Brothers (42 page)

Baldy Li then turned and left. Many in the crowd heard him smugly saying to himself, "Chairman Mao put it well when he said that power comes from the muzzle of a gun."

Baldy Li beat the two romantic sensationalizers so badly that they would never forget it, and never again did they dare pursue Lin Hong.
Having completely lost face, whenever they encountered her in the street, they would lower their heads and scurry by in embarrassment. Lin Hong couldn't help but laugh, thinking that that hooligan Baldy Li had finally done something right.

When she cast her eye over all of Liu Town, she saw that, though the town s bachelors might be as common as weeds, there was not a single towering oak among them. She was increasingly desolate, feeling completely on her own with no hope for the future. Despite everything, one person began to stand out more clearly in her mind—a pale, handsome man wearing glasses, who was beginning to occupy her thoughts. Although this person was not a towering oak, from Lin Hongs perspective he was at least a tender sapling and, at any rate, was better than all those weeds. As long as he was a tree, there was the possibility that he could one day scrape the sky, while the weeds would never do more than spread along the ground. This person was Song Gang.

CHAPTER 32

A
T THE TIME,
Song Gang was a model youth. He was always carrying a book or magazine under his arm, he was polite and refined, and if he noticed a young woman looking at him, he would invariably blush. During the period when Baldy Li was pursuing Lin Hong, Song Gang was always at his side, and because he was Baldy Li's constant companion, Lin Hong glimpsed him far more often than she did any of the other young men of Liu. Baldy Li pursued Lin Hong so single-mindedly that there was no other thought in his head, and consequently he remained oblivious to the fact that Lin Hong had taken a liking to the quiet Song Gang.

Baldy Li stood stupidly in the middle of the street serving as Lin Hongs personal bodyguard, adamantly refusing to let other men so much as glance at her. Song Gang always lowered his head and quietly walked beside him. Lin Hong grew accustomed to Baldy Li's pestering and learned to ignore it and walk without exhibiting any expression. Sometimes when she was turning a corner she would sneak a peek at Song Gang, and on several occasions she managed to catch his eye, though each time he would immediately avert his gaze. Lin Hong couldn't help but smile at this. When Baldy Li said infuriating things, she couldn't resist peeking at Song Gang and would always see his melancholic expression. From this she understood that Song Gang felt sorry for her, and that gave her a feeling of contentment. Baldy Li came to pester her pretty much every day, so Lin Hong would see Song Gang virtually every day. Every time she glimpsed Song Gang's confused or melancholic expression, her heart would pound like water burbling from a fountain. She wasn't even annoyed by Baldy Li anymore, since he made it possible for her to see Song Gang every day. When Lin Hong went to sleep at night, the unforgettable image of Song Gang with his head bowed would silently enter her dreams.

Lin Hong hoped that one day Song Gang would suddenly appear in her doorway and walk in like those other suitors. She felt that he was not like the others. She imagined how he would stand, embarrassed, outside the door, and after coming in would stammer incoherently. She
decided that she liked precisely this kind of man, and when she imagined Song Gangs embarrassed expression, she could feel herself blush.

One evening Sang Gang really did arrive and stand uncertainly in Lin Hongs doorway. With a quivering voice he asked Lin Hongs mother, "Auntie, is Lin Hong home?"

Lin Hong was in her room, and her mother came to tell her that the young fellow who was always hanging out with Baldy Li had come to see her. Suddenly flustered, Lin Hong was about to go out when she changed her mind. Instead she softly said to her mother, "Ask him to come in."

Lin Hongs mother chuckled to herself. She went back out and, in a friendly voice, told Song Gang that Lin Hong was in her room and wished for him to go in. Song Gang walked hesitantly into Lin Hongs room. He hadn't come on his own behalf: rather, Baldy Li had forced him to. Having followed the
beating to a pulp
stratagem for five months now without any success, Baldy Li had concluded that it was useless and therefore he should perhaps revert to the stratagem
of penetrating behind enemy lines.
Remembering the ugly-toad-and-cow-dung humiliation he had suffered at Lin Hongs home, however, Baldy Li felt that it was not advisable for him to return in person and instead entrusted his military advisor, Song Gang, to serve as his intermediary. Song Gang was not at all willing but, after Baldy Li threw a tantrum, had no choice but to tough it out and go.

