Mistaken Canary Chapter 78 (Part 2)
Chapter 78.2
During Lae Leon’s birthday in their second year of high school, Tei Cher gave him a pile of gifts—Teresa Teng tapes, a Hero fountain pen, notebooks, etc. He spent all his savings because he was not even sure what to buy, so he just bought everything, hoping some of it would be liked.
(TLN: Teresa Teng was a Taiwanese singer, and referred to by some as the "Eternal Queen of Asian Pop". Shanghai Hero Pen Company is a manufacturing company that makes Hero fountain pens.)
Their friends from the communal apartment took them to the river to catch fish for an extra meal.
Lae Leon didn’t want to get in the water, so he sat by the riverbank taking photos, dipping his feet in the water. Suddenly, something pinched his foot, and he let out a sharp scream.
Everyone burst into laughter. Tei Cher walked over smiling, plunged both hands into the water, and caught a big crab. “Wow, it's a big one! Tonight we eat crabs to get revenge for Xiao Lion.”
On the way back, the group carried baskets full of fish, but Tei Cher’s basket held only a few crabs.
“Xiao Lion, come here, I’ll carry you,” Tei Cher suddenly shouted loudly.
“What are you doing?”
“You hurt your foot, right?” Tei Cher sneakily winked at him.
Lae Leon glanced at the others, then smiled as he leaned onto Tei Cher’s back.
The others didn’t think anything unusual and even joked he was like Zhu Bajie carrying his wife[1]. Tei Cher happily admitted he was Bajie and kept calling Lae Leon “wife”, making everyone laugh heartily.
![The others didn’t think anything unusual and even joked he was like Zhu Bajie carrying his wife[1]. Tei Cher happily admitted he was Bajie and kept calling Lae Leon “wife”, making everyone laugh heartily.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61d631c6bb5b2a1ff76d5426/192023cf-bd23-45ca-aa52-895912b0ee44/The+others+didn%E2%80%99t+think+anything+unusual+and+even+joked+he+was+like+Zhu+Bajie+carrying+his+wife%5B1%5D.+Tei+Cher+happily+admitted+he+was+Bajie+and+kept+calling+Lae+Leon+%E2%80%9Cwife%E2%80%9D%2C+making+everyone+laugh+heartily.)
Tei Cher’s mom was great at cooking crab. Once it was ready, Tei Cher hurried over to Lae Leon’s house with it.
Before dinner was served, he pulled Lae Leon outside to the tree by the yard to sneak a crab.
“This one’s the biggest. Have it now, or you won’t be able to enjoy it later.”
Lae Leon found it amusing. At home, all the good food was always reserved for him first; no one would compete with him for it.
But seeing Tei Cher’s eager expression, he picked up the biggest crab and took a bite. Between bites, he gave a thumbs-up. “Delicious. Auntie’s cooking is really good.”
“Of course.” Tei Cher saw how much he enjoyed it. "It’s really that good? I didn’t think it tasted like anything special."
“You just don’t know what's good.”
“Then I’ll learn how my mom does it. When I get good at it, you’ll be crying and begging me to cook.”
“Yeah, right. If you can learn, I’ll write my name backwards.”
“No need to write it backwards, just change it to my surname.”
“Time to eat! Xiao Cher, you stay and have some too,” Mama Lae called out cheerfully from the doorway.
“Okay!” Tei Cher agreed.
After eating at Lae’s place, Lae Leon said he’d walk him home.
Mama Lae tidied the table while teasing, “You two are so clingy now, what will you do when you grow up?”
Tei Cher shouted from the yard, “Then we’ll never be apart!”
Mama Lae laughed heartily, “Oh children.”
Halfway home, the two of them took hands, swaying as they walked.
“Why is our place so close now? We only just walked a couple steps, before we had to run,” Tei Cher complained.
Lae Leon understood the meaning behind his words and led him down a nearby path.
No streetlights, no other souls—just the two of them.
They kissed with abandon, whispering sweet nothings.
It felt as if the day would never dawn, and these children would never grow up.
When Lae Leon got home, he found his mother sitting in the living room, staring blankly at the TV. Smiling, he went over and turned it on. “What are you watching?”
His mother snapped back to reality, glancing at him nervously. “N–Nothing. You should go to bed now.”
