Chapter 3 third chapter
Masako lived a stable life after marriage.But smooth doesn't mean full.Married life with Horizawa was slightly different from Masako's original imagination.She believes that husband and wife should be closer and more affectionate.But she was as absent-minded as if she was floating on the water.
Of course, there is nothing to blame for this.Masako thought that her mood might be due to her short marriage.It takes more time to actually become a couple.Hideo Horizawa also felt that his wife was not very easy-going, and he couldn't understand her.In short, Masako always felt that there were more aspects of Horizawa's heart that he didn't understand than that he understood.
The husband went out at a little past eight o'clock in the morning and came home very late at night.There are very few days when I go home in the evening.
Changzi knew that her husband was an outstanding talent in the official court.The boss placed great expectations on this young man.This is often revealed from Horizawa's usual conversation.I don't come back early at night, mostly to socialize with the section chief or the section chief's assistant.
From his words, Masako knew that her husband didn't have much contact with his colleagues.He communicated with either his boss or his seniors.Changzi was dissatisfied with this.Not socializing with colleagues, but only socializing with the boss shows that Mrs. Zhang has utilitarian thinking and considers everything politically.This approach shows that what the husband pursues is not commensurate with his current status.
Changzi's natal family was a wealthy businessman's family.If there is no important thing to take a taxi, he will be reprimanded by his father.Growing up in such an environment, she always felt that her husband's current behavior was too dangerous.
However, from the eyes of outsiders, his family's life is stable.
Most of the residents living in this apartment are employees of the company.The husband's usual speech reveals his contempt for them.The reason why he has such thoughts is that he has always been considered a "scholar" when he was in school, and he is used to the flattery of bureaucrats by people in those companies after work.The Economic Planning Agency to which my husband belongs is a place where private companies often go to petition.All this encourages her husband to get ahead.
However, the husband was very polite to the tenants in the apartment.Of course, there is no deep relationship.When he was at work, he would salute solemnly when he met someone, but naturally these actions did not come from the heart.It's just superficial courtesy.
Neighbors don't know what's going on.
"Your husband is so kind!" Changzi often heard compliments from others.
Horizawa is usually very particular about his clothes.I shaved my beard clean every morning, and groomed it like a woman in the mirror.Changzi's father was more casual, she was used to it, and she couldn't help being surprised to see her husband pay so much attention to his appearance.When ordering a suit, my husband, like an actor, is very picky about the style and materials. Even buying a piece of underwear is more troublesome than others.
Staying with such a nervous husband slowly restrained Masako.Instead, she felt a sense of liberation when her husband was away.Thinking about it carefully, I haven't been married for long.The life of a married couple that I heard from others or read in magazines is completely different from my own life at the moment.The life between her and her husband is not sweet at all.
However, it is not that the husband does not love Masako.Masako always felt that her husband loved her not as a wife but as a woman.
She thinks that this character of her husband has something to do with the environment in which he grew up.My father-in-law has been an official for a long time. Although he is in the technical department, he is indeed a bureaucrat.Most of the relatives are officials, one works in the government office, and the other is an associate professor at the university.In short, the Horizawa family lives in a bureaucratic atmosphere.
Because her husband's family background is different from her own, there is a gap between her and her husband. It seems that she is going the wrong way to marry Horizawa.But she didn't regret it, she was only vaguely uneasy.
My younger sister, Lingzi, is completely different from myself.When we met last time, she wanted to teach her a lesson, but instead envied her lively character.This is exactly what I lacked.It seems that my sister is much smarter than myself.When my sister gets married, she will definitely choose an object that her parents strongly oppose, but she will never regret it.Thinking of this, Changzi really wanted to help his sister.
However, Lingzi never came to Changzi's apartment.If Lingzi didn't come, maybe she had seen through Horizawa's essence.Because my sister has a keen insight since she was a child.
Masako never told her husband that she had met Jim in this apartment.
At that time, Jimu told her: "I have been to this apartment, please don't tell Horizawa-kun."
Masako didn't keep her promise, even if Jim didn't tell her, she wouldn't tell her husband.
Changzi guessed that there must be discord between her husband and Jim.During the wedding trip, Masako accidentally mentioned Jim's name, which caused annoyance, and he still can't forget it.Because, if Masako told her husband that she had met Jim by chance, the husband would definitely be unhappy again.
Jimu told her not to say anything, but it became her burden.It is true that she would not take the initiative to tell her husband, but she promised Jimu to keep her promise, but it seemed to be their secret.
Jim must have understood what Horizawa was thinking, because Changzi was puzzled as to why the two of them suddenly turned against each other when he asked Masaoko to keep quiet.
