Emei

Author: Bei Bei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-02-01
Features: The writing of Emei began with an elderly woman, who spoke in a unique way, had a tragic fate, and occasionally would wildly gesture with a middle finger. I think she was my grandmother. Around her, a series of vividly characterized figures gradually emerged. They became more active in my mind, and the stories they created filled my head. These stories kept appearing and developed in unexpected ways, while these characters grew increasingly familiar in the process. I could even see the glint in their eyes and smell the faint warmth exhaled from within them. So I quickly typed on the computer keyboard, bringing them to life on the screen, until the very last word fell.
My father was a millionaire, but he had nothing to do with me. If my father had married Zhang Lingyu or Yang Caihong, his life would have been a different story. He would have had a completely different son from me and a completely different daughter from Xu Panwang, and he would have undergone different personality changes, a different way of living, and even his appearance might have been entirely different (though I have no idea what he actually looks like now). Marriage is such a strange thing—it’s just like holding a Rubik’s Cube in your hands and spinning it. Different combinations will always produce different patterns. The randomness of life is always awe-inspiring.
Anyway, my father ultimately neither married Zhang Lingyu nor Yang Caihong. He married my mother, Jiang Rongshu. Maybe it was a mistake from the beginning, and the consequences snowballed from there.