Chapter 5 Miss Tang

Just as Zhang Lingyu predicted, Miss Tang called Wang Da three days after the meeting in the Xiangya Teahouse.She invited Wang Da to her small but luxurious apartment as a guest, and prepared a five-course dinner for him.Four of them were ordered from fast food restaurants on Broadway.She prepared egg drop soup by herself, which tasted good except that it was a little salty.After enjoying a sumptuous meal, Wang Da helped clear the table.He insisted on washing the dishes, but Miss Tang pushed him out of the kitchen and into the warm and comfortable living room to watch TV.In two hours, Wang Da watched four episodes of the TV series, but he had no idea what was being played in the drama.Just noticed that two of the main characters were murdered in the four episodes.He really can't concentrate on watching TV, he has fallen in love.Although his eyes were on the screen, his heart was beating wildly and his mind was wandering.However, Miss Tang, who was sitting next to him, was engrossed in admiring it.When the plot is tense, she will grab Wang Da's arm and hold her breath. Sometimes she will sigh, groan, laugh, or urge the heroes in the play to move faster, especially when it comes to love scenes. When it seems too hesitant.

Sitting there, Wang Da was fighting against the urge to put his arms around the soft and warm body beside him.The fragrance of her hair was so sweet that he secretly and greedily sucked it, making it harder for him to fight the urge. After that night, they went out together many times, watching movies, dancing in nightclubs, and eating at roadside restaurants.Every time they go on a date, Wang Da struggles against the urge to kiss her.At one point, he was almost on the verge of kissing her, but backed away at the last moment, he was still timid.Once, he tried to kiss a girl, but the girl said, "Oh, please don't spoil our fun." What if Miss Tang said the same thing?No, his actions cannot develop too fast.He must not be like a satyr, destroying the pleasant friendship and joyful atmosphere.

Ms. Tang seems to be very busy, but she always accepts Wang Da's invitation, even though she says she can't stay outside for too long at night, it's because her brother is waiting for her at home.Wang Da has never met her brother.When he asked her brother where he worked, she said he was an officer on a warship, and quickly changed the subject.Wang Da met some of her friends who used to play mahjong in her apartment; but none of them seemed to have met her brother either.He wrote a letter to Zhang Lingyu, told him about his date with Miss Tang, and asked him if he knew her brother.Zhang Lingyu wrote back that he knew nothing about her brother.All he could guess was that her brother must be rich, hadn't he once bought her a brand new Buick?

At the mahjong table, Wang Da met a Miss Zhao, who had many pockmarks on her face, and she seemed to have a very close relationship with Miss Tang.They met in Shanghai and shared the difficult times during the war.Wang Da is very friendly to Miss Zhao, hoping to learn something about Miss Tang's mysterious brother from her.As time went by, he got deeper and deeper in the love network, making it difficult for him to eat well.To him, Miss Tang was the perfect girl, carefree and charming.The only big thing bothering him now is her confusing brother.He invited Ms. Zhao to a few meals and asked about Ms. Tang's brother, but Ms. Zhao was also evasive.She likes to talk about art and philosophy.She told Wang Da that he was the only person she could talk to very speculatively.In return for his friendship, she invited Wang Da to her apartment to taste the Shanghai dishes she cooked.Wang Da knew that he would never fall in love with her, but he liked the dishes she cooked and was very happy with her, so he often went to see her.He was also sure that Miss Tang would not be jealous, because Miss Zhao had a pockmarked face and was probably ten years older than him.He liked her as a sister, and there was no doubt that she treated him like a brother.She told him about her family, friends and all the happy times in China.She talked about everything except Miss Tang and her brother.

