Chapter 8 Section VIII

It suddenly occurred to me that Bill was late. He said that get out of class would be over at 5:30, so why did he delay until now!However, he is a busy man. I used to have homework that I didn't understand, and I kept holding him up after school to ask questions. Once two or three students did it, it would be too late. Zhang Jiaming walked into the room, "Hey! I'm not mistaken, it's so clean! When did you clean it up? It's really not easy. I'm going to help you today. I didn't expect you to be good at housework. It's unexpected. See you , What is this delicious? Beef soup? I love broth, Joe, in fact, your mother doesn't have to worry about you at all, you are so capable." He talked two cars.

He is a lively young man. I laughed out loud at what he said, and being with him felt a bit like spring breeze. He looked at me kindly, "Take care of your body, just don't get sick all the time." "It won't happen again in the future." "I'm so hungry." "Let's wait for one more person, and we will have dinner immediately when he comes." I said. "Who?" Zhang Jiaming asked. I said: "I didn't tell you. Today I have another friend, Jiaming. I know that you are here this time because someone entrusted me, but I can't be honest with you. This person is my professor, who is better than me. More than ten or twenty years older—"

"Bring the professor to dinner?" He raised his eyebrows, "Didn't you graduate early?" "But now he—" I was about to explain. "Doorbell, you go to open the door first." Jia Ming said. Bill came back, and he stood there with an apologetic expression on his face. I laughed first, "By the way, there are a lot of beautiful girls surrounding you, and you can't get out, can you? Of course I forgive you." He kissed me, looked up and saw Zhang Jiaming, he smiled and said, "Do we have friends?" "Yes, this is Mr. Nafan, and this is Mr. Zhang Jiaming." I introduced.

Bill said, "I'll be down right away. I'm so hungry. Is it broth? It's delicious. It's great, Joe." I shook my head and laughed, it was worth cooking this meal, and I was praised like this without eating it. Jia Ming is a smart man, his face changed slightly.He gets it.He was a little disappointed, but his demeanor was good. "Joe, I thought I'd have a chance," he said as he helped me cook. "What a chance, you good boys, how can you not find friends." I laughed. "I like you," Jia Ming also lowered his head and smiled, "It's hard to talk about things in the world."

"But I'm getting married soon," I said. "He's a very charming man, with an extraordinary presence. Is he really your professor?" he asked. "It's true, I love him." "It can be seen that he is much older than you and has never been married?" Jia Ming asked. "No, he's just divorced," I said frankly, "and now we're living together." He fell silent.After a while, he asked, "Have you thought it through?" I nod. "I don't quite agree. You have to go home. He may not be willing to go back to Hong Kong with you. Of course, if he does, he won't have to worry about not having a job, but—it's naturally a little difficult. You are the only daughter in the family."

"I've thought about it, but you've heard the saying: I can't wait to see you." "My God, Joe, he's just a man," Jia Ming said unconvinced, "Why is it like this?" "That's true," I said, "but you don't understand." "Don't understand love?" Jia Ming asked. Bill came down with his pipe. I laid out the food and they took their places.Jia Ming was very polite, he said he was a friend of my family and came to see me on business.Bill was relieved to hear that.He finally believed that Jia Ming was not my childhood sweetheart boyfriend.

After dinner I made coffee and did the dishes.It’s okay to do this kind of kung fu once in a while, but it’s not good to do too much when it’s a big event during the Chinese New Year. It takes almost five or six hours for a meal, just kidding. Bill probably knew I had no intention of being a cook.I respect women who can do housework, but I am not happy to do it myself. I have a diploma, so I can go out to work and earn money, and I don’t spend other people’s money. Jia Ming left quickly, and tonight was not the night he imagined. At the door, I said, "Jiaming, are you not angry?" "Angry? No, don't worry, I won't tell your family that this is your freedom, or this sentence is already commonplace."

