My Mister Ostrich

Chapter 112.2 (Part 2) Won’t Ever Leave You

Translated by Twelve_Months_of_May

Pang Pang, if we have a boy, I want to name him Gu Haichuan.

August 13, 2013, Qixi, was Gu Mingxi’s 29th birthday. It was also Pang Qian’s 28th birthday. On this day, something rather special to them happened. That is, the film, ‘My Miss Crab’ premiered in theaters nationwide.

Gu Mingxi and Pang Qian went to the theater. Because it was the first showing in E City, the production held an event at theaters. Any couple that bought tickets could get a free crab or ostrich fridge magnet if they kissed at the theater.

With her big belly, Pang Qian just grabbed Gu Mingxi for a kiss, right out in public. Gu Mingxi’s face reddened, and Pang Qian happily picked up an ostrich magnet. Then she asked the employee, “There’s another in my belly. Can I get a crab too?”

The employee laughed, and then really gave her one.

As they headed inside, Gu Mingxi laughed at her. “If you wanted a magnet, I could go ask and we could get a box of them without a problem.”

Pang Qian said, “You don’t get it. It’s only meaningful if we get it ourselves!”

After they bought popcorn and drinks, they headed into the theater. It was already about 80% full of people. For a small-scale film like this, such a turnout was already decent.

Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi sat in the back row. Because Pang Qian’s ‘volume’ was too big, they didn’t sit in the couple seats. They sat to the side, and like the rest of the audience, they chat and munched on popcorn while waiting for the movie to start.

The lights went dim, a few commercials played, and then the movie started.

The screen panned to show an ’80s street with a factory, a dorm, and young men and women in corduroy jackets and white bell-bottoms, their hair done up. The Little Tigers ‘Green Apple Paradise’ (YT: song) floated through the streets.

6 year old Fang Xiaotuo and Pang Qingqing were holding hands and running across the factory compound. They were a pair of childhood friends. They often bickered and quarreled, but they would make up very quickly. (Note: ‘tuo’ from ‘tuoniao’ meaning ostrich, and ‘pang’ from ‘pangxie’ meaning crab)

Fang Xiaotuo was a smart and pretty boy, with a pair of big and bright eyes. When he smiled, two silkworms appeared beneath his eyes (the skin/fat under some’s eyes?), and he looked prettier than a girl. Pang Qingqing’s only friend was Fang Xiaotuo, but Fang Xiaotuo had numerous friends. Pang Qingqing would stand in the corner quietly, as Fang Xiaotuo played with his other friends, her eyes filled with disappointment.

Pang Qian said to Gu Mingxi, “The actor they chose for the boy is really good looking.”

Gu Mingxi whispered back, “I think the girl is a lot like you.”

“In what way?”

“She’s fat.”

“…”

A car accident changed Fang Xiaotuo’s fate. Pang Qingqing had rushed out into the street to pick up a ball when a car suddenly drove up. Just in time, Fang Xiaotuo pushed Pang Qingqing out of the way, but then the car rolled over him.

The audience in the theater collectively gasped. This was something that the readers of the original book wouldn’t have expected, because in the book, Gu Mingxi had only said that Mister Ostrich had been hit by an illness at the age of 6. In later illustrations, he had used the images of an ostrich and a crab to represent the characters. When he drew images of the young boy and girl, they both appeared very healthy, and he’d never once mentioned that Mister Ostrich was physically disabled.

The nerves in Fang Xiaotuo’s hands were severely damaged, so although he still had his hands, they were paralyzed. From then on, he helplessly (or reluctantly) started to use his feet in place of his hands.

When Fang Xiaotuo’s mother burst into tears on the floor, there were already several girls in the audience crying along.

Pang Qian turned to Gu Mingxi and fed him some popcorn. She whispered, “Did they change it this way because an arm-less character would be hard to act?”

“Probably,” he whispered back. “For most actors, hiding their arms would be pretty hard. The screenwriter did a good job with the change.”

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“Then will the actor use his legs to do things?”

“There’s not too much of that in the movie. As long as he’s flexible, the actor should be able to do simple things.”

“That’s true.”

And the story continued.

Fang Xiaotuo and Pang Qingqing entered elementary school, and sometimes a naughty boy would bully Fang Xiaotuo. Then Pang Qingqing would start fighting them like a little lioness. She always accompanied Fang Xiaotuo to and from school. She helped him get his meals, tie his shoelaces, and carry his umbrella. The two of them slowly grew up and entered junior high. Fang Xiaotuo grew up into a pretty 14 year old youth. Pang Qingqing had also grown up into a beautiful young girl. And then, she developed a crush on a popular boy– Ouyang Chengye.

Pang Qian suddenly choked on her drink. “Ouyang Chengye? Seriously?! Who picked that name?!”

