Chapter 6
After dinner, Mo Daoyan returned to his room. The room still retained the furnishings he had before leaving home: a family photo, graduation photo, and books on electrical engineering on the desk, a basketball and football under the desk, a tennis racket on the wall, and the big red wedding character on the window gradually turning light red. The built-in wardrobe had three vertical compartments, each with three horizontal layers. The upper horizontal layer had the largest space and was used to store long coats. The lower horizontal layer was used to store stacked clothes or shoes. His school uniform was still hung in the middle and on the left, ironed flat. She was using the compartment on the right, which only had three or four coats. The others were put into the stacking area. In the corner were three red solid wood boxes and a jujube wood dressing table with simple skin care products on it.
The sheets, quilts and pillowcases were freshly washed and changed. They were soft and fluffy from being exposed to the sun, and gave off a faint scent of baking. Tong Yufei sat upright on the edge of the bed, concentrating on mending a maroon artificial leather bag with water patterns. The embellishments on the bag had become loose.
The familiar room awakened Mo Daoyan's dormant memories. He suddenly recalled his wedding night. It was also like this, with everything silent and the moon hanging high in the sky like a silver hook. The wedding banquet was over and the guests dispersed. He came in drunkenly and looked at the red all over the room. It was like a dream. Sitting in the same place was a girl in a crabapple red double-breasted wedding dress, his bride.
She wasn't as well-informed as his female classmates. On a macro level, she knew nothing about the dawn of the technological revolution, the evolving political landscape, or the development of economic globalization. On a micro level, she knew nothing about the principles of DC electrical appliances. But that didn't stop Mo Daoyan from taking a few more glances at the person who had invaded his private territory, just as people, indifferent to physical objects, still gravitate towards exquisite packaging. She wore a perfectly balanced bridal makeup, pink lipstick, and a delicate, fragrant peony-scented vanishing cream. She drank some champagne while toasting the guests. Her skin, white as snow, was rosy, her face rosy, her cheeks rosy, her eyebrows slender, her eyes sparkling with a hint of innocence, like a deer lost in an oil painting...
To be fair, judging only by her appearance, she is a beautiful girl, no less beautiful than those campus beauties or department beauties.
Tong Yufei stood up and poured a cup of ginger tea. He smiled at him with small, white teeth and said, "Have some ginger tea. It's good for your stomach."
Mo Daoyan was allergic to ginger and didn't take the tea: "Your name is..."
They had exchanged names during blind dates and when they exchanged letters, but he probably had forgotten. She pulled his wrist, extended her index finger, and rubbed his palm with the tip of her finger: "Tong Yufei, Danrendong, Yu as in language, Fei as in right and wrong."
Her fingertips were slightly cool, resisting the heat that was gradually rising from his drinking. "Who took it?"
"My father."
Yufeiyu, Mofeimo, Feiyufeimo, forgive his poor eyesight for not realizing that her father was a man of culture and background: "Your father is a real person who never shows his true face."
"If you don't want ginger tea, I'll go change it to plain water."
The moment she turned around, Mo Daoyan grabbed that slender hand as if possessed by a demon, and took the opportunity to pull her into his arms. His fingers stroked her delicate face and slowly slid towards her thin lips. Her lips were soft and moist, like soaked cherry blossom petals, so beautiful and tempting. He couldn't help but hugged her slender waist, and covered her with his warm and dry lips, trying his best to absorb the moisture from the petals.
Tong Yufei was startled by his sudden action, and the teacup fell to the ground and broke into two pieces, making a crisp sound.
Mo Daoyan seemed to have lost himself in a long moment, and finally woke up from his drunken stupor: "Sorry, I was rude."
Looking back on this incident later, Mo Daoyan attributed it to his naivety. At that time, he had not yet received a full education and still had some primitive animal impulses in him. Now, as he grows older and has more experience, he has been completely transformed and will no longer be distracted by the delicate daisies on the gift box and do foolish and despicable things.
---
A bed, a quilt and two pillows, a single man and a single woman sleeping on the same bed. He thought he could not be like Liu Xiahui. It was not the right time to sleep in separate rooms right after returning home tonight. The best way was to move the single sofa bed in the study over, so that they could stay together for a while.
He made up his mind to go out, but Tong Yufei stopped him: "You've been traveling so long, go get some rest. I'm going to work."
"You work the night shift?"
"Yes."
