Chapter Three: Divorce
Inside the hot pot restaurant, Lin Yu angrily stirred the vegetables in the broth, giving Chen Guang a final warning look. "This joke isn't funny at all!"
Chen Guang stared at Lin Yu's pufferfish-like cheeks, flushed red from the steam, and chuckled to himself. "Oh, honestly, I was in such a rush to leave for class this morning, I probably left my wallet in the dorm."
"Call your roommate to come rescue you! Isn't Zheng Qi here right now?"
My phone is dead!
Chen Guang grinned smugly, pointing in an annoying way at the black-screened, unresponsive phone on the table. "I'm preparing for the NBA China Qualifiers lately; being glued to my phone will only affect my shooting touch!"
"Bullshit!" Lin Yu smacked Chen Guang on the head with a chopstick. "Go borrow a charging cable from the boss right now!"
Chen Guang reached out to block, "This is a Blackberry P9981. My dad asked someone to bring it back from the US. Who here uses this model of phone?"
"Oh? It's worth so much. Why don't you pawn it to the boss and see if he can reward you with two more plates of pig brains to help your brain recover?"
"This isn't right! There are two hundred unflattering photos of you on my phone. I can't pawn it!" Chen Guang exaggeratedly protected his phone.
"I don't care if you're blackberry or blueberry, all I know is you're about to be in trouble." Looking at Chen Guang's smug expression, Lin Yu pretended to raise his hand to slap him. "Anyway, I'm penniless, a third-generation poor peasant, a pure proletarian."
"Haha, Banban, you're such a tightwad."
Seeing Lin Yu's resigned expression, Chen Guang couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Don't worry, when you go out with me, you'll never have to empty your pockets. Even if I have to sell myself, I'll make sure you're well-fed!"
"Pah! You'd be more like selling a kidney. You could sell that for enough to make a plate of stir-fried pork kidneys in the cafeteria." Lin Yu used a slotted spoon to scrape the meat scraps from the bottom of the pot. "How much money do you have left?"
Watching Chen Guang take out the crumpled banknotes from his sweatpants pocket, spread them out on the table, and finally let two coins peek out from between his fingers, falling onto the table with a clatter.
Lin Yu scoffed, "You're smart, yet you don't bring any money when you eat out. You're also stupid, yet you still know to check your pockets before ordering. This is probably what they call 'great foolishness appearing as wisdom'!"
Lin Yu quickly calculated in her mind that after paying the bill, she still had 32.8 yuan left. She looked at the meat scraps, which were smaller than the hole in a colander, and neatly patted her bottom and got up.
"Pay the bill and let's go!"
"No, we can't let you go back hungry. Why don't you take the pot and have a couple of sips of soup to tide you over?"
Chen Guang rarely showed such a bewildered expression, belatedly scratching the back of his head. "Why don't you come back to the dorm with me to get your wallet? Good things come to those who wait, and maybe a little exercise will make the food taste better!"
"By the time I got here, the dorms were already closed. The night market across the street is still open at this hour." Lin Yu raised his hand to interrupt him. "Let me see how many odens this huge sum of money you can convert into, Young Master Chen!"
“I know about that stuff. It was reported on 315. The meatballs are made by stomping on them. It’s unhygienic and environmentally unfriendly.” Chen Guang frowned and used exaggerated body language to express his resistance.
"Yes, yes, yes, when I starve to death, you can send me to the crematorium and cremate me, absolutely zero pollution! Then you can use this 32.8 yuan to give me a wedding gift. I have hundreds of millions of ghost money down there that I won't be able to break even. Perfect!"
Years later, Lin Yu couldn't remember whether Chen Guang had helped open the building manager's door that night, nor could she remember what kind of skewers they had ordered, or whether the meatballs that Chen Guang had so confidently claimed to have made by stepping on were among them.
All I remember is the two of them sitting side by side on one side of the mobile food cart. Lin Yu's arms were trembling, and he was wearing Chen Guang's oversized denim jacket, his hands cupped around a disposable paper cup filled with hot oden soup, his breath steaming in the air. Watching him wave bamboo skewers and shout orders, sweating profusely, I silently clicked on the video of "Transformation".
"I, Wang Jingze, would rather starve to death, die outside, or jump off this cliff..."
"Hey, Banban, this smells so good, you should try this, it's really good!" Lin Yu smiled as he took the skewers Chen Guang handed him. Looking through the steam rising from the hot soup, he could see a thick bundle of bamboo skewers piled up beside him.
Of course, what limited him was not the taste of oden, but the 32.8 yuan in his pocket. Lin Yu always remembered this insignificant number and the night breeze that smelled of oden that night.
Nowadays, Chen Guang no longer enjoys teasing Lin Yu by making small talk like before. Thinking back to how she used to get so angry that she would punch him, Chen Guang would feel a sense of relief and comfort.
The person now sitting in the passenger seat had a stiff and tense shoulder sticking out from the back of the seat, and Lin Yu felt that Chen Guang was a complete stranger.
