Chapter 51: Separation

Late November, the mid-term exams at Huai’an No.3 High School ended. In order to rest over the weekend, the teachers worked overtime and finished grading the papers by Friday.

Yan Ningxi returned to the apartment already close to seven o’clock. Fortunately, she had bought the vegetables during a noon break.

If there were no delays on the road, Ming You could reach the apartment before seven-thirty. She washed the vegetables and prepared the stir-fries, ready to eat as soon as she returned.

Last Saturday night, Ming You had not replied to her message again. It was Yan Ningxi who sent another message before bed: 【Do you have class Friday afternoon? What time does it end?】

Ming You replied: 【Four o’clock.】 It was actually four-twenty.

The timing worked out and it was not too late, so Yan Ningxi went along with it: 【Come back for dinner.】

Soon she received the girl’s delight: 【Okay, good night Sister Yan. [Cute] 】 If she had not sent those two messages, both of them would have been sleepless.

Yan Ningxi finished preparing the ingredients and saw He Huan’s message.

【Teacher He: Yan Yan, are you busy?】

【Teacher He: You’re not talking in the group. Several female teachers from the Chinese department invited us for afternoon tea tomorrow. Come along. Don’t always stay cooped up at home. The papers are graded—time to eat, drink, and relax.】

She then checked the group chat records.

This Chinese department group included all Chinese teachers from grade ten to grade twelve in the high school section. As a new teacher with shallow qualifications, not a homeroom teacher, and holding no other positions, she rarely spoke up.

Over a dozen female teachers, seven of whom replied “No problem, see you tomorrow.”

Yan Ningxi hesitated.

She was not socially anxious; she simply was not good at socializing. Her circle of friends had always been narrow from childhood onward. In the two years at the school, she had only become friends with He Huan.

Yan Ningxi was the passive type.

Swift and decisive at work, slow and hesitant in emotions.

A voice called “reason” in her head said: You need to actively blend into your colleagues’ circle, maintain good communication with teachers from every grade and subject, absorb teaching experiences, learn from their strengths to offset your weaknesses—it would benefit you greatly.

But the voice called “emotion” urged her otherwise: Women having afternoon tea would not wrap up there; dinner would follow. And their topics, beyond teaching-related matters, were ones she could not chime in on.

Sunday, she had a work appointment lined up, leaving only Saturday to spend with Ming You.

Grade twelve had classes Monday through Saturday—Saturday was make-up classes—and teachers without lessons did not need to come to school. Yan Ningxi scheduled both her classes’ Chinese lessons in the morning of the same week, so she did not have to go to school every Saturday.

【Yan Ningxi: Sorry, I was cooking and didn’t see. Have fun tomorrow. I have plans with a friend.】

…

At six-forty-five, the high-speed train arrived in Huai’an. At seven, Ming You got into a taxi.

A landline number called during the ride. She hung up the first time; on the second call, she answered. Harassment calls rarely rang twice.

“Hello?”

“Hello, is this Ming You? Your father Ming Tai asked me to call you.” It was a woman’s voice on the other end.

“Give me the phone. I’ll talk.” That voice was unmistakably Ming Tai.

“Ming You, Ming You, where are you? Oh, right—you’re studying in Hengyuan, at school, in university. When are you coming back? Come keep Dad company… have a couple drinks.”

“You’re drinking? Are you drunk?” She could practically smell the booze through the phone.

“Yeah, drinking. Booze is a good thing. Tell me, how long has it been since our father and daughter sat down quietly for a meal and some drinks? You’re my daughter, I’m your dad—how can you not keep your dad company for a drink? Your mom, your maternal grandma—they almost don’t recognize me anymore…”

How long?

Since he moved out of that home, or from their last family breakup meal as a trio?

Every Spring Festival, while visiting relatives, Ming You would step into the Ming Family gate—where her grandpa and grandma lived—under Yang Guishu’s urging.

She went through the motions of New Year’s greetings, accepted their red envelopes, took a couple bites of food. Like a robot running a standard program: silent, expressionless, simply checking in on schedule.

“Did Chen Rui fight with you? If you’re mad at someone else, why take it out on me?”

“I, I’m not mad.” Ming Tai’s tone softened, his voice dropping into a plea. “Yu Yu, Dad was wrong. Dad just misses you—misses when you were little, and we drank together…”

The woman who had spoken first took back the phone: “Miss Ming, your father’s not in good shape. He’s drinking alone in our shop. His phone’s off, but he remembered your number. You…”

Before the woman finished, Ming You hung up.

