Chapter 26
◎Xu Zeli said a few more gentle words of love to Zeng Linlin before hanging up the phone. He turned and walked, then
Xu Zeli said a few more tender words to Zeng Linlin before hanging up. He turned and took a step, then paused. He couldn't help but turn around again, picked up the phone, and dialed the number on Bei Bitang's street.
After dinner, Bei Bitang moved a small stool out of the house and found a secluded corner in the alley to read a book and cool off.
Looking at the high school Chinese textbook in her hand, which had only turned to the third page, Bei Bitang sighed.
In the blink of an eye, she had already worked five days at the small vegetable market. She had only read a few pages of the book she had brought back from Feng Guangmei, and it would take her forever to finish it. Perhaps because she didn't have to take the college entrance examination, she didn't feel the urgency to read.
The old woman in the telephone booth searched a long way before finally finding Bei Bitang. She was a little surprised. Who would come to see her? She had almost no social life except with Feng Guangmei. Who would spend such an expensive phone bill to see her?
Xu Zeli on the other end of the line waited for a long time, so long that he was about to hang up. Just as he was about to put the phone down, Bei Bitang's voice came over: "Hello? Who are you?"
Xu Zeli said: "Bitang, it's me."
Bei Bitang really wanted to roll her eyes. She said unhappily, "Xu Zeli, you're talking about paying back the money, right? Go ahead."
Xu Zeli was choking back on what was about to be said. He said bitterly, "Bitang, don't be like this. Is there nothing else between us to talk about besides money? Can't I call you? I thought we could still be friends, and that the bond between classmates is unbreakable."
Bei Bitang had been working hard for several days. It was a rare opportunity that she didn't encounter a difficult customer at work today. She finally had the chance to enjoy the night breeze, read a book and relax, but it was ruined by the unfaithful Xu Zeli.
She cursed in her heart and said coldly, "We can only talk about money! Friends? Who wants to be friends with you? Xu Zeli, look at yourself, how many friends do you have? Who wants to be friends with you?"
Because of Xu Zeli's background, few people came around him. He was sensitive and self-righteous. Although he put on a gentle and elegant face and was very popular among the educated youth, he really didn't have any friends.
After hearing Bei Bitang say that he was not popular, Xu Zeli's face instantly became gloomy and his eyes became dark.
He said solemnly and with emotion, "Bitang, how did you become like this? You talk about money all the time. You weren't like this before."
Bei Bitang was stunned. She had just blatantly confronted Xu Zeli. She hadn't expected that it would feel so good to confront someone and say whatever was on her mind. It was even cooler than eating an ice cream on a hot day.
Bei Bitang didn't want to hang up Xu Zeli directly. She wanted to see what disgusting words he could say so that she could refute him fiercely. It would change from Xu Zeli being disgusted with her to her being disgusted with Xu Zeli.
Bei Bitang sneered, "Don't mention money! Without money, how can you stop worrying about your livelihood and properly prepare for the college entrance exam?! Xu Zeli, people who don't pay back their debts or have no money don't like to talk about money, especially when others mention it, because it pokes at their pitiful self-esteem."
Xu Zeli said awkwardly, "I will definitely pay it back. It's still a long way from the agreed repayment date."
Bei Bitang felt relieved and said, "Oh, I'll wait then."
Xu Zeli asked in a low voice: "Bitang, are you still alone now?"
Bei Bitang asked back, "Xu Zeli, what do you mean?"
Xu Zeli said, "I hope you can live your life well and let it go as soon as possible. Bitang, have you met Ma Tailong since you returned to Shanghai? I think he's a very good person and someone who can treat Bitang sincerely."
Bei Bitang said sarcastically, "Xu Zeli, are all you men like this? You climb up the social ladder and then become ungrateful. You don't even allow your ex-girlfriends or ex-wives who were your wives to find someone better? You insist they find someone worse than you, only then will you be satisfied. The guilt you speak of, you mean you're so guilty that you want me to date a man worse than you. Oh, and then everyone who knows about our relationship will say, 'How could that Bei Bitang have such poor taste to find a man who's inferior to Xu Zeli in every way?' And then they'll go on and on about your current success. 'Xu Zeli is really showing you off! He's trying to pin me down as your wife, right?'"