She put on the sewn bag, went downstairs, and ran into Meng Ruqing in the living room who had just finished a work call.
Meng Ruqing said, "Didn't you just start the night shift last week?"
"My colleague's mother is sick, and since it's the end of the year and there's a lot to do, the team leader asked me to cover for a few days."
Meng Ruqing supported the idea of helping others, but she looked at the wall clock and said, "It's past eight o'clock. There are no cars, right?"
The proofreading post at the newspaper office operates in three shifts: day shift, night shift and late night shift. The day shift is from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, the night shift is from 4:00 pm to midnight, and the late night shift is from midnight to 8:00 am the next day. Tong Yufei is scheduled for the late night shift this week. Although he can arrive on time for the 12:00 am shift, it is not realistic. Employees who live close to the unit can still walk to work, but those who live far away have no hope of walking and have to ride a bicycle or take the bus. The safety of riding at night is another problem. Female comrades basically only have the bus, and there are very few night buses. Most of them can only take the last bus of the day shift and go to the unit two or three hours early according to the departure time.
The last bus No. 3 from Wuling Street to the newspaper office leaves at 7:50 p.m. Tong Yufei usually leaves home at 7:30 p.m. Tonight, Mo Daoyan is home and Mo Daoxing is on winter vacation, so it's rare for the family to get together. There was also a small incident of a quarrel between the Mo family father and son, so she was dozens of minutes late.
Tong Yufei was at the entrance, changing into black and white checkered canvas shoes: "I'm going by bike."
The Mo family has a car with a driver, which is mostly used by the old lady. Except for emergencies such as illness, Mo Changlin and Meng Ruqing will not use it, and they also don't allow the children to use it. Meng Ruqing said to Mo Daoyan upstairs: "Daoyan, go and send it off."
Tong Yufei said hurriedly: "No, no, there are a lot of people working the night shift at this time."
"There are many people working in the nearby factory. Your newspaper office is far away, and there are only a few people going the same way as you. It's safer to have him accompany you."
"He went back and forth in the cold wind and dew, it was so tiring..."
"He's your man. If you don't mess with him, who else should you mess with? This is what he should do."
Tong Yufei hadn't expected her mother-in-law to say such plain words. Her face flushed as she said, "He came a long way and just got home..."
Mo Daoyan took out a jacket and went out before her: "Let's go."
Tong Yufei was using a Phoenix brand women's bicycle, and Mo Daoxing was using a mountain bike, which was not enough to carry people. The factory provided Mo Changlin with a Toyota bike, and the original 28-bar bike was idle. Mo Daoyan pulled it out of the storage room, cleaned it, pumped up the tires, stepped on it, supported himself with one foot, and waited for her to get on.
Tong Yufei walked around to him and handed him a pair of brown woolen fingerless gloves. The pattern on the back was a cute little bear paw crocheted with yellow yarn. It matched the one she was wearing. She had worked overtime to knit them these past two days. "This is for you!"
Mo Daoyan didn't answer, but took out a pair of used leather gloves from his pocket: "Wool is not wear-resistant, it would be a pity if it was worn out."
Gloves are made to be worn by people, so it is natural for them to be worn out. He doesn't want to accept them because he doesn't want to.
Tong Yufei remained calm after being rejected in person. He got into the car and smiled, "You can go now."
Mo Daoyan drove Tong Yufei out. There were streetlights installed on both sides of the street. In order to save electricity, less than half of them were turned on. Some of the lampposts were damaged by traffic and were tilted crookedly in the air. It was silent all around. Occasionally, a child playing hide-and-seek would run by, calling his friends and singing nursery rhymes. The small figures moved through the alternating light and dark, sketching a rich ink painting.
The north wind howled, the cold was biting, and the moonlight was like frost, spreading coldly on the ground. The two were silent all the way. In order to shorten the execution-like silence and the attack of flying sand and gravel, Mo Daoyan increased the speed of the car. The car almost flew up and ran over an uneven depression. There was a violent bump. Tong Yufei involuntarily clutched the clothes on both sides of his waist and pressed his forehead heavily against his back.
Even through her coat, Mo Daoyan could still sense her fear and the chill of the winter night. He stepped on the brake to slow the car down: "Get out of the wind before you go?"
