TYSUF – Chapter 5 Half a Cup of Wine Tonight (2)

This person, this scene, was the fading glow of the setting sun, a fire coloring the entire sky.

Shen Xi suddenly remembered the scene from that night when he appeared at the smokehouse.

She had been bound hand and foot, curled up on the dirty floor, with the dead body beside her. Behind her was a long row of wooden beds, boards pressed tightly together. The skeletal smokers were like living dead, packed together without a gap, holding their pipes and heating them over the light—one puff to heaven, one puff to earth. A beggar was picking up cigarette wrappers, hunchbacked and half crawling, half walking past her, not sparing her a single glance.

The official had been called out for a while, and then Fu Tongwen entered, seeing her.

She still remembered that he took three steps towards her, bent down on his right knee, adopting a half-squatting position to look at her face. “Did you get hit?”

This was the first thing he had ever said to her in his life. Three words, a question.

“What’s wrong?” Fu Tongwen asked when he saw her condition.

Shen Xi quickly regained her senses. “Are you still used to sleeping on that bed in the evening?”

What kind of awkward question was that?

“Alright.” He set the bowl down, resting his left hand on the edge of the ceramic sink, his fingers naturally resting there, his index and middle fingers tapping gently. Shen Xi noticed. In the Fu family hall, he did the same thing with his feet, tapping a rhythm. It seemed… he was getting impatient.

Fu Tongwen showed no signs of unusual behavior but had already seen through her discomfort. Seeing that she couldn’t respond, he immediately said, “I have a few issues of The Lancet in my suitcase. I’ll have someone bring them to you tomorrow.”

“The Lancet?” she asked in surprise.

How would he be collecting medical journals? Was he perhaps studying medicine in the past? But it didn’t seem like it.

Fu Tongwen saw the question about to come from her and answered first, “Didn’t they tell you? My fourth brother was a doctor.”

“They did mention it, but only half a sentence,” she recalled.

“Oh?” Fu Tongwen smiled and asked softly, “Why only half a sentence?”

“Because…” she recalled the scene from years ago, softly explaining, “Because they were afraid it would upset me, because…”

He understood the words she hadn’t spoken, “Because of the fake marriage I gave you.”

She nodded.

Fu Tongwen raised his left hand and pointed towards the door, “Let’s go, we’ll go upstairs.”

Thus, the 9 o’clock appointment for this evening came to an end.

Shen Xi thought that with them both under the same roof, they would have plenty of time to be together. But unexpectedly, the next day, he left New York. He did leave behind the medical journals he had promised, along with an envelope containing colorful photographs from the streets of Paris.

Aside from these, he left no other words.

Shen Xi sat at the breakfast table, shoulder to shoulder with Wan Feng, carefully looking at each of the photographs.

One of the photographs was of a street in Paris, where houses stood close to each other, with no gaps between them, as if they were carefully arranged like matchboxes, sharing the same narrow roof. However, each house was painted a different color: white, light brown, dark brown, and deep red.

“Look, their shop signs have English on them,” Wan Feng pointed to the signs on the buildings.

Indeed, the hotel name was written in uppercase English letters.

Wan Feng, who had never been to France, was excited to see these photos.

Shen Xi flipped through the thirteen photographs several times, always trying to spot something different in them.

“What did Third Master talk to you about last night?” Wan Feng took the opportunity to ask.

“Nothing,” Shen Xi confessed, “nothing at all.”

“How is that possible?” Wan Feng pressed her chin against Shen Xi’s small arm. “You two were talking for quite a while in the kitchen. I wanted to go downstairs, but I didn’t dare, afraid you were talking about family matters.”

What family matters? If she counted on her fingers, she could remember exactly how many words they exchanged.

Shen Xi didn’t know how to respond, so she smiled and tried to change the subject.

“The first time I met Third Master was on the ship when we were leaving. He personally came to see me and Gu Yiren off.”

He came to see them off in person?

Shen Xi recalled the day she left in a hurry, when just seeing him once seemed like an impossible wish.

“Mm,” Wan Feng murmured, as if to herself. “I wonder when Third Master will come back after visiting his old friends?”

Old friends?

Shen Xi realized she couldn’t continue the conversation. Every word Wan Feng spoke was about something she didn’t understand.

In her desire to know more, Shen Xi, who never played cards, had fallen into the habit.

From paper cards to Chinese playing cards, whenever there was a game, she would go and observe, chatting casually. Gradually, Gu Yiren would talk to her about many things, things she had never heard of before.

The Fu family’s old master and eldest master were politicians, the second master was a scholar, and the fourth master was a doctor.

