veneno Gu - Capítulo 2
She glanced at him but didn't answer him at all, afraid that if she gave him a reply, he would use it as a ladder to climb higher.
Seeing that she didn't speak, he sat down opposite her. She glanced at him unhappily, thinking, "I won't eat here anymore. I'll take the lamb skewers away when they're done grilling." What kind of eyes does this guy have? Why does he look at people like that? She still remembers that look in his eyes—greedy, as if he wanted to devour her whole.
Is this man the bastard with binoculars in the building across the street?
Thinking of this, she quickly took off her pajamas and put on her coat. In a domestic life, a woman without a man by her side feels insecure. Although she knew he was already far away, she still peeked through the peephole a couple of times—what if two men came? Only after confirming that no one was outside did she open the door, but no matter how much she stomped her feet, the motion-activated lights in the hallway wouldn't turn on. It was only a few steps, but she hesitated, afraid to go across, as if she were facing an abyss or an endless sea. Even though she knew nothing would happen, her heart still pounded wildly. She steeled herself and quickly walked over, urgently knocking on the door across the hall.
Who could it be so late?
"Why isn't the door across the hall opening soon?" the deadbeat man asked from inside. It was driving her crazy! It felt like that devil was watching her from behind.
She shouted at me, "Your sister Ya-juan!" Her voice sounded distorted.
The man across the hall must have sensed her nervousness, because he opened the door and asked what was wrong, Sister Yajuan.
Without saying a word, she hurriedly pushed open the door and went inside. Without even sitting down, she recounted the strange events that had happened that night in detail, which made the couple nod in agreement.
The man said, "No wonder! All the lights in the hallway are out!" It turned out he had just come back and told his wife as soon as he entered the house what was going on—all the lights in the hallway were broken!
The man left the room and tightened the light bulb in the hallway by two turns. Zhao Yajuan stomped her foot, and the light immediately turned on.
The man said, "Let's be more careful. Sister Ya-juan, just call us if you need anything!"
Zhao Yajuan returned home, took off her coat again, changed into her pajamas, and watched her favorite TV series. She prepared to shed a few tears—whether from emotion or sadness, hot or cold—before going to sleep; after all, it was Saturday. She had developed a habit of not being able to fall asleep without watching a few episodes of a TV series. Those dramas were like stinky tofu to her—they smelled bad, they tasted bad, but she couldn't live without that stench. Often, she would doze off while still watching.
Her scalp tingled. What could be making noise in the bathroom? Had someone gone in?
She hadn't been to the bathroom since she got back, so why was there a dripping sound? One drip, one after another, making her heart pound. Could it be that he came in again while she was out? This thought immediately made her break out in a cold sweat. Had she locked the door when she went out? Was the door open? Or had she locked it but not properly? Had he come back?
She tried her best to think, but the more she thought, the less clear things became. She increasingly suspected she hadn't locked the door properly when she left, which terrified her so much that she didn't dare go back into the bathroom for a long time. She didn't even dare to relieve herself. Finally, when she couldn't hold it any longer and was about to wet herself, she reluctantly picked up a rolling pin and cautiously went in. Sure enough, she saw the faucet wasn't turned off properly and was dripping, making her extremely anxious. Who turned it on? Had someone already come in? How could the faucet be on if no one had come in? He must have deliberately turned on the faucet to scare me! Why is everything so strange tonight?
She also discovered that the half-roll of toilet paper in the bathroom was gone.
It was because she found there was only half a roll of toilet paper left in the morning that she remembered to go to the supermarket to buy more in the evening. Looking around, she thought she could still smell a faint scent of smoke in the bathroom. She sniffed again and again, but the smell of smoke was so strong! Where was it coming from? The smell of smoke reminded her of a man, and she remembered the man behind her, hissing and phlegmy in his throat.
In the darkness, those returning to the stairwell from outside can't see anything. In the pitch black, who wouldn't be afraid? Concentrating on getting home quickly, you climb one step, two steps at a time, never imagining a killer lurking around the corner. He suddenly appears behind you. You might hear him, or you might not; whether you hear him or not, it's too late. He doesn't care if you're a man or a woman; he grabs someone from behind and shovels them open with an dagger, killing them instantly. Legend has it he's incredibly accurate, never needing a second strike, because he's always hidden in the shadows, his eyesight clearer than yours. That year, it was said this damned guy stabbed ten men and ten women to death. Although he was eventually caught, the dead could never be brought back to life. It was because of this murder case from another city that the city's Public Security Bureau required all residential buildings in the city to install voice-activated lights in their stairwells. She remembers that the residents were very obedient at that time, and every household voluntarily paid to buy lights. That's why there are voice-activated lights in the corridors now.
