Chapter 2 Chapter two

It all started with that little man in the New York City government's vehicle registration office, Ellie recalled with a smile.She will never forget his name: Ji Yilai.His name is marked on the name tag on his chest, and the name tag is at the same height as Ellie's eyesight. Judging by Ellie's petite figure, it means that his height will not exceed 162 centimeters. "Sit there and wait," the little man said to Ellie, and she could see that he really loved the power of waiting. With a half-smile, she picked up the form on the shelf and turned away.There were a few people standing between her and the bench against the wall, but as they moved away Ellie saw them.Sitting at opposite ends of a green bench, without looking at each other, are two of the most eye-catching women Ellie has ever seen in her life.

The one on the left is wearing a black jumper and a dark green silk dress that wraps lightly around her feet.Dark brown hair was pulled back tightly into a bun.She looked like a dancer just out of practice, and she had the body any sane woman on earth would kill for.She was a living example of how beautiful a human body can be. She had a beautiful face, and her long neck curved gracefully down to broad, powerful shoulders, followed by a rounded chest and a belly flat enough to play with coins.Beneath the lean, muscular buttocks were two legs that had to be seen to be believed: long, muscular, and graceful.Even the woman sat like a dance scene, her feet gracefully turned ever so slightly, her hands hanging down effortlessly.

What a woman!Ellie thought; then reluctantly turned her eyes to the other woman.If elegance is the word to describe the woman in the pullover top, this one is a pretty word.She was so beautiful, Ellie actually blinked a few times to make sure she was seeing the right thing.This woman is at least 180cm tall and fairly thin, but so skinny that you want to look like her.And she was so beautiful.No, there should be a less common way to describe her.There are many beautiful women in the world, but this one... this one... is perfect. She was wearing a simple slip dress with a long row of ruffles on the chest, something she might have bought in a small Midwestern town, but would look out of place in a fashionable metropolis like New York.But this woman made that dress look like a designer.She exuded an aura that made one feel how grateful she was to be favored and worn by this fairy in that ordinary dress.

This woman has long dark blonde hair that hangs down her back in large, silky waves.Her face...she has the face of a goddess, Ellie thought, gaping at the woman.High cheekbones, perfect nose bridge, plump lips.Her eyes were shaped like almonds, with thick lashes beneath two gracefully arched eyebrows.The delicate and flawless skin, the perfect fingers, and the feet in those tiny sandals are like masterpieces carved out of marble. For a moment Ellie just stood there looking back and forth between the two women.Then, she slowly turned to the short melon Ji Yilai.Her eyebrows raised suspiciously, as if asking, are they real people?

Eli shrugged and smiled at her, then nodded in the direction of the two women, as if to tell Ellie that she should sit between them. Ellie walked slowly towards the green bench.When she sat down between the two women, they all turned their backs to her and ignored her.Ellie tried to get the form on her lap without bumping into any of the beauties, but it wasn't easy.She twisted and moved but couldn't find a way to sit and write at the same time.When she finally managed to squeeze into the middle of the seat and use one knee as a desk, the cheap pen she had brought with her couldn't write.

All of a sudden Ellie helplessly raised her eyes to the sky.Why, why didn't she apply for a new driver's license before leaving home?But today is her twenty-first birthday, and if she doesn't apply for a new one today, the original driver's license will expire.She doesn't need a driver's license in New York, but if she becomes the world's greatest painter, she might, and who wants to take another test? "Sorry," Ellie whispered to the backs on both sides. "Can either of you lend me a pen?" Neither figure responded. "Great," she murmured. "What can I expect? Beautiful women also have brains?"

She didn't expect anyone to hear her whisper.She grew up in a small family with four older brothers who were always in a competition to see who could make the loudest noise.Ellie's only way of confronting them was by muttering mean comments under her breath.It was a pretty exciting game, because if any of the older brothers heard Allie's stinging criticism, she was bound to get a head-scratcher—any torture her aggressive brothers could come up with. But the two women beside her heard her, and it took Ellie a moment to realize that they were both laughing.She could see the dancer's back muscles undulating, while the ruffles around the neck of the other goddess seemed to flutter in an invisible breeze.