As for the third master, he had originally been a scholar too, but because someone had attached themselves to the Fu family, he was given many factory and company stocks. None of the young masters were interested in business, so the third master bought up all the stocks from his brothers with his money, then borrowed a large sum of silver and some silver dollars from the government bank, and started his own factory. But none of this was done personally by Fu Tongwen—there were others in charge of the businesses. So, this was public knowledge, but what others didn’t know, Gu Yiren naturally couldn’t say.

The third master was known to be rich, but how much wealth did he really have? Who knew?

“In the 30th year of the Guangxu reign, the only person in the entire Beijing who could borrow so much silver from the government bank was the third master,” Gu Yiren spoke highly of Fu Tongwen’s decisiveness and skill, his admiration evident in his words.

Shen Xi’s heart was stirred when she heard “the 30th year of the Guangxu reign.”

She placed the card in her hand on the table. “I lost again. Alright, you all continue, I’ll go read a book.”

Later, those copies of The Lancet were found by Chen Linguan, who insisted on borrowing them. Shen Xi had initially been reluctant, but when she thought about how Chen Linguan wanted them for his studies, she agreed.

However, before handing them over, she packed the books carefully and repeatedly reminded him: “Make sure not to get them dirty, torn, or lost.”

The days passed slowly, and the new year was approaching.

The room at the end of the second-floor hallway remained empty.

From Christmas to the New Year, both schools and companies had holidays. Over these three years, Wan Feng had been influenced by Christian families, and her faith had begun to waver. What initially started as a polite response to an invitation, seeking the excitement of the holidays, became more serious this year. Wan Feng said to her, “Maybe I really want to become religious.” When she said this, she was still uncertain: “Third Master… won’t be angry, will he?”

Shen Xi didn’t understand her meaning.

“You’ve forgotten? Third Master always told us not to let you get too close to the Christian families,” Wan Feng reminded her.

“I think what he meant was that he’s worried about their excessive enthusiasm for inviting international students, which might interfere with Shen Xi’s studies,” Gu Yiren speculated.

“Interfere with what?” Wan Feng said with a laugh, “She rarely joins us for cards and yet she’s always ‘confessing’ it’s a ‘sin.’”

Shen Xi laughed, “You all go ahead, I’m going to tidy up the room.”

She had been thinking for a while about the window at the end of the hallway that hadn’t been cleaned in a long time. She wanted to go clean it. After all, that window faced Fu Tongwen’s room and shouldn’t look too shabby. So, after Wan Feng and Gu Yiren left, she took a basin of clean water and went upstairs to get to work.

She didn’t bother to heat the water, and it was so cold it felt like it was soaked with chunks of ice. It reminded her of the dark, yellowed window in the smoky hall at the cigarette den.

In such a place, even the owner wouldn’t want them to clean the glass.

Through the window, she could see the store entrance across the street. The blond-haired male shop assistant was inside, taking decorations off the palm tree. Today was the 31st, and tomorrow would be the start of a new year.

A car stopped at the store entrance, and a black-haired man got out.

Shen Xi paused for a second, her hand still holding the rag, before she wiped the glass a few more times to get a better view of the man entering the store. He looked so much like Dr. Tan, who had always been by Fu Tongwen’s side. After a short while, the man came out, and sure enough, it was him.

The person in the car must be Fu Tongwen.

Shen Xi tossed the rag into the water, carried the basin to the bathroom, and poured out the dirty water. She didn’t have time to wash the basin properly, so she shoved it under the sink. After tidying up and catching her breath, she made sure not to act as recklessly as last time. Once she calmed herself down, she changed into high-heeled leather shoes and went downstairs.

However, halfway down, she heard a commotion at the door.

Shen Xi rushed down and saw Fu Tongwen in a black woolen suit standing in the hall, turning to look toward the door. The dispute was between his servant and a young student. The young man clenched his fists, wanting to take a swing at Fu Tongwen, but was blocked by a young servant. Two middle-aged servants stood behind him, preventing him from leaving, trapping him in the doorway.

“Chen Linguan?” Shen Xi was stunned.

“I won’t talk to you right now, Shen Xi,” Chen Linguan struggled, pointing at Fu Tongwen, “I need to talk to this man.”

Fu Tongwen took off his black hat with one hand, then turned to Shen Xi, “Do you know him?”

“He’s a Chinese international student, studying medicine,” Shen Xi lowered her voice, “Chen Linguan, I mentioned him in my letter to you.”

Fu Tongwen seemed to recall the person and didn’t argue further, “Please escort him out.”

He turned and went upstairs.

“Fu Tongwen!” Chen Linguan shouted, “You don’t know me, but I know you! My father’s coal mine stock was all sent to your family! You and your father—no, you! You used tactics to get my father to resign! You took all of my father’s company stock!”

Fu Tongwen didn’t stop walking, his expression remaining calm, as he brushed past Shen Xi.

Outside, it was snowing, and his leather shoes left several footprints on the floor.

