When Niu Yueqing came home from work, she told Liu to get Zhuang up for lunch.
“Zhuang Laoshi must be so engrossed in writing that he forgot the time. Why don’t you go get him?”
Greeted by an empty study, Niu Yueqing grumbled about the open window and the paper on the floor. Picking it up, she started reading and stood there until she finished. Liu Yue picked that moment to walk in.
“Time for lunch. Why are you sitting here? You don’t look too well.”
“Did you receive a letter today, Liu Yue?”
“No letter, but Wan’er came. Is something wrong?”
“No, I’m just curious,” Niu Yueqing said, as she put the letter in her pocket and went in for lunch. Liu Yue went to the bedrooms to call Zhuang and the old lady. When he came out and saw Niu Yueqing eating, he said, “You started without waiting for Mother?”
“Why wait for her? She may have to go begging one of these days.”
“You may have had a bad day out there, but don’t take whatever it is out on us.”
“Who am I taking it out on? Who’s there for me to do that to?”
Zhuang frowned at her unreasonable outburst. “You’re deranged.”
Slamming down her rice bowl, Niu Yueqing got up and stormed into the bedroom to cry. When her mother came out, she asked Liu Yue, “Did you do something to upset her?”
“Would I dare do that?”
“Then why are you crying?” The old lady scolded her daughter. “What kind of problems do you have? Everyone says this is a fine family, and if it falls short, it’s just that you don’t have children. Now even that’s not a problem, since your cousin has promised to give us one. Who knows, she might be pregnant already. Where there’s a sprout, it will surely grow, won’t it? The wind blows and a child grows. You have to start setting things up now, telling people you’re pregnant. Then no one will be the wiser when the time comes for the switch.”
“No more of that, please, Mother,” Zhuang said.
“What are you crying about, if not children? You have all the food, clothes, furniture, and status you could ask for right here. When I go out, people treat even me differently. Has Zhidie mistreated you? You’re still young, and yet he has hired a helper so you don’t have to trouble yourself with grocery shopping, cooking, and laundry. What do you have to cry about?”
“He’s so good to me,” Niu Yueqing said from the bedroom, “just wonderful. I slave for this family, do everything I can to protect it, but my sentiments can only warm his body, not his heart.”
“What’s the matter with you today?” Zhuang said. “Why are you spouting nonsense?”
“I’m spouting nonsense? You know what the matter is.”
“I know what the matter is,” the old lady cut in. “You’re living in bliss, but you don’t know it. How can Zhidie not know you’re good to him? He just keeps it inside, so you won’t hear sweet talk from him.”
“He reserves all the nice things for others, so of course he has nothing for me.”
“Watch what you’re saying. I see with my own eyes that he works hard, entertaining guests when they come and sitting down to write the moment they’re gone. Doesn’t he do that to earn money and fame for your sake? With a foot injury like that, any other man would just lie around, but not him. He spent the whole morning in the study.”
“Sure, he can write. Of course he writes. Of course he’s not tired. Actually, writing energizes him,” Niu Yueqing said as her tears flowed, so enraging Zhuang that he put down his bowl and lay down on the sofa. Liu Yue went into the bedroom with food, but Niu Yueqing refused to eat, so she went to Zhuang Zhidie. He suspected her of saying something to his wife, so he snapped at her, “I don’t want anything. I’ve got a belly full of anger. Go eat by yourself.” Now Liu Yue was upset. She went into the old lady’s room to cry.
Silence hung heavily over the house that day and night. The next morning, when Zhuang got up, he recalled his plan to go see Ah-lan, so he went into the study for the letter. It wasn’t there. He asked Liu Yue about it. She pleaded ignorance. When Niu Yueqing came out of the bedroom, her hair uncombed, she said with a sneer, “Did you think things through during the night?”
“Think about what? I was too angry to think.”
“Of course you’re angry with me, Ah-xian,” Niu Yueqing said.
“Ah-xian? Who’s that?” Liu Yue asked.
“You have no idea how many pennames your Zhuang Laoshi has taken. And besides the pennames, he even took someone else’s name. Ah-xian, isn’t that sweet?”
“Where did you get a name like that, Zhuang Laoshi?”
It finally dawned on Zhuang that his wife had seen the letter, and why she had caused a scene the night before. His mind now at ease, he decided to make an issue of it. “So you’ve seen the letter?”
“You ought to be more careful and keep your secret communications in a safe place. Now that you know I have the letter, I might as well ask you which classmate she is. When did you hook up with her again? What have you written in previous letters? The Jing Xueyin affair has caused enough trouble. Who knew there’d be another one? Who’s Meizi?”
“Keep your voice down. Do you want the neighbors to hear you?”
“Yes, I do. I want everyone to know that the celebrity may be worshipped like a god outside, but he’s a common charlatan.”
“The newspapers all say that you and Laoshi have a happy marriage, rooted in deep love, Dajie,” Liu Yue interjected. “You must have misunderstood him.”
“Deep love? Love has made me blind.”
Zhuang waited for her to finish before saying in measured tones:
“Now, listen carefully. Ah-xian is not my penname, nor was it a name given to me. It’s the nickname of Mr. Zhong at the magazine. Who’s Meizi? She was his girlfriend back in college.” He followed up with a detailed explanation of Zhong’s past and current situations, adding his encounter with Ah-lan in Director Wang’s office. “Mr. Zhong has been supportive of me over this article incident,” he concluded. “I understand how he feels, and sympathize with him, so it occurred to me that I might be able to bring him some comfort in his old age. I adopted a woman’s voice and changed my handwriting to send him a letter, but it can’t be mailed from Xijing. I’m going to give it to Ah-lan, who will then send it to her sister to be delivered back to Xijing. This is what’s going on. You can go ask Zhou Min if you don’t believe me.”
Both Niu Yueqing and Liu Yue were speechless when he finished, yet it still sounded too fantastic.
“So Zhuang Laoshi is a procurer, Dajie,” Liu Yue said.
“Of course I’ll ask Zhou Min,” Niu Yueqing said. “You must have had similar feelings in the past to be able to write something so sweet and tender, even though this one is for Mr. Zhong.”
“I’m a writer, after all. I wouldn’t deserve to be one if I couldn’t imagine that kind of emotional state.”
Niu Yueqing handed him the letter. “I’m glad that’s all it is. But why did you behave like that? I was upset, and all you did was scowl, refusing to say a word to me. I can’t be sure if what you just said is true. Even if it isn’t, you’ll be able to make it sound credible to talk me around. Women can’t resist sweet talk.”