Addicted: Chapter 1

My Mom is getting Married!

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“Dad, my mom is getting married.”

In the early morning, Bai Luoyin woke up with an unsettling jolt and felt the back of his ears and neck warm and drenched with sweat. Since the scorching summer days were still alive and had yet to pass, every day, he would open his eyes to the smoldering weather that routinely enveloped his small room.

“Congratulations to her for the wedding!”

As he willed the lingering drowsiness away from his mind, he casually wiped the sweat off his skin with his hand. Within seconds, the persisting beads of sweat soused the center of his palm, leaving behind a clammy sensation that irked him.

Morning had just started, and he was already burning with anger.

*

When he finally forced himself to sit up, he lazily put on a pair of slippers. Then, he slowly dragged his feet to the sink and let his head hang below the water faucet. The ice-cold running water immediately flowed straight down along his neck, eventually enlivening his mood just a little bit.

Bai Hanqi, who was sweeping the courtyard, was Bai Luoyin’s father. He was a man with a stature of 185cm and managed all the family’s internal affairs. If he could put everything in the house in a clear and orderly manner, that would be perfect, but unfortunately, nothing ever went correctly.

Consequently, even if he did not want to, Bai Luoyin had always seen him as an eyesore.

Once he brushed his teeth, Bai Luoyin gurgled the water from the cup that was at the side of the drain and then spat it out. When he turned the faucet on to let the white foam drain away, he noticed that the water in the sink had increased even more. Apparently, the drain had clogged again.

A minute later, Bai Luoyin used a wooden stick to stir up a piece of rag that was inside the pool of water collected at the drainage. Surprising enough, the water soon flowed into the eye of the drainage without much hinder.

“Dad, you threw my underwear into the drain again.”

Having only swept halfway, Bai Hanqi abruptly halted when he heard those words. He dropped the broom and walked toward the two poles that were connected by a rope used to dry the clothes. One, two, three… after counting a couple more times, there was still one piece of underwear missing. Needless to say, the underwear must have fallen when he was washing the clothes and traveled into the sewer along with the dirty laundry detergent.

“Hey, don’t throw it away. It can still be worn after it’s washed.”

Bai Luoyin was so angry that the tip of his nose was perspiring. “All right, keep it and wear it yourself.”

*  

After Bai Luoyin left, he winded around an alley and bumped into Yang Meng, who had just walked out of his house.

Yang Meng’s name was as different as can be to the actual person. When his father was younger, he was the most well-known pretty boy in the entire village, even more delicate than most of the young ladies. Unfortunately, the folkways of that time were not open-minded at all, which resulted in his father, as well as many others like him, falling victim to mishaps. Thus, for the sake of improving the gene of his offspring, Yang Meng’s father wronged himself and married a robust woman. The moment Yang Meng was born, his father placed all his hope on his only successor and bestowed to him the character ‘Meng’, which meant ‘fierce’.

Regrettably, that child took after his father since he was small. While other kids of the same age all played in the mud outside and climbed trees, he hid in the house to sew and make paper cutouts. For those reasons alone, he had suffered many beatings. However, each time his father was done hitting him, he would always wipe his own tears for a while, before he then continued lecturing him about the rightful road, with no inkling of surrendering.   

*

“What happened to your hair?”

Yang Meng touched the top of his own head, as a trace of sadness surfaced on his pretty face. “That’s enough. Don’t mention it. When I woke up earlier this morning, it was all gone.”

“Did your father secretly shave your head last night?”

“No kidding! Who else would do it besides him?!”

Bai Luoyin snorted and laughed, “The two of us are truly linked by fate.”

All of a sudden, Yang Meng recalled something and slapped the back of Bai Luoyin’s neck. “When you called me yesterday, you hung up halfway. What exactly did you want to tell me?”

Bai Luoyin was silent for a while before he faintly replied, “My mom is getting married.”

Hearing that, Yang Meng immediately stood upright, “You actually have a mother?”

Bai Luoyin took a deep breath, “Do you think my dad is an earthworm? The kind that stores its energy at fifth phase, mate at the sixth and then inseminates himself to complete the process?”

Yang Meng laughed until his shoulders trembled. “Don’t tease me. I’m telling you the truth. Ever since I’ve known you, I’ve never seen your mom before.”

“Nonsense! Last year, my mom returned home and even stayed for a whole week, did you forget? She also frequently reversed her car from nearby your house.”

“Oh, I remember now. That’s your mom? How come she looks younger than my niece?”

“Are you looking for trouble?”

“I’m not, my niece was born just a few days ago, yet her head is covered with wrinkles.”

“All newborn babies are like that.”

This time, Yang Meng did not utter another word. Seeing Bai Luoyin’s expressionless face as he walked beside him, a layer of haze swept into his heart. Since his best friend was small, he and his father had gone through an extremely destitute lifestyle. Now that his mother wanted to remarry, one can only imagine his current state of mind.

*

“How about I find a group of people to go crash the wedding venue, what do you think?”

“You?” Bai Luoyin assumed a doubtful appearance, “What kind of people can you find? A group of pretty boys who perform in an opera? To fight with a group of armed forces men?”

“Armed officers?” Yang Meng was flabbergasted, “Your mom, who exactly is she marrying?”

“A Major General.”

Yang Meng became tongue tied, “That… that’s a high military rank…”

“Keep talking.”

“Talk about what?”

“The people you wanted to find.”

Yang Meng’s clear face was illuminated by the sun above his head— it was so clear that it was almost transparent.

“If I look for them, it’s the same as courting death.”

Bai Luoyin suddenly stood still and stared at Yang Meng with determination. Hiding in his eyes was a ball of flame that was being suppressed, but soon, it was going to burst out.

“It’s okay, just tell me what your initial thoughts were.”

Yang Meng held his breath, his confidence was visibly insufficient, “My eldest uncle is the leader of a group of people that wail at funerals. At first, I wanted to ask him to find a group of people to go weep at the wedding ceremony, but now…”

“That’s good!” Bai Luoyin suddenly interrupted Yang Meng’s words, “How do we contact your uncle?”

“Don’t cause us any trouble, we’re just ordinary people.”

“Don’t worry,” Bai Luoyin reassured him, as a devious smile overflowed the corner of his mouth, “We’ll definitely be able to get your uncle out of it.”

*edited 31May2021*

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