TBTTSP - Chapter 26
Chapter 26: Shang Yi Has a Story (11)
When Li Zhaodi's mother was speaking with her, Shang Yi was listening from the base of the wall.
One good thing about Zhang Xu's body was that it was young and energetic, able to run and jump. By the time Li Zhaodi's dog heard Shang Yi's movements and came chasing, Shang Yi had already climbed a tree.
In all her thirty-five glorious years, this was the first time Shang Yi had been chased up a tree by a dog. The more she thought about it, the more frustrated she felt. She crouched on a branch while the dog below tilted its head back and barked furiously, showing no sign of recognition. The last time Shang Yi had visited, she had even fed it a ham sausage, and now it was trying to bite her.
The apricot tree was thick and sturdy, its branches laden with green apricots that emanated a tart sourness.
Hidden among the green leaves and sour apricots, she stood on a branch and peered into Li Zhaodi's courtyard, straining to make out their words over the sound of the barking dog.
Li Zhaodi's mother said, "You're a big girl now. You should start sharing the family's burden. Don't buy this brand of sanitary pads; it's a waste of money for something you just throw away. I'll show you another brand later. Just use that one."
Li Zhaodi replied, "Mm."
"How many days until the exam? This schooling of yours is such a damn hassle. You won't have to study anymore after this exam, right?"
"I still have to go to middle school."
"Oh, so you're done with primary school, right? Fine then. I don't think you need to study anymore. It's useless for a girl to get so much education; you'll just end up getting married anyway. Isn't your Sister Dandan only four years older than you? Last year she married a man from a village deep in the countryside, and what a good man he is. Now your Sister Dandan is posting on her social media that she's pregnant, always talking about how wonderful her husband is. You're studying so miserably, burning the midnight oil every day. What's the point? Listen to your mother. I'll find some work for you. You can start right after your exam. In a few years, I'll find someone to arrange a marriage for you."
"…"
"When I was your age, my marriage was already arranged. We're in a new society now. Back in the old days, your great-grandmother was a child bride and didn't even have enough food to eat."
Shang Yi plucked a green apricot, bit into it, and threw the rest, aiming for Li Zhaodi's mother.
But her aim was off. The apricot veered off course as soon as it cleared the courtyard wall.
The green apricot landed on the doghouse in the courtyard. The tin roof clanged, startling them both.
Li Zhaodi clutched her sleeves and kept her head down, saying nothing. She scuffed her sneakers—so worn the surface had rubbed off—back and forth on the ground. Her ponytail was uncharacteristically messy, and her pretty butterfly hair clip was missing.
Shang Yi's heart ached, but she said nothing. She plucked another apricot and threw it. This time it hit the dog on the head, but the dog, thinking it was being fed, just wagged its tail at her happily.
She slid down from the tree. The conversation between Li Zhaodi and her mother had ended.
In the courtyard, her mother said, "Alright, go see who that dog is barking at! It's been going on forever!"
Li Zhaodi came out and saw Shang Yi. She immediately lifted her chin, her expression full of bravado. "What are you doing at my house? We have a dog, you know. Be careful not to get bitten."
"I think your mother has issues…" Shang Yi said, speaking her mind with genuine feeling. She had just insulted Li Zhaodi's mother to her face. Realizing how harsh her words sounded, she quickly changed her tune. "I heard everything. You're such a good student, you should definitely go to middle school."
"My mom won't let me."
Li Zhaodi was usually as proud as a little peacock, involved in every aspect of school life and excelling at it all. But now, she suddenly hung her head like a defeated rooster and admitted her predicament.
Honestly, if she had to choose between Zhang Xu and Li Zhaodi as a daughter, Shang Yi would abandon Zhang Xu in a heartbeat… Li Zhaodi was a good student, sensible, and obedient. She had her own opinions at critical moments, could handle anything well, and was brave. Thinking about it, she could even be groomed as her successor… But she was getting ahead of herself.
For the moment, Shang Yi felt a genuine glow of motherly love. Her mind raced, but thinking of her own messy life, she didn't dare take on the responsibility herself. Instead, she said, "Education is compulsory now. Middle school is part of that. Your mother has no right to stop you from attending."
"You talk like someone from the city," Li Zhaodi said with a sudden laugh that made Shang Yi uncomfortable. "What do you mean?"
"Only people from the city talk about 'rights.' Around here, what people say is what goes."
Shang Yi felt a pang of discomfort.
People knew that human trafficking was illegal, but in many villages, buying wives and selling children had become unwritten rules. Even if they weren't, no one would think in terms of "so-and-so has the right to be free" or "this is a violation of their rights."
People knew that the nine-year compulsory education included six years of primary and three years of middle school. But in the villages, dropping out after primary school to work was considered a commendable decision. People would say the child was sensible, helping support the family and lightening the adults' load.
People knew you couldn't get a marriage certificate before reaching the legal age, but that didn't stop them from consummating the marriage. The custom of "cooking the rice before it's done"—living together as a couple and then getting the certificate once they were old enough—was widespread.
