My Lethe

*** missing chapter***

So I know this is the third chapter update in one day but I was beginning to write another chapter and wanted to make sure I wasn't repeating a situation and went to check the previously published chapters and noticed I never actually posted a chapter. I'm sorry because in the chapters that followed this one the characters mentioned incidents that took place. So if you were confused I'm sorry when reading I'm sorry.
I will post the missing chapter. This chapter took place before the chapter "PT..PTSD"
~~~~

Chp 4

Zhang Wei took a sip of the hot yet ridiculously sweet coffee. Zhang Wei lived very close to the school, only a few blocks down, so usually he was able to walk it. But today it was pouring raining, so he chose to stop in the cafe and wait for the rain to clear.
He had never had coffee before. And it was a strong taste despite how sweet it was, but some how he still liked it. He took several sips from it as he read his manga.
"Zhang Wei? From School 4? " Zhang Wei looked up slowly. How did someone know his name and the school he went to?
He felt relieved when he looked up and it was his classmate, Qiang. Before Zhang Wei could respond, Qiang slid into the seat directly in front of him. Qiang looked at him, and felt a feeling of welcome when he saw the comforting smile on Qiang's face.
"Yes, that's me," he said and looked back down at his manga. Even though Qiang was always so nice to him, he really did want to just read the manga. He closed it when he heard that Qiang was going on and on about something to him.

"Do you want a pastry?" Zhang Wei shook his head.

"How about a tea?" He shook his head again.

Qiang got up from the table and went to the counter to order a coffee. As he waited while the barista made his coffee, he watched Zhang Wei flip through the pages. Every day he noticed something more about Zhang Wei that he liked. The first day, it was a vibe that he had, the second day it was his eyes, the third day it was his smile and today it was his silence. Zhang Wei barely looked at Qiang for more than three seconds at a time, he kept conversation short, and he never seemed to pay more attention to Qiang then needed. But Zhang Wei never told Qiang to leave him alone, to be quiet, to go away.. He accepted his presence and quietly kept to himself. Never stuck onto Qiang like the others did.

Qiang sat back with Zhang Wei when he got his coffee. He continued to watch Zhang Wei as he read, and eventually cleared his throat. He wanted to find out more about this boy.

"So where exactly did you move to here from?"

Zhang Wei wondered if he should reveal where it was that he came from. He was going to such a wealthy school, and lived in such a wealthy neighborhood. But he remembered, he was who he was and he would never be ashamed. "Lingshui Cun"

Lingshui Cun? Qiang thought to himself. He thought that perhaps he didn't hear him quite correctly. It didn't seem logical that someone could actually live in a poor and run down village like that. He repeated aloud to Zhang Wei," Lingshui Cun? You lived there?"

"Yes" Zhang Wei pressed his book flat and continued to read. Qiang sat straight in his seat. He had never met a villager before.

"Any siblings?"

Zhang Wei turned the page," Three."

"Youngest or oldest?"

"Oldest"

"Is being having a sibling really so bad?"

Zhang Wei stared at the images on the paper. He thought of what Qiang had just said to him, and thought to himself... Yes, it was. Having siblings, and especially being the eldest, was a pain in the ass. He was responsible for their chores, could only eat after they had eaten, and had to care of them throughout the day... He really despised having siblings. But he would do anything to do those things again.
"They never stop nagging," He says and grabs his things and leaves the cafe.
Qiang follows after him quickly and shouts," Wait! Where do you live? I'll give you a ride!" But Zhang Wei does not turn around or even stop.
And Zhang Wei was relieved that the rain had stopped but disappointed at the same time because now everyone could see his tears.
Zhang Wei arrived home ten minutes later to a usually empty house. He was hungry at this point and cursed himself for not accepting Qiang's offer of a pastry. He went into the kitchen and looked through the cabinets until he found instant ramen. He didn't know how to cook, but he could make this easily. He always made it for his brothers.
As he waited for the ramen to cook he went into the family room and saw the remote control sitting on the coffee table. Liling and Yong told him to help him self to anything in the house at any time and asked him to make good use of the television. He figured now would be a good time, and he liked the idea of relaxing to a good show and even better ramen.