It was already 11:30, and I still didn't dare go to sleep. I peeked out from the balcony and saw that most of the windows in the building across the street and downstairs were pitch black, even the window of the binoculars was completely dark. The blaring horns of cars on the road had lessened considerably; the city had quieted down, with only the occasional screeching of a passing car. Most residents had returned to their deep sleep, and at this time of day on any other day, she too would have been seeking peace in her dreams.
Suddenly I remembered my mother saying more than once that midnight is the time when yin and yang meet. The first half of the night is of course the yang world of humans, while the second half of the night is the yin world of ghosts and gods. At this time, if you are not careful, you may go to the yin world.
My mother said her second uncle was an old drunkard. He would drink every morning as soon as he got out of bed, and he would also drink a few more mouthfuls of wine when he woke up at night to go to the outhouse. That night, he woke up in the middle of the night needing to pee and went to the outhouse. The outhouse was in their own yard, less than fifty steps away, but he walked for a very long time and still couldn't reach it. Later, he said he was about to wet his pants. Looking at the road under his feet, it was dark and quite far away. The ants on the ground were as big as crickets, and the crickets were as big as eggs, all staring wide-eyed at him, scaring him. For some reason, the roots of the big trees on both sides of the road grew upwards, and the branches stretched downwards, and the flowers also faced downwards. Owls hid in the branches, chirping like children crying, which was quite frightening. The river flowed backwards from the ground to the sky, churning black waves without any movement. A white patch floated on the river, and upon closer inspection, they were all round things. Upon closer inspection, it looked terrible, like the skulls of dead people. At this point, Uncle Erda sobered up in fright and hurriedly kowtowed on the ground, muttering, "King Yama, King Yama, please spare me! Please spare me! I'll offer you a big pig's head! I'll never dare to drink again!" As he spoke, he noticed that he was wearing slippers backwards, and his heart skipped a beat as he realized what was happening. He quickly changed his shoes and put them on properly, finally finding his way home. When he got home, he remembered that he still had a large amount of urine to urinate in his stomach! From then on, Uncle Erda never dared to drink again.
I heard that my second uncle lived a long time after quitting drinking. Then, that fat-headed actor on TV appeared in the middle of the night, transforming into a savior of suffering. That day, the downstairs neighbor said, "This is really ridiculous these days. How can a man become a Guanyin who grants children? How can you grant them? How can a Guanyin who grants children not be a woman?" An old man said, "That's because you don't understand. The earliest Guanyin was androgynous, both female and male. The Guanyin who grants children on TV is the most authentic androgynous Guanyin!"
She couldn't help but laugh. What did she mean by androgynous? Wasn't that just neither male nor female? The androgynous figures walked down the hallway, clattering softly, until they stopped in front of her door. Then footsteps echoed from the first floor, clattering closer and closer until they reached her door. They seemed to be whispering and discussing something, probably saying that she was a single woman at home, her husband was out. She heard more clattering footsteps from the first floor and quickly came to her door. So many androgynous people? Were they all carrying adzes?
Am I doomed today? She was too scared to get up and look through the peephole, afraid they would find her standing in front of the door. Now she felt that even the security door was unreliable.
She dared not stand up or move, afraid that they would hear her if she made any noise.
Even the sound of myself squirming on the sofa sounded strangely jarring.
In situations like this, memories become strange; the more terrifying things you don't want to remember, the more they flood your mind. Even things you've never imagined—ghosts, murders—can now appear before your eyes. She knew that only by falling asleep could she escape the fear; the more awake she was, the more thoughts and fears she had. But what if they came in once she fell asleep?
My mother said that when she was little, she would see her second aunt, who lived at the east end of the village, on her way home from school. The second aunt asked her why she was home so early. She told her that someone in her teacher's family had died. The second aunt asked if she knew who had died in her teacher's family. She said she didn't. The second aunt said, "Hurry home, it's going to rain heavily soon."
She ran home in the pouring rain, soaked to the bone. Her mother told her to quickly put down her schoolbag and go to the east end of the village to kowtow to her second aunt. She asked, "Why should I kowtow to her? I just ran into her outside the village, and she even talked to me."
