Even his own relatives were no exception. Although he was referring to Shijun's sister-in-law, his words also reflected on Shijun himself, as if he thought Shijun was being too fussy. Shijun was already feeling guilty; he often had reservations about Cuizhi, his motive originally being self-defense, fearing others would think he was close to her. But then he thought, she's a young lady, and Shuhui must be thinking, why am I always gossiping about her behind her back, it's not like me. With this thought, he fell silent. Shuhui also sensed this, so she tried to get him to talk, bringing up Yipeng, saying, "Yipeng isn't working now, is he? I didn't ask him earlier." Shijun said, "He's probably not busy now, his family won't let him go out." Shuhui laughed, "Why? She's not a young lady." Shi Jun laughed and said, "You don't know, every time this gentleman of his finds a job in Shanghai, he never earns enough money to spend, resulting in a lot of debt. In the end, his family has to pay off his debts. This has happened more than once, so now they keep him at home and refuse to let him go out anymore." These were all things that Mrs. Shen told Shi Jun behind his back. The eldest young mistress was always reluctant to talk about these things about her brother.
Shijun and Shuhui chatted all the way home, and before they knew it, they were home. They planned to go to Niushou Mountain early the next morning, so they went straight to their room to sleep. However, Madam Shen sent over two bowls of wontons. Shuhui laughed, "I just ate dinner a little while ago, how can I eat anything?" Shijun asked the maid to take one bowl to his sister-in-law's room, and he took the other bowl to ask his mother if she wanted some. His mother was overjoyed, thinking her son was truly filial. But once her son was filial, the mother became more demanding, seizing the opportunity to say, "Sit down, I have something to tell you." Shijun frowned again, thinking it must be related to Cuizhi. But it wasn't.
Mrs. Shen, fearing she might say something wrong and anger him, had prepared her words beforehand, carefully choosing her phrases: "It's rare for you to come back, and I don't mean to scold you the moment I see you—I think what you said today was too rash, and your sister-in-law was very angry—I could tell." Shijun said, "I wasn't talking about her; it's just that she overthinks things." Mrs. Shen sighed, "If I say anything, you'll get upset again. It's fine if you get angry with me, but you need to be careful in front of others. You're all grown up now; your brother, at your age, already had a mistress and even children!"
At this point, Shijun had already anticipated what was to come—sooner or later, Cuizhi would be mentioned again. He laughed and said, "Mom's coming again! I'm going to sleep; I have to get up early tomorrow."
Mrs. Shen smiled and said, "I know you hate hearing these kinds of things. I'm not saying you have to get married right away, but... you can think about it. If you meet someone suitable, you might as well make friends. For example, someone like Cuizhi, someone you've played with since childhood—" Shi Jun had to interrupt her, saying, "Mom, I really can't get along with Shi Cuizhi. I don't want to get married right now, and even if I did, I wouldn't want to marry her." This time, he was determined and couldn't have made his point clearer. Despite this blow, his mother remained calm and smiled, "I wasn't necessarily talking about her."
"Anything similar to her is fine!"
After their conversation, Shijun felt quite relieved. He finally clarified his stance regarding Cuizhi and gained his mother's understanding, assuring her that there would be no further trouble.
They had planned to go hiking the next morning, but the rain hadn't stopped all night, making it impossible to go out. Just as they were getting impatient, the Fang family sent a servant to say: "Please, Second Young Master, and that Young Master Xu, come today. It's alright if you're a little late. Please also invite Madam Shen and our aunt to play cards." Madam Shen then said to Shijun, "I don't want to go out in this rainy weather. You two go ahead." Shijun said, "I don't want to go either. I've already told them." Madam Shen said, "Just go. Isn't Yipeng your old classmate? He knows Young Master Xu, right?" Shijun said, "Shuhui and he don't get along." Madam Shen whispered, "I think you should just go. Even just to appease your sister-in-law." As she spoke, she pointed towards the eldest young mistress's room and whispered, "She's still angry there. She said she wasn't feeling well this morning and didn't get up. Her family is hosting a dinner today, and it doesn't seem right for any of us to not go." Shijun said, "Alright, alright, I'll go tell Shuhui."
