Chapter 7
Edward Quan ·
“Don’t be too hardhearted,” my mother-in-law said. “Lei isn’t bad by nature. He just listens to me too much. I’ll be careful. I won’t interfere in your lives anymore.”
“The problem isn’t you.”
“Then what is it?”
“The problem is…”
I hesitated.
“When will Zhao Lei really treat me as family?”
“I understand.”
After hanging up, I sat looking out of my flat.
It was getting dark.
Streetlights came on.
My phone vibrated.
Zhao Lei:
[Found Liu Qiang.]
[Where?]
[A town in the countryside. He’s working there to pay the loan sharks.]
[You went to see him?]
[Yes. Explained everything and returned the money.]
[How did he react?]
A pause.
[He hit me.]
[You let him?]
[Did it hurt?]
[Yes.]
I didn’t answer.
He sent another message.
[After hitting me, he cried. Said he’d let Zhao Qian and the children down.]
[What will he do?]
[Come back and make a proper life with her.]
[Does she agree?]
[Yes. She says if he comes home, she won’t hold the past against him.]
[Your mother?]
[She says as long as they live well together, she won’t interfere.]
I stared at the screen.
This farce had finally reached something like a peaceful conclusion.
The price had been too high.
[Jiang Wan.]
Another message.
[I want to see you.]
[Now?]
[It’s too late.]
[I’m downstairs.]
I went to the window and looked down.
Zhao Lei stood under a streetlight with flowers.
White.
Baby’s breath.
I stared for a few seconds.
He had never bought flowers.
Not one in five years.
[Who taught you to buy flowers?]
[The florist.]
[Why baby’s breath?]
[She said it means—]
[What?]
[Being willing to take a supporting role.]
Looking at the white flowers, I suddenly felt the sting of tears.
“Jiang Wan!”
He shouted from below.
“I know I was wrong. I treated you as an outsider, an ATM, a shield. I’ll change from today. I’ll do anything you ask. Just don’t leave me!”
Someone downstairs opened a window and yelled, “What are you shouting about at this hour?”
Zhao Lei ignored them.
“You gave me a year. I’ll prove you’re the most important person in my life!”
I shut the window and leaned against the wall.
Tears fell.
[You haven’t answered.]
I wiped my eyes and typed.
[We’ll see in a year.]
9
Our separation passed faster than I expected.
Zhao Lei messaged once a week.
Reporting what he had done.
At first, I read them.
Later, I couldn’t be bothered.
In March, he changed jobs.
His salary rose by three thousand.
[The new job’s great. I finish on time every day and get to learn new things.]
In April, he cleared the rest of his credit-card debt.
[It feels good to be debt-free. I can even save three thousand at month-end.]
I only replied, [Okay.]
In May, on my mother-in-law’s birthday, he sent a photograph.
She was cutting a cake. Zhao Qian and Liu Qiang stood on either side.
The two children played on the floor.
[Mum says come for a meal when you have time.]
In June, he messaged:
[The house sold. We got four hundred and twenty thousand. Three hundred thousand for Liu Qiang, eighty thousand for Mum, forty thousand for Qian and the children. I kept nothing.]
[Aren’t you renting somewhere?]
[Work has dorms. Saves a little.]
[Understood.]
In July, Sun Hao called.
“Ms. Jiang, thank you for not going to the police.”
“I just didn’t want Zhao Qian’s children to have a mother in prison.”
“I know. I won’t do anything like that again.”
“You’d better not.”
“Can I ask something?”
“Could you and Zhao Lei get back together?”
I looked outside.
The July sun was fierce.
The cicadas grated on my nerves.
“I don’t know.”
“I can tell he still loves you.”
“That isn’t what matters. What matters is whether we can live together.”
After hanging up, I opened WeChat.
His latest message read:
[Saved three thousand five hundred this week. Probably four thousand next month. Jiang Wan, I think I’m learning how to live properly.]
I stared at it a long time.
In the end, I didn’t reply.
In August, I got a call.
My mother-in-law was hospitalized.
“What’s wrong?”
“A stroke caused by high blood pressure.”
Zhao Lei sounded exhausted.
“She’s in intensive care.”
“Is it serious?”
“The doctor says twenty-four hours’ observation.”
“You’re at the hospital?”
“Yes.”
“Alone?”
“Do you need me to come?”
A long silence.
“Come if you want to.”