Hi! I'm sorry for the delay. I've been lethargic after writing my report, and I felt that my report wasn't good, and that ruined my mood to write anything. But I did my best for my report so... I guess that's that.
To Mei Wen: xD I can imagine myself running from my kids, haha. If I see a mother running after her kids, I'll know it's you! xD I like kids too, but I haven't taken care of any kids before. Playing with them is one thing, taking care of them is another. And if those kids are naughty, yup, they become little devils. Why do you like to have a sister? Your siblings are all boys? Haha, yup, there are pros and cons to everything. :) I have only one younger brother, but so far we are getting along quite well. I wish I have one younger sister, but hmm... I don't think my parents can afford to have another one. xD And thanks for your wishes for my report-writing! It was done! Finally! :D
And thank you to all who have reviewed the extract. I'm glad that you like Wen Zi's P.O.V. :) I'll use his P.O.V. starting next chapter, so I hope that you will enjoy reading this chapter based on Mei Ling's P.O.V.
I don't own Half Prince or its characters. This chapter may contain spoilers from the novel.
And this chapter is rather dark and depressing for certain parts of it so I apologize for that.
Chapter 42 – Little Thoughts
Misandrist.
Frankly speaking, I wasn't so sure whether that term would be the best word to describe my Mom. She didn't exactly hate the whole male species, but I could still sense her bitter grudge against her three eldest siblings. All of them were boys, and Mom was the only daughter in her family.
Mom often had a story-telling session with me, about how her mother (whom I called Ah-ma) used up all their savings to send my first two uncles abroad to further their studies. One became a medical student in Dhaka, while the other one studied law in Canada. My youngest uncle was the only one to be enrolled in a local campus, since there weren't much savings left.
When it was Mom's turn, nothing was left for her.
Poverty forced Mom to quit school, sell her textbooks and uniforms, and take various odd jobs at the tender age of thirteen. Although Ah-ma always pestered her to get married to a good, preferably rich man, Mom was too busy in making both ends meet for the survival of her family.
Money was never enough at that time, she lamented before. At one point of time, she started to have thoughts to commit suicide, to escape from her labyrinth of suffering, to get out from the living hell.
A couple of times, Mom wanted to end her life. But every time she wanted to do it, she just couldn't. Because I was already in her wombs. I didn't exactly know the details, but Dad met Mom, and Mom met Dad, and they fell in love.
Then came the creation of a 'new life'…
"All thanks to you, Dad. If it wasn't for you, I guess I wouldn't have been born into this world at all…"
A few more years went by, and Ah-ma was getting older and older. No one would take care of her if Mom was gone. Those three sons weren't going to come back to their nest.
When Ah-ma became violently ill to the point of coughing and urinating blood, Mom tried calling her three brothers. She was hoping that if they couldn't help her out in caring for Ah-ma, at least they would spare some time to see their dying mother. For the very last time.
In the end, Mom was only hoping in vain. My uncles didn't even come to attend Ah-ma's funeral.
"I guess when someone is about to die, that person would be forgotten, eh?" Sigh.
I hope that I would never find the answer to this question. I wished I hadn't discovered this fact that people don't actually live forever...
Ah-ma died when I was about five or six, I think. I was too young to know what it was like to losing someone to death. Thinking back, I never shed any tears. I could still run around in the temple, light up some joss sticks, and have so-called duels with the other kids as though those incense sticks were swords. I was laughing away during the funeral, not knowing that Ah-ma was actually sleeping forever in that 'wooden boat'...
When Mom finally had enough of my nonsense, she whacked me up with that stupid 'Cane of Humility' and made me apologise to Ah-ma. I burst out into tears like a hopeless crybaby.
I never understood why my heavily-pregnant Mom, as she was spanking my butt, burst out into tears as well. I became even more confused when she held me in her arms. I could only stand still as she was sobbing on my shoulder.
Her words were muffled with tears but they were so clear and distinct that I could remember them until now…
"Don't be uneducated like me, Mei Ling. Otherwise people… Especially men… They will step on you like dirt..."
Any child who heard that would think that it would be inconceivable to be stepped on just like that. Well, unless you yourself lie on the ground and let people step on you.
