In the midst of darkness, I sat up suddenly, breathing hard. I looked at the sleeping girl nearby, and lowered my voice as much as I can.
“What a strange dream.”
I sighed to myself. The alarm clock told me it was just about time to get up anyway, so I swung off bed to prepare breakfast.
I took a cold shower, washing off the cold sweat on my back.
While showering, I started to brood over last night’s dream.
It looks like Jiang Muqing has taken quite an effect on me.
In my previous dreams of “her”, there weren’t any possibility of other characters appearing. There wasn’t any interference between me and “her”, much less this type of nightmare content.
I can provide a simple explanation for “her”. She was my playmate from elementary to middle school- Luo Xue.
My first meeting with her was at my grandparents’ house, in my hometown.
Back then, my parents were very busy with their jobs. I was young, and I wasn’t able to take care of myself very well. So my childhood was spent at my grandparents’ place, and I didn’t leave for the city with my parents until middle school.
One day, a man returned to the village from years of living overseas. He was very wealthy, and built a very large, Western mansion. It was just the same as the house in my dream.
The man, of course, was down-to-earth Chinese, and his wife was a silver-blonde foreigner. Their daughter inherited her father’s Asian face, as well as her mother’s beautiful silver hair.
The girl was very attractive, with all the positive qualities of her parents. She was very bright and smart, too. The only drawback was her weak body; she never attended the town’s school, and rarely left the house.
The townspeople were a bit superstitious. The blonde woman seemed like the white devil described in myths and legends, and their child was indeed ill. They avoided the family in fear of bad luck. *
*When you have a rural, undeveloped, and disconnected community of the same race, foreign discrimination always happens. Foreigners are different, they’re unlike anything simple-minded Chinese farmers and workmen have ever seen. It threatens their way of life, because it means change. It’s the same if you put a Turkish person in South Carolina, or Alabama.
The two of us should have never been able to meet.
But then we did, maybe it was pure, simple fate.
That day, I was kicked out of the house with my 29% test paper. On a whim, I decided to take a look at the strange mansion, and bumped into her at the front door.
I wasn’t taken home by Grandma at all, but rather invited into the white mansion by the silver-haired girl.
Her parents greeted me warmly.
In the evening, we ate roasted steak. I’ve never seen anything like it, it was completely new to me. Then, I was sent home personally by her father.
Why would I think of such a person while having that dream? Such a good memory was completely ruined by Jiang Muqing.
From then on, I did homework at her house every day, after school.
Luo Xue really knew her stuff, she was great at all of the subjects in elementary school. Under her guidance, my grades started to go higher and higher.
My grandparents also befriended the family under my relationship with Luo Xue.
Luo Xue’s father enjoyed my Grandpa’s calligraphy and tea, and Grandpa took an interest to her father’s Western sculptures and clocks. They became close friends.
I liked the focused look on Luo Xue’s face when she tutored me, she liked to listen to my stories of the outside world.
Even talking about playing marbles with my friends on the dirt path provided her great entertainment.
I became best friends with Luo Xue, the greatest tutor pair.
At that young age, I really liked her very much. I wanted to play with her for the rest of my life.
But now, that’s all in the past.
….
I heated some milk, and cut some bread from the market. I fried some eggs, and opened a jar of peanut butter.
Slide the eggs between the bread slices, and spread a thick layer of peanut butter. Then, pour the hot milk into a glass.
I took out the lunch Mom prepared me the night before, added another egg, and put it back in the fridge.
“Jiang Muqing? Get off of the bed, Class A’s summer cram class isn’t over yet, right?”
I yelled into the room.
Although the class-distributing finals were already over, the summer cram classes still followed last year’s roll. Jiang Muqing’s class was one week longer than ours, while I could go sign up for my own private classes, Jiang Muqing still had to study.
In the duration of cram classes, Jiang Muqing recovered quite nicely. She did well on her tests, and the school regained hope for her future.
The teachers secretly wrote another spare test paper in her name. Jiang Muqing’s grades returned to Class A-level.
She’ll definitely get into Class A, but if that happens, there will be an extra spot. I’ll probably be the one to get kicked down to Class B, as the last place of Class A.
