Always In Your Smile

Chapter-10: First day

Ming stood at the entrance of the room that had been assigned to his cousin and shook his head, just as Lao K came from the short corridor that led to his and Lao Mao’s split room.

“Something wrong?” The laid-back Jungler asked as he joined him at the door, only to find himself reacting to what he could see. “Now… that’s…!”

“Pink!” Ming finished. “Let me guess, Pang?”

“He volunteered.” Lao K shook his head. “This is just…”

“I’m going to get my cousin; can you at least get Mao and take those curtains down around the bed itself. It will remind her too much of the hospital room she had her first rehab in.” Ming clapped Lao K’s shoulder in silent thanks and moved to the staircase.

Lao K looked around the room once more and shook his head, “Xiao Pang, there’s never been a more obvious moment that none of us have grown up around girls!”

“Mao-Mao, stop messing around with your weights and get up here, I need your help!” The shout rang round the base making Ming laugh slightly – especially as the sound of a dropped weight could be heard from the weight room.

‘There’s a thought, Yao-er will need somewhere to do her training, even though she’s retired.’ He thought absently as he changed his shoes, ‘There must be a room we can put a mirror, barre and floor in for her!”

Ming found himself arriving at the bus-stop at the same time as the bus. With a smile he watched as his cousin descended from the bus followed immediately by two young men carrying her bags as she held the pet carrier in her arms.

“Are you sure we can’t help you further, Miss Yu?” The first, a tall young man wearing a ZGDX supporter shirt asked as he put her suitcase down on the ground.

“Yes, “A second asked as he moved in closer than Ming approved of. “Surely we can help you.”

“Thank you but no…” Tong Yao responded as she stepped back and straight into her cousin. She looked back over her shoulder and literally sighed in relief.

“Ming-ge!”

“Thank you, gentlemen.” Ming reached out and took the bags from the second man. “I’ll take it from here, if you please.” His steel glare (stolen without a doubt from Lu Si Cheng) had the two young men backing off completely. He then turned to her, visibly checking her out to make sure she was unhurt.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” She pulled her cat’s carrier backpack into place and took one of her bags. “They only just approached me as I got off the bus.”

“Yao-er…” Ming picked up the larger of her two bags and placed it on the suitcase. “I could have had a car sent for you.”

“I’m quite capable of getting around on a bus, thank you cousin.” She replied as they began to walk. “And it gave Da Bing a new view of the world!”

“Yes, I’m very sure that’s what he wanted.” He replied with a note of sarcasm just as her phone rang.

Tong Yao pressed the button on her headphone and answered, “Hello Jin-er.”

“Are you there yet?” The familiar voice asked.

“I’m with my cousin now, walking to base camp.” She looked down at her phone as a message came in. Grinning she showed it to Ming who merely shook his head and sighed. “Ai Jai just messaged me, he wants to remind me that YCQB’s base was next door to ZGDX, and he could have given me a lift.”

“Who does that boy think he is being so helpful!” Jin-Yang growled softly.

“Jie-jie, he clearly wants me to persuade you to remove him from your blacklist.” Tong Yao shared a grin with Ming.

“Don’t you even dare; you’ll join him on that blacklist!”

“You know I won’t.” Tong Yao replied as she stopped suddenly to look at up at the sign indicating that she had now reached her new home.

“I’m here.”

“Enjoy your new e-sports life, little Mulan.”

She disconnected the call and then looked at her cousin, “You know, I had a dream last night.”

“And...” He asked as he gently led her to the swing-seat just to the side of the front door – he could almost taste her sudden nervousness.

“It’s strange, I had very similar conversation with Jin-Yang about Ai Jai, then I reached the door, rang the bell, Cheng-ge came out, took the take-away bag on my suitcase and then shut the door in my face – all without even looking at me.”

She shrugged her shoulders, “So I blogged it. It ended with him and I having a face-off about deleting my blog, his fish and Da Bing.”

Ming closed his eyes and shook his head. “Only you, little cousin. You find the strangest of times to stand for yourself.”

“Well, you weren’t there, so who else would?” Tong Yao leant against him. “At least this time, I get to start this new adventure with you.”

“To dreams remade.” He hugged her close, “Let’s get in. You can at least still have the conversation with Cheng-ge about Da Bing and his fish.”

“Ming-ge!”

Ending the call home, Tong Yao placed her phone on the bedside table and drew her knees up to her chest.

As much as she knew her mother loved her, she really didn’t understand why she was so determined to make her so… normal and boring! She was sure that she had once heard her father asked her mother why she was repeating the mistakes of her own father in not accepting that their daughter was made to be exceptional.

It brought back the hurt she still felt at her mother’s reaction to her Rio gold medals. She had fought so hard to win them but to have them dismissed as pieces of metal that wouldn’t get her a job and put food on the table…

And tonight’s conversation, the way her mother blamed her father for always supporting her, then that sly dig at following her cousin into e-sports.

She understood in a way that everything her mother was trying to do was to protect her only child, but it hurt still! It hurt that she wasn’t even willing to try and accept her just as she was.

She threw herself back on the bed, her determination to follow her new dream becoming even stronger.

“You’ll see, mum, Ming and I are right about E-Sports. And I am right in what I am choosing to do with my life, mum, just you wait and see.”