After being a girl for about twenty years, I already understood the feeling of being stepped on and crushed to the ground, although I had tried so hard to stand tall and be strong…
"Or perhaps I wasn't trying hard enough…"
"MEI LING! I'M TALKING TO YOU! HAVE YOUR EARS GONE DEAF?"
I snapped out of my reverie as Mom's sharp voice pierced through my thoughts. Scratching the back of my non-itchy neck, I sighed to myself.
That was why I would prefer to drive than to be driven by a 'chauffeur'. Being the passenger could become extremely boring, especially when all you could only do at the backseat is to stare at the cloudless blue sky and look at those happy-go-lucky birds in envy, picturing yourself to be flying together in a flock with them.
You could also roll down the window to feel the cool breezes with your hands. It was really such a nice feeling…
Until you realize that there is a stinky bird poop on your palm.
That unfortunate incident happened to me before. So I wouldn't recommend anybody to do it, no matter how much good luck that bird dropping would bring into that person's life. Good luck or bad luck, it was all written in the stars.
Tiredly, I turned away from the window. "Yeah, Mom?"
"Thank goodness! I thought I was talking to the car for a second!" Mom gave her steering wheel a little punch, making a quick honk.
"Did you hear that, Mei Ling? At least she gave me a response!"
From the rear-view mirror of her old Nissan car, I could see that Mom's face was burning red over my habit of spacing out. I couldn't blame her though. I would be very frustrated too if I had a kid, and my kid did that to me.
How troublesome that would be. Being childless would be better.
"Sorry, Mom. I guess I won't do it again, hahaha-"
I was about to laugh myself silly till I noticed the dark smoke fuming out from Mom's nose. I stopped.
Maybe laughter wasn't exactly the best medicine for my case. It was better not to provoke her. I didn't want to have another reason for going to the hospital.
"Erm, yeah…" I felt myself shrinking like a deflated balloon, "What were you asking, Mom?"
"Your sick friend in the hospital…"
"Hmm?"
"Is he a boy or a girl?"
I gawked at her question. Is that some kind of a booby trap that I'm supposed to step on?
"That's a very good question, Auntie!"
Chong Ming, my so-called best friend, the only one whom I had entrusted my life and all its dirty little secrets with, brightly exclaimed,
"He's a-"
"GIRL!"
Oh Buddha.
I only realised what I had said (in the loudest way possible) after saying it out aloud. I wouldn't want Mom to know that we were going to meet a boy, and since there wasn't any gender to use other than 'girl'…
"Oh, forgive me, Wen Zi... I've accidentally transformed you into a transvestite..."
Immediately, Ming burst into a teary laughter. He knew that I was lying to Mom.
I gave him a warning look, except that he wasn't looking at me. He was still laughing his chicken backside off like an idiot with tears squirting out from his wet eyeballs. He tried to stifle his laughter, but his face was already red.
The damage was already done. Time for some damage control.
"What's so funny? Did I miss any joke, Mei Ling?"
Though Ming was the one laughing like a clown, Mom directed that question specifically towards me. Her large eyes on the mirror were so leery it might break soon. Why doesn't she ever, ever trust me? It's not like I always lie…
"Actually there wasn't any joke, Mom. Maybe Ming's just excited at the thought of seeing a beautiful girl." I replied. That wasn't a lie. I was just 'bending the truth'…
"Oh, so now he's a beautiful girl?" Ming held my shoulder and grinned at me, "How beautiful is he?"
Imagine Wen Zi as a girl… I could only sigh.
"You can say he's more beautiful than me."
"Every day, I thank God that you're not beautiful, Mei Ling. I don't want any pesky flies swarming around you. They can be very annoying, I tell you."
"I'm not a piece of shit, Mom."
My inner thoughts wanted to shoot back at her, but it was better not to. After all, Mom's right. If I were to be beautiful as my name had suggested, I would be chased by 'hungry ghosts' like Chong Ming. That would be very creepy.
"How old is she, Mei Ling? A hospital isn't a place for youngsters like you. Is she sick?" Mom's voice had started to cool down. Phew…
"I think he's about my age, but maybe slightly older since he's a vacation intern. About his sickness," I scratched my nape, "Well-"
"His age is twenty-three, seven months and thirteen days, and he had passed out in his sleep due to an idiopathic cause."