Changzi felt that Jimu was by no means a bad person.The impression I got in Yemaxi, Kyushu is still vivid in my memory.He is modest and prudent, an honest and good young man.
But who was Jim looking for at the apartment that day?Changzi still couldn't figure it out.
Masako's room is on the third floor of the apartment.When I met Jim that day, Masako happened to go up from the second floor to the third floor, and Jim went down from the top, as if he had visited someone's house on the fourth floor.
The apartment has ten rooms on each floor.Masako's room is at the second door on the corner of the third floor.Masako seldom talked to the housewife next door.But there are also a few wives who walk around each other very frequently.Changzi didn't like to drop by, and when he ran into neighbors in the corridor, he could only nod his head as a signal.
Therefore, she had no idea what kind of people lived on the fourth floor.Downstairs of the apartment there is a grocery store and a flower house.When she went to sell things, she often met a few familiar housewives, but it was not clear which room these people lived in.
Most of the residents in the apartment are company employees, and the people Jimu visited are probably also such people?Maybe it was his boss in the company.
The husband never mentioned which company Jim worked in. Whenever Jim was mentioned, the husband frowned.
In any case, Masako felt that it was an incredible coincidence that he happened to meet Jim in this apartment.Maybe when I am alone in the room reading, or sweeping the floor, or knitting sweaters, he will suddenly visit.
Once the husband finds out, he will definitely question her:
"Hey, you met Jim, why didn't you tell me?"
Changzi came back from shopping, and when he went upstairs, it suddenly occurred to him that he might run into Jim again.She murmured to herself, wishing she could really meet him.I also feel that seeing Jimu may cause an ominous situation.
However, since then, she has never seen Jim again.
From Jim's point of view, since he didn't know that Masako's new residence was in this apartment, he would be confused and surprised to meet her by chance.Jim hasn't been seen since, and maybe he'll never come again.Perhaps the reason why Yoshiki didn't come was because he knew that Horizawa and Masako lived here.
Changzi's only comfort in her married life is that her mother often visits her.
The mother may have noticed that her daughter's married life has cast a shadow.Mother was embarrassed to ask her directly, so she had to find other topics in a roundabout way.
"Did Yingfu come back early?"
"He doesn't come back early, often after twelve o'clock." Changzi said truthfully.
She knew that saying this would worry her mother, but she didn't want to hide it.Even more unwilling to cover up her husband with lies.
Ordinary wives may not say this, and pretend that they are very happy in front of their parents.But Masako couldn't do it.Perhaps she has a premonition that she may hit a wall in the future.
"Isn't it like this every day!" Mother asked.
Changzi's face darkened, and he said truthfully, "Although not every day, there are at least three days in a week."
"Is the work in the yamen very busy?" Mother asked, observing the expression on Changzi's face.
"Maybe it's because he's busy with work, but he always socializes with the section chiefs."
"This is a good thing!" Mother suddenly cheered up. "This is related to Mr. Ying's future! It's better to have more contact with your boss now. After hearing this, I feel at ease. You know that I work hard, and I will immediately think wildly when I encounter something."
The meaning of what the mother said was very clear. Her old man was worried that Yingfu was messing around outside.She hoped that Horizawa would have a close relationship with the boss in the yamen.
"Mr. Ying is shrewd and capable, and he will be successful in the future."
Yes.He is indeed very capable, but the content of his ability varies.
one day.It was getting late, it was already eight o'clock.The husband has not come back yet.
Masako was reading a magazine when suddenly there was a sound of footsteps on the stairs.It seems to go up from the third floor to the fourth floor.It does not seem to be one person, but two or three people.
Changzi pricked up his ears to listen.There was no sound after that.There are high school students among the families in this apartment.Masako guessed that two or three high school students were joking with each other.
Thirty minutes later, there was a lot of noise on the stairs, and some people walked up to the fourth floor while talking, and their steps were hurried.Before Changzi could react, he heard the door opening of the next room. It seemed that not only Changzi himself, but also the neighbors had noticed.
After a while, a siren was heard downstairs in the apartment building, and people became commotion.
Changzi thought there was a fire, so he opened the window and looked out.The sky was full of stars, and there was no smoke anywhere.It's an ambulance with the siren on.
Changzi opened the door and ran to the corridor, only to see that the fourth floor was crowded with people.The neighbor's housewife nodded to Masako when she saw Masako approaching.
"What happened?" Masako asked.
The neighbor's housewife murmured to Changzi sullenly, "The wife in room 437 committed suicide."
