DBTHDCAR Chapter 45

Ning Xiaobei didn’t mention to anyone at home that Ding Zheyang considered him a good friend.

Honestly, whether in the dream world or the real world, he and this guy weren’t particularly close. If he hadn’t known that Ding Zheyang once swindled his father out of three million, he probably wouldn’t have paid him any extra attention.

So how did this Ding Zheyang even come up in conversation with his parents? And why did his mother speak so warmly, even inviting him over next time? Ning Xiaobei was utterly baffled.

Later, when he and Fan Xia went back to the clothing market to help out, they learned from some of the female shop owners that Ding Zheyang’s mother was named Chen Lili and his father Ding Kai. Their family lived over in Caoyang New Village, Putuo District.

Shortly after Ding Zheyang started elementary school, his parents had gone to Japan together, intentionally staying illegally and not returning. Ding Zheyang had grown up either with his paternal grandmother or his maternal grandmother, barely seeing his parents for years.

It wasn’t until two years ago that the couple was deported back from Japan, and the three of them were finally reunited. With the money they brought back from Japan, the couple immediately bought a spacious old apartment in central Huangpu District, jumping from a lower-tier neighborhood to a prime one.

After returning, they got their tour guide licenses and joined a major travel agency, specializing in tours for Japanese visitors. They were still working non-stop, pulling in commissions around the clock.

“Money isn’t a problem for them, but the connection with their child is gone. And being a tour guide means working nights and days, they barely see him even once a month.”

The Shanghai Fashion Godmother blinked, showing off at least three layers of false eyelashes.

“That’s not right, sister,” another woman replied. “Everyone lives their own way. If you want to survive in Shanghai and do it with style, you have to work yourself to the bone no matter what.”

On the other side, the jewelry shop owner added, “At least they’ve got two apartments in hand. In the future, not just the son, even the grandson will have a home. That’s better than losing your job and having nothing to do but work as a neighborhood gatekeeper. The son may be resentful now, but when he grows up and starts thinking about getting married, he’ll understand the sacrifices his parents made.”

Ning Xiaobei hadn’t expected that his first real glimpse into Ding Zheyang’s family background would come in this way, and he couldn’t quite put his feelings into words.

“Xiaobei, here are three movie tickets, from me to you. Thank you for helping me as a little translator this summer. When winter break comes, you’ll have to help again. Auntie will treat you to the most expensive ice cream on Nanjing Road, what’s it called… something like ‘daside’?”

“Haagen-Dazs.”

“Yes, yes, Haagen-Dazs.”

The Godmother laughed, covering her mouth with her hand painted in green nail polish.

He took the tickets with a smile and thanked her.

Holding three brand-new tickets, Ning Xiaobei walked back to Zhao Jingwen’s stall and waved to Fan Xia. “We’re going to the movies tomorrow.”

“Yes! Movie!”

After two months of practice, Fan Xia had really gotten used to losing his shyness. He no longer froze in front of foreign women. What started as awkward, broken conversations had developed into casual chatter, and his spoken English was improving by leaps and bounds, enough to surprise Lin Ziying, who was going back to Wenzhou for summer vacation.

“《Titanic》? I’ve been wanting to see that forever!”

Fan Xia’s eyes lit up as he saw the movie title printed on the tickets.

1998 was a landmark year in Chinese film history.

The American disaster-romance film 《Titanic》, directed by the famous James Cameron, was introduced to China in its full three-hour original version, completely uncut — something unimaginable in later years¹The full, uncut three-hour version was rare because most later releases of foreign films were shortened, dubbed, or partially censored to fit local regulations, runtime expectations, or commercial formatting; a rarity in later years when strict editing became the norm. Its cumulative box office total remained unmatched for many years, only surpassed over a decade later by Cameron’s own 《Avatar.》

At first, Fan Xia had also wanted to go see the movie, and he even planned to invite Ning Xiaobei along. But at the entrance of 【Grand Bright Cinema】, the scalpers were selling tickets for two or three hundred yuan each — that was 300 yuan in 1998, equivalent to half a month’s salary for an ordinary worker.

Fan Xia’s allowance from his dad was only three hundred yuan for the entire month. Spending that on a movie would mean living on nothing else for the rest of the month, so he had no choice but to give up.

The film had already started screening in Shanghai a few months earlier, but the craze for it hadn’t died down, and it was still showing in first-run theaters. Many movie fans were watching it a second or even third time, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

A newspaper had even reported a few days ago that a female fan somewhere had been going to the theater every day since the movie’s release, crying her heart out each time, and that just passing by a record store and hearing 《My Heart Will Go On²by Celine Dion; theme song for Titanic, 1997》 would bring her the same heartbreak.

The latter half of the article included expert advice about keeping a calm mindset, watching movies rationally, and not getting too obsessed with celebrities — pretty useless stuff, and could be skipped.

For Ning Xiaobei, the movie was also unforgettable. In the real world, he didn’t get a chance to see it in theaters until around October. Now, thanks to Uncle Zhao, he finally had the opportunity.

“But we have three tickets. One for you, one for me… what about the third? Should we take your dad or my uncle?”

