The story presented here is a fiction one may find familiar in the late 1970s and the 80s. The author reserves his copy right to not allow trans posting, publishing, or any other uses for commercial purposes without permission of the author.

A Love Story (2)

The interview and the second round of exam went through smoothly, more like a formality process. Yang was happy, Jia was even happier. Jia took good advantage of all Yang’s spare time during his stay in the city, with a lot of love, kisses, and sex of course. Jia asked Yang to marry her. Yang felt a little too soon thinking of a busy academic schedule ahead. Jia insisted and wouldn’t take no for an answer as always, with half-heartedly pointing out the day Yang had sex with her, he’s hers. Yang, even though feeling pushed, agreed eventually to marry her. So they got married in a hurry without a wedding and a place to live.

Yang went back to the countryside after the interview and the marriage to finish his teaching duty before heading into graduate school in the summer, with a mixed feeling of being happy and being stressed. Too much had happened in a short time, getting married, getting into graduate school, and soon leaving the school and the people that he liked here. It’s a little odd to him that it was leaving that hovering around his mind more than anything else. Even worse yet is that he kept asking whether he made a mistake by marring Jia without hundred percent certainty nor freely.

Jia had become bossier ever since they got married. Yang felt the push and pressure, and tried very hard to absorb it without confrontation or quarrel. Yang believed that Jia loved him and tried to convince himself that he loved Jia too. All the problems would be solved once they live together as a family when he gets back to the city.

There was a little sadness among Yang’s students, knowing that Yang’s leaving after the semester, with Qiu among the saddest of all. She kept her sun shining face with a trace of scattered clouds if looked closely, trying to talk to and get closer to Yang as always. She couldn’t help but loving him knowing all that Yang’s married and that she doesn’t have any chance at all. She would simply sometimes bring home cooked lunch to school for Yang. Or sometimes help Yang to do laundry which at the time could be a hard chore for a single man. There was little resistance from Yang because he just didn’t know how to refuse Qiu’s hospitality and kindness knowing that she loved him, and may be something from him too. Yang did try to help Qiu out financially without making Qiu uncomfortable since he’s considered well paid at the time with a salary of 72 Yuan a month.

Life again went on without any drama until Jia’s unexpected visit to Yang’s school two weeks prior to Yang’s departure to the city.

To be continued