Translator: Tranzgeek
Chapter 27
Cheng Jia Yang
I brought fresh flowers to the hospital to see Wu Jia Yi, I informed the a.s.sistant at the door, and only after she checked with her did she allow me in, and admonished: “I ask that you not stay too long, Jia Yi still needs to rest.”
Wu Jia Yi sat on the bed, her hand holding a copy of the newspaper, when she saw me come in, she waved me over.
“You’re so busy and you still visit me?”
I laughed, when I saw her newspaper flipped to the entertainment section, with the eye catching t.i.tle “Lovesick Wu Jia Yi Attempts Suicide”.
I said: “Well, it’s all some gossip news.”
But she said: “Working our job, our profession is to give others a way to create gossip.”
We were not close friends, that day when I saw her taken away by an ambulance, I went back to tell Xu Dong, he was dazed for a long time, and begged me go to her for him. Right now I had no words, I saw Wu Jia Yi’s powderless face and realized that actually she was also a weak, young woman, like duckweed (a tiny aquatic flowering plant that floats in large quant.i.ties on still water, often forming an apparently continuous green layer on the surface) floating on the world’s problems.
“Jia Yang, I know he is going to marry. From a friend’s friend’s mouth. Really, the way we were when we loved, right now we are going to split up, he didn’t even get a lecture from me, but I had to hear it from someone else.”
That afternoon, I thought like this: when we cook Chinese medicine, it can be sloppy, or burned, but the fire has not been quenched. Thus it would result in this kind of an accident.
You probably came on his behalf.
There’s no need to deny it, it’s okay, it’s okay. Being like this, I was willing, it’s not Xu Dong’s fault.
I seem to have died one time, I have seen through it.
There’s no way past it, unless it’s my own unwillingness to drop the issue.
Please tell him, there’s no reason to hide from me, loosen up, in the future even if we cannot be friends, there is still no need to be like someone hiding from debtors.
The day Xu Dong married, I told him Wu Jia Yi’s words. This careless man listened, then dazedly began to shed tears.
“Jia Yang did you scold me in your heart?”
“I will not.”
“Didn’t you hear what I was like to her? Do you feel that I don’t want to marry her? I’ve played around for so many years, but only put my heart into what I did for her. But, I also, have to…..”
My big brother Jia Ming also knew about Xu Dong’s problems, he appreciated Wu Jia Yi, we spoke of this thing in my own study room.
He was watching the old Clark Gable movie “It Happened One Night”, a living rich girl fell in love with a gag reporter, in a pure and innocent era, it was story about how the princess fell in love with the frog.
Jia Ming had seen me come from Xu Dong’s place, taking the best man’s suit over.
“Then he still gave in in the end.” Jia Ming said.
“……”
“That woman did so much for him, she had courage. She loved him so much, committed suicide for him, that such a conclusion can be drawn. It’s a pity that she looked upon the wrong person.”
I sat next to him, talking too much, wanting to defend Xu Dong.
“He had to.”
“Excuses.”
Jia Ming was this kind of person, when one mentioned other people’s situations, he would view it the same as how he viewed jokes.
“What about you? Aren’t you the same?”
I thought of last year, when he had never lived at home, at that time, at home, he had rebelled against our parents, my mother said, he had a woman, who had become pregnant, and they were basically about to marry, but things ended quietly, and not long after that he moved back home to live.
Jia Ming suddenly laughed: “You always wanted what happened during that time? I’ll tell you today, I am willing to become your king of warning.”
“I’m all ears.”
“I really loved a woman, when we were together, she gave birth to a small child, that child has already grown to be very big, I heard his heart jump before.
But, what would you know, our parents didn’t allow it, because of her background
Of course they would do anything to stop me from marrying her.
My work wasn’t going so well so I found her, and gave her some money. She agreed, and destroyed the child.”
His casualness made it seem like he was talking about someone else’s problems.
“You don’t hate them? You even moved back?”
“Hate them?” He looked at me, “This is why I appreciate that famous woman, if that woman had also been so determined, wouldn’t you have a small child who could call you Uncle?” After he finished he laughed again, “Thus the way the surrounding environment is, the pressure will be that big, saying ”he has to” is an excuse, att.i.tude is the key in these situations.”