One night, Wang Da had a date with Miss Tang.When they walked out of the cinema, Wang Da proposed to eat milk ice cream in a restaurant by the road, but Miss Tang said that she was tired of roadside restaurants, and besides, milk ice cream would make her fat.Why not do something else for a change?So they drove up to the top of Coit on Telegraph Hill for a panoramic view of San Francisco Bay and the East Bay area.The brand-new Buick climbed steadily up the hill, with music playing in the car.At the top of picturesque Telegraph Hill, they found a parking space between two cars.It's a great place to look down at the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary and the long Bay Bridge with its thousands of flashing yellow lights.In the distance, across the bay, the cities of Berkeley and Oakland glisten against a starry night sky like treasures in a jewel chest on a pirate ship.Somewhere in the bay a steamship honks its whistle, and an airplane circles leisurely above the city with flashing red and yellow lights, its strange symphony of humming and bustling city noises like muffled bass part.

Miss Tang turned off the music in the car, put the seat back, turned around and said to Wang Da, "Let's have a chat." Wang Da turned around to face her, and put his left arm behind her On the back of the seat, stroking her soft long hair.His heart was pounding.Through the window next to Miss Tang, he saw people in the next car hugging and kissing tightly.He looked at Miss Tang, who was staring at him.Under the action of a sudden surge of courage, he hugged Miss Tang into his arms, and Miss Tang's soft lips had unconsciously covered his lips, and her arms were tightly wrapped around him. over him.He didn't know how long their kiss lasted, but he knew it was the longest kiss he'd ever had with a woman, and the most intoxicating one.When he opened his eyes, the car next to him had already left, and the plane had gone back.He looked out across the bay and felt as if he had just returned from a perfect trip to Utopia, where he had lost all sense of time.He boldly kissed the back of Miss Tang's neck and asked, "Miss Tang, will you marry me?"

Miss Tang raised her head and leaned against the back of the seat and laughed, "What are you laughing at?" Wang Da was puzzled. "You are the first man who still called me Miss Tang when he proposed to me." She laughed and said, "Sounds very interesting." "I've always called you Miss Tang. I think a marriage proposal should be a serious and solemn matter, and it's more appropriate to call you Miss." "By the way, but you've never called me by any other name than Miss: and you've never kissed me before a few minutes. Your behavior is very strange, but I like it. You're very different from other men. Now that we I've kissed you, you don't have to be so serious, you can call me Linda. This name was given to me by my vocal teacher. If I become a professional singer, Linda Tang will be my stage name. Linda Tang— —does that sound like a famous singer?"

"You haven't answered my question yet." Wang Da said, "Will you marry me, Linda?" Miss Tang patted his face: "Of course I am willing to marry you. But I have to ask my brother's consent. He is a tyrant..." "I've never seen your brother." Wang Da interrupted her, "Where is he? Can I meet him?" "Of course you can see him. He's in Europe now." "What is he doing in Europe?" "I told you that he is an officer on an ocean-going ship. Your memory is really bad." She laughed and quickly changed the topic: "Do you know why women conceive a boy, or why they conceive a girl?" ?”

Wang Da was stumped by this irrelevant question. "Why? I think it's because she's married." "Married. But when a woman conceives a boy, why does she conceive a boy instead of a girl?" "Why? Because a man's sperm contains... oh, let's not talk about that. That's biology. If we keep talking about it, our conversation will become dull and vulgar." "You know what my vocal teacher said?" She laughed again, "His explanation for boys and girls is the most interesting. He said that in the process of creating this doll, if men enjoy more pleasure, then It's going to be a boy; if the woman enjoys more pleasure, it's going to be a girl."

"Linda, let's not talk about this." Wang Da felt a little embarrassed, and said, "Let's talk about your brother. How old is he? Do you have a picture of him in your apartment?" "Of course." Linda said. "I'll show it to you next time. I was told that you and Helen often meet. Is it true?" "Who is Helen?" Miss Tang propped her face with her index finger and said, "You know...you know who she is." Wang Da was even more puzzled now, "I don't know who you are referring to?" "Oh, you don't know?" Miss Tang said impatiently, her index finger still resting on her face, "That woman whose face is covered with small pits..."

