Chapter 35
For the next few days, Xiao Meng indeed stayed at home with Rong Xiang.
The more he looked at Rongxiang, the more pitiful he felt. The man who was once so shriveled up now seemed like a hedgehog with its quills removed, limp and curled up in a ball. He didn't sigh or look gloomy, but his face was always somber, his eyes fixed on the ground, his long eyelashes casting two small, pale shadows on his cheeks, like a child who had suffered a great injustice and had nowhere to seek justice.
"Third Master, it's a sunny day outside, would you like to go for a walk?"
Rongxiang shook his head: "I'm not going out."
"How about we sunbathe in the yard?"
"Bring the baby out too."
Rongxiang stood in the sunlight, and Xiaozhen held the baby in front of him, telling him how much the baby could eat now.
"I'm already bigger and fatter than other kids!" Xiao Zhen said.
Rongxiang leaned over and gave the baby a quick kiss on the cheek. The baby tilted his head, raised his hand, and slapped him across the face—not with much force, but still quite loud. Xiaozhen, unafraid of Rongxiang, burst out laughing first: "Baby! Why are you hitting Daddy?"
Rongxiang was hit in the eye and quickly took a step back, rubbing his eyes until tears streamed down his face. Xiao Meng handed him a handkerchief: "Third Master, are you alright?"
Rongxiang wiped away his tears and laughed, "You unfilial son, your son beats his father!"
The old women picking vegetables at the kitchen door found it amusing. Behind him, however, two words flashed through Xiao Meng's mind: "karma."
The baby babbled and reached out to hug Xiao Zhen's neck, refusing to look at anyone else. Xiao Zhen gently rocked him while saying to Rong Xiang, "Third Master, the baby wants to sleep again! He loves to sleep during the day, but at night he fusses and wants to be held and played with."
Rongxiang nodded: "Thank you for your hard work."
Xiao Zhen smiled, picked up the child, and left. Rong Xiang wiped his eyes again, clutched his handkerchief, and walked to the courtyard gate, looking out through the fence. The glaring sunlight shone directly overhead, blurring even his straight, javelin-like back.
Xiao Meng followed: "Third Master, it's too sunny here."
Rongxiang reached out and grabbed the railing, leaning forward: "I actually don't like sunbathing."
"yes."
He rested his forehead on a railing and slowly turned to look at Xiao Meng: "Jingyuan likes it. He said that when he was studying abroad, he would go to the beach with his friends every summer to tan themselves. He could get a bronze tan, but most of his white classmates got a bright red tan, like boiled shrimp."
He sighed, his voice becoming slightly hoarse: "Where do you think he is now? Heaven or hell? Or was he reincarnated? It's true... So both the Japanese and the Chinese wanted to kill me, but I'm still alive and well; how come he died so suddenly? He's done with it all, but what about me?"
After listening to his resentful monologue, Xiao Meng felt she had nothing to say. Unexpectedly, Rong Xiang continued muttering, "I guess this is retribution... but I had no choice... I shouldn't have hurt the old man back then, he didn't have many days left to live anyway... I shouldn't have attacked my second brother's family either, and later... well, what's done is done, there's no use regretting it now."
Xiao Meng shook his head: "Third Master, this doesn't sound like you."
Rongxiang lowered his head: "Luckily you're still alive. Otherwise, I would have had no choice but to commit suicide."
Xiao Meng licked his lips but didn't say anything. He noticed that Rong Xiang's attention had just been drawn to a pair of female students who had just come out of the neighbor's house.
Both female students were wearing indigo-dyed blouses, black skirts, and long stockings with black leather shoes. One was taller, with short, permed hair. Rongxiang looked closely and realized it was the same beautiful girl he'd seen a couple of days ago, now that she'd washed away her makeup, her beauty had diminished considerably. The other girl had two long braids and was of above-average looks. The two walked to a tree by the roadside, ignoring passersby. The permed-haired girl huffed, "What do you want from me again?"
The woman with the long braid frowned and asked, "Tao Fenghua, did you go on a blind date the other day?"
"So what if it is?"
The woman with the long braid was deeply hurt: "How could you do this? You said you only loved me!"
Tao Fenghua retorted sharply, "I did say that, but you love someone else!"
"No way..."
"Li Jingzhi, you're still lying! Everyone knows it's music teacher Miss Zhao, and you even gave her so many gifts! I will never be friends with you again. Just thinking about seeing you at school makes me not want to study anymore!" After saying that, Tao Fenghua turned and left. Li Jingzhi hesitated for a moment, then quickly followed.