Ellie bowed her head and smiled. "Are you two literate?" she said in a small voice.Ellie slowly felt the dancer turn around.Ellie looked up and saw that the dancer was smiling happily. "I'm slightly literate," she said, her eyes wide with a smile. Ellie smiled back at her.Where did you get that body, can I buy one too?This sentence has reached the tip of her tongue, but she still restrained herself from saying it.Just before she left for New York, her mother gave her a little warning to keep her mouth shut and to think about it later. Just before Ellie could speak, she felt the goddess sitting on the other side turn around.The dancer looked up, his eyes skipped Ellie and landed on the blond beauty beside her.When Ellie turned back, her breath caught.

Is this woman more attractive when viewed up close than from afar?She doesn't wear any make-up, but her skin shows what it does.Women pay millions of dollars to get that perfectly silky texture, that delicate blush—the girl smiled suddenly, a huge smile—and Ellie's eyes widened in shock.One of her teeth is missing!A large black hole was exposed where the front teeth should have been.Such a perfect woman has such a deficiency... "I can't read, I can't write." The big beauty said with a countryman's accent, and then grinned. Ellie was still in shock when she heard the dancer behind her burst out laughing.

"Bi Meiqiu," said the big beauty; then she stretched her hand around Ellie to shake hands with the dancer. Ellie knew something was wrong, but she hadn't realized what she was missing. The big beauty looked at Ellie, then reached out to her. "Bi Meiqiu." She said, but Ellie didn't move. Then, the big beauty bent down, took something out of her mouth, and smiled at her. It was only then that Ellie realized that this tall beauty just used a black rubber sleeve to cover her front teeth, creating the effect of missing teeth.Ellie, who has always been easy to be fooled, did not react as quickly as the dancer.But once she figured out the situation, she smiled and fell in love with the woman immediately.A woman so pretty was willing to joke about her looks, which suited Elly's personality.

She took the woman's hand. "Too bad you're not really missing a front tooth," Ellie said with a smile. "But I think everyone should have a little flaw." "Does not having a brain count as a shortcoming?" Mei Hagi asked with a smile in his eyes. "I thought we just didn't have pens," the dancer said from behind Ellie. "Lack of pen and brain," Meiqiu said. "Maybe we should go on tour." Ellie, who was sandwiched between the two beauties, blinked a few times.Usually she is the one who can tell the most jokes in a group, but now the two of them overwhelm her. "How about the group name being 'Face and Beautiful Legs'?" "Then what role do you want to play?" Mei Qiu asked her back, pointing her straight nose at Ellie. "Genius," Ellie replied immediately; and then the three laughed together. That's how we felt about ourselves at the time, Ellie thought, sinking further into the back of the chair.She had pulled down the sun visor and propped a pillow against the window, and was about to close her eyes and remember the day she first met Meiji and Lacey. After Dancer lent her a pen, Ellie filled out the form and took it to Eli. "Why did you two come to New York?" Ellie asked after returning to her seat. "Street sweeping?" Lacey smiled. "Lights on Broadway," she said dreamily. "I left behind the boy from my hometown who was waiting in front of the altar." Before the words came out, her eyes widened in shock. "I'm not saying I'm actually running away until I'm married, but...but it's close enough that I know it sucks." She sounded like she was reciting a speech. "And you seem to regret your actions," Meigi said solemnly, and all three laughed. "Small town?" "Columbus, Ohio," Lacey said. "And you?" "Erskine, Montana. Ever heard of this place?" Both Ellie and Lacey shook their heads in the absence. Airi looked up at Meihagi. "Should I assume we're about to see your face on the cover of a magazine?" "I only got here yesterday, so I haven't had time to do