"Thank you, Jiaming." I said. "You don't like my mother-in-law," he said sourly, "I'm doing it for your own good. I don't trust foreigners. They are different from us. They have a bit of an animal taste." I smiled, "But what Chinese men do is sometimes outrageous." "That's right, but we are people who study, no matter how bad we are, we can't go anywhere." He argued. "People who read books are sometimes sour." I said, "I can't figure it out, it's not fun." "Joe, I believe you love him."

"Well." I said. he's gone. I close the door. Bill said, "That little friend of yours doesn't seem quite at ease." "Yes," I said, "but I've known you for what seems like half my life, Bill, he doesn't understand, I trust you, you're dependable, I don't seem to feel attached without you. I know you're a foreigner , but I've been educated abroad—or we'll have trouble, that's for the future." Bill said, sipping his coffee, "I wasn't thinking about nationality." All he could think about was family disputes, poor Bill.

He brought his luggage, and I helped him through the whole night. Last night was as tired as tonight.I suddenly remembered something, and I said to Bill, "Bill, you know I still have to work, how are we going to eat tonight?" He was startled, as if he didn't quite understand, then he smiled, "I like your cooking very much." He said. He misunderstood, and I gasped.God, he thought I had to cook those dishes every day after work?I quickly said, "Bill, I don't want to cook every day. I don't like this kind of work very much. Let's... buy food and come back to eat, shall we?"