Mom turned pale with anger and said, "You're just talking nonsense! She died at noon today. She was your teacher's aunt. Shouldn't you go over and kowtow to her?"
Mom chuckled as she said this, adding that she immediately wet her pants after hearing what her mother said.
Suddenly, she dreamt that someone pulled her into their arms, their hands groping her body, and they cupped their lips to kiss her, saying "I love you, I love you" in a dreamlike voice. A soothing melody started playing, but then she heard a strange noise. This strange noise didn't seem to be coming from the television—she tilted her head and saw a dark, round thing sticking out between the two curtains on the balcony. What was that thing?
Just as she was wondering, another hand reached out from behind the curtains. It was snow-white. Only then did her numb mind realize that the dark thing was a head. But why didn't it have ears, nose, or mouth? Why didn't it have a body? Why did it only have one hand? She thought she must be having a nightmare.
She heard a hissing sound, which woke her up; she wasn't dreaming!
Before her were two hands, two white hands, two enormous white hands, palms facing each other, reaching towards her neck. Terrified, she gasped and screamed, "Mommy! Help!" The faceless head in front of her tilted back, its white hands retracting, and stood there for a moment.
She felt a tall man appear before her, his head a blurry black mess, without a nose or mouth. But she heard no sound from the door or anything else. How did he get in? He must have come in when I went to the opposite room! She regretted not searching all the rooms.
Her head spun, her heart pounded in her chest, she felt breathless, and the hairs on her body stood on end like needles. She could no longer think, only acted on instinct. Trembling, she looked at the man and saw a bloodshot light in his eyes, so hot that she involuntarily jumped up and ran towards the door. Before she could even open the door, the faceless head was already beside her, grabbing her clothes.
She screamed at the top of her lungs, not even knowing what she was yelling, but she opened the door while screaming. She felt the man's white hand wipe her face, and she thought he must have put some kind of anesthetic on her mouth. As she thought this, an indescribable strange smell made her dizzy and weak, and then she knew nothing more.
Then she felt herself being picked up and carried to the bed. She stroked her hair, her face, and her body. She wanted to move, but she could only move her mind; she couldn't move anything else, not even open her eyes.
Tang Baoming was playing mahjong with some buddies when his phone rang. A strange man shouted that something terrible had happened to Zhao Yajuan's family and she was asking if he could come and see her.
Without a second thought, Tang Baoming replied, "Of course I can! I'll be right there! Right away!"
The spring rain lingered, endlessly, making the night seem somewhat desolate. Tang Baoming watched the young women coming and going, thinking about the woman he was waiting for.
Every time after a meal, she always says, "What a waste! It hurts me to see so much food left over." She won't even take a pack of napkins, saying, "Can we not take them? That would cost a dollar." She always carries her own napkins in her bag. The other day we had a fast food meal that only cost six yuan for the two of us, and she said, "It was so delicious! How about we eat fast food like this from now on?"
The spring rain came in bursts, sometimes heavy and sometimes light, and Tang Baoming's trouser legs were already wet.
When I was fourteen or fifteen, I was showering and saw some little hairs growing down my pubic area. Ugh! It looked awful! I stole my dad's razor and shaved them off. My dad didn't know; if he had, he would have killed me! I kept shaving, and I don't know when I finally understood what it was. Isn't that ridiculous? All my female classmates had breasts, but I didn't, and I didn't understand. Later, I did. My aunt said my breasts were too big, which scared me so much that I was afraid to straighten my back and always walked with a hunched posture, afraid people would see my breasts.
A tall, slender young woman walked out of the alley. He followed her a few steps and called out, "Yajuan, Yajuan!" The woman continued walking, oblivious to the world around her.
"Where should we eat?" Ya-juan always asks Tang Bao-ming. She says, "I never go shopping. I go straight home after get off work. Everyone in my class knows I don't go anywhere." "I really want to see my son more often each month, but I can't, I don't have the money. His deadbeat father doesn't give him any pocket money. If I want to buy him snacks, clothes, and pocket money, I can only see him once a month. If I see him again, I'll run out of money. Other boys get more pocket money than him."
Tang Baoming wanted to ask her several times why she got divorced, but he never had the courage because he had already sensed that his kind was definitely not a responsible person.
I have a good friend who's in her thirties, divorced, and raising her child alone. I know several other divorced single women in their thirties; they're all very nice people, but it's very difficult for them to find husbands again. Sometimes when we're together, we get very sad when we talk about it.
Why don't you look for a husband anymore?