Among their group of educated youth, Ma Tailong was a well-known fence-sitter. He would cling to whoever was the leader or whoever was in a good position, and he couldn't get away from them. Although he didn't do anything bad, he was really shameless.
If I have to say something about a person's appearance, it's that he looks honest.
The most important thing is that Ma Tailong is Xu Zeli's famous follower. When Xu Zeli received the university admission notice, he looked down on Bei Bitang and thought that Bei Bitang was a piece of mud and was not worthy of Xu Zeli, a college student.
Ma Tailong is also from Shanghai, but not every Shanghainese can live a life of subsistence. Ma Tailong lives in a shantytown, has no workers at home, and has many children.
It was astonishing that he lived better in the northwest than at home. This kind of person only cared about building connections, graduating from junior high school but not even recognizing most of the characters he'd learned in elementary Chinese.
Xu Zeli was speechless for a moment, then said, "Bitang, that's not what I meant. I didn't mean for you to have a bad life. I just want you to forgive me."
Bei Bitang sneered again. In the past, she and Xu Zeli had only cared about their sweet romance, and even in the desolate northwest, she felt she was enjoying a romantic life. However, she had never deeply understood Xu Zeli's values and thoughts. Xu Zeli really made her feel disgusted time and time again.
At this moment, she was extremely glad that she had broken up with Xu Zeli. If she had to spend her whole life with such a person and sleep in the same bed, she would have vomited at the thought.
Bei Bitang said, "Xu Zeli, okay, you want my forgiveness, right? If I renegotiate, that means I forgive you, right? Then I forgive you."
She wanted to see what kind of nonsense could come out of Xu Zeli's mouth. Bei Bitang thought, but the next second, Bei Bitang felt that she was wrong. Dogs are so cute. To associate dogs with Xu Zeli was simply an insult to dogs.
Xu Zeli felt like someone had snatched away a toy he no longer wanted, a toy he would rather throw in the trash than have anyone pick it up.
He said angrily, "Who is that man? How long have you been dating?"
Many thoughts flashed through Xu Zeli's mind in an instant.
Bei Bitang found someone so quickly, and he was still there, feeling sorry for her. Bei Bitang broke up with him, and then she found someone else right away. She had someone chosen so quickly. Could it be that they were flirting with each other back in the Northwest? Did Bei Bitang find someone after he returned to Shanghai for university, while she wasn't around, and acted like a victim, trying to make herself feel guilty?
Bei Bitang remained silent, quietly holding the phone, feeling Xu Zeli's anger. Uncomfortable, angry? That's good!
Xu Zeli grew angrier and angrier as he thought about it. He said, "Ever since I wanted to break up with you, I've felt a deep sense of guilt towards you. I thought, even if you slap me in the face or kick me, I won't fight back or curse back. As long as you ask me to make amends, I'll agree to any conditions."
"I didn't expect that, Bei Bitang, Bei Bitang, I thought your feelings for me were so deep and how much you loved me? I was such a fool! I didn't even know you had a new boyfriend! Bei Bitang, you're so proud of yourself, you're making a fool of me!"
Veins popped out on Xu Zeli's forehead and his eyes were as big as cowbells.
Bei Bitang waited until Xu Zeli had finished talking before she calmly said, "Haha, Xu Zeli, didn't you tell me to start over and find a new partner? Why, I found one and you're so furious? You want me to say I don't want to date you, but I can't get over you, right? Or maybe I can date you, but I want to find a worse man, so that his position and impression in my heart will never compare to yours. I won't fall in love with him either. Maybe in comparison, I'll miss you even more, right? Xu Zeli, you act like you've been cuckolded and are so angry, yet you're trying to cuckold other men!"
Xu Zeli's face flushed red, and the heat he wanted to release was blocked by Bei Bitang's blunt words, and his face turned purple.
Xu Zeli explained palely: "Bitang, you misunderstood me. I just can't stand you being with another man. I still love you!"
