Epilogue
“I heard that you have a daughter.”
Chi Fei Fan raised his eyebrows, looking at the woman across the table, rather is a girl, she is still in school, still young and inexperience. Her dark eyes looked directly at him curiously, her long eyelashes fluttered, like a flower bud swaying in the wind, “Is it true?”
Chi Fei Fan “Hum” a sound, and told her, “I also have a girlfriend, haven’t you heard?”
“That’s great.” She smiled happily, “then you won’t take up too much of my time. Why don’t you give your girlfriend your schedule. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, or Tuesday, Thursday and Sat.u.r.day, keep Sunday for me, I don’t mind.”
Chi Fei Fan scrutinized her up and down, “So generous?”
“Oh, anyway we’re both on the orders of our parents, on the notion match-making. You, regarding your mother you have no way out of this, and me? Regarding my mother I have no way out of this either. If they want us to fall in love, we will date with vigour and vitality for them to see.”
“Have you ever been in love?”
“I’ve dated, I only once.”
“Then what happen?”
She looks a bit depressed, “Then we broke up.”
He don’t know why he laughed, “Well, from today let us start dating then.”
He kept his promise, he only went to see her on Sunday, because Monday she had cla.s.ses, and Sunday she often had to go back to school. The University Campus garden scenery was picturesque, the loneliness of autumn. Walking down the road with lined tree of fallen leaves, listening to the yellow leaves crush beneath his soles, there are students riding their bicycle jingling past, and then he called her.
That time she didn’t bring mobile phone with her, her room-mate answers, “Cen Ge is in the laundry room, wait, I’ll call her.”
Her name is Ren Cen Ge, her room-mate called her name, it also sound very good.
He stood on the edge of the woods waiting for her, from afar he could see her walking out of the dorm, pa.s.sing by the flower coming towards him. As usual she was dressed in jeans and a T-shirts, because the weather was chilly she wore a winter coat on the outside, with her short hair, at first glance she looked like a little boy, in fact she actually look like a doll with delicate features, crystal clear. Seeing him she told him, “Oh, today our dormitory students all known of your existent, they want you to shout them out for dinner.”
He asked, “Do you wash your own clothes?”
“Yes, I’m too lazy to take them home, so I hand wash them instead.”
“What does your cla.s.smates want to eat?”
“They want to eat Pizza Hut.”
It’s been many years since he ate pizza, the last time was when he was still abroad and ordered take away. But if he does accompanied her cla.s.smates to eat pizza, Ren Cen Ge will be very happy, at least it will be different from usual when it was just the two of them, a group of little girl chatting away from the topics of “Painted Skin” to “Connected”, finally she turned around, and asked him, “After we’re finished eating, we’ll go see a movie, okay?”
“Okay, my treat.”
Three other girls all smiled, “That we feel too shy.”
Going to watch “Painted Skin”, he went to buy back some popcorn and cola drinks, the three girls kept a distance from him, only she stayed in the same position waiting for him.
“They said they don’t want to be light bulbs.” She took the bucket of popcorn, “could you sit with me.”
He didn’t think she would cry. Chen Kun (he acted as w.a.n.g Sheng (王生) [1] in Painted Skin) said, “If she’s a demon, I must kill her, but as a husband, I can give up?” First she sniffed, then rustling cried. The screen light flashed, with tears in her eyes, he wanted to take out some tissue to give her, unexpectedly she grabbed his sleeve, all of a sudden cry. In a very depressed choked voice, like puppies, or like other small animals sobbing. He took out a tissue and gave it to her, she tried to stop her tears, but her tears flowed endlessly. After a while, Chen Kun said to Xun Zhou (she acted as Xiao Wei (小唯) [2] in Painted Skin), “I love you, but I already have Pei Rong[3]……” Suddenly she sat up straight, crumbled up her tissue and stopped crying.
[1] w.a.n.g Sheng (王生) is a General in Painted Skin, he is in a love triangle with Pei Rong and Pang Yong.