Rongxiang, intrigued by the spectacle, turned to Xiaomeng and asked, "Are all female students playing this nowadays?"
"Ah... I don't know."
Rongxiang, feeling dizzy from the sun, turned around and muttered to himself as he went back into the house, "Interesting."
Xiao Meng followed him into the bedroom and helped him take off his shirt and shoes. He seemed tired; he lay on the bed flipping through a newspaper, but twisted his waist into a side-lying position, his long legs dragging on the floor. His black trousers were stretched taut, perfectly outlining the lines of his buttocks. Xiao Meng glanced at him and suddenly felt an urge to slap his butt.
In his eyes, Rongxiang seemed more attractive with clothes on than naked. He had served Rongxiang since he was a child, bathing him and had seen and touched everything, so he was no longer surprised—but it was different with clothes on. But he couldn't quite describe the difference.
Rongxiang showed absolutely no restraint in front of Xiao Meng. He nonchalantly changed positions a few more times, twisting his body like a pretzel, until he finally finished reading the celebrity news in the newspaper. Throwing the newspaper aside, he returned to his original position, sprawling out on the bed.
Xiao Meng picked up the newspaper, folded it, and put it on the table. Then he sat down on a chair and, as if suddenly remembering something, asked, "Third Master, would you like to keep a dog in the yard?"
Rongxiang, with his eyes closed, asked, "Hmm?"
“A few days ago when I went out, I ran into a young girl from the Tao family. She said her dog had puppies and asked if I wanted one.”
"Pecker?"
"Wolfhound".
"Then we need one to guard the house."
"yes."
Rong Xiang withdrew his arm and shrank to the side: "Lie down with me for a while."
Xiao Meng bit her lip hard, took off her shirt and draped it over the back of the chair, then gently got into bed and lay down.
Rongxiang's breathing gradually deepened; he must have fallen asleep. Xiao Meng turned over and looked at his profile—forehead, nose, lips, chin—everything about him was beautiful. Beautiful but foolish people are often happy, and Rongxiang was clearly not happy now, because he was neither wise enough to see things clearly nor foolish enough to be blind to them.
Rongxiang slept until dinnertime before waking up. He had no appetite, so Xiaomeng brought him a bowl of thin porridge with honey, which he only ate a bite with great effort. Then he listlessly got up and paced back and forth slowly.
"Third Master, why don't you go out for a walk? You might as well take a ride."
Rongxiang was so bored that he actually agreed.
He sat in the car, and through the window, he could see the bustling cityscape slowly passing by.
"If I had come to Shanghai two years earlier, I would have been overjoyed." He thought, "There are so many lively and beautiful places; just looking at them from the outside makes me happy."
These thoughts brought him a brief moment of excitement followed by frustration. At that moment, Xiao Meng parked the car on the side of the road and turned around to say, "Third Master, I'm going to buy an evening newspaper across the street."
Rong Xiang straightened the black top hat on his head: "Go ahead."
After saying that, he opened the car door, got out, and stood by the roadside. He held onto the door with one hand and put the other in his pocket, looking around nervously. Suddenly, a voice sounded behind him, hesitant yet familiar: "Excuse me... are you...?"
Rong Xiang was startled, and when he turned around, he was even more surprised: "Hang Sen?"
The man who came was dressed in a sharp suit with slicked-back hair. Who else could it be but Zhao Hangsen, his drinking buddy from Fengtian?
Zhao Hangsen, beaming with delight, adopted a Western-style greeting, giving Rong Xiang a tight hug before bursting into hearty laughter: "Haha! When I first saw you, I thought I was seeing things, and afraid of the embarrassment of mistaking you for someone else, I looked you up and down several times before trying to come over and ask. Ahahaha! Little Xiang, how many years has it been? You're still as charming as ever!"
Rongxiang felt a little awkward seeing his loud voice, but not wanting to spoil his mood, he could only smile and say, "Not at all. But you're still the same as ever, in such high spirits."
At this moment, Xiao Meng came back with a newspaper in his hand. When he saw Zhao Hangsen, he was also taken aback, but he immediately greeted him, "Hello, Mr. Zhao, it's been a long time."
Zhao Hangsen released Rong Xiang and turned to Xiao Meng: "Is this Xiao Meng? You still look so young, it seems like you haven't changed at all since you turned eighteen!"
Hearing this, Xiao Meng felt a little awkward, just like Rong Xiang, but he couldn't say anything. He just mumbled a reply and stepped back to the side.
