Walking in the street, Jiang Youyou felt the wind a bit cold. Quite few taxis slowed down when passing by her, hoping that she or someone else would get a taxi. There were still some lights on in the tall buildings in the distance, and were they lit up by office workers for overtime pay or by warm families that were watching TV in the living room? Every window told its own story. Someone was selling stinky tofu on the roadside, and the familiar smell made Jiang Youyou’s stomach churning, for she had just vomited. The smell of barbecue was one of the components of the city’s flavors. A dead quail was nailed to barbecue cross. What mistake had the bird made so that it would suffer from such torture and penalty? Jiang Youyou watched it coldly. The barbecue stall keeper was a woman. She warmly took out a stool for Jiang Youyou to sit on. Her accent made Jiang Youyou feel familiar and friendly. She was her country fellow.
“You must be tired after walking a long way, my sis. Sit down and have some food. Ask you boyfriend to come too. Today we have barbecuing corncobs. The corncobs were brought from hometown by my mother.” The barbecue stall keeper brought a lump to Jiang Youyou’s throat and reminded her of Fang Ruxiang.
She had a sudden impulse to drink, but she longed to have someone for company. Between Dai Jingcheng and Pu Yuanhui, Jiang Youyou chose the former. After all, Dai was still single.
You must try keep some distance between you and other people, even with your beloved. Everyone had a darker side than the dark. Granted that you know them very well, you could do nothing to help them but just add to your own worries.
He came rather quickly, explaining that he was just around the corner. He came far from the bus stop. Over his shirt he had a thin cardigan, which looked more pleasing to the eye than the uniform of the Engineering Department for work.
“What’s wrong with you?” Dai Jingcheng noticed that she was pale and trembling all over. When he received her call he had just had a shower, and he came out immediately as soon as he heard her scared and shivering voice.
Dai Jingcheng had a quite good impression of Jiang Youyou. He had asked for information about her. She was an orphan with a rough life. She was hardworking and keen to learn new things, and she had a gentle and calm nature.
Jiang Youyou gave him a questioning look and said, “No, it was nothing. Last time I didn’t pay much attention to what you told me. How did you get to know such things?
Dai Jingcheng knew who she was talking about. He sighed and said, “In fact, Zhao Huixin wasn’t an evildoer. She was only a bit stubborn, and too competitive by nature.”
“She was simply…,” Jiang Youyou was just about to say something, the barbecue stall keeper was brushing sesame oil on kebabs and asked them to order.
Dai Jiangcheng frowned and told Jiang Youyou in a low voice it was reported in the newspaper that many barbecue stalls in nearby area made their kebabs from rat meat by brushing the mutton oil extracted from sheep’s offal on the rat meat.
Because Dai mentioned the rat meat and because she smelt the familiar odor once again from barbecue stall, Jiang Youyou squatted next to the trash can to vomit again.
“You made me dizzy. Let me bring you to have a drink in the bar.” Dai Jingcheng hailed a taxi.
After a cup of Absolut Vodka Tonic, Vodka’s heat finally dispelled the stench out of her heart. When Jiang Youyou recalled the scene at Zhao Huixin’s home, she didn’t want to say a word for a long while.
“Do you want a smoke?” Dai Jingcheng handed Jiang Youyou a lit cigar. “Perhaps it may make you better. I don’t know what you have seen and experienced. I only wish you happy at this moment.”
Jiang Youyou took a deep breath and let out a cough. The cool flavor of mint filled her body all over, and she felt much more comfortable. “Thank you for coming out late to chat with me. I had seen very horrible things.”
“Well, if it has nothing to do with you, just let it go.” Dai Jingcheng looked at her haggard face.
“Now say something about yourself.” Under the blurred lights, men or women looked more attractive than in the daytime, whether it was men watching women or women watching men,
“Nothing can be told about me. I entered this company as soon as I graduated from the university. It was already a long time.”
“Then how about your girlfriend?”
“She didn’t think my family was rich enough.” Dai Jingcheng had had a cup of tequila which made his tongue almost numb.
Jiang Youyou thought this kind of thing might possibly happen. “Then what happened later?”
“Later she began to beg me. What’s the use to beg me? Many women didn’t understand what they should cherish. In fact, I’m a very nice person. What’s your opinion about me? Do you believe love at first sight?”
Jiang Youyou seemed to foresee what he was to mean. “No, I don’t. What I don’t believe is that someone will fall in love with me at first sight. I’m such an ordinary girl.”
Dai Jingcheng felt that when Cinderella showed modesty she looked fairly lovely.
There were people dancing in the bar. Dai Jingcheng invited Jiang Youyou, “Let’s go dancing. It’s no fun sitting here all the time.
Jiang Youyou shook her head. “Let’s just sit here for a while. I have to go home after drinking. Tomorrow I’ll go to work. Now I’m going to the bathroom.”
When she went back she saw a girl in a leopard dress and red boots who glued her cheek to Dai Jingcheng’s. Her thick curly hair couldn’t hide her plump bust. But Dai Jingcheng immediately pushed the girl away.
The girl embarrassingly went back to her seat.
Dai Jingcheng said to the flirtatious girl, “I do have a date. Look, she’s coming.”
And Jiang Youyou greeted her with “Good evening.”
“Wow! Bro Dai, you have turned into a vegan. It looked that I’m not your cup of tea. You seemed to like her very much. I haven’t seen her coming before. Why, you’re so nervous. I, Lily, am not a third wheel.”
In the lamplight, Lily looked a little lost, but soon she began to laugh. She twisted
and jumped to greet other acquaintances.
“She’s nothing. A little friend I got to know previously in this bar. A bad girl. She is less than twenty years old but every day she lingers in the bar, taking drugs.”
“Let’s have another drink.” Jiang Youyou raised the cup, “For our friendship and your bride.”
The two laughed. When she drank the alcohol from the cup, Jiang Youyou had a feeling of stepping into the air, as soft as stepping on a cloud, and she couldn’t help shaking her head. Lily was quick in action to throw a roofie pill into her cup.