[2] Xiao Wei (小唯) is actually a fox spirit who feasts on human hearts to maintain her lovely and youthful appearance.
[3] Pei Rong (佩蓉) is w.a.n.g Sheng’s wife in Painted Skin.
After a long time he still think this is funny, originally she was crying with full of grief, suddenly she abruptly ceased her tears. It seems that a young girl’s tears are worthless, they can be easily grieve and then easily act as if nothing happened.
Her so-called of dating was to meet every Sunday, sometimes she took hold of his hand, however he also felt like their were siblings. The way she treated him wasn’t like how men and women would interact, sometimes she would tell him what happened during school, she regarded him as a friend and a teacher.
Not warm not cold, just like a cup of lukewarm water, she will never make a person feel discomfort.
One weekend, he took little soy bean to the amus.e.m.e.nt park, and b.u.mp into her. She looks similar as he usually saw her, looking like student wearing a T-shirt, jacket, shoes, short hair, from behind she look like a thin little boy. He can tell that she never dressed herself up when she went out with him. Seeing little soy beans, she is very patient, squat down to play with little soy bean, little soy bean also liked her very much, wanting Cen Ge to hold her.
She took a little soy bean on the merry-go-round, making little soy bean so happy that she was giggling.
Finally, little soy bean was tired and fell asleep, he sat on the bench with the baby, she bought two ice cream, handing him one.
He asked, “Why did you come to the amus.e.m.e.nt park to play?”
“I wanted to play, so I came, and there’s no law that says college students are not allowed to play at the amus.e.m.e.nt park.” Paused and she said, “your daughter is very pretty, but it appears she looks more like her mother.”
He smiled, “She is very much like her mother.”
Also a bit like her aunty, especially her eyes, and her sparkly long eyelashes, which always made him feel there is a weak place in his heart. Such a young child, just like an Angel. Every time I took her out to play, he felt his heart was at peace. No wonder Ye Jing Zhi has proudly said, “My daughter is the cure!”
“Cure” he does not know, Ye Jing Zhi impatient, let him “Baidu”, he really go “Baidu”.
A lot of high noun made him dizzy, he understand about all the chicken soup is for the soul…… Little soy bean is chicken soup for the soul, this is what Lu Yu Jiang said.
So he often take little soy bean out to play, even if Lu Yu Jiang like that, but he is the child’s G.o.dfather, everyone felt helpless with him.
She bit her ice cream, told him, “My boyfriend and I broke up in here.”
He ‘Oh’ a sound, “If it’s a sad place, why you come here again?”
She was eating her ice cream, her voice was somewhat vague, “Even if I’m sad again, what can I do?”
He took a bite of the ice cream, it was cool and sweet, it’s been a long time since he tried this taste.
She asked him, “Why didn’t you get married?”
He didn’t know why, but he told her the truth, “I once loved a person, very fond very fond, loved until I couldn’t stop, but continue to love.”
“She married someone else?”
“No,” he stroked little soy bean’s black hair, in a low voice, “she’s not here any more.”
Her big black eyes stared at him, gradually have a flawless compa.s.sion, and finally she said, “I’m sorry.”
“Never mind, it’s already been several years.” He ate his ice cream, it was ice cool, his teeth was aching, “When she left I wasn’t by her side, but I know, she was very happy, very happy. So even if I cannot be at her side, I also felt very satisfied.”
For a while she did not speak, finally she finished her ice cream, with the cool sticks in her hands, like a little finger, her skin slightly concave, unconsciously playing games. Her voice sounded very regretful, “I always thought that in this world there was no such affections like that.” Looking back, she smiled at him, “My ex-boyfriend, also said he loves me very much, but then he fell in love with someone else.”
He said, “This is a common thing.”
She nodded, “But at that time, I was very proud. I thought that I treated him with my undivided attention, why did he change?”