"It's so good to see you!" Zhao Hangsen grabbed Rong Xiang's arm. "Xiao Xiang, don't go! Let's find somewhere to talk. I'll treat you to the Paramount! I didn't drive, so I'll ride in your car!"
Rongxiang smiled and let him get into the car, although he was not very willing.
On the bus, Zhao Hangsen directed Xiao Meng on the route while talking at length with Rong Xiang about the various situations that had occurred since their separation.
"After the old man passed away, we divided the family property. People thought the Zhao family was very powerful, but in reality, we had been almost completely depleted of funds long ago. After dividing the property, my eldest brother and third brother even went to court, and in the end, each of them didn't get much money. As for the estate, with the bandits causing so much trouble over there, how could we collect any rent? So I simply sold the land and the house, came to Shanghai, and am now living at my second sister's house."
Rongxiang looked at him with a smile: "What about your wives? There must be at least twenty of them, right? Did you bring them all with you?"
Zhao Hangsen lowered his voice: "How could that be! Although my second sister is in charge of the household, I can't bring so many people to live with her. I only brought the fifth sister. She gave me a son, so I can't leave her out. Besides, she's educated and quite reasonable. I was thinking of making her my official wife."
Rongxiang stroked his chin: "Oh, you've become a father. So, what happened to all those other women you had left in Fengtian?"
“I’m not that inhumane. I gave them some money and made it clear that they should find their own way out. I can’t go back to Fengtian.”
When did you arrive?
“Last year. Hey---Xiao Meng, just turn at the corner of Fanhuangdu Road---Yes, there is no parking lot here, just find a side street to park.”
Xiao Meng parked the car at a street corner, then turned to Rong Xiang and said, "Third Master, I'll wait for you in the car."
Rong Xiang found it hard to leave him, and after hesitatingly agreeing, he got out of the car with Zhao Hangsen.
Although the Paramount Ballroom has only been built for a little over two years, it is already extremely famous. The neon signs gleam brightly, the entrance is full of vendors, and couples in colorful clothes walk in and out arm in arm, creating a scene of bustling activity.
Zhao Hangsen led Rong Xiang up to the second-floor ballroom and found a quiet spot to sit. A waiter with a side-parted hairstyle came over to greet them. Rong Xiang took a deep breath, feeling somewhat uncomfortable in this environment.
Zhao Hangsen pulled his chair closer to Rong Xiang: "Xiao Xiang, since you left Fengtian, I've only occasionally seen news about you in the newspapers. After you went to Shanghai, I've heard even less from you. How have you been these past few years?"
Rongxiang lowered his head and smiled bitterly: "Me... I fought the Japanese first, and lost all my family business in Fengtian. Later I went to Xi'an... To be honest, I got worse and worse every day. In the end, I was completely defeated, so I had no choice but to come here far away, just to live a life of leisure and retirement!"
"Not married?"
"I had a wife, but she has passed away. She left me with a child."
"So you're all alone now?"
Rongxiang nodded.
Zhao Hangsen sighed: "I think being a recluse is fine too, as long as you have some money to spend. But what's the point of being alone? It's so boring."
Rongxiang, realizing he'd hit the nail on the head, shifted uncomfortably in his position and said, "I'm used to it."
At this moment, a singer dressed in a pink tulle dress appeared on the stage and sang an English song with accompaniment. The song was upbeat and drew applause when it ended. Zhao Hangsen perked up, beckoned a waiter over and whispered a few words to him, then turned to Rong Xiang and smiled, "Didn't you sing well? Her name is Xiao Xianglan, and we're somewhat acquainted."
Rong Xiang leaned back; he had been talking to Zhao Hangsen the whole way and now his throat was a little sore.
Xiao Xianglan sang "Jasmine Flower" on stage again. After removing her makeup, she walked over to Zhao Hangsen and sat down next to him, looking a little awkward. Zhao Hangsen took her hand and said, "I've been thinking about you all day. This is my friend, surnamed Rong. We were in Fengtian together back then. It's so good to run into you today."
Before speaking, Xiao Xianglan smiled and nodded slightly to Rongxiang, saying in a clear and crisp voice, "Mr. Rong, it's a pleasure to meet you. You can just call me Xianglan."
Rongxiang was always polite to women as a reflex, but in these extraordinary times, he was really not in the mood and could only manage a perfunctory reply: "Miss Xianglan, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Upon seeing Xiao Xianglan, Zhao Hangsen's eyes seemed glued to her, and he murmured sweet nothings to her, making Xiao Xianglan smile. Just as their affection was at its peak, a waiter approached and bowed, saying, "Miss Xiao Xianglan, Mr. Su over there wants you to come and sit down."