He stayed still and said, "This is a very complicated practical issue." "It's nothing complicated," I laughed, "or you can eat canned food every day, and after ten or eight years, you'll get bored and throw me out of the window." He patted my arm, "At home, won't you help your mother?" "My mother doesn't cook! It's the poor Chinese men who go around complaining that their wives can't cook. My father hired two servants to serve my mother. My mother doesn't have to do it. This is the thing It's different." I said. Bill was stunned, "My God, nationality is not a problem." "Wife is a partner, not a mother. After a woman on our side gets married, her basic necessities, food, housing, transportation, and even her family expenses are all covered by men. Have you heard of it?" I asked with a smile. "Isn't that a parasite?" Bill asked with a smile. "What's wrong with parasites?" I said, "Someone made me such parasites, do you think I can do it? It's a pity that men and women are too equal these days, so women not only have to go to work to earn money, but also have to cook when they come back. ,Yes or no?" He didn't ring, he said: "You are still young." "I'm not young, Bill, and I still don't want to cook after another twenty years. I'm not interested in this kind of work. If you stay with me just for fish and chips, then you can find any woman. Isn't it?" I leaned on him as if I was lying. "You're still young." He persisted. everything is fine.We came back with lots of canned, paper-wrapped, convenience foods.He didn't complain.However, apart from this, we also have many small places where we don't get along.He insisted on opening the windows everywhere. I was afraid of the wind and cold, so I closed the windows too late. He thought it was unhygienic.I like to lean on the bed to read and write letters. I don’t get up for a long time. He thinks the bed is just a place to sleep. I like to drink and smoke. My life is unruly. He has to get up at 7:30 every morning. Sometimes he I was still reading novels when I went out. He is not used to my way of life. They English people can't understand my life of leisure and dissoluteness. He now pays the rent for the house, and I have found another part-time job. I only work four hours a day, earning very little, but enough to cope. When I come back from get off work, I ask Bill to make tea and coffee for me. I don't know if he complained, probably not, because he is a mature man, and he might miss his typical family warmth late at night.Yet seventeen years of family life must have bored him. With me, he has his happiness, otherwise how could he choose me, he is not a fool. We sometimes drove to South Beach for a walk, rented a hotel, walked in the wind for a night in the evening, and went home the next morning.Sometimes I go to see pornographic movies, sometimes I eat Italian restaurants.Even the ones you can think of are worth a try. He also said he was very happy.It seems to be released from the cage, so relaxed. Sandwiches are also good for meals, saving time, money and effort. Anyway, the taste of British home-cooked food is even more terrifying. Sometimes when reading newspapers and drinking tea, he would tell me, "It's so quiet without children." At first I thought he wanted a child and was hesitating, not knowing how to answer him, but then suddenly remembered that he was missing his child. He made an appointment with his wife to see the children once a week. I didn't go out with him. I felt that my appearance was embarrassing. I was never good at dealing with such situations. I would let him do whatever he did and never interfere with him again. Every time he goes on Friday night, the children don’t have classes on Saturday, so they can go to bed later. In fact, his children are not too young. I never ask him how are the kids?How is your wife?How is home?Why be so hypocritical, if I really cared about them, I wouldn't destroy their families, so I might as well pretend to be petty and ignore them anyway. I didn't ask, and he didn't mention it. I found that all men, regardless of nationality, are almost the same. I should say: they are all the same when they see through.With such knowledge and wisdom, he is still a mortal, and his silence makes me feel that he is not very satisfied. I don't care too much, I like being with him. One Friday evening, before he came back, I was alone at home, and someone came to my door, it was his wife. I said politely, "Hi," without telling her, "Bill isn't home." It's extremely impolite for her to come to the door so suddenly, and I'm not mentally prepared. She probably saw me panicking, right?Older women always have a hand, and I calmed down because of that. I invited her into the house and made drinks. She said, "Hello, Joe. I just walked by here and wanted to tell Bill that my daughter is not feeling well." "He's not here," I said, smiling. "Please pass it on for me," she said. "I don't know what to tell you. Please call him later. He's probably in college." I declined.It's none of my business, please tell me.If the child really has something to do, she is still so free, sitting here and chatting poorly. Women are like this. What is the meaning of doing something like this once? She asked slowly, "How is Bill?" "You see him every week, don't you think?" "He's lost weight and isn't eating well." She looked at me. I replied: "It's better for middle-aged people to