Shang Yi was no naive college student who cited legal principles for everything. But having spent so long in a world where everyone was, at least on the surface, civilized and reasonable, she had almost forgotten that the world has many faces. Some are treated with its gentle kindness, while others see only its savage snarl.
Everyone suffers, but some suffering is more bitter and difficult than others.
She fell silent, but Li Zhaodi tugged at her fingers and whispered, "Well, we still have to do well on the exam. If we score high enough, maybe we can get into Pingdu No. 2 Middle School."
No. 2 Middle was the best junior high in the county, and many people tried all sorts of ways to get in.
"I'll work hard," Shang Yi replied.
"Are we best friends?"
"Mm," Shang Yi decided on Zhang Xu's behalf.
Li Zhaodi nodded silently. "Okay. So, let's talk about why you're here. What did you want?"
"Oh, right. You just got your period yesterday. I came to see how you're feeling. Do you have cramps?"
"No, I'm fine. It's all good. I have to sweep the courtyard now, so you should go."
"Oh, right." Shang Yi suddenly grabbed Li Zhaodi's arm. "Do you still want to go to middle school?" she asked urgently. "If you do, you have to stand firm! Don't listen to your mother!"
"Which damn brat is over here corrupting my daughter?"
A roar like a clap of thunder made Shang Yi flinch.
Li Zhaodi's mother rushed over carrying a rolling pin. She yanked Li Zhaodi away and pointed the other end of the pin at Shang Yi. "So young and already up to no good, spreading your reactionary ideas here!"
?
This was the first time Shang Yi had ever had a rolling pin pointed at her head. Her temper flared. "So what if I am? You want your daughter to quit school and work to support you and your son? That son of yours is rotten and stupid; he won't take care of you when you're old. You've got a perfectly good daughter here, and you're just wasting her away, expecting her to support you in your old age? I swear, you're sick in the head—"
Li Zhaodi's eyes widened in disbelief. She could hardly believe those words were coming from Zhang Xu.
Shang Yi didn't actually know if Li Zhaodi's mother had ever met Zhang Xu, but she was taller than the woman, which already gave her an advantage in presence.
The rolling pin swung toward her. "Your mother's rotten c— gave birth to a bastard brat like you—"
The words that followed were, of course, even fouler, devolving into a vulgar, shrewish shouting match revolving around genitalia and female ancestors.
It wasn't that Shang Yi couldn't win a shouting match, but Li Zhaodi was pinned under her mother's arm, her little face on the verge of tears. Shang Yi simply couldn't bring herself to use filthier language. When your opponent refuses to be reasonable, the only contest left is one of vulgarity. Clearly, she couldn't stoop lower, so she fell silent.
As Li Zhaodi was dragged away, Shang Yi clearly heard her mother say, "Don't you hang around with her anymore! If I see her here again, I'll beat you! Just look at the kind of people you're mixing with!"
"…"
Anger flared in Shang Yi's heart. When she woke up and saw Fan Yaoyao cracking sunflower seeds by her bed, she unleashed it. "Fan Yaoyao! What do you think you're doing!"
She was still too civilized, and the thought made her angry.
Losing the shouting match left her feeling utterly frustrated.
A figure pushed the door open from outside. Shang Yi immediately tensed, her expression turning serious.
It was Xu Min, her skirt scandalously short. She came in and immediately sidled up to Shang Yi. "Why are you being so mean to Fan Yaoyao?"
Xu Min had followed her back to Beijing. Shang Yi had planned on visiting Xu Wanqing but had been forced to change her plans abruptly. She had called Fan Yaoyao back and carefully instructed Xu Wanqing not to open the door for strangers, fussing like a mother hen. Letting Xu Min find out about Xu Wanqing would be tantamount to revealing her own status as a mistress to Xu Wanqing. The thought was unbearable; Shang Yi couldn't accept it.
Shang Yi climbed out of bed and checked the time. She had slept until four-thirty. She should have been up and working, but Xu Min's perfectly timed visit to "check on her" was a little too convenient to be believable.
"I need to change."
"Change here. I won't look."
A thousand questions flashed through Shang Yi's mind, but in the end, she changed her clothes right in front of Xu Min, projecting the unconcerned air of a straight woman.
Xu Min watched with a smile, not even bothering with the pretense of covering her eyes. She stared openly, her gaze so intense it was as if she wanted to eat Shang Yi alive.
Shang Yi sneered.
"What about your own work?"
"Ugly Boy had a family emergency today, so I'm filling in as his assistant."
"…"
Behind Xu Min's back, Shang Yi messaged Ugly Boy.
Ugly Boy explained that the day before, Xu Min had damaged his car and then pried the battery out of his electric scooter. On his bus ride to work, he'd coincidentally seen an elderly person fall. Adhering to the principle of urban indifference, Ugly Boy hadn't offered to help, but then the person had fallen right in front of him. He was now tied up and couldn't get away, and Xu Min had volunteered to help him out.
