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 (4)

Yang had thought about his relationship and the quick marriage with Jia a lot ever since Jia’s unhappy visit. Again he started to doubt his love to Jia, or even Jia’s love to him. Was it love or something else? He got no sure answer. He wasn’t happy, and he wasn’t at ease. The only time he felt nice and calm is whenever Qiu’s present, whether it’s a Q/A session, or a lunch treat. That’s where he started really to know more about Qiu, even though the conversations were only carried with stuff of everyday life besides school curriculum, nothing about love related topic involved. But Yang could feel the love from Qiu.

Qiu was the oldest of three siblings, with a younger sister and a baby brother, from a farmer’s family. She was initially admitted to a famous university. But the family couldn’t afford all the expenses. And the family needed her hands too from time to time to help on their farm land. So she got into the community college with some subsidy, and helped her family farming on the side. Knowing more about Qiu, Yang found  that she possess a kind hearted, simple and innocent personality to match her beautiful outlook; who's smart and cheerful; who's soft-spoken but articulate; and who's loving, caring, giving and forgiving by nature.  Sometimes Yang found it was hard to stare at Qiu’s eye, for he was afraid that he would be melted by her beautiful eyes.

In a sleepless night, Yang would compare Jia and Qiu. For all the practical purposes, it would be a no brainer to go on with Jia who’s conveniently his wife, who loved him so much if not obsessive, who got a government job with a family of importance in the city. But Jia was, beautiful as she was, a little too aggressive and strong minded as a woman. Qiu on the other hand, had very little to offer in terms of finance, career, and convenience given that it’s so hard if not impossible for one to move or to be transferred into a city. But Qiu was all women, the kind Yang would really love. Also thought about the love that Jia had towards him, Yang felt more and more that it was mixed with satisfaction of conquering and winning a bet on Yang’s great expectation by Jia. Even his love to Jia he felt was also a love that was mixed with guilt of leaving after having sex with a girl, and even more of gratefulness to Jia’s loyalty to him. Yang had no doubt that Qiu’s love was so pure and natural without anything else involved. He then would be scared of and ashamed of the thought that he actually loved Qiu all the time, thinking that how bad he was to love someone other than his wife.

Yang felt he was at a cross road as his departure to the city to face a new life approaching. He got all the documents needed and had his farewell to almost all but Qiu the day before he’s leaving, with a hope that Qiu wouldn’t show up to say goodbye, feeling kind of vulnerable to resist Qiu if she ever asks again.

To be continued