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Filial Piety vs Love
Zhengqing put Yin Ting’s diary away
carefully. He decided to go shopping for craft supplies with Yin Tin in the New
Year, so she could teach him and they could make entries together.
He did not have the time or mind to
do these kinds of romantic things, but he could cherish what she did.
Beautiful things were easy to
forget. That was indeed true.
Zhengqing thought of his past and
realised he could only remember pain. He remembered his first year of college,
it had been a cold winter, he did not have a warm jacket. There were no lights
in the dormitories and the faculty buildings were also locked. (Zuben: This
makes no sense.) He could only run up and try and warm up under the street lamp
then run back to his dorm, he ran many laps that winter. At the end of that
year, he succeeded in getting a scholarship, he was joyous. He still remembered
the looks of derision he got from his classmates; they despised him for being
poor and rustic.
There were many details he did not
remember. He only remembered the hardship - success; to be successful – one had
to endure hardships.
“There was no end to success, like
happiness,” Xiaoting had said this. She was right, there was no end. He was
getting happier; he had a career and he had her.
The next day; the 30th,
went blandly past. There was work, meetings, more work, more meetings. Because
he wasn’t seeingYin Ting he worked overtime. If he could do more work, then he
would be free over the New Year break to spend as much time with Xiaoting as he
could. They would go to the cemetery one day, shopping the next and spend all
day at home the last.
Yin ting called him that evening to
tell him where the party was. She asked if he was working overtime. He said
yes, and told her to be careful on her way. She agreed then rang off.
Later on that evening, Zhengqing
was finishing is dinner when there was a text from Yin Ting, she was checking
in and asked him if he’d had dinner, told him not to work too late. Zhengqing
text back to ask how the party was going, and if she would like him to pick her
up after?
She text back telling him they were
going to karaoke and a friend was going to take her home. No need for him to
pick her up.
At ten thirty, Zhengqing was at
home playing with Miao-dada while he sent a text to ask if she was home,
She called back, ‘Reporting to Qiu,
I just arrived home very safely.’
Zhengqing laughed and they talked
about their plans for the holidays. He asked her to come round to his early,
she told him she would be waiting for him.
Zhengqing was very happy and his
sleep was sweet.
The next day while at work there
was an email from Xiaoting, he opened it to see it was a picture of an entry in
their diary. It was a drawing of a cell phone and a man and woman holding each
other’s hands and smiling. She wrote: Today we didn’t meet, I was meeting with
friends and you worked overtime, but I called you twice and sent two text
messages. You sent me two text messages. We are concerned about each other, I
am very happy. (Zuben: rolls her eyes right out of her head)
In the main body of the email,
“This is number seven of my contribution.”
Zhengqing laughed, he was being
brainwashed by her. Before he would have felt this was a boring waste of time,
now he thought it was cute, he likes her being cute. Zhengqing called her,
‘You slept late last night,’ he
said. The time stamp on the email said 12:03.
‘Not too late,’ she replied
mock-indignantly.
‘You have seven copies of the
draft. This is not good; you must bring my copies tonight.’
She laughed, ‘Yes, I will put yours
in my bag.’
Zhengqing laughed, and said,
‘Tomorrow, we’ll go shopping for supplies, we don’t have to wait for a year, we
can start binding it now. You’re responsible for writing; I will learn how to
bind. We will get what we need for that.’ He paused for a bit then asked, ‘Or
have you got everything you want?’
‘No I don’t have everything,’ Yin
Tins said pleasantly surprised, ‘You really want to do it together?’
‘Yes. We can finish the title page
together,’ Zhengqing could imagine the look of the cover, ‘there won’t be any
ready-made anyway. And in one year, we’ll put it all together,’
‘Woohoo, this will be fun. Readymade
does not have meaning. I am so happy that you are willing to help. Something to
do together. I’ve collected a lot of books on creating covers and bindings.
Tomorrow we’ll go and get some leather, cloth, hard paper, glue…’ (Zuben:
Somehow I think y’all are underestimating the work that goes into these
things.)
‘Cloth…?’
‘So you can make a cover for the
hard back,’
‘Leather?’ Black lines hung over
Zhengqing. He had been too impulsive in volunteering.