Ming then added with a long and mournful sigh, "Even the doctors don't know what's wrong with him."
I watched at how fast Ming swishing through the pages with moves of his fingers on his smartphone's screen. I almost thought that he had been stalking Wen Zi on Facebook all the while now but that wouldn't be right.
"I don't think Ming fancies guys, does he? Or Wen Zi isn't a dude?"
Okay. I'm so confused now.
"Poor girl… Her condition sounds serious," Mom spoke, almost in a regretful tone, "Haven't you bought anything for her, Mei Ling? What about you, Chong Ming? Any suggestions in mind?"
I shook my head no, "I thought we're just paying him a visit, Mom. I don't think he'll mind if we don't buy him anything."
Mom gasped as though her daughter had blurted out the worst four-letter word at her face. No matter what I said, no matter what I did, no matter what I thought was right, it would always be wrong to her.
Then I decided to keep my mouth shut and let Mom go on and on…
"You're not going to visit your sick friend empty-handed, are you? I didn't bring you up to be so disrespectful towards others. Pity her… She must be feeling unwell and miserable in the hospital right now. You might as well bring something to cheer her up."
"How about roses, Auntie? All ladies love flowers."
My 'sworn brother' cocked one eyebrow at me, never losing his idiotic grin.
Didn't he already know that Wen Zi is a guy? Did it look like Wen Zi had boobs or something? I knew Ming wasn't that stupid, so he just wanted to see me busted! For what? Only God knows!
I better kept silent and remained mute for now. It seemed that things got a lot worse when I tried to voice out my thoughts, especially when my Mom was around.
It would be best to let 'Her Royal Majesty' to do all the talking…
"Hah! I hate flowers. They'll just dry up, wilt and do nothing else, and what's worse is they don't come cheap at all. Instead of buying flowers, why don't you plant your own flowers? They aren't easy to take care of but that's what I call sincerity."
Hard to believe, but my friend was already taken in, brainwashed by Mom's words. As he was snapping his fingers, a suspicious light went twinkling in his eyes.
"Don't tell me that he's really going to start looking for some flower seeds and cow manure tomorrow?"
"Wow, I'd never thought of that way before!" Ming gushed with pure excitement, "How could I never know this romantic side to Uncle? He must have planted all kinds of beautiful flowers for you, Auntie!"
There was an abrupt pause. Mom never spoke anything after that, and her conversation with Ming was left hanging in the air.
Utterly clueless, my best pal gave me a 'what-did-I-do' look. I glared at him and gestured him to forget about it.
Ming shrugged his shoulders. He silently returned to 'stalking' beautiful girls (or beautiful boys?) on his phone.
This awkward feeling of talking about someone dead, as if that person was still alive… It was hard to blame Ming for not feeling it.
Ming still had both of his parents living with him. His grandparents were still strong and kicking, currently enjoying their 67th honeymoon on Mars. He had also boasted to me that his great-grand-uncle was expecting his children (triplets) in the next two more months. (I know that our human lifespan is on the increase year by year but this is simply inhumane!)
Maybe it was already fated that Dad left us that day. Despite of all its pain and sadness, I still wanted to talk about him.
Call me selfish, but I know I still have a Dad. Even though he may already be wrapped up like a mummy in an Egyptian tomb. Even though he may be buried at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
That man is still my Dad.
"Jeez, flowers are so lame, Ming!"
I playfully punched at Ming's shoulder, "You know what my Dad bought for my Mom?"
"What?" He replied, unblinking eyes glued to the photos on his phone. (Not some hot models in bikini again…)
"Jewellery! Lots and lots of jewellery! Because Dad knew Mom never like flowers."
I smiled toothily at the rear mirror.
"Right, Mom?"
Mom's face started to turn tomato red again. Argh! What did I do wrong again?
"Who cares about what I like or don't like? What does your friend like, Mei Ling? Have you made up your mind what to buy for her? You better tell me now, or we'll end up not giving your friend anything!"
"I already told you, Mom! There's no need to buy him anythi-"
"Have you really forgotten what I've said?" She cut off my words like a sharp knife straight through my core.