Gu Mingxi’s shoulders shook from laughing. “I really want to see what his reaction will be when he sees this.”

“Hahaha, he’d probably vomit blood!”

Ouyang Chengye was a cool and handsome rich kid, and there were countless girls who liked him. Pang Qingqing fell into a whirlpool of puppy love, completely unable to see Fang Xiaotuo by her side.

Fang Xiaotuo had always helped Pang Qingqing with her studies, and with his help, she was finally able to get into a top high school. Fang Xiaotuo’s father had an affair.

There were many situations that Gu Mingxi hadn’t explained in detail in his book, but the scriptwriters filled in story with their imagination. For example, in the cases of Mr Fang’s affair, Mrs Fang’s collapse, Ouyang Chengye liking another girl, but pretending to like and pursue Pang Qingqing.

The young Pang Qingqing couldn’t resist the wealthy prince, and she finally agreed to date him. Dejected, Fang Xiaotuo quietly slipped out of her life. But accidentally, he discovered that Ouyang Chengye was just using Pang Qingqing, and then Fang Xiaotuo got very angry.

Despite his physical handicap, he went to fight Ouyang. On a rainy day, the two of them rolled around on the ground, getting covered in mud. Coupled with an emotion stirring melody, the image created a great impact. Fang Xiaotuo couldn’t fight Ouyang with his hands, so he could only kick him. In a moment, Ouyang took him down and had his fists ready to punch. Fang Xiaotuo couldn’t hide or dodge, so he could only glare angrily in the rain.

Pang Qian asked Gu Mingxi, “Tell me the truth. At that time, did you want to beat up Xie Yi?”

“No.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Looks like you didn’t like me enough.”

“Xie Yi didn’t trick you about anything,” Gu Mingxi said. “If he did, I definitely wouldn’t have let him go.”

After high school ended, the classic picture frame story appeared.

Fang Xiaotuo stood all alone at the tree where he and Pang Qingqing often played. It was the middle of the dark night and the rain was pouring down. There, he waited and waited for Little Crab who never came.

The light sobbing in the movie theater had already become a repressed cry. In the midst of the crying sounds, there came the particularly unexpected sound of Pang Qian’s laughter.

“Hahahaha…” She was really laughing as she watched the foolish, young Fang Xiaotuo, pitifully crying in the rain. Pang Qian nearly fainted from her laughter.

“Stop laughing. Everyone’s looking at you,” Gu Mingxi told her.

Pang Qian’s tears had come out from laughing. She rubbed her belly and then looked around at the tear-filled eyes of the female audience around her. She apologized, “Sorry, sorry. I couldn’t help myself.”

She grabbed Gu Mingxi’s ear and asked, “When you were waiting for me that day, did you really cry?”

“…” Could he deny that?

“Gu Mingxi… Ah…” Then Pang Qian gently rubbed her stomach again. “Baby, don’t learn from your dad. If you like someone, just tell them directly. Why torture yourself? He caused your mom and dad to miss out on so many years.”

Gu Mingxi, “…”

In the years that Fang Xiaotuo and Pang Qingqing were separated, He suffered a great deal, but he never cried. The only time he cried was when his mother passed away.

To create a sensational effect, the film created an accident that caused Mrs Fang’s death.

Because Fang Xiaotuo’s hands were disabled, all the housework was taken care of by his mother. When she climbed up a ladder to change a light bulb, she slipped and fell down.

Fang Xiaotuo had been watching from the side the entire time, but he’d been unable to grab onto the ladder or to catch his mother. He could only watch as she fell to the ground.

“I hate this screenwriter,” Pang Qian said.

Gu Mingxi nodded, “I don’t like it either.”

He let out a sigh and turned to kiss her forehead. “I can’t imagine what it would be like if you were to get hurt because I didn’t have arms. I think I really wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.”

“We wouldn’t be so unlucky.” Pang Qian laughed. “I can take care of myself. But life, you know, it comes with its own share of bumps. No matter where I fall, you can’t blame yourself. I don’t think I have to say this to you. You should already understand it all.”

“Mm, I do.”

While they were talking, the rest of the audience was crying their hearts out. The entire theater was in sorrow. Pang Qian could barely stand to see it.

“What’s there to cry about?” she asked quietly. “Isn’t it just a movie?”

Gu Mingxi said, “You cry when you watch cartoons. How can you say that about others.”

“I do not!”

The female viewer beside them turned, her eyes misty, and she said, “Be quiet! (crying sounds)…”

Pang Qian, “Sorry, sorry.”

The kiss on the cinema screen was so romantic and poignant that it made the viewers’ hearts ache.

Pang Qingqing stood at her school’s gate, but after a day of waiting, Fang Xiaotuo didn’t show up.