He initially didn't want to go because they had invited him and Cuizhi together, but after hearing Cuizhi say she wasn't going yesterday, he figured it wouldn't hurt to go anyway. He hadn't expected Cuizhi to think the same way. Because she'd heard him firmly say he wouldn't go yesterday, she assumed he wouldn't. This morning, Amy called the Shi family, insisting she come for lunch, so Cuizhi ended up going too. When Shijun arrived, Cuizhi was already there. They were both startled to see each other, feeling like they'd been set up. Shijun had come with Shuhui. The Fang family had quite a few guests today; three tables of mahjong were already in session. None of the young men knew how to play mahjong, so Amy said to Shijun, "It's not interesting for you to just watch them play. Why don't you go see a movie? I can't leave here, so you can be the host and go with Cui-mei." Cui-zhi frowned and said to Amy, "You don't need to entertain me. I'm fine here. I don't want to see a movie." Amy ignored her and busied herself asking which cinema had new movies showing, then added, "Going to see a movie and coming back for dinner is perfect." Shijun could only smile and say, "Shu-hui, you can come along too!"
Amy then smiled and said, "By the way, Mr. Xu, you should come along too." Shu Hui hesitated for a moment, knowing that he was superfluous in Amy's eyes, so he smiled and said to Shi Jun, "You should go with Miss Shi. I've already seen both of these films." Shi Jun said, "Don't talk nonsense. When did you see them? Come along!"
So Amy ordered the servants to hire a carriage for them. Although Tsui-chi still protested, it was to no avail, and she finally went with them.
Cuizhi was dressed very beautifully today, wearing a long, flowing, pea-green brocade cheongsam that reached her feet. They had bought tickets for the tiered seating area. As Cuizhi went upstairs, she wasn't careful; her high heel caught on the hem of her cheongsam, and she almost tripped. Luckily, Shijun caught her, laughing, "What happened? Did you fall?" Cuizhi said, "It's nothing. —Oh dear, damn it, my heel broke!" One of her high heels had broken off, leaving her with one leg higher than the other. Shijun asked, "Can you walk?" Cuizhi replied, "Yes, yes." In front of Shuhui, she didn't want Shijun to help her, so she preferred to hobble ahead alone, quickly entering the theater. Fortunately, the movie had already started, and it was pitch black inside, so she wasn't worried about being seen.
This film was a sensation, a true classic. Shijun missed seeing it in Shanghai, but unexpectedly, he caught it in Nanjing. They settled down, and the credits had just finished. Shijun chuckled softly to Shuhui, "Luckily, we're not too late." He was sitting between Shuhui and Cuizhi. Cuizhi, watching the film, was increasingly anxious and whispered to Shijun, "This is terrible! What are we going to do when we get out? I'll have to trouble you to run errands for me and get me a pair of shoes." Shijun paused, then said, "How about you walk to the door, and I'll call a car? Once we're home, it'll be easier." Cuizhi said, "No, I can't walk like this, one foot higher than the other. People will think I'm lame." Shijun thought to himself, "Can't you just walk on tiptoe?" But he didn't say it aloud. After a moment of silence, he stood up and said, "I'll go get them for you." He squeezed past Shuhui without saying a word.
He hurried out of the cinema. Since it wasn't closing time, the area outside was deserted; not a single rickshaw was in sight. The rain continued to fall. Shi Jun walked on in the rain, finally managing to hail a rickshaw. When he arrived at the Shi family's house, he realized he had come again just yesterday. The gatekeeper, seeing him, was immediately warmly received by the servants, who knew this young master Shen had a good chance of becoming their son-in-law. They greeted him with smiles and said, "Our young lady has gone out to the Fang mansion. I've come to see her."
It was clear that even they thought the same way. There was no convenient time to do anything, so he simply nodded and smiled, "I know, I saw your young lady. One of her shoes is broken; could you get me another pair?" Hearing this, the gatekeeper assumed he came directly from the Fang family. He thought to himself, "The Fang family has so many servants; they wouldn't be short of one to fetch it, yet they send him." He looked at him and smiled, "Oh dear, why does Young Master Chen have to make a special trip for them!" The gatekeeper's displeasure grew even stronger.
The servant invited him to come in and sit for a while, but Shi Jun was afraid that Mrs. Shi would come out to entertain him again, and he was a little afraid to see her, so he said, "No need, I'll just wait here." He waited in the gatehouse for a while, and the servant came out with a shoebox and said with a smile, "Don't you want me to take it to you?" Shi Jun said, "No need, I'll take it."
The servant then went out and hired a carriage for him.
Shijun returned to the theater, groped his way to a seat in the darkness, and handed the shoebox to Cuizhi, saying, "I've brought the shoes." Cuizhi replied, "Thank you."
Shijun estimated that he had been there for more than an hour. The movie was almost over, and in the midst of the tense moment—a tragedy—many audience members upstairs and downstairs were hurriedly taking out handkerchiefs to wipe their noses and tears. Because Shijun hadn't seen the first half, he could only guess, and it took him a while to grasp some of the plot. He thought the girl must be the man's daughter, but as he watched further, he was proven wrong. Even after watching the entire film, he remained somewhat confused, only vaguely understanding. The lights came on, and everyone stood up. Cuizhi rubbed her red eyes, seemingly also moved by the story.