be thinner, but if they are fat, their blood pressure will be high." "I heard you never cook?" she asked. "Cooking, in our house, is the job of the maid." I was talking nonsense, but I wanted to suppress her arrogance. "Bill doesn't mind. If he minded, he would have stayed with you to eat fried potatoes and fried meatloaf. You may serve him with oysters and caviar every day." Never forgive me again. She doesn't ring. I never liked her because of Bill.Although she is straightforward, at first I was afraid of her, and then I hated her. After a while, she said, "Bill's financial situation is very bad, you know? Since you live with him, you should understand his situation. He has to take care of the children, and he has to take care of you. It's not right now." comfortable." "Why don't you talk to him? I don't think it's any use for me to hear that--oh, he's back." Bill opened the door and came in. When he saw his wife, he froze. I quickly said: "Bill, your wife just said that your financial situation is very bad, and you need to support both children and me. You two should discuss it." Mrs. Navan suddenly stood up and scolded me, "You bitch!" I honestly and bluntly slapped her, and she got a solid slap on the face. With a livid face, I ran upstairs and closed the door. People are always people, people all over the world are the same, foreign women are famous for their generosity, but their generosity is like this, Chinese women are gentle, but their gentleness is like me.She shouldn't have scolded me, she shouldn't have come at all. It was an hour before Bill came upstairs, and I regretted it, anyway, I've got him and I should have given her up. But I didn't force Bill. She didn't understand why she lived for decades. She came here to embarrass everyone. If I let her go, she would bring her children to cry, which is even worse. Bill came up and I lay on the bed and he sat next to me and asked, "Why did you hit her?" "Yes, I beat her, will I pay for my life?" I asked back. "She shouldn't scold you, it's all my fault, but Joe, you've always been refined, naive and cowardly, why are you like this today?" "Ask yourself," I said. "It's all my fault, I'm responsible, it's all my fault." He blamed himself deeply. "Your daughter is sick, she said." I reminded him. Bill was silent. He sat on the edge of my bed, just not making a sound.Suddenly I was tired, and I said, "Bill, are we going to spend our lives like this? If you want to leave them, simply leave them, we will go to Hong Kong, send money back, and ask the children to come to Hong Kong to play, but let us stay away." If you leave here and go to Hong Kong, you can be a professor in Hong Kong." He raised his eyes, his eyes were deep. I sighed, "I never asked you for anything, but I just suggest you do this, okay?" "I have spent half my life in England." "Liar," I said, "You've been to America." "It's just studying for a few years." "How can I live in a foreign country?" I asked. "You are young." I shook my head and didn't want to say more. He was afraid. People dare not go out into the world when they are old. I understand it very well.I was coiled on the bed, not knowing what to say.Suddenly we had no conversation. "She wanted us to be unhappy, and she made it," I said, "Tell her, she made it." "I'm sorry," he said. "Don't tell me you're sorry, there's nothing you can do about it. The past—it's hard to erase unless you really have the will." I paused. "I'm tired. I'm going to sleep." He turned his head, the gray hair on his temples suddenly showed that he was really old. I am also old.If you have something on your mind, don't say it.It was too late for me to know him, he was no longer a free man.Isn't divorce a noun, it's the same as getting married, he's getting divorced, it's like being in vain, his wife is so free now, what's wrong with bothering us every day, once comes twice, I really can't handle it. That night I was so angry that I curled up in a corner of the bed without saying a word. Bill went to college the next morning. I didn't get up until noon, and I felt very boring. Now I know that he will definitely come back. At a certain hour, at a certain moment, he will definitely appear. What joy can there be?A very ordinary life. I went to the street once, and when I came back, I saw a woman with disheveled hair waiting for me at the door. When I saw Mrs. Navan, I was so frightened that I turned around and ran. She gave a loud cry and caught up with me. After running two streets, I finally saw a policeman and hid behind him. She caught up with me, pointed at me and shouted, "Where's my husband?" The policeman looked at me in surprise. I'm so disgusted, I wish Bill could be here now, looking at the attitude of his beloved wife of seventeen years. The policeman asked me, "Do you recognize her?" I said, "I've seen it." "Who is she?" "My boyfriend's divorced wife," I said frankly. The policeman nodded, moved her away with his hands, and said, "Ma'am, I'm going to take this young lady home, please step aside." "I'm looking for my husband, my daughter is sick," she called. The police look at me. Without turning my head, I said, "Her husband has taught at the university for ten years, how could she not know where he is? Mrs. Naveen, you are also a educated person, why are you so despicable and low-level, Bill saw you In this way, if you go to the court once, you are not even qualified to