Zhang Mingsheng is a man of his word, and I had no chance to see the true face of this Young Mistress. I only managed a brief glimpse into one of the rooms through a door left wide open as we passed by.
It was black-and-white photograph. I couldn’t see the face clearly. It was a funeral portrait.
I turned my head to seek out Zhang Mingsheng’s gaze. Zhang Mingsheng merely met my eyes quietly, saying nothing.
Never mind.
Let those with grudges take their revenge, and those with grievances speak their piece; even if vengeful ghosts truly haunted the Zhang family, they would still have to stand in line behind the resentment and injustice I carried within me.
It’s not my turn to be afraid.
In the dining room, Zhang Yaonian was already waiting. He was wearing dark red silk pajamas and tortoiseshell-framed reading glasses. His white hair was yellowing, and his skin was wrinkled and sagging; he looked impossibly old, yet his dentures were perfectly straight and clean, which looked quite frightening. His cane rested against the table as he slowly and methodically cut the food on his plate with his knife and fork. He could clearly hear us, yet even while we spoke in hushed voices with the butler, he never lifted his head once.
The butler was supposed to leave after escorting us to the dining room, but for some reason, he kept shooting looks at Ah Shan, wanting Ah Shan to leave with him. Naturally, Ah Shan refused; he found a corner and stood with his hands behind his back in an A-frame stance. No matter how much the butler scolded him, he remained motionless.
Zhang Mingsheng said, “Let him stay.”
“But this isn’t according to the rules.” The butler said with a troubled expression.
“They can stay, but my people can’t?” Zhang Mingsheng sneered while glancing upward before his gaze fell back onto the butler.
I tilted my head back to follow the direction of Zhang Mingsheng’s gaze and suddenly discovered that there were many moving heads on the second floor. Most were wearing sunglasses; they were likely Zhang Yaonian’s bodyguards.
The last time I came here for dinner, not only did I fail to notice them, but I also kept Keke company as we quietly piled the vegetables and beef she didn’t like into a little mountain, and then I taught her how to “move the mountain” with her mouth like the Foolish Old Man.
Sometimes I truly admire the psychological fortitude of these bodyguards.
Faced with Zhang Mingsheng’s questioning, the butler did not respond; he let out a huff, flicked his sleeves, and left.
Zhang Mingsheng walked over to the table, pulled out a chair, then turned back to give me a gentle nudge forward. Once the two of us were seated, our napkins arranged, and our cutlery in hand, Zhang Yaonian finally lifted his head.
He chewed with deliberate slowness; his clouded eyes fixed on the two of us across from him in careful scrutiny.
Then, he parted his thin lips and said hoarsely, “Ah Sheng, you’re here.”
Zhang Mingsheng did not answer; he silently turned sideways to adjust the position of my utensils.
The Zhang residence was so quiet that no matter how light our movements were, it was impossible for the old man to have only just noticed us.
Zhang Yaonian was an extremely headstrong man with an intense need for control.
We only “existed” when he was willing to “notice” us.
And now, when he was finally willing to grant us the favor of “existence,” Zhang Mingsheng acted as if he saw nothing at all.
The last time I came here for dinner, it wasn’t like this.
Keke was growing up at lightning speed, just as Zhang Yaonian was growing old at lightning speed.
Life is fragile like that. When reaching the end of old age, the “health” built up by supplements and private hospitals will collapse instantly in the face of a minor cold. What follows is psychological paranoia and excessive anxiety.
Zhang Mingsheng had finally reached the turning point his grandfather once faced; from this moment on, Zhang Yaonian’s decline would likely begin to accelerate.
But Zhang Mingsheng was in no hurry to show his hand.
All animals struggle more violently the closer they are to death; with the slightest lapse in attention, they can strike back from a desperate situation. After so many years, rather than allowing oneself to be swept away by success, it was perhaps wiser to remain clear-headed and quietly observe how the situation unfolded.