Xiao Xianglan was taken aback: "What Mr. Su?"
The waiter lowered his voice: "It's Su Banyao."
Xiao Xianglan immediately seemed flustered, looking at Zhao Hangsen anxiously and asking, "What should we do?"
Zhao Hangsen was clearly unaware of what was going on: "No need to go! Ignore all that stuff like crispy pastries and candy!"
Xiao Xianglan gently pushed him: "No... we can't mess with the Su family, I'd better go!"
Zhao Hangsen, however, lost his temper and turned to the waiter, saying, "Tell that guy surnamed Su that she's with me now! Tell him to find someone else!"
The waiter hesitated and refused to move. Just as Zhao Hangsen was about to get angry, a hand patted him on the shoulder: "Oh my, isn't this Director Min's brother-in-law?"
Zhao Hangsen turned around and glared at the tall man in a black silk trousers and jacket: "Who are you?"
Xiao Xianglan stood up timidly: "Hello, Mr. Su."
Rongxiang never expected that his first outing after arriving in Shanghai would lead to such an extraordinary encounter.
When you're down on your luck, even drinking cold water can cause problems.
Zhao Hangsen, probably under the protection of his second brother-in-law, had become somewhat arrogant and ignorant. The man surnamed Su was clearly a big thug with many henchmen behind him. Zhao Hangsen, however, refused to compromise and even argued with him. Rong Xiang remained seated, thinking that after several years, Zhao Hangsen was still as foolish as ever.
Seeing that he was about to throw another tantrum, Rongxiang was afraid that if things got out of hand, he would be implicated. He couldn't help but tug at him and whispered, "Let's go."
He had been sitting in the shadows, and everyone was too busy with their standoff to notice him. But the moment he spoke, Zhao Hangsen and Su Banyao turned to look at him at the same time. After staring at him for three seconds, Su Banyao looked away and started to lash out.
"It seems Mr. Zhao is unwilling to give me, Su, any face. Fine, then don't blame me for not giving Director Min any face." After saying that, he turned around and made a gesture, and several people at the other table in the corner of the ballroom immediately got up and rushed over.
Chaos erupted in the dance hall. The performance on stage was stopped, and the singers ran backstage to hide. Rongxiang inwardly groaned, but after looking around, he decided it was safer to stay seated.
Zhao Hangsen only then realized he was scared, but it was too late. Several people rushed at him, pinned him to the ground, and began to beat him mercilessly. Xiao Xianglan cried and tried to pull him away, but was pushed and fell to the ground.
Rong Xiang looked at Zhao Hangsen, who had been beaten, with a troubled expression. Unexpectedly, Su Banyao leisurely sat down in the seat Zhao Hangsen had just been in and said to Rong Xiang, "You're sitting pretty comfortably!"
Rongxiang glanced at him, knowing he was being sarcastic about his lack of loyalty in watching his friend get beaten up. But his relationship with Zhao Hangsen was only that, so he didn't care and simply nodded.
Su Banyao rubbed her shaved chin with her hand: "Whose young master are you?"
Rongxiang looked down on these street thugs from the bottom of his heart, but since he was under their roof, he dared not disobey them, so he could only vaguely answer, "I just arrived in Shanghai."
To everyone's surprise, Su Banyao persisted: "Oh? What's your surname?"
"...Rong".
"Honor what?"
Rong Xiang frowned as he looked at Su Banyao and tried his best to soften his tone, saying, "Mr. Su, Zhao Hangsen is just being unreasonable. You hit him a couple of times to vent your anger, so just let it go."
Su Banyao turned to look at him: "Wow! You pleaded for him? What makes you think you can do that?"
Rongxiang sighed, thinking to himself that even a tiger fallen into the plains is bullied by dogs, and now even a street thug can talk to him like this.
Su Banyao clapped her hands, ordering her men to stop punching and kicking, and helped Zhao Hangsen to his feet. Zhao Hangsen was bruised and battered, his mouth and eyes distorted. His suit shirt was half-ripped off, and his tie was wrapped around his neck like a noose. He was in pain and terrified, his legs like noodles, unable to stand. Then someone kicked him in the backside: "Stand still!"
