A Flower’s Shade (20 page)

At that time, Suqin was standing not far from the entrance to the hotel, peering about herself with a guilt conscience, watching that couple move gradually off. She and Liangzhong had agreed to meet here, but the appointed hour had come and gone without any sign of him. Liangzhong finally rushed up, waving to Suqin from some distance. Reaching her, he whispered something and took her inside the hotel. Suqin was uneasy, and she looked at the concierge with frightened eyes. Without a word, the concierge gave Liangzhong the key and gestured for Suqin to leave with him. Over his reading glasses, the concierge looked mysteriously at Suqin's retreating form, coughed a little, but retained the phlegm in his mouth. He was in no hurry to spit this time, for he kept his eyes fixed on Suqin's back until Liangzhong and Suqin had entered the room and had completely disappeared.

Suqin entered the room, and watched Liangzhong impatiently latch the door. She said, "Liangzhong, tell me exactly what you mean. You want me to act as matchmaker. So why lure me here?" Liangzhong said, "Dear sister-in-law, haven't you figured it out yet?" Suqin smiled and said, "What am I supposed to have figured out? I don't get it at all," she said, with a look of incomprehension.

"If you really didn't understand, I'm afraid that would just break my heart." Liangzhong said, beaming with joy. Having driven the scheme this far, he thought it was pretty ridiculous for Suqin to keep up the pretense. He really had pulled out all the stops to squeeze his way into the Zhen Estate as a son-in-law. But since Miss Yu had taken an attitude of rejection, Liangzhong had begun to redirect his plan of attack to Suqin. His purpose was very simple. First he would get a hold of Suqin, and she would operate as his spy so that he could step up his attacks on Miss Yu, who certainly wouldn't give up easily.

From the first time he had seen Suqin, Liangzhong knew that he had a chance there. She was a woman who deeply thirsted after men, and it could be seen at a glance that her sexual desires had been heavily suppressed. As long as there was an opportunity, a man didn't even need to begin to tease her; she couldn't wait to begin the teasing herself. As Naixiang's primary wife, Suqin had long been neglected. Apparently, she had never been pampered. From the very beginning, Naixiang had held her in disfavor, the reason being that she had an Adam's apple like a man and that her cheekbones that were too high, her pubic hair that was too heavy and coarse; her physiognomy seemed to suggest that she would be bad luck for men. On the wedding night, Naixiang had acted like a practiced horse trader, subjecting Suqin's entire body to inspection. He had been immediately and greatly disappointed, and on the third day of their honeymoon, he had disappeared to sleep with some other women of his acquaintance.

Suqin and Liangzhong had hit it off quickly. When Liangzhong asked Suqin to be his matchmaker, she had readily agreed. The topic had spurred on their conversation, which had grown more and more pleasant, and before long they understood each other perfectly. As the daughter-in-law of the Zhens, she was both an abandoned woman and a widow to the living. Naturally, Naixiang would die one day, but even when he did, as the old dowager of the Zhen family, Suqin found it hard to imagine that she would ever have an opportunity to remarry. Although her heart was full of desires, she continued to project an image of great chastity. Even behind the latched door of the hotel room, she still pretended that the purpose of this encounter was merely to discuss the matter of Miss Yu's marriage.

"In this heart of mine, I think only of you, sister-in-law," Liangzhong said, finally impatient and getting directly to the point, and because he could see that Suqin was even more inflamed than he was. Of ten women, nine are willing; it all depends on how you say it. Suqin's voice had changed, and her eyes were fixed on Liangzhong, who nattered incoherently, "Sister-in-law, today, you must complete me." he said, baring his intentions as he leered at her.

"Heck," Suqin said, still pretending, "How can I complete you?"

"Don't you know how much I think of you?"

Suqin stopped pretending, and said artfully, "Liangzhong, you'll have to make yourself clear. Is it Miss Yu you think of, or me?" He said, shamelessly, "It's both of you, naturally. If I didn't admit it, you'd be sure to call me a liar. Men are always eating from what they've got in their bowl, but they keep an eye on what's in the pot." Suqin stretched out her hand and flicked Liangzhong on the forehead, "That's true, at least. You men are all worthless. But tell me, who's in the bowl and who's in the pot? I hope you don't think I'm going to fall for your blathering. I should have known that you couldn't have anything decent in mind, when you lured me to this dump? She put out her hand, intending to flick his forehead again, but Liangzhong had already grabbed her hand, and pulled her forcibly towards him. Suqin swore at him but fell conveniently into his embrace.