"Does she know I was sleeping?"
"I sent her your schedule and the files you needed for today, but she insisted on seeing my iPad. I refused, but she snatched it and looked for a bit. I checked the browsing history I didn't have time to delete; she saw some of my recent electronic receipts and things. Anything related to Xu Wanqing wasn't run through the company accounts, so that should be fine. The rest was just miscellaneous stuff like car repairs, computer expenses, travel fees… even if she copied all of it, it wouldn't matter."
Shang Yi thought for a moment and agreed it was probably nothing to worry about.
Xu Min took out her phone, opened a file, and scrolled through the items. At the end, following an electronic receipt for a taxi ride taken by Fan Yaoyao, was a trip itinerary.
It was an unfamiliar residential address.
She had copied and saved everything else. She traced the address with her finger.
"Is anyone home?"
A faint sound of footsteps could be heard from inside, but it quickly fell silent again.
She knocked, but there was no response. She pressed the doorbell and held it, but still no one answered.
She knocked on the door of the apartment next door. "Hello, do you know if anyone is home over there?"
"Who are you?"
"I'm her younger sister. I just came to Beijing for grad school, and she said I could stay with her. She gave me this address, but she's not answering her phone. I was just wondering if I got it wrong…"
The lie came easily to Xu Min. The neighbor thought for a moment. "There is a young woman who lives there. I don't know if she's your sister."
The neighbor wasn't very cautious. If Xu Min had ill intentions, learning that a young woman lived there alone could have put her in great danger.
Reassured, Xu Min returned to the door and knocked relentlessly, pounding on it. "I'm a friend of Shang Yi's! She sent me!"
"What proof have you?" the person inside finally responded. The voice was soft and feminine, the phrasing so formal it sounded unnatural.
"Uh, pro… proof? Alright, hold on a second."
Xu Min scrolled through her photo album until she found an old picture of herself and Shang Yi. She held it up to the peephole. "Can you see it?"
After a moment, the door opened. She was met by a young woman in slippers and a dress with… what seemed to be traditional Han-style elements. The woman's feet were somewhat misshapen, looking unnaturally small… But she was quite beautiful, with a classical elegance, like the White Snake from that animated film. She was shorter than Xu Min, and her monolids were surprisingly attractive. Xu Min couldn't help but take a second look. As she stepped inside, the sheer number of books made her recoil slightly.
"What… What is it you want?"
The woman served her tea. Xu Min took a sip. "Nothing important. I was just sent to check on how you're doing."
"How am I doing?" The term seemed to stump the young woman. She mulled it over for a moment before replying, "I have been reading and practicing my calligraphy. I've written a story, but it is not yet complete. Shang… Yi said I should finish the novel before having it published, as it would likely sell better."
A novelist? Xu Min scanned the room. It was filled with books, boring-looking books, with no trace of Shang Yi anywhere.
Perhaps this was a new author Shang Yi was grooming as part of an expansion into the culture industry? It didn't seem likely.
Xu Min felt that everything was strange, but she couldn't pinpoint why. Her mind wasn't capable of imagining a scenario involving transmigration from the past. After asking a few more questions, she left.
As she was leaving, she glanced at the woman's manuscript. It was written in brush and ink, and signed "Xu Wanqing."
Had Shang Yi developed a taste for eccentrics recently? And this Xu Wanqing… who was she?
When she got back, she tried to look her up but found no record of anyone named Xu Wanqing.
After Xu Min left, Xu Wanqing silently clutched her identification card. Shang Yi had told her it was the most important thing she possessed and must not fall into anyone's hands without Shang Yi's explicit permission.
Thank goodness. Xu Wanqing felt she was gaining some experience in dealing with modern people; she had managed to protect her ID card.
On the ID card, the three characters for "Xu Yijiu" were delicate and lively. Next to them was a portrait, so vivid it seemed alive. Xu Wanqing was very pleased with it, her only complaint being that the card made no distinction between a given name and a courtesy name, forcing her to be registered under her courtesy name despite her given name being Xu Wanqing.
Looking out the window, she watched as the day's uninvited guest got into a car and drove away, crushing the scattered evening light on the ground and leaving the room filled with a sense of unease.
She stroked the object called a "mobile phone," pressed the "1" key, and then the green button.
Shang Yi had said this kind of "senior phone" would be sufficient for her. "An old person using a senior's phone—it's a perfect match," she'd said. Xu Wanqing hadn't understood the joke, only that the device was magical.
"Younger Sister Shang, a woman came to see me today, claiming you had sent her. It was my first time meeting her, and I fear I may have been impolite. First, I heard a knock at the door…"
She recounted the entire incident in a rambling fashion, concluding with, "I must trouble you to take note, Younger Sister Shang. If I was impolite in any way, please—"
"Didn't I tell you not to open the door for anyone!"
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