The reprove stirred up a myriad of emotions in Zhuang, so he tried to stop her, but the more he tried, the more she insisted on talking about Liu Yue. He spread his arms and dumped her on the grass. “All right, all right. I won’t talk about her.”
But she kept at it: “I treasure that dress so much, I’ve seldom worn it. Now that she’s put it on, you will mistake me for her if I wear it after she’s left.”
“What you need is for me to buy you some new clothes. Let her have that one, since it fits her so well, and I’ll buy you some new outfits.”
“Don’t even think about it. I can’t part with that dress, because you bought it for me. I went to the mall on North Avenue yesterday and saw a stylish leather coat. You can buy that for me when winter comes.”
“Consider it done, as long as it looks good on you. Jingwu went to Guangzhou to sell some calligraphy, and before he left, I asked him to buy you a gold necklace. I think he’ll buy some clothes for Liu Yue, too. When he comes back and finds out about her, he will have no more use for the clothes, and I’ll take them off his hands. Has Zhou Min sensed anything?”
“He just thinks you’re good to me, and hasn’t said anything. Besides, he has no proof. But I’m afraid he’ll find out sooner or later. You have no idea how often I dream about you, and I’m worried that one of these days I’ll call out your name in my sleep. You can’t run away from me when that happens.”
“I won’t, but you have to understand the difficult position I’m in. You’ll just have to wait for me, no matter what.”
“Why did I mention that again? You’re upset with me, aren’t you?”
He shook his head. “Control yourself when you’re at home so he won’t notice.”
“It might be better if he did. The sooner he knows, the sooner we’ll break up.”
“That’s not a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“My mind is a mess and my heart is in agony, Wan’er. Ever since I met you, I’ve wanted to marry you, but it’s not that simple. I’m not young anymore, and I’m not a nobody. I don’t want you to break up with Zhou Min, because I can’t get a divorce any time soon. You will have to give me time so I can conquer my surroundings and conquer myself. With Zhou Min around, he can take care of you, though it pains me to see that; you and I should have been together already, but we each must continue to live with someone else.”
“It’s worse for me. I’m a woman, and when he wants sex, I reject him nine times out of ten. I have to do what he wants every once in a while. It’s like I’m made of wood, with no desire or passion; all I want is for him to finish as quickly as possible. You can’t understand my suffering. We must work hard until the day comes. If we can’t be together, then neither of us will be at peace.”
He put his arms around her and they fell silent, while their bodies shook so violently that the lilac tree rustled noisily, drawing the attention of a couple nearby. Finally they parted. “Let’s go back.” They stood up, both ruing their decision to come. “Let’s talk about something cheerful,” she said. “Yes,” he said, but neither could come up with an uplifting topic.
Two and half hours had passed by the time they got back to City Hall, but Liu Yue was not outside waiting for them. “Could she have come out and left when she didn’t see us?” Tang asked. “We’ll wait awhile,” Zhuang said. They waited another hour, until they were tired from walking, then went across the street to sit on the steps outside a store, where they fixed their gaze on the City Hall entrance. Another half-hour went by before they saw her emerge into the illuminated area near the entrance. Zhuang was about to call out to her when Tang stopped him. “Don’t. Let me watch her body language, and we’ll know if everything is all set.”
Liu walked out and stopped; a car drove up. The driver got out and walked around to open the door for her. She got in, and the car took off noisily down Laishun Avenue. “It’s only just started, and she’s already acting like the mayor’s daughter-in-law,” Tang said. “You agreed to meet her here, yet she rode off in that car without even looking around.”
Zhuang did not reply, so they stood there for a while. “Why don’t I walk you home,” he said. He did, then went back to the compound alone.
. . .
When Zhuang told his wife, she was upset but did not reproach the girl. Three days later, an engagement banquet was held at the Afanggong Hotel, where the mayor’s wife, following the old traditions, gave Liu Yue an array of presents: a necklace, a box of imported cosmetic products, a set of sleepwear, a pair of red-and-white high heels, a pair of soft-soled casual shoes, a hair dryer, a leather coat, a fall dress, three blouses, and a blazer. She had never had so many nice things in her life, and she wanted to give the red heels to Niu Yueqing, who declined. So she bought Niu Yueqing a pair of stockings. From then on, Liu Yue made herself up every day, trying out new looks, and whenever she could, she went back into her room to look at herself in the mirror and practice her stockpile of smiles. With new clothes and a more glamorous face came a different way of thinking. She often bought more than the family could consume and then threw out the leftovers when they went bad. When they had visitors, regardless of their status or position, she would pour tea and then sit down in her black embroidered robe. She cut into conversations when she felt like it, sometimes interjecting comments while eating an apple. Puckering up her lips, she would cut a slice, pick it up with a knife, and slip it into her mouth. Displeased by the girl’s behavior, Niu Yueqing said to her once, “Does your mouth hurt, Liu Yue?”
“I don’t want to smear my lipstick,” she said.
With a sigh, Niu Yueqing told her to boil some water. She then shut the kitchen door the moment the girl went in. Knowing that Niu Yueqing did not want her to talk to the guests, Liu Yue came back out of the kitchen looking surly and grumbled all the way to her room. Keeping her anger in check, Niu Yueqing waited until no one was around to ask: “Did you come back by car and leave Zhuang Laoshi waiting on the street that night?”
“The mayor has an official car, and Dazheng asked the driver to take me home, so I got in,” Liu Yue said as she was styling her hair with the dryer. “They would have laughed at me if I hadn’t, and that would have reflected badly on you, too.”
“Then you should have let Zhuang Laoshi know when you came out. He walked you there and waited for you. What did he have while you were enjoying fruit and coffee inside? He waited till midnight, but you came out and just got in the car to be driven away.”
“Did he complain to you about me? I didn’t see him when I came out. Could he really have been waiting all that time? Who knows where they went and what they did.”
“They? Did he invite Meng Laoshi out for a drink?”
Liu Yue’s temper flared up when she saw that Niu Yueqing didn’t believe her. “Who else would it be? Tang Wan’er didn’t go home after we walked out the door; she came with us. When I entered City Hall, they were out there on the street, and I don’t think they needed anything to eat or drink.”
“You’d better watch what you’re saying, Liu Yue. Zhuang Laoshi has many friends, men and women. You’ve gotten a boost in your status, but you would hurt his feelings if he heard what you just said. Besides, Wan’er has always been nice to you. Didn’t she bring over her own clothes for you to choose from that night?”
“Dajie is the Happy Buddha, with a belly big enough to take in things that are too hard to swallow,” Liu said with a laugh. “Just pretend I didn’t say anything. You’re unhappy with me anyway, but I’ll be leaving soon.”