The Fading Away of Our Youth (So Young)

Chapter 2

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So&h.e.l.lip;the harsh truth finally comes to light. And at last, the storyline will pick up after Lin Jing is out of the picture (for real this time). What’s so good about him anyways? Why does he even have such a big reaction to the new situation?

Anyways, stay tuned for some more developments&h.e.l.lip;^_^

~Tranzgeek

In her dreams, Lin Jing pulled her along the streets full of food stalls. She shamelessly approached every stall, eating every type of food. He said, “It’s too late, let’s return now.”

Zheng Wei shook his hand, “I don’t want to return, I’m not tired at all.”

Disappointed, she heard Zhu Xiao Bei’s voice instead, “Of course you’re not tired at all. I am tired from calling and calling you. Wake up quickly, did you forget that you have cla.s.ses during periods one and two? Ruan Ruan has waited for you for a long time.”

There was cla.s.s! Oh no, oh no. Zheng Wei sat up immediately like a spring, pushing aside her blankets and got off the bed immediately. She heard a “bang” sound. When she had got off of the bed, she had been hit by a metal barrier, and abruptly bounced back. Dizzy, she saw stars.

A pair of hands steadied her, Ruan Ruan cried with laughter saying, “Your directions are wrong. That side is the wall, this side is supposed to be the place to get off the bed. You’ve been hit stupid right?”

She screamed loudly, rubbing her forehead hard, not knowing if last night’s alcohol hurt her brain or if she got a concussion. In short, she felt very ill.

Finally, managing to wear slippers, she saw Zhu Xiao Bei distressed, stroking the wall, “What did the poor wall do?”

“You have no heart!” She stared at Zhu Xiao Bei, and then grabbed her slippers to go wash up.

At the other side, Ruan Ruan, who had already finished dressing, urged her, “I’ve already grabbed your books. Hurry up, or else we’ll be late.”

“Coming, coming, I’ll be ready soon.” She stuck her head from the washing room patio, just happening to hear a phone ring “Ding ling ling.” Zhuo Mei, the person closest to the phone, was still snoring loudly.

Zhu Xiao Bei, who didn’t have cla.s.s in the morning muttered, “Who calls so early in the morning?” She reached out her hand to answer it. She asked two questions and yelled, “Zheng Wei, it’s for you!”

Zheng Wei, who was midway through brushing her teeth, sped over, “Quick, give it to me, it must be Lin Jing.”

“It’s a woman, your mom.” Zhu Xiao Bei looked at her from the corner of her eye, rolled her eyes and gave the phone to her.

“Mom, it’s so early what are you doing?” Zheng Wei said, her mouth filled with bubbles.

On the other end, her mom said to her, “Wei Wei, can you take a trip home?”

“Why? I haven’t come to the school for a long time.” Zheng Wei was confused. Thinking, she laughed again saying, “Mom, you wouldn’t be thinking that I’m too great right? I still have to go to cla.s.s.”

Her mom paused, then said, “Come back, there’s something up at home.”

“What happened?” Zheng Wei said distracted.

“I divorced your dad.”

————————————————————————–

Zheng Wei sat on the familiar sofa at home, while her mom and dad flanked her on her left and right, by her side. Her grandma sat opposite from her, dabbing at her own tears. Their mouths opened and closed simultaneously, but even as they talked, she didn’t process anything.

They had sat for about 20 minutes in the train going home. Facing all of these things before her eyes made her only feel tired, and she didn’t want to say anything.

Dad patted her head, mom continued to grasp her hand. They both had an obvious look of guilt. This was obviously their divorce, and today they had reached the point of no turning back, but they only felt guilty towards her. Everyone’s life was certainly very weird!

She thought, in the end they still divorced.

From an early age, Zheng Wei knew that her mom and dad’s relationship was not good, she had a pretty mom and an honest, practical dad, but they were never like other kids’ parents. As they walked in the alleyway, side by side, they would only argue, arguing continuously.