When he entered Lin Hongs room, she was standing with her back to him, braiding her hair in front of the window. As she stood under the rays of the setting sun the shadow of her delicate figure flickered everywhere. The evening breeze blew in, gently lifting her white dress and wafting a mysterious fragrance past Song Gang, leaving him weak-kneed. At that moment he felt that Lin Hong was like an immortal atop a cloud. Half of her long hair was spread over her right shoulder; the other half lay across her left shoulder in a three-strand braid, trembling slightly in her hand. At that moment, the evening clouds were bathed in the red light of the sunset, and Lin Hongs slender, pale neck appeared to glow under Song Gangs gaze, making him stare as stupidly as had the infatuated idiot who worked for Baldy Li.

Lin Hong heard Song Gangs rapid breathing behind her but calmly continued to braid her hair. When she finished her left braid, she lightly shook her head and lifted her hand, causing the long hair on her right side to fall over her shoulder and land softly on her chest. She
began making a second braid, at which point her slender, pale neck shimmered into view, and Song Gangs breathing sounded like it had been smothered. Lin Hong laughed softly and, with her back still toward Song Gang, said, "Say something, why don't you?"

Song Gang jumped in surprise, and only then did he finally remember his mission. He stammered, "I have come on behalf of Baldy Li."

Song Gang was so nervous that he forgot what he was supposed to say, but when Lin Hong heard that he had come on behalf of Baldy Li, her heart sank. She bit her lip and, after a moment s hesitation, decided to spell things out for him: "If you have come on behalf of Baldy Li, then you should leave now. If you have come on your own behalf, you may have a seat."

Lin Hong blushed at her own boldness. She heard Song Gang bump into a chair and thought that he was about to sit down, but then heard him stumble out. He had heard the first half of what she said but didn't catch the second half, and by the time she turned around he had already left.

After Song Gang departed that evening, Lin Hong cried in frustration and swore that she wouldn't give this idiot any more chances. But as she lay in bed that night, her heart softened. She thought of all those shameless suitors who had pursued her and then remembered Song Gang's graceful bearing. She was confident that he was someone she could rely on, and furthermore he was more handsome than all the other suitors put together.

Lin Hong continued to hope against hope that Song Gang would come and court her of his own accord. But after several months passed and she had not heard anything more from him, she found herself liking him more and more. Virtually every night she would long for him, remembering the image of him with his head lowered, his sorrowful eyes, and his occasional smile.

As time passed she felt that she couldn't continue to wait for Song Gang to come court her and instead needed to be more assertive. But every time she saw him, he always had that hooligan at his side. Twice she happened to run into him alone on the street, but when she shot him a longing glance, he scurried away with his head down, like a criminal fleeing the police. Lin Hong was heartbroken. She gritted her teeth at the mere thought of him while at the same time continuing to love him passionately. The third time she encountered him alone, Lin Hong realized that this was not an opportunity to be wasted. Therefore,
she came to a full halt on the bridge and, blushing furiously, called out his name.

When Song Gang, who was just about to scurry away again, heard Lin Hongs voice, he shuddered from head to toe. He turned and looked about him in every direction, as if there might be someone else named Song Gang with him on the bridge. There were a few other people out walking, and they were all watching Lin Hong curiously after hearing her call out Song Gangs name. Although she was still blushing beet red, she asked him in front of everyone, "Come over here."

When Song Gang walked over, looking like a child about to be punished, Lin Hong said loudly, "Tell that Li fellow not to harass me anymore."

Song Gang heard this and nodded and was about to walk off when Lin Hong whispered, "Don't go."

Thinking that he must have misheard her, Song Gang stared at Lin Hong, not knowing what to do. At that point they happened to be alone on the bridge, and an unprecedented tenderness suddenly appeared on Lin Hongs face as she softly asked Song Gang, "Do you like me?"

Song Gang went pale with shock, and Lin Hong blushingly added, "I like you."

Song Gang stared at her blankly. Lin Hong saw that some people were walking onto the bridge and whispered her final line: "Tomorrow night at eight o'clock, wait for me in the little grove behind the movie theater."