take care of the child, so think about it!" The policeman accompanied me to the house, opened the door, and I thanked him. The policeman said: "You don't mind, I also advise you. You are a beautiful girl, and you can't find a boyfriend anywhere. Why bother to mess with other people's husbands?" I shook my head, and I said, "You won't understand, thank you for your advice." I closed the door, only to feel a cold sweat, really scary. I made a strong cup of coffee and sat on the sofa in a daze. Should I tell Bill about this?I don't know what to do.I picked up the phone, put it down again, finally picked up the phone again, connected, and the school office found him for me.I recounted the situation just now. "She might come to you," I said. He was silent for a long time, I thought he hung up the phone, but I heard his breathing. He said, "I'm sorry, Joe." "It was my fault. She was very unhappy." "It's not that you're wrong," he said. "It's not your fault either, she's like this - I can't see it." "I know what to do. You stay at home and don't wander around." Bill said. "Bill, what's she--what's she like?" He doesn't ring. "Is she dangerous?" "Joe, she's a nice lady," he said. "I didn't say she was a bad person, a gangster, or a murderer. Don't blame me for being suspicious. You don't have to speak for her. To be honest, Bill, I don't understand how you divorced her at all! Why don't you go back to her Go? Everyone saves trouble, you are not happy without her, she is a crazy woman without you, why do you pretend to be like that? As if you broke up the family because of me? Since you have lived a happy seventeen years, you shouldn’t have Fall into my tricks, be alienated by me, tell me to seduce you!" I slammed down the phone. I grabbed my coat and went out without looking back. This time I was driving. If I was asked to see that woman again, I would really run over her with my car. After driving blindly for a while, I was confused and thought: who should I look for? The car drove near the Polytechnic Institute, and I looked up and saw Zhang Jiaming's work place.I parked the car, walked into their laboratory, and asked the school officer to inform me: "I'm looking for Zhang Jiaming." Jia Ming came out, wearing whitish jeans and a good cashmere sweater, with a handsome face, no matter how bad I was, I forced a smile.He was surprised to see it was me, but happy. "Hello," he said, "please come and sit inside." I gently asked him: "Jia Ming, are you free today?" "What's the matter?" he asked. "I'll treat you to a movie, dinner and beer," I said. "Of course I'm free, I wish I could," he said. "You don't look very happy. What's the matter?" "No." I smiled, "This is your laboratory? It's great." He asked me to sit down, gave me chewing gum, black tea, and biscuits, and I looked at the clock.It's Bill's time to get home from get off work, and he'll find his faithful mistress not there waiting for him, and I'm just trying to annoy him?Nor is it.I'm past the age of anger, I won't be so stupid, but I also want to relax, Jia Ming is a good companion, why don't you find him to relax. I asked, "Jiaming, do you have a foreign girlfriend?" "No. Neither do Chinese girlfriends," he said. "It's so cute." I exclaimed. "What's the difference between being nice? I just can't find a girlfriend." "Hey, what are you doing?" I asked. "Pack up my things. I've been hungry for several months. Someone invites me to dinner today. Why don't you leave quickly? What are you waiting for?" He laughed. I also laughed, I walked out of the university with him, we argued for a long time, finally sat in my car, he made fun of my driving skills, I don't mind at all, he is really a humorous person. We had a good Italian meal. Suddenly he said, "Joe, you've wasted yourself." I look at him. "Either you study hard, or you work hard. It's a waste." He said. "I'm not very ambitious." "It's not a matter of ambition," he said, "a man should do well." "Hey, five hundred years later, what's the difference!" My old saying came. "Oh, who cares what happens five hundred years later? Miss, there is a difference now!" He answered me with a smile. When I thought about it, it really is, really, no one has ever answered me like that, and what he said was very reasonable, so I laughed. "I've tried that too, really," I explained, "without much success." "You didn't try enough, how did you come out today? Where's your boyfriend?" "We made a mess," I said. "You still love him?" Jia Ming asked. I don't ring.Love is patience, love is carelessness, love is tenderness.Do I still love him?Maybe yes, because I'm unhappy for him.This is not happy love. "You think about it," he said, "think about it," "I'm too tired to think about it." "You are just lazy," he gave me a white look. I said tiredly: "Jiaming, think about it for me, this is the first time in my life that I fell in love, and I really got off to a bad start." I smiled wryly, "But I love him, so I decided to go back and treat him well." "You are Miss Qianjin, it is okay to marry a prince and count when you come to a foreign country," Jia Ming teased me, "He is just a middle- and lower-class man, think about it, how do you get along well, you are here, even though the mountains are high and the emperor is far away, After all, it’s only a few hours’ flight, so be careful when your mother comes looking for you.” I was taken aback, "Isn't this a