Gold Boy, Emerald Girl by Yiyun Li

Author:Yiyun Li
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Short Story Collection, Asian Culture, Fiction
ISBN: 9780679604068
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2010-01-22T08:00:00+00:00

LUO ARRIVED TWO days before the appointment for the in vitro fertilization. When he saw Yilan waiting at the railway station, he came close and hugged her, a Western gesture that made people stop and snicker. Yilan pushed him gently away. He looked jet-lagged but excited, and suddenly she worried that Fusang might not arrive for the implantation of the embryo. It had been two months since they had talked, and Yilan wondered if the young woman would change her mind, or simply forget the contract. The nagging worry kept her awake at night, but she found it hard to talk to Luo about it. He did not know Fusang’s story; he had approved of her only because she was young and healthy and her body was primed for pregnancy and childbirth.

Fusang showed up with a small battered suitcase and a ready smile, as if coming for a long-awaited vacation. When Yilan introduced her to Luo, she joked with him and asked if it would be hard for him to be separated from his wife for a year. It was an awkward joke, to which Luo responded with a tolerant smile. He acted deferential but aloof toward Fusang, the right way for a good husband to be, and soon Fusang was frightened into a quieter, more alert person by his unsmiling presence.

The procedure went well, and after two weeks of anxious waiting, the pregnancy was confirmed. Fusang seemed as happy as Yilan and Luo.

“Keep an eye on her,” Luo said in English to Yilan when they walked to the railway station for his departing train.

Yilan turned to look at Fusang, who was trailing two steps behind, like a small child. Luo had insisted that Fusang come with them. “Of course,” Yilan replied in English. “I won’t let our child starve. I’ll make sure Fusang gets enough nutrition and sleep.”

“Beyond that, don’t let her out of your sight,” Luo said.

“Why?”

“She has our child in her,” Luo said.

Yilan looked again at Fusang, who waved back with a smile. “It’s not like she’ll run away,” Yilan said. “She needs the money.”

“You trust people too easily,” Luo said. “Don’t you understand that we can’t make any mistakes?”

Shocked by his stern tone, Yilan thought of pointing out that she could not possibly imprison Fusang for the whole pregnancy, but they did not need an argument as a farewell. She agreed to be careful.

“Be very vigilant, all right?” Luo said.

Yilan looked at him strangely.

“It’s our child I’m worrying about,” Luo said, as if explaining himself. And after a moment, he added with a bitter smile, “Of course, for a loser like me, there’s nothing else to live for but a child.”

Yilan thought about the patients he had once saved, most of them victims of traffic accidents, when he served at the emergency center that belonged to the traffic department. They used to make him happy—since when had he lost faith in saving other people’s lives? “We can still think of coming back to China,” Yilan said tentatively.

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