“Love is not equal, the amount you give out, does not necessarily be how much you’ll harvest in-return.”
She sigh, “You’re right, but I took a long time to understand, but also waste a lot of time to acceptance the facts.”
“Being young,” He said disapprovingly, “of course it is like that.”
Suddenly she playfully smiled, “Hey, you’re only eight years older than me, why you use this elder tone of act?”
“Eight years are a long time, when I was eight years old, you were just born.”
She pitifully looked at little soy bean and said, “I thought because of her, so you had a dispute over precedence with your family, unexpectedly it is another story.”
“She is my G.o.d-daughter.”
“Ah?”
As expected he saw her surprise reaction, he laughed, “I have said before, I once loved a person, very fond very fond, loved until I couldn’t stop, but continue to love.”
She stared at him, finally, ask, “You still love her?”
He nodded.
She sigh, “It’s not that there isn’t any good men, they exist only in the novels and movies, very rare in reality, very early they would have been taken by someone.”
He raised his head, looked at the high clear blue sky, “Destiny. Who knows, maybe tomorrow you will encounter him.”
She laughed too, her eyes curved, “If there’s bread, if there’s a prince, if there’s colorful auspicious clouds, there will be love.”
After a few days suddenly had a strange number called him, at that time he was in a meeting, so he didn’t answer. He waited until the meeting was finished before he returned the call, it was her room-mate, the girl very anxiously told him, “Cen Ge have a fever, I just took her to the hospital.”
He went to the hospital emergency department, he found the noisy observation area, among the row of people he saw Ren Cen Ge. Because of her high fever, her face was red, like a kindergarten kids putting on a show so they paint their face rouge, causing a person pity her.
She spoke breathlessly, saying one word she would have to stop for a while before continuing, “Cold, rhinitis also occurred……”
Her room-mate also have cla.s.ses in the afternoon, so he stayed behind to take care of her. The two of them sat side by side on the chair, watching the medicinal liquid dropping along the drip tube, a little bit down. He asked, “How come you didn’t inform your family?”
She sniff her nose that hardly had any ventilation and said, “My parents are busy, they will tell their secretary to come and have a look, why bother.”
“Why don’t we change to a hospital with fewer people?”
“No need, it’s just a cold.”
He gently looked at her, in fact she and many twenty year old girls were the same, study in University, had a pa.s.sion love dating experience, had parents who are busy with work, spend more time together with their friends. They wasn’t fragile, will wash their clothes, and take the subway home. They will study hard for the level six exams, once they pa.s.sed the exam they will be jubilant, hearing there places for exchange will bring it up freely with them, and then did not want to fight.
“Overseas is boring, during my childhood I spend two years in Germany with my grandparents, it was very boring.” She said, “Domestic is good.”
Outside the window, on the gra.s.sland there were doctors who accompanied their patients back and forth, the sun gradually set, the late autumn sun shines through the windows, excluding a gentle warmth. Then she fell asleep, like a small tumbler, one moment she will t.i.tle over here and the next tilted over there, all of a sudden her lips and cheeks is still red, looking more like a child. He stretched out his hand over her shoulder, she finally was safely on his shoulders, deep asleep.
When they pulled out the needle there was a little pain which her woke up, he quietly became a moving paralytic shoulder. Her fever is gone, her cheeks still had a little bit of pink, like apple, with a thin layer of cream apple fruit in autumn. She said, “Uh, I’m really hungry.”
“What do you want to eat?”
“Congee……” She said, “in the romance novel, when the heroine is ill she’ll eat a bowl of porridge.”
She’s still a kid, still reading romance novels. He said, “I’ll cook it for you.”
She was surprised with her mouth hanging open, even more like a child, then she said, “Don’t be so good, I’m afraid I will fall in love with you.”
“Besides the two of us are dating, even if you fall in love with me I also don’t mind.”