"How are you?" Chen Guang turned his head slightly and observed Lin Yu's expression in the rearview mirror.
"Good."
Lin Yu was unsure whether he was asking about the present or the past few years, so he could only give a vague reply. As the dinner party came to an end, Lin Yu also gave up on maintaining his composure and looked away from Chen Guang's piercing gaze in the rearview mirror.
“When we were in school, you loved to talk to me.” Chen Guang turned his head to look out the window, and Lin Yu couldn’t see his expression at that moment.
“You said it yourself, it was during your school days, and five years have passed. People change, and you have changed a lot too.”
Lin Yu couldn't tell if his comment was casual and indifferent, or if he was aggressively waiting for an answer. Perhaps there was no clear line between the two, and the alcohol and the night veiled this ambiguous emotion.
"I am divorced."
Chen Guang spoke clearly, as if afraid Lin Yu hadn't heard him. "Perhaps Yao Fangfang has already told you, but I still want to tell you in person."
"Oh, what's so great about this? You didn't even send me an invitation to your wedding. Now you want me to give you a wedding gift?"
Lin Yu couldn't figure out why he suddenly felt a surge of fighting spirit, his chest burning with rage, and he couldn't help but utter sarcastic remarks, not caring that there were other people in the car.
"Lin Yu, I know you're angry with me, even hate me." He paused, then sighed. "You have every right to hate me. Whatever the reason, the retribution I'm experiencing now is my own fault."
"The opposite of hate is love. I have neither hate nor love for you." Lin Yu did not hesitate to stab Chen Guang, watching him wander in the predicament he had created.
"...Maybe you'll never forgive me, but I still want to tell you, all these years, I..."
"Chen Guang, after all these years you still haven't learned to look forward. You and I have no relationship whatsoever, and we won't have one in the future either, so you don't owe me anything, and..." Lin Yu paused, catching his breath.
"I'm getting married soon."
These words were like phlegm, a thousand thoughts stuck in his throat, neither coming out nor going down, and the car fell into an awkward silence once again.
Jiang Chuan's call came in at just the right time. Lin Yu subconsciously looked at Chen Guang beside him and unconsciously sat up straight.
"Have you arrived at the hotel?" Jiang Chuan's deep voice came through the receiver.
"Not yet, it's on its way."
As Lin Yu spoke, he subtly moved closer to the car door, trying to filter out the sound from the other end of the phone. However, the limited space in the car and the tacit silence of everyone meant that every word of their conversation reached Chen Guang's ears.
"Hmm, did you have fun?" Jiang Chuan asked casually.
Just as Lin Yu was about to answer, Chen Guang in the front row suddenly turned his head and said in a voice that everyone could hear, "Master, please drive slowly. My friend has had a bit too much to drink and is prone to motion sickness."
The air froze instantly.
Lin Yu frowned and looked at Chen Guang, but the other party just glanced back at her nonchalantly, as if his words just came out of pure concern.
There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone. When he spoke again, Jiang Chuan's tone was still gentle, even carrying a hint of a smile: "Are you with friends?"
Lin Yu's heart sank. Logically, there was nothing to hide, since she only found out about the extra person at tonight's dinner before she left. But for some reason, she just didn't want Jiang Chuan to know about Chen Guang's presence.
"No...carpooling."
Chen Guang, sitting in the passenger seat, coughed twice and then said nothing more.
Jiang Chuan remained silent for a moment, as if carefully analyzing every nuance of her tone and manner of speaking. After a long while, he finally replied, "Hmm, how much did you drink?"
"Just a little bit." Lin Yu unconsciously softened his tone, with a hint of ingratiation he himself didn't realize. "When have I ever disobeyed Teacher Jiang?"
Jiang Chuan chuckled softly, his tone noticeably softening: "Banban, you haven't been kidnapped, have you? Are you sending me a distress signal?"
"Get lost," Lin Yu laughed along.
Jiang Chuan stopped teasing her and only told her, "Be careful on the road." After a pause, he added, "I'm free tomorrow afternoon, so I'll pick you up from the airport."
"good!"
The call ended, the screen went dark, and the car fell silent again. The designated driver kept his eyes straight ahead, pretending to be a robot.
Lin Yu gripped her burning-hot phone, her fingers unconsciously tightening. She couldn't figure out what Chen Guang was up to; she wanted to question him, but didn't know where to begin. She felt as if the air in the entire carriage was so thin it was suffocating her.
The car stopped across from the hotel where Lin Yu was staying. Chen Guang politely asked the driver to wait a moment. This hadn't changed; whether in the past or now, Chen Guang's attitude towards strangers had always been humble and polite.
Lin Yu was a little angry. He opened the car door and walked ahead with his luggage, swaying slightly. Chen Guang, with his long legs, caught up in a few steps and stuffed something into Lin Yu's hand.
Lin Yu looked down and saw a gray-black thermos, a standard item for state-owned enterprises, which suited Chen Guang's current status.
"What is that?"
"I made cucumber and sugar water when I got off work, so it should still be warm. Remember to drink it before going to sleep."