‘Of course! Must make it very nice.
It’s our first love diary. I will show you a sample. Of course it has to be a
beautiful formal cover. You said you’d help, are you backing out now?’
‘Ah…’ He said as he wondered if ‘refuelling’
could be considered helping. Hand her tea or a cup of water; that could be
considered helping right? He said instead, ‘Let’s meet tonight. I will finish
work quickly. The next few days would be free; we can do lots of things
together. I have plans.’
Yin Ting was quiet few seconds then
said in a small voice, ‘Don’t you think your words are a bit coloured?’
Zhengqing expression grew heavy,
‘What is coloured about what I just said? Miss Yin Ting, what are you thinking
of in your head? My words are very normal. You’re the one twisting my words.
Your thinking is unexpectedly crooked. What colour?’
Yin Ting blushed and bit her lips,
‘In any case it is coloured,’
‘I should have said something
worthy of this yellow coloured evaluation.’
Yin Ting face went more red, ‘Don’t
say that so loud. It is rude to a girl.’ (Zuben: Who started this train of
conversation again…?)
‘No one told me I was being loud,
do you think the people eavesdropping would find it funny?’
‘Ahem, a girl can say it but not
boys,’ Yin Ting said charmingly prudish,
‘I am not a boy, I am a man.’
Zhengqing announced.
There was silence over the
telephone, and then Yin Ting said, ‘This is very coloured.’
‘Miss Yin Ting, what are your
intentions?’
Yin Ting laughed, ‘I’ll stop
bothering you, work hard. See you this evening.’
‘Hm, see you later.’
Zhengqing tried to calm down after
the call, and thought of seeing her that evening; those words were also
coloured. This trouble-maker sexually harassing him! Did she think that he
wasn’t thinking of her that way? He was very yellow, the thought of seeing her
that evening was getting him excited. They hadn’t met for a few days, he really
wanted to kiss her!
For the first time, Zhengqing was
looking forward to the holidays. (Zuben: The higher the anticipation, the
greater the disappointment)
He worked efficiently that day. The
progress of his colleagues were very good as well, he felt there would be no
problems finishing on time today. At around four, there was a phone call, it
was Yin Ting. He saw her name on the caller ID and laughed,
He picked up, ‘Don’t worry; I will
be finished on time today.’ He said in greeting.
Yin Tings voice was sad, as she
explained; ‘My father just announced we are going to our home town. Taking
advantage of the New Year holidays to see relatives and old friends, I have to
go with him,’ (Zuben: So predictable…)
Zhengqing could not laugh, ‘Why not
during the Spring Festival? Isn’t that when people go home?’
‘I don’t know. He just said he
wanted to go suddenly, and got his secretary to buy tickets for him and me. I
must get packing now, the train leaves at 7Pm to arrive at 7AM,’
Zhengqing wasn’t very happy,
(Zuben: I don’t blame you), ‘Why so suddenly? Couldn’t you talk to him about
it? Didn’t he just come out from the hospital; is he okay enough to be
travelling on such a long journey? What is so important that can’t wait till
the Spring Festival?!’
‘Don’t be angry. My father is
somewhat wilful. He wants to go to our hometown, I have to go with him, or I
would be worried.’
‘When are you coming back?’
‘Not for a few days…’
What did that mean? How many days?
Did it mean that their New Year’s plans were cancelled? Zhengqing was furious,
‘Couldn’t someone else go with him?’
‘I am his daughter,’ Yin Ting said
firmly but gently. Yes, she was his daughter; this was the most powerful
reason. She works at the printing company to accompany him, he goes on a trip
she must go with him. She was a filial child.
Zhengqing knew that nothing he
could say would sound good. She was right, but he was so very disappointed,
‘Have a safe trip,’ he said unhappily. She had to go; she had no need for his
permission.
‘Don’t be like this,’ she said
trying to cajole him, ‘You must think of the advantages.’
‘What advantages?’ He could not
think of any. (Zuben: Yes, Tingting what advantages?)
‘The advantage is; absence makes
the heart grow fonder,’ (Zuben: BS)
‘Right…’ he replied coldly.
