Chapter 42: Outlying Islands 6
In fact, bringing a bicycle is not really a good means of transportation on this island.
The island was hilly, and while not particularly high, after a short distance, two men had to carry the bikes on their backs. Although it wasn't mentioned explicitly, Neil followed them because of this. When they encountered a slope, he took Chu Wang's Antelope bike from Si Yansang and carried it up the mountain.
The long mountain path had over nine hundred steps. As the sun neared its zenith, the May sun still blazing, so the three of them rested for a while in a pavilion on the mountainside. As they neared the docks and fishing village, Chu Wang was already struggling. The two men carrying the bicycles continued to chat calmly, mostly Neil, seemingly taking credit for himself, telling Chu Wang about Si Yansang's many interesting stories about life in England.
For example: "At the end of last year, he got into Oxford's natural philosophy department with all his A's, but he kept running to Cambridge's literature department every few days... just to have someone correct his poems."
Another example: "Stein received a very German-style education. His speech and actions are sarcastic, mean, and humorous. He is completely different from those British students, or those purely Anglicized Chinese students. This is what I like most about him. When I was studying at public school, it was all boys, so I didn't think so. Later, when I entered university, there were more social occasions, and I inevitably met many British ladies. There are many British gentlemen who are elegant, but there are fewer who are elegant and lovely..."
These days, Neil teased Si Yansang whenever they met. At first, his face darkened, but now, used to it, he just listened quietly. However, when Neil mentioned the word "adorable" instead of "cute," Si Yansang suddenly lashed out at him. Chu Wang smiled, encouraging him to continue.
Neil rubbed the back of his head and continued, "You know, the pure British style is 'indifferent to everything' - that is, the more they care about something, the colder they are to it, the more relaxed they are. When those pure British women approached Si with incomparable indifference, they were met with even greater indifference from him - of course, none of them knew that his indifference was pure, German indifference."
Chu Wang laughed out loud when he heard this.
She knew this well: German boys are generally very shy. But if you show them a little kindness, they'll be greeted with unabashed warmth and spontaneity. If your "kindness" to a German boy only leads to indifference, it's the coldest indifference you'll ever see.
Si Yansang was unconcerned. "In the eyes of you British, the Germans are probably just country bumpkins—the Chinese? They're probably going through a barbaric era."
Passing the Wu family's old house in the gloomy forest, the temperature suddenly dropped, so they didn't stay for long. The two people pushing bicycles chatted casually, their conversation was lighthearted, but British.
Arriving at the fishing village dock, the three of them were thirsty, so they stopped at a convenience store for tea. Chu Wang ordered a tooth-destroying sea buckthorn juice, while Si Yansan grabbed a bottle of soda water. Outside the convenience store, cups of reddish-brown tea sat on a wooden board, with a line of English calligraphy written on it: "Chinese tea, try it."
Because the price was quite cheap, Chu Wang thought it wasn't some genuine tea, perhaps just leftover tea dregs from a tea shop. Neil, however, drank a bowl with great interest, then frowned and said, "Chinese tea, please don't drink it."
There was a hotel shuttle bus near the grocery store—and it only made this one trip. The sun had long since passed its peak, and the clouds had already covered the sun, leaving it only slightly muggy. Chu Wang, preoccupied with buying kelp, chose not to take this bus back. Even if he disliked Mrs. Qiao, he still had to put in the effort to please his elders. Neil, unwilling to be a third wheel, said goodbye to them at the shuttle bus stop and carried a bicycle for them back home.
Someone had brought a bicycle, and the already narrow bus probably couldn't accommodate Chu Wang and Si Yansang. As the door closed and the bus was about to start, a loud female roar echoed from the bus, accompanied by a crisp slap—"Zoesetse, you bastard!"
The car had barely started when it slammed to a stop. The door opened, and an agitated "Mrs. Xie" jumped out. Everyone inside the car peered out, watching the excitement unfold, but only one window was open.
Xie Zeyi leaned against the window, with a slightly apologetic smile: "Moli, it's going to rain, please go back and get angry with me."
Molly yelled in a crying voice: "Get out!"
After listening to this, Xie Zeyi smiled and nodded: "Okay then."
This time, even the bus driver asked with a smile, "Mr. Xie, do you really not need to wait any longer?"
Xie Zeyi said, "Since the lady has spoken, why don't you obey?"
The bus driver was amazed and sighed, "Okay, Mr. Xie."
The window was closed without hesitation, and the bus drove away immediately.
Ms. Molly stared at the bus as it drove away, then turned back to exchange glances with the other two.
Chu Wang and Si Yansang both gave her a smile full of regret.
Molly flung her sunglasses towards the direction the bus disappeared. With no way to vent her anger, she could only turn around and mock Si Yansang: "You Chinese men."
Si Yansang smiled politely and said, "I apologize on behalf of us Chinese men."
Chu Wang took a step forward, standing between the two of them, and said with a smile, "Chinese men come in all shapes and sizes. It's just unfortunate that you met the worst one, and this one is the best. Ms. Molly, you need to know this."
Chu Wang's emphasis on the words "Ms. Molly" made Molly's face turn red, and she could hardly recover from the huge gap between "Mrs. Xie" and "Ms. Molly." Her towering chest suddenly puffed out, but she couldn't let out a long breath.
Then, Chu Wang turned around and asked Si Yansang, "It's going to rain. Why don't we ride our bikes back to the hotel?"
Si Yansang smiled gently and dotingly: "I'll go with you to buy kelp first."
Chu Wang smiled at Molly and said, "See? People are different." He turned around and winked at Si Yansang, "Let's go."