Wang laughed, "Oh, you mean Ms. Zhao! Why didn't you just say Ms. Zhao at first?" "do you like her?" "Uh... yes. We're like sister and brother!" "Maybe she doesn't think of you as a younger brother. Some say she's very flirty. You know that old Chinese saying about a pockmarked woman? 'Ten out of ten pockmarked women make nine out of fluff.'" "That's just an old saying without any scientific basis." "Helen is flirtatious." Miss Tang said, "I know her well. I have known her for fifteen years. Someone said..." "Oh please, can we not talk about her? She's just a sister to me. I like her, but I never thought I'd fall in love with her. Let's stop talking bad about her." "Women flirting are not all bad things." Miss Tang said, "Men like women flirting. Don't you too? Do you know what my vocal teacher said the other night? He said..." "Let's talk about our marriage." Wang Da interrupted her, "Do you think your brother will agree?" "Of course." Miss Tang said, and patted Wang Da's face tenderly. "He always wants to ask me to get married. Let's listen to music." She immediately turned on the radio and said, "I like South American music, especially Rumba. How about you? I can't get enough of rumba when I hear it. I can dance rumba all night and not get tired. A lot of women don't know how to twist their hips when they dance rumba... oh, this is jitterbug ” She tapped her teeth to the rhythm of the music, tapped the torreya with her fingers, twisted her shoulders, and hummed the music, looking like water.Wang Da stared at her, his heart beating non-stop, pressing blood and love to his whole body.He swallowed, resisting another strong impulse... He held her in his arms, kissed her and swore to her that he would never let her leave him.But he keeps himself in check.Ah, what a lucky man he would be if he could have her later in life.When he watched her humming music and twisting her shoulders, a pair of breasts trembling slightly under the red low-necked sweater, his palms began to sweat.When the music ended, Wang Da grabbed her.She kissed him immediately on the cheek and pushed him away. "Let's go, I have to get up early tomorrow." With that, she started the car. "Can I see you tomorrow?" Wang Da asked. "Oh, no," she said. "I'm going to take voice lessons early tomorrow morning. We'll meet on Saturday and then drive to Carmel and spend the weekend there. I like Carmel very much. Have you ever been there?" " "I've been there a few times." "Oh, I love spending weekends there. How peaceful and beautiful." Wang Da swallowed and said, "Okay, let's go to Carmel this weekend." "We're staying at the Highland Hotel," Miss Tang said. "That's my favorite hotel, where we can register as a couple. Oh, it's Rumba again!" She turned up the volume on the radio and followed the music with her tongue. Beating clappers to the rhythm of the car, the car went down the winding mountain road... Wang Da didn't sleep well that night.He tossed and turned in bed, dreaming of Miss Tang, alternating feelings of love and anxiety.He hoped her brother would come back soon; but was also afraid to see him.He was afraid that her brother might reject him.There are plenty of men in the marriage market, independent bachelors, young and handsome.Her brother probably knew dozens of such men.Why did she have to get her brother's permission?He doesn't understand.She is over twenty-two years old.Perhaps her family was as rigid as her own.He also had to get his father's permission to marry.However, if his father did not approve of his marriage, he was always ready to rebel against his father's decision.He would pack up and leave home.Anyway, he always wanted to live an independent life. He got up early the next morning.Since there was no class before eleven o'clock, he went to Miss Tang's.Maybe he could accompany her to the vocal teacher's house and watch her in class for a while.He would like to meet her vocal teacher because she had talked so much about it.In his impression, that teacher was a peculiar figure.Yes, he thought, most artists are oddities. He dressed, showered quickly, and drove to her apartment on Vallejo Avenue.It took him a full minute to ring the doorbell before she answered.She was wearing a pink silk nightgown when he walked into the apartment, and she looked awake.She ran her palms through her hair and grunted, "Oh, it was you. You woke me up." "Didn't you say you want to take vocal music lessons in the morning?" Wang Da said. "What time is it now?" Wang Da looked at his watch, "Eight thirty." "It's