The young servant saw Fu Tongwen go upstairs, pushed Chen Linguan aside, and almost poked his finger in his face. “If you want to go back to China, you’d better be polite to Third Master!” He finished speaking and followed Fu Tongwen upstairs.

Because Shen Xi had said she knew him, the young servant shot her a cold glance as he passed by.

Shen Xi was left speechless by the glare, nervously looking upstairs.

It wasn’t until the two middle-aged men dragged Chen Linguan out of the hallway, one on each side, that she snapped out of it and ran outside.

Since Fu Tongwen had used the word “please,” the middle-aged servants didn’t resort to violence and simply pushed Chen Linguan out onto the street, ending the confrontation.

“Chen Linguan, you were too much just now,” Shen Xi scolded softly.

“Do you have ties to the Fu family?” Chen Linguan immediately grabbed her arms. “Shen Xi, you’re actually connected to the Fu family!”

Shen Xi looked around in a daze. Across the street, the blonde shop assistant was still watching them.

“Yes, so what?” she retorted urgently, “What does that have to do with you? What right do you have to curse him in my house?”

“What is your relationship with him?” Chen Linguan zeroed in on the core of the matter.

Shen Xi was caught off guard by the question.

“The Fu family is full of crooks or scoundrels, all part of the Beiyang military faction! That Fu Tongwen, relying on his family’s power, forcibly took so many company stocks! Do you know? He’s driven so many people in industry to bankruptcy, do you know?”

Shen Xi’s ears buzzed with the anger in her chest, and she pushed him hard. “Go away.”

A carriage passed by, with the driver and the young lady inside glancing at the two of them, caught in their argument.

She knew nothing of Fu Tongwen’s past, except that he had saved her and provided financial support for Wan Feng and Gu Yiren. No one had told her anything else. So she couldn’t defend him, but her anger flared as she heard Chen Linguan’s accusations. “Also! Remember this—The Lancet was brought to me by him! And when you go to see people perform surgery, the money you give them comes from him!”

Chen Linguan was silenced by her words, his face turning red, his eyes frantic and fiery. He pulled out a magazine wrapped in newspaper from his chest and defiantly threw it on the ground. “I didn’t expect you to be like this!”

The magazine slipped out of the newspaper and landed in the muddy snowwater.

Shen Xi shoved Chen Linguan away, quickly picked up the magazines, and ran back to the apartment without turning around.

“Shen Xi!” Chen Linguan called out.

The servant at the door stopped him from entering, not allowing him to take another step.

Shen Xi held the magazines tightly and ran upstairs to her apartment.

As she reached the top of the stairs on the second floor, Fu Tongwen was standing at the end of the hallway, his right hand in his pants pocket, looking out the window.

He stood with the posture of a young master, just like his friends from that day. He appeared to be kind to everyone, but in reality, their “kindness” was distant, with an air of benevolent detachment as if they were spectators watching a play.

You might think you could win their favor, but you were likely just a character for them to observe and evaluate, part of their show.

Fu Tongwen heard her footsteps and turned around.

From a distance, she couldn’t read his emotions. “I’m sorry for earlier,” she said.

Fu Tongwen didn’t seem to appreciate it. “Why apologize for someone else?”

If it weren’t for her, Chen Linguan wouldn’t have recognized this apartment, and there wouldn’t have been the confrontation today. Shen Xi hugged the magazines tightly, still feeling distressed, unwilling to let Fu Tongwen see the dirty covers. These magazines had been carefully packed in his suitcase and shipped across the ocean to her. Despite the rough seas and long journey, they had remained undamaged. Yet, right outside her apartment door, they were so easily ruined.

She felt like she was surrounded by enemies. Even though her only enemy was God, at that moment, it felt as though the entire world was against her. She felt like the defeated King of Western Chu, pushed to the edge of the water…

Or maybe like Yu Ji… though not as beautiful.

“Go change your clothes,” Fu Tongwen said.

Shen Xi followed his words, looking down to realize that her clothes had been stained with mud from the magazine.

It turned out he had already noticed the dirty magazines.

She kept her head lowered, feeling as though a heavy weight pressed on her neck, and she remained silent.

Fu Tongwen, however, wasn’t upset or angry about it. He typically had no strong feelings toward material things, especially not something as trivial as a few magazines.

“You don’t have homework today, do you?” he asked.

“Mm.” She realized she had responded.

“We’re going to celebrate the New Year.”

“Where are we going? Is there anything I need to pay special attention to?” Shen Xi looked at him, growing increasingly nervous as she tried to make up for the earlier incident. “But I don’t have any decent clothes, what should I do? Is the place we’re going to, or the person we’re meeting, important to you?”

“We’re going somewhere where no one will notice you and me.” He replied.