returned home to eat lunch and rest. It was the same in the afternoon. The students in his class all treated Gu Mingxi politely, and they help him with things when needed. But in this time, Gu Mingxi hadn’t made any new friends. Everyone was just merely an acquaintance. He was very lonely in his classes. A few students would speak among themselves, that since he was disabled, his personality naturally became a bit reclusive.

Gu Mingxi was aware of this problem as well. He wasn’t an entirely introverted person, but he could never talk to the people in his class. He was all alone in this place. Most of the people around him were all from the northern regions. Gu Mingxi tried to interact with people in his classes before, but they’d always just reply courteously.

This was a two-sided problem. Gu Mingxi wasn’t willing to open himself up to people, so how could people try to understand him? Moreover, Gu Mingxi didn’t live in the dorms. Everyday, outside of class, he spent his time in the rental house. So there were few chances for him to make friends.

Li Han asked Gu Minxgi how things were at school. Gu Mingxi always reported the good and never the bad. He’d always say, “It’s going well.”

But in truth, he didn’t have any friends.

He gradually became a loner. Every day, he carried his backpack and walked silently to school. Except when it was raining. Then Li Han would send him to school with an umbrella and pick him up after class. Gu Mingxi was exempt from physical education and an elective class. He could even choose not to go to evening study class. The class head didn’t even notify him about class events anymore. Essentially, his existence became a very particular one.

In the next few months, he and Pang Qian didn’t have much contact. One, because it wasn’t convenient. Two, because Pang Qian was always busy. Three, because Gu Mingxi felt that he didn’t know what to talk about with Pang Qian.

Pang Qian got a computer, so she went online. But Gu Mingxi lived in a rental and there. Pang Qian’s college life was very colorful and rich. She always told Gu Mingxi excitedly about where she went to play, what new clothes she’d bought, what movies she’d watched, what events she’d gone to… She was in Shanghai, the brilliant and colorful metropolis. How could she not be doing lots of things? How could she be as bored as him?

Z City was a very, very small city. Gu Mingxi would go to class every day. Then when the weekend came, he would follow Li Han to her parent’s house for dinner. Then they would check out the progress on their new house.

Other than that, he didn’t go anywhere.

It was with this stagnant life that Gu Mingxi welcomed the first midterm exams. But his results were contrary to all expectations. This outstanding student, who had gotten into B University with a 641 entrance exam score, actually failed many of his classes.