Chapter 41. Fang Min's back was stiff, and...
Fang Minzhou's back stiffened, her mind went blank, and she tried her best to work it out. Seeing the plastic bag in her father's hand, she tried to control her expression and forced a smile: "...Dad, did you go to the supermarket?"
"Yeah, I went to the supermarket and bought some fruit. Your mom said you should eat some when you get back," her dad said, his tone calm and unassuming.
Fang Minzhou had no idea what her father had seen. She gripped the handlebars tightly, and was about to awkwardly introduce Wang Kan when Wang Kan suddenly spoke up: "Hello, Uncle."
Fang Minzhou: "..."
She almost wanted to close her eyes and just let the roller coaster go down.
"I'm Fang Minzhou's classmate... at the previous parent-teacher conference..."
“I remember you,” Fang Liangping interrupted him. “Minzhou’s deskmate, right?”
Wang Kan paused, then gave an awkward smile, "That was true before, but I changed deskmates recently."
"Oh, I see." Fang Liangping, unaware of this, asked his daughter, "So who's your deskmate now? A boy or a girl?"
The question, which seemed casual, inexplicably made Fang Minzhou feel a little ashamed: "...Our class's arts and culture representative is a girl."
Her father nodded, then asked Wang Kan, "What's your name again? I remember you told me, but I've forgotten."
"My name is Wang Kan," Wang Kan quickly followed up with her self-introduction.
Which '衎'?
“Uh…” Wang Kan was so nervous that his tongue hadn’t even straightened out yet, “The ‘xing’ in ‘xingxing’ (walking) with the ‘gan’ in ‘jinggan’ (clean) in the middle.”
"Oh, I don't recognize this character. What does it mean?" Fang Liangping asked again.
"Dad..." Fang Minzhou couldn't listen anymore.
Her father ignored her.
In the dim light, his expression was inscrutable, while Wang Kan stood stiffly upright, her face flushed, and continued to answer, "It means happiness."
"The name is nice," Fang Liangping said. "I remember, wasn't it your mother who attended the parent-teacher conference before?"
One question after another, Wang Kan recovered from her initial panic and naturally noticed the suppressed anger beneath Uncle Fang's calm surface. "...Hmm."
He glanced at Fang Minzhou and saw her lips tightly pursed. Remembering her repeated warnings about not crossing the bus stop, and recalling how he had embarrassed himself in front of her father at the parent-teacher conference, an inexplicable sense of guilt welled up in Wang Kan's heart. He hadn't taken it seriously then, but now he realized that she had actually been risking everything to indulge him.
"Where do you live? Do you live around here too?" Uncle Fang asked him again.
Wang Kan hesitated for a moment. He could have simply said yes based on the assumption, but he was worried that the lie would be exposed. So he said, "I'm going to my cousin's house today. My cousin lives nearby."
As expected, Uncle Fang then asked him which neighborhood he lived in. After he gave the specific address, his gaze changed slightly, as if he was only now taking his words seriously. "Aren't your parents home?"
"They're away on a business trip."
Fang Liangping remembered that this boy's family seemed to be in business. He was taller than him, had regular features, and was very energetic, but it was precisely this kind of boy who was a hidden bomb.
"So they're often not home?"
"...A little."
"When you're not home, you always stay at your cousin's house? And then the two of you," Fang Liangping glanced at his daughter again, "come home together all the time like this?"
They fell silent.
Wang Kan suddenly had the thought that he might as well get beaten up. At least from Uncle Fang's questioning, he guessed that he hadn't seen anything. He tried to say naturally, "...it just happened to be on the way."
Fang Liangping nodded, "It's not very safe to go home so late after evening self-study."
Wang Kan was taken aback by Uncle Fang's understanding words. He didn't dare to take credit. Uncle Fang then took out apples and pears from the bag and handed them to him, saying, "You're in your final year of high school now, which is very tough. Your parents aren't home, and it's the change of seasons recently, so take care of yourself and go home early."
“…Okay, thank you, Uncle.” Wang Kan was flattered. She put the fruit into her schoolbag, exchanged a final glance with Fang Minzhou, and then rode her bike towards her cousin’s house.
Fang Minzhou felt a weight lifted from her heart.
She walked beside her father, pushing her bike. He didn't say a word until she locked the bike under the shed. Then he asked her, "Min-joo, I'm asking you a question, but don't lie."
