╔═══ Author's note ════╗

One of my goals is to make you comprehend my protagonists, to make them feel alive without being too relatable, and also not too different. They'll keep some of the gender stereotypes. To accomplish my goal, I createed a slice of life arc (Mr. and Mrs. Jelly).

There may be instances where you would see yourself in my characters, or instances where you would go 'what the heck did I just read', but remember, they are not here to be related to.

I believe that good characters aren't good because we can relate to them, but because they compel us into thinking about things in a different mindset.

While being relatable may allow you to see the world through the character's eyes, it's a far less interesting if the character was just you.

Don't you think so? 😊

Edited by Psycho S

Proofreaded by P.D Webb.

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Bing Shi was well cared for as a four year old child. She was fed, sheltered and loved by her parents. This love for her was apparent in the way one of her parents would pick her up from kindergarten and keep her nice and secure in the house. Bing Shi's mother and father treated her like a princess and, keeping true to the fairy tales written by the Grimm brothers, they caged her in their house like it was a real castle. 

She had no way of going outside (not that she wanted to go outside anyways) and there was no way for people outside of kindergarten, besides her parents, to see her.  The only form of entertainment she had was a TV. With her mother's help, she had learned how to take care of herself.

But despite being taught how to heat food in the microwave, she always ate her food straight from the fridge: she learned how to ignore the coldness that seeped into her mouth; the cost of being too lazy and impatient was worth it.

Bing Shi was very grateful to her parents; she thought they were kind and hardworking people. They wanted the best for her in the present, and in the future. 

As the only child in the house, and being alone for a certain period of time, Bing Shi got the hang of entertaining herself. She saw nothing wrong with being alone; how could she, when she was only a child, who didn't know any better? It didn't matter whether she didn't like being alone at first; gradually, she came to like solitude. She even came to love it. In fact, later on in her life, when she wasn't alone, she would get anxious… 

About her father…

He was a good man who loved his family; don't let the stink of alcohol layered in his breath, or the beer bottles he would throw on his whims, distract you from how truly caring he really was. 

Her mother always told her to treasure herself- to never let anybody hurt her. She didn't know why her mother would tell her that. Why would anybody hurt her? This made Bing Shi look at her mother doubtfully. 

Then… then, she understood why her mother told her that. Maybe she didn't understand fully because an adult's words were a painful thing to comprehend for a child, but Bing Shi did have a vague grasp on what her mother meant.

She could never understand why her mother loved her father. He was a bully. He hurt her with words, and when he thought words weren't hurtful enough, he hurt her with his loving knuckles and his faithful, glass bottle companions. 

Her mother would say that it was the alcohol's fault. Her father was too drunk to know any better. Bing Shi couldn't understand why her mother would still love her father, even if he was a loving man when he was sober. 

She only knew this:

'~ Alcohol is bad. Drunk people are going to hurt you.'

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Then, her brother was born. He was sent away to the nanny's house by her parents until he knew how to use the toilet alone. Because of this, Bing Shi was spared from the things called diapers. 

Her parents, despite raising her for some years, were still inexperienced parents and since Bing Shi was the eldest child, they thought her behaviour was normal. They felt proud knowing that their little girl could take care of herself in their absence… So, when her brother came back when he was three, and she was nine, Bing Shi's routine was ruined. 

'Stupid boy, stop crying!'

To calm him down, Bing Shi had to put him in front of the TV. Bitterly, she crossed her arms. Because of this small… flesh bag, she couldn't watch her favourite TV series anymore.

When it was his potty time, she didn't want to wipe his butt. She tried to teach him how to clean himself by words, which ended in disaster. She had to take him into a shower. When the annoyed Bing Shi held the showerhead, she taught him how to clean himself. Her words were humiliating and harsh, resulting in her brother crying very loudly.

When it was his mealtime, Bing Shi would always shout at him, "Why are you not eating!? You have to eat! You will be hungry!"

The more she shouted, the more he cried. Her brother was used to his nanny feeding him; he didn't know how to eat by himself. Bing Shi had to teach her brother how to use a spoon; she never fed her brother.