anything. Today I'm going to go out and get pictures—" "Have you got the picture with you? Can we see it?" Ellie said eagerly. "Probably yes!" Mei Hagi said unenthusiastically, then bent down and picked up a large black flat notebook with zippers around it and handed it to Ellie. Ellie eagerly undid the zipper and opened the notebook, and Lacey leaned over to look at it too.There are about a dozen pictures of Mei Hagi in it, with her hair neatly combed and her face carefully put on makeup.Most are headshots, but there are also two full-body shots, all gracefully posed and well lit.Next to each photo is a line of the photographer's name in Erskine, Montana. "You're prettier in person than these photos," Ellie said, closing the album with a frown.She didn't want to say it, but the set of pictures was dull and boring. Mei Hagi just shrugged and looked at Eli who was still stamping the document. After sitting there for a while, Ellie began to notice that people were watching them.They would enter by the entrance, walk up and down the hall, turn around, and look back again.Otherwise, just stop and stare straight at it until someone pushes you, and then move on. "I'm starting to feel like I should be charging people for peeping at the two of you." "Both of us?" Lacey looked at Ellie in astonishment. "I suppose you mean the three of us?" "Exactly," Ellie said sarcastically. "I must look like a midget between the two of you." Now that Ellie was getting used to Mayggio's beauty, she realized that there was a calm quality about this young woman that she found comforting. "Don't you guys know what that little man did?" Mei Hagi asked. "Who are you talking about?" Ellie asked. "You mean Eli?" Lacey asked. "Yes, that's him." Just when Mei Qiu was looking at Eli, he raised his head, and for a moment, his hand holding the rubber stamp half covered stopped. "He put us here to see us." Ellie sneered. "You two are sure, I'm not." She thought they both would agree with her, but they didn't. Umegi looked at her with the calmness that Airi had grown used to. "You're pretty too! It's a bit like Goldie Han's gentle and lovely look." Ellie blinked sharply.Growing up with four older brothers, she had never heard any compliments in her life.Most of the time her brothers always told her that she was a nuisance and they would make her regret it if she didn't go away. "Me?" she said finally.Seeing Umegi just looking at her, Airi turned to Lacey. "I believe the correct term is, as cute as a dalmatian," Lacy said with a laugh. "Well," Ellie thought about it carefully. "But cuteness doesn't last. Can you imagine Goldie Hawn at fifty?" Mei Hagi looked at Eli again. "I guess he's going to keep us here for a while. And I bet he's putting a few women here every day." Ellie was about to express her opinion when Eli beckoned her to come forward.He held three driver's licenses in his hand.In one way, Ellie was happy to confirm that Maygiga's reasoning was wrong, but she also regretted not being able to spend any longer with the two women.She lived alone in New York, and she had developed an affinity with the two.They are all here to start a new life. Besides, she really wanted to hear the story of Lacey leaving a man at the altar.If there was anything she liked about this world, it was a good story.Ellie felt that Meigi's story was written all over her face, and Recie obviously had a long and hard training to create that beautiful body. Ellie was the first to stand. "I'll get it," she said, then walked to Eli, retrieved the three driver's licenses, and returned to the bench she was sitting on.Lacey had already hung her coat on her arm and picked up a big black cloth bag, ready to take her new driver's license and leave.But Umehagi didn't move, just sat there looking at Airi. "It's all here," Ellie said, looking down at her driver's license.The top one is of Umehagi.Even the picture of her on the driver's license is so touching. But when she handed her her driver's license, Maygi said, "Check first." "what?" "Check the driver's license and make sure the information in it is correct." "Okay!" Ellie glanced at Mei