“…Okay.” Fang Minzhou was already mentally prepared.
"Are you dating that guy from earlier?"
"No." Unlike when Sun Tong asked her during the summer vacation, this time she answered quickly and without hesitation. Her father seemed surprised, and she herself was also a little surprised.
Her father watched her silently, as if he were looking at something in the air or on the ground. The wind had stopped, and in the quiet autumn night, Fang Minzhou couldn't hear any sound, only the words she was saying to herself: She hadn't lied.
After a long silence, Dad said he believed her.
The stone has finally fallen to the ground, but why is she still afraid to breathe deeply?
When we got home with Dad, Mom was surprised: "You ran into him downstairs?"
Fang Minzhou looked heavy and exhausted. Afraid of being noticed, she forced a smile and nodded.
"What a coincidence! I was just wondering why your dad took so long to buy fruit," Mom said, opening the plastic bag and asking if she wanted an apple or a pear. She then peeled the fruit.
Fang Minzhou didn't want to eat anything, but she said, "I'll just eat the apple directly, no need to peel it."
"Peel it and cut it into small pieces; it'll taste better that way."
“…Okay.” Fang Minzhou stopped arguing. She saw her father go into the study without saying a word, and her mother didn’t find it strange.
While washing her hair and taking a shower, Fang Minzhou tried to calm down and recall what had just happened, but she was emotionally exhausted. She stood blankly under the warm water for a long time before she started applying shampoo to her hair.
She looked down at her legs and saw the white foam swirling and accumulating at the pipe opening with the water flow, and inexplicably thought of the story of The Little Mermaid.
She was very young when she first read this story and didn't feel much. Later, when she learned this text in elementary school, the teacher said that the Little Mermaid was pursuing not only love, but also the human soul.
She remembers writing down her teacher's words in her textbook as always.
But now I think, a mermaid is just a mermaid, just as a fox is just a fox and a tiger is just a tiger. Whether in the East or West, in fairy tales or myths, it's all about humans projecting their own ideas onto animals. The dugong is free in the sea, so why should it pursue the human soul? And what does the human soul pursue? Dreams? Fame and fortune? Love?
What is her dream?
Fang Minzhou didn't know. She still didn't have any hobbies or special skills, except for occasionally reading and fantasizing about traveling the world in the future, but that was more like a casual slogan; she only longed for it but never acted on it. Her classmates occasionally discussed the university majors they wanted to apply for. Some wanted to study medicine, some wanted to study finance; some were interested in it themselves, and some had family members in related industries. She hadn't decided either, but her mother really wanted her to study accounting or education.
Fame and fortune seem to be the common bargaining chips in the adult world. She probably needs them too, but she doesn't know how to obtain them, or rather, what gives her the right to possess them.
As for love... she was born with love from her family, which made her understand that love is great, but it is also conditional. Friends come and go, and now she has very good friends. She also wants the love of a romantic relationship. Her father was disappointed, and she was ashamed, but she felt that it was understandable.
Her vague life was like clay yet to be shaped on a potter's wheel. She had no model to refer to, and she knew that she would not live the same life as anyone else, just as no two leaves in the world are the same. She needed to complete this work on her own.
But if possible, she hopes to have someone with her, or rather, that they can walk together.
The last image that came to mind was Wang Kan blushing as she answered her father's questions, one by one, seemingly intentionally or unintentionally making things difficult for her.
Her reluctance to associate with Wang Kan stemmed not only from fear but also from caution. She longed for a truly fulfilling romance, perhaps like the vows spoken at the weddings she had attended—a life of holding hands and growing old together. This was her initial understanding of love, so she didn't want a daunting beginning. That way, she could at least avoid one trial, even though she knew it was difficult, an illusion, like the deception that "hard work always pays off," a lure to motivate effort.
But she still chose to believe.
After turning off the shower and drying her hair and body, Fang Minzhou put on the pajamas her mother had prepared long ago. The pajamas, which she had worn for two or three years, were made of cotton and had become softer and softer with a faint fragrance.
The aroma made Fang Minzhou's nose tingle.
Zhao Ningying brought the fruit platter into Fang Minzhou's room and tidied up her daughter's bedroom as she went. The room was actually clean and tidy. Fang Minzhou had always had good habits since she was a child. Without being taught by adults, she never threw her stationery and books around, and she would fold her blankets neatly every morning after getting up.