Fan Xia scratched his head awkwardly.

Ning Xiaobei thought to himself that they didn’t need to worry about that. His generous uncle had already taken his dad to see the movie, and for the past few days Ning Jianguo had been working on the Titanic cruise ship model in the living room every night.

In the end, they decided to take Chang Leyun.

Chang Leyun and her mom had just returned from a trip to Hainan, and her skin was noticeably darker. Fan Xia teased her, saying she had turned from a “White Swan” into a “Black Swan.” Back in May, during No. 1 High School’s anniversary celebration, each class had to perform. Class 1 sent the talented Chang Leyun to dance 《Swan Lake》. Her performance stunned everyone, and from then on she was nicknamed “White Swan.”

Now, walking around campus, upperclassmen boys often stole glances at her from afar. Ning Xiaobei had also heard that the short-haired senior who looked a lot like Gigi Leung was losing her school beauty title. The boys had collectively decided that Chang Leyun was poised to become the new No. 1 High School Flower.

But Fan Xia didn’t seem to care; to him, Chang Leyun was no different from a boy. A school beauty in a skirt was just another buddy.

Having their daughter accompany Ning Xiaobei and Fan Xia out gave Wang Yihong complete peace of mind. She even gave them 200 yuan, reminding them to eat at the newly opened Pizza Hut under the First Food Store before going to the movie.

By the time they left the cinema, it was already past nine at night. Even in the 1990s, Nanjing Road, the “No. 1 Street in China”, was still brightly lit and crowded with people, no less lively than it would be thirty years later.

Although it was the end of summer vacation, the temperature was still intense. Stepping out from the air-conditioned cinema into the humid, sweltering, and crowded street, Ning Xiaobei felt sweat immediately shoot down the back of his neck.

“Fan Xia, I’m going to buy a cold soda…”

Ning Xiaobei turned to look at the two trailing behind him. Fan Xia lifting his head high, fists clenched, and trying not to let the big tears roll down his cheeks. But the string of snot under his nose had already betrayed him. Sitting next to him earlier, Ning Xiaobei had clearly heard him sobbing so hard he was struggling to breathe.

Chang Leyun was an entirely different story. Before coming, the girl had done her homework, bringing along two big packs of tissues. In the end, she used up both packs and even borrowed a few more from him. Overwhelmed with emotion, she squatted on the marble steps outside the cinema, crying as if a dam had burst; tears streaming uncontrollably.

But their behavior didn’t seem out of place at all. Ning Xiaobei looked around and saw that nearly every person, male or female, had tears in the corners of their eyes. The tragedy on screen had been so grand and intense, and now that it ended so suddenly, everyone was still immersed in that sea of sorrow.

Ning Xiaobei, on the other hand, remained far too calm.

Fan Xia sniffled loudly, tilting his head to look at him, clearly wondering why his boss could be so cold-hearted.

Well… because I’ve already seen it more than once in the real world. Not counting the reruns on the movie channel, I even went to watch the 3D re-release in 2012.

Ning Xiaobei gave an awkward smile and handed them the ice-cold sodas he had bought.

“Stop crying. Let’s go to the music store.”

He said to Chang Leyun.

“Why?”

Her eyes were swollen from crying, and she pressed the cold soda can to her face to soothe them.

“To buy the original soundtrack. Only the music store has the official version now. Then we’ll go to the Xinhua Bookstore next door to get the novels and movie merch… I mean, the commemorative booklets and posters that came with the film.”

He almost let slip a term from future fan culture before it existed.

His words went straight to Chang Leyun’s heart. Not just the girl, even the rough-and-tumble Fan Xia felt a little excited and urged Ning Xiaobei to get moving.

“Once we buy it, we can bring it back to school. The other students will have it too. I can’t lose.”

Ning Xiaobei was fairly tolerant of this small bit of childish competition. After all, who hasn’t gone through the awkward middle-school years?

The group walked toward the music store, sipping ice-cold sodas, and a night breeze finally blew away the lingering heat around them. But then Ning Xiaobei stopped, looking around suspiciously.

“Boss, what’s wrong? Need the bathroom?”

“No… I feel like someone’s watching us.”

“Come on, there are so many people on the street. Who’d be staring at us for no reason?”

Fan Xia pointed at the cheap T-shirts they were both wearing, bought from the clothing market, and laughed. “We’re not Lin Ziying, decked out in designer stuff all day long, making himself a target. You’re just overthinking it.”

There were plenty of small-time hooligans outside No. 1 High School. Lin Ziying had been robbed more than once. His dad complained to the school, so the principal sent in a few extra security guards to patrol during dismissal, which calmed things down a bit.

“Maybe…”

Ning Xiaobei frowned, uncertain.

“This isn’t me overthinking. Someone is following us. I’m absolutely certain.”

In the second week after the new semester started, Ning Xiaobei stood in the school bike shed, tugging on Fan Xia’s arm.

He could have brushed off what happened at the cinema as his imagination, but on the way to and from school over the past few days, especially going home, he had felt, more than once, that someone was following him. This was no illusion.

“Could someone have a crush on you, boss?”

Fan Xia grinned mischievously and poked Ning Xiaobei’s arm.