Zhang Yaonian had married and had children at a very young age, and he arranged the marriages for both children, using their lifelong happiness to benefit the family. But in the end, Zhang Mingsheng’s parents disappeared and died for no reason, and Zhang Mingsheng’s aunt became a widow.
If he were truly given the chance to make a comeback, perhaps Zhang Mingsheng and I would also repeat those same mistakes.
When that time came, Keke would…
“Where is Xiao Ke? Why didn’t you bring Xiao Ke to see me?” Zhang Yaonian asked.
He had always addressed her that way.
“She was frightened and caught a slight cold. I was worried she might start running a fever again.” Zhang Mingsheng finally deigned to reply.
“Hmph.” With a sharp clack, Zhang Yaonian drove his dinner knife into the plate. Even after he released it, the blade stood there trembling. “Knowing perfectly well that she’s in poor health, you still took her to a funeral? You’d rather let her look at a corpse than bring her to see me?”
“And you, Ah Qing,” Zhang Yaonian’s expression shifted instantly; as his tone softened, a smile gathered on his face, his sagging skin folding into layered creases that trembled as he spoke. “You are in poor health, so don’t always be running about. I don’t want people saying I mistreat my grandson-in-law.”
On the surface, Zhang Yaonian was very polite to me, yet I always felt that he was very resistant to me appearing before him.
Especially when Zhang Mingsheng and I appeared together.
I also flashed a fake smile and nodded toward him.
“I heard from Uncle Jia that you refused to go see your mother?” Zhang Yaonian’s gaze returned to Zhang Mingsheng.
“She is not my mother.” Zhang Mingsheng said in a flat tone.
“Even if you don’t acknowledge her, she was still your father’s wife. Your father was really something else, he ran away from home and eloped with your mother, leaving you behind in this house!”
I listened intently. No soap opera or news gossip could compare to the secrets unfolding right in front of me.
I didn’t quite understand. Was Zhang Mingsheng an illegitimate son?
No wonder there were so few reports regarding Zhang Mingsheng’s mother.
Actually, reports on both of Zhang Mingsheng’s parents were extremely scarce, carrying a strong scent of “not washing one’s dirty laundry in public.”
“In any case, if you want to follow your father’s lead and pursue some ‘free love,’ I have no objection. But since Xiao Ke has already been born, the two of you should take responsibility for the family.” Zhang Yaonian said earnestly, his voice filled with pained distress as if he were worrying himself to death over our little family.
As he spoke, he reached for his cane. Pressing it firmly to the floor, he used it for support as he rose unsteadily to his feet.
“Ah Yu is in poor health; family discipline should be waived whenever possible.”
Hearing Zhang Mingsheng call my name, I had just turned my head when the latter half of his words froze me completely in place. In a family like this; where perversion and “accidents” seemed to go hand in hand, they actually still maintained the pretense of something called “family discipline.”
“What about you? Should yours be waived as well?” Zhang Yaonian paced slowly until he reached our side.
I couldn’t even fathom what Zhang Mingsheng and I had done wrong.
I had seen orphanage caretakers like this before; they would constantly nitpick, committing acts of abuse under the guise of “doing it for your own good.” Children have no power to resist, and because society does not view them as complete human beings, they naturally have no place to seek justice.
I couldn’t help but wonder how many times Zhang Mingsheng had been subjected to so-called “family discipline” as a child; and what, exactly, that discipline had entailed.
I thought back to last year when we were chased by that rabid dog and the brutal sight of it being beaten to death.
If they could treat an animal like that, how much kindness could they possibly show a human being?
I kept my face expressionless, but my eyes were constantly searching for Zhang Mingsheng’s gaze.
He was unusually silent today, mechanically and repeatedly folding his napkin, leaving Zhang Yaonian hanging.
If something were to happen to Zhang Mingsheng, I would be left here completely alone. At that point, even if they sent me; wheelchair and all, into the crematorium, who would ever know?
I finally understood Zhang Mingsheng’s intention. Leaving Ah Hai at home was to make it easier for him to move the child if things went south.
As for me. Even if it meant death, he wanted us to die together.
That bastard.