only eight-thirty?" she cried. "It's not daylight yet." "Can I come and see you for your vocal lessons this morning?" "No, you can't," she said. "My voice teacher said it's not a good thing to have visitors. And I can't concentrate when people are watching. But you can have breakfast here if you want. Oh, It's too early, it's only 8:30, my God!" "I'm really sorry." Wang Da said apologetically, "Let me help you make breakfast." "You can only stay here for half an hour," she said, "Come here and help me tidy up the bedroom first." He followed her into the bedroom.The bedroom was luxuriously furnished, but not tidy at all.On the light green dresser, which was in harmony with the tone of the room, there were combs, brushes, and various cosmetics scattered here and there in a mess, as if a cat had once chased a mouse among them.On the walls, on a desk and on another dresser are several glamorous photos of her taken at the beach or next to a car, each showing the vast majority of her slender legs . "Okay, change the sheets and be good." She smiled and said, "I'll be back in a few minutes." She threw two clean sheets on the bed, hummed a little song and went out. While changing the sheets on the spacious and fragrant big bed, Wang Da noticed a plate of melon seeds and a Chinese book on the bedside table.He chuckled lightly.This girl really knows how to enjoy life, reading in bed and eating melon seeds.He picked up the book curiously, and when he saw the title of the book "Mrs. Fang's Secret Romance", his eyes widened involuntarily.There were some illustrations in the book, and he almost blushed when he saw a few of them.He sat on the bed and read a few paragraphs, his heart beating wildly. "After the long and intoxicating kiss, she felt the blood in her veins boil. Her bones melted in the burning fire of love. He pushed her down on the bed panting, and he Those masculine hands began to touch her soft and warm body curves..." He greedily read paragraphs until he heard the sound of running water in the bathroom and the subsequent closing of the door.He quickly put the book aside, his heart was beating more violently, and he began to make her bed.When he made the bed, he poked his head out of the room to check for movement.The sound of running water in the bathroom had stopped.He picked up the book, sat on the bed, and read a few more pages.Suddenly the bathroom door rang again, and he quickly put the book aside. "I took a shower." Miss Tang walked into the bedroom while talking.She rolled up the sleeve of her silk nightgown and put one of her arms in front of Wang Da's nose: "My skin smells good, right? I use a special kind of soap for my bath, which my brother bought from Paris as a gift." mine." Wang Da picked up her soft bare arm and smelled it.The fragrance is really refreshing.He pressed his lips to his bare arm, but she drew it back immediately. "Now you should go out." She blinked her eyelashes and said with a smile, "I'm going to get dressed. You can go to the living room to watch TV. Or you can read movie pictorials. I have movie pictorials from all over the world here. Hong Kong's The movie pictorial is not good-looking. The movie stars published on it are too thin, their breasts are as flat as a washboard, and they have no figure at all." She unbuttoned the belt of her bathrobe, and Wang Da caught a glimpse of her well-developed breasts at a glance. Peak and cramped delicate underwear. "Now you go out and let me put my clothes on." She giggled, winked, grabbed the loose bathrobe with one hand, and pushed him out of the bedroom with the other. "Okay, then I'll make breakfast." Wang Da said. "Okay." Miss Tang shouted from behind the door, "I want two soft-boiled eggs. The vocal teacher said that soft-boiled eggs are good for my voice." When Wang Da walked into the kitchen, she heard her voice again. Cry: "Only cook for three minutes!" Wang Da took out some food from her newly bought large refrigerator.He fried some slices of sausage, toasted some slices of bread, and then boiled the eggs, looking at his watch from time to time so that they would be exactly three minutes.Whenever he thought of her impeccable figure, he felt a pang of relief, and it was disappointing that she didn't let him feast his eyes for a while.But it's nothing, sooner or later it will become my own thing.He was sure that when they were married, he would never tire of seeing her and loving her.That was such a feeling—the satisfaction of expecting her to be his own, his own. He set the small oval