That man out there drowning his sorrows and making a drunken scene was someone else’s husband, someone else’s father—what did it have to do with her?

Irritated, she messaged Yang Guishu: 【Has Ming Zihuan’s dad been to the house lately?】

The message had just gone through when Yang Guishu’s voice call came in.

“Yu Yu, did your dad contact you?”

“Yeah.”

“Looks like your dad’s company hit some trouble. Chen Rui’s been fighting and hitting him again. Your grandma even called me this afternoon, asking if he’d come looking for us. Said he shut off his phone after leaving this morning—no one’s reached him. What’d he say? Do you know where he is?”

“Drinking. No idea where.”

“Then ask him quick—find him. He’s your dad.” Realizing her urgency had sharpened her tone, Yang Guishu slowed down. “Yu Yu, this is a critical moment. Talk nice to your dad, find out where he is, and tell me right away. I’ll go get him.”

“Got it.”

The familiar street scenes rolled by outside the car window. A few more minutes to the neighborhood gate.

On one side was Yan Ningxi waiting at home for her to have dinner; on the other was Ming Tai demanding she keep him company drinking. Ming You hesitated, torn and undecided. She feared Yan Ningxi waiting in vain and feeling let down. She also feared that Yan Ningxi, upon learning how coldly she could ignore her own father in his time of distress, would feel even deeper disappointment in her.

Filial piety is the foremost virtue. To avoid lectures, criticism, or giving others ammunition against her, she dialed the landline back: “Hello, please give me your shop’s address.”

After noting the address, Ming You searched it on the map. “Master, trouble turning around at the light ahead. I’ll give you new navigation.”

With the decision made, relief washed over her.

Whether before or after the divorce, Ming Tai had never mistreated her as a father. It was just that, as their child, she had come at the wrong time.

She also should not have been a daughter.

In the apartment, Yan Ningxi bustled about the kitchen. The most difficult and time-consuming dish had just gone into the pot.

She clutched her phone at the kitchen doorway, calculating the time. She glanced now at the pot, now at the front door, waiting for Ming You’s knock the next second.

Before Ming You burst into her life, Yan Ningxi had not been particular about her three meals a day. Most days she ate at the cafeteria; at home, she made do with a quick stir-fry or frozen food.

She knew how to cook many dishes but simply lacked the mood.

Now that Ming You was in her life, every meal with her became a ritual—far more flavorful.

Voice call notification: My

“Hello?”

“Sister Yan, sorry. I’m in Huai’an, but it’ll be late before I get to your place. Eat first—don’t go hungry. I’ll explain when I get back.”

“Okay.” Yan Ningxi asked nothing.

After hanging up, Ming You thought for a moment and still sent a message: 【Dad’s got some issues. He’s emotionally unstable. I’m going to check on him.】 She trusted this reason would earn Yan Ningxi’s understanding and approval.

No teacher would fail to praise a student devoted to filial duty, just as no teacher disliked top students.

This two-option multiple-choice question was a freebie—difficulty coefficient zero.

Yan Ningxi read the message, then looked at the empty vase on the cabinet. Her heart plummeted from an open hillside into a dark, narrow valley.

The stars filling the night sky drifted ever farther from her, their light dimming.

The girl had done nothing wrong. If their positions were reversed, she would have chosen to visit her father first. She replied: 【Take good care of him.】

【Ming You: I’ll come back.】

The car pulled into another bustling district. Ming You rolled down the window, and cold wind poured in.

She gazed outside: crowds surging, traffic endless. How many neon lights burned through the night, and how many lost souls willingly debased themselves in this mind-befuddling darkness.

The streets flowed without cease—no trace of autumn’s bleakness, eternal spring.

She had forgotten the exact date Mr. Ming left their family of three. But she remembered it was autumn, golden ginkgo leaves carpeting the stone path downstairs.

That day, at home, her father knocked on her bedroom door and said, “Yu Yu, take good care of yourself from now on. Listen to your mom. My number won’t change—you can call me anytime. Or come straight to the company or Grandpa’s place.”

She shut herself in her room without a word.

No sounds came from outside. She lay on the windowsill, peering down. She knew he had gone to the garage, but she stared for a full half hour anyway.

The next spring, Ms. Yang moved her into a new house. The new neighborhood had no ginkgos but bloomed with vast swaths of cherry blossoms and azaleas.

