Feng Ping

Uncle Wang was a man with a lot of experiences and deep knowledge. I liked to hear him talking about the world and people. He never talked nonsense. He made no remarks when he was not sure of the correctness of his answer, and kept silence if he disagreed with others. He didn’t talk too much, and just talked sense if necessary. Father and he talked about society and politics.

I listened with my eyes shining. Father always encouraged me to join their conversation, and Uncle Wang was also kind enough to hear my opinions sometimes.

After talking about the Ukraine crisis, Uncle Wang asked me suddenly, “So you will graduate soon?”

“Yes, I will go to Poland for my master’s degree.”

“After graduating from college, you can find a job.”

“My teacher once wrote me a reference to Warsaw University, which is the sixth-oldest university in Europe.”

After some silence, Uncle Wang said, “It’s better to get a master’s degree abroad. The master’s degree in China doesn’t have much gold content. If possible, you should get a doctorate.” Uncle Wang smiled, and gave me some suggestions. He also told me that I should know something about society.

The meal was ready. I walked into the dinning room. Wei Wei’s girlfriend showed a charming, board smile to me. she was a thin, dark girl, who wore wonderful make up. She had a bold and aggressive temperament.

We ate hot pot. Aunty took out drinks and asked me to help myself. I took a bottle of yogurt, and began to eat. Wei Wei’s girlfriend helped aunty make the meal and offer food. I thought it was odd to sit around the same table with Wei Wei’s girlfriend. My imagination soared. In many TV shows, parents invited their son’s playmate to dinner in order to tell the son’s girlfriend that they disliked her as daughter-in-law.

My heart jumped faster when I thought of this. I thought of our playing times, and I clearly remembered how I liked Wei Wei’s company when I was in Grade 5.

“Hey, I toast you up.” Qi Qi (Wei Wei’s girlfriend) stood up, and held out her tankard. I was surprised by her boldness. Her tone was provocative. I bet she regarded me as her rival this time.

I held up my glasses, “Cheers.”

“Wish you achieve academic excellence.”

“Thanks.” I never expected she was so quick. She was challenging me. I was nervous, and my mind ran fast. “Thanks, and I wish you more and more beautiful.”

“Thanks.” She imitated me and thanked me too.

She picked some pork into the hot pot. It occurred to me that I could eat no more. I just sat there and heard them talking.

“Why don’t you eat anything?,” the girl asked me.

“I am done.”

Her every word was a challenge. Wei Wei sensed the powder in the air, and casted a few glances at me every now and then. Parents were laughing and talking. They left everything to us.

“She is losing weight,” mum explained smilingly. We didn’t want to tell a stranger that I couldn’t eat pork, so mum just made an excuse. “When she saw you are so thin and beautiful, she will lose more weight.”

The girl smiled, “You can’t lose weight just by keeping diet. Your weight will rebound later.”

I wanted to say something, but words failed me. It was better to keep silence. I was really bad at social skills. Mum looked at me and asked, “Why don’t you say something? You don’t know what to say?”