Qiu slowly, as if her nerves were a little out of order. "Anmei Hagi, born on October 9th. Our birthdays are on the same day." "My birthday is October 9, too, but we have different last names," Lacey said. "The one named Ann is me." At this point, Ellie checked all the driver's licenses and found that the names on the driver's licenses were all mixed up.Her own had "Ailey Bee" on it, while Lacie's last name had been mistakenly planted as Lorecie. Airi opened her eyes wide and looked at Umehagi. "how do you know?" Mei Ha shrugged. "It happens to me a lot. It's all tricks and excuses to keep you here," she said, looking away. Ellie glances at Lacie, then returns the driver's license to Eli.At least he didn't pretend to be sorry for his mistake. "Looks like you three have to wait a little longer?" he said with a smile. "Just sit in that chair! And you better not leave the building in case I have something to ask you." Ellie was about to say what she thought of him, maybe even demand to see his boss, and then her vanity got the better of her.She was singled out to sit next to two women who looked like Lacey and Mayggio, sort of like a live ad, well... she didn't really feel that bad.In fact, her back was even a little straighter than usual as she walked back to the bench. She sat back down between the two women. "Okay!" she said, turning to Lacey. "Tell me about that boy you dumped." Lacey laughed. "Are all New Yorkers as frank as you?" "I don't know either. I'm from Richmond, Virginia." "Then we're all outsiders," Lacey said. "And we're all here trying to break into the world?" "Not trying," Ellie said. "We'll do it, right?" "That's right!" Lacey said firmly, but Meigi remained silent. Airi turned to Mayhag. "What about you? How many desperate boys have you left behind to come here?" "None. In fact, I was dumped by my boyfriend." Umegi didn't explain much, and Airi just stared at her silently.She was too shocked to speak.After a while, she looked at Lacey and found that she was also stunned. "I didn't mean to offend you, Lacey," Ellie said. "But I had to hear her story first." For a moment Meiqi just remained silent, then she spoke. "Oh, what the hell! Everyone in Erskine knows about it, and it's hardly a secret." Ellie gritted her teeth to hold back the comment that was about to blurt out: Maybe everyone in Erskine City knows the secret of life, but for people all over the world, it is still a mystery. "My story is a standard high school romance," Mayhagi said. "Jack went to high school about fifty miles from mine, and I was a cheerleader and—" "Me too!" said Lacey; and they all looked at Ellie questioningly. "I'm different," Ellie said. "I'm in the debating club, the Latin club." "Yeah," Meigi said. "Anyway, Jay and I were a famous couple in high school. I never dated anyone but Jay. Our plan was to go to college together after high school, get married, and live happily ever after. We even picked out the baby's name." For a moment, Mei Qiu turned her head away, and when she turned back, her expression was as calm as before, but pain could be seen in her eyes.She is used to hiding her emotions, Ellie thought, at that moment, she could see through Meiqi's pretty face and see her true inner world. "I should have known there was going to be a problem. You know, Applejack's family is rich, and my mother and I are poor." "Where's your father?" Ellie asked, ignoring politeness and her mother's persuasive admonitions not to pry into other people's privacy. Mei Hagi shrugged, her posture was extremely beautiful.She should be on the big screen, Ellie thought. "A married man." Mei Hagi said. "The moment my mother told him she was pregnant, he left - ran away, in fact. I only knew him as Mei. The plum in my name was my mother's revenge on him. She couldn't had his last name, so she gave it to me. She said he couldn't deny that she had such a small right to him after all." For a while, the surrounding air was frozen heavy by Mei Hagi's angry tone. "It's better than the name 'Ellie,'" Allie said plausibly. "My mother said she was getting so annoyed by the loud and rude boys that she