At that night Jiang Youyou drank a little too much. Dai Jingcheng felt it very strange that how could she be on the move at another girl’s birthday party, since the birthday girl herself was not drunk. Jiang seemed unhappy as if the girl robbed her of her boyfriend.
People having a low tolerance prefer to grab stoups for more drinks, drunken people always staggered to propose another toast, while the person who was not drunk would shook his head violently to say, “I’m drunken. I could have no more.” When you are having drinks you would get annoyed to meet three kinds of people: long-haired women, druggies and people who drank without having dishes.
They took a taxi to go home. On the way home Jiang Youyou leaned on Dai Jingcheng’s shoulder mumbling to herself, “When I was a child Mother Fang Ruxiang took me the countryside of her hometown for a hike. In the welfare house I was the child she liked best. At that time, there lived a newly moved-in family at the back of her old house, which was very poor, for the man of the family had caught a liver disease, which was considered as a rich man’s disease. That is to say, he needed a long period of rest and a large sum of money and he could almost do no physical work. So the woman was the main labor of the family. Mother Fang Ruxiang told me that the woman thought she was unable to bear child in the first years of their marriage, so she hurriedly adopted a baby girl of only a few months old. They could afford noting good but to give her whatever food they could obtain. So I guess the girl began to have rice from very young. Soon the woman gave the birth of her own son and the girl could get even less food and clothing. The villagers were all surprised how the girl baby could grow. They said the girl had a cheap life. She could eat whatever she could grab and could even grow only by water.”
“What happened later?” Dai Jingchang gently patted her back with pity so that she could feel comfortable. From then on he would never allow her to drink that much. Seeing her was drunk he felt deeply distressed. No matter whose birthday it would be, he wouldn’t allow her to drink.
“I’ve seen the girl for twice. When at the first time I saw her, she was very small and ugly with thin hair because of under-nutrition. Her mother was busy talking with us when she casually took a rice ball into her mouth. She was fastened in a cask with lid so that only her head could move. And she desperately pulled her head forward to reach the rice and chewed the rice very quickly. She had only a few teeth at this time.”
Dai Jingcheng liked to listen to her telling her story in the childhood. She seldom mentioned about it when she didn’t have the drinks. She was actually brought up in the welfare house. What a poor girl.
“The second time we went there and saw her, she must be three or four years old. So I and another child went to look for her with fried rice cakes and yoghurt, and finally they found her in a lane outside the house. It was a bit cold in October but she had only a dirty jacket which could just covered her bottom without any underwear, barefooted. She seemed very afraid of strangers and refused the delicious cookies dangling in front of her eyes. She dodged from left to right and finally retreated to the far corner of the lane to find she had no way to escape. She pressed herself tightly against the wall, glared at the two of us with fright, twisting her legs and continuously withdrawing. At that time I thought the others must accept whatever I gave them. Yet I discovered with alarm that under her feet was a large pile of broken glass beer bottles. Her dusty tender feet were crushing hard on these broken glass bottles. There were all blood on her feet but she wouldn’t stop crushing on them, with fear. However she was not afraid of pain. Then I thought this little girl was a demon, an alien. And now I’ve become the same creature as her. Both are demons.” Jiang Youyou cried for a while till the snot bubbles came out of her nose.
Dai Jingcheng put his arms around her waist and said, “You’re not a demon. Even if you are, I want to be your master.”
After hearing this, Jiang Youyou thought for a long time, and concluded that his was really a witty remark because it was cool enough.”
In sobs and sniffles she talked about a few of her past stories which make Dai Jingcheng dumbfounded. When she talked of her most dangerous experience Dai was made sweat for her.
Jiang Youyou felt rather familiar with this scene when she was recounting-suddenly Pu Yuanhui’s face flashed through her mind.
Could she meet him again in this vast crowd?
The man now sitting in front of her, how long could she rely on him? Everybody said let bygones be bygones, but those shameful memories always tortured her in the dead of night, the past occurrences flashed back one by one-Bai Zhehan, Zeng Yuan, An Hua, Jiang Jun, the man in the pilot’s uniform, the old man who told everyone to have a happy time, and Zhao Huixin’s room that was full of the dead mice and dead baby…
Jiang Youyou thought the source of all her misfortune was her parents who abandoned her. She always dreamed that one day she would meet her parents, who would cry and yell out, “We had to give you up at that time, we were forced, dear child!”
And Jiang Youyou would look at them scornfully and said in a cold voice, “Do you know how much I suffered after you abandoned me at that time. Other children all have parents. All other parents loved their children. Only you, threw me at the gate of the welfare house. I hate you. I would recognize you even if you die in front of me. Never!”
She often had such fantasies at night, and she would awaken Dai Jingcheng lying beside her in the bed and told him about it. He would replied in a daze, “Do you already sober up? Should I go to the kitchen to prepare some food for you?”
“No. You don’t have to. Don’t wake up Yellow Tiger. It needs rest since it has just recovered from its wound.” Jiang Youyou cast a look at the outside.