She had already changed her shoes, carrying the old pair in a shoebox. The three of them went downstairs together, and she excitedly discussed the plot of the film with Shu Hui. Shi Jun remained silent the whole time. When they reached the theater entrance, Shi Jun suddenly laughed, "I saw the back but not the front, so frustrating! You guys go back first, I'll go see it again next time." Without waiting for their reply, he turned around and went back inside, squeezing to the ticket counter to buy tickets. Partly out of spite, and partly because he was too lazy to accompany Cui Zhi around and back to the Fang family home, only to be teased by Amy and the others again. It was better to have Shu Hui take her; Shu Hui had no connections anyway, and they weren't close, so he could get away once he got her home.
However, regardless, his act of simply abandoning the place seemed rather childish, and Shu Hui felt a little embarrassed. Cui Zhi didn't say anything. Stepping out of the cinema, suddenly bathed in sunlight, the ground almost completely dry, Cui Zhi exclaimed in surprise, "The sky is clear now!" "We didn't even get to go anywhere," she said. "You really came here for nothing," Shu Hui laughed. "Indeed, we didn't go anywhere." Cui Zhi paused slightly, then said, "Actually, it's still early. Where would you like to go? We can go together." Shu Hui smiled, "Okay, I'm not familiar with this area. What places do you recommend?"
Cuizhi asked, "How about going to Xuanwu Lake?" Shuhui readily agreed, and they hailed two rickshaws and headed straight for Xuanwu Lake.
Upon arriving at Xuanwu Lake, we first took a stroll around Wuzhou Park. Wuzhou Park itself wasn't particularly interesting, much like any other park, except that instead of blue sky, the lawn was covered by a vast expanse of pale blue lake water. There was a small zoo with monkeys; and inside a wire fence, an owl stood on a tree branch, its two large, golden eyes like two golden jewels, facing the setting sun. We stood there watching for a while.
After leaving Wuzhou Park, they hailed a boat. When Cuizhi first invited him, she was quite bold and forthright, but once they arrived, she seemed restrained and rarely spoke. Once on the boat, she took out a movie brochure from earlier and placed it on her lap to look at it. Shuhui couldn't help but think, "She came all this way with me; is it out of genuine joy, or is she sulking with Shijun?" The evening view on Xuanwu Lake was quite lovely, and there were many boats on the lake. To most people, a man and a woman boating on the lake would undoubtedly be a couple. So, it was better not to be on a boat; once on board, this was even more apparent. Shuhui couldn't help but wonder if any of the tourists today were acquaintances of Cuizhi. If they happened to run into someone she knew, it would surely cause a lot of gossip, and perhaps even blame him for Shijun and Cuizhi's failed marriage. Just then, a small boat passed by them. The boatmen on both sides greeted each other. The boatman on their side was a woman with short hair, wearing a plaid cotton jacket and trousers, with a few strands of bangs framing her face. She had a narrow face with a wide jaw, but a set of pearly white teeth. The boatman on the other side called her "Big Girl." In Nanjing dialect, "big" is pronounced "duo," so Shu Hui followed suit and called her "Duo Girl," trying to pronounce it in Nanjing dialect with a rolled "li," but it didn't sound quite right, which made Cui Zhi and "Duo Girl" burst into laughter. Shu Hui then wanted to learn how to row, so he sat at the bow and started paddling. With one stroke, water splashed all over Cui Zhi. Because her soft satin cheongsam was smooth, it didn't absorb water, and the water droplets rolled and fell. Cui Zhi wiped them casually with a handkerchief. Shu Hui felt very embarrassed. She just smiled, wiped her face as well, and then took out a pink mirror to smooth her bangs.
Shu Hui thought, "At least she doesn't act like a spoiled young lady in front of me. But if I told Shi Jun this, he would definitely say she's just being polite to me and that's why she doesn't show it." He always felt that Shi Jun had a prejudice against her, and what Shi Jun said about her wasn't entirely credible, but preconceived notions still influenced him somewhat. He also felt that a rich young lady like Cui Zhi was by no means an ideal wife. Of course, making friends was fine, but the customs in the mainland were rather conservative, especially with a young lady like Cui Zhi. It was likely that once they became friends, they would immediately start talking about marriage. If marriage were to be discussed, her family would certainly never agree to a poor boy like him, but he didn't want to climb the social ladder either, because he was also a proud man.