Molly was already furious, and now she was thwarted by a seemingly frail young woman. She smoothed her hair in disbelief and laughed to herself. But she couldn't read a single word on this island, let alone find her way around. Even with her frustration and discouragement, she could only follow the two men from a distance.
The two of them naturally knew that she had followed them all the way. As they pushed the cart through town, Si Yansang couldn't help but laugh and asked, "Why are you so angry?"
Chu Wang glanced back and said angrily, "You still don't allow me to sweep the yard, right?"
"Sweep the yard." Si Yansang walked for a while with his eyes downcast. After a while, he said softly, "Of course."
Then he smiled and repeated, "So it's sweeping the yard."
Not far away, a long rope of kelp hung on a wire mesh fence between two palm trees, drying in the sun. Chu Wang stared at it for a moment, unsure whether it was the "highest quality kelp" Mrs. Qiao had spoken of. As he hesitated, a dark cloud descended, and Chu Wang stopped hesitating. He knocked on the door. Perhaps because the fishermen's meals were unusual, the man of the house came running out, bowls in hand. After inquiring about the price, Chu Wang realized he had no loose change and might have had more than enough to buy the entire rope.
As they were discussing, a drizzle began to fall. There was nowhere else to hide except under the eaves of this house. Chu Wang had an idea and asked the man of the house for an umbrella to make up for the small amount of money he owed. The man was naturally delighted. As he went inside to get an umbrella, Molly also came over to take shelter. She looked so wet and miserable, as if she had been so embarrassed to stand in the rain for a long time at first, but now she finally gave in to the weather.
Living under the same roof, it was inevitable that they would talk. Molly looked at the large handful of kelp in Chu Wang's arms with dismay and asked, "What is this?"
Chu Wang smiled and said, "Chinese people use it to make soup."
Molly asked again: "Can Americans drink it?"
Chu Wang said: "I don't know if Americans can drink it, but Mr. Xie should be able to drink it."
Molly was silent for a while, then whispered, "I... didn't bring any money when I left. Can I give it to you when I get back to the hotel?"
Chu Wang lowered his head and smiled for a while, determined to put the past behind him. "This is too much for me. I can give you some. It's not worth much, so you don't have to give it to me."
As they were talking, they heard the sound of a motor not far away, followed by a small truck rumbling over and stopping in front of the three of them. With the window rolled down, Xie Zeyi raised his eyebrows slightly from inside the truck cab and said to Molly, "Do you know how hard this place is to find, huh?"
Chu Wang and Si Yansang watched the ever-changing expressions on Molly's face. She wanted to put on airs, but finally softened her heart and burst into laughter. She rushed forward, hugged Xie Zeyi's head, and cried loudly.
Xie Zeyi said helplessly: "It's raining, get in the car first."
Molly nodded obediently and got into the passenger seat. After a while, Xie Zeyi asked the two of them again, "It's a pity there are only two seats. Why don't you wait a while and I'll come back to take you back to the hotel?"
This place was not far from the hotel. Chu Wang did not want to cause trouble for no reason, so he smiled and refused, "We have borrowed an umbrella. We won't bother Mr. Xie."
Xie Zeyi didn't insist. He lowered his head and thought for a moment before saying to Si Yansang, "Don't let your girlfriend catch a cold, or you won't be able to pass Mrs. Ge's test."
Si Yansang thanked him with a smile and replied, "Please rest assured, Mrs. Ge."
They both hadn't anticipated the tropical island's rain showers. It started out as a gentle drizzle, but halfway through, carrying the kelp, a torrential downpour, combined with a strong wind, threatened to rip the flimsy umbrella apart. Chu Wang shivered on the mountain path, and Si Yansang's coat fell onto her.
On their way back to the hotel, Si Yansang was already soaked, but Chu Wang, strangely, only had his trouser legs and shoes and socks soaked. When the hotel servant came over to ask, he was also a little surprised: "Didn't you come back together? How come one is fine and the other is soaked like this?" Another servant hurriedly fetched a clean towel and threw it all over Si Yansang, including Chu Wang's.
He acted calm and told Chu Wang a joke: "Maybe there's a cumulonimbus cloud growing on top of my head."
Chu Wang finally managed to drive him back to his room and repeatedly instructed him, "Take a hot bath and change your wet clothes. I'll ask Puou to boil some hot water for you."
He nodded in agreement, but still was slow to go into the house.
Chu Wang frowned, "Go quickly, don't catch a cold." After a while, he said, "Take a shower and change clothes, call my room, and then we can go downstairs to play together."
After hearing the last sentence, he finally nodded and went back to the house.
Chu Wang sighed and went straight back to his room to change his wet clothes. He drank some hot water and waited for the call. He waited for who knows how long, until the servant knocked on the door and invited him to dinner. After sunset, when the dusk was heavy and Chu Wang was almost drowsy, the bedside phone rang.
She picked up the receiver and called out, "Hello," but there was no response. She suspected someone had dialed the wrong number, but then she heard the quiet, even, shallow breathing of someone else. Someone was there, no doubt about it.
Chu Wang held his breath and listened for a while. He didn't know how long it had been before there was finally a sound from the other end of the receiver.
"Hello, Ms. Linzy?" It was Neil's voice.
"Yes, it's me." Chu Wang said.
Neil said, "...It's like this. After Si came back, he fell asleep. But just now, for some reason, he suddenly reached out to touch the phone receiver. I don't know if he dialed the number, but he still fell asleep. He fell asleep holding the receiver."
"Yeah." Chu Wang responded.
Neil smiled and said, "Do you want to come over and take a look at him secretly? He's so cute. I won't tell anyone -"
Chu Wang smiled and said, "No need, just let him sleep quietly."
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