wanted a little girl so she named me a little girl." "You don't have another Christian name?" Lacey asked. "No, it's Ellie. I think I'll change my name to Sasha in the future. Go on, what happened to you and Applejack?" Ellie asked Meigi. Mei Hagi let out a sigh of relief.Ellie's lighthearted comment on her name broke the dignified pressure. "Just two weeks before I graduated from high school, the doctor diagnosed my mother with breast cancer." "Ah!" Allie exclaimed. Lacey stretched her arms around the back of the chair and squeezed Mei Hagi lightly. "Apart from Ajie, my mother was the center of my life," Meigi said. "She and I were partners. She raised me and worked two jobs to meet my needs. Every night she would work as a cashier at a grocery store, and since she couldn't afford babysitting, I was usually a babysitter. Go with her and hide in the back pantry. So I also learned a lot about how to run a grocery store.” She tried to make it a joke, but neither Ellie nor Lacey laughed. "Anyway," Meigi continued. "After my mother was ill, my college dream had to be postponed." Once again, Mei Hagi turned around for a while. "Long story short, my mother died, but it was after a four-year delay. By the time she died, my college money had been drained in the hospital." Ellie had nothing to say now, and from Lacey's expression, she felt the same way. "Where's Ajie?" Ellie asked softly. "Great guy Jay, the love of my life, came back from college - I might add, he's on a full football scholarship. They're rich, but his parents are the cheapest people in the world —Ajie came back from school with a fiancée hanging on his arm." "What?" Ellie called. "Why would someone marry someone else instead of you?" She didn't realize that this sentence was said so loudly, until the whole line of people turned their heads and looked at them with interest. "Beauty doesn't mean everything." Mei Hagi said with a smile. "I'm not talking about beauty. You gave up your studies and stayed home to take care of your mother. That's an inner virtue to appreciate!" Mei Hagi looked at Ellie in surprise, and then she smiled slightly, and her whole face lit up. "I think I like you," she said, and Ellie smiled back. "Go on," Lacey urged. "So what do you do? And I agree with Ellie, why would he want someone else?" Mei Hagi took a deep breath. "He said now that he's out of college, he needs someone to talk to. Someone with an education." Hearing those words, Ellie turned her head to look at Lacey, and then back at Meigi. "It's cheap for him to eunuch him." She said softly. Umehagi grimaced in agreement. "That's what I thought at the time, especially considering that I did most of his homework for him throughout high school. He used to drive to my house three days a week with a box full of The homework required me to 'help' him with it. What really happened was that I was doing my homework while he was watching football on TV. Our dates were usually me doing his homework and Ajay playing football. , When it comes time to submit a report, he usually assigns the task for me to complete." "Does that make him pass?" Ellie asked. "As soon as he meets the exam, won't he go through the gang? It's unlikely that you will take the exam for him too?" "Why is it impossible?" Mei Qiu raised his eyebrows and asked back. "Adger was the best football player ever at his high school, and he relied on him to win almost every game. The principal told his teachers that if Ajay didn't get enough grades to go to college, contract or no , this teacher is going to pack up and leave. I didn't go to college, but I think the attitude of the president of the university he studied in should be similar." Lacey laughed. "So you got him into college, and then you helped him stay there, and you had to be a guardian angel at the same time." This sentence made Mei Hagi laugh. "The guardian angel who takes care of my mother? You know, I actually enjoy it." Seeing the two women talking again, Mei Hagi raised her hand to stop her. "No, no, I'm not happy to see my mother in pain. But I'm so interested in the medical aspects of her condition that I