‘…I am practising how to look after
you with my father. When the time comes, I will also favour you,’
‘I wouldn’t be so wilful,’
Zhengqing said grumpily. He knew that his daughter would have plans with her
new boyfriend, who was taken vacation with great difficulty, but still went and
made them go on a long trip to their home town. (Zuben: I’m sure you’ll think
of other ways to torture your daughter’s boyfriend)
‘It doesn’t matter, the elderly are
wilful, and it is funny.’
‘I don’t feel like it is fun at
all.’ Zhengqing said angrily. She did sound like she was disappointed at all.
‘You see, you’re like that now,’
‘I am not. If I was in a temper, I
would have hung up the phone.’ He said angrily.
Yin Ting went quiet, ‘We shouldn’t
quarrel over this,’ she said softly, ‘This is a small thing. My father is older;
there is not much we can do. He wants to go; I have to go with him. I am lucky
to have time to go to places with him.’
‘Are you referring to me?’
Zhengqing said feeling prickled. He tried desperately to succeed, to build his
career, and the result was that his mother died and he did not have the chance
to go with her on her last trip. His heart has always been pained by this, and
he’d always felt guilty. Even though, their remains resided in one of the best cemeteries
and he bought the big house he promised her; the scar was still raw, ‘I am not
like you; I did not accompany my mother.’
Yin Ting was stunned, she got upset
and stammered as she said, ‘I am not talking about you, you don’t have to
condemn me. I am accompanying my dad back home. I will call you in a few days.’
She hung up.
Yesterday, they couldn’t think of
what they could argue about and today they were arguing. (Zuben: Cos y’all a
pair of idiots, but hey…)
Small things could move them and
small thing could make them fight. With Zhengqing’s temper, he would be the
same as her father. (Zuben: They do say girls fall for men like their fathers)
‘What is the matter?’ Guohao asked
when he saw his daughter’s sad face, ‘Have you spoken with your boyfriend? Did
he get angry?’
Yin Ting shook her head, ‘No he was
very good, and told me to have a good time. He wants to meet you soon.’ She said.
She was going to take this opportunity to act spoilt so Zhengqing get the
opportunity to meet her father.
Guohao smiled, noncommittal, and
led her to the waiting car. Good temper? He has heard the Qiu Zhengqing was a
man that was vigorous and resolute. He was said to be unyielding. He was
merciless in business, and once caused a director who was a distant relative to
have no recourse but to resign.
Does this man sound like someone
who had a good temperament? Was he, Yin Guohao, a child? (Zuben: Anyone would
be angry if their plans are suddenly dashed against the rocks of filial piety)
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| Chinese egg cakes - Pintrest |
Happy New Year
Zhengqing decided to work over
time.
Yin Ting didn’t regard him, and
what he did, so he was going do what he liked.
He knew his ideas were out of
pique, but he could not control it. He had been so full of expectations, but a
large bucket of cold water was poured on him, he could not have a good mood.
When it was closing time, everyone
moved quickly and within ten minutes the office was dead. Zhengqing felt lonely
sitting in the office, looking out into the twinkling night in the emptiness
and quiet. He should have been one of them, happily rushing into the elevator
to leave. But now…
Zhengqing leaned back in his chair,
he did not feel like looking at the computer, yet did not feel like going home.
He sat quietly for a while, and
then he decided to concentrate on work. He sorted out a few documents, but
realised he didn’t want to work anymore, so he shut down and prepared to go
home. There was a notification beep from his phone. Yin Ting had sent a
message: I’m on the train with my father. Have you eaten?
He replied: Not yet.
Come on, eat okay, she text back.
Zhengqing did not feel like it, so
he didn’t reply. He packed his bag and set off home.
When he got home, he cooked some
instant noodles. The picked up Miao-dada, who wanted to run away. As Zhengqing
kept grabbing for Miao, the cat scratched him a little. Zhengqing also patted
his paw. Then the cat retaliated.
The game of you pat my paw, I pat
your paw lasted ten rounds. Zhengqing finally smiled, and Miao gave him a look
that said, ‘You must be really bored,’ and returned to ignoring him.