dining table in the kitchen, made tea and waited.When Miss Tang came in, she was wearing a light blue sweater and a white skirt, with a pink scarf around her neck. "How do I look?" she asked.Wang Da looked at her and swallowed.She lifted her skirt a little and turned it around. "How do you like it?" "It's so beautiful." Wang Da said, he couldn't take his eyes away from her at all. "Let's eat," she said, sitting down at the dining table, "you have to go in twenty minutes." She quickly finished her eggs and drank her tea in one gulp. "You seem to be very anxious." Wang Da said.He ate very little and just stared at her greedily with his eyes. "Let's go to the living room." She said, she stood up from the dining table, "There is no time to wash the dishes now. You can only stay here for another ten minutes." She walked into the living room and lay on the couch , crossed his legs, put his hands behind his head. "You can kiss me before I put on lipstick," she said with a slight twist of her waist. Under her instigation, Wang Da's heart fluttered, he came and sat on the edge of the couch, put one arm around her slender waist, the other around her neck, bowed his head and kissed her.Her soft body and lips seemed to discharge electricity to him, giving him an itchy feeling that he had never experienced before.Miss Tang held his head tightly with both hands, and her own head moved slightly up and down.They kissed for a long time, as if they had no intention of breaking off.Miss Tang occasionally pushed his head away to take a breath, but their lips were glued together again immediately. Wang Da didn't know how long their kiss lasted, he hoped to continue like this for the whole day, but the doorbell rang suddenly, and because it kept ringing, Miss Tang had to move her lips away from Wang Da's : "Oh, nasty," she said, "I have to answer the door." "Don't worry about it, let it ring." Wang Da whispered. "No." She said, "my car is outside, they know I'm home. They will be suspicious, everyone is suspicious like a fox these days. How annoying!" She pressed Wang Da's head and kissed hungrily stand up. The doorbell rang persistently. "Let's drive out," she said, kissing his lips. "Let's go to Marin City." "Then you won't take vocal lessons?" Wang Da asked. "Oh, my vocal teacher won't mind. I'll make it up later." The doorbell was still ringing. "Looks like I have to answer the door. Let's drive into the country." She got up from the couch , walked to the living room, pressed the switch, and opened the door.Then he sprinted back to sit in a chair and tried to smooth his hair.At this time, a short, red-faced middle-aged man walked into the apartment, holding a large handful of roses in his hand. "Oh, Mr. Peng." Ms. Tang greeted her in Cantonese and stood up from her chair. "Good morning. I was in the bathtub just now. I haven't even had time to put on lipstick. Oh, come and meet my brother." She suddenly pointed to Wang Da, "He just came back from Europe, this is Mr. Peng." Mr. Peng looked at Wang Da suspiciously.Wang Da stood up to greet him, but he handed the rose to Miss Tang and said to her, "I came at ten o'clock, let's go." "I'm sorry, Mr. Peng," Miss Tang said, "I can't go with you today. My mother is sick and I have to go see her. Oh, what a beautiful rose! Thank you, Jack." "Why, you don't want to buy that coat this morning." Mr. Peng frowned and asked her. "I want to buy it. But my mother is sick?" "Since when did you have a mother?" "Oh, you suspicious old tortoise." She said, twisting his face, "It's the wife of the Sichuan general, don't you remember? She adopted me, she was sick." "Oh, I remember." Mr. Peng asked grumblingly, "Where is she?" "In a hospital in Oakland. I have to take my brother to visit her, we have to go now. Call me tomorrow, can you, Jack?" She turned to Wang Da and said, "Let's go! " On the street, Mr. Peng climbed into his shiny yellow Cadillac and slammed the door shut.Miss Tang pinched his face through the car window and said, "Call me, can you, Jack? Call me tomorrow. I'll cook you chicken nuggets with mushrooms for lunch, and I'll tell you about my mother." I'm sick. Are you okay?" Mr. Peng muttered, "Okay." The Cadillac started and sped away. "Come into my car." Miss Tang cheerfully said to Wang Da as she walked towards the Buick parked across the street, "Your car might break down halfway." "Why do you say I'm your brother?" Wang Da asked her when he got into her car. "Then he won't be suspicious. He's already, don't you see?" She started the car