X
iaoyun was like a new man on his bicycle, skillfully weaving in and out of the Estate buildings. The willful arrogance which was so often visible on his face seemed to have disappeared along with the enigmatic dark glasses. He now looked like a modern young man, with just a touch of the fashionable, both straightforward and innocent. Miss Yu sat on the back of the bike, holding onto Xiaoyun's waist, emitting sharp giggles at each shocking new rattle of the bike. The bike faced no obstacles in the Estate. The methods that had been taken to ease the passage of Naixiang's wheelchair allowed Xiaoyun, with his riding skills, to get pretty much anywhere he liked.

In the shade of the parasol tree, at the corner of the wall, was a high cluster of canna lilies, and by the canna lilies stood Huaifu's strapping figure. He stood there like a stone, his eyes filled with envy. Xiaoyun had Miss Yu on the back of his bike and was riding slowly down the long walkway, crossing through one courtyard and entering another. For days, Huaifu had been secretly monitoring their every move. He was wholly aware of everything that occurred, everything seemed to be happening openly and right beneath his eyes. There were details and facts he could never have dreamt of, he didn't dare believe that his idol, the angelic Miss Yu, could really be so utterly shameless. So she really was willing to give herself away to a man so easily. Huaifu simply could not believe that Miss Yu was so shameless in the matter of sexual love, so insatiable, so oblivious to the proper limits.

When night was about to fall, Huaifu had concealed himself more than once outside Miss Yu's window to eavesdrop. He knew that he was behaving in a vile and foolish fashion, but he couldn't stop himself. People often have no control over themselves. Huaifu knew that Miss Yu could never belong to him. Their incestuous relationship had already reached its high-water mark. He knew that he had no right to interfere with Miss Yu making love to another man.

What actually happened every night in Miss Yu's room was more or less always the same. Just the fact that Xiaoyun spent every night with Miss Yu was enough to provoke Huaifu's intense hatred. Xiaoyun had won her affection too easily. It didn't matter what he said, he didn't even seem to need to make an effort, and yet Miss Yu practically swooned with love. Over and over again, he talked about what had happened and was happening in the outside world. The outside world was so enormous, and everything Xiaoyun said was enough to provoke Miss Yu's great interest. They would often begin to fight again unreasonably, over small matters. Fighting was a particular way they had of showing each other affection. The fights came on suddenly and ended just as abruptly. They fought and then suddenly they were reconciled, the voices growing gradually softer, and then he could sense that the two of them had gone to bed. Bed was evidently always the conclusion of a fight.

Huaifu could only wait motionlessly in the darkness for that conclusion. He could only stand there motionlessly, listen motionlessly, as though he were waiting for judgment at the apocalypse. He had no other choice. Several nights in a row, he had endured this brutal suffering. On one night of thunder and rain, Huaifu had stood in the rain like a drowned rat. The rain poured down, but there was a light on in Miss Yu's room. Through the bamboo curtain, he could see Xiaoyun teasing Miss Yu with something.

He was practically glued to the curtain, he knew the conclusion was imminent. They were about to perform the scene he wanted to see least of all. It was a constantly repeated tragedy, a nightmare that never concluded. Huaifu felt again and again that his heart was about to fall to pieces. In terms of sexual indulgence, Miss Yu possessed unthinkable courage. She was the kind of woman who had a truly audacious lust, a sexual addiction. Even though it wasn't long since she had lost her virginity, her wildness, her indulgence could have put any mature woman to shame. Huaifu, in extremes of pain, finally closed his eyes. The rain pelted viciously down, and Huaifu's face might have been covered in raindrops or tears. He could sense Miss Yu's panting getting heavier. Gradually, Miss Yu's untrammeled moaning lost all restraint, rising and falling with the sounds of the rain. Lightning flashed, and as the sound of the rain, the sound of Miss Yu's moaning, persisted, Huaifu couldn't tell anymore whether what he felt was jealousy or whether the urgency of the sound had awakened some impulse, but he suddenly opened his eyes, stuffed his fist in his mouth, and bit down on it violently. Another bright bolt of lightning, and the rain was slowing, the room growing quiet. By the lamp, darkened by the curtain, Huaifu could see that a dark line of blood was flowing from his wrist.