This time Song Gang understood perfectly what Lin Hong was saying, and it left him in a delirium for the entire day. He sat in a corner of the workshop asking himself whether everything that had transpired on the bridge was real. He mentally reviewed again and again all the details of the encounter, which caused him all at once to blush and turn pale, feel distressed and grin idiotically, all at the same time. Song Gang's workmates giggled as they discussed him, but he didn't even notice. Only when they called out his name did he stare at them as if waking from a dream. His confused expression made his workmates laugh even harder, and they asked him, "Song Gang, what are you daydreaming about?"

Song Gang lifted his head and grunted in reply, then lowered it again and continued his reverie. One workmate teased him: "Song Gang, you should go take a piss!"

After his grunt, Song Gang did in fact stand up and walk out, intending to go to the bathroom. While his workmates laughed uproariously, he walked to the door of the workshop and paused, as if he had just remembered something. He then walked back to the same corner of the factory and sat back down again. His workmates laughed hysterically and asked him, "Why did you come back?"

Song Gang responded absentmindedly, "I don't have to pee."

By evening, the events on the bridge had become increasingly real in Song Gangs memory. His thoughts were focused on Lin Hongs blushing face and her trembling voice, as well as her nervously skittering eyes. Especially her whispered "I like you" made his heart skip a beat every time he remembered it.

At that point, Song Gang was sitting at home, having already had dinner. Baldy Li, sitting at the table with him, studied him suspiciously, since Song Gang was grinning idiotically as though he had swallowed the wrong medication. Baldy Li softly called out his name, "Song Gang, Song Gang …"

Song Gang didn't respond, and Baldy Li suddenly pounded the table, shouting, "Song Gang, what's wrong?"

Song Gang finally recovered his demeanor, and in a normal tone of voice asked Baldy Li, "What did you say?"

Baldy Li looked at Song Gang and said, "Why, when you laugh, do you sound like one of the idiots who work for me at the Good Works Factory?"

Song Gang was disconcerted by Baldy Li's confused look. He avoided Baldy Li's gaze, bowed his head, and hesitated for a moment. Then he lifted his head and stammered, "What would you do if it turned out Lin Hong likes someone else?"

"I'd slaughter them," Baldy Li replied without hesitation.

Song Gang paused and then continued, "Who would you slaughter, that man or Lin Hong?"

"Of course I'd slaughter the man." Baldy Li waved his hand and then wiped his mouth. "Lin Hong I would spare; I want to keep her around as my wife."

Song Gang was deeply shaken but continued, asking, "And if I happened to be the one whom Lin Hong liked, what would you do?"

Baldy Li laughed out loud and struck the table with both hands, saying firmly, "That's inconceivable."

Seeing Baldy Li's confident expression, Song Gang's heart sank. Facing
this brother of his, with whom he shared everything, Song Gang felt that he could not hide the truth any longer. He drew a deep breath, as if he had fallen into a distant memory, and then related with great difficulty the entire encounter on the bridge. When he concluded, Baldy Li stared at him with eyes as wide as saucers as he gradually calmed down. When Song Gang finally finished his tortured confession, he sighed and began watching Baldy Li nervously. Song Gang was waiting for Baldy Li to roar with fury.

What Song Gang didn't expect, however, was that Baldy Li would look at him calmly, blink his eyes, and then narrow them to thin slits. Baldy Li looked at Song Gang suspiciously. "What exactly did Lin Hong tell you?"

Song Gang replied, "She said she likes me."

"Inconceivable." Baldy Li stood up and told Song Gang, "Lin Hong can't possibly like you."

Song Gang blushed and said, "Why is that not possible?"

Baldy Li sat on the table and peered imperiously down at Song Gang. "With so many men in Liu Town pursuing her, and each of them being far better than you, how could Lin Hong possibly have fallen for you? You are an orphan, with no mother or father."

Song Gang rebutted, "You are also an orphan."

"I might be an orphan"—Baldy Li nodded, then patted his chest— "but I am also a factory director."

Song Gang continued to argue, "But maybe Lin Hong doesn't care about all that."

"How could she not care?" Baldy Li shook his head and said to Song Gang, "Lin Hong is better than a celestial immortal, while you are just a poor lad. The two of you … it's simply inconceivable."