Of course, they always tried to shield the child from their arguments, but Zheng Wei would always meet their arguments by accident. Many times, Zheng Wei would hear their low voices escalate to a roar in her own bed. Sometimes, she would also hear a sound of shattering gla.s.s drift over. At these times, she would try harder to close her eyes, she couldn’t hear, couldn’t hear anything, she must sleep. When they fought to the point when they still couldn’t compromise, mom and dad always sent her to grandma’s house, her small backpack on her back, holding her favorite book of fairy tales, leaving happily; they were smiling, so she would also smile.

After she grew up a little, she realized that the cla.s.s teachers would always especially pity her, they would always touch her head, saying, “What a cute child, so pitiful.” When she went to Zi Di School, the education wings were all in a single courtyard. Every person could hear any wind blowing or gra.s.s moving from any house clearly, even more from her house which housed such big commotions. So before, everyone all knew that her parents fought strongly, but no one ever said anything. She had never known that she, herself, the Small Jade Flying Dragon was pitiful.

In fact, she had never been as pitiful as everyone thought. It wasn’t that every house had a small child that was premature, depressed or juvenile offenders. At least she herself, Zheng Wei did not feel that way. Even if her parents’ relationship was bad, they both loved her endlessly, and they did their best to let her feel the opposition between them to lessen the heartbreak when they broke up. They also refrained from hurting her as best as they could. She loved them and felt that they were even more pitiful than herself.

The only time when she thought things were bad was when after arguing, her mom would huff and stalk away to calm down. When she left, things would get better for a few days, her dad would also continue to work overtime and go out to drink wine. Sometimes, the two would never meet each other.

When she wanted to go to school, she couldn’t always go to Xiang Ling City to go to her grandma’s house, so she could only use her spare money and her parents’ money that they left behind. But she wasn’t brave enough at all to use it wildly. She was afraid that all the money would be used up, then if they still didn’t come home she was going to be in big trouble.

At these kind of times, her neighbors would all love to bring her to their houses to eat, she liked Lin Uncle’s house the best. Everyone else said that Lin Uncle was the unit’s big leader, but she thought that he didn’t seem like one at all. He would care for her to no end, and every time he would sit by Lin Jing and eat his food in big bites. In the bowl would always be the food that Lin Uncle and Sun Aunt grabbed for her, she would look at Lin Jing and smile secretly. While eating, her mouth would feel very fragrant. After dinner, Lin Uncle would allow Lin Jing to accompany her while she finished her homework. Lin Jing’s room’s lamp had a soft orange hue, warmly emitting light. Sometimes she would think, if mom and dad didn’t come back forever, staying at Lin Uncle’s house would be so great.

Thinking about it right now, she was still a heartless child.

She still remembered after she had tested into high school, her mom and dad put on another big show again. This time, they broke bowls in front of her, after the situation pa.s.sed, they picked up the messy house and said to her, the bystander, “Sorry, Wei Wei, it was dad and mom who were not right, frightening you.”

At that time she only said one sentence, “Why won’t you guys divorce?”

They were immediately startled and surrounded her, saying, “This child has been frightened to the point of silliness, mom and dad won’t divorce, just for you, we will not divorce.”

She really wanted to say, in fact she had never been frightened or muddled, her every word had been true. It was so funny, obviously their marriage had already been broken to the point of silliness, but for her, they continued drag on. The reason was to not break her hearts but did they think that a family that existed only in name would be able to provide happiness and security for her? But she never said these things because she knew that the fact that she could grow up so carefree was already her parent’s only consolation.

So, 18 year old Zheng Wei hastily moved back home to meet with the divorce decree. She felt relieved, for they had been thoroughly tired of fighting all these years, she was tired for them! But why was her mood dipping, just thinking about it made her eyes water.

Dad seemed to be tired from talking, he persuaded grandma to walk back to a different room. Before he left he told his ex wife: “Talking to our daughter alone will probably make it a little better.”

Right now only her mom was left. She, on the other hand began to become more and more sad. Mom saw her red eyes and busily said, “Wei Wei, mom knows this situation hurt you very much but me and your dad also don’t have a solution&h.e.l.lip;”

Zheng Wei was finally fed up, crying to her mom, she said, “The fact that you guys aren’t getting along isn’t something that happened in one or two days, a divorce is a divorce, i can’t control that, but this world has so many men, why must you be with Lin Uncle.”

