CH 13.2

He did not enjoy boisterous settings.

However, there were times when it was necessary to attend some social engagements, such as the present. A friend had come from Hong Kong and was at Chengdu’s Muse Club[1]. As chance would have it, the film’s cast and production team had returned to Chengdu in preparation for a press conference, so naturally he had been unable to escape the fate of being dragged here. Fortunately, the owner of the club was with them the entire time and the booth selected was in a good location. Still, it was inevitable that they would attract some shrieks of surprised excitement.

As soon as he sat down, the owner asked whether they wanted to call some girls over.  The partiers in their group of course were happy with such an arrangement, inducing stony expressions on the faces of the several actresses with them… “Teacher Yi, would it be all right if I sit beside you?” An actress who had only recently joined the cast on filming site had been crammed to the extent she was left without a spot, and so she could only turn a pitiful look on him.

He shifted over and made some room. “Have a seat.”

And then, he sat with his entire body balanced only on the very edge of the seat. Truly such a gentleman.

The man holding a guitar on the stage lowered his voice, his tone suggestive as he complimented that the beautiful ladies in Chengdu certainly lived up to their reputation. Instantly, a wave of squeals rose up from the audience off the stage. Yi Wenze could not help shaking his head and chuckling. That fellow still loved to flirt and tease wherever he went. The woman next to him asked, “Teacher Yi, you didn’t use a stuntman in your place today. I heard your arm was injured?”

Yi Wenze gave a smile. “It’s not too serious.”

His mobile phone unexpectedly vibrated. Picking it up, he saw it was a message from Jia He: I’m booking my plane ticket. When will be a good time?

The press conference was at three o’clock. Working out the timing in his mind, he went online and found the best flight, then sent the flight number directly to her.

Before long, another text came back: So touched! That one it is, then!

In that dim, evocative lighting, an emoji with tears streaming down its face blinked on his phone’s screen.

A picture from more than a month ago flashed in front of his eyes, how she, holding a pair of chopsticks, had tentatively asked whether she should make another dish instead since the vegetables were overcooked. That morning, beneath the blanket, she had been almost completely naked when she volunteered herself up for the deed. Truly… always only knowing how to ignite things but never knowing how to put out the fire.

A faint smile brimmed from the corner of his lips as he returned a text to her: No need to feel touched. Tomorrow, just offer all of yourself to me[2].

After the text was successfully sent out, a long time passed without any response.

She must have gotten quite the scare from that. He offhandedly picked up his wine and took a sip. The wine was quite good, its palate full-bodied and smooth. Actually, the wine that night had been better, except the entire time A-Lun had had too much fun teasing her until in the end things had gotten out of hand.

“Teacher Yi, is it your girlfriend?” the person beside him inquired.

He did not provide an answer. That young woman carried on, sighing enviously, “I watched your interview from that day. If I were your girlfriend, I definitely would have died of happiness.”

He smiled slightly. “She didn’t really seem to have much of a reaction.”

Or perhaps he should say, she only dared to state it aloud when she was drunk.

The young woman gave an exclamation of “Ah?” Those large, circle-lense-wearing eyes shone an even deeper black. “Teacher Yi, I’m going to be a bit nosy and ask, what sort of person is your girlfriend? How could she stay so calm?”

“She’s a screenwriter.” He set his wine glass on the table.

“Oh, a girl of skill and talent.”

The woman feelingly expressed this remark and was about to say something else, but the man who had been performing onstage had already darted over and casually removed the hat from Yi Wenze’s head. “How was I just now?”

Yi Wenze made an “Awesome!” sign and then let out a low chuckle. “Your voice cracked.”

That person was terribly abashed. Wanting to sit down, he cast a glance at that young woman, who at once astutely rose and said, “You guys sit.”

“Thanks.” Taking a seat, he threw an arm around Yi Wenze’s shoulders. “I honestly don’t know why Tian Chu wanted to get a divorce. You’re so epic. From what I could see, that girl there was practically plastering herself on you, but you still had the mind to play with your phone.”

This person was a Northerner and spoke in crisp sentences. All of a sudden he remembered how, when Jia He occasionally talked on the phone with her family, she would rapidly rattle away in the Beijing dialect, and he felt that her little tongue was so amazing.

Someone, he was not certain who, discovered that the group adjacent to them was also a cast from a current film project and straightaway suggested that they bring their groups together to make things even livelier.

Yesterday when his young sister phoned him, on the other end of the line, someone had babblingly called him, “Uncle.” The soft, sweet chimes of a child’s voice are always able to cause a person to completely relax, until the little boy, in words that were still enunciated unclearly, began asking for “Aunt.” Yi Wenze, feeling a little helpless, had had no choice but to gently tell him, “Aunt is busy with work in Beijing, but when she has time, she will go to New Zealand to see you.”

Without a doubt, it must have been Wenrun who taught him that. Since knowing about his relationship with Jia He, she would phone all the time, grilling him with questions about the Loli he was raising for himself[3]. From the looks of things, she truly had been doted on and spoiled rotten by her husband, staying at home the entire day but only learning stuff like this. But maybe she and Jia He would have common topics to talk about…

He swirled his wine glass gently, then glanced again at his mobile phone. She wouldn’t have dropped her phone and broken it, would she?