“Okay.” As he passed by her, he embraced her. “Thank you, Mom, for bringing me into this world.”
When he let go, he saw tears glistening in her eyes. He smiled, “Don’t get too emotional.”
“Mm, Mom loves you.” She wiped her tears away. “I only wish for you to live well.”
…
On the weekend, Tei Cher went back to the countryside with his parents to celebrate his grandmother’s birthday.
They returned to town on Sunday afternoon, only to find many people on the street talking about the Lae family.
“What are you all talking about?” he casually asked a passerby.
The man said, “The Lae family is moving away. Nobody knows what happened. Suddenly, they announced their retirement and said they’re going abroad.”
Abroad?
Tei Cher was shocked and immediately ran toward the Lae family’s place. Under the tree, he saw a big truck still parked there. There were no furniture being moved, so it didn’t look like a move—more like a trip.
“Xiao Lion!” He spotted Lae Leon sitting inside the truck and ran over at once. “Are you really going abroad? Why so suddenly? Didn’t we agree to go together someday?”
Lae Leon’s eyes were red, clearly he had just been crying. Surprised by Tei Cher’s justly arrival, he tightly held his hand and hurriedly explained, “Dad is seriously ill. He needs to go abroad for treatment.”
Tei Cher looked up at Uncle Lae sitting in the front seat and asked, “When will you come back?”
“Very soon.” Lae Leon squeezed his hand tightly. “Wait for me. I’ll come back for you soon. I still have yet to try your crabs.”
Lae Leon’s mother turned her face away, silently letting a tear fall, then said, “Let’s go.”
The truck slowly started moving. Tei Cher held his hand tightly as he ran alongside, shouting, “It’s a promise! I’ll be right here waiting for you.”
“Okay.” Lae Leon wiped a hot tear from the corner of his eye. “You should stop running now.”
Though he said that, he didn’t let go of his hand. His nails left a mark on the back of Tei Cher’s hand. “Remember to study hard and get into a good university.”
“But you won’t be here! What’s the point of going to university if you’re not around?” Tei Cher suddenly yelled. Unable to keep up with the truck’s speed, their hands slipped apart.
“Xiao Lion! Xiao Lion!” Tei Cher was desperate, chasing after the truck.
Lae Leon leaned halfway out of the window. “When my dad gets better, I’ll come back! You have to stay healthy! You’ll always be right here,” he pointed to his heart.
Tei Cher ran as fast as he could, too breathless to answer.
Lae Leon: “I’ll write you letters!”
“Ok!”
The truck disappeared around the corner. Tei Cher’s legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground, tears mixing with the dust beneath him.
Lae Leon’s sudden departure caught him completely off guard. For over a month, he wandered through a haze, until one day, a letter arrived.
The letter spoke of Lae Leon’s recent life, how his father’s condition was improving, and that he would be back soon.
Tei Cher felt alive again. He sent at least one letter back each day. Though slow, these letters made it feel as if they were seeing each other every day.
In his letters, Lae Leon encouraged him repeatedly. Slowly, Tei Cher regained his strength, even thinking that if Lae Leon’s father never got better, he could go abroad to find him.
He studied harder than ever, no longer causing worry for his parents or teachers. Only late at night would he glance at the letters before falling asleep.
He grew quieter and steadier, facing challenges by wondering what his Xiao Lion would do.
One day, he overheard his mother ask his father, “Don’t you think he’s starting to act more like Leon?”
He smiled; being like his Xiao Lion was the best thing he could be.
If you’re not by my side, then I’ll live to be just like you.
When filling out his college application, he secretly chose English as his major.
On the day he received his college entrance exam notice, he rushed excitedly to the post office, only to find that no letters had arrived for over a month.
That was the day he lost complete contact with Lae Leon.
***
After the plane landed, Lu Zongcai came to pick them up, but the atmosphere was far from cheerful.
She knew this elderly gentleman was an old friend of Lae Leon’s, but what was it with Ying Tongchen and Zhuo Shu’s tear-streaked faces?
“Mother-in-law said Mister Lae has been out these past few days, so he hasn’t had a chance to be informed about your visit yet. I’ll take you to the nursing home to confirm.”