threat?" Jia Ming shook his head, "Why should I scare you? I don't do such things." "She said she was coming?" I asked. Jiaming nodded. "My God," I said. "Think about it carefully." Jia Ming smiled. I also laughed, "You are a spy. When she comes, I will hide in your house and insist that you are my boyfriend and I want to marry you. Anyway, she likes you. Naturally, if you don't say anything, you will know the taste, really. It's funny, when I was at home, I didn't know that she had such a confidant as you, and you were too busy." He didn't care, "I'm not afraid." I look at the clock.It's ten o'clock, and I said, "Jiaming, I'm leaving." "Okay." He didn't have any comments or questions, and immediately asked the waiter to pay the bill. I paid the money first, but he didn't argue, and then he sent me home. There was no light at home, so I said goodbye to Jiaming. Bill where is he? I rushed back because of him, but he wasn't there. I opened the door with the key, and the living room was cold and quiet, and there was no one there. I sigh. I also said for a lifetime, start fighting now, how long will you fight!I didn't turn on the light in the living room, I sat on the couch, in the dark, and I had to apologize to him for being mean, childish, selfish, petty.He will come eventually.I said out loud, "Bill, I'm sorry, Bill, I'm sorry." I sneered a few times, but he couldn't hear him again. He must have been angry and ran back to reunite with his wife and children.He has a lot of retreats, but I do.I covered my face and murmured, "I'm sorry Mom, I'm sorry Bill, I'm sorry everyone." A voice suddenly came from the left side of the living room: "It's not your fault, don't worry." I screamed, jumped up from the sofa, hit my knees on the coffee table, bent over in pain, and moaned, "Who, who is it?" "Who are you waiting for?" A gentle voice. I relaxed and sat down on the ground. It was Bill. "Oh, Bill." I hugged him. "Where are you? I can't see you." "Here, I have been back for a long time, waiting for you." I touch his face.He held my hand, kissed it, and said, "It's like that time in the hospital, you couldn't see me, you were lying on the bed, singing, and you were crying." He hugged me tightly. After a long time, he said, "I love you so much." From that moment on, I decided to endure it to the end, I buried my head in his chest, we sat in the dark for a long, long time, I decided to endure it to the end. Since that day, I haven't said anything wrong with him. I also started cooking some simple dishes: beef liver and onions, borscht.I brought the vegetables back when I got off work, but later I found it complicated to buy them every day, so I just bought a lot and put them in the refrigerator. Bill was amazed and delighted.He likes to eat Chinese-style rapeseed, so I went to find kale and choy sum.Later he said that if he eats like this, he will definitely gain weight. He is so happy, I think it is quite worth it.He also cooks when he is free, and I laugh at his poor cooking. On Friday, he still went back to see the children.He took most of the salary back and handed it over to them, leaving only pocket expenses and rent for himself.I don't mind, if it's for money, I can still get married, I don't care.I never asked for his banknotes.I also paid him back the money in the bank. It's just that I don't know when we can get married. I hope to marry him.I'm also afraid that my mother will be angry—the only daughter is married to a foreigner, so there's nothing good about it. If the foreigner is willing to go to Hong Kong, it's fine, but he kidnapped me to live abroad, and she might not be able to bear the excitement. So Bill dragged, and I dragged. But after that nonsense quarrel, we lived in peace. Don't say that I accommodate him, his kindness to me is something I will never forget. He was kind to me, I know, I can't forget it. We seem to have no tomorrow, and we live so contentedly and happily together.As long as he is with me, I only value the moments he is with me.I never asked where he went or what he did when he stepped out of this room. It is best to ignore things that are invisible to the eyes.It was unaccustomed at the beginning, but later it became natural. I don't ask if he comes back late, I don't ask if he comes back early, and sometimes he doesn't come back, I don't ask either. Once he didn't come until eight o'clock in the morning. I knew he had gone home. Where else could he go?I already knew that he opened the door downstairs, and I didn’t sleep all night, but I still gave a big smile. God knows how this endurance came from, but I thought, there must be someone who sympathizes with him, keep a straight face No good either. I live such a life, only Jiaming visits me occasionally.He disapproves, but he respects me, he considers me a friend. The last time Jiaming came to see me, he asked me: "Your mother is coming to see you, do you know?" I nodded, "I have received several letters." "What do you say?" Jia Ming asked. "I don't think it matters, I welcome her." I said. "She won't ask you to go back?" Jia Ming asked. I smiled, "It's her business to cry, the feet are on me." Jia Ming sighed, "Therefore, there is nothing to say about feelings, but those who have 'difficulties' are just weak in love." I still laughed, with a bitterness in my smile.It's hard for him to understand, he is a child, but he understands. Mom is coming, what can I do.