…

The red-and-black sign was lost amid the riot of bright lights. Ming You craned her neck and spotted the inconspicuous Little Tavern on the second floor. She followed the arrow up the stairs.

Inside the shop, she told the front desk, “Looking for someone—a middle-aged guy drinking alone.”

The female server led her to the darkest corner table, where Ming Tai sat drinking beer and munching skewers by himself.

“Still able to drink?”

Ming Tai blinked twice to make sure he was not seeing double. “Ming You? What day is it today? Aren’t you… supposed to be at school? How’d you find me?”

“Didn’t you want me to come keep you company drinking?” Ming You flagged down the server. “Get me a glass.”

The server assumed she was there to pick him up and had the bill ready—who knew she was joining him. Customer’s wish was command; she brought Ming You a glass and a set of bowl and chopsticks.

Ming Tai had better tolerance than Ming You and held his liquor well. A few beers in this shop left him at most half-drunk. Besides, it was not the alcohol that intoxicated people—it was their troubles.

He poured a full glass and handed it to Ming You. “Sit. You’re here—have some.”

Drinking was everyday fare in their home. Ming You had sampled alcohol since childhood. He and Yang Guishu had always believed girls needed a solid tolerance to avoid getting the short end on booze out in the world.

Ming You sat down. As her hand touched the glass, she asked, “Did you drive?”

“I did. If not, I’d call a driver.” He raised his glass. “Come on, father and daughter—toast.”

The glasses clinked, crisp and clear.

Ming You only wet her lips with a tiny sip from the rim. She was there to gauge how bad his state was—not to get sloshed with him. Yan Ningxi was still waiting.

She flagged the server again and murmured, “Could I get a pot of buckwheat tea? Thanks.”

Ming Tai took offense, pointing at Ming You’s barely touched glass. “Won’t even drink one glass with me. Ming You, how much do you hate me? Hate me for divorcing your mom? Hate us for failing as parents? You’re right to hate us—we almost ruined you…”

“If you don’t want me to hate you, never mention that again.” Ming You trembled uncontrollably as she threw back the glass.

Sensing his blunder, Ming Tai sobered in an instant and hurried to patch it. “Yu Yu, I… I was drunk. Your mom and I both love you very much…”

Ming You stayed silent as Ming Tai rambled on disjointedly.

From who chased whom between him and Yang Guishu in university, how they dated, the twists of their post-graduation marriage, the miscarriage that cost them their first unborn child, starting a business, raising Ming You, doing business, clashing opinions, crumbling relationship, and finally the end of their marriage.

These details of Mr. Ming and Ms. Yang’s past were the first Ming You had heard. It turned out she was not their first child.

In the story, they devoted the most precious twenty years of their youth—the prime of their lives—to each other without reservation.

A peaceful breakup. Part amicably. It was timely damage control for both parties’ emotions and time.

Some people were only suited to accompany you for a stretch of the road.

After parting, new people would come along to walk the next stretch with you. Until the one appeared who would accompany you for the rest of your life.

Buoyed by the alcohol, Ming Tai swallowed his pride amid guilt and frustration. He had to get it off his chest and told his daughter about the most cherished relationship of his life, indulging in a bit of sentimentality.

“Couldn’t go on anymore—parting was the right choice,” Ming You concluded summarily, quietly sending the pub’s address to Yang Guishu so she could come wrap things up.

“It’s really strange. After your mom and I split, we both felt relieved. We each found new partners, and even business went smoothly.”

Ming Tai drank more and more, yet grew clearer-headed as he spoke. “Yu Yu, the only one we truly wronged is you. You can hate me—you should hate me. I have no objections. I’ll do my best to make it up to you, as long as you still recognize me as your dad. But do you know? Your maternal grandma… she doesn’t even recognize me anymore.”

“She treated you like her own son—how could she not recognize you?” The maternal grandma had been quite satisfied with her son-in-law Ming Tai back in the day. When he stayed at the house, she treated him better than her own daughter.

“Here, and here.” Ming Tai pointed to his head, then his ear, his tone full of sorrow. “Just a few days ago, I went to see her. I was less than half a meter away. I sat right in front of her and said a lot, but your maternal grandma took ages to react. When she finally spoke, she asked me, ‘Who are you?’ Then she turned to your mom and asked, ‘Where’s Yu Yu? Is Yu Yu coming back soon?’ Your mom says it’s just hearing loss—what hearing loss? Can hearing loss make her unable to see who I am? That’s clearly a symptom of senile dementia. Yu Yu, your maternal grandma isn’t even seventy yet…”