Chapter 72
Once he felt he had calmed down enough, Narumi went to the building entrance and pressed the intercom. However, as he climbed the stairs, a wave of tenderness washed over him for Apple. In his imagination, Apple must have angrily gotten into a taxi to the train station, perhaps even silently shedding tears in the car. Narumi imagined Apple perhaps spending several weeks packing the gear now lying in her brand-new suitcase—bikini, sunglasses, sunscreen, and maybe even a Polaroid camera, a favorite among girls… Narumi regretted yelling at Apple and exposing her lesbian nature—it was so ungentlemanly of him.
Chengshi felt a little sorry for Apple, but he also knew that he had to concentrate now in order to deal with Candy properly.
So he climbed to the fifth floor, took a few deep breaths to make sure he wasn't out of breath from climbing, and then rang the doorbell.
“Frankie? Come in, the door’s unlocked!” Candy’s voice came from inside the house. “I’m busy right now.”
The door hadn't been hit. Narumi gently pushed it open and saw that the living room was neatly arranged, looking at first glance like an IKEA showroom—colorful and cheap. However, the aroma of stewed beef and potatoes wafting from the stove in the open-plan kitchenette in the corner made Narumi subconsciously swallow.
To win a man's heart, you must first win his stomach? Cheng Shi didn't want Candy to win his heart, and besides, Candy couldn't win him over anyway; as for his stomach, Cheng Shi felt he was indeed hungry.
Chengshi stood in the living room staring at the pot of stewed beef for a while. After his attention was adjusted to the noise of the oil pump, he noticed that the speaker on the windowsill was playing soft music, seemingly a piano piece. Chengshi had no knowledge of classical music, and none of his children learned piano or any other instruments, so he couldn't name the piece. However, the melody felt familiar; it seemed to be a common background music piece in high-end hotels.
"There's fruit on the coffee table, all washed," Candy's voice came from the closed bedroom door. "Have a bite to eat, dinner will be ready soon."
Following Candy's advice, Narumi picked up an apple from the coffee table, took a bite, and then sank deeply into the small sofa bed—he was trying to relax.
"Did the door slam?" Candy opened the bedroom door a crack and peeked out to ask Chengshi.
"We bumped into each other, didn't we? What are you busy with..."
Are you alone in the living room?
"Of course, you are exactly..."
Candy suddenly pushed open the bedroom door, stood on tiptoe in the doorway, and smiled at Chengshi, completely naked. Then, she began to dance to the piano music playing from the stereo, striking seductive poses like a novice dancer, her movements stiff and devoid of any grace. Then, whenever the music reached a crescendo, Candy would blush and dance towards Chengshi, desperately trying to suppress her laughter.
Narumi had taken a bite of an apple and picked up the Coke on the coffee table to drink, but upon seeing Candy like this, the Coke spilled directly from the can. Before he could put the can back on the coffee table, Candy slammed down on him, then fell into his lap, her head hitting his chest so hard that Narumi felt like he couldn't breathe.
Narumi could clearly smell that Candy and Apple were using the same Six God cigarettes, which made it even harder for him to breathe. When she hugged his head and kissed him, at point-blank range, Narumi noticed that Candy's makeup was even heavier than usual, especially the thick false eyelashes on her eyes, which looked like countless fly legs.
When Narumi finally broke free from Candy's passionate kiss, he tried to sit up straight so he could pull her off him. However, breaking free from Candy, who clung to him like a koala, wasn't easy. Her two large, thick arms were tightly wrapped around his neck, and her two elephant legs were wrapped around his waist, pulling his shirt taut and making it difficult for him to breathe. Finally, Narumi managed to free one hand and unbutton the top few buttons of his shirt, which slightly relieved the suffocating feeling. Then, Narumi tried to smile at Candy.
"I..." Candy seemed to mumble some swear words, then sealed Narumi's mouth with another kiss and forcibly pried open Narumi's teeth with her tongue.
This time, Narumi struggled desperately like a drowning man. The moment he finally broke free, Candy rolled off him and looked at him resentfully, even her exposed upper body seemed to express boundless resentment.
Narumi was breathing heavily and exaggeratedly, as if she were making a statement to Candy.
A while passed, and neither of them spoke. In the silence, Narumi avoided Candy's gaze and looked down to see his hands tightly gripping the two naked, fleshy thighs in front of him. Narumi quickly let go, and Candy collapsed to the ground in an unseemly manner, while Narumi convulsively curled and bent his fingers, making meaningless movements.
“Candy,” Narumi finally managed to say in a hoarse voice after a long while, “we need to have a serious talk.”
Looking back, Narumi felt that everything after he said those words felt like a dream. Even during the events, he felt that everything was unreal.
In reality, only a small part of Narumi's consciousness was involved in the negotiations; most of him was like an outsider detached from the real world, a superfluous outsider in Camus's writing, feeling both ashamed and helpless. But Narumi always believed that as long as he persisted and never conceded to reconciliation, this dream would end.
In this dream, Narumi saw Candy's heavily made-up face slowly darken, and then she saw her rush into the bedroom to find clothes...
When Candy came out again, she was wrapped tightly in a bathrobe. Narumi then saw Candy pacing back and forth in the small living room, muttering, "So we have nothing more to say, right? Your coming here today was completely pointless, wasn't it?!"
Narumi's memory is in trouble because he can't recall the specific order of events. It's as if everything had become a memory before it happened, including the scene of him following Candy around apologizing repeatedly, as if it had happened countless times before.
“Candy, calm down. If I have ever given you the wrong impression that I…we…my marriage is unhappy or something like that, then I am truly sorry. Please accept my apology. I'm so sorry, so very sorry…”
"Tell me, what should I do? How should I interpret this? Have you considered the situation you've put me in?!"
"I'm sorry, I..."
Then, Narumi's memory was reduced to one last scene: Candy, wrapped in a bathrobe, bent down in front of the stove, vigorously scooping the burnt potato and beef stew in the pot. The air was filled with a burnt smell, but upon closer inspection, it also carried a hint of sweetness.
"Actually, it's still edible, Candy. I think this beef is still edible."
"No, it's all burnt, all burnt, it's ruined. You can go now."
"Candy, can you be a little more rational? We're both adults, there's no need to make things like this..."
"roll!"
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