M
iss Yu seemed to have noticed Huaifu's unease. She was after all a woman, and even instinctively she could tell what lay behind a man's reaction. However, she didn't let the unease bother her, because Huaifu's attitude on the matter did not interest her at all. In fact, there were some things it was impossible to hide from Huaifu. Miss Yu couldn't do without Huaifu, but Huaifu was in a very delicate position. He wasn't a steward, or a servant, he was like her confidant, and also like her henchman, because in any affair she not only didn't need to deceive him, she could even confidently leave him to make the arrangements. For instance, when she went to see Xiaoyun, or when she and Xiaoyun had their trysts, she didn't need to worry at all about making sure he would do this or that.

It was unendurable for Huaifu. It wasn't Miss Yu alone who didn't treat him like a human being, even Xiaoyun completely ignored his existence. Xiaoyun always behaved to him with perfect arrogance, it was as though he wasn't aware of Huaifu as a person at all. Sometimes he would give Huaifu a cold look, and the look would often destroy Huaifu's confidence entirely, causing him to panic, as though he had done something wrong. As long as there was Xiaoyun, Huaifu was constantly aware of feeling superfluous.

A scar remained where he had bitten deeply into his flesh, on the night of the rainstorm. In the end, Miss Yu happened to notice it, but she didn't realize how it had come about. She had casually asked Huaifu about it, but they had dropped the subject. That night, perhaps it was because of the opium addiction, or because Xiaoyun hadn't satisfied her—yet in any event she had surprisingly appeared in Huaifu's room, before his anxious expression. It happened the way it happened before, Miss Yu arriving in disheveled clothing, her face blossoming with springtime energy. What surprised Huaifu even more was that this time Miss Yu had brought the opium tray with her, rather than coming empty-handed, as in the past, and then commanding him to go fetch the things.

"I knew you wouldn't be asleep." was Miss Yu's straightforward opening, which frightened Huaifu, since the meaning of this remark could easily mean that she had already discovered that he had been spying on her and Xiaoyun. Huaifu obsequiously remarked that he was just preparing to go to bed. It was quite late already, and so his explanation was not all that credible. Fortunately Miss Yu didn't bother pursuing the matter, she stretched herself lazily on Huaifu's bed and waited for him to blow the smoke for her.

Late that night, the smoke was coiling through Huaifu's room. Miss Yu was soon intoxicated. When she was with Xiaoyun, she always deliberately suppressed her addiction. But suppressing it was quite hard for her. All the modern types hated opium, and Miss Yu didn't want to anger Xiaoyun, didn't want him to hold her in contempt for it. The few drags of opium now felt wonderfully fragrant.

"What a lovely smell!" Miss Yu couldn't help saying, sniffing about in the air like a dog, deeply inhaling the cloud of smoke which enveloped her face, and finally falling asleep. As Miss Yu lay in her intoxication, Huaifu wanted nothing more than to cry. He couldn't help thinking of her and Xiaoyun in bed, he couldn't stop his thoughts. Without any doubt, without Xiaoyun, this would now be the moment he most looked forward to, when Miss Yu had had her opium, and she blossomed forth to him like a flower. In an extreme of passion, she would be letting him enter. Huaifu's heart quivered with pain, because he couldn't at such a moment fail to think of the cruel fact that not long before, on this very same evening, Miss Yu had been crying like a cat in heat, moaning wildly beneath Xiaoyun's body. Another man's fluid was still on her body.

Huaifu stretched out his hand, which was already scabbing. It shook in the air, it was like the hand didn't belong to him anymore. Miss Yu opened her eyes, grabbed his hand, and saw once more the bite. "What have you done to your hand?" she said, not fully understanding.

"The cat. The cat scratched me." Huaifu anxiously tried to back his hand.

"The cat?" Miss Yu said. She was curious, and held his hand tight. She examined it closely, touched it lightly and said, in disbelief, "Why would the cat scratch you? What cat, anyway?"

Huaifu stammered and failed to answer, and gathered up the opium things uneasily. Miss Yu suddenly and stubbornly grabbed at his hand again. She was still lying down, and so grabbing Huaifu was obviously purposeful. Huaifu stood there, stunned, not daring to believe that at a moment like this she still wanted to tease and torment him. Without a word, Miss Yu forcibly pulled him close to her, and Huaifu landed, half-unwillingly, on top of Miss Yu.