A text message suddenly came in: Just now… I dropped my phone.

Sure enough.

He stood, wanting to find a quiet place to call her back. However, without warning, there was a shattering crash behind him. Turning, he saw the floor covered in debris. The young woman who had sat beside him earlier had smashed a mirror with a wine bottle. All around, everyone was a little stupefied. In contrast, by the mirror, a man whose face was scarlet and who appeared to have consumed quite a few drinks took a couple of staggering steps forward. “What? I just said a couple of things to you and now you’re not giving me face?”

For a moment, the atmosphere was as if daggers were drawn, and all the people in the nearby booths flocked over to spectate.

Yi Wenze’s brows creased together as he watched this. He did not know this person; it should be someone who came over when the booths were brought together. The several people around that man hurriedly stepped forward and pulled him back, all speaking at once, saying, why bother squabbling with a young girl? The more they tried to soothe him, though, the more enraged that man became, and he was about to yank up his sleeves and charge forward.

“All right now. What is a man picking bones with a woman for?” At last, Yi Wenze spoke up.

And then, utter silence.

It honestly was because… just now he had been sitting in a corner with a cap on and also the bar’s lighting was dim. Only now, when he spoke, did the people who had joined from the other booth see that over here there actually was… Yi Wenze.

That man basically did everything but pour a glass of wine to apologize. With a smile, Yi Wenze patted him on the shoulder. The man immediately fell back into his original seat. “This is to compensate your damages.” Yi Wenze pulled out three thousand RMB from his wallet and handed it to the relieved club owner. “My apologies. Everyone has drunk too much and lost the sense of what is appropriate.” The club owner hastily refused, pushing his hand away, but the money still ended up getting stuffed into his palm.

The people at the nearby surrounding tables were still ogling this scene, their eyes gleaming. Yi Wenze, though, had already bowed his head and was looking at his mobile phone.

It had powered off by itself.

“I’ve got matters to attend to and need to leave first. Everyone, please continue.” He gave these words as an explanation. His friend, who had been sitting to the side watching the excitement, quickly stood and also flashed him an “Awesome!” sign with his hands, commenting, “My voice cracks, whereas you, guy, you hold down the scene.”

Giving a faint smile, Yi Wenze looked at him, tilted his chin to indicate that actress, and stated, “Take care of her a bit.”

That person gave him a grin that contained much veiled meaning. “You’re finally enlightened to certain things?”

Not even bothering to say more, Yi Wenze simply tossed out the sentence, “This spoken-for guy needs to go back to get some sleep. You just deal with things as you see fit.” And then he left.

Yi Wenze had not returned her text.

The matter seemed quite serious. Jia He sat on the windowsill, sucking in air furiously, her tooth aching so much she was in a ratty mood. Her mobile phone in her hand, she deliberated, should she send another text? Wasn’t he already back in Chengdu today? He shouldn’t be filming right now.

He wouldn’t be mad because she did not reply to that one statement of offering all of herself to him, right?

Out of the blue, she recalled the image of Yi Wenze’s well-proportioned, perfect backside as he walked into the bathroom that morning… She felt a slight feeling of something hot in her nose. Oh no, this didn’t turned into a chronic illness after being with him, did it? As she pressed a hand against her cheek, one of his fan club’s sayings suddenly came to mind: “If I can have Yi Wenze as my own, I shall certainly keep him and his beauty hidden away in a golden house[4].” Immediately, she quietened.

Hence, when Xiao Yu returned, the scene she saw was one of Jia He, half her face slightly swollen, grimacing in pain and also grinning stupidly while staring at her mobile phone… Xiao Yu sauntered over and surveyed her face. “Didn’t you go to get your tooth checked? When are you getting it pulled?”

“I’m going to Chengdu tomorrow. I’ll see when I get back.” It felt difficult even to talk.

Xiao Yu was taken aback briefly, then shook her head and laughed. “It’s not easy being the wife of a celeb, so not easy.”

Her flight’s arrival time in Chengdu was originally scheduled for seven o’clock, but it was delayed all the way until nearly midnight. When she strode out, rain was coming down in torrents in Chengdu.

The crowd of people waiting for checked baggage formed a large stretch. As Jia He took the elevator down, she silently rejoiced that she had not brought any luggage. Due to the heavy rain, there were lots of people in the main hall, most holding mobile phones, either talking or texting on them, and all waiting for someone. Pulling out her mobile phone and checking the license plate number that Yi Wenze had sent her, she began secretly praying in earnest that the vehicle would not be too conspicuous.

To her surprise, when she found it, she saw it was one of the production crew’s minivans.

Minivan? Yi Wenze? No matter how she looked at it, these two did not go together.

“This is too amazing. You actually know how to drive this type of vehicle.” She mumbled this quietly as she closed the door.

“What’s wrong with your face?” Leaning over, he took her chin between his fingers and made her turn towards him. Jia He had not expected that the cat would be out of the bag so soon and could only wince and lightly slap away his hand. “Gentler. My tooth hurts.”