even do a part-time job at a hospital. To get to that hospital I have to drive seventy-five miles, but--" "Every day?" Ellie asked. "Three days a week. But Montana isn't like Virginia," Mayggio said, laughing. "You can put your foot on the gas and fall asleep. That's about the way the roads are around here. I learned a lot during the four years Ajay was away from home. In fact, a doctor even suggested that I become a nurse. One line, but then he..." "Let me guess," Ellie grimaced. "He was chasing you around the office." Mei Hagi looked down at her hands. "Turned into a comatose patient's ward. But he really should have noticed that I was still holding the bedpan. Later, I 'accidentally' poured the contents of the basin all over him." Hearing this, Ellie burst out laughing, causing people around to turn their heads to look at them again.Lacey put her hands over her mouth, but she was laughing too. "So you used to like nursing, why didn't you continue your studies?" Lacey asked. "Because..." Mei Qiu's words faded away.How could she tell them what kind of life she lived?Maybe it's useless to her no matter how beautiful she is, but people love to look at her all her life.Her mother had said that even when she was born, she was a strikingly beautiful baby.After going to school, Mei Hagi was always chosen to play the princess in the play.In fifth grade, Umegi begged her teacher to let her play the witch, and when her teacher said yes, she was overjoyed.Mei Hagi has always liked screaming.But then her teacher went home and rewrote the plot as: The witch turned out to be a beautiful princess in disguise.When May Hagi protested, the teacher told her that her face would boost the box office, so she couldn't complain. After Meiqi grew up, her beauty was still there, but her height had reached 180. "I'm not one hundred and eighty centimeters!" She often hints that she is not as tall as people think.Her mother once said that half of the reason Meiqi was attracted to Ajie was because he was taller than her. How should Umehagi tell these two women what it's like to be a tourist attraction in a small town?That was her teenage identity—at least that's what her high school classmates called her.Erskine is not much to see, just a few shops on a main street.But Erskine's Main Street happened to be connected to a road leading to a famous holiday resort, so six shopkeepers in the town formed a committee to find out where the cars speeding through their town would stop and buy way of things.The committee came up with several ideas, one of which was to build a large prison and issue speeding tickets.They can keep their drivers behind bars so their loved ones can incentivize spending while they wait.The idea was rejected because they feared that tourists might be too angry to buy in Erskine. "Not to mention that doing so might break the law," one commissioner added. The committee came up with other ideas, like having a carnival or a film festival. "Spielberg doesn't come just because you invited him," someone said. "Who would have thought of Erskine?" Another said: "We don't want them moving here permanently, we just want them to take a break from shopping." Hearing this, someone muttered, "Unfortunately, we can't ask Mei Qiu to stand in the middle of the road, that will definitely make them stop." An idea took shape, and the next thing Maygi knew was that the committee had given her a job distributing billboards to passing vehicles. "I just need to distribute flyers?" she asked. "Yes." was the simple answer they gave her. Since then, businessmen in Erskine City have set up a traffic light on the only main street in the area, and next to the traffic light they have built a sunshade pavilion that looks a bit like an old-fashioned bus stop.When the red light came on, Mei Hagi went to the car window to distribute the advertisement leaflets. The job sounded fairly easy and only needed on weekends when there was heavy traffic, so she took it.But doing so also had bad side effects. A large number of cars stopped in Erskine City, and many men who went out to seek sex on weekends took advantage of