Atavism

Chapter 14

For a few seconds while he was speaking, Liu Er's eyes showed a look of longing and yearning, but he quickly fell silent.

Because there will never be another chance like that.

For him now, even standing in the sunlight has become a luxury.

A wave of sadness washed over me. I pressed hard on his shoulder and said, "Believe me, everything will be alright. You've already experienced the joy of life, so don't give up on it."

"Really?" His eyes looked somewhat bewildered.

I nodded emphatically: "But simply running away won't work. You see, you want to start a new life, but you need your mother's money, and you can't avoid it."

Liu Er's lips twitched; clearly, I had touched a nerve.

"Now, for the sake of genetics, we have to find your mother. Besides, don't you think it's strange that she's so averse to talking about your father?"

"You mean, my dad might also..." Liu Er's mouth dropped open.

"In short, this is a starting point. We must find out about your father's situation. If it was a sudden mutation, we also need to find the source."

Liu Er looked at me for a long time before finally nodding slightly.

“I’ll call her later.” He glanced at the wall clock. “She won’t be up this morning.”

I wondered how someone could get up later than me, and then I thought about her job; she must not get home until at least the early hours of the morning every day.

There weren't any major news stories to cover today. I finished writing a short piece of about 400 words and sent it to the editor. I was worried about whether Liu Er had found out anything about his father, so I made sure to finish early. I got home before five o'clock.

"So, what did your mom say?" I asked as soon as I walked in.

"Uh... I haven't called yet. I'll call now."

I shook my head. It seems that Liu Er has too much prejudice against his mother. If I don't urge him, he will keep dragging it on.

Liu Er hesitated for a while under my watchful gaze before finally picking up the phone.

"Yes, it's me," he said softly.

Then he just kept saying "uh-huh" in a rather perfunctory manner, like a child who was annoyed to no end by his nagging mother.

Regardless of his mother's profession, a mother is a mother, and she still loves this eccentric and unfilial son who claims to be an orphan.

Of course, strictly speaking, neither mother nor son is worthy of the name.

"I'd like to come over later," Liu Er said as her mother's nagging subsided.

"No need, no need to prepare anything." Hearing this answer, I could guess what her mother was talking about. It wasn't much different from my mother's, maybe just a bit more enthusiastic.

"I want to ask about Dad."

After saying this, Liu Er remained silent for a while, listening to his mother's words on the other end of the line, pursing his lips.

After a while, he said, "I understand," and then hung up the phone.

"Are you going now?" I asked.

"I'm not going," Liu Er said.

"how?"

"It's the same as always, she won't say anything. She says she's forgotten and tells me not to bring it up again."

I thought for a moment and asked, "How is your mother's attitude towards you usually?"

"Attitude? Like a dog wagging its tail behind me, as long as I don't mention that matter." Liu Er showed a look of disgust.

“She raised you, after all,” I frowned. “Why describe it like that?”

Liu Er chuckled and curled his lip.

I sighed. Liu Er's prejudice against his mother was deeply ingrained, and it wasn't something I could change with just a few words.

But his mother, who doted on him so much, couldn't bring up this matter, even if it meant she couldn't see her increasingly distant son. You have to understand that this is a huge torment for a mother.

"How about I give it a try?"

During dinner, I suddenly said to Liu Er.

Liu Er stopped using his chopsticks to pick up a large piece of meat and asked me in confusion, "You?"

I clearly understood his meaning: If even your son is unwilling to talk about it, what good will it do for an outsider like you to go?

“I’ll give it a try. I can’t just give up like this. Tell me… where she works, and her name.”

"All right."

The elevator doors opened on the fifth floor, revealing a magnificent, golden interior.

This is one of the most famous nightclubs in Shanghai.

A young man approached and asked, "Sir, do you have a reservation?"

"Oh, no, give me a small bag." I looked at this situation and silently mourned for my wallet for three seconds.

"I still have the small package, eight hundred. I'll help you find a sales manager."

"No need, your name is You Fang."

"Okay, please wait a moment." The young man respectfully stepped aside, checked the room availability at the front desk, and gestured for me to proceed.

The place was so big it was like a maze. I followed him through all the twists and turns until we stopped in front of a private room.

“This is it, sir. Please wait a moment, You Fang will be here soon,” he said, opening the door for me.

"OK."

I sat on the soft leather sofa, looking around at the decorations.

A circle of sofas surrounds a frosted glass table with a brass base; all are high-end items. There's a large 42-inch rear-projection TV, and a karaoke machine on one side. Oil paintings, seemingly reproductions of Chen Yifei's works, hang on both walls. Although it's called a small private room, the space is quite large; at least six people could squeeze in.

The door was opened by the younger brother, and a tall woman in a black dress walked in.

"You are... You Fang?" I couldn't believe it.

The woman in front of me looked to be only in her early thirties; even "still charming" would be an understatement. Her dress was low-cut, highlighting her curves and alluring figure. She did have some dark circles under her eyes, though, which is unavoidable for most people in this line of work.

