Chapter 75 Chapter Seventy-Five

Philip was in a better mood the next day.He was afraid that by staying too long with Mildred he might tire her.Therefore, he decided not to visit her until dinner time.When he went to pick him up, he saw that she had already dressed and was waiting for him, so he joked with her about her rare punctual appointment.She was wearing a new dress as a gift from him, and he commented on it, saying that the dress was really pretty. "The dress isn't sewn right," said Mildred, "and it has to be sent back to have it remade." "If you're going to take it to Paris, you'll have to tell the tailor to hurry up."

"It will be fixed in time." "There are only three days left. Let's take the eleven o'clock train, shall we?" "up to you." Philip's eyes, gleaming with greed and love, darted over her, as he thought that for almost a month he would be by Mildred's side every day.Philip could not help smiling at his lust. "I don't know what I like about you," he said with a smile. "Well said!" she replied. Mildred was so skinny that her bones could be seen almost at a glance.The chest was as flat as a boy's, and the mouth was ugly with narrow, pale lips.Her skin is pale green.

"When I got to Paris, I tried to give you Blau's pills," said Philip, laughing, "and when you came back you were plump and rosy like a rose." "I don't want to be fat," she remarked. She said nothing to Griffiths at dinner, and now Philip, so confident that he could keep him, said, half jesting, half serious: "Looks like you were really flirting with Harry last night?" "I told you I was in love with him," she said, laughing. "I'm glad to know he doesn't love you." "How did you see it?" "I asked him myself."

Mildred hesitated for a while, watching Philip silently, and suddenly, her eyes shone with a strange light. "Would you like to read the letter he sent me this morning?" As Mildred said, she handed an envelope casually, and Philip recognized Griffith's bold, clear handwriting on the envelope at a glance.The letter consisted of eight pages, well written, candid, and fascinating to read, from the hand of a man who was wont to ask questions.In his letter he confided to Mildred that he was madly in love with her, and that it had been love at first sight; , cannot be self-made.He was very ashamed of himself to think that Philip was such a lovely creature, but it was not his fault, except that he was completely overwhelmed by Mildred.He also paid Mildred a compliment with sweet words.He concluded by thanking Mildred for agreeing to dine with him the next day, and saying that he was looking forward to seeing her with impatience.Philip realized that the letter had been written the night before, that Griffiths must have written it after he had parted with Philip, and had taken the trouble to run out and post it when Philip thought Griffiths had gone to bed. .

The moment he read the letter, his heart was pounding, making him sick.But there was no surprise on his face, but a smile on his face, and he handed the letter back to Mildred calmly. "Did that lunch taste good?" "Exciting," she replied, emphatically. Philip felt his hands trembling, so he hid them under the table. "Don't take Griffiths seriously, you know he's a swinger." Mildred took the letter and looked at it again. "I can't help it either," she said, trying to look nonchalant. "I don't know what's wrong with me myself."

"It's quite a headache for me, isn't it?" said Philip. She glanced at him hastily. "I must say you're pretty cool about the matter." "What do you want me to do? Do you want me to have a hysterical fit?" "I thought you'd be mad at me." "Strangely enough, I'm not mad at all. I should have known this was going to happen. I was so stupid to bring the two of you together. He's better than me in every way, I know that Look. He is cheerful, handsome, and very funny, and his conversation caters to your interests." "I don't know what you mean. I'm stupid, and there's nothing I can do about it. But to tell you the truth, I'm not as stupid as you think, not to that extent. My Young friend, you are too arrogant to me."

"Do you want to quarrel with me?" he asked softly. "No way. But I don't understand why you treat me like that, like I don't know anything." "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, but I just wanted to make things clear calmly. Try my best not to mess things up. I see you're attracted to him, which seems natural to me. It's sad that he knows I'm passionate about you, but he still encourages you to do it. He told me he didn't love you at all, and then wrote another letter five minutes later. It's too vile and nasty in my opinion.":

"You think I don't like him because you speak ill of him in front of me, then you are wrong." Philip pondered for a long time, not knowing what to say to make Mildred understand what he meant.He wanted to calmly and solemnly speak clearly, but Wu Yu's thoughts were turbulent and his mind was in a mess, and he couldn't figure it out all at once. "It's not worth sacrificing everything about yourself for an affair that you know won't last long. After all, he can't get along with anyone, and after ten days, he doesn't care about anything. Besides, you were born Very cold. That kind of flirting won't do you much good."

"That's just your opinion." Mildred's attitude made him lose his temper at once. "You're in love with him. There's nothing I can do about it. I just try to bear the pain. You and I have always gotten along well. I've never done anything wrong with you, have I? You're not a lover." Me, I've always known that, but you like me. We're in Paris together, and you'll automatically forget Griffiths. You'll find it easy if you make up your mind to forget him. You should, too. Thinking about me, wow, this is also a matter of course for me."