After a while, the cat came back
and jumped on Zhengqing’s thighs and settled down.
‘Ahem,’ Zhengqing said poking its
head, ‘You didn’t want to hug me earlier,’
Miao yawned greatly, and did not
mind him.
Zhengqing’s mood changed so he
decided text Yin Ting to ask if she was able to rest. Going by train could be
tiring.
After a while, she replied: Have not
rested. We got a sleeping berth. Going by train is not tiring, but the rocking
is making me dizzy and keeping me from falling asleep.
How pitiful, he thought. He called
her,
‘I thought not to send you text
because you’re dizzy,’ he said
She laughed, ‘Close your eyes and
sleep, you won’t feel so dizzy, you’ll wake up feeling better.’ He said.
‘Hm,’ she replied then said softly,
‘Let’s have a chat?’
‘What do you want to talk about?’
his tone softening to match hers.
‘How is Miao-dada? Was he bad or
good? Did he do something clever?’
‘Hmm, while I wasn’t paying
attention, he got into the study and tried to scratch the chair. I kicked him
out,’
‘Are his nails long? Need to cut
them,’ she said.
‘I’ll wait for you to come back and
cut it,’
‘Alright,’ she replied happily,
glad that he wasn’t still annoyed.
‘He scratched me today,’
‘Why?’
‘Didn’t want me to cuddle him.’
‘Why did you want to hold him?’
‘It's is my cat, I want to hug it.’ He
replied righteously.
Ying Ting blushed on her end; there
was something yellow about what he just said. (Zuben: Girl, you better get your
mind right, or get it on quickly), she did not speak so Zhengqing had become
sensitive to these things, ‘Are you thinking crooked thoughts?’
‘How could I?’
‘You can’t say because your dad is
next to you?’
Yin Ting’s blushed deepened, if her
was not next to her she would have educated him that exposing a girl’s thought
was impolite behaviour. So instead she asked, ‘So the cat scratched you?’
‘I hit it back,’
What? He hit the cat? ‘Where?’ she
asked.
‘Just a pat on his paw,’ Yin Ting
imagined him doing that and she laughed, ‘And then?’
‘He hit me back, then I hit him,
and he hit me. On and on,’
Yin Ting laughed, hearing her laugh
he also laughed. The mood was nice. He asked her, ‘Want to sleep yet?’
‘Not yet,’
‘Will you try to come back
quickly?’
‘Yes,’ she replied without
hesitation. So his heart settled.
‘Where is your home town? Do you
need to go there by train?’ she asked.
He told her where it was, ‘It’s
twenty six hours by train, but now you can fly to the city then transfer; only
two hours.’
‘Tell me about it,’
‘What? Riding the train?’ he asked
laughing in spite of himself, ‘When I was in university I did not have any money
to go back home. I could not go back for the four years of study; I worked on
my vacations so I could make money for my living expenses. So the first time I
took the train, I was very excited, and very anxious. I did not know what uni
life would bring me. To save money I bought a standing ticket.’
‘You stood for more than 20hrs?’
she asked incredulous, (Zuben: You stood for more than two hours?! Hell I
wouldn’t even bother if the bus is standing room only. I’ll just wait for the
next one)
‘Yes,’ he replied as he recalled
his past, ‘I was young, and there were many others that had the standing
tickets so it was very crowded. I could not sleep,’
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| Standing only ticket - chinasmack.com |
‘There is no way to rest when
you’re standing,’ (Zuben: That idea is for rich folks)
‘It is not, but I was also very
excited. Beside me was a girl, she was so tired, she fell asleep with her head
on my shoulder,’
‘Didn’t you wake her?’
‘No, taking the train is very tiring;
she had also been standing for very long. If I hadn’t been there to support her
she would not be able to sleep. I also endured and let her rest. She rested for
a long time. When she woke up she was very embarrassed. She offered me some
mineral water,’
‘And then?’
‘Nothing. When the train arrived,
we parted ways, never to meet again. Even if we met, I would not recognise her.
She did not leave a deep impression.’
Yin Ting was peacefully silent for
a while,
‘Why aren’t you saying anything?’
he asked,
‘I thought I was going to be
jealous, but instead, I think what you did was very kind.’