This is good for me, anyway. I don’t really want to enter such a competitive environment right away, I might not get used to it. Entering Class B was my original goal, anyway.
At least her grades weren’t harmed under my work. I was very glad that she stayed in Class A.
“Okay….”
Jiang Muqing’s lazy voice floated from my room. Since the girl probably slept very late
yesterday, so she wasn’t able to do anything stupid in the morning.
How awesome is that?
The girl slowly finished her morning routine. I quickly wolfed down my breakfast, and slung my heavy school bag over my shoulder. The private cram class was a bit far from my house, so I had to take the public bus.
Jiang Muqing seemed to say something in the bathroom, but I yelled “I’m leaving” and dashed for the stairwell.
Time isn’t going to wait for me, I don’t want to be late on the first day.
But just as I stepped out the front door, my shirt’s sleeve was pulled.
“Fan, are you the type to run away after sleeping with someone?”
The girl spoke coldly.
My god, Jiang Muqing has the balls to say that? Completely ridiculous.
“We did sleep, but not anything else, right?”
My heart skipped a beat.
I just fell asleep, I don’t know what I did after that?!
“Last night, Fan suddenly held me tight, just like this.”
She wasn’t listening to me, and hugged me from behind.
“Nobody had ever held me like that before, Fan is the first one.”
The girl pressed her warm body to my back.
She’s actually maturing nicely? I felt through my sensitive nerves. Although she was wearing a loose school uniform, they showed clearly through the fabric.
“It was so warm.”
But the girl’s voice was anything but.
“Did anything happen?”
I asked seriously. Did I do anything unforgivable?! I furiously went through last night’s events.
“I also hugged Fan, and waited for his next move. I was happy, and waited for Fan’s next move.”
The girl’s pale, thin hands reached over and laced around my chest.
“Then, what happened?”
My voice was shaking.
“Then…”
The girl stopped.
“Then, Fan suddenly started to cry. His tears dripped on my face, so uncomfortable.”
The girl’s voice was cold as ice.
“I cried?”
How is that possible? I haven’t cried in a long time.
….
“So, Lu Fan. Tell me, who is Luo Xue?”
Her hand shot out, and grabbed my arm.
In the midst of darkness, I sat up suddenly, breathing hard. I looked at the sleeping girl nearby, and lowered my voice as much as I can.
“What a strange dream.”
I sighed to myself. The alarm clock told me it was just about time to get up anyway, so I swung off bed to prepare breakfast.
I took a cold shower, washing off the cold sweat on my back.
While showering, I started to brood over last night’s dream.
It looks like Jiang Muqing has taken quite an effect on me.
In my previous dreams of “her”, there weren’t any possibility of other characters appearing. There wasn’t any interference between me and “her”, much less this type of nightmare content.
I can provide a simple explanation for “her”. She was my playmate from elementary to middle school- Luo Xue.
My first meeting with her was at my grandparents’ house, in my hometown.
Back then, my parents were very busy with their jobs. I was young, and I wasn’t able to take care of myself very well. So my childhood was spent at my grandparents’ place, and I didn’t leave for the city with my parents until middle school.
One day, a man returned to the village from years of living overseas. He was very wealthy, and built a very large, Western mansion. It was just the same as the house in my dream.
The man, of course, was down-to-earth Chinese, and his wife was a silver-blonde foreigner. Their daughter inherited her father’s Asian face, as well as her mother’s beautiful silver hair.
The girl was very attractive, with all the positive qualities of her parents. She was very bright and smart, too. The only drawback was her weak body; she never attended the town’s school, and rarely left the house.
The townspeople were a bit superstitious. The blonde woman seemed like the white devil described in myths and legends, and their child was indeed ill. They avoided the family in fear of bad luck. *
*When you have a rural, undeveloped, and disconnected community of the same race, foreign discrimination always happens. Foreigners are different, they’re unlike anything simple-minded Chinese farmers and workmen have ever seen. It threatens their way of life, because it means change. It’s the same if you put a Turkish person in South Carolina, or Alabama.
The two of us should have never been able to meet.
But then we did, maybe it was pure, simple fate.
That day, I was kicked out of the house with my 29% test paper. On a whim, I decided to take a look at the strange mansion, and bumped into her at the front door.
