8
Their lives continued like so, comfortably and joyfully.
That is, until one day, when a great ripple struck the stable rhythms of life.
Final week of 10th grade; the first year of junior high.
The persistent sounds of the alarm woke Yang Qiu up. He rolled over and turned the alarm off, then rolled back, staring at the ceiling while he slowly became more awake. Time to go to school again… He sighed and forced himself to get up.
Yang Qiu went through the same morning of brushing his teeth, washing his face, and changing into his uniform. He then walked out of the door with a slice of bread in his mouth. Despite being early, he was too lazy to make himself breakfast.
He walked until he arrived at the restaurant where he went inside to wait for Chen Xia.
He waited by the door for a few minutes, but when there was no sign of Chen Xia, Yang Qiu decided to head upstairs to see if Chen Xia was in his room.
Just as Yang Qiu got to the top of the stairs, he saw Mrs. Chen coming out of Chen Xia's room.
"Good morning, Mrs. Chen… Is Xiaxia alright?" Yang Qiu could tell something was wrong.
"Oh! Good morning to you too, Yang Qiu." Mrs. Chen was clearly in a haggard state, but still greeted Yang Qiu warmly. "Chen Xia has a fever, so he won't be going to school today. He is sleeping right now."
Yang Qiu instantly became worried.
"Is he okay? Is it serious? Would you like me to stay and help take care of him?" Yang Qiu could not hide his concern.
"No, no, that's okay! You know how Xiaxia is, he'll be up and running within a few days. Plus, I wouldn't want you to get sick as well. Thank you for being so considerate though, Yang Qiu." Mrs. Chen truly appreciated how much Yang Qiu cared for Chen Xia.
"Well, I hope he recovers soon… I guess I'll head to school now." Yang Qiu was reluctant, but he knew that what Mrs. Chen said made sense.
"I'll let him know you came by when he wakes up. Now get going, you shouldn't be late to school! Have a great day, Yang Qiu!" Mrs. Chen smiled appreciatively at Yang Qiu.
"Thank you, too, Mrs. Chen. Please let me know if you need anything." Yang Qiu was still worried but forced himself to leave.
He walked out of the restaurant and headed towards school.
Today is not going to be a good day, I can feel it.
As the class settled down, the teacher began to take attendance.
"Liu Wanyin?"
"Present."
"Guo Meilin?"
"here"
"Chen Xia? …. Chen Xia?"
"Um, Mrs. Li, Chen Xia has a fever and can't make it today." Yang Qiu responded in place of Chen Xia.
"Okay, thanks for letting me know." The teacher continued with the attendance.
Yang Qiu sighed and looked out the window. It's so boring without Xiaxia here…
At lunch Yang Qiu got his food and sat down in a corner of the lunchroom. He picked out a mushroom out of habit, but then suddenly remembered Chen Xia's missing presence. Ugh, I don't want to eat them, but it will be a waste to throw them out… I wish Xiaxia were here.
In the end, Yang Qiu forced himself to eat the mushrooms. He quickly took some other items from his tray and stuffed them into his mouth in order to bury the taste. Lunch was not enjoyable.
After school Yang Qiu dragged himself out of the school building and went back in the direction of the restaurant. Today felt endless. I hope Chen Xia is okay…
At the door, he stopped.
Xiaxia is sick; he's probably still resting. I probably shouldn't disturb him.
He turned around and walked home slowly and unwillingly, despite his decision.
Yang Qiu entered the house and went to his room. He sat at the desk and set his bag down, pulling out a workbook that was his homework for the day.
Just as he was about to begin, the home telephone that was sitting on the corner of his desk began to ring. Yang Qiu picked it up.
"Hello?" Yang Qiu said into the phone.
"Hello. Is this Yang Qiu?"
"Um, yes… and you are…"
"I am calling from XX City Hospital. Your father has been in a rather serious car accident, and we are calling to let you know. If you would like to come to see him, that would be great, as he may need assistance while he recovers, and it would be most beneficial to have family nearby. If you choose to do so, we are located at XX street."
"Oh…Th-thank you for letting me know… I will need some time to consider…" Yang Qiu couldn't believe what he was hearing. This is so sudden… how did this happen? I hope dad is alright…
"Well of course, this is quite a serious matter so please take your time."
"Y-yes, thank you."
The call ended.
Yang Qiu was temporarily paralyzed. He still hadn't quite processed what the caller had said.
When he recovered his senses, Yang Qiu immediately tried calling his dad's number.
What if they were trying to trick me… I need to confirm if this is real. Maybe it's a scam…
Yang Qiu listened to the sounds of the telephone while trying to suppress his anxiety.