and headed south on Kearney Avenue. "Oh, it's a beautiful day. Let's drive to Carmel today. , okay? I'll go do some shopping and then we'll go, okay?" Wang Da was a little disgusted.Miss Tang's lie upset him, but he still said, "Okay. But I have to go home and get some money." "Oh, don't bother. I can cash a check somewhere. I need some gas first, and the tank is practically empty." She drove into a Shell gas station, "Do you have enough money for gas? ? I don't have any cash on me." Wang Da took out his pockets and counted them: "I have two dollars." "Oh, not enough." Miss Tang said, "It costs seven dollars to fill up my car. Let me cash a check here." She turned to the salesperson and asked in English, "Do you accept checks?" "Personal check?" asked the clerk. "yes." "Sorry, miss, we don't accept personal checks." "Oh, that's annoying." Miss Tang said in Mandarin, "I have to make a phone call." She got out of the car and went to the gas station to make a phone call.Wang Da also got off the car and went to the lounge.But when he passed the office, he heard Miss Tang calling in Shanghai dialect, "I want to take you on a trip. Come here quickly. Yes, the Shell gas station on Kearney Avenue...OK...wait for me at the door , I'll go right away." Wang Da frowned.He couldn't figure out what the hell was going on.When he got back to the car, Miss Tang was already starting the car. "Let's pick up a guy who lives around the corner." She turned the car around and headed for Montgomery Avenue.Indeed, a neatly dressed little man was waiting in front of a building, waving.After she stopped the car, he got in. "This is my brother." She introduced in Shanghai dialect, and then said to Wang Da in Mandarin: "He is Mr. Liu, he can't speak Mandarin." She turned a corner and drove back to the gas station."Top it up," she said to the clerk. When the salesperson is filling the car with gas and cleaning the windows.Miss Tang chattered endlessly in a Shanghai dialect that Wang Da could understand a little.Mr. Liu smiled and heard it very interesting. The salesman came to the car window and said "six dollars", and he immediately took out the money to pay the bill. "I'll make a phone call." Miss Tang said as she got out of the car.Sitting in the car, Wang Da and Mr. Liu didn't have much to talk about.Regarding Mr. Liu's situation, all Wang Da knew was that he was a seaman on a merchant ship and was waiting for his merchant ship to go to sea.After a while, Miss Tang came back. "I'm really sorry, Tom." She said to Mr. Liu: "I called my mother just now, she was seriously ill, and she told me to go to her right away..." "I'll go with you," Mr. Liu said. "Oh, no. I don't know if I'll be back tonight. My mother is very ill. Maybe we'll have to take her to the hospital. Call me tomorrow, okay, Tom?" corner. "Remember to call me. I'll treat you to lunch and cook shark fin for you." She parked the car in front of the building just now, "Will you call tomorrow, Tom?" Tom got out of the car and slammed the door shut.But he still looked very polite, smiled and said: "I will call, please say hello to your mother for me." "Okay, now we got rid of them all," Miss Tang said as she drove away, "let's go do some shopping. I have an account with the White House Mall, and then we'll go to Carmel, let's have a good time at Spend the whole weekend there." "Do you always ask people to pay for gas for you like that?" Wang Da asked sternly. "Why not?" Miss Tang said cheerfully, "I've never paid for gas myself." "And you told them both to call you tomorrow." "What's wrong with that?" Miss Tang said with a smile, "Let them fight. If I'm not at home, it's not my fault." "Go to the next street and drop me off." "Why? Are you going to buy cigarettes?" "No, I want to get out of the car, let me get down." "What's the matter? Are you sick?" "No, I'm not sick, please stop the car and let me get down." "You don't want to go to Carmel with me?" "I don't want to go. I have to go to class at eleven o'clock. Please stop the car." Miss Tang was so angry that she patted the steering wheel.After Wang Da got off the car, he hurried away without even saying hello.At this moment he felt sick and very disappointed.The beautiful balloon was popped, and his heart was broken along with the balloon.He remembered Zhang Lingyu's words, and couldn't understand why he couldn't take love so seriously as Zhang Lingyu advised, he must find someone to talk to.He walked into a pharmacy, went straight to the phone, and dialed Miss Zhao's phone number.