Bei Bitang scoffed and said, "Xu Zeli, when you were in junior high school, you were pretty good-looking. You could speak English, recite poetry, play the harmonica, and even write beautiful calligraphy. I've had a vague crush on you ever since then, and I noticed you were looking up slightly. When we got to the northwest, everyone was in the same situation. You were even worse off than me, but I still looked at you as if you were level. After you got admitted to university, I sometimes felt like I couldn't reach you. You reached the highest point in my heart."
"Now, Xu Zeli, you're really making me vomit. In my heart, you're even worse than a fly. I used to think college students were superior not only in terms of education, but also in other aspects, especially in character and cultivation. Thank you, Xu Zeli, for giving me the confidence to look down on so-called college students from now on."
Xu Zeli choked, thought for a long time, and said, "Bei Bitang, why are you like this now? You've learned the petty-bourgeois way of being sarcastic and mean."
Bei Bitang chuckled twice and said, "Xu Zeli, aren't you also one of the common people?"
Xu Zeli had nothing to refute. The long-lasting haze in his heart had not yet completely dissipated, and he dared not say anything that was detached from the working people.
Xu Zeli's tone suddenly changed, turning 180 degrees, becoming sad and melancholy. He said, "Bitang, my relationship with my current girlfriend is not going well. We originally planned to get married in two months. But she called me today and said she won't get married for now. So I called you, hoping to get some comfort from you. When I encountered problems, the first person I thought of was you. I didn't expect you..."
Bei Bitang was stunned. Wow, Xu Zeli is simply another version of Ma Tailong, on a higher level, with a face thicker than a city wall. No wonder the two of them have something to talk about.
Bei Bitang hoped that the marriage with Xu Zeli would be completely off. She didn't expect Xu Zeli to come back to her, but she hoped that Xu Zeli would fall hard, and all her hopes and wishes would be dashed.
So she couldn't help but ask: "Why don't you get married? What's the reason?"
Xu Zeli poured out his grievances to Bei Bitang indignantly, hoping she would sympathize with him and share his hatred. He said, "My girlfriend's mother has returned from England. It turns out she's been enjoying herself in capitalist countries all these years. She made some dirty money in England, stained by the sweat and blood of the working people. She looks down on my family and thinks the wedding ceremony we had agreed on is too shabby and unfair to her daughter."
Xu Zeli's voice grew louder and louder. "We've already had our wedding photos taken. We went to the most expensive photo studio on Huaihai Road. We changed out more than a dozen outfits and backgrounds, and we've got a whole album. That alone cost my father three months' worth of medicine. And as for the banquet, we booked eighteen tables at Renhe Studio, the highest standard. My family only took three, and the rest were reserved for the bride's family. How did my family fall short?"
"If it's just a minor change, the two families shouldn't sit down and discuss it properly. My parents are reasonable and honest people, so why wouldn't they compromise? They just told me the wedding was postponed, without a specific date. I asked them what they were dissatisfied with, but they said everything was dissatisfied, nothing was satisfactory, and everything needed to be changed. They're just looking down on people and finding fault with everything!"
It turns out that the wedding wasn't cancelled, but rather rescheduled. It looks like Xu Zeli's parents will have to add more money.
Bei Bitang's joy turned to worry. She asked anxiously, "Xu Zeli, the agreed repayment date cannot be changed again. If you can't return my money by then, I will go directly to the History Department of East China Normal University to find your teacher."
Xu Zeli's heart skipped a beat, and then he thought, he and Bei Bitang should be a perfect match. Look, the first thing he thought of was money. It's a pity that he doesn't want to live like this anymore.
Bei Bitang still has no clear understanding of her life and will not change the status quo. In another ten years, Bei Bitang will age and lose her beauty, and she will become a vulgar woman with unkempt hair and dirty face.
Xu Zeli said condescendingly, "Bitang, don't worry. My parents taught me to be a man of integrity. They aren't the type to flatter, and they won't compromise just because the woman's family is well-off. Besides, what the woman did was too unkind. Even kind and tolerant people like my parents couldn't stand it. We absolutely refused to compromise and no longer wanted to accept whatever the woman's family said. Finally, at my parents' insistence, they gave in, and all the extra expenses were to be covered by the woman's family."
Xu Zeli tried his best to flatter his own family.
Bei Bitang felt disgusted and said calmly, "Okay, I understand. Don't call me again except to repay the money."
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