As he thought this, he silently rowed. Cuizhi didn't speak either. Several fruit dishes were laid out on the boat. She grabbed a handful of melon seeds, leaned back in her wicker chair, and cracked them open, remaining motionless. Occasionally, she would raise a hand to brush the shells off her clothes. Across the water, he could see a stretch of bluish-purple city walls reflected in the pale blue sky. This was the first time Shuhui had truly felt the beauty of Nanjing.
They sat on the boat for a while, and didn't return until dark. Once ashore, Shuhui asked, "Are you going back to the Fang family?" Cuizhi replied, "I don't want to go anymore. There are too many people there, and it's too chaotic." But she didn't mention going home, as if she didn't want to go back anytime soon.
Shu Hui was silent for a while, then said, "Then let me treat you to dinner, okay?" Cui Zhi smiled and said, "I should be the one treating you. You've come all the way to Nanjing, so you should be my guest." Shu Hui smiled and said, "Let's talk about that later. Tell me where we'd like to eat." Cui Zhi thought for a moment and said that she remembered there was a Sichuan restaurant not far from here, so she hired a car to go there.
They went to dinner, but the Fang family hadn't arrived yet. When it was time for dinner, they called Cuizhi's house to inquire, assuming she might have already returned. Mrs. Shi, upon hearing that Cuizhi had gone out with Shijun, wasn't too worried, but she was still a little uneasy. Around eight or nine o'clock, a servant announced that Miss had returned. Mrs. Shi went to greet her at the front door, calling out, "Where have you been? The Fang family called looking for you, saying you hadn't returned after the movie." She noticed someone following Cuizhi, but it wasn't Shijun; it was his friend who had come with him yesterday. After they left yesterday, Yipeng had mentioned that they used to be classmates, and that Shuhui had been both a student and a teacher because his family was poor. Mrs. Shi didn't care when she heard it before, but when she saw Shuhui again, she looked down on him. He bowed to her, but she seemed not to see it, only saying, "Oh, where's Shijun?" Cuizhi said, "Shijun was getting my shoes, so he only watched half of the movie and went to see the second showing." Mrs. Shi said, "Where did you go after the movie? Why are you only coming back now? Have you eaten? You ate outside with Mr. Xu." Mrs. Shi's face darkened, and she said, "You child, how could you do this? You didn't even say a word and just ran around outside by yourself!" Her use of "by yourself" clearly meant she didn't treat Shuhui like a human being. He was listening nearby and felt really embarrassed. He really regretted bringing Cuizhi back and not coming in. Since he was already in, he couldn't leave immediately. Cuizhi said, "Mother is too anxious. I'm a grown woman, not a child. Do you think I'll get lost?" As she spoke, she went straight in and said, "Mr. Xu, come in and sit down! Wang Ma, pour some tea!" She stormed into the living room and slammed a shoebox onto the sofa. Caught in a dilemma, Shu Hui had no choice but to follow her in.
Mrs. Shi, still uneasy, followed them in, sitting down in a triangular formation with them, closely observing their expressions. A servant brought tea, and Mrs. Shi took a cigarette from the pipe, offering it to Shuhui as well. Shuhui bowed slightly, saying, "Oh, you're welcome, you're welcome." Shuhui remained seated for a few more minutes before rising to take his leave. (Shanghai)
Cuizhi saw him off, and although Shuhui repeatedly told her to go back, she insisted on seeing him to the outside, walking with him in the garden under the dim starlight. Cuizhi remained silent at first, then after a long while said, "You're leaving tomorrow? I won't see you off." As she spoke, she glanced back and saw a maid silently following behind. Cuizhi, who clearly had nothing to hide, blushed and asked, "What are you doing? Sneaking around like that, you startled me!"
Shu Hui laughed, "No need, I'll call out as we walk." The maid didn't say anything, but still followed with a smile. They were almost at the garden gate when Cui Zhi suddenly said, "Wang Ma, go check if the dog is tied up properly. Don't let it suddenly jump out like yesterday, scaring people to death." The maid seemed a little hesitant, then smiled and said, "Isn't it tied up there?"
Seeing that she was truly angry, the maid dared not utter a sound and had no choice but to leave.
Cuizhi was only trying to save face, so she deliberately sent the maid away. Actually, after the maid left, she didn't have anything to say. After walking a few more steps, she suddenly stopped and said, "I'm going back." Shuhui smiled and said, "Okay, goodbye, goodbye!"
