Chapter 162 - My Song Yu. Finally, It was Worth Waiting For. (1/2)
Song Yu pouted and looked unhappy.
She had only known how to write numbers like one, two, three, four. It was finally time for her to learn how to write words, just like an adult would. This had excited little Song Yu very much. She was more excited than getting to learn numbers as she always had the curiosity for learning new things.
However, due to the arrival of Xia Wenna and her two sons, the lesson had to be rescheduled.
The problem was that if she was not to write then, she would be uncomfortable. Her heart would be aching for it with her mind being unable to let go of it.
“I can teach you.” She remembered that he was just about ten at that time. However, Qi Chengzhi was already a more reserved child compared to the other children his same age.
“Really?” The little mouth of Song Yu which was pouting earlier immediately turned into a bright smile.
Qi Chengzhi nodded, but Qi Chengji who was at the side of him showed dissatisfaction. “But I want to play!”
Qi Chengzhi drew out a Chinese hacky sack from his pocket and threw it at him. “Go on, play it in the garden.”
Qi Chengji caught the Chinese hacky sack with both hands. Surprisingly, he was easily dismissed – he had stopped complaining and ran to the garden to play by himself.
“Where are we going to write?” Qi Chengzhi asked.
Little Song Yu eagerly reached out her fair soft little hands and pulled Qi Chengzhi to her bedroom.
Her bedroom was a little too big for her age. To his surprise, it was not in pink like other girls, which he had anticipated at first. It was only in warm beige color which made him feel comfortable. He did not have to be blinded by the color pink.
In spite of that, there was something that could not be avoided. Dolls that piled up over the table and bed.
In between the bed and the door, there was a space where a coffee table was placed. If they were to sit on the soft rug, the height of the table would be just fine for them.
Qi Chengzhi sat beside Song Yu, sneaking one arm around her. His other hand held hers that was holding the pen. Bringing her soft little hand to write down these two words:
Jiang Yuan.
For an eleven-year-old, Qi Chengzhi’s handwriting was really beautiful. Though it was not as smooth as it would normally be since he was holding Song Yu’s hand. It was neat and firm, foreshadowing how strong his handwriting would be in the future.
“What is this?” Song Yu blinked. She did not recognize those two words. “Is this my name?”
“This is my name.” He was still holding her in his arm.
“But your name has three words!” Song Yu pouted. “I may be very young, but don’t you lie to me.”
Qi Chengzhi laughed at her reaction. “I’m not lying to you. This is really my name. It is my other name.”
“You have two names?” Song Yu opened her mouth in shock. This was her first time discovering that one could have two names. “Why do you have two names?”
“The members of my family all have two names,” answered Qi Chengzhi patiently. “Of course, only our Qi family has. This is my other name, Jiang Yuan.”
Qi Chengzhi taught her how to pronounce them. After making sure Song Yu had recognized these two words, he said “this name is a secret. I’ve only told one person, which is you. You can’t tell anyone.”
“Okay.” Song Yu nodded and promised him.
Qi Chengzhi chuckled as if to hint something and said, “I’m not sure if you will remember it or not in the future.”
Then, he tore the page out, laying it at the side of the book. “Write these again according to it.”
This time, Song Yu’s fair, soft little hand held the pen by itself and wrote them down without the help of Qi Chengzhi. The handwriting was of course crooked. The two dots on top of the word Jiang were flying out of shape. The three horizontal lines were as crooked as earthworms. The word “Nu” at the bottom was far away from the upper part, leaving a big gap in between, looking like two words.
Despite that, the word “Yuan” was smaller in size than the word “Jiang”. Plus, it did not look like it was well-aligned.
Upon finishing her writing, Qi Chengzhi also tore out that page. Folded it neatly and put it in his pocket.
…
…
Song Yu was now holding that paper which had turned yellow. It seemed to have become thin and fragile from time. It was as if it could be effortlessly broken down into pieces.
Looking at two of the misaligned words “Jiang Yuan”, her memories became clearer.
She remembered Qi Chengzhi who told her in confidence that this was his other name.
When she was small, she was still unaware of The Great Eight Families. She did not know that other than their given names, they would have courtesy names too.
The Great Eight Families originated from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. When the Qin Dynasty defeated the six states, their ancestors, who were the aristocrats then, had a narrow escape. With the help of the National Teachers of Wei, the aristocrats of the seven states all came together. They concealed their identities to continue their lives. Along with the continuous war, they had established unimaginable cultural conservation.