How I wished I could tear off my ears at that very moment. How I wished I could jump out from the car and make a skydiving stunt, with or without a parachute. I knew I would always be her 'baby' but…
"Couldn't she at least give me a little break? Now I really pity Dad for being her husband…"
"Time and time again, Mei Ling, I had been telling you that it's the little thoughts that count! I'm only asking you to buy a gift for your sick friend! Is that so difficult? You can even give her a back-scratcher if you want!"
"All right! All right! Let's give him a back-scratcher then, Mom!"
O O O
"Chong Ming, can't you just hold this for me?"
"No no no! No means no! You're the one who proposed to buy it for him!"
"I... I'd never thought that Mom would actually buy it! I meant it as a sarcasm!"
Chong Ming suddenly stopped in his path. I would have almost rammed against his back if I didn't 'brake' just in time.
If we had met with a violent collision, I would fall on top of him and flatten him into a human pancake. Then I could force this stupid back-scratcher down his throat and hide it inside his body-
All right, too much Tom and Jerry for me.
"Sarcasm? That was more like a dare than a sarcasm, okay? My reputation is already tarnished by you in Second Life so you better... don't do the... same thing to me... here..."
I could see his eyes were already shining with sparkles of ecstacy. I sweatdropped when I turned to see what (or who) that had caught his eye.
It was a group of pretty nurses talking to a prettier doctor. Once Ming had set his target (the doctor), he wouldn't care about anything else. I didn't really want to be alone, but I'd decided to let him go. Everyone has the right to freedom.
"You can go ahead, Ming. I'll tell Wen Zi that you say hi," I smiled, trying my best not to look or sound dissappointed.
"Awwwwww thanks, mate! You're the best! Oh, and before I forget something important..."
Ming touched his soft maroon hair, "I didn't spike up my hair with gel this morning. How do I look, Ling?"
"Perverted," I gave him two thumbs up.
"Haha, nice try! I don't feel your sarcasm because that's the truth. Catch ya later and wish me luck, dude!"
As I watched my best friend dashing to his beautiful sunflowers, his gorgeous harem, I chuckled to myself. His reply had caught me by surprise. I thought that he would be pissed off by my 'sarcasm'. What a funny guy.
I guessed there was nothing else for me to do, except to look for Mom in the lobby. She had gone to park her car after instructing me and Chong Ming to get out from her car and ask for Wen Zi's ward number from the receptionist. By the time we had already obtained the ward number, Mom would already be in the lobby, waiting for us. Or more accurate, waiting for me.
In reality, I was about to meet the hungry tigress in her cave. I was her cub but I was also her prey.
Once Mom had discovered that Wen Zi was actually a 'he', she wouldn't have any mercy on me-
"Smile! Chiak! Good boy! Do you want to hear a fun song? Do you? Yes, you do!"
I was stunned at the sight of Mom carrying someone's baby in her arms and making silly sounds to it. She was also making funny faces to keep the baby entertained.
"Liang zhi lao hu, liang zhi lao hu, pao de kuai, pao de kuai, yi zhi mei you yan jing, yi zhi mei you wei ba, zhen qi guai, zhen qi guai…"
(Two tigers, two tigers, run fast, run fast, one has no eyes, one has no tail, so strange, so strange…)
Throughout the whole song, I could see how happy and carefree my Mom was. As though she didn't have any care in the world. And life was all good for her.
I smiled. I wondered whether there should be a baby at home too. Not my baby, definitely. My little brother would have the honour to make an offspring for Mom to kiss, hug, cuddle, nuzzle and love. Sounds like a good plan...
"Shit! Why the heck am I thinking of the far future? Before Mom finds me, I got to make a run for it now!"
I quickly sprinted to the nearest elevator. It was quite congested with people, but thank Buddha I was smart enough. I forced myself to be thinner by breathing in and squeezing myself through the gap.
After exhaling the air from my lungs, I regretted that I didn't choose the stairs. The whole journey through the elevator wasn't the least bit exhilarating.
As we were going higher and higher, more and more people left the 'box' to proceed to their destinations. However, that bitter smell of medicine had already begun to fill in my nostrils, reminding me of how much I hated medicine and drugs.
There were also those odd stares that I received from some olderly women; they must have been curious about my age and playing a guessing game in their aging minds. That was why I didn't want to hold a back-scratcher in the first place.