‘Maybe it was because she was a
girl, if it was an uncle, I would have woken him,’
She laughed, ‘This way, I am
jealous.’
Zhengqing also smiled, and said,
‘Are you relaxed now? Close your eyes and go to sleep,’
‘Yes,’ she said, then rang off.
Zhengqing sighed as he looked at
his phone. He stroked Miao’s head, ‘New Year’s day is in three days?’
Miao-dada turned unto his back,
indicating that he was open to stroking; Zhengqing ignored him and put him
aside. He got up to take a bath and prepare for bed. He heard the cat meowing
outside the bathroom door, but he ignored it. After raising a cat, he felt he
also had to lock the bathroom door. (Zuben: Why?) When he left the bath, the
cat looked up at him piteously and reared up on his hind legs,
‘I know. I know. You want to
replace Xiaoting and stick to me, but I prefer Xiaoting,’ he said to the cat.
It followed him into the bedroom, where he dressed for bed. He looked at the
cat and sighed; these three days are not going to be fun.
He checked his phone and found Yin
Ting had sent him a text; My dad was near me so I couldn’t say. I miss you.
Goodnight.
Zhengqing smiled and replied: I
miss you too. Goodnight.
As Zhengqing lay on his bed trying
to fall asleep he realised that he hadn’t told her “I love you”. He picked up
his phone from his bedside table but found that it was now past midnight. The
last day has been missed.
Zhengqing sighed and went back to
bed. Just those three simple words he did not say. He text her the words, and
he felt relieved.
Soon after there was a text back
from her in reply with a happy emoticon.
‘Can’t sleep? Shall I call you?’ he
text.
‘Don’t,’ she text back, ‘It will be
noisy. My dad is asleep.’
Well it was her dad, he did not
want to say he was jealous so he told her, ‘Goodnight,’
‘Goodnight,’ she text back.
This time, Zhengqing went to sleep
without difficulty.
The next morning, he saw a text
message from Yin Ting telling him she had arrived. He gave her a call, and she
picked up,
‘We are having breakfast at the
hotel,’ she said, ‘We’ve spoken to the family and we would see them in the
afternoon,’
‘Did you sleep last night?’
‘No, just a sleep-like state,’
‘You should get some sleep this
morning. You can call me when you have time.’
Yin Ting laughed, ‘You’re worried
about me,’
His girlfriend was really not
reserved but he laughed, ‘Yes ah, so hurry and go and sleep.’
She laughed and he heard a very
loud mua~ sound.
‘Don’t you want to send it back?’
she asked
‘No,’ he said. He was sort of
embarrassed, so he sounded very serious. Just as she was going chastise him, he
said, ‘I want it to be true, come back soon.’
Yin Ting laughed.
Zhengqing did not like holidays.
The feeling was with him this time as well.
He called his aunt. Then went to
the cemetery, where he visited his parents’ graves as well as Yin Ting’s
mother’s grave. Then he went to the market and bought two boxes of fruit and
took them to the orphanage.
When Shi Liang saw him, her face
lit up. He had set aside the best looking apple for her. He thought that Shi Liang was a little eccentric, rather like Yin Ting.
‘Quickly eat, uncle has cleaned it
for you,’ Zhengqing said to her, her eyes twinkled when she saw the red apple.
Her expressions were like Yin Ting (Zuben: Do you think Yin Ting had a child
and gave it up to the orphanage?)
She took the apple, but said in a
timid voice, ‘To be honest Uncle, I am not hungry. Can I give the apple to the
grandmother to eat?’
‘Your grandmother?’ he asked
surprised. Did she still have relatives?
‘Not my grandmother, the old lady
who sells egg cakes near the orphanage gates,’ Xiao Shitou said, ‘It used to be
that, she and her husband sold egg cakes together, but now only grandma sells
them. I think grandpa is sick because grandmother doesn’t have her ring
anymore. She must have sold it to pay for hospital bills. I don’t have any
money to give her. I just thought I could give her the apple and make her a
little happy.’ She said looking embarrassed.
Zhengqing was surprised at the
little Shi Liang’s compassion, ‘Go ahead,’ he said.