He was still talking when she turned and walked away quickly. Shu Hui stood there stunned for a moment. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of a shadow out of the corner of his eye. It turned out the maid hadn't really left; she was still peeking from the bushes. He felt both annoyed and amused. This reminded him of what the maid had said about hiring a carriage for him. He said he would hire one himself, but where could he go? He only remembered the street name of Shi Jun's address; he couldn't recall the house number. He was unfamiliar with Nanjing, and it was nighttime. He couldn't very well go back to the Shi family to ask Cui Zhi. They already considered him a conman, and if he came looking for their young lady in the middle of the night, he'd probably be thrown out. He found it all ridiculous, but he was also genuinely anxious. The more he tried to remember the house number, the less he could. Fortunately, Cui Zhi hadn't gone far. He immediately rushed up and called out, "Miss Shi! Miss Shi!" Cui Zhi was surprised and turned around abruptly, staring at him blankly. Seeing the tear-streaked face of her, Shu Hui was stunned, momentarily forgetting what he was about to say. Cui Zhi instinctively took a step back, standing in the shadows, covering her face with her handkerchief and blowing her nose. Seeing that she hadn't had time to hide her tears, Shu Hui simply pretended not to notice, and smiled, "Look how forgetful I am! What's Shi Jun's house number? I've forgotten!" Cui Zhi said, "It's number forty-one on Wangfu Street." Shu Hui laughed, "Oh, number forty-one. I'm so glad I remembered to ask you, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get back, I'd be stranded outside!" With a smile, he said goodbye to her again, and then left without looking back.
He returned to Shijun's house. They had only just finished dinner. Shijun was playing with Xiaojian. He had collected some pebbles from Yuhuatai the day before and was playing a game of "grabbing pebbles" with Xiaojian. They would throw one, grab one, throw another, grab two, and so on, increasing the number of pebbles each time, or decreasing it in reverse order. The adult and the child were having a great time, laughing and joking. Shuhui, seeing this, felt a sense of bewilderment. It was as if he had suddenly stepped into the light from the darkness, and he was a little dazed. Shijun asked, "Why are you only coming back now? My mother said you must have gotten lost and couldn't find your way home. She scolded me for leaving you behind to go to the movies. Where did you go?" Shuhui replied, "I went to Xuanwu Lake." Shijun said, "You went with Shi Cuizhi? You..." He then learned that Shuhui had also treated Shi Cuizhi to dinner outside, and he felt even more apologetic. Although he felt apologetic, he never imagined that Shuhui's trip with Cuizhi today would cause so much trouble.
www.xiAoshuotxT.cOM
Eighteen Springs and Five
Today is Sunday, Shijun's last day in Nanjing. His mother gently said to him, "You must go see your father today."
Shijun was very reluctant to go to his father's small mansion. His mother was equally unwilling for him to go, but she felt that he hadn't been home for almost a year, and now that his relatives and friends all knew he was back, it would be somewhat impolite not to visit his father. Shijun knew he had to go eventually, but he always liked to postpone it until the last minute.
That day, he went to the small mansion before his father left home in the morning.
The place over there was much grander than theirs, and they employed two male servants. The servant who opened the door was new and didn't recognize him. Shijun asked, "Master, are you up yet?"
The man looked him over hesitantly and said, "I'll go take a look. What's your surname?" Shi Jun said, "Just say that the second young master from the old mansion has arrived."
The man invited him to sit in the living room and went to announce his arrival. The living room was furnished entirely with mahogany furniture. Shijun's father was quite fond of dabbling in refined pursuits; antiques and porcelain were displayed everywhere, on high tables and low tables, making one afraid to break anything of value with any movement.
Shi Jun paid no attention to anything else, but there was a tray on the table with several business cards and invitations scattered on it. He picked it up and took a look. There was a pink wedding invitation for "Mrs. Shen Xiaotong," which showed that in his father's social circle, everyone treated his concubine as his wife.
Xiaotong was probably still asleep. Shijun sat alone in the living room, waiting. The morning sunlight streamed in, illuminating the sofa where he sat. The white cloth cover on the sofa was quite old, but it was spotless. Clearly, the housewife here was a thrifty and hardworking person.
She was just returning from the market with a maid following behind her, carrying her basket. She herself was carrying a scale. As she walked past the entrance to the main hall, she looked inside and said with a smile, "Oh, the second young master is here! When did you return to Nanjing?"
Shijun never addressed her by name, but simply stood up and said sternly, "Just got back a couple of days ago." She was very demure, with her hair combed, wearing a slightly worn black wool cheongsam, and only a light dusting of powder on her face. If she were a seductive, wanton woman, Shijun would feel more at ease, but she was a typical housewife who had completely replaced Shijun's mother, so he always felt very uncomfortable whenever he saw her.