Lin Yu swirled the glass, his eyes fixed intently on Chen Guang. "What do you mean?"
“I have never forgotten what you taught me and what you told me.”
"Nobody wants you to do these meaningless things."
"I know. I just..."
"Oh right, you never like to consult me before doing anything." It seemed like she was mocking his recent behavior, or perhaps taking the opportunity to denounce his betrayal years ago.
"So-so."
"I was just about to say, please don't call me that, really." Lin Yu closed his eyes. "Chen Guang, what exactly do you want from me?"
"I just want to go back to the way things were before."
The extreme irony combined with extreme anger made Lin Yu suddenly taste a hint of malice in this emotion.
She wanted to see Chen Guang kneel down and beg her, crying and pleading for forgiveness. Lin Yu wanted to hurt Chen Guang, physically or emotionally, to make him fall deeply in love with her, but never have her, to leave him wounded and in pain, just as he had once caused her.
This cliché emotion infected the drunken Lin Yu. Like a tree, she was rooted to the ground and unable to extricate herself. Her hatred grew wildly like branches and leaves. The cold wind tugged at her hair and slapped her cheeks, but it still couldn't sober her up.
......
After washing up, Lin Yu sat cross-legged on the two-meter-wide zero-pressure bed, wearing a hotel bathrobe. He stared blankly at the thermos on the table while pondering whether there were any flaws in his explanation to Jiang Chuan.
Just a quarter past eleven o'clock, Yao Fangfang answered the phone on time. "Have you arrived at the hotel?"
"Hmm, is your husband alright?"
"What a useless man. He comes home, takes off his clothes, and falls asleep the moment he gets up, snoring like a ton of bricks." Yao Fangfang complained indignantly. "When I first met him, he was such a refined and gentlemanly person. I never imagined he could snore so loudly."
Is your son asleep?
“He’s with my mother-in-law, she can’t look after him right now.” Yao Fangfang paused. “Oh right, I haven’t mentioned you yet. When did you slip the red envelope into my bag? Do we still need to go through all this formality?”
“It’s not just a formality. I came back in such a hurry that I didn’t even have time to buy a gift for your son. I’m such a terrible godmother.”
"With so many red envelopes, if you had married two years later, I could have achieved female independence with your red envelopes."
"Stop it. If you become independent, I'm worried that Zhang Yunzhou will run to Shanghai and fight me to defend him."
"Hmph, he needs to have that time too." Yao Fangfang paused. "Their railway bureau is currently undergoing a party committee reshuffle. He, the director of the general office, is as busy as an external intern, spinning like a top, constantly being whipped around the clock by his superiors."
"Next, I plan to send him to apply for a job on The Walking Dead. You'll have to admire his natural acting skills when you see him."
"His 'Rich Second Generation Transformation' isn't finished filming yet?" Lin Yu couldn't help but tease.
"Filming wrapped? I think it's about to be a flop."
"Alright, didn't I just apologize to you? My words were so sincere! Let's be forgiving," Lin Yu comforted him.
Yao Fangfang chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Maybe I've been living a comfortable life for too long and have developed some kind of 'affluent disease,' where I have to argue to alleviate my symptoms."
"How are you?" She changed the subject, her voice trembling slightly. Lin Yu guessed that she was secretly smoking on the balcony.
Lin Yu thought for a moment. "You're the second person to ask that question today."
"Who's the first one? Chen Guang?"
"Um."
"It's not that I deliberately created opportunities for him, but after so many years of being classmates, it's better not to become lovers than enemies. Who knows, your company might need to ask for favors from Lin Jiang for projects."
“I have no grudge against him. After all these years, who would still care about such old grievances?”
Listening to the sounds coming from Yao Fangfang's side, accompanied by a rustling sound, Lin Yu exhaled, probably having finished a cigarette, and was stubbing out the butt in the flowerpot.
“You may have forgotten him, but that's not necessarily true. After his divorce, he contacted my husband many times, asking about you. We felt sorry for him.”
"Pitiful? If I had a choice, I'd also like to be a second-generation rich kid with only one son for three generations, arranged marriages, and all I have left is money and power."
“You know Chen Guang isn’t that kind of person. He does have a lot of flaws, though: indecisive, arbitrary, and chauvinistic…” Yao Fangfang realized her tone had gone astray and quickly clicked her tongue to change the subject.
"However, I heard that he got divorced because his ex-wife cheated on him. At first, she didn't want to divorce him and even went to his workplace to make a scene. In order to cut ties cleanly, Chen Guang left with nothing."
"Ha, I wonder what his mother thinks now that things have turned out this way. Didn't she think that a family without political connections would hinder her son's candidacy for national leader?"
"Banban, I just hope you don't live in the shadow of being rejected." Yao Fangfang was silent for a long time, then sighed. "You know you've always been very outstanding in my heart, and I'll always be on your side."
"Of course you have to stand by my side. I'll be asking you to be my bridesmaid at my wedding."
“Of course, as long as you ask!” Yao Fangfang said earnestly.
"Well, I hope I didn't choose the wrong person this time."
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