The public coin-operated telephone booth in front was the only safe haven on this road section. Tong Yufei thought that it must be even colder with Mo Daoyan blocking the way, so she nodded and agreed. Mo Daoyan parked the car on the side of the road and walked over with her. The telephone booth only had one square meter of space. He opened the door to let Tong Yufei in, and stayed outside. He cupped his hands and lit a cigarette. In the raging wind, sparks and ashes burned rapidly like a passing meteor.
Tong Yufei pushed open a crack and said, "Come in and squeeze in."
The smoke Mo Daoyan exhaled drifted away in the air. Seeing that she would feel uncomfortable and want to come out if she didn't go in, she put out the cigarette and squeezed in with the coolness and the smell of tobacco. Tong Yufei was half a head shorter than him. They faced each other, her forehead touching his lips. Her cheeks flushed, and she quickly turned around, her fingers scratching the glass of the phone booth, looking at the swaying shadows of the trees outside, as if talking to herself.
"When will this gust of wind stop?"
Mo Daoyan leaned against the phone: "It will eventually stop."
Being so close, the silence was particularly awkward, so she tried to find the right words to say, "Is there any difference between East Germany and West Germany?"
Mo Daoyan's faint voice drifted overhead, "The systems were different. East Germany belonged to the Warsaw Pact, practiced socialism, and implemented a planned economy. West Germany belonged to NATO, practiced capitalism, and implemented a market economy. Private ownership was the main form of business, and the economic levels were different. East Germany's economy was only a quarter of West Germany's, and its technological sophistication was unattainable. Famous car brands like Volkswagen and BMW were all made in West Germany. There were also subtle differences. The first foreign language in East Germany wasn't English, but Russian."
After he finished answering, she asked again: "How did you complete the full course of study for the master's and doctoral degrees in three years?
"Tuition fees are over 10,000 marks a year. To reduce expenses, shortening the school year is the wisest approach."
Mo Daoyan looked down at her, as if waiting for her third question, but she couldn't help but say, "I'm a burden to you."
In reality, he couldn't be called a burden. Marrying a man means providing for his wife, clothing, and food. It's his responsibility, and it has nothing to do with love or hate. But he didn't politely say he wasn't a burden, or say some superficial, nice words. Instead, he glanced outside and said, "The wind has stopped."
Mo Daoyan rode across three long streets, turned two corners, and arrived at the Xicheng Daily Newspaper Office. The newspaper office was not as grand as he had imagined. It was a two-story, dilapidated building with a sign made of a wooden board with black characters on a white background and half a corner missing. The vigorous and powerful regular script of the name showed a sense of loneliness. There were no lights on in the building, and it was pitch black. The lock of the front door was broken, and the proofreading room was in the row of houses at the back.
Tong Yufei went up through the south side door: "Thank you for your hard work, go back quickly."
Mo Daoyan suddenly called her: "Miss Tong..."
Tong Yufei turned around and looked at him blankly.
Mo Daoyan looked into those bright eyes and said thoughtfully, "Do you remember what I said to you on the day I left the country?"
Before leaving, he told her that they were not husband and wife in the true sense, and he would not waste her best years. If she met someone who was compatible with her, she could write to him, and no matter where he was, he would fly back and unconditionally cooperate with her divorce.
For five years, he never received her letter asking for a divorce, nor did he set foot on his homeland.
Tong Yufei paused and said, "It's hard to find a soulmate. I'm not that lucky."
"Not this one, but the one after that."
The day he returns home with a full load of studies, he will divorce her regardless of whether she finds a home or not.
Mo Daoyan said with great determination: "Let's get a divorce!"
A hint of surprise flashed across Tong Yufei's eyes. She had expected this day to come, but she didn't expect it to come so soon. However, that surprise disappeared in a flash, like clouds passing through the sky. Mo Daoyan was very relieved to see this. Although divorce was not good news and it happened suddenly, it was normal for her to be unable to react for a while. Now that she has come to her senses, it means that she has not forgotten her original promise. Things are going more smoothly than he expected. They got married happily and divorced cleanly. Finally, they parted ways amicably.
"Think about it carefully. Tell me what you want when you've figured it out."
She has been in this family for almost five years, and he owes her just for making grandma happy. Grandma has a strong sense of family background. When she first learned that her beloved grandson had married a farmer's daughter, she treated him coldly, thinking that a perfect match should not be made for a phoenix or a crow. It is not a good match. It is conceivable how much hardship she has endured to have the place in grandma's heart today. He will try his best to compensate her.
"Let's go back. It's too late and they will be worried."
She took a breath, turned around and disappeared into the starry night.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
