Half a Jiang Mei-(Simplified Chinese Version)

Author: Nai Feng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: At midnight, the urgent phone rings echoed down the corridor of this small one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment. Criss, who was sleeping like a "large" letter on the bed, impatiently twisted over, making the Simmons double bed creak. She grabbed the pillow beside her and pressed it over her ears, muttering, "God! You don't sleep, and you won't let anyone else sleep." She was a woman who spoke her mind, even when talking to herself. The second ring followed immediately, and she realized no one was listening to her complaints. The pillow she had grabbed to block her ears was Xiangzi's. "Where's Xiangzi? Why isn't he answering the phone?" she mumbled in her drowsy state, "Oh, I remember." Xiangzi had just finished work too, and she had told him to take a bath first while she took a breather. Right now, he was still in the bathroom. Though she had said she'd take a breather, she had fallen asleep soundly. She really didn't want to get up and answer that damn phone. From 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., she had been running around like a merry-go-round, handling twelve hours of work in a day. By this time, her body felt like it had fallen apart. Especially in recent years, as she was approaching forty and had gained weight, not only did she look worse in the mirror, but she also wasn't as agile as she used to be. Right now, she impatiently twisted her waist, trying to open her eyes, but after a few attempts, she fell back asleep. Clearly, the person calling had no sympathy for her. The third ring followed, this time sounding more urgent than the previous two. She couldn't help but answer it. "Still alive, right?" "Sorry, this is the operator for Pacific Long Distance. You have a long-distance call from China, paid by the recipient. Would you like to answer?" A pleasant alto voice asked sincerely. No doubt, it was for Xiangzi, and it must be something important. This time, she was fully awake. Xiangzi had once told her that Chinese people were polite—they would never wake you up at midnight unless it was an emergency. Besides, after three and a half years of marriage, she had never answered such a call before. "Answer, answer," Criss said eagerly. Shortly after, the call connected. "Shi di, Shi di, I borrowed from Shi Zhouzi's house. Please come up, I'll call him immediately!" Criss answered in halting Chinese. Zhou Zhixiang burst out of the bathroom, still wrapped in a bath towel, his glasses not even on. He had a bad feeling, "Hope this 'bastard' is just messing around!" he silently prayed. "Xiangzi bro," indeed it was his voice. But he didn't call him "fat." In truth, if he were called "fat," he would have felt better. "It's Sun Zhi, I'm the 'bastard,' can you still recognize my voice?" "Yes! What do you want? Just get to the point!" Xiangzi was impatient. How could he not recognize his voice? Not even in a hundred years would he forget it. "I was going to call you when it was morning over there. But Jiang Mei can't wait! It's an emergency! Because of Jiang Mei, she she's almost gone!" "What? What did you say? What's wrong with Jiang Mei?!" Xiangzi held the phone receiver between his wet shoulders, trying to tie his bath towel around his waist, but accidentally dropped the receiver onto the carpet. He bent down to pick it up, and his bath towel slid off his waist. Criss silently came out of the bathroom and put Xiangzi's glasses on him. She picked up Xiangzi's pajamas and tossed them over. Xiangzi didn't notice at all, standing there completely naked. "It's gastric cancer. It was already advanced when it was discovered. They operated last month and sutured it back together. The doctor says she she only has a month left!" "What? What did you say? Did you delay this bastard? Why didn't you take her to the hospital earlier? What promises did you make to me back then?"