From morning until noon, noon until dusk, dusk until midnight, pedestrians and cars continued to pass by Pang Qingqing. Still, she stood there stubbornly, the crab key chain she planned to gift Fang Xiaotuo clenched tightly in her hand. In the end, her slender figure was the only one left on the street.

The female audience members around Pang Qian were pulling out tissues as they said, “How can Ostrich be so cruel?! What kinds of things can’t they have gotten through together?! Crab too, if she liked him, she should just say so. If she doesn’t, how is he supposed to know?!”

Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi, “…”

After the long separation, the sweetness begins. A magical scene appeared on the screen.

Gu Mingxi looked at the large screen and was shocked to see the outdoor coffee shop that he and Pang Qian had reunited at. He knew that it must have been Jiang Qi’s doing.

Pang Qingqing walked up the stairs and stood at the side, looking out at the terrace.

There was only one person sitting at the tables there.

His back faced her. He wore a white shirt and he had dark hair.

A slight breeze blew and his shirt sleeves billowed. Even his hair flew around a bit.

His head was lowered and his shoulders trembled. Pang Qingqing smiled and walked toward him.

Step by step by step.

Finally, she arrived behind him. She saw his curled up hands, those familiar hands that had lost their function to save her.

She bent over and stretched out her arms, wrapping them gently around him from behind.

The film was reaching a climax as the audience’s emotions peaked and the entire theater was full of crying sounds. But this crying was unlike that from the sad scenes. This time, the audience was letting out tears of happiness.

Only Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi sat calmly in their seats. They didn’t drink anything or eat any popcorn. Her hand rested on his thigh, and the two of them almost devoutly celebrated this reunion.

Fang Xiaotuo and Pang Qingqing’s story ended with a romantic wedding on the lawn as balloons floated into the sky. All the people who had helped them throughout the film came to their wedding. Fang Xiaotuo wore a white suit, tall and handsome, like a perfect prince. The beautiful Pang Qingqing held his hands, tiptoed, and gave him a tender kiss.

The camera slowly panned away from their faces and chased a red balloon into the sky.

Some words appeared on the screen.

–Dedicated to everyone who enjoys life. We hope you’ll find your Miss Crab or Mister Ostrich.

No one in the theater was crying anymore. With all the difficulty and hardship gone, everyone was enjoying the sweetness. In the theater, there was only person who was crying like a child. She didn’t try to suppress her voice, and everyone around her looked at her strangely as they handed towels over.

Nearly three decades of emotion from her life had been concentrated into 90 minutes. For others, this might just be a movie, a story. But for Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi, this was their reality.

Still, after the movie ended, life had to move on. Their wonderful life had just begun.

The lights turned back on, and Gu Mingxi and Pang Qian got ready to leave.

Pang Qian grabbed onto the armrests to help herself up. Her waist felt very sore. She pat Gu Mingxi’s shoulder and said, “Let me hold onto you as I walk. I sat too long so all my bones hurt.”

“Should we find somewhere to sit outside for awhile, to rest?” Gu Mingxi asked with concern.

“No, I just sat for too long. I’ll be fine after we walk a bit.”

Her eyes were still red as she grabbed onto Gu Mingxi’s shoulder and they walked out. Beside them, there was another couple, and the woman was also wiping away her tears. Her boyfriend kept comforting her, “Alright, don’t cry. It’s just a movie. In the end, they got married. It wasn’t a tragedy.”

“What do you know?!” As the woman said this, her eyes fell onto Gu Mingxi’s receding figure. She wiped her eyes and looked more carefully. She realized that there were no arms in his plaid blue shirt.

The woman didn’t know what to say as she watched Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi walk off. She said to her boyfriend, “Did you see that couple just then? The woman had a big tummy and the man, he was just like Mister Ostrich in the movie. His arms were disabled.”

“Disabled?”

“It was more serious that Mister Ostrich. He actually didn’t have any arms.” The woman pointed at her own shoulder. “It started here, and then that was it. He didn’t have any arms at all.”

The man shook his head. “I didn’t pay attention.”

The woman thought about it some more and then said, “You said that it was just a movie, but seeing the couple just then, I believe that this story exists in real life too. They looked very in love. I hope that man will be like Mister Ostrich and live happily ever after.”

Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi walked outside. Pang Qian kept one hand on his shoulder and held her waist with the other. They walked slowly and stepped up to a row of stores. A song floated out from somewhere and she laughed. “Gu Mingxi, listen, it’s this song.”

My heart is like the sea

Gentle at times, but also fierce

In this impermanent life

I’ll stay with you and never leave

I want to sing out loudly

And no one can stop me

I’ll share it together with you

All the happiness and sadness in this life

Our love will keep on growing

Keep on giving and no longer hide

All the setbacks and hopes that belong to us

They’re like the dew that lets the flowers bloom