Read Online Leave Me Alone by Murong Xuecun - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Murong Xuecun
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double-entendre. Zhao Yue leaned against me and guffawed. I said, ‘Li Liang, you stud: such stamina! Seven stuffings!’
This set everyone laughing again. Ye Mei seemed slow to get the joke, but then quite suddenly she hurled the contents of a wine glass in my face. The 800-yuan-a-bottle wine dripped down my chest towards my groin. I leapt to my feet, Bighead’s gawping mouth filling my vision.
What happened after that was a blur, but certainly everyone was shocked. Zhao Yue helped me wipe the wine from myface, while Bighead stood up indignantly, then appeared not to know what to do. Ye Mei, her face very red, still clutched the glass, and I noticed that Li Liang was staring at me with a strange smile. It seemed that a new idea had occurred to him. I licked my lips and found a bordeaux with a sweet bouquet and a slightly sour aftertaste.
No one was in the party mood after that. Bighead Wang muttered a few sentences of congratulations into the microphone and the wedding finished early.
On the way home Zhao Yue stared blankly out of the car window. I deliberately drove too fast, wanting to provoke her into saying something, but all the way she didn’t even look at me.
Finally I said, ‘What’s up?’
She was lying on the bed, clawing over and over at the wall with her fingers. When I hugged her, she struggled silently.
‘What’s wrong? At least say something,’ I told her.
‘What is our relationship?’ she muttered.
I jeered, ‘It’s more than just
a relationship
. You’re my wife!’
‘Seems like you’re more interested in someone’s else’s wife,’ she said.
‘What do you mean?’
Zhao Yue met my eyes fearlessly. ‘You tell me.’
I was nervous now. Feigning bewilderment, I turned away from her and spat out, ‘You’re crazy.’
Zhao Yue ignored this and continued to scratch at the wall. I sat there until an idea struck me, and then I hurried downstairs two and three steps at a time. From the public telephone opposite the entrance to our stairwell, I made a call.
A man’s voice answered. ‘Who do you want?’
‘Zhao Yue,’ I said.
He seemed surprised and asked, ‘Who is this?’
‘I’m Zhao Yue’s husband. Who are you?’
The line went dead. After a moment I thought to call Zhao Yue’s mobile phone, but got the following repeated message:
The subscriber you want is busy. Please wait and try again.
I smiled coldly.
My head smarted with frustration. I called Bighead and asked him out for a drink, but he said he needed to sleep. I noticed that his tone was a bit impatient. Next I tried Zhou Weidong, but he said he was on a business trip to Qingcheng Mountain and wouldn’t be back until the day after tomorrow. Finally, I called my brother-in-law’s mobile. He swore at me: apparently, the day before there had been a family dinner and everyone had waited for me to turn up but I didn’t show.
Your mother muttered to herself the whole night, he said.
I hung up. A few fire engines rushed past. Apart from that the night was peaceful. From one apartment building there came the sound of laughter, from another the sound of a fight. Standing in the shadows, a creature of the night, I felt myself smiling but I wasn’t happy.
A taxi slowed opportunistically nearby and the driver gave me a questioning look. I nodded, opened the door and got in.
‘Where are we going?’ he asked.
‘Find me a place to have fun.’
‘What kind of fun?’ he asked.
‘Girls.’
‘Try Longtan, One Fifty Street,’ he said, ‘there are loads of girls there, beautiful ones and cheap ones.’
‘Good,’ I said. ‘Take me to Longtan, One Fifty Street.’
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The taxi pulled up by a wall plastered with billboard health warnings about gonorrhoea and syphilis. I handed the driver a generous fifty and he asked if I needed him to wait. I said no, I’d be there all night.
The name One Fifty Street referred to the price because for 150 yuan you could get anything. There were around seventy
This set everyone laughing again. Ye Mei seemed slow to get the joke, but then quite suddenly she hurled the contents of a wine glass in my face. The 800-yuan-a-bottle wine dripped down my chest towards my groin. I leapt to my feet, Bighead’s gawping mouth filling my vision.
What happened after that was a blur, but certainly everyone was shocked. Zhao Yue helped me wipe the wine from myface, while Bighead stood up indignantly, then appeared not to know what to do. Ye Mei, her face very red, still clutched the glass, and I noticed that Li Liang was staring at me with a strange smile. It seemed that a new idea had occurred to him. I licked my lips and found a bordeaux with a sweet bouquet and a slightly sour aftertaste.
No one was in the party mood after that. Bighead Wang muttered a few sentences of congratulations into the microphone and the wedding finished early.
On the way home Zhao Yue stared blankly out of the car window. I deliberately drove too fast, wanting to provoke her into saying something, but all the way she didn’t even look at me.
Finally I said, ‘What’s up?’
She was lying on the bed, clawing over and over at the wall with her fingers. When I hugged her, she struggled silently.
‘What’s wrong? At least say something,’ I told her.
‘What is our relationship?’ she muttered.
I jeered, ‘It’s more than just
a relationship
. You’re my wife!’
‘Seems like you’re more interested in someone’s else’s wife,’ she said.
‘What do you mean?’
Zhao Yue met my eyes fearlessly. ‘You tell me.’
I was nervous now. Feigning bewilderment, I turned away from her and spat out, ‘You’re crazy.’
Zhao Yue ignored this and continued to scratch at the wall. I sat there until an idea struck me, and then I hurried downstairs two and three steps at a time. From the public telephone opposite the entrance to our stairwell, I made a call.
A man’s voice answered. ‘Who do you want?’
‘Zhao Yue,’ I said.
He seemed surprised and asked, ‘Who is this?’
‘I’m Zhao Yue’s husband. Who are you?’
The line went dead. After a moment I thought to call Zhao Yue’s mobile phone, but got the following repeated message:
The subscriber you want is busy. Please wait and try again.
I smiled coldly.
My head smarted with frustration. I called Bighead and asked him out for a drink, but he said he needed to sleep. I noticed that his tone was a bit impatient. Next I tried Zhou Weidong, but he said he was on a business trip to Qingcheng Mountain and wouldn’t be back until the day after tomorrow. Finally, I called my brother-in-law’s mobile. He swore at me: apparently, the day before there had been a family dinner and everyone had waited for me to turn up but I didn’t show.
Your mother muttered to herself the whole night, he said.
I hung up. A few fire engines rushed past. Apart from that the night was peaceful. From one apartment building there came the sound of laughter, from another the sound of a fight. Standing in the shadows, a creature of the night, I felt myself smiling but I wasn’t happy.
A taxi slowed opportunistically nearby and the driver gave me a questioning look. I nodded, opened the door and got in.
‘Where are we going?’ he asked.
‘Find me a place to have fun.’
‘What kind of fun?’ he asked.
‘Girls.’
‘Try Longtan, One Fifty Street,’ he said, ‘there are loads of girls there, beautiful ones and cheap ones.’
‘Good,’ I said. ‘Take me to Longtan, One Fifty Street.’
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The taxi pulled up by a wall plastered with billboard health warnings about gonorrhoea and syphilis. I handed the driver a generous fifty and he asked if I needed him to wait. I said no, I’d be there all night.
The name One Fifty Street referred to the price because for 150 yuan you could get anything. There were around seventy
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