“I saw it. A girl sneaked some snacks into your desk while you weren’t looking.”

He said it with the air of a gossip.

“Oh? And the snacks?”

Ning Xiaobei genuinely didn’t know.

“I ate them. I was hungry right after PE class. Those double-filled buns from Qiao’s shop are pretty tasty.”

Fan Xia said matter-of-factly, hands on his hips.

“The teacher said middle schoolers aren’t allowed to date. I ate them for you so no trouble for you, no heartbreak for her, and no food wasted.”

“Well… thank you, I guess.”

Ning Xiaobei sighed helplessly.

“It wouldn’t be me… and it definitely wouldn’t be you.”

He glanced at this carefree guy in front of him and shook his head.

“Some afternoons after school, Lele goes straight to the Children’s Palace³typical extracurricular activity center in Chinese cities. to practice dance or violin, and I don’t notice anyone following.”

“Could it be that heartless dad of hers bothering her again? We should tell Aunt Wang!”

Fan Xia said quickly.

“It’s not him… if it were, he wouldn’t have needed to follow for so long.”

Ning Xiaobei patted Fan Xia on the shoulder. “Today we split up. You ride with Chang Leyun first. I’ll follow from behind. Ride a bit slower so I can see who’s foolish enough to tail her.”

He paused for a moment.

“And don’t tell Lele yet, I don’t want to scare her.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got this.”

Fan Xia nodded seriously, patting his own shoulder as if he were the hero in a Hong Kong TVB legal-drama series, carrying a heavy responsibility.

Once their plan was set, Ning Xiaobei walked out of the bike shed again, stopped at the small shop diagonally across, and bought a crushed-ice popsicle. He nibbled it while watching the students come and go from the shed.

About three minutes later, he pushed his bike out and started on the route home.

All the students who had come to pick up bikes earlier were from the middle school, no suspicious person in sight. Could the tail be someone from outside the school?

Ning Xiaobei decided to stay alert but not act rashly, he would watch for a while.

The distance from the school gate to the main street was about two hundred meters. At this dismissal time, the road was full of students—from No. 1 High School and the nearby two schools. Boys and girls in their summer uniforms flitted about like pure white doves spreading their wings, scattering into different corners of the city.

At a red light, Ning Xiaobei stopped his bike at the curb and watched the two ahead from a distance.

“Fan Xia really doesn’t know how to deal with girls at all…”

He was genuinely a little surprised.

Previously, the three of them had always gone together. Ning Xiaobei more or less acted like a guardian, taking the lead in everything, and the three got along fairly well.

But today, without him around, these two seemed even more awkward than strangers.

Especially Fan Xia. When a girl tried to start a conversation, why did he pull such a long face and glare at her through his nostrils? Later, he even made Chang Leyun lose interest and stop talking. The two of them turned their heads to look at the scenery along the road instead.

Teenagers’ moods really are impossible to predict…

Ning Xiaobei scratched his chin.

The red light turned green. A short right turn over the bridge led to the Workers’ New Village. The crowd split at the intersection, and Ning Xiaobei focused carefully, trying to spot the tail in the flow of bikes climbing the bridge.

“Ah…”

Before he could see clearly, a bike halfway up the bridge suddenly toppled to the ground. The riders around gasped in shock. Seeing it was a student, many stopped to check and show concern.

“Hey, little student, are you okay?”

“Ouch! Your chin is bleeding. Quick, push the bike to the side. More bikes coming up the bridge could be dangerous.”

Fan Xia, leading the pair ahead, didn’t notice anything behind and had already ridden far off.

Ning Xiaobei rode past the fallen student without a sound. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar face. It was Geng Enhua, the boy who had already been demoted to Class 3!

Could he have been tailing Chang Leyun all these days?

Earlier, Geng Enhua had antagonized Chang Leyun and ended up alienating the girls in the class. His final exam grades had plummeted, and he was directly dropped from Class 1 to Class 3…was he up to something?

Ning Xiaobei followed the flow of bikes down the bridge, parking at the intersection. As he was thinking, he spotted another sneaky figure.

Also in a middle school uniform, riding a bike down from the bridge. The kid had obviously intended to turn and follow Fan Xia and the others into the Workers’ New Village, but upon seeing Ning Xiaobei standing at the intersection, he abruptly turned his handlebars south instead.

“Ding Zheyang? Isn’t he supposed to live in Huangpu District? What’s he doing up north?”

Watching his flustered and somewhat awkward back, Ning Xiaobei felt more and more at a loss.

……………… 

Author’s Note:

The Shanghai Music Store was on Fuzhou Road, specializing in imported records and books. When I was in college, I went there often, and I’d also visit the Fuzhou Road Foreign Language Bookstore for foreign magazines. Later, with e-commerce, that all changed…

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• 1
  The full, uncut three-hour version was rare because most later releases of foreign films were shortened, dubbed, or partially censored to fit local regulations, runtime expectations, or commercial formatting; a rarity in later years when strict editing became the norm
• 2
  by Celine Dion; theme song for Titanic, 1997
• 3
  typical extracurricular activity center in Chinese cities.