After hearing her words, Masako was speechless for a moment.
Thirty minutes have passed since someone hurried up to the fourth floor just now.
"I don't know if I can be saved?"
The ambulance has arrived in front of the apartment.
"I heard it's not going to work. Now the hospital has come, and they are going to send it for emergency treatment." The lady said in a low voice.
"Is there anyone in her family?" Masako breathed heavily.
"No one but herself."
"Doesn't his husband know?"
"This...it's hard to say..."
When the neighbor's wife said the three words "hard to say", her expression became complicated.
"Has someone already notified his husband?" Changzi asked again involuntarily.
"This..." The neighbor's wife continued with an ambiguous attitude.
"It's so pitiful, I don't know what's wrong?" Changzi sighed.
"I hear it's complicated. The lady is taking a lot of sleeping pills."
At this time, there was a rush of footsteps from the fourth floor.Changzi saw a man in a white coat carrying a stretcher down, followed by the apartment manager, the doorman, and the familiar old man of the vegetable shop.
A woman wrapped in a blanket lay on a stretcher and was carried past the eyes of the crowd of onlookers. The faces of the ladies were bloodless.
Masako looked very uncomfortable, and hurried back to the room.After a while, the siren rang again, and the ambulance went away.
Masako was in the room, her heart still beating.It was the first time she saw a suicide.Although she couldn't see her face, the shape wrapped in a blanket seemed even more miserable.It was said that she lived on the fourth floor, but Changzi couldn't guess what kind of woman she was.Maybe saw her while shopping in the store.Masako recalled the faces of the housewives she had seen one by one.
There is a knock on the door.
Or the neighbor's wife who had just spoken to her.
"excuse me."
When she talked about the suicide case, her face immediately changed.
"It was inconvenient to talk there just now."
The wife did not enter the house, but stood at the door and talked to Changzi. "The woman who committed suicide was no wife."
"Are you single?" Changzi asked back.
"No. I heard it is."
Changzi's eyes widened in surprise.
"I've lived in this apartment for more than a year. I'm only in my thirties. I'm very well-dressed and eye-catching. Everyone was surprised."
No wonder she was too warm when Changzi asked her just now.
"I heard that her men often come, but no one has seen them. They always come very late and don't stay here overnight. They used other people's righteousness when renting the house. There was a commotion just now, and I couldn't figure out who her man was. The superintendent is having a hard time and is calling the person who rented the house at the moment."
On this day, my husband came back very late.
"have you eaten?"
It was almost twelve o'clock, and Masako had been waiting for him.The husband reeked of alcohol as usual.
"have eaten."
Masako helped him take off his suit and put on pajamas.The husband immediately collapsed and asked Changzi to give him plutonium water.
In the past, when he came back late at night, Masako would always ask him to bring him a bowl of tea and rice.Recently, even chazuke and rice are not needed.
"Have you eaten yet?"
"Ok."
"I'm so sorry. You don't have to wait for me. After eight o'clock, you can eat by yourself!"
When Masako ate alone, her husband kept smoking.Masako felt very unhappy.Why do I have to serve such a husband?The same is true of Changzi's family environment.Mother always acts according to father's face.
"Honey—" Masako said, "someone was murdered in this apartment today."
Husband stopped smoking immediately.
"Oh?—" His drunken eyes suddenly opened wide, "Where is it from?"
"I live on the fourth floor. It's a woman. The ambulances are here. It's scary. I heard from the neighbor that I took sleeping pills."
"Have you been rescued?"
"I'm not sure...I heard that it was not rescued."
"Hmm—" the husband stood up and supported himself on his elbows. "Whose wife is it?"
Changzi hesitated for a moment, but did not answer right away.
"Not a lady, but a 'Number Two.'"
"'Number Two'? Uh—" the husband was immediately interested. "What kind of woman is it? Have I seen it?"
The husband raised his head to the ceiling, as if he was thinking about what kind of woman the deceased was.
"Young?" The husband became more and more interested.
"Thirty. Very fashionable. But I can't remember."
"Something like a bar girl anyway. That's surprising."
The husband was not surprised by someone committing suicide.
"There are women like this in this apartment, you have to be careful."
He was not joking, with a serious look on his face.
"She caused trouble for the man. The man should come here immediately!"
Of course Masako knew that he would cause trouble for that man.She didn't like her husband being so explicit.
"It's a pity, I'm only in my thirties." The husband continued to babble: "Anyway, the relationship between these bar girls is very complicated."
Changzi didn't feel anything at the time.After a while, I was startled in my heart.
She thought of Jim.