“Alright.” Tei Cher hesitated, then asked in a trembling voice, “Why is he in a nursing home? Is he still healthy?”
“Physically, there’s nothing seriously wrong, and he’s quite spirited, but...” Lu Zongcai paused, “Well, you’ll understand when you see him yourself. I don’t know the details and feel awkward asking too much.”
“Okay, thank you.”
The car drove through the gates of the nursing home. Looking out, they saw people of various ethnicities leisurely basking in the sun and chatting.
By the large fountain, the circle of elderly residents rose when music played over the broadcast and began dancing.
Seeing this, Ying Tongchen relaxed and whispered to Zhuo Shu, “This place is much better than I imagined.”
When they got out of the car, a nurse led them inside to register. Tei Cher glanced around anxiously, then suddenly grabbed Ying Tongchen’s arm. After a long moment, he asked, “Do you think he’s here?”
Ying Tongchen understood his feelings and reassured him, “Yes, teacher, you’ll see him very soon.”
“I—I’m going to see him,” Tei Cher murmured, lowering his head to look at his slightly trembling hands, which he quickly shoved into his pockets. “Do you think my clothes look okay? Ah, it's been so long since I’ve gotten a haircut. I’m already so old now, will he still remember me? Has he maybe started a family? Coming here all of a sudden—isn’t this a bit abrupt? Oh no, I didn’t prepare any crabs!”
He rambled on for a while. Ying Tongchen smiled at Zhuo Shu, feeling that this was the first time Teacher seemed to have truly found his real self.
The teacher he knew was always composed, calm, and gentle. Even when faced with harsh gossip, he’d smile and say it didn’t matter.
He had never been this transparent before.
Only now did Ying Tongchen begin to truly connect with the boy from the story.
At that moment, laughter echoed from the courtyard. Someone, speaking English, shouted, “He’s back! Quickly hide!”
They all turned toward the gate, hearing the sound of a wheelchair rolling over gravel.
After a moment, it stopped at the entrance.
A slender middle-aged man pushed the wheelchair while glancing to the left, his words inaudible. From behind a trash bin, a fellow patient came into view, smiling warmly as he approached the man in the wheelchair and his attendant.
“Is that him?” Ying Tongchen asked. They had only seen the man in the photo sitting in the front row but did not realize he was actually in a wheelchair.
Tei Cher stared blankly at the person in the wheelchair. Before he could speak, tears began to fall.
The patient seemed to be explaining the recent happenings in the facility and suddenly pointed toward the group standing by the hall’s doorway. Lae Leon glanced casually at them, then turned to roll himself to his room.
The wheels of the wheelchair only moved a couple of centimeters when he suddenly stopped, sharply lifting his head and squinting to carefully make out the distant yet reminiscent figure.
“Xi–Xiao—” Tei Cher opened his mouth but found his voice pitifully weak. He lifted his feet and ran forward, just like every evening back then, running and jumping in Lae Leon’s courtyard, bathed in the sunset.
Forty years. How much effort had it taken to finally stand before his Xiao Lion again?
Yet upon seeing him now, he silently thanked fate that it was only forty years.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t wait, it was the fear of never being able to wait at all.
“Xiao Lion.”
“You came.”
Lae Leon looked up at him, giving a faint smile as two lines of tears traced down the corners of his eyes.
Suddenly, Lae Leon stood and reached out to embrace him.
Ying Tongchen, moved by their hardship, was still immersed in the scene when Zhuo Shu whispered in astonishment, “Is this… a medical miracle?”
Ying Tongchen: “...”
.
.
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Footnote:
[1] Zhu Bajie carrying his wife - is a scene from 'Journey to the West'. Zhu Bajie, once Marshal Tianpeng, was banished to the mortal world by the Jade Emperor after drunkenly flirting with Chang’e, the Moon Goddess. While in the mortal world, he took on human form and became the son-in-law of Gao Village, marrying the village head’s third daughter. However, after drunkenly revealing his true form, he terrified the family. When they sought help to expel him, he locked the daughter away.
Sun Wukong (aka Monkey King) rescued the girl, disguised himself as her, and tricked Zhu Bajie into carrying him up the mountains before subduing him—a scene famously parodied as “Zhu Bajie carrying his wife (猪八戒背媳妇)”.