Chapter 115: Clearly a Dirty Joke, So Why Does It Feel So Sad?

“Mi Mi, don’t go!” This was what Geng Haoshi had wanted to say all last night and this morning. Somehow, summoning all his courage, he finally spoke the words aloud.

“Second Brother...” Yang Mimi was momentarily at a loss for what to say.

“Attention passengers of flight HX1028, attention passengers of flight HX1028. Boarding will begin shortly. Please proceed to the boarding gate for ticket inspection and board promptly to avoid any delay in your journey.”

Hearing the announcement, Geng Haoshi thought to himself: Flight HX1028—that’s the one Mimi is taking to America.

“Mimi, can you not go to America? It’s so vast and sparsely populated there; you’d surely find it lonely.” Just yesterday, he had praised America for being spacious and quiet, but today his words contradicted that completely. Yet now, none of that mattered. As long as he could stop Yang Mimi from going to the United States, he was willing to endure any embarrassment.

“Second Brother, my parents are both in America, so...” Yang Mimi looked at Geng Haoshi with a complicated expression.

Upon hearing that her parents lived in America, Geng Haoshi was stunned. If Mimi’s parents were there, what reason did she have not to go? What should he do? Think fast!

If Geng Haoshi’s brain were a computer, its processor was now running at full speed. But no matter how he thought, he couldn’t come up with a good enough reason to convince Mimi to stay.

“Attention passengers, attention passengers, the boarding gate for flight HX1028 will close in 20 minutes. Passengers who have not yet checked in, please proceed to the boarding gate promptly to avoid any delay in your journey.”

“Second Brother, I...” Yang Mimi glanced toward the boarding gate but hesitated, unwilling to leave just yet.

Hearing the flight announcements again, Geng Haoshi grew increasingly anxious.

Think, think quickly! Time is running out! He couldn’t let Mimi go to America! His mind raced even faster.

“Second Brother... I have to check in now...” Mimi forced out the words with great effort.

“No... no, wait, Mimi, listen to me. Your parents are in America, right? Nowadays, don’t people in our country all love buying things from overseas? You could use your parents’ presence there as an advantage. You could work with them here to run an overseas purchasing business for American goods… I think that would definitely have a strong market!” Geng Haoshi stammered, struggling to find a seemingly “reliable” reason.

“Second Brother...” Watching Geng Haoshi try so hard to find reasons for her to stay, Yang Mimi finally couldn’t hold back. She covered her mouth and choked up.

Geng Haoshi didn’t know if her tears meant yes or no; he dared not dwell on it and continued, “Mimi, do you think what I’m saying makes sense? So, please stay...”

Before he could finish, Yang Mimi threw her arms around him.

Taken aback by the sudden embrace, Geng Haoshi smiled with delight. “Mimi, are you staying?”

But soon, she let go, grabbed her luggage, and dashed toward the boarding gate.

Most passengers on flight HX1028 had already checked in and boarded, so only a few remained at the gate.

Yang Mimi quickly completed her check-in.

“Mimi!” Seeing her about to disappear from view, Geng Haoshi sprinted to the boarding gate, calling out loudly to the girl who was pulling her luggage with one hand and covering her mouth with the other.

Yang Mimi stopped but didn’t turn around. Her back faced him, her right hand still covering her mouth, her shoulders trembling intermittently.

“Mi Mi, don’t go!” Geng Haoshi, usually carefree, was crying too now.

Mimi remained facing away, her left hand clutching the handle of her suitcase, trembling uncontrollably.

Then, as if making a firm decision, she tightened her grip on the suitcase handle and strode inward.

Watching her walk away with determination, Geng Haoshi suddenly remembered something. “Mimi! Do you remember the joke I told you?”

Mimi, resolute moments ago, paused once more.

With a tearful smile, Geng Haoshi said, “What’s the similarity between a rotten radish and a pregnant woman?”

Mimi shook her head silently, still covering her mouth.

“They both happen because they were pulled out too late!”

It turned out to be a risqué joke.

At the time, Geng Haoshi had realized he’d accidentally told Mimi the punchline, so he never dared to share the answer before.

To clarify for innocent readers—the radish, if pulled too late from the ground, rots. Similarly, if a man ‘pulls out’ too late during intimacy, a woman can become pregnant. So the commonality is “being too late to pull out.”

“I was too late too! I can’t pull my feelings for you out anymore!” Geng Haoshi shouted, tears streaming down his face. He was genuinely moved.

Whether or not Mimi understood the joke, she grasped the meaning behind his words. She released her grip on the suitcase, crouched down, covered her face with both hands, and tears fell endlessly.

“And besides, I haven’t even taught you to play basketball!”

Mimi had once asked Geng Haoshi, “When the time comes, will you teach me basketball?”

Later, Mimi became the manager of the Tiancheng Polytechnic University basketball team. With both of them under the same roof more often, there were chances to practice. But like the other players, Geng Haoshi was either in class or endlessly training, leaving no time or energy to teach her. So that promise remained unfulfilled.

“Attention passengers, attention passengers, the boarding gate for flight HX1028 will close in 5 minutes. Passengers who have not yet checked in, please proceed to the boarding gate promptly and board as soon as possible.”

Only five minutes left.

Yang Mimi stood up, turned around with tears in her eyes, and looked at Geng Haoshi. “Second Brother, when you make it into the NBA, when you come to America, will you still teach me basketball?”

“This lifetime, I’ll only teach you!” Geng Haoshi responded loudly.

“Mm...” Mimi nodded, covering her mouth, sobbing uncontrollably.

“Second Brother, you must come!” she choked out, then turned and walked away without looking back, disappearing into the distance before Geng Haoshi’s eyes...