Sixty-nine

Chapter 10

The next afternoon at five o’clock, Huang Qi was still sitting in her office when Sha Zhouyin called right on time, sounding like a wronged wife, “Didn’t you say you’d be off work at five? Why haven’t you come out yet?”

Huang Qi laughed, “You think five o’clock means I just walk out the minute it hits? I’m new here, I have to show some enthusiasm and leave a good impression on the boss. Besides, it takes a few minutes to get downstairs and wait for the elevator. Are you already here?”

“Yeah, I’ve been downstairs for ten minutes, counting the seconds waiting for you. How much longer?”

Huang Qi glanced at what was left on her desk. “Just a little more to wrap up. I’ll finish and head down, five to ten minutes.”

“So is it five minutes or ten?”

“Is there that much difference between five and ten minutes?”

“Of course there is! That’s twice as long!”

Unable to take it, Huang Qi yelled into the phone, already laughing at herself, “How did I never realize you were this annoying? Always splitting hairs! Fine, ten minutes!”

“Ten whole minutes…” he whined, putting on a pitiful tone. “Which office is yours? Come to the window and let me see you, I’m in the parking lot downstairs.”

Huang Qi walked to the window, opened it, and looked down, spotting Sha Zhouyin standing by a black sedan in the distance. He saw her, too, waving up with a suddenly serious tone over the phone, “Go ahead and finish your work, don’t let me distract you. I’ll wait right here.”

Huang Qi found it all too funny. “You change your tune so fast! Just now you were all clingy and whiny, now you’re all proper.”

His voice took on a bashful note. Even though she couldn’t see his face from this far away, just his posture suggested he was ducking his head, embarrassed. “Well… you can’t see me over the phone. In person, I have to be more natural.”

Clearly, her “husband” was just a shy introvert wrapped in a tough shell.

Beside her, Xiao Li was grabbing her bag to leave work, saw Huang Qi at the window on the phone, and peeked over, spotting Sha Zhouyin waving downstairs. She whispered nosily, “Is that your boyfriend?”

Huang Qi hung up and nodded.

“That was fast. Is it the guy Section Chief Hua introduced last time? I can’t believe it worked! Who would have thought the people Hua introduces could actually be decent? The ones she sent my way were all disasters.” Xiao Li sounded a bit envious, sizing up Sha Zhouyin in the distance. “What does he do? Is he local? Can’t see his face… Is that his car? Why’s he driving a Santana? Who under fifty drives that anymore? It’s ancient!”

Huang Qi hadn’t even noticed what car Sha Zhouyin was driving. Only when Xiao Li pointed it out did she realize he’d come today in a battered black Santana, clearly showing its age. That car had been all the rage in the nineties; Boss Sha used to drive one back then, but now it was hopelessly outdated and low-end.

Huang Qi just smiled and said nothing. She was used to this atmosphere at home—people always sizing someone up by their job, family background, looks, what car they drove, calculating their value and whether they were worth getting close to.

She finished up her work in five minutes and hurried downstairs. Sha Zhouyin was leaning against the car, waiting. Up close, she saw the car was indeed battered and old, covered in scratches and dirt. She joked, “Where’d you dig up this antique? Yesterday it was a Porsche, today it’s a Santana—the contrast is something else!”

Sha Zhouyin replied, “That car—if it gets even a little scratch, I have to send it out of town to fix it. I’m always nervous driving it, only use it for business when I need to put on a show. This one’s my everyday ride. It’s old, but I don’t mind taking it to the construction site, and it’s sturdy.”

So all that dust was concrete and sand from the site—no wonder it was filthy. “Did you come straight from the site?”

“I was in a hurry to see you…” he admitted shyly. “This car is a bit of a wreck. I’ve heard people in your kind of office are all into comparing things. Should I have brought the Porsche so you could show off?”

“No, thanks. I don’t want to be the center of attention, everyone pointing and staring.” She reached for the car door and got a handful of dirt. “I’m just saying, you should wash your car! Don’t treat the Santana like it’s not a real car!”

They got in. Huang Qi looked around at the old-fashioned dashboard and interiors. “I haven’t sat in a car like this for years. It’s so familiar.”

“You remember? My dad’s old car was this model, looked just like this inside.” He started the car and drove out of the lot. “I learned to drive in this car. Still feels the best to drive. I was only thirteen when my dad took me out on the highway to teach me. I really drove it—didn’t know kids weren’t supposed to. We hid it from my mom until I’d already learned, and she scolded us both something fierce. Looking back, we were pretty bold—thirteen and already driving.”

Huang Qi’s memory of Boss Sha and Teacher Zhou had grown fuzzy, but she imagined they were still vivid figures in Xiao Ying’s mind, never forgotten.

Thinking about the past made her a little wistful. She looked at him and said, “Xiao Ying, you’re getting old. Only people getting on in years get nostalgic.”

He smiled at her, eyes soft. “Yeah, I’m getting old. And after being alone so long, I really want a family.”

That reminded Huang Qi of Teacher Ding’s attitude, dampening her spirits. She joked, “Me too. Especially when I was doing my doctorate, I kept missing the old days. There was a time I really craved our local tofu soup, but couldn’t find it anywhere. I tried making it in the dorm with a little electric pot, but it just wasn’t the same. I’d be dying for a taste.”

