Shanghai Leisure Person

Author: Yu Chuan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-01-01
Features: She sighed. Aunt Gu gently rubbed her shoulder. "Madam, don't sigh all the time; it'll give you wrinkles." She almost sighed again. During dinner, Aunt Gu talked a lot. It wasn't clear whether Chen Yanhuai was being particularly warm to her today or if it was something else, but she was acting like a confidante, rambling on endlessly. "Let me tell you, living alone as a woman is tough." Aunt Gu placed several peeled river shrimp in a small dish in front of Chen Yanhuai, sighing. "Before I came to work for you, my husband passed away. The men around here were a nightmare! Whether there was a problem or not, they'd just run into my room, looking here and touching there. If you gave them a kind face, they'd latch onto you! That's why they say, 'Widows attract trouble.' Aunt Gu shook her head sadly. "Without a man to rely on, it's no good!" Chen Yanhuai looked at this woman, who also had a tragic past, but said nothing. "Let me tell you, Madam, while you're young, you should find another good man quickly. You're different from me—you have knowledge, refinement, and money. You won't have trouble finding a good man. Women are women after all; there are so many things that are inconvenient for them, like being seen in public or taking charge of things. They're so much worse off than men!" Chen Yanhuai was surprised that the former union group leader was actually a supporter of male supremacy. She found it a bit amusing. Sometimes, she thought, having a man wasn't as good as having none. Of course, there were times when she, too, longed for a man who would cherish and care for her—it was a natural emotional and physical need. But the pain of her past marriage had left her with a constant, inescapable vigilance toward men whenever she had such desires. Take her and Xiao Qiang, for example. They had known each other for over a year. She could lean on his shoulder in moments of loneliness, feeling warmth and tenderness, even though Xiao Qiang was ten years younger than her. She could also find intense satisfaction in his strong, young body during moments of spring fatigue, but she could never bring herself to love him completely, let alone marry him. It wasn't just the age and status difference between them; she constantly reminded herself never to suffer another betrayal like that of her ex-husband. In her view, the only way to avoid such harm was to keep emotional distance from her husband—not physical, but mental. You could give him everything—your body, money, happiness, even your emotions—but you could never give away your independence and self-respect without being one hundred percent sure. That would be extremely dangerous. "Actually, in my opinion, our neighbor, Mr. Yu, is a very good man." Chen Yanhuai was puzzled. Was Aunt Gu's mind not right today? In the evening, she had told Xiao Hu that her husband must be running out every night to find women. How could she suddenly think he was a good man in just a short while? "Don't you agree? A man who has grace, knowledge, money, and is also handsome..."