He sat for what felt like an eternity, but the call never went through. His breathing intensified. No, no. This cannot be true. Maybe he is just busy and so he's not picking up. I just called him the other day…
After a few attempts Yang Qiu gave up and collapsed on the bed. What do I do…
He was already tired from a long day at school, and with the addition of this new problem, his thoughts became jumbled. Soon he became tired and fell asleep in his uniform.
When Yang Qiu woke up the next morning, he was a bit dizzy. I should get ready for school.
He went to the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. His uniform was still on, though it was a bit wrinkled. His hair was also messy, and there were bags under his eyes.
He sighed and began washing up.
After leaving the house, Yang Qiu decided to stop by the restaurant again. He walked inside and saw Mrs. Chen at the counter and so he walked over to greet her.
"Good morning, Mrs. Chen. Is Xiaxia better?"
Mrs. Chen turned around to see Yang Qiu standing behind her.
"Good morning, Yang Qiu! Xiaxia's fever went down a bit, but he is still pretty sick. He is sleeping right now, so you will have to go to school by yourself again today. He should be fine by the end of the week though. Hopefully he'll make it to the last day of school... thank goodness you guys don't have many end-of-year exams…" Mrs. Chen sighed.
"Yeah, I'm glad school is almost over…" Yang Qiu felt that school was especially unbearable without Chen Xia.
"Thanks for dropping by Yang Qiu. I mean it." Mrs. Chen couldn't help but appreciate Yang Qiu's care.
"No worries, Mrs. Chen, I just hope Xiaxia gets well soon."
"I'm sure he will!" Mrs. Chen could tell Yang Qiu was genuinely worried. "Well run along then, don't be late to class!"
"Mhm. Goodbye, Mrs. Chen." Yang Qiu left for school alone once again.
I guess today is going to be another boring day… And what do I do about my dad? I was going to talk it out with Xiaxia… I really hope he gets better soon. It really would be a pity if he missed out on the last day of school.
Yang Qiu was so immersed in his thoughts that he didn't even remember his walk to school.
Yang Qiu was still distracted during class. He went through the motions, answering roll call and pretending to listen to the teacher. But in reality, his mind continued to wander as he thought about how he was going to make a decision about his dad. What if he was just busy yesterday? But then he would have called back. Maybe he didn't receive the call? Yang Qiu was still in denial about the accident.
He sighed. Class feels especially long today…
As the teacher rambled on, Yang Qiu became more and more tired of his situation and his muddled thoughts. I can't take this anymore.
"Excuse me, Mrs. Li. May I go to the restroom?"
"Sure."
Yang Qiu got up and left the classroom while the teacher continued her lecture.
He went to the bathroom, entered a stall, and sat down on the toilet seat.
What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?
After school Yang Qiu returned to the restaurant. He was still hesitant about disturbing the Chens but felt that he really needed to talk his situation out with someone. He took a deep breath and pushed open the door.
Mr. Chen saw Yang Qiu walk in.
"Hey there, Yang Qiu!" Mr. Chen was wiping his forehead with a handkerchief.
"Hello, Mr. Chen."
"What's with the long face? Something happen?" Mr. Chen immediately sensed that Yang Qiu was not feeling very well.
"Um…" Yang Qiu was still a bit nervous about sharing his thoughts, but decided that since he was already here, he might as well follow through with it. "Do you happen to have some time to talk right now? If you don't that's fine…"
"Oh… sorry Yang Qiu, I wish I could, but I gotta prepare for the dinner rush. I believe Mrs. Chen should be able to talk though. Everything okay?" Yang Qiu's tone made Mr. Chen rather worried.
"Yeah, sorry for bothering you. I'll go find Mrs. Chen then." Yang Qiu turned to leave.
She is probably taking care of Chen Xia right now… He headed upstairs to Chen Xia's room.
Inside, Mrs. Chen was sitting next to Chen Xia's bed, where there was a bundle of blankets that Yang Qiu assumed held Chen Xia.
"Uh, hello, Mrs. Chen," Yang Qiu said cautiously, seeing that the room was rather quiet.
Mrs. Chen turned her head around. When she saw Yang Qiu, she smiled in greeting.
"Wait a moment," she whispered. She quietly got up and left the room to greet Yang Qiu.
"You came just as he fell asleep." Mrs. Chen smiled.
"I'm glad he is able to get good rest." Yang Qiu was not bothered by the fact that he was unable to talk to Chen Xia. After all, recovering from sickness was more important.
"Yeah, he's been sleeping all day, haha. I'm sure he will recover soon," Mrs. Chen said.
The two fell silent for a moment.
"Um… Mrs. Chen, do you have a second to talk?" Yang Qiu finally mustered up the courage to ask someone to share his troubles with.
"Of course! Is there something wrong?" Mrs. Chen could also tell that Yang Qiu had something he wanted to say.
"Yeah…"
"Come with me, let's go talk somewhere else."