Zhao Ningying rearranged the bed, wiped the table and windowsill edges with tissues, and while wiping the table, she looked at the sticky notes Fang Minzhou had posted on the wall. Some had English words written on them, some had recent plans written on them, and some had quotes from famous people.
"Mom." Fang Minzhou returned to her room.
Zhao Ningying responded and threw the tissue into the trash can. "Come and have some fruit."
Fang Minzhou sat down at the table. "Aren't you going to eat?"
"I just ate," Zhao Ningying said, glancing at her hair. "Your hair doesn't seem to be dry yet?"
"More or less," Fang Minzhou said.
Zhao Ningying looked again, and thinking that the weather wasn't too cold yet, she didn't say much. She still told her to go to bed early that night, and asked what she wanted to eat for breakfast the next morning. Fang Minzhou said anything was fine, but how about noodles?
“Okay,” Zhao Ningying said. “Then you can sleep in a little longer tomorrow morning, and have your dad take you to school.”
A piece of apple was stuck to Fang Minzhou's lips. She mechanically opened her mouth, put it in, chewed, and swallowed. Her mother's expression looked...as if her father had said anything to her. "Isn't Dad going to work tomorrow?"
“We can go to work after dropping you off, there’s still time,” Zhao Ningying said. “I was just talking to your dad, saying that you go to bed so late every day and have to get up before six in the morning. From now on, we’ll pick you up from school, so it will be easier for you.”
Fang Minzhou didn't dare to show her surprise. She didn't understand how her father and mother could have suddenly reached this agreement if they hadn't told her what had just happened. "...No need, it would be troublesome for you both, and sometimes I might stay in the classroom a little longer."
“What’s the trouble? I told my friends that you never need us to take you home, and they said we’re so at ease because their kids went through the same thing in their senior year of high school.” The mother started rambling. “I think it makes sense. You come home so late every day now, and when it gets cold, you’ll have to wait for the bus. Why don’t we pick you up? What do you think?”
Fang Minzhou couldn't refuse.
Didn't she not want Wang Kan to take her home? Didn't she want to make the most of her time? She had no reason to refuse.
Sometimes Fang Minzhou felt that adults were more like children than she and students of their age. Children laugh when they are happy and cry when they are unhappy, and adults often speak their minds directly. On the contrary, they consciously hide their true selves in front of their parents, teachers, and classmates.
After finishing the fruit, her mother, as usual, nagged a few more times before leaving. Fang Minzhou opened a book, took out her phone from the drawer, and turned it on.
Wang Kan was online, and at the same time he immediately sent her a message, as if he knew she would be online.
Wang Kan: The person in question?
Fang Minzhou wanted to laugh, but she was too tired to even manage a smile. She replied, "Mm."
Wang Kan: Are you alright?
Fang Minzhou: Hmm
She quickly sent the next message: After that, my parents took me to and from school.
For a long time, Wang Kan didn't make a move. When the next message came, it was asking her: "Is it convenient to call?"
Fang Minzhou glanced at the closed door and replied: It's not very convenient.
Wang Kan: Okay
Wang Kan: I understand.
Fang Minzhou: Hmm
Fang Minzhou: Then I'm logging off.
Wang Kan: Okay
Fang Minzhou: Go to sleep early.
Wang Kan: Okay
Wang Kan: You too
Wang Kan: Goodnight
The last three messages were sent very quickly.
Fang Minzhou exited the QQ page. Her gaze lingered on the dial pad on the main screen for two or three seconds before she turned off her phone.
The screen went out, she put her phone back deep in the drawer, took out a notepad, and wrote down her new monthly plan.
For Fang Minzhou, doing practice questions is the most effective method. There are only so many knowledge points and problem-solving methods. She can consolidate what she already knows and find what she hasn't mastered yet. In addition to memorizing vocabulary books, she also likes to do reading comprehension exercises to memorize new words in English. As for science subjects, she has a radical idea: after reviewing each wrong question, if she is sure she has mastered it, she will tear out that page. If she doesn't have the courage to tear it out, it can only mean that she hasn't memorized it yet.
She wasn't sure if she had the courage and confidence to do it, but she really wanted to be in the top ten of her grade in this monthly exam. She was willing to give something to get the greatest comfort she could get at this stage.
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