‘I’ll go.’ She said happily and ran
off. Zhengqing followed her to the egg cake stall where she smiled at an old
lady, he didn’t hear what she said but he saw her hand the apple to the woman.
The old woman looked tearful, and
her hands shook as she took the apple. Zhengqing walked up as she told Xiao
Shitou thank you.
As she saw someone come up, the old
lady wiped her tears and plied her egg cakes, ‘Buy an egg cake; very fragrant,
crisp and delicious.’
‘Make one got Xiao Shitou to eat,’
he said. The little girl nodded hard when she remembered she hadn’t eaten
anything,
‘Looks very delicious,’ she said.
Zhengqing laughed. The old lady
looked happy. Xiao Shitou turned to Zhengqing and said, ‘Uncle, you also eat
one,’ (Zuben: Uncle, if you’re not careful someone may call you a paedophile)
While the egg cake was being made,
Zhengqing asked the old lady why she had no helper for her stall. She told him
that her husband was sick, and was home recuperating but he had little energy
to go about. Hence, she was the only one who could look after the stall.
Zhengqing nodded. It seemed that
Xiao Shitou was very observant; she had been right about the lady’s
circumstances. Zhengqing crouched beside Xiao Shitou and said, ‘Why don’t you
ask your teacher whether the other children could have egg cakes.’
Xiao Shitou’s eyes grew bright, and
she ran to the orphanage. A little while later, the teacher came out and spoke
to Zhengqing about the situation. The other children rushed out. When they
heard their teacher agreed they were very happy. He bought enough egg cakes for
everyone in the orphanage. The old lady was stunned,
‘I don’t have enough ingredients
for this,’ she stammered.
‘Then make more tomorrow and the
next day. You don’t have to prepare more ingredients. Sell all you have and go
home early,’ Zhengqing said as he handed her the money. He did not have enough
for the next week, but he gave her five hundred yuan.
The old lady accepted the money
hesitantly, but she knew that she was not in a position not to accept. She took
out a piece of paper from her cart that she used for accounting and wrote the
amount received on it, ‘I will make note of the amount and give them,’
‘Very good,’ Zhengqing said with a
smile. He was very happy to see little stone smiling.
‘If you need anything but can’t
find Tingting-jie, you can call Uncle,’ he told the Xiao Shitou. He had not
brought his cards along, so he got her to get a piece of paper to read out his
phone number to her.
‘What did you write?’ he asked. He
had deliberately said the numbers quickly, but Shi Liang recited the numbers as
he said them. She had told him she didn’t study because she was slow. There was
nothing slow about the girl’s brain (Zuben: She’s just bored)
‘Xiao Shitou, you should study
well, so that Xiao Han can like you in the future, if you get bad results, he
would not like you.’ He said trying to convince her.
‘Really?’ Shi Liang’s eyes widened
in askance.
Zhengqing nodded.
Shi Liang thought that this was a
serious matter. She will soon get into Primary 1; she would have to work hard.
(Zuben: ¬.¬)
That night, he told Yin Ting about
the happenings of the day, ‘I really really love you,’ she said when she heard
about what he’d done for the old lady.
‘Good, come home quickly,’ he said,
‘Alright,’ she said laughing, ‘I am
like Xiao Shitou, I am not a social elite, but you can’t hate me.’
‘Come back faster then I won’t shut
you out,’
She laughed, ‘Alright,’
But New Year’s Day came and went,
she did not come home.
Zhengqing sorely missed her. When
work resumed, he wondered how he would carry on without Yin Ting (Zuben: ¬.¬),
but he knew his responsibility and tried to focus on work. He signed a couple
of documents, and handed them to his secretary who confirmed them.
‘Qiu zong,’
‘Yes,’ he answered his tone very
serious
‘Um, this document is wrong.’ She said
hesitantly as she handed the folder back to him.
Zhengqing frowned as he perused the
document again. What was wrong with it?
He came to the signature, and was
suddenly very embarrassed. With his impressive dragon and phoenix handwriting,
he had signed ‘Xiaoting’ instead of his name.
Zuben: There are many fights in these two's future, but that might be a good thing.
Oh, double-double update. Thanks so much!
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