Tofu soup was a common breakfast dish in their hometown—made from silken tofu, tofu shreds, tofu cakes, duck blood, thickened into a savory broth, topped with chopped pickled radish and spices, served with a fresh, crispy fried dough stick or a sesame bun. Huang Qi could always polish off a huge bowl and still lick the bottom for the last drops.

Sha Zhouyin said, “Craving tofu soup? There’s a snack street by the pedestrian mall—they sell it there. Want to go?”

Her eyes lit up. “They sell tofu soup at night? Let’s go, let’s go!”

The two of them stormed the snack street for dinner, sampling all kinds of local delicacies, buying a little of everything. Huang Qi noticed Sha Zhouyin bought a bowl of tofu soup, too, and asked, “You didn’t used to like this, did you? Only your dad did—he’d eat breakfast at home with you, then go out for another bowl.”

“My mom thought outside food was unhygienic and wouldn’t let me eat out.” He added a spoonful of chili paste to his bowl. “As a kid, I always thought I looked, acted, and ate like my mom. Now I realize, I’m more like my dad.”

Huang Qi said, “I don’t think you’re much like either of them.”

“How not?” He looked up at her. “My dad lost his father as a teen, left home to work as a bricklayer. When it came to finding a wife, I took the same path—he dropped out of junior high and married my mom, who was a graduate student. I didn’t finish high school and found you, a PhD. We both lucked out. Too bad…”

Too bad things hadn’t ended well for his parents. Huang Qi thought the same, but only said, “Xiao Ying, you’re not your dad, and I’m not your mom. I believe you’ll handle our challenges better. We’ll be happier than they were.”

Sha Zhouyin said, “My parents’ problems started early, in hindsight. If they’d communicated more, been more understanding, faced things head-on instead of ignoring them, maybe my mom wouldn’t have sought comfort elsewhere, my dad wouldn’t have done anything extreme, maybe my grandparents would’ve forgiven them and the family would be together…”

Huang Qi’s heart ached for him. She took his hand. “No point dwelling on the past. Let it go.”

He smiled at her. “I’m just learning from their mistakes, so I don’t repeat them. If you’re with me, I’ll work hard to stay in sync with you, never make you feel we have nothing in common. And your parents—they’re your family. I can’t let you end up like my mom, estranged from her parents because of her husband. A relationship that relies only on love, just putting up with each other and sacrificing family bonds for it—of course that doesn’t last.”

Talking about her parents, Huang Qi couldn’t help sighing. “Thank you for thinking of me, Xiao Ying. But when it comes to other people, you have to consider whether they’re reasonable. If not, you need to stick to your principles.”

He caught her implication. “What’s wrong? Your family… found out about us? Don’t approve?”

“Yeah, my mom’s got a million reasons. I almost can’t bring myself to say it.” She recounted her conversation with Teacher Ding. “I think she’s just got a fixed opinion of you. No one’s perfect—if you want to pick flaws, you’ll always find some.”

But Sha Zhouyin thought for a moment and said, “Your mom’s concerns make sense, too. I’ve told you before, I’m not very mature or experienced in relationships. I thought if my heart was true, I didn’t need to worry about anything else, but it’s more complicated. The way things are now isn’t good for you or Jingjing. It’s my fault for not handling things well, and now you both have to deal with the gossip. Actually, I started thinking about all this before you graduated and made some preparations, but some things are complicated and can’t be untangled right away. Give me some time.”

“Doesn’t bother me. I’m twenty-eight already—parents always worry more than the kids themselves. We’ll see who caves first.” Huang Qi shrugged, then changed the subject. “But you’re quite the gentleman, worrying about Miss Jin’s reputation. Honestly, after so many years with her, such a pretty young woman—you never had feelings for her?”

Sha Zhouyin laughed in spite of himself. “Are you really fishing for that? She’s seven years younger than me—at least two or three generation gaps. I’m not about to rob the cradle. Plus, you’ve seen her temper. When I think of her, all I remember is how she used to drive me crazy as a kid. Everyone who knew her back then avoided her. No chance of falling for her.”

“The last time I saw her was when she was little.” Huang Qi recalled their first meeting—definitely unforgettable.

“She’s grown up now and knows when to hold her temper,” Sha Zhouyin said with a wry smile. “Lots of young guys working with Uncle Biao have seen her in action, and none of them are interested. Her true love will have to wait.”

Huang Qi finally relaxed. “Then I’ll leave it all to you. Handle it well, or I’ll have to deal with her myself, and I don’t want to fight a hot-tempered lady.”

Of course, she sounded casual, but deep down she thought: If Jin Jing really dares show up at my door, as the mistress of Huang’s domain, I’ll do whatever it takes to protect what’s mine!

She felt like lately she must be under the influence of some unlucky spirit—good things never happened, but the moment she spoke of trouble, it came true. After dinner, the two walked out of the snack street hand in hand, wandering around the nearby pedestrian mall, and as they passed a bar, they ran right into Jin Jing.