Chapter 13
The Mid-Autumn Festival was exceptionally busy these past few days. The shop staff were either folding gift boxes until their fingers were sparking or carrying mooncakes until their backs ached. Fortunately, on the day she finished work on the 15th of August, Sister Fang gave her extra holiday pay. As Gu Mengzhu happily counted the money and walked out, for the first time ever, Qi Yaoguang handed her his entire week's wages.
She was somewhat surprised, hesitated for a moment, and then pushed the money back:
"You've really worked hard these past few days, so just keep it for now. You won't need to ask me for money when you go out to look for a job."
He refused, insisting that she take it. Gu Mengzhu looked at him suspiciously, and after confirming that he wasn't just being stubborn, she smiled and put the money in her pocket as he wished.
After returning to their rented room, she set up an altar by the windowsill as she had done in previous years. However, when she was about to light the candles, she discovered that the red wax had been half-eaten by rats. Gu Mengzhu had no choice but to ask Qi Yaoguang to buy some. With nothing else to do, she took out the mooncake box that she had hidden well by her bedside, intending to count the money inside again to put her mind at ease before depositing it the next day. She opened it expectantly, only to find it empty.
Gu Mengzhu squeezed her eyes shut and even reached into the mooncake box to grab a handful, but there was nothing inside except for the air that she couldn't feel anyway.
"That's impossible! Did I put it in the wrong place?"
She started rummaging through drawers and cabinets.
Gu Mengzhu kept telling herself to stay calm as she searched, but it was no use. She walked around and searched the entire bedroom, but couldn't find a single penny.
"No way, no way! My money, my money. Where is it, where is it?"
"How could that be?"
Tears welled up in her eyes. She began to grab her hair and scratch her face, gasping for breath in an attempt to regain her breathing, but all her efforts were in vain. She trembled and sobbed, tears streaming down her face. In an instant, the woman's eyes lost all their light, and she looked utterly desperate.
She had to accept reality.
For the first time, Gu Mengzhu harbored suspicion about someone, but she quickly dismissed it and condemned her own petty thoughts. But it was no use. It must be him, she thought darkly, searching for a scapegoat to blame.
"I've bought the candles, hey! Answer me!"
Seeing no one answer and with the bedroom door open, Qi Yaoguang carried a bag of red candles over. Inside, Gu Mengzhu sat dejectedly on the floor, clutching an iron box tightly in her hand. Hearing the noise, she quickly turned her head and opened her tearful eyes to look at him. She didn't say anything, but Qi Yaoguang understood everything. He put down the candles and lowered his head, avoiding her gaze.
Is that you?
He dared not answer.
Gu Mengzhu dropped the iron box, and amidst the clattering sounds, quickly got up and rushed over, grabbing his collar:
"I asked if it was you! Why didn't you answer! It really is you! It really was you!"
"Listen to me, I had a really good run of luck that day! I started with a hundred and won a thousand! Believe me, I really thought I would win! So I went back and got some more money."
"You know that Pai Gow casino, right? It's near that mall you took me to before. I'm genuinely confident I can win. Didn't you say you wanted to buy a house? You can't buy one like this. You have to gamble. Only by gambling can you pay off your debts. Only by gambling can you buy a house to live in. Gamble! Only by gambling can you have a future, a chance to make a comeback! Do you understand?"
"Do you have any money left? Give me another ten thousand, just ten thousand, and I promise I can help you win it back. I can get you a million..."
Qi Yaoguang's eyes widened, his speech rapid, gradually becoming incoherent. He stared at her, his mouth moving incessantly, his eyes clearly looking at her, yet it was unclear who he was looking at, or who he was desperately trying to persuade. Gu Mengzhu was stunned, and in her daze, she felt utter despair for the man before her. She desperately struggled against him, attempting to vent the resentment buried deep within her heart:
"I kindly took you in, and you actually stole my money to gamble! How could you become like this? How could you become so despicable!"
"Useless! Useless! Useless! Do you know how long it will take me to save this money!"
"You're a big star, you spend money like water, but have you ever thought about how hard it is for a poor person like me to earn a living? You're just a piece of trash, you're just a scoundrel! Get out! You're not staying at my house, get out! Get out!" (How much, no, home)
Seeing that he didn't move, she picked up the mooncake box from the ground and threw it at him. He didn't dodge, letting her attack him. The box made a loud noise when it hit the ground, and there were quite a few protests from below. However, the person who threw the box didn't care. She couldn't hear anything anymore, only hatred was spreading in her heart.
After an unknown amount of time, Gu Mengzhu was exhausted from smashing things, and she was also tired of looking at the bloody cuts on Qi Yaoguang's face. She couldn't shed tears or speak. She closed her eyes, dragged her extremely tired body around, and took out the cardboard box that she had hidden for a long time from the dressing table drawer and carried it to the living room.