The last time Masako met Jim, he happened to be coming down from the fourth floor, and she met him on the stairs on the third floor.Jim did go to the fourth floor.
The husband said just now that the woman on the fourth floor committed suicide because of the complicated relationship between men and women.Jim did go to the fourth floor. Could it be that he has something to do with the suicide woman.Thinking of this, she couldn't help feeling uneasy.
Masako regretted telling her husband about the suicide.If it doesn't involve Jim, it's just a small topic.However, at this moment, she always felt that Jim's shadow was moving before her eyes.
correct.That day Jim seemed to be in a panic and was in a hurry to leave.The scene at that time is still vivid in my mind.
The husband is sleepy.The two didn't talk any more.
"Come on, go to sleep!"
The husband put his hand on Masako's shoulder.
The next day, it was the neighbor's wife who reported the details of the suicide to her.Changzi didn't invite her, she was the one who came to him on his own initiative.
"The woman who committed suicide last night is still dead."
"Ah—" Changzi gasped.
"He died as soon as he got to the hospital, what a pity."
"Is his family here?"
Masako was embarrassed to mention her man again.
"According to the manager, her sister and sister-in-law went to the hospital to pick up the body. Now, room 437 is clean... Her sister and brother-in-law hastily removed all the furniture in the room. It is said that all It's luxurious."
Speaking of this, the neighbor's wife lost sympathy for the suicide "number two".
"Did her man never show up?" Masako asked.
"The manager said that he didn't go to the hospital to see her. It's too heartless. Anyway, he was forced to commit suicide. The matter is not simple. Since he is dead, he should go to see her. It's good to get along with her for a while. "
"Perhaps he was not found."
"Then how could it be?" The neighbor's wife disagreed. "Since the deceased's sister and brother-in-law have come forward, how can they not find him?"
"What kind of person is her man?"
Masako blurted out, but at the same time realized that she was asking too much.
"It's like this—" The eyes of the neighbor's wife suddenly lit up. "Her man is the head of a company? The manager uncle has seen him two or three times. He is fifty-two or three years old, and he is chubby and handsome. Every time he comes by his own car, he doesn't stop nearby, and he goes all the way. Come here... I heard that the woman who committed suicide did not leave a suicide note..."
For some reason, Jim's shadow seemed to pass by Changzi's eyes.
Two or three days later, just after lunch, Lingzi came to Changzi's house to play.
Changzi couldn't help being surprised when he opened the door.
"Hello, sister!" Lingzi walked in with a smile.
"Oh! What's the matter with you?"
"What's the matter, didn't you say you wanted me to come and see you?"
"But you haven't come all this time, by surprise, can I not be surprised?"
"Then, I'll go right back."
"No, no. Sit down."
As soon as Lingzi entered the room, his eyes flicked around.
"Much prettier than when I was last here."
"Don't stare like that."
Masako didn't like her sister's undisguised gaze.
"What's the matter today? Didn't you go to school?"
"School is off today, I really want to see you."
"Then I invite you to dinner."
"No need." Lingzi stopped her sister.
"I'll be leaving in a minute. There's still a lot to do!"
"Then you're going back right away!"
Chang Yu stared at his younger sister, but the younger sister grinned.
"How is it? Sister, do you feel happy?"
"just so-so!"
The younger sister seemed to be observing the older sister's expression.
"Sister! Does brother-in-law come back late every night?"
Chang Zi frowned.
"It's disgusting, did your mother tell you?"
"Mom didn't say anything, but I met my brother-in-law by chance a few days ago."
Lingzi was still grinning.
"Eh?—where?"
"How to do it! Let me tell you, don't worry!"
"Don't be a fool."
"Well, let me say. Don't let my brother-in-law know. At the nightclub in Akasaka."
Changzi was suddenly speechless.
"Look, how ugly your face is, I won't talk about it."
Lingzi watched her sister's expression.
"I know that." Changzi finally spoke. "Anyway, he has a lot of entertainment. I can imagine that he will go to the nightclub. But, Lingzi, do you go to that kind of place too?"
"Learn from society."
"Nightclubs are expensive! Young people can't afford to go. Who took you there?"
"Didn't I say it last time? It's the uncles."
Lingzi acted as if nothing had happened, but Changzi's expression changed.
"Brother-in-law doesn't know I'm here. Sister, you have to be careful, brother-in-law and those waitresses are very close!"
After saying that, Ling Zi giggled.
Masako was not worried about her husband, but her sister's association with older men was worrying.The story of the woman who committed suicide two or three days ago passed through her mind.
Notes:
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