Chapter 45: My Bride Ii (1/2)

I turned my head slowly.

She hasn't changed much at all. She might be a few feet taller but that was all.

She wore a lovely long maxi dress that lit my eyes up.

I remember her exclaiming many years back that she might never wear a dress again.

She's probably changed, I thought.

Before I could speak, she sat down next to me.

Just like when we first met.

Twenty years ago.

Jingdezhen Park, Summer.

There was an abandoned region of the park due to a fire that broke out and killed over a hundred children.

Because of that, the region became a place for kids to train their guts.

It was the place that became a part of my young and inexperienced childhood.

I was six.

I went over to explore that abandoned part because I heard about it from the kids at school.

I caught sight of a girl that was sitting on a long bench.

I walked over to the bench.

After pacing back and forth for a long time, she spoke up, ”What are you doing waddling in front of me?”

I remembered that she was carrying her own backpack as she stood there berating me, her hands on her hips.

”I just came to have a look, ”I answered nervously.

I sat down beside her.

Displeased, she pushed me away. ”I found this spot so go find somewhere else to sit.”

”Why? I found it, too! It's my secret ground,” I retorted, albeit meekly. I would never forget the conversation we shared.

”I came here first,” she said with a smile.

I stood up and looked straight into her eyes, not daring to utter a word.

She was just like my mother. I remembered her smiling in triumph. ”I found it so it's no longer a secret.”

I pointed at her and said, ”Since you've found my spot, you have two choices.”

Looking back, I wondered where I got that courage from?

She sat back down on the bench and asked curiously, ”What are they?”

I gestured with my fingers. ”One, leave and forget about this place. Second, join my secret ground and be my…”

She laughed bitterly. ”What? Security guard?”

”Wife. My wife,” I blurted out.

The fury that came to her was instant. I saw her whole expression changed.

I was absolutely frightened.

I jumped off the bench as if it was on fire and I ran. Every few seconds, I would turn to look back at her.

She never stopped glaring at me.

Despite her scaring the absolute c.r.a.p out of me, I did not run far. Instead, I made a big detour and hid behind the bench.

I sneaked glances at her and saw that she was just staring blankly into s.p.a.ce.

Her face was beet red.

It made me feel something strange.

I s.h.i.+fted closer to her.

She started dully, ”You actually look like a human now with that suit.”

”It's just clothes,” I replied, looking down and adjusting my collar.

”How? Are you a pilot now? Are you really successful now?” she bombarded me with one question after another, just like in the past.

”No, not a pilot. I gave up upon realizing that I had a fear of heights. What about you, my air stewardess?” I smiled bitterly.

”You're allowed to fear heights but I can't be airsick?” she mumbled, wrinkling her brows.

”What about you? What are you doing now?” I asked, not really understanding her words.

”You go first,” she said.

”I'm a tailor in Beijing. I sell a suit for seventy thousand yuan and I get to keep a third of it,” I smiled, smoothing my hands down my suit.

”Right, who's going to wear a seventy thousand suit? Business must be bad. Look at you, so skinny.” She pinched my arm.

”It's different in Beijing. It's a fast-paced city with a strong economy. Demand for my suits is still high. I won't go hungry, don't worry.”

I looked up into the star-filled sky. There weren't many neon city lights, only scarce street lights and a few yellowing billboards.

The stars were s.h.i.+ning brightly alongside a half moon that was hung high up in the sky.

”Oh, so you just look skinny? You're telling me you really have some meat there?” She smiled, grabbing onto my arm.

I asked, ”Your turn. What are you doing nowadays?”

”I'm a florist.”

I ma.s.saged my arms, thinking back to twenty years ago.

The second day of our acquaintance played out at the same bench in the corner of the park.

I arrived at my 'secret ground' earlier than usual.

I was in elementary school. My mother was no longer around and my father was a professor at a nearby university.

He returned home late every night and had little time with me even on the weekends.

As such, before five in the evening, he wouldn't care much about where I went to have fun.

Nothing would go wrong anyway.