Qi Yaoguang followed her, watching her move about woodenly like a rotting corpse, seemingly searching for something. Soon, she had gathered everything: posters, records, magazines, merchandise, a lighter, and even an iron basin. Her eyes were wide open, refusing to close, and then, with a狰狞 (zhengning - ferocious/hideous) expression, she tore everything in her hands to shreds.
Qi Yaoguang was stunned. He didn't know that hidden among those tattered items were things with his name on them.
A fire broke out, the acrid smell of burning records filling the entire room, and choking black smoke rose lazily, gradually drifting towards Qi Yaoguang. He watched his face disappear in the flames, his words becoming embers speckled with red dots, his voice melting away second by second. He watched her face cast a dark shadow in the firelight, and then he couldn't utter a single word. He stood there, frozen, until the last vestige of his conscience could no longer bear the deathly silence, and finally, he pushed open the door and walked out into the deep night.
After a long while, Gu Mengzhu raised her head and looked at the night sky on the balcony of the hall. A light rain was falling outside, and thick clouds covered the night sky completely, leaving nothing in the sky, not even a trace of moonlight. She opened her eyes unwillingly, trying to see a glimpse of the moon through the gaps in the clouds, but even after her eyes ached and watered, the moonlight did not shine through the clouds.
Gu Mengzhu had no choice but to give up.
On the coffee table were the mooncakes and fruit that Fangjie had given them: two boxes of mooncakes, two tangerines, and two white pears, just enough for each person. She weakly reached out, grabbed the individual gifts from the coffee table, pushed open the door, and placed them against the wall outside.
Things that don't belong to her can be fed to the dogs or left to rot, whatever you want, just don't leave them in her house.
In the middle of the night, Gu Mengzhu lay in bed with difficulty, her brows furrowing unconsciously even in her sleep. She seemed to be sleeping restlessly, even struggling in her dreams. Finally, she opened her eyes from her half-awake state, sat up against the headboard, and turned on the room light.
It's a holiday today, so it doesn't matter if she can't sleep; she can take a nap this afternoon.
However, despite her headache and lucid state, she kept repeating the words "Pai Jiu" (排九). Gu Mengzhu decided that she would go out that afternoon to the casino called "Pai Jiu" to watch them gamble, and hopefully see Qi Yaoguang. She was certain she would see Qi Yaoguang; he would gamble until his eyes bulged out, then lose everything, and she would definitely call the police, have him arrested, and imprisoned for ten or eight years, or better yet, for life.
This kind of person has no hope; he should stay in jail.
Gu Mengzhu tore at the blanket covering her, her fingernails digging several holes into the wrinkled sheet. She felt a sharp pain in her palm, stared blankly at the slowly receding holes, and then came to her senses. When she went to the kitchen to get some water, she tasted the metallic sweetness of blood in her mouth.
When it comes to holding grudges, Gu Mengzhu is quite decisive. She had just finished lunch and, once her stomach was mostly digested, grabbed her bag and headed out. She didn't consider the dangers of going to the casino, whether she could find anyone, or whether she could get out safely. At that moment, her eyes were only filled with resentment towards Qi Yaoguang. This person hurrying along under the overpass was no longer concerned with anything else.
But the search wasn't going smoothly. She asked several people playing cards near the park, but they all waved their hands, saying they didn't know. Gu Mengzhu glanced at the billowing smoke, then looked down at the gamblers sitting there, puffing away. Her heart pounded in her chest, unsure whether to continue. She stood there, hesitant, wondering if she should continue. Wary, suspicious glances came from all around. When she looked back, she saw others quickly avoiding her gaze. Those pairs of eyes cautiously looking elsewhere seemed to suggest the casino's mystery and exclusivity.
She lowered her head, intending to give up.
"Hey, aren't you Qi Ge's girlfriend? I've seen you walking with him before!"
Gu Mengzhu looked up and saw a complete stranger waving at her with a cigarette dangling from his lips. The unpleasant smell of smoke was faint but present. She frowned, initially intending to ignore him, and turned to leave, but stopped a second later.
"Hey, do you know where Pai Gow Casino is?"
When the man laughed, his yellowed, blackened teeth were crooked and twisted, and his eyes were full of mockery.
"What are you doing? You want to gamble too?"
She stared intently at the person before her and slowly began to speak:
"I need to find him." (寻渠—找他)
The man's eyes lit up, and he pointed the cigarette between his index and middle fingers at her:
"What a coincidence, I just saw him at the casino!"
Gu Mengzhu also laughed, forcefully uttering two words:
"Is that so?"
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