“But you don’t love me, then wouldn’t I suffer……”
The results she muttered until they arrived at his home. He cooked up a pot of fragrant rice porridge, and then took two cuc.u.mber, pickled a chili bean curd, sour and cool, the two of ate the pot of porridge, ate until they were full and warm.
It’s the first time she’s been in his house, after she was full she began to explore, “Your house is really clean.”
“The house keeper cleans it.”
“This word on the wall……”
“My own writing, very alike the imitation, right?”
The two giggled and smile, she said, “Why don’t you write me one, I’ll take it back and hang it in my bedroom above my bed.”
He said: “Okay, what do you want me to write?”
“Ren Jun Mo said Ren Cen Ge.” She said, “These seven words.”
He said: “The tonal doesn’t make sense, the words use is too shallow.”
She said: “This is my grandpa’s poetry!”
He was very surprised, it inconvenient to continue criticizing, she bursts into a laugh, “In fact, my grandpa’s poetry is really bad. My uncle said to give him a collection of poems. My mother said, forget it, he is a first-cla.s.s painter, poor poet, poetry also does not let people joke? These poems, are merely at home for us to look.”
“Your name is because of this poem?”
“Yes,” she said, “Just another Cen word, my cousin called Ren Cen Xin.”
“Ren Cen Xin is your cousin? She is my cousin’s daughter-in-law.”
“It can’t be true? We are relatives?!”
“Cement old ties by marriage, be good, call me Uncle!”
“Hum!” Without any cause or reason she has gain a generation, Ren Cen Ge looked very unhappy. Finally he sent her back to school, all the way she did not speak. After they arrived at the school, he opened the door for her, she suddenly stand on tiptoe near his face ferociously gave him a kiss, and startled him. She took a step back, her sly big eyes twinkled and gleamed, “I kissed you, you are my boyfriend, then we are equals in generation, don’t ask me to call you uncle!”
Not waiting for a response from him, she ran into to the dormitory.
The dormitory lights flick on, a window like bright eyes. He touched his cheek, touching the place where she kissed him feeling a gentle sense of touch, like the wind in the spring night, mixed with the breath of flowers, intoxicated.
On Sunday again, they went to the movies. The new series of “b.u.t.terfly Sword”, funny martial arts and subversion, finally ending with a happy reunion. This time Ren Cen Ge did not cry, while eating popcorn she said, “Good, b.u.t.terfly Lovers are happy.”
He said, “If Fei Wo Si Cun stop writing tragedies, life will be fulfilled.”
She almost choked to death on her popcorn: “You also know who Fei Wo Si Cun is, you read romance novels?”
“She’s just a poor little romance author, I wouldn’t read them.”
“Then how do you know?”
“Yesterday I accompanied Jing Zhi to watch this movie, she said it.”
“You already seen it yesterday? Who is Jing Zhi?”
“I once said……” He turned his face towards her, on the big screen light reflected into his eyes, his eyes are black, very focused, “I once loved a person, very fond very fond, loved until I couldn’t stop, but continue to love……”
She asked: “She is not here?”
“Yes, Jing Zhi is her younger sister.”
She asked: “Why did she go to the movies with you? She has no one to accompany?”
“What do you want from asking that?”
“I’m jealous ah, you are my boyfriend.” She plausible said, “When you and I are together, you’re not allowed to think of others!”
He smiled: “Why are you so stingy, and you don’t love me.”
She pulled out her hands and reached for his face: “Who says I don’t love you?”
The first time she kissed him, the second time it was also she who kissed him, he felt it was very ridiculous, why is this girl not the same as he once knew?
Her lips are very light, very warm, like feathers, light and fluffy, brushed his lips, and his heart.
He gently breath, very quickly he was moved by the sweet and warm atmosphere, overcome by his feelings he took the back of her head, unexpectedly kissed her deeply. Closely related to each other and mutually dependent, strange and familiar, dizziness and blurred his feelings rushed up, causing him to hungrily wilder.
The screen has reached the last subt.i.tles, the theme music came on.
A happy ending.