Mildred was silent.So, the two of them ate in silence.The atmosphere of silence is like a lead block, getting heavier and heavier, suffocating.After a while Philip struck up a conversation about trifles.He pretended not to see Mildred's absent-minded manner.She just followed Philip's words and said a few perfunctory words, but she didn't take the initiative to reveal her feelings.Then she interrupted Philip suddenly, and said coldly: "I'm afraid I won't be able to go on Saturday, Philip, because the doctor says I shouldn't be doing it." He knew in his heart that this was an excuse, but he still said:

"So, when will you be able to start?" She glanced at Philip, noticed that he was pale and stern, and looked away quickly.At this moment, she was a little afraid of Philip. "I'll tell you the truth, I can't go with you at all." "I expected you to mean that. But it's too late to change your mind now. Tickets are bought and everything is ready." "You said you wouldn't force me to go to Paris unless I wanted to, and now I just don't want to go." "I've changed my mind. I'm not going to make fun of myself any more. You must come with me." "Philip, I have always liked you very much as a friend. A friend is a friend, and I can't bear to think of anything else. I don't want you to think of anything else. I can't do it for Paris, Philip. ." "But you would have liked to go a week ago." "Things were different then." "Because you hadn't met Griffiths then?" "You said yourself that if I fell in love with Griffiths, there was nothing I could do about it." Her face suddenly became serious, and her eyes were fixed on the dishes in front of her.Philip turned pale with anger.He really wanted to punch her in the face and give her a dick, and the picture of being beaten with blue eyes and swollen eyes appeared in his mind.At an adjacent table sat two lads of eighteen, who looked at Mildred from time to time.He wondered if they envied him dining with a charming maiden, and perhaps they were still trying to replace him.At last it was Mildred who broke the awkward silence. "What's going to happen if we go out together? If we go, I'll miss him all the time. It won't give you much fun." "That's my business," he interjected. Mildred pondered the overtones of his answer, and her cheeks flushed. "But it's also despicable." "how do I say this?" "I thought you were a real gentleman." "Then you are mistaken." He thought his answer was so good that he laughed a lot as he spoke. "For God's sake, don't laugh!" she yelled. "Philip, I can't go with you. I'm so sorry. I know I've been treating you badly, but one can't force oneself to do what one doesn't want to do!" "When you are in trouble, I set everything up for you. Don't you forget all of this? I paid for all the expenses before you gave birth. Your doctor and all other expenses are all paid by me. I also paid for your ticket and travel expenses to Brighton. I am still paying for your child's foster care and buying clothes for you. Which piece of cloth you are wearing that I didn't buy?" "If you were a gentleman, you would never hold back what you've done for me." "Oh God, shut your mouth! Do you think I care if I'm a gentleman? If I were a gentleman, I'd never waste my time with a vulgar slut like you .I don't care if you like me or not! I'm so pickled in my heart, I'm being played like a goddamn fool. Come and go to Paris with me happily on Saturday, or you won't be able to eat let's go." Her cheeks were flushed with anger in her breast, and she was as hard as anyone else when she returned Philip, but she was always gentle. "I never liked you. I didn't like you when we first met. You forced it on me. Every time you kiss me, I hate you. From now on, you are not allowed to touch me with a finger , Even if I starve to death, you are not allowed to touch it." Philip tried to swallow the food on the plate in front of him in one gulp, but the muscles in his throat just wouldn't work.He drank the wine down and lit a cigarette.He couldn't stop shaking.He said nothing, waiting silently for her to stand up, but she sat still like a clay sculpture, her eyes fixed on the snow-white tablecloth.If it was just the two of them, he'd take her in his arms and kiss her face; he imagined her looking up when he pressed his lips to hers. Then came the scene of that snow-white and slender neck.For an hour or so they passed in silence, until at last Philip felt the waiter begin to look at them both in amazement, and he called the waiter to pay. "Shall we go?" Then he said calmly. Mildred said nothing, but reached for her handbag and gloves, and put on her coat. "When will you meet Griffiths next?" "Tomorrow," she replied dryly. "You'd better talk to him about it." Mildred opened the handbag subconsciously, and her eyes touched a piece of paper in the bag.She took it out immediately. "Here's the bill for the coat I'm wearing," she stammered. "what happened?" "I promise to pay tomorrow." "yes?" "You gave me permission to buy this dress. Did you mean you weren't going to pay for it?" "That's what it means." "Then I'll call Harry Fu." When she spoke, her cheeks turned red. "He'll be happy to help you. He owes me seven pounds at the moment, and he pawned his microscope last week because he's broke." "Don't you think you can scare me with this. I'm perfectly capable of earning my own living," "That's as good as it gets. I'm not going to spend another dime on you." She thought about Saturday's rent payment and the child's adoption fee, but said nothing.The two of them walked out of the restaurant and into the street.Philip asked her: "Shall I get you a carriage? I'm going for a walk." "I don't have a dime, and I have a bill to pay this afternoon." "You can't hurt your body by walking back by yourself. If you want to see me tomorrow, I'll be home around tea time." He tipped his hat to Mildred, and strolled on.After a moment, he turned and looked behind him, and saw Mildred standing still, looking dejectedly at the passing traffic on the street.He turned back, giggling, and stuffed a coin into Mildred's hand. "Well, two shillings is enough for your carriage." He hurried away before Mildred could speak.