The worst of all was this cheesy sugary love song playing in the already suffocating air,
"Xiang bian cheng ni de yan qi ooooh~ Liu jin ni shen ti li~ Woooooo~ Hao hao kan kan zai ni xin li~ Wooooooo~ Ni you duo mo bao bei~ Woooooooo ai ni~ Ai ni~"
(I want to become your oxygen~ To travel throughout your body~ And take a good look at your heart~ You are so precious to me~ I love you~ Love you~)
Ting!
"Thirteenth floor." Mr. Elevator voiced in a robotic tone.
Instantly, I sprung out from the lift and rushed to the nearby doors. My eyes were hungrily scanning for the room 'D-1184'.
As long as I could meet Wen Zi in person and ensure that he was all right, it was worth all the trouble.
Then maybe...
Just maybe if Wen Zi was healthy enough...
I could ask him properly if he really knew my Dad. Or whether he and that Dictator guy were just pulling a cruel prank on me. Or Dictator could even be Wen Zi's father just like that Star Wars movie...
"Ah what the heck? Are you already stuck in a sci-fi movie?" I laughed at my own weird imagination and continued walking.
"You got to come back to reality now, Yang Mei Ling..."
"I've been repeating myself till my mouth's all dried up! How many times do I have to say it to you, little girl?"
God. Who the hell shouted so loud like a deaf caveman? Someone would have thought he had swallowed a loud speaker, since he kept booming for the next few seconds. Good grief... I think even the dead would wake up...
"I-am-not-your-fiance! I-am-not-your-fiance! I-am-NOT-your-fiance!"
"Please, Wen Zi-ge! Please just listen to me! Have you really forgotten about me? I'm your Xiang Ai, your true love's first kiss!"
"Xiang Ai? Isn't she... Wen Zi's fiancée?"
Heart thundering hard against my chest, I made a few hesitant steps towards the noise. I reached for that very door and stared at the number plate on it.
D-1184
This must be it.
"That's a preposterous lie! My wife's the one who gave me my true love's first kiss!"
"Wife? What kind of crap is this, Wen Zi? Do you know you're hurting Xiang Ai?"
"Do I look like I care?"
I placed both my hands on the door knob and grabbed it tightly.
"Should I just wait? Can I just listen to them for a little while more? This is more thrilling than watching a sci-fi movie, hehehe..."
"Why should I care for her? I am already happily already married with two kids! Not trying to brag here, me and my wife are still thinking of having another ten more-"
Creeeek.
Oh shit! I was too engrossed in their conversation that I had accidentally pushed the door. And that damn door creaked!
Everyone stared at me like I was the only odd one. I tried to laugh at a joke that nobody cracked as I was making a clumsy apology,
"Hehe, sorry, my bad! I shouldn't have barged in like this-"
"Mei Mei? What the hell are you doing here?"
My jaw dropped when I saw Zheng standing right there between Miss Xiang Ai and... Cupid7? Strangest of all, Cupid7 was wearing a nurse's costume. Could she be a professional cosplayer, or she is really a nurse in this hospital?
"Mei Mei?"
My dizzy head turned at that familiar voice.
Wen Zi bounced off his hospital bed, a wide smile spreading across his handsome face. His smiles often had that warm yet bittersweet touch to them but this time...
Wen Zi's smile had been more cheerful than usual. Maybe too cheerful.
"Is that you, hamster? Is that really you?" He shouted.
Hamster? How did he know this nickname of mine? The only person who called me that was...
"This has started to make much sense to me, Wen Zi-ge…"
Still sobbing her eyes out, Miss Xiang Ai pointed her finger directly at me, "So that ugly woman is your wife?"
Wen Zi blinked, "What are you talking about? She's my daughter."
"S-S-She is your daught-"
That lady fainted before she could even finish her sentence.
I wanted to faint too.
Author's Note:
The Chinese use the same pronoun for both genders, so Mei Ling's Mom wouldn't know that she and Chong Ming were actually talking about a male. xD Just like what happened to Gui and Wicked when they were talking about Prince/ Feng Lan...
I don't own both songs mentioned in this chapter.
First song – Two Tigers (A popular nursery rhyme for the Chinese)
Second song – Love You by Kimberley Chen (I like this song! Has anyone heard of it? This song is so sweet. =) )