As they were unable to use their surnames when they were supposed to remain hidden, they had taken their states’ names as their new surnames to continue making a living. They kept their actual surnames as their courtesy names. From one generation to the next, the surnames had been passed on lest they forget their origins.
“Jiang”, was the surname of Qi state’s aristocrats.
Song Yu was unaware of this. Even when she was engaged to Qi Chengzhi, she had no inkling of the courtesy name of Qi Chengzhi.
She had never connected those ancestors’ surnames to The Great Eight Families.
This was because the courtesy names of The Great Eight Families were only made known to the wives.
Only then Song Yu knew about the culture of The Great Eight Families, fully aware that each of them had been holding different courtesy names. Other than that, she remembered what was initially forgotten – of what Qi Chengzhi had told her when she was small.
By recalling what Qi Chengzhi had said in the past, she could easily understand the meaning behind these two words.
Song Yu could not help but cry in shock. Her hand trembled while holding onto the piece of paper while gasping for air at the same time.
She had not expected Qi Chengzhi to have told her about his courtesy name at such an early age.
She was very young then. The memories she had of that age were vague. She could only remember bits and pieces from that incident with most of the details faded away.
How could he be so confident that she would remember his name?
What if she had forgotten?
Before discovering the paper, she had really forgotten about its existence. She did not remember his courtesy name. Surprisingly, he had not brought it up to her too.
Song Yu did not understand. Why did he tell her his courtesy name when she was in such an early age. This was something that was only supposed to be divulged to his wife.
Her fingers shakily caressed the ugly and misaligned words, before folding it back gently.
Twenty years came by and he was still holding onto it.
She placed back the paper to where it was supposed to be. Only by then, it dawned on her that the book was a diary. The place that was keeping the paper, was the last page of the diary.
Song Yu recognized it. The strong but reserved handwriting. It was the handwriting of Qi Chengzhi.
The last diary entry wrote:
Song Yu accepted my proposal. She will be my bride. Finally.
It was short, but it surprisingly met the personality of Qi Chengzhi. No matter if it was his speaking or diary scribblings, they were always simple and straightforward.
She was unaware of the reason but Song Yu could still feel his excitement and agitation through his words despite it being short and simple.
While caressing the lines of words with her finger, the charming face of Qi Chengzhi appeared on the paper.
It was as if he was watching her carefully and concentratedly at that moment.
Song Yu turned to the first page of the diary and began reading.
…
…
‘Today was the first day of Song Yu being in elementary school. It was her very first time wearing the school uniform of Jixia School. I saw her passing through the school entrance with a careful expression.’
…
‘Today, we came across each other. Song Yu seemed to have become afraid of me. She lowered her head and left without greeting me.’
…
‘Song Yu is now in fourth grade.’
…
‘From tomorrow onwards, I will be studying abroad in the United States. I would not know how Song Yu would look like when I come back. Would she be gorgeous?’
…
‘Today was the very first day that I am not able to see Song Yu.’
…
‘Today was the second day.’
…
…
She kept turning the pages forward. Qi Chengzhi did not have any other sort of entries. The rest were constantly counting on how many days he had not seen her.
…
‘Today was the second month and the tenth day I was not able to see Song Yu.’
…
‘Today was the fifth month and the seventh day I was not able to see Song Yu. I had founded a company here. I named it Feather.’
…
‘Today was the second year, third month and the third day I was not able to see Song Yu. She had been engaged to Qi Chengji.’
…
‘Today was the second year, third month and the fourth day I was not able to see Song Yu. I gave my family a call. They insisted on the engagement. They would not regret it in any case.’
…
‘Today was the second year, third month and the fifth day I was not able to see Song Yu. I have made a decision. Whether I would be spending a long time, or making a big effort, even if it required me to be unscrupulous, I must destroy the engagement between Song Yu and Qi Chengji.’
…
‘Yesterday, I met Song Yu. At long last. However, she was not aware of it. I found her drowning. As long as I was here, I would never let her get into any accidents. Only when she was in my embrace, I realized that my Song Yu had grown up.’
…
‘Today was the fourth year, seventh month and twelve days I was not able to see Song Yu. If she knew about what I had done, she would hate me.’