I felt Jia Ming’s words had some logic to them, the second day of the wedding I saw Xu Dong haggard, hopeless, cast into h.e.l.l, and felt sympathetic, I had never seen him like this.
But every person seemed to have a story.
At the ceremony, the priest asked the woman if she was willing to marry Xudong, she finally said “I do” after a long pause, already bursting into tears.
Everyone in the city had a story, what kind of a strong heart did they have that they could afford these disappointments and complete life?
May 1st holiday, I originally wanted to go to Ma Tai with Qiao Fei but instead I hid at home and went online.
“I talked to “I don’t believe that I can’t register for it” and he asked me, “Are you feeling alot better?”
“Hey I’m alive.”
“Then that means that things aren’t better yet. But I see that you really love her. Being like this is not the solution, why don’t you go see her?”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t need to say much. See how she lives. If she really loves you she will definitely be just like you, torturing herself and deserting herself.
My internet friend’s words made me think of Wu Jia Yi.
Was Fei as good to me, as she (guessing this is Wu Jia Yi) was to Xu Dong.
No no no, of course I wouldn’t want her to torment herself, I had always hoped that she could become better than me.
But, otherwise, what were feelings measured by?
I called Fei, her cell phone was off; then I called the dorm, and her roommate answered after a very long time, and said to me: “Oh, she isn’t home, she left just now. I don’t know, it was probably a friend. You can call her cell phone.”
I took the car keys and left.
When I went outside I suddenly found that it had begun to rain.
The car flew along the road, a sense of insecurity and fear rose inside me.
Qiao Fei
Liu Gong Zi said: “Fei Fei come down, if you don’t come down, I’ll go up, do as you will.”
I said: “You’re so great, my cell phone is turned off, but you could even find my dorm’s number.”
“Quickly, quickly, it’s going to rain. My car is right under your floor.”
I sat on the bed, my heart thinking fiercely, really, even if I didn’t look for trouble, trouble came to me.
I smoked a cigarette in the bathroom, and then wore a raincoat and went downstairs.
Liu Gong Zi said: “Why did you take so long?”
“You’ve come to find me for something, please speak.”
“Do we need this to be so serious? Fei Fei, laugh. I don’t need anything, I came to see you.”
“You don’t need anything, but I have something to say. As you see, Liu Gong Zi, I am only a student, what I did before, that was because I forced to do so to live, you know, on this world, not everyone can live like you and Cheng Jia Yang.
You do not lack a person like me. I have do not owe you, please let me off.”
He looked at me carefully.
“If you want a nurturing mistress, let me tell you, I am not a good resemblance. Please do not do anything else for me.”
After I finished, I tried to get off the car, but Liu Gong Zi pressed the car door.
“You’ve talked so happily, why haven’t you given me a chance to speak? This is too unfair.”
“Please come in.”
“Have I grown a long face that tells lies? Why do few people trust my words? Fei Fei, Qiao Fei, what do you see me as?
Do you think that out of all the ladies in “Allure”, I would remember all of them? After removing their makeup would I recognize every person? I was looking for you, wanting nothing more but to be friends or to take away something from Dumb Cheng. In the beginning when we were talking about the prices, it could have been me who was not right, apologies, I am a businessman, and have always thought this was the most straightforward way. But, like you said, I do not have any shortage of any ladies like you, if you’re not willing I will not force you. I say this to you, with a hope that you will not look down upon me.”
The rain came down harder and harder, pouring on the plastic playground, jumping up like thin smoke.
I deeply took in a breath, to calm my heart.
“Liu Gong Zi, you have said this before. For people like me, to be not looked down by you, I’m already very lucky. Now, can I get off the car?”
“Bye.”
I opened the car door, got off the car, my raincoat accidentally scratching Liu Gong Zi’s car door, heavy rain poured on my face, blocking my line of vision. Liu Gong Zi, sitting inside, reached out his hand to help me untie the knot from the raincoat that had sc.r.a.ped his car.
In the downpour, I narrowly escaped my hectic heart from the dispute, in a flurry, I hadn’t heard the footsteps behind me.