the chaos to attack Meiqi. The sheriff had to send two police officers to sit in her protected nearby.In the end, the City of Erskine decided it would be safer to put up a billboard with a photo of May Hagi.Wearing a pair of cropped jeans and a red shirt tied around her waist, the billboard invites passers-by to pause and look around in Erskine. For Meiqiu, this situation made her extremely embarrassed, but she needed money to pay her mother's medical expenses, and after Ajie went out to go to college, she also felt alone, and it was not a bad thing to be able to talk to passers-by. "What happened next?" Ellie urged her. "And how did you come to New York?" "The city council thinks they owe me something." Maycho waved her off when Ellie tried to speak again. "It doesn't matter why now, but after Applejack dumped me, they decided to send me to New York to start a modeling career." Meiqi didn't tell them that one day the pastor's daughter cursed at her.That girl has always been jealous of Mei Hagi, not only because Mei Hagi is beautiful, but also because she is very smart.And once people get to know her beyond her beauty, they also like Mei Hagi himself.Such a situation was too much for the young lady to swallow, so she told Umegi a secret.The city council paid for Meicho to New York. "If she's famous, Erskine will be famous too," they reasoned.But the girl's father—the pastor of the church Maycho and her mother had been attending—said they couldn't get enough money together.One day the girl "just happened" to hear her father call, and she heard a child's voice say, "May Mansion," her pastor father told the person who answered the phone. "Please ask your father to answer the phone." After a while, a man answered the phone. "Which one?" he said. "Your daughter needs 10,000 yuan. Do it now. Send the money to the church. Do you remember my name and address?" There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone, and then he replied, "Well, I remember." The phone hung up. But Meiqi didn't mention the part where her father gave the money.It was a private matter and she didn't want to tell anyone.Instead, she simply explained that the city council had sent her to New York to model. Airi senses that Umegi is hiding some of the truth, so she asks a barrage of questions.But Umegi just smiled and didn't answer. "What about you, Lacey?" Maygieg's tone of question made Ellie understand that no matter how hard she coaxed her, she would not reveal anything more. "What's the matter with you leaving a man?" "Aaron," Lacey said, trying to look sad, but her eyes sparkled with joy and anticipation.Ellie didn't think anything would really make her sad. "We were going to get married, but I got cold feet. I know I'm twenty-one, old enough to get married and have kids, but..." "You want to see the sky outside," Ellie said eagerly. "bingo!" "So you dumped your boyfriend and came to New York," Ellie said, smiling. "Probably so. Although Aaron was very angry about it. He said that if he had known that I would change my mind, he wouldn't have had to—" Lacey looked down at her hand. "In short, the situation at the time was not good." For a moment all three women fell silent; then Maycho said, "Have you got his address? Maybe Aaron and I could make a couple." One sentence instantly dissolved the tense atmosphere, and the three of them burst into laughter at the same time. "What about you?" Lacey asked, looking at Ellie. "So far, one of us is a heartbreaker and one is a heartbreaker. Which one are you?" "Nothing," she replied, then quickly added, "I mean I don't have any stories that could be related to a relationship. I've wanted to be a painter since I was a kid. Every Christmas or birthday, what I want most My presents were paints, crayons, colored pencils, anything that could be used to draw. I think I dated three times in high school. I had four older brothers who had their heads full of goo. I mean, I love And they're good people, but—" "Stupid," said Meigi. "Yes," Ellie sighed. "They're all tall, good-looking, all-sporty men, but it took my mother a whip to get them to open their books. Like