After she came back she learned from her grandma’s cursing that the main reason her parents divorced was not because their daughter had grown up, and that there were no more scruples, but that her mom and Lin uncle’s private love relationship became public. For this reason, Lin uncle wanted to divorce Sun Auntie. But after Sun Auntie reported to a higher level leadership there, the authorities required the unit to give a statement, and thus the two were by no means legally divorced. Sun Auntie also wanted to drag this dog man and woman down.

Despite all this, Zheng Wei’s mother had already decided to be with Lin uncle. She had already broken the way of retreat by divorcing.

Today mom didn’t apply any makeup, but her prime face was still very pretty, one almost couldn’t tell she was a mother to a 28-year-old. She looked at her daughter, her eyes full of grief, but no tears came. She said, “Wei wei, you can look down on me, mom is not a good person, but i knew your Lin uncle when &h.e.l.lip;”

“It can’t be the old tree where you had your first love that you talked about?” Zheng Wei said, surprised, forgetting even to cry.

Mom nodded her head, “at that time when we were both young&h.e.l.lip;at times it would be bitter, but the good part was him. Later when he successfully got the Gao Kao award, and tested into high school our relationship gradually withered. Later his graduation points matched him with your Sun Aunt, and he married your Sun Aunt. The situation has always been complicated.

When I was introduced to my new job I was introduced to your dad who I later married. Your dad’s personality doesn’t really fit with mine but he is a good person.

Not long after you were born, my health conditions kept getting worse and worse, but your Lin Uncle got got me into a VIP room. It doesn’t matter if you believe me or not but me and your dad have not been getting along well while me and Lin Uncle’s feelings have always been clear. We even said that we would keep these feelings in our hearts and not say a word to anyone

“Then why are you guys still like this?”

“In the past, we both went to Wu Yuan to travel. I don’t know what happened either. I mysteriously walked back to Li Zhuang, that tree still exists. I never dreamed that I would actually see your Lin Uncle. When I was young I thought that a lot of things that one sees would go by quickly, but it will actually stay with you for a lifetime. That day, me and him both cried. Later, your Lin Uncle kneeled to me under the tree and said that the rest of his days would be dedicated to my happiness.

Zheng Wei heard this dumbly, her heart having an indescribable impression.

“Wei wei, mom is a failure when it comes to love, so it can’t be blamed when others don’t look upon me well. But you must understand, mom is already not young so this may be her final mission in her lifetime. So even if others gossip about me and slander me I cannot turn back.”

“All these years you could have resolved the situation but why only now?” Zheng Wei seemed as if she was talking to herself.

“There was an instance before; your Lin uncle had a chance to go overseas. At that time your dad and I has fought until disheartened. I had thought about leaving with your Lin uncle to leave forever but the moment I walked to the door I saw you running up to me with an extremely sweet expression. You asked me where I was going and the moment you tugged on my clothing I knew I couldn’t leave because I cared too much for you. But now you’ve grown up and you will find your own love and life while I will only keep growing old. I don’t want to be regretful after I am rendered immobile.”

Zheng Wei thought hard as she tried to recall the past but she couldn’t conjure up the memory of her 5-year-old experience; however she believed her mom was telling the truth, but thinking of her divorced parents’ resentment and grievances&h.e.l.lip; children were truly the world’s most selfish people.

She leaned her head into her mother’s bosom. Since childhood she had been closest with her mom; any other observer would think they were a pair of siblings. “Mom, what if Mr. Lin won’t divorce?” Since the situation was already like this Zheng Wei began to worry for her mother.

“Anything is good, when I divorced I never thought of regret.”

When they were on their way back to the school, mom and dad both escorted her to the train platform. Before she went into the train she gave both a big big bear hug. In each of their ears’ she said, “If you can have a smaller brother or a smaller sister, it must not be cuter than the Jade Small Flying Dragon.”

When the train started, Zheng Wei looked at the platform and was not willing to part with her mom and her dad, as she watched their figures grow smaller and smaller. When she couldn’t see them anymore she said in her heart, “You guys must be happy, I will also go pursue my own happiness.”

Good bye Lin Jing!

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