NOVPUBXia Xiaoxiao was even more understanding than Lin Jing had imagined. Without waiting for her to speak, the little girl took the initiative, "Mom, Xu Qingfan has told me everything. No matter what you do, I support you. Having you as my mom is enough!"
She had thought Xia Xiaoxiao would ask her something like ’Does this mean I won’t have a dad anymore?’ She had prepared an answer: even though mom and dad are getting divorced, dad is still Xiaoxiao’s dad. Xiaoxiao can still see him whenever, it just means we won’t be living together anymore.
Anyway, even if they didn’t divorce, Xia Guofu only came home once every half a month or so. What difference did it make whether they lived together?
The organized words that Lin Jing had been ready to speak remained caught in her throat. She lifted her daughter onto her lap and embraced her affectionately. "Mom understands, having Xiaoxiao is enough for mom as well..."
The mother and daughter snuggled together and talked for a long time in Xu Qingfan’s bedroom, chatting about everything from Xiaoxiao’s childhood to the future.
It seemed that a future without Xia Guofu was of no consequence.
"Mom is now just looking forward to our Xiaoxiao growing tall and strong. When will you grow to be as tall as mom..." Lin Jing caressed Xia Xiaoxiao’s head tenderly, speaking softly.
"When I get to high school, I’ll be as tall as mom, so that’s... seven more years!" Xia Xiaoxiao calculated in her heart.
"Yes, when you reach high school, our Xiaoxiao will definitely be the prettiest girl in her school. But, no dating until you’ve finished your studies, okay?" Lin Jing smiled as she spoke.
"No way! The boys in my class are so immature, it’s unbearable!" Xia Xiaoxiao thought about those two male classmates in her group and made a disgusted face. What ’first-grade thieves’, ’second-grade burglars’, ’third-grade handsome boys with no one to accompany them’ – nonsense they’ve picked up, it’s utterly ludicrous.
"Haha, really? Is Xiao Fan also immature?" Lin Jing pinched her daughter’s face teasingly.
Xia Xiaoxiao’s ears flushed a warm red, and she evasively averted her gaze, "He... he’s just the same, totally immature!"
The little girl remembered Xu Qingfan’s antics at school, including but not limited to shaking hands with her, then saying ’Shake hands, we’re good friends, I’m the boss, you’re the dog,’ and griped, "Xu Qingfan is nothing but a boring, immature brat!"
"Right, our Brother Fan is an immature brat, and Xiaoxiao is the mature one," Lin Jing responded with amusement. Although as a schoolteacher she opposed students dating early, if her daughter’s choice was Xu Qingfan, she could relax the restriction until high school.
[In their last year of high school, they could be together. With both kids doing so well academically, they were sure to attend the same university. Then they could date for four years in college, and get married right after graduation...] Lin Jing’s thoughts wandered far ahead.
"That’s right!" Xia Xiaoxiao declared proudly.
"Hmm? Xiaoxiao, have you been sleeping with your Brother Qing Fan these past few days?" Lin Jing casually noticed two sets of bedding on the bed and asked with a narrowed gaze.
Xia Xiaoxiao’s cheeks became warm, and she replied a bit sheepishly, "Xu Qingfan said he was afraid of the dark. He couldn’t sleep alone since no one else was at home, and he insisted on me keeping him company. What a bother..." Her voice trailed off quieter and quieter.
"Hehe, really? A boy who’s still afraid of the dark? But Xiaoxiao, you’re getting older now, okay? It’s fine with Xiao Fan, but you shouldn’t sleep with other boys," Lin Jing remembered the last time she gave her daughter a talk about the birds and the bees had been when she was five, nearly three years ago already.
"I would never sleep with other boys!" Xia Xiaoxiao exclaimed defensively, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. 𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙥𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝙤𝒎
"Alright, alright, our Xiaoxiao wouldn’t sleep with those stinky boys," Lin Jing managed to keep a straight face, while struggling to hold back her laughter, and nodded earnestly.
"If it weren’t for... If Xu Qingfan hadn’t begged me to sleep with him, I wouldn’t even bother with him!"
"Exactly, our Xiaoxiao wouldn’t bother with him..."
...
On February 2, auspicious events include: weddings, coming-of-age ceremonies, adoption, and travel; inauspicious events include: planting, breaking ground, litigation, and cancellation.
Today was the first day back at work after the New Year and also the day Lin Jing was going to the civil affairs bureau with Xia Guofu to finalize their divorce.
February 2 seems, in Huaxia culture, to be a day that carries an air of parting sorrow.
A seven-character regulated poem by Li Shangyin, titled "On February 2," with the line "Visitors may not perceive New Beach’s intent, but it’s like the nighttime rain striking eaves and creating a sound," pushes this sentiment to its peak.
Early in the morning, as Xia Xiaoxiao insisted on coming along, Xu Qingfan was also reluctantly dragged out of bed by Yao Jiping.
Xia Guofu perhaps had long prepared for the worst, so when Lin Jing proposed divorce, he did not put up any obstruction; on the contrary, he agreed without hesitation.
He knew the conflicts between husband and wife had been irreconcilable ever since they had a child; it was just in time as the kid was in a hurry to get his household registration sorted, so he simply suggested, "Then let’s go to the civil affairs bureau the first day after the new year to get the marriage dissolved."
Faced with Xia Guofu’s decisiveness, Lin Jing’s emotions were mixed. She remembered a classical Chinese text she had studied in high school, "Pledges made with high hopes, who could have anticipated their reversal. But to not ponder upon reversal, is that possible at all?"
The bullet fired ten years ago had hit its target squarely between the eyes, and in this moment, her education came full circle.
When Xu Aiguo drove them to the civil affairs bureau, Xia Guofu and that woman had arrived ahead of time.
The pair was dressed in celebratory bright red clothing, which suggested they planned to take care of both divorce and marriage in one trip.
"Disgusting!" Yao Jiping expressed with a contemptuous frown.
"Xiaoxiao..." Xia Guofu appeared somewhat embarrassed, not daring to look at Lin Jing’s face, and instead turned his gaze toward Xia Xiaoxiao.
"Hmph!" Xia Xiaoxiao kept her distance from Xia Guofu with disdain, sizing up her father’s mistress, "Auntie Mistress, you’re a lot uglier than my mom!" She didn’t hesitate to defend her mother’s honor.
