With a cheer, they downed their drinks. Zhou quickly refilled their glasses before raising his own. “I want to thank everyone, too. We managed to survive the battle.”
“You should be happy now, Zhou Min,” Xia Jie said. “It would have made everyone feel better if you could have gotten Jing Xueyin to come to Zhuang Laoshi’s home.”
“When I went to the toilet yesterday,” he said, “I heard someone crying in the women’s room. I couldn’t tell who it was, so I waited in the hallway to see who came out. She had on dark glasses. I was going to hand her a handkerchief to dry her tears, but decided to let her off the hook.”
“Let her off the hook? You’re such a pushover,” Hong Jiang said. “Everyone who knew about this has been spreading the news, and people are wondering why she even filed the suit, since her affair with Zhuang Laoshi was so long ago. Zhuang Laoshi crushed her by providing the dates and places where they’d made love, and she lost.”
“That’s just gossip,” Zhuang said. “I didn’t even go to court, so how could I do that? “I’ve learned an important lesson, and that is to never get involved in a lawsuit.”
“If that’s gossip, then don’t stop it,” Hong said. “In my view, this must be considered another glorious event in the life of Zhuang Laoshi. Other men couldn’t get a woman to do that even if they wanted to, and there’s no way they could have created such a storm.”
“Zhuang Laoshi’s only mistake was trying to be clever,” Meng Yunfang said. “If it had been me—”
“What if it had been you?” Xia asked him.
With his eyes on his wife, Meng raised his glass, “I’d finish this coconut juice.” He gulped down the contents, making everyone laugh. Someone jeered, saying he was henpecked. Someone else joked that Xia Jie was keeping her man on a short leash.
“Xia Jie is right to do that,” Niu Yueqing said. “A woman must keep a close eye on her man, or something can happen when you least expect it.”
“You’re right,” Meng said. “It’s precisely because she watches me so closely that I’m still a virgin.”
Forcing an awkward smile, Zhuang picked up his pipe. “So you’re Tripitaka, the monk from the Tang dynasty,” he said. “His trip to India for the sutras was made hard because he was a virgin, and all those demons wanted to eat his flesh.”
Wang Ximian’s wife smiled.
“Famed Painter,” Meng said, “why are you so quiet today? Being good when your wife is around?”
“He’s not much of a talker,” Wang’s wife said. “Don’t blame me.”
Meng reached out to snatch the pipe from Zhuang’s mouth and smoke it himself, prompting Wang’s wife to say, “That’s not hygienic, Yunfang. Pipes, like toothbrushes, are for personal use only.”
Meng handed the pipe back to Zhuang. “Women are always worried about hygiene. You say Wang Ximian isn’t much of a talker, so how come that day at the Sheraton Dance Club the two of you were talking each other’s ear off? Is he only a talker with you?”
“Sheraton? I’ve never been there,” she said.
“Ai-ya! I shouldn’t have said that. Let me slap myself.”
“Stop causing trouble, Yunfang. I can tell stories about you if you insist upon telling them about me,” Wang said.
“Go ahead,” Xia Jie said. “I won’t be jealous. Men can have lovers, and so can women.”
“I guess you’ve already done that,” said Ruan. “How come you never told us?”
“I’ve learned my lesson after what Zhidie has been through.”
“Perfect!” Ruan clapped. “Perfect. I’ll drink to that.”
They cheered again, and everyone drank a toast.
“Stop talking about lovers,” Niu Yueqing said. “I can’t stand that word; it sounds more like a prostitute to me.”
She had thrown cold water on the party, and no one knew what to say now. Wang Ximian finally said, “Fill the glasses. We’re here to congratulate Zhidie on winning the case, so I suggest we each toast him.”
Instead of picking up his glass, Ruan reached for some food with his chopsticks. “Don’t drink too much in the morning, since you need to work; drink your fill at noon because you have to attend a standing committee meeting; drink less at night because you have to go home and face your wife.”
Everyone laughed.
“Did you get that from that junkman?” Wang asked. “What standing committee meeting do you have to attend? And today isn’t Saturday, so why would you be facing your wife? Fill up his glass, Liu Yue.”
“I’ll drink it up. I will,” Ruan said. “Down the hatch. You down the glass when the feeling is deep, you lick the glass when it’s not.”
Ruan clinked glasses with Zhuang and then downed the contents.
“Let’s not copy his uncivilized way of drinking,” Wang said.
The others clinked glasses with Zhuang and drank. When Niu Yueqing came out with the food, Meng Yunfang gave her a glass so she could toast with the others. Zhou Min clinked his glass with hers twice, saying it was for Wan’er’s sake.
“Let Liu Yue toast Zhuang Laoshi,” Niu Yueqing said, which she did.
Zhuang thanked everyone when he saw that they had emptied their glasses. He raised his, but his hand shook so much he had trouble bringing it down to drink. When he finally did, he tossed down the contents and teared up, causing the room to fall silent. Zhou Min went over and rested his hand on him. “Did the liquor go down too fast?”
Zhuang’s lips quivered. He sniffled loudly, eventually choking up.
“He’s moved,” Niu Yueqing added. “That’s how he is. He cries when he’s sad, but he also cries when he’s happy. The case dragged on for so long, and so much happened during the process, that now that it’s over, he’s worked up to see you all here.” She turned to Zhuang. “Why don’t you go rest? Come back and have a drink with us after you calm down.”
“I’ll do that. I’m sorry, everyone. Enjoy yourselves.” He went into their bedroom.
Wang’s wife followed him in and asked softly, “What’s bothering you, Zhidie?” He shook his head. “You can’t hide it from me. You shouldn’t have that look on your face now that you’ve won the case. I noticed it the moment I came in,” she persisted.
“No more questions, please,” Zhuang said. “Go on out there with the others. I’ll be fine once I rest up.” She was about to sit on the edge of the bed to talk to him when Niu Yueqing came in.
“Zhidie has lost weight, so I’m afraid it’s up to you to make him feel better,” Wang’s wife said. “After Gong Jingyuan’s death, we all understand how fragile life is, so it’s more important than ever for us to take care of ourselves.”
“That’s what everyone says,” Niu Yueqing said, “and I feel the pressure. He belongs to everyone now, and I’m just his keeper. I’d have trouble explaining myself if his health suffered, but does he listen to me? He knows he’s in poor health, but he’s so willful that no matter what he does, he doesn’t know when to stop. It would be a miracle if he didn’t lose weight.”
“Men are all like that,” Wang’s wife said.
With his head down, Zhuang silently filled his pipe. Niu Yueqing snatched it away and put it on the bedside table. “Look at him. He’s smoking again. I keep telling him not to smoke so much, but he won’t listen to me. Now he’s even smoking a pipe.”
“What are you doing in there, Yueqing?” Meng shouted from the living room. “Both hosts have left the table before their guests. Afraid we’ll drink all your liquor?”