After a few months on the job, I had learned some basic sign language. Sometimes, I could even use sign language to argue with him. His paintings were never hanging on the wall in the gallery. Because, whenever he painted a piece, the painting would be bought by his friends or some rich person who was attracted by his fame before it could be hung on the wall. I always laughed at him. “Your paintings have a market but no works.”
He wasn’t offended. He just pushed his wheelchair to the front of the a piece of fabric. He took out a pen from his pocket. One of the staff took the piece off from the wall and took it out of the frame. He then added a few strokes onto it in a breeze. When it was put back on the wall, its style had been completely altered. He signed proudly, “This is my work now. I have a painting on the market!”
Later on, that staff person seemed to know when to show up and when to disappear. There was only the two of us at the galley.
One day, I said to Jia Han slowly, “Thank you for giving me the job. You are a big help to me.”
He smiled. “I know what you have been doing takes a lot of money. So, that’s that.”
“That day I had said a lot. You knew all of it?”
“Even though it wasn’t quite clear, but you had repeated it numerous times. I saw that you kept saying: I need a job, I need a job……”
This time, we talked in depth. I began to understand how difficult Jia Han’s life was, how hard he had struggled, and how strong his determination was.
**
When his elder brother, Sun Jia Hao, came to fire me, I finally saw the other side of Jia Han. That day, he’s so dashing, so tough, and argued so intensely. His imposing manner shocked even his brother.
His brother probably already talked with him before, but he didn’t heed any of it. The result was that his brother came to the gallery directly this day and Jia Han was stopped outside the front door. His brother and his staff came in and locked the door.
“Shen Shan, you better resign yourself. Otherwise, you will just be fired one more time.”
Jia Han could see everything through the gla.s.s door. He hit hard on the door trying to get in.
His brother didn’t pay any attention to him and said to me, “I do not wish to see any damage to our family business and reputation caused by you. So, please, behave yourself.”
I was so angry. It turned out that the guy who s.e.xually hara.s.sed my friend was now working as the sales director in their company. The Sun family relied on his excellent ability and trusted him, so they needed to get rid of me.
At this moment, one of his brother’s a.s.sistants shouted out. “Sir, look at your brother……”
His brother hurried turned around to take a look. Jia Han was on the ground twitching.
“Jia Han!” Indeed, blood is thicker than water. Sun Jia Hao forgot about me, hastily opened the door and rushed outside.
I had never seen Jia Han in such a fl.u.s.tered condition. His brother wanted to carry him on his back, but he emphatically refused. He signed quickly, “If you still acknowledge that I have full control of the gallery, then don’t get involved.”
“We’ve known Lao Xu for so many years, how can you…...no, let’s go to the hospital first!”
“Elder brother, one thing at a time. I have to solve this matter first!”
“Jia Han, you don’t understand. When it comes to s.e.xual hara.s.sment, it becomes a matter of he said and she said. Isn’t it just a bunch of empty words?”
“I just know that people should do what is just. Besides……”
He hadn’t finished signing, his brother already couldn’t wait any longer. “Hurry, to the hospital!” He wanted to carry him on his back after speaking, but Jia Han held tight onto the door with both hands. With tightened lips, his eyes showed the kind of determination that I had never seen before.
His brother gave in to his stubbornness. He couldn’t help but sigh. “Even if it was s.e.xual hara.s.sment, how can you be sure that she isn’t just some gold digger?”
I couldn’t watch any more. I knelt down to ma.s.sage his legs. He looked at me and I just signed slowly, “I’ll resign first. I don’t want to see you brothers fighting.” I continued to ma.s.sage his legs, but they were trembling so hard. My G.o.d, did he experience this often? When he has a spasm attack, it’s really like a living h.e.l.l. I saw sweat fall down drop after drop and I almost couldn’t stop myself from crying.
Jia Han looked at me, while continuing to sign quickly to his brother, “The one Lao Xu s.e.xually hara.s.sed is not her, it’s her friend who had killed herself already!”His brother startled. “What?” Evidently, Lao Xu didn’t tell him the truth.
Finally, his brother sighed. “But you have to know, Lao Xu is a talented man……”Jia Han’s eyebrows tightly frowned. “We don’t need a talented but immoral person!”
In the end, his brother stopped fighting with him, and we all went to the hospital.
His brother was like a changed person. He wanted me to keep Jia Han company overnight.
Jia Han saw my reddish eyes and comforted me with a smile. “You’re so silly. I’m not hurting, it’s just spasms.”
I couldn’t hold back my tears. “You don’t have any feeling in your legs?”
“Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. Anyway…...don’t cry now!”
“Jia Han, sorry to have trouble you so much. Wuwuwu[1]……”
“It’s not a big deal. I want to help you. You are so kind-hearted, but there’s still people who would mistake you as an evil woman. I can’t stand this kind of misunderstanding. Therefore, I want to help you, help you fight for the justice your friend deserved.”
“Jia Han, wuwu…….”“Shen Shan, I like you.”
**
The day I returned home, my mom pa.s.sed out. Her blood pressure went up and had to lie down when she heard that I was going to marry a deaf, mute, and paralyzed person.
But I’m not discouraged.
Jia Han can endure the pressure. I can too. From the moment I met him, it was our destiny to be together.
I will wait with Jia Han for the day this world finally accepts us.