It is said that the reunion between lovers after a short separation is better than even a honeymoon[5], and once the plane had landed, she had already started feeling a little speeding up of her heart, a little bit of anxiousness, and a little bit of excitement. This, though, was truly not what she had anticipatted, that the first thing he said to her when he saw her would be so… everyday life. That saying of “keeping the beauty hidden away in a golden house” flashed, umprompted, through her mind again, making Jia He even more flustered. She was about to say some of the things she had rehearsed ahead of time to set the atmosphere, but then she saw him frown. “It’s swollen so badly. Let’s go to the hospital first to have it checked.”

“Is it okay if we don’t go?” I didn’t come to Chengdu to go to the hospital…

The result, of course, was that her request had no effect and was rejected… And so, her trip to visit him on the film set first became a one-night tour of a Chengdu hospital. The on-duty dentist, shaking his head, stated that her wisdom tooth was growing in. Jia He paused dully in surprise for a moment, then pointed at that bad tooth of hers. “It’s not this one?”

The dentist examined it again and continued shaking his head. “It’s just the wisdom tooth. It’s growing in behind this one. Go get an IV first.”

Jia He rolled her eyes. That unscrupulous dentist yesterday had merely gone along with what she had said and then told her she needed to extract that tooth.

Extract the tooth, extract the tooth—what, does he get commission for it?

But if she got an IV… what was Yi Wenze going to do? She contemplated briefly. “Could I first just get some medication?”

“It’s so severe. Aren’t you in pain?” The dentist crossed one leg over the other, finding this girl rather amusing.

In the end, she still only filled a prescription for some medication.

After she was back in the minivan, she, with unclear articulation, described her indignation at yesterday’s dentist and praised the ethics of the one today. Yi Wenze took her medical record, carefully skimmed through it, and also asked a couple of questions about what the dentist’s recommendations and orders were. Making use of the excuse that it was inadvisable for her to talk too much in her current condition, Jie He only gave an arbitrary, vague answer and brushed over this topic.

By the time they were back at the hotel, it was already into the latter half of the night. Following him into his room, Jia He, her palm against her cheek, asked whether her room was next door. Yi Wenze picked up a bottle of mineral water, unscrewed the cap, and poured the water into the kettle. “There are no rooms available tonight.”

……

Tears nearly sprang into her eyes. Much time passed before she finally shuffled over and gave a little tug on his button-up shirt.

“What’s wrong?” Unhurriedly, he pressed the switch on the kettle and then began picking up each of those several boxes of medication, reading over the dosage instructions.

“Tooth hurts.” She had wrestled for a lengthy while with getting the words out, but still she did not end up saying what she wanted to.

He gave an “mm,” saying, “I’m heating up some water for you. In a little bit, you’ll take the medicine and then go to bed.”

Take medicine and go to bed… It turned out, she very glumly discovered, that her long trip all the way here was merely a change of location for her to take medicine and go to bed. She hadn’t even gotten a hug since getting off the plane…

Her heart was in a muddle when, out of the blue, two light knocks resounded on the door. She received such a fright at this that her hand gave a quiver and ended up bumping against her tooth. Her face screwed up in pain, she looked at Yi Wenze. It’s two in the morning already. What, is this a ghost haunting?

“Teacher Yi, are you asleep?” From the other side of the door a woman’s voice was heard. A very gentle one.

The room grew quiet. There was only the sound of boiling water, so distinct it vexed the heart. With one hand pressed to her face, Jia He poked Yi Wenze’s arm, signaling to him to go open the door.

[1]Muse Club is a well-known club in Chengdu on Jiuyanqiao Bar Street.

[2]以身相许“yi shen xiang xu.” The literal meaning of this is pledging your body to someone. The underlying meaning is that you will devote your body and heart to a person for a lifetime, promising your life to that person. Oftentimes, this means to present yourself and be willing to marry someone. However, the marriage is not necessary; it is more the willingness to engage in the act of consummation if the pledgee so desires. Yi Wenze’s response on the surface can be taken as that meaning, where he is requesting Jia He to love him and be with him for the rest of her life, but it can also have the “mature” interpretation of “Tomorrow, offer your body to me.”

[3]“Loli, short for Lolita, is simply referring to a young, innocent girl.  “Loli 养成,” which means “to raise and groom and Loli” is describing someone who finds a girl when she is still in childhood and raises and grooms her to become his ideal girlfriend.Yi Wenze’s sister, Yi Wenrun, here is making a jab at her brother for finding a girlfriend quite a bit younger than him.

[4]金屋藏嬌 “jin wu cang jiao.” This idiom literally translates as “a golden house to hide away a beauty” and is describing a man who has built a resplendent house and settled his beloved in there. It usually refers to a man who has hidden a mistress away in a love nest, or who is keeping a beautiful woman hidden away in his home. The female fans are using this idiom on Yi Wenze, who is the “beauty” whom they want to hide away.

[5]小别胜新婚. This saying “the reunion after a short separation is better than even a honeymoon,” carries similar meaning to the English saying, “absence makes the heart grow fonder.” However, the more literal translation emphasizes the excitement more of the reunion, which is what Jia He is feeling, and hence that is what was used in the translation.