4. The third step towards destruction
Fallen into the pit of loveliness, Mei Mei became more and more beautiful. I thought I was done for. I was going to become a beast. There were puppy loves at school, and there were girls who secretly gave me love letters. But I could only think of Mei Mei. By my third year of junior middle school, Mei Mei also got into my middle school. The male classmates of mine all pounced like wolves when they saw Mei Mei and vied to win my favor for me to introduce them. How could I give Mei Mei to them? I found all sorts of reasons to keep them off, push them away, drive them away…in order to protect Mei Mei, I wracked my brains until they were empty.
I was suffering; I was confused; I was depressed. Why did she have to be my younger sister?
I can’t stand it anymore! I couldn’t stand the way Mei Mei looked at me with her bright eyes. I needed to smash her idol and expose my true colors. I want her to keep far from me.
One day, there was an opportunity at the dinner table. Dad and Mom asked me about my aspiration for the middle school exam (for high school). I fiercely said, “I’m not going to go to school anymore. I’m going to join the triads. I want to be a triad boss.”
Dad didn’t take it seriously and asked mockingly, “Do you think you can become a boss just like that? You have to start from being a small bandit and work your way up. You might not even make it to becoming a boss before you drop dead.”
Mom and Grandma only took it as a joke and comforted me, “Have we given you too much pressure lately. Don’t be nervous, as long as you try your best, we won’t blame you no matter how you test.”
How come no one believed what I said? Forget it, I didn’t care about their reactions. I only cared about Mei Mei’s. I looked expectantly at Mei Mei, hoping to see a disillusioned expression and have her hide far away from me.
But there wasn’t one. Mei Mei’s eyes were still just as bright and she said very seriously, “If Ge Ge joins the triads, then I will use beauty to entice the boss and have him groom Ge Ge to become his successor. And then, I will poison the boss and help Ge Ge seize the throne.”
My god! These words actually came out of the mouth of the lovable and cute Mei Mei? Dad, Mom and them looked at the two of us and laughed out loud. But I was filled with disillusion. Did you take Mei Mei to watch too many triad movies so that she could have such twisted thoughts? It was even bloodier than mine.
I had to adjust Mei Mei’s thoughts! I couldn’t not adjust them! You must know, that for my ambitious goals, I had always very carefully observed the movements of triads. I knew the boss of the Fierce Tiger Gang of the eastern district had body odor; the boss of the Azure Dragon Gang of the western district was bald; the boss of the Black Panther Gang of the southern district was a pervert…looking here and there, there was no wilderness that deserved the proper and good-looking Mei Mei. Unless, if I immediately became a boss. But this was impossible. I had to deal with the important matters first. My dream of becoming a triad boss could only be postponed.
In order to support Mei Mei, I suffered and worked hard studying for a year and smoothly graduated straight into the school’s senior high school. Dad, Mom and them liked Mei Mei even more. It was really strange.
Facts proved that my choice was very correct. Because Mei Mei became more beautiful, there were always male students who waited for her at the school entrance every day. Ones from her school and other schools. If she wasn’t looked after, it really wouldn’t have done. Soon after, there were rumors at the school that I longed for my younger sister.
I really did long for Mei Mei. I thought that I had probably already become a pervert. I was filled with sin. Finally, one day, Dad questioned why I was exceptionally moody and frequently fell apart recently.
I confessed to Dad, “Dad, beat me until I wake up. I am simply a beast.”
Dad was alarmed, “How are you a beast?”
I said, ashamed, “I have incestuous thoughts.”
Dad immediately jumped up, “Can it be that you have improper thoughts towards your mom?”
I shook my head and Dad was even more alarmed, “Then is it your grandma? Still no? It can’t be me, can it?”
The more he spoke, the more he stretched it. Were we talking about a BL (gay) story? I was ashamed for myself, and was even more ashamed with such an idiot dad. I couldn’t help but lift up my remorseful head and yell out, “How can that be? It’s Mei Mei!”
Consequently, Dad really beat me up, “Damned boy, who are you trying to scare? You and Mei Mei aren’t related by blood, how is that incest? You idiot! If you like her then go and be first in line. Don’t let fertilizer flow into another’s fields. Understand?”
The difficult problem that had been perplexing me for so many years was so easily resolved? I was worthy of being the idiot son of an idiot father. I turned around in indistinguishable sorrow and happiness to find that at some point, Grandma and Mom were already standing there, and behind them was Mei Mei.
Mom shook her head and sighed, “You really are a foolish boy! You two listen up. I don’t object to puppy love, but you can’t mess around. And it can’t affect your studies, understand?”
I didn’t think Dad and Mom would be so open minded. I nodded with a foolish smile, “I promise!”
Dad, Mom and them left laughing, leaving me and Mei Mei in the room.
Mei Mei had her head down and I couldn’t see her expression. Only then did I realize that I didn’t know what she was thinking inside. I was a bit panicked, went over and apprehensively called, “Mei Mei?”
