[Money struggles, feat. A-Ling]
Jiang Cheng | Mo Dao Zu Shi Modern AU 26-05-2021
[#jiangcheng and #jinling - modern]
where jc who's taking care of little a-ling doesn't have much money to spare for all the new trends jl also wants to follow like the other kids. Of course, jc doesn't really have the money for all these things, so when he can he will try doing it with his own hands. of course, a-ling would like the real thing, but there is something even more special about it when it was made by his jiujiu himself!
He's a bit upset about the others sometimes being mean about these, but never for long because they just don't have a great jiujiu like his who is ready to make it himself.
Other times jc will try and put money on the side to get the cheaper of whatever jl wants (since often what the other kids have are too expensive).
sometimes it's a bit late and the trend is over, but a-ling will always play with it or wear it anyway, he knows that when jc puts money into something he shouldn't just discard it the moment others don't like it. He likes those and he will play with them.
But then the next bigger thing a-ling asks for is not part of a trend: he wants a dog.
the moment jc hears this he knows he just cannot go with a-ling wish this time. A dog is a lot of time and money and this is not something he can afford right now. it's breaking his heart to see a-ling cry every time he refuses his latest demand (wondering a bit if he has spoiled this kid a bit too much lately).
when a-ling birthday comes, he's surprised by the rather large box. They are usually smaller (not that smaller gifts are bad, a-ling always loves what his jiujiu gets him).
so he excitedly opens the box, his eyes growing wide before pulling out the life-sized puppy plushy, looking rather amazed at the soft dog.
jc can see the slight spark of disappointment (but he would never complain, despite his age he understands that jiujiu cannot buy him everything) in his eyes, but a-ling looks overall overjoyed by this toy and the money it cost him is worth it. the large plushy was rather expensive and jc needed to do some overtime (and maybe cut a bit in grocery for himself), but seeing how amazed little a-ling is, it is worth it.
jc pulls him into his arms, hugging him tightly as the plushy gets slightly squished between them.
"I promise we will be able to have a dog one day" he whispered against his temple, "We just... can't afford it right now, so I hope the plushy can be enough for now". jc knows more than anyone else that a plushy cannot replace a real dog (he learned it the sad way), but he still hopes a-ling can wait a bit longer.
just a bit longer so he can get a better job that pays more and is more stable than the one he has. only then would he bring a-ling whatever dogs he prefers to have, because he knows that like this he won't have to one day let it go if money becomes too hard (he would never be able to poorly take care of a dog just because he doesn't have the money).
a-ling only hugs him tighter, eagerly nodding and saying he understands. This is the first time his jiujiu says that they would get one. He would love it to be now, but he doesn't argue since it means at least one day they might get one. He knows jc never makes fall promise.
(as promised, when a-ling enters Junior Secondary School they do manage to adopt Fairy and a-ling is simply over the moon when his little pet is sitting with him in the car. jc is secretly just as happy to finally have a dog around again).
Original
