My Little White Poplar

Chapter 2: Into the Army we Go

Bai Xinyu wakes up, finds himself in bed, he looked at the familiar ceiling, remembers what happened last night, realizes it wasn’t a nightmare, it was reality, he can’t help but bury his face under the covers, stomps on the bed with his feet, a whimper escapes his lips.

   A knock at the door, his nanny shouted from outside, “Xinyu, wake-up for dinner.”

   Bai Xinyu shouted back: “No! I’ll starve to death!”

   The nanny pushed the door in, looked at Bai Xinyu who was kicking the bed, sighed, went to the bed, patted his back and said, “Look at you, what’s the use of being grumpy, get up and eat, auntie steamed you some crabs today, they’re fresh, get up, be a good boy. Come on.

   Bai Xinyu twisted under the covers, muffled: “No need to go if you’re starving.”

   The nanny cried out, “You’re going to the army, not to the torture chamber.”

   Bai Xinyu lifted his face, his hair was like a bird’s nest, his eyes were red, with a sobbing voice he said: “What’s the difference between that and a torture camp, don’t you watch TV all day, don’t you see what it’s like in the army, you have to get up at dawn, you run and fall and fight all day, you’re locked up in the barracks all day and can’t go anywhere that’s human life!”

   “Oh, no, it’s not as terrible as you think.” The nanny smoothed his hair and said, “Besides, what’s the point of making such a fuss, your parents are determined, they don’t want to go, why don’t you think of something else.”

   Bai Xinyu’s eyes lit up and he said, “What can I do? Auntie, do you have any ideas? Go and persuade my mother.”

   “What’s the use of my persuasion, you don’t know who suggested it.”

   Bai Xinyu blinked, “My brother...”

   “Yes. I was there yesterday when Master Jian came, I heard everything they said, Master Jian coaxed and frightened him into settling the matter, if you don’t want to go, he’ll have to let you go, no use begging your parents.”

   Bai Xinyu thought, that was true but he wouldn’t dare call Jian Suiying, he would even try to avoid it.

   The nanny laughed and said: “Get up, eat first, when you’re full you can think of something, you can stay in bed forever.”

   Bai Xinyu pouted, muttering, “You’re picking the crab shells for me.”

   The nanny looked at him with a smile on her face and says lovingly, “Okay, whatever my little one says.”

   Bai Xinyu stayed in the house all day and didn’t go anywhere. He woke up, his car and keys to his flat were gone, no need to look at his credit cards, they must have all stopped too, he stayed in bed and played games, the more he played the more upset he got, he just slammed the controller.

   On reflection, the nanny was right, if he wanted to fix this, his brother would have to do it but he was too scared to call Jian Suiying, just the thought of hearing that familiar roar made him feel cold in the back of his neck and weak in the legs. He was torn between suffering in the army and being beaten up by his brother.

   After two days of depression, Bai Xinyu didn’t come downstairs for dinner, he asked the nanny to bring the food to his room, he had barely eaten when the door was thrown open, he looked up, his parents were standing in the doorway, looking at him with mixed feelings.

   Bai Xinyu immediately threw his chopsticks away, leaned back on the bed, acted as if he had lost his appetite and turned his head away in resignation.