Chapter 59: Tons of waste, enjoying their pain
Gu Weiyi ignored little Philip. Only Gustav exchanged a few pleasantries with little Philip. Then a black man in a suit and glasses came over. Gustav introduced him as the Minister of Health and Environment in the presidential cabinet. He shook hands with Gu Weiyi and spoke. Li Wenjing stood among a group of men in fine suits, unconsciously rubbing the calluses on her knuckles. Her eyes drifted for a moment; they hadn't finished talking yet.
The men's conversation was long and complex, far from her. It seemed they were discussing some kind of award the Ministry of Health wanted to give to Dr. Gu. The minister wanted to take him to meet someone else, and he took her hand, but Li Wenjing waved it off, saying she was hungry and stayed put.
She simply felt uncomfortable. She had never been in such an environment before, unable to join in the conversation. Standing on the sidelines, she could only listen to their conversation, which she couldn't understand. The artwork hanging behind the clusters of flowers, the shimmering light from the lamps, the champagne frothing in the goblets, the lively conversation of the people she knew, no one caring who she was, no one concerned with her achievements, all of which made her realize: she and they were, after all, from a different world.
So, what about love?
People always have the imagination that love is great, love is almost omnipotent, love can transcend classes, and love can solve all problems. In fact, love is a very painful thing. It cannot cure human diseases. People can only rely on their own bodies.
Li Wenjing stood outside on the terrace, enjoying the breeze. A goblet rested on a small table beside her. A wooden snake was circling the table, and a half-empty glass of pomegranate juice lay beside the snake's mouth, like a tongue. The light flickered slightly, and she looked up, meeting little Philip's gaze. A wisp of smoke drifted across his pale green pupils.
He smiled at her, waved a cigarette in front of her, and said, "Come out for a smoke, please don't mind." His female companion came with him, a lit cigarette in her mouth, and they lit the cigarette as if kissing.
"Hello, you look beautiful today. I'm Nika." She said to her with a smile.
The heels of her leather shoes seemed to sting her feet. Li Wenjing stood there stiffly for a few seconds, unable to move, staring at him quietly. Little Philip asked her if she wanted to smoke a cigarette too. She looked very nervous.
"I'm not nervous, I just don't want to be with you." Li Wenjing said.
"Ah, that hurts me. I didn't mean to come, but I was here on behalf of my parents. Parties are always boring, and African food is hardly delicious, but I'm glad to see you and Ciel again."
As he said this, he waved to the waiter and asked him for some wine.
"You saved me last time, at least let me buy you a drink."
"It's not like you paid for it," Li Wenjing taunted him, but he just laughed heartily, leaning over the table and looking at her. He asked her how long she'd been in Africa, but she sipped her drink without answering, while he continued to talk about his own time in Africa.
He said he often came to Africa, having been to all parts of the world since he was a child. If you ask him where he likes most, it's Africa, of course. The people here are tons of garbage, hopeless. Some people like to be saviors, so they come here; but he didn't come here to be a god.
He raised his hand and made a pistol gesture to Li Wenjing. Her heart skipped a beat. She looked up and saw his smile. His very white and neat teeth were half blocked by the shadow under the light, and most of them were black.
"Oh, I was just kidding. I have never killed anyone, and I will definitely not kill you." He put his hand down, but his eyes did not leave her. Under his gaze, Li Wenjing felt goose bumps all over her body.
"Miss, have you ever played with dragonflies?"
After waiting for a while, Li Wenjing remained silent, so he continued, "When I was a kid, I would catch dragonflies and they would bite me. I would tear off half of their wings to see what would happen. With the broken wings, they couldn't fly, so they could only crawl around on the grass. I'm sure many people have done this. Oh, and I like to sprinkle salt on snails and watch them slowly dehydrate... But my father caught me one time and made me stand in the corner as punishment. He said we should respect life..."
He laughed again, as if this was something incredibly funny. He even covered his mouth and looked away, trying to hold back his laughter before turning back to look at her. "Don't you think this is too hypocritical?"
Li Wenjing drank the remaining pomegranate juice in the cup in one gulp and slammed the cup heavily on the table in response to his ill intentions.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I have to go find Dr. Gu."
"Wenjing, I want to talk to you about Charles." He returned to that ambiguous look. "I've known him for a long time. When I was in school, he didn't like to talk. He was a very quiet guy. He didn't like to pay attention to me when we talked to him. But I was very curious about him and still asked about him. I think my friends misunderstood and thought I was interested in him. It's an old Parisian tradition, one male lover and one female lover."
"Well, you're disgusting then."
Although he was smiling, his eyes were always calm, as if he had an empty and dissatisfied look after his daily desires were satisfied.
"Don't say that. Everyone is curious sometimes, about others and about themselves. How can you be sure that you really like men, or that society has conditioned you to think you like men instead of women? You have to try it yourself to find out. Nika is great. If you're willing, you can go on a date with her. She's the best woman I've ever met."
Nika was a very famous model. Standing next to him, she was almost as tall as him. She also laughed, "Since Philip introduced us, if you have time, I think we can go for a drink."
"It's a good idea to bring me along. It's my honor to date you two ladies. Of course, Charles won't come. My friend asked him out, but he didn't even reply. How infuriating! You know, people are pretty mean. The more they get frustrated, the more serious they become."
"This is not a reason for you to bully."
"Really? Is that what you and Ciel think? Sometimes, curiosity gets too strong, and you might accidentally tear off a dragonfly's wings... I've always felt sorry for it. So when he told me not to run for parliament again, I agreed immediately. I didn't want to do this in the first place—having to pretend to be righteous, selfless, and even kind in front of others. Coming to Africa is exhausting. The problem is my father; he doesn't agree. Do you have any suggestions?"
"You don't have to pretend to be nice to me. You're old enough now, and if you really don't want to do anything, your parents can't force you. You just want to do this. You look down on those useless people and enjoy their suffering. Do you think this is fun?"
His eyelids seemed to move slightly, and Li Wenjing turned around and wanted to leave.
"You really have to think of a way. I don't want to hurt him. But if it were my father, a serious and old-fashioned old man, that wouldn't necessarily be the case."
"What do you mean?"
"It's nothing. You still don't see your place clearly, especially you." After finishing his cigarette, he took Nika's arm. "No matter what, you are in a safe position. It doesn't matter to you."
"What do you want?"
This time, it was Li Wenjing who asked him, but he just shook his head. A man and a woman came over to greet him, and he talked to them, ignoring Li Wenjing. She rushed into the hall, looking for Gu Weiyi everywhere, and finally saw him in the hallway, reading a piece of paper in his hand.
"What's wrong? I was just about to look for you." Seeing her panting, he took out his handkerchief and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Li Wenjing grabbed his arm and said, "Let's go."
"What happened?"
"I'm worried if I can't see you. I don't know anyone here and it's boring."
"Just wait a moment," he patted the back of her hand, the warmth in his palm soothing her anxious mood, "The minister is going to give an award speech. Don't forget this is a charity gala. We are here to raise funds. Wait for me a moment, okay?"
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