your Applejack, they—" "Please," Umegi said. "He's not my Ajie." "Yeah, sorry. Anyway, like you, they get their girlfriends to do their homework for them. And I have to emphasize the word 'female'. They have pretty faces and bodies good enough to wear strapless dresses Girlfriends go on a date, and let some poor, ordinary-looking person do their homework for them. That's why when I first saw you just now..." Ellie's words faded away, and she looked away. "The reason you're assuming I'm stupid like the guys your brother is dating. Don't worry, it happens all the time." "You don't have a boyfriend?" Lacey asked Allie. "But you look—" "I know, it's cute." Ellie sighed. "I think our family has more testosterone than I can handle, so I don't want to add some more. I just want to paint, which is my major in college. I just graduated from the art department in May this year. Graduation, I came home for the summer and worked at a gallery in Richmond. There was a cottage in the backyard of my house that my mother called the 'summer house' because her original plan was to remember my dad until he replaced it Install doors and windows so she can have a place to sit quietly and read a book. But so far, she has been thinking about it for nearly thirty years and there is still no real progress in the summer house." When Ellie said this Smile like it's a big family joke.The joke works on everyone in the family, at least except her mother. "She should do it herself," Lacey said firmly. "My dad was a construction contractor and sometimes he would take me to work. I was as good as a man with a hammer and a screwdriver." Because she spoke so confidently, both Airi and Umegi couldn't help smiling at her. "I'm a woman, please hear me roar," Ellie sang in a low voice, and the three of them laughed together. "Anyway," Ellie said. "This summer I converted the cabin into my studio, where I paint whenever I'm not in the gallery. At the end of the day..." She didn't finish her sentence and looked down at her hands. "Someone in New York has taken a fancy to your paintings." Meiqiu said softly. "Yes!" Ellie said, and she looked up at Maygi, her eyes twinkling with stars. “对，对，还是对！画廊的老板美黛将我的画拍成照片后寄给她在这里的朋友，几经转折下来，格林威治村的一家艺廊租给了我一个工作室公寓。它很丑又潮湿，并且有座看起来像恐怖电影里的电梯，但它的光线充足，空闲宽广，而且——” 爱莉喘口气。“那是个机会，”心情平稳后，她才又说。“我父母拿出了所有的积蓄。四个哥哥当中只有一个去上大学，因此我父母说我可以花其它三个的大学教育费用。但我想……”爱莉再次中断她的话，低头看着手。 “他们帮你是因为他们爱你。”蕾茜柔声说，捏了一下爱莉的肩膀。 爱莉看看蕾茜，心想，她真浪漫。总体看起来，她毕竟是个浪漫的人。 “大概吧！”爱莉笑着说。“我妈和我常说我们必须团结才能对抗那些男生。” 梅萩紧盯着爱莉。“你真的没有对任何一个男孩感兴趣过？高中和大学时都没有？” “我不是那种人，如果你指的是这个。”爱莉说。“我曾和人约会过，但外形讨我喜欢的男人分不出梵谷和雷诺的昼。他们以为鲁本斯是达拉斯牛仔队的一员。而那些主修艺术的家伙……”她抬起手扮个无奈的手势。“其中一半只爱他们自己，另外一半看起来则像从来不洗澡。” 梅萩向后靠着椅背。“我不能想象没有男人的样子，”她柔声说。“也许是看到了我母亲的生活有多艰难，于是我紧抓着阿杰不放。甚至在他移情别恋时，我——”她中断话语，接着看看另外两个人。“我还求他不要丢下我。”梅萩幽然一笑。爱莉再一次看到她眸中的痛苦。 爱莉想要让梅萩别再回忆以前的事。“但现在我们都到了纽约，从前的通通都可以抛到后面去了。”她轮流看着蕾茜和梅萩。“你逃离了亚伦，而你逃离了阿杰。对他们俩来说也是种解脱。” “她会是我们当中第一个爱上男人、并且为他抛开艺术的人。”梅萩郑重地说。“三年后她会住在某间小屋子里养出半打孩子。” “至少半打。”蕾茜说。 “哈！”爱莉说。“唯一能赢得我心的男人要比我有才气一千倍，因此……除非我碰上了米开朗基罗再世，我安全得很。” “米开朗基罗不是同志吗？”梅萩对蕾茜说。 “还是疯到割掉自己耳朵的那个？”蕾茜回答。 “你们两个，够了吧！你们尽管可以取笑我没交过男朋友，但眼前我们可都是一样。” “等一下！”蕾茜说。“说到一样，今天不是我们的生日吗？而——” “我的也是。”爱莉说，而梅萩的答案和她一致。 “我们得弄个蛋糕。”蕾茜坚定地说。 “她会是个非常棒的母亲。”爱莉告诉梅萩。 蕾茜不理她们的调侃。“我要去问那个不怀好心眼的依莱最近的蛋糕店在哪，我要去替我们三个买个蛋糕。” 说完，她站了起来，爱莉和梅萩正想开口阻止，但话到嘴边，便硬生生地停住，因为看蕾茜走路就像是看美女活了起来。她走起路来像是在飘浮，薄薄的裙子里住她修长有致的腿。 “哇，”爱莉在蕾茜到达依莱的窗口时，低声惊叹。 "Wow!" “哇得好。”梅萩附和道。 蕾茜走出门时，向她们挥挥手，长椅上就剩下爱莉和梅萩，她们却发现彼此无话可谈。虽然蕾茜是三个人中最安静的一个，她却有种能让三个人都想说话的特质。她的温馨随和创造出令人愿意诉说秘密的气氛。 沉默的空气令爱莉紧张，但梅萩只是靠着椅背、闭上了眼睛。如果说爱莉是个活力充沛的小辣椒，梅萩则拥有全世界的耐心。 几分钟后，爱莉抬起头，看到蕾茜拿着一个小白盒走了进来，她着实吓了一跳。她才去没多久哩。 “你们绝对不会相信。”蕾茜在爱莉身旁坐下、打开盒子，露出里面的一个撒着白色糖霜的小蛋糕；糖霜上面则是用粉红色糖晶写出她们三个人的名字。 “你的动作可真快。”爱莉抬起头说。 蕾茜的眼中带笑。“隔壁就有一家蛋糕店，而每天他们都会为'依莱的女孩'烤上一个蛋糕。” 爱莉不解地眨眨眼。“你是指我们？我们被称为'依莱的女孩'？” 蕾茜笑出声。“梅萩，你说对了，那个小黄鼠狼每天都会挑出两到三个年轻女人让她们坐在这张椅子，他则弄出一大堆错误让她们一直干等。因为有很多人是在生日那天到监理所办事，似乎有许多人都曾有过买一个蛋糕一同庆生的念头。” “他是不是从蛋糕店有回扣可拿？”爱莉问。“而纽约市政府又为什么让他得逞？” 蕾茜倾身向前且放低声调。“我也是这么问他们的。不是关于回扣，而是为什么他可以这么做。看到上面的那扇小窗户没有？”她说，转头望向依莱背后的墙面。 就在她们的顶头、依莱窗口的上方有扇小窗户，它是如此的脏，令人怀疑任何人能隔着它看清楚窗外的情形。 “依莱上司的办公室。”蕾茜说。“听蛋糕店的人说，他们心照不宣，但依莱之所以能如此做而没被指责，是因为他的上司像他一样喜欢窗前的景观。” “我应该为此大为光火的，”爱莉说。“但话又说回来，我也是因为他才认识了你们。”她耸耸肩。“总之，这是什么口味的蛋糕？” “椰子。糕饼店的人说巧克力太黏了。你们瞧，她还给了我纸盘、纸巾和叉子。因此，'依莱的女孩'，我们开动吧！” 她们真的就此吃起蛋糕来。