I wasn’t taken home by Grandma at all, but rather invited into the white mansion by the silver-haired girl.
Her parents greeted me warmly.
In the evening, we ate roasted steak. I’ve never seen anything like it, it was completely new to me. Then, I was sent home personally by her father.
Why would I think of such a person while having that dream? Such a good memory was completely ruined by Jiang Muqing.
From then on, I did homework at her house every day, after school.
Luo Xue really knew her stuff, she was great at all of the subjects in elementary school. Under her guidance, my grades started to go higher and higher.
My grandparents also befriended the family under my relationship with Luo Xue.
Luo Xue’s father enjoyed my Grandpa’s calligraphy and tea, and Grandpa took an interest to her father’s Western sculptures and clocks. They became close friends.
I liked the focused look on Luo Xue’s face when she tutored me, she liked to listen to my stories of the outside world.
Even talking about playing marbles with my friends on the dirt path provided her great entertainment.
I became best friends with Luo Xue, the greatest tutor pair.
At that young age, I really liked her very much. I wanted to play with her for the rest of my life.
But now, that’s all in the past.
….
I heated some milk, and cut some bread from the market. I fried some eggs, and opened a jar of peanut butter.
Slide the eggs between the bread slices, and spread a thick layer of peanut butter. Then, pour the hot milk into a glass.
I took out the lunch Mom prepared me the night before, added another egg, and put it back in the fridge.
“Jiang Muqing? Get off of the bed, Class A’s summer cram class isn’t over yet, right?”
I yelled into the room.
Although the class-distributing finals were already over, the summer cram classes still followed last year’s roll. Jiang Muqing’s class was one week longer than ours, while I could go sign up for my own private classes, Jiang Muqing still had to study.
In the duration of cram classes, Jiang Muqing recovered quite nicely. She did well on her tests, and the school regained hope for her future.
The teachers secretly wrote another spare test paper in her name. Jiang Muqing’s grades returned to Class A-level.
She’ll definitely get into Class A, but if that happens, there will be an extra spot. I’ll probably be the one to get kicked down to Class B, as the last place of Class A.
This is good for me, anyway. I don’t really want to enter such a competitive environment right away, I might not get used to it. Entering Class B was my original goal, anyway.
At least her grades weren’t harmed under my work. I was very glad that she stayed in Class A.
“Okay….”
Jiang Muqing’s lazy voice floated from my room. Since the girl probably slept very late
yesterday, so she wasn’t able to do anything stupid in the morning.
How awesome is that?
The girl slowly finished her morning routine. I quickly wolfed down my breakfast, and slung my heavy school bag over my shoulder. The private cram class was a bit far from my house, so I had to take the public bus.
Jiang Muqing seemed to say something in the bathroom, but I yelled “I’m leaving” and dashed for the stairwell.
Time isn’t going to wait for me, I don’t want to be late on the first day.
But just as I stepped out the front door, my shirt’s sleeve was pulled.
“Fan, are you the type to run away after sleeping with someone?”
The girl spoke coldly.
My god, Jiang Muqing has the balls to say that? Completely ridiculous.
“We did sleep, but not anything else, right?”
My heart skipped a beat.
I just fell asleep, I don’t know what I did after that?!
“Last night, Fan suddenly held me tight, just like this.”
She wasn’t listening to me, and hugged me from behind.
“Nobody had ever held me like that before, Fan is the first one.”
The girl pressed her warm body to my back.
She’s actually maturing nicely? I felt through my sensitive nerves. Although she was wearing a loose school uniform, they showed clearly through the fabric.
“It was so warm.”
But the girl’s voice was anything but.
“Did anything happen?”
I asked seriously. Did I do anything unforgivable?! I furiously went through last night’s events.
“I also hugged Fan, and waited for his next move. I was happy, and waited for Fan’s next move.”
The girl’s pale, thin hands reached over and laced around my chest.
“Then, what happened?”
My voice was shaking.
“Then…”
The girl stopped.
“Then, Fan suddenly started to cry. His tears dripped on my face, so uncomfortable.”
The girl’s voice was cold as ice.
“I cried?”
How is that possible? I haven’t cried in a long time.
….
“So, Lu Fan. Tell me, who is Luo Xue?”
Her hand shot out, and grabbed my arm.
