Jin made sure she did. That very evening, he wrote a review of A-Xiong’s work, which he asked the editor to pass on to the author. Tianyi was scornfuclass="underline" Jin was a fool to imagine that the editorial department, always snowed under with submissions, would bother to forward it and, even if they did, who was to say whether the author would ever get around to reading it? He was hot property nowadays, he must get over a hundred letters a day. Did he even bother to open the envelopes? And even if he did, why would he get back to Jin? Tianyi was derisive, but Jin was unabashed. He was quite confident that he would get an answer and, sure enough, seven days later, a letter arrived from ‘A-Xiong’.
Tianyi still remembered Jin rushing over that day clutching the letter as if it was a wedding invitation, reading it out in a loud voice: ‘… Amongst thousands of letter-writers, you are the one who really understands me. Your critique is brilliant … Please drop by and see me, my anonymous friend, it doesn’t matter if you are male or female, young or old … I do hope we can become friends …’ Tianyi smiled to herself. Such youthful enthusiasm did not seem like the kind of thing a middle-aged man would write, especially one who had been a Red Guard leader.
That summer evening was the first time that Jin got a taste of how inconsistently Tianyi could behave. He eagerly bustled them over to A-Xiong’s house, looking over his shoulder to make sure she was following. She was fearful, he could see that, unsure of herself, and he found this funny. She always acted so mature and experienced, but in matters of the heart, she was absolutely hopeless. Like the mythical Lord Ye and his pretended passion for dragons, she would turn tail and flee if one really turned up. But this time, the ‘dragon’—his real name was Lu Lixiong — turned out to be so far from Tianyi’s ideal, it was no wonder she wanted to run a mile.
Lu Lixiong lived in a military compound designated for senior army officials, and was waiting for them at the gate. Tianyi saw a squat, little man, at least a head shorter than Jin. The moonlight threw dark shadows on his face, and when she looked closer she realized he had hatchet features: protruding forehead and chin, cavernous nostrils and cheekbones. Tianyi took one look and decided this man had to be an imposter. When she was a child, she had seen many Red Guard leaders, and they were all good-looking, ‘cool’ you would describe them nowadays. Her logic was simple enough. To be a Red Guard you had to be pretty special. However talented you were, if you were ugly, you would not make the grade. Tianyi just could not square A-Xiong’s beautiful writing, profound thinking and original opinions with this middle-aged midget. She did not hide her disappointment. When Jin made the introductions, she refused to look A-Xiong in the eye. In fact, she hardly bothered to make an effort to be good-mannered. All she wanted to do was get out of there.
The Lu family’s courtyard was sizeable, with a table and benches in the middle. A young woman sat there, combing her long hair in the moonlight. She had obviously just washed it, as she had a big scarf draped over her shoulders. A quiet smile played over her features, and she looked genuinely happy. ‘This is my wife, Nan Hong,’ said Lu Lixiong.
‘You must … must … must be the model for the heroine of Rosy Sunrise, Evening Glow …’ Jin stuttered. He always had a bit of a stammer when he got excited or met someone new, especially if it was an attractive young woman. ‘Yes, you’re right!’ A-Xiong exclaimed. ‘Please, sit down!’ Then he looked at Tianyi: ‘You must be wondering how on earth I got my hands on such a beautiful girl, right?’ He chuckled complacently. He was obviously about to tell them the story of their romance. Luckily, Nan Hong interrupted the flow, to say softly: ‘Hey, you haven’t offered our guests any tea yet!’ It clear to Tianyi that this woman, with her dulcet tones and flirtatious glances, was deliberately playing the siren.
Tianyi suffered through this for a couple of hours, before they were able to leave. Outside, Jin remonstrated: ‘This is ridiculous, Tianyi! You insisted on meeting him, and as soon as you get here, you can’t wait to go! Was it because of his wife? Why should that matter? It doesn’t stop you being friends with him. And he knows so many people, Tianyi, you need to broaden your horizons!’ Tianyi did not know what to say. Eventually, she managed: ‘Right, I owe you one. I’ll make it up to you.’
When Jin next saw Di, he told her how Tianyi had behaved. Di burst out laughing: ‘That’s what she’s like. When she meets a real dragon, she turns tail and flees.’
Four years on from that event, the Jin they met was a very different young man. He still stammered, he still chatted cheerfully about everything under the sun, but he had filled out considerably, and had quite a belly on him. He was a grown man. Something else had changed too: he addressed these two older women as equals, not in the respectful way he used to. Garrulous as always, his main topics of conversation were now politics and agricultural reform. Somehow, he had wormed himself into the confidence of some leading policy makers and thinkers and become their friend.
Just as four years earlier, Di lapped up everything he said, her eyes sparkling with excitement. He found her a most appreciative audience, but what he really wanted was for Tianyi to launch into a fierce debate with him, the way she used to. But Tianyi just could not summon up the enthusiasm. Fortunately, Lian turned up.
Tianyi had said to Di before: ‘How come all Chinese men are so into politics? They all act like they’re going to be the next Premier!’ Di giggled. ‘That must be why they’re so frustrated all the time!’ Tianyi pulled a face: ‘It doesn’t seem normal to me.’
Lian, of course, was another amateur politico. His job in the Planning Commission had made him self-important. He began every sentence with: ‘In the Commission, we …’ He was delighted to meet Jin, and took to him immediately. He was also deeply impressed at the famous names that Jin dropped — but took good care not to make his excitement too obvious. He commented casually: ‘Really! You know Huang Luwei as well? He’s quite an interesting man. I read his article, Meditations on History, his thinking’s pretty much in line with my own.’
‘Wow! Re … really?’ Jin responded effusively. Lian was clearly a new soul mate. ‘I know him very well, shall I introduce you?’ Lian hesitated a fraction. ‘There’s no hurry,’ he said, ‘wait until my thesis is published … But why not take Tianyi to meet him? He’s quite a character, and he loves literature.’ Tianyi looked at him. She never ceased to be amazed by Lian’s self-confidence. She had no idea where it came from, and no inkling that when this self-confidence collapsed, the results would be truly terrifying.
Lian had come to pick her up. Wherever she went these days, he would turn up to take her home. She never said anything, but she liked it all the same. It gave her a simple feeling of happiness that was very precious to her. But her happiness was nothing compared to Lian’s. He had it alclass="underline" job, wife, child, everything was perfect. What more could a man want?
For some time now, Lian could hardly bear to be apart from Tianyi. He loathed business trips for that reason. Whenever he had to go, he bombarded her with letters, at least one a day, sometimes two. It was crazy, especially for someone like him who didn’t like writing letters. ‘Tianyi, I landed in Guilin airport today and sneezed twice. It must have been my Tianyi thinking of me. Were you? Tianyi?’
Only a cold-blooded reptile could remain unmoved by letters like this. They seemed to set her alight, as if she had been doused in some flammable substance. Compared to the vague fancies she had had in the past, and her so-called former boyfriends, this was true affection. She had always had trouble sleeping, but since her marriage, she slept like a log, no matter how loudly Lian snored. Lian always said he never got a good night’s sleep when he was away on business, because she was not with him. The transition from love to affection felt safe. Tianyi was satisfied with her marriage.