She quietly made an “Mmm” sound, but still wouldn’t raise her head.
Seeing her not having a reaction, my heart calmed down and I boldly hugged her, “Mei Mei, I will be good to you for my entire life.”
In my embrace, Mei Mei’s face smiled and giggled. She said quietly, “Ge Ge, it’s like we’re acting in play.”
Wah, she actually dares to mock me? I vacated one of my hands and lifted her chin up. With a red face, she glanced at me once and then hung her eyes, pouted and twisted in my embrace. She coquettishly lengthened the note calling out, “Ge ~”
I had never seen Mei Mei like that before; it seemed like she had become even more cute.
Afterwards, the days with Mei Mei and me were bubbling with beauty. The dream of becoming a triad boss had already been tossed by me into some corner. Once a teacher also came to talk with us, wanting us not to engage in puppy love.
I said, “But being in puppy love can only be good for us.”
The teacher thought about it. That was also true. I was sure that my mood had become steady after being in puppy love and my school grades had actually gotten better; Mei Mei also went up a few ranks. He said with a bit of awkwardness, “But this will cause other students to imitate you.”
I coldly replied, “Then tell them to imitate our grades too.”
The teacher was choked up by me so he turned towards Mei Mei. Mei Mei snuggled up against me and sweetly said, “Whatever my Ge Ge says is what it is.”
The school came around to try to break though our parents.
The teacher in charge of my class came to discuss with Dad. Dad described my course of growing up and then asked the teacher, “If you also had a son who was like a wild horse and who had, with much difficulty, voluntarily tethered his reins, would you be willing to part with this opportunity?”
The teacher had already been scared by the magnificent achievements of when I was younger, so he repeatedly nodded, “Of course you can’t, you must lasso it.”
The first try at persuasion failed.
The teacher in charge of Mei Mei’s class came to discuss with Mom. Mom praised Mei Mei from head to toe and then asked the teacher, “Put yourself in my shoes. If you had a son and had such a good girl nearby, would you want this daughter-in-law?”
“Of course I would! It would be a pity to let it slip away.”
“Exactly, that’s what we think. I knew that you, teacher, would understand.”
Then next try at persuasion failed.
The teaching director came to discuss with Grandma. Grandma said in Jiangnan (in southern China) dialect, “(a bunch of stuff in dialect)” (What you say is correct. A person needs to do good things. Only good deeds will be repaid with good. My son saved a girl previously, and now he has a good wife.)
Before Grandma had finished speaking, the director, from the north, had fled while foaming at the mouth.
The school gave up persuasion and prepared to adopt a tough method to put a stop to it. Who knew that my family’s approach was even more tough? My dad and mom said that as long as it didn’t affect our studies and we didn’t step out of bounds, they would even transfer us to another school in order to protect our sincere love.
Mei Mei and I were both excellent students; the school also hated to part with us. So they could only turn a blind eye and compromise. The only requirement was for us to keep a low-profile in school.
When they came across the interrogation of other students or parents, the teachers would use my words to answer them, “If puppy love can be the driving force behind their studies, then we will welcome it.”
Surprisingly, there were really a few couples who openly tried their best in their studies. A few years later, “using love as motivation” actually became a distinguishing quality of that middle school. The principal was often invited to other schools to speak. On some education magazine, there were even discussions that the puppy love method of handling things could tame the floods, clear the paths, and balance studies and human nature, etc.
Of course, those things had nothing to do with us. I only have to say that Mei Mei and my puppy love smoothly turned into passionate love, love and marriage, and lasting love.
Mei Mei had always listened to me. But later on, I discovered that things often actually developed based on her wishes.
I spoiled her, pampered her. I enjoyed Mei Mei hugging my arm and softly begging me, “Ge Ge, I want…” I love, even more, the kiss that she would stamp on my face after I agree, and says full of happiness, “Ge Ge, you’re so awesome!”
Then one day, while watching tv, a classic song was playing, “…I fell into your honey trap with much difficult, how can I give it up?…”
That’s what it was! I fell into Mei Mei’s honey trap. I wouldn’t do anything she didn’t like. My will was completely her will. No wonder she would listen to me all the time.
I quietly whispered next to Mei Mei’s ear, “I fell into you honey trap.”
Mei Mei turned and smiled sweetly, her soft lips rubbing against my cheek, “But I really love you very much, my hero.”
Even heroes have a weakness for the charms of a beautiful woman, I admit defeat!
I have to say, the statement that the Bible makes of how the woman was made out of the ribs of man might be true. I always feel that Mei Mei is the weak spot below my heart. Catching her is like seizing me. I couldn’t stand her being hurt; couldn’t stand her suffering. For her I departed from my aspirations, established when I was young, to become a bad person; I walked onto the correct path and made up my mind to always be her hero.
Like this, a triad boss was destroyed.