He flipped through the TV channels and ignored the sound of the microwave beeping. He would get it after he found something he'd like to watch.
After a while of flipping through the television he stopped on an American TV show. He was always so fascinated by American humor.
Hours went by that Zhang Wei watched the American television. He laughed harder than he had in months, he felt more relieved than he had in an entire year. But that was short lived. Because as he fell asleep on the couch he drifted away into sleep, and begun to relive the day his family died. He relived every single feeling- in his head and on his skin. He could still smell it and remember how it looked. It felt like it happened to him just yesterday.
Zhang Wei began to sob as he slept, and even though he wasn't aware of it, he was shaking and speaking.
"Brother... Brother.. I must protect my brothers..." He shouted aloud.

He also wasn't aware that Liling and Yong had come home and witnessed every second of it. They knew of what happened to Zhang Wei and his family, but we're too afraid to bring it up. Liling looked over at Yong then back at Zhang Wei. It was obvious he was still in a great deal of pain. So much pain that he had nightmares.

"Should we wake him up?" Liling asked her husband. She nibbled on her fingernails, and watched the teenage boy as he cried and screamed.

"Of course we should. But what if he has nightmares when he goes back to sleep? " truthfully, neither of them really knew how to handle a case like Zhang Wei. He had so much emotional damage that he would have to attend therapy for years maybe. Not only did his entire family die and he felt responsible, but he then lived for a year on his own until the authorities discovered it. When they found Zhang Wei, he had lost 30 pounds and was near death. He was without food, and was ill. If it had been later that they found him, he may have died. A young boy can't survive on his own, especially without money. The authorities found Zhang Wei and asked him many questions about his life and family. When they found out his only family died and that he was a damn near genius, they knew exactly where to place him. A boy that attended a school with such a poor education system could still manage to be that smart deserved to be placed at a level that is suitable for him. And Yong and Liling were looking to take in a small child, but we're intrigued and felt for Zhang Wei and his story so they took him in and he was admitted into one of the most prestigious schools in China. But as Yong and Liling watched their new son, they considered if he may be too much for them to handle.

"Honey, we have to call the adoption agency. They told me he might have PTSD, " Yong was surprised. PTSD? "He'll have to go to therapy. That's the only way we can make this work," She rubbed his shoulders as an attempt to reassure her husband," He is a smart and gentle, loving kid. We can not let what happened to that poor boy follow him around his entire life. He is too smart to go back on the streets. And we both knew what the possibilities were. We knew he could be like this. But he's not a lost cause. If he gets therapy we won't have to worry about this for too long."

The two felt pity for him. That was all true. He deserved to break apart from the past year of his life and experience good fortune and happiness. They would try their best to make sure he could have it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Qiang thought of the parts of Zhang Wei's story that he hadn't known. Zhang Wei must have come from a poor family, so how was he then able to move to such a wealthy neighborhood? The more and more he saw of Qiang the more and more he got interested in him.

"Sir, there is a dinner tonight that is dire of you to attend," Qiang looked up at his driver. His father knew he didn't like to appear at those events. His colleagues knew exactly how to annoy him.

"My father knows I don't like his dinners," Qiang said and pulled out a cigarette and a lighter," mind if I smoke? I'm feeling stressed suddenly," he placed the cigarette between his lips and lit the cigarette.

Qiang knew he would have to be on his best behavior for this dinner if he wanted to stay in China. But he felt his father was doing this purposely, just to provoke him. He knew Qiang had a short temper. Qiang looked up at his driver," Make a stop first. If I'm going to attend this dinner, it's only fair that I have a plus one." But really, Qiang wasn't interested in inviting just one person.
He knew exactly what his father was trying to do. Set him up. He and his father both know that Qiang is likely to cause a scene. He didn't have much self control, and if he lost it, he would be sent to America the next morning. His father was setting him up to misbehave. So If he was going to attend his father's set up, he would have to get revenge on his father. And He knew exactly how.