If it weren't for the name tag hanging around her neck that made me confirm her identity, I really wouldn't have believed that she already had such a grown son.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you before, sir,” You Fang said with a smile.

"Oh, a friend recommended that I come to you." I wasn't exaggerating when I said that.

"Great, I'll give you an extra bottle of Chivas Regal just for that. What kind of lady would you like? I'll go and call her for you."

I initially wanted to refuse, but then I thought it might not be appropriate to just say I wanted to see her directly, so I said, "Whatever, whatever you think is good. But you should come and stay here more often, don't fly away and disappear without a trace."

You Fang smiled broadly: "Okay, you wait here."

After waiting for five minutes, You Fang led in a row of more than a dozen women, all of them standing tall and proud, their eyes sparkling as they smiled at me.

I thought to myself, "This is definitely a high-class nightclub. Any one of these nightclubs would get a lot of attention on Huaihai Road."

"Which one sings better?" I asked. I wasn't planning on doing anything anyway, so I figured I'd just listen to the pretty girls sing.

"Her, and her."

The girl who was pointed at blinked and tried to look at me.

"She'll do," I said, pointing to the one with the sweetest smile. The other ladies filed out without hesitation.

"Juanjuan, keep her company well." You Fang said, giving me an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, I still have a few guests at my place. I'll go and greet them and be right back."

I was anxious, but I couldn't show it, so I just said, "Then hurry up and come over, you can't just leave and never come back."

I didn't even open a bottle of wine when You Fang wasn't around. With my meager alcohol tolerance, I was hoping to trick her into drinking a whole bottle later and get something out of her, so I couldn't just let it go to waste now.

I let Juanjuan choose a song she liked to sing, and her voice was indeed quite good, and her technique was excellent. She spends so much time here; it seems she's really practiced it.

While she was singing, she unconsciously reached out and put her arm around my waist. Although I felt a little uncomfortable, I didn't push her away. Anyway, I was going to give her a tip later, so I figured I might as well take advantage of her, especially since she was the one who initiated it.

While she was singing, I kept glancing towards the door. She probably noticed my distraction, and after a few songs, she took her hand off my waist and focused intently on singing.

I guess she's been here a long time, and she's seen plenty of both lustful men and simpletons like me. She's learned to deal with whatever comes her way, and now she's using her own methods to deal with others, which she finds quite enjoyable.

About half an hour later, You Fang finally pushed the door open and came in, exclaiming "Huh!" when she saw the empty wine glass.

"Why haven't you had any wine?"

"I can't hold my liquor, so I waited for you to come before drinking, otherwise I'd get drunk. Are you alright now?"

You Fang smiled, seemingly somewhat surprised. At first, when I told her to spend more time with me, she probably thought I was just being polite and trying to flatter her, but now, hearing me say it again, she realized that was indeed what I meant. Someone like me, who doesn't seek out young women but instead sets his sights on older mothers, must be quite rare.

"Alright, alright, nothing's wrong. Even if something happens, it'll only be for a short while." You Fang called her younger brother in, opened the wine, and filled three glasses.

I raised my glass and clinked it with hers: "I only drink a little before I pass out. I know you can drink a lot, so you should drink more. Don't bully me."

You Fang smiled and said I was being modest, but she still drank half a cup in one gulp.

I only took a small sip, but it wasn't enough. I said, "Half a cup isn't enough. You made me wait so long. I have to finish this first cup in one go."

"Oh, trying to get me drunk?" You Fang shook her head, then raised her glass again and drank it all in one gulp. Perhaps she drank too quickly, because a light blush slowly crept onto her face.

It was a good start; I was worried she'd refuse to drink. I then tried various methods to persuade her to drink, but Juanjuan was too busy to attend to her and just kept singing.

My alcohol tolerance is really low; I only drink a little bit each time, but I can already feel the slight effects of the alcohol. If I drink any more, I'll get drunk. I need to think of a way to get to the point.

"Wow, so many! I didn't even know what you did for a living," You Fang said.

"Me? In the cultural field." I could have told her I was a journalist, but considering that her profession might be a bit sensitive about journalists, I didn't say it directly.

"The cultural field is too broad, what exactly?" You Fang's blush deepened as she leaned closer to me. A faint scent of alcohol mixed with perfume wafted into my nostrils, quite alluring. The thought that this was Liu Er's mother filled me with a strange feeling. To exude such allure at her age, she must have been an absolute stunner in her youth.

"He makes a living by writing," I said.

"A writer, no wonder he looks so refined."

I smiled and didn't deny it.

You Fang glanced at Juan Juan, who was singing there, and said, "You don't seem interested in Juan Juan. Is it because you're not satisfied with the person your sister arranged for you today?"

"No way, I'm absolutely satisfied. I just love listening to people sing."

You Fang smiled and said, "If you're satisfied, please recommend your friends next time."

I smiled and said, "Of course. But aren't you going to ask who introduced me to you?"

"Oh, right, I was just about to ask, but I got busy and forgot. Who was it?"

"Guess what, it's the one you know best."