Su Banyao stood up with her hands behind her back, circled Zhao Hangsen, and then took half a large apple from the fruit plate on the table behind her and placed it on his head. Everyone looked on with suspicion when Su Banyao pulled out a gun from her waist and slammed it on the table: "Mr. Rong, since you dare to plead for this young master Zhao, don't blame me for making things difficult for you today. If you can shoot this apple on his head, I won't say a word; I'll not only release him, but also that little bitch he likes. If you don't dare to shoot, then since you're with him, you'll probably suffer some consequences too!"
Rongxiang stared at him with wide eyes: "That's all?"
That's all!
Rong Xiang beckoned to a waiter, asked for paper and pen to write down his license plate number, and briefly described where he had parked, asking him to call the driver. Then he stood up, took out his gun, aimed it, but after aiming for a while, he put it down again, annoyed, and shouted loudly, "Zhao Hangsen, can you please stop moving around?"
Zhao Hangsen was so scared that his pants were soaked: "Xiao Xiang... you have to aim carefully... or you should go find my second sister... Waaah... please don't shoot... I'm so scared..."
Rong Xiang was separated from Zhao Hangsen by three large round tables. After hearing his words, he cursed under his breath and raised his hand to fire a shot.
With a thud, Zhao Hangsen fell to the ground.
The hall fell silent. Someone whispered, "Someone's been killed?"
Someone else went up to take a closer look, and after looking for a while, suddenly laughed and cursed, "Oh my! Look at his head covered in apple crumbs, he's not dead, he's just fainted from fright!"
Just then, the sound of heavy footsteps came from outside. A young man in a gray suit ran in, panting. It was Xiao Meng.
Upon seeing the mess in the hall, Xiao Meng knew something serious must have happened. Using the flashing, multicolored lights, he searched for a while before spotting Rong Xiang and hurried over: "Third Master, what happened?"
Rong Xiang put the gun back on the table and gestured towards Zhao Hangsen with his lip: "He's scared unconscious. Wake him up so you can take him home."
Xiao Meng walked over to Zhao Hangsen without calling him, picked up an unopened bottle of champagne from the table, smashed the bottle neck on the edge of the table, and then poured it all over Zhao Hangsen's face. The champagne had been kept chilled with ice, and now it soaked Zhao Hangsen to the bone. He groaned and slowly opened his eyes: "Oh... I'm still alive?"
Xiao Meng ignored him, bent down, pulled him up, and carried him on her back.
Rong Xiang grabbed his hat and put it on his head, then glanced at Su Banyao and said, "Thank you for giving me this face."
Su Banyao smiled faintly, her gaze like a giant tongue, scrutinizing Rong Xiang from head to toe: "I didn't realize you had such good marksmanship, little brother!"
Rongxiang didn't want to stay there for even a second longer: "You flatter me. Goodbye."
With that, he darted past Su Banyao and strode towards the stairs. Xiao Meng, carrying and dragging Zhao Hangsen along, hurriedly followed.
After getting on the bus, Rongxiang kicked Zhao Hangsen angrily: "Where does your second sister live?"
Zhao Hangsen groaned and directed Xiao Meng to turn around. He then turned back and said in a tearful voice, "Xiao Xiang, I'm so grateful to you for saving me this time... I had no idea that the man surnamed Su was someone I couldn't mess with... Ouch, my ribs hurt so much."
Rong Xiang glared at him, his gaze sharp: "Damn it, for your sake, I have to lower myself to a thug!"
“Oh dear… Xiao Xiang, you don’t know, the thugs in Shanghai are not like the bandits back in Manchuria… This Su Banyao dared to beat someone up at the Paramount, she must be a disciple of those two Green Gang bosses. In this day and age, even Chiang Kai-shek was Huang Jinrong’s apprentice… Ouch, her nose is bleeding…”
"I don't care who's who! It has nothing to do with me anyway! I'm sending you back this time, and I don't want to see you again for at least a year!"
Although he spoke harshly, Zhao Hangsen had been playing with him since childhood and was quite naive, so he didn't take it to heart: "Where do you live? Give me your address and phone number, and I'll come find you when I'm better."
"Pah! I'm more afraid that seeing you will bring me bad luck!"
Zhao Hangsen and Rong Xiang bickered the whole way, but when they arrived at his second sister's house, he warmly invited Rong Xiang to get out of the car and sit for a while. Rong Xiang immediately refused, closed the car door, and drove off.
The car fell silent, and Xiao Meng finally asked about what had happened. After Rong Xiang finished explaining, he rested his head on the back of the seat in front of him, feeling utterly ashamed and exhausted, no longer having the energy to argue with Zhao Hangsen.
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