WMWH Chapter 11

Ms. Jiang told me this: I have a son named Fang Fang, who was particularly cute, very well-behaved, and very kind. However, because he has a tendency to be autistic, he never liked to communicate with others and had few friends. 

But not long ago, her son suddenly told her that he liked a person dancing on the stage and he hoped to make friends with that person.

“Mr. Xiao, you don’t know, he has always remembered you fondly since I took him to see your performance a few years ago, but he is too shy, so he has never dared to tell you in person.”

“Although it’s a bit presumptuous to say this, I still hope you can meet him. He will definitely be very happy.”

I was softened by what she said, and I couldn’t help but picture a cute little boy sitting obediently in the audience watching my performance. I agreed without even thinking about it and said, “Okay, I’ll do this this weekend. If there is time, I can meet with him if it is convenient.”

“You are so kind! Mr. Xiao.” Ms. Jiang exclaimed softly, but instantly changed her tone to a serious one:

“Mr. Xiao, I hope you won’t be offended by the things I’m going to say next.”

As Ms. Jiang said, she stared at me closely with her clear blue eyes: “Because my child is a little different from other people. Perhaps in your opinion, he is just a boy you have come into contact with, but you are the only one he hopes for.”

“So, I hope you can establish a long-term and stable friendship with my child, instead of seeing each other in two or three days and then having no contact.”

“I hope that the person he longs to meet for the first time will make him feel the warmth of the world, rather than being cold and hurtful.”

“I hope you can help him and let him know that there are many beautiful things in this world that he deserves to be touched and liked.”

“Of course, none of this is free,” Ms. Jiang blinked and changed to a gentle voice, “I know that Mr. Xiao still has unfinished studies in Moscow. If this can help Mr. Xiao, then it would be great.”

As she spoke, she pushed an envelope in front of me with a check underneath.

I recognized the logo of the Bolshoi Ballet School on the envelope, and my head suddenly felt a little hot.

Ms. Jiang was one of the shareholders of our theatre and was introduced to me by our dean, so this could not be a scam.

It took me three seconds to think this through before I accepted the check and letter of recommendation.

What was not to like in helping others and could still get rewarded for it, so why shouldn’t I do it?

We made an appointment to meet at a café near the theatre on the weekend, and Ms. Jiang would bring Fang Fang over.

I arrived at my reserved seat fifteen minutes early and felt a little nervous.

Although I had met some children when I was in the training centre, I had never encountered children with special needs.

In order to leave a good impression on the other party during the first meeting, I did a lot of homework in advance. Not only did I read some papers about autism, but I also found several books to study on interacting with autistic children. I organized various precautions in the books into small cards and carried them with me.

I especially carried a small schoolbag with various toys and some snacks in it. When I passed by the mall, I bought another half-meter-tall stuffed animal. There must be some kind of greeting gift when you meet for the first time, otherwise, I would really feel pity for the zeros on Ms. Jiang’s check.

I sat by the window, pinching the tail of the little whale I just bought, and thought about how to greet the boy named Fang Fang.

The book said that children with autism were generally not very sensitive to external language and sometimes gestures and body contact could attract their attention more. How about I give him a hug later? Um, wouldn’t it be too abrupt to hug each other on the first meeting?

How about shaking hands? Shake hands and introduce yourself. But, I thought about it and it felt so strange for an adult to shake hands with a child…

I was daydreaming and without paying attention, I looked up and saw Ms. Jiang walking in with a young man over 1.8 meters tall from the door.

“Mr. Xiao!” Ms. Jiang greeted me with a smile and pushed the young man behind her towards me. “This is my son, Fang Fang.”

I was holding a little whale on my body and looked at him in amazement.

I felt like I was a little square.¹A pun is used here, in the internet language ‘a little square’ is the homophonic pronunciation of “a little panic” and is often used to express that one is panicked, feeling a little stunned, and helpless. However, here is the Chinese word for square/(to show panic) is 方[fāng], which is similar to Fang Fang’s name: 方方 [fāng fāng]. 

#I am Fang Fang’s Notebook A Jun²Jun means monarch/sovereign/ruler/gentlemen#

What should I do? He looks so cute holding the stuffed whale =v=

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  A pun is used here, in the internet language ‘a little square’ is the homophonic pronunciation of “a little panic” and is often used to express that one is panicked, feeling a little stunned, and helpless. However, here is the Chinese word for square/(to show panic) is 方[fāng], which is similar to Fang Fang’s name: 方方 [fāng fāng]. 
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  Jun means monarch/sovereign/ruler/gentlemen