Madwoman On the Bridge and Other Stories by Su Tong

Author:Su Tong [Su Tong]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780753516690
Publisher: Transworld

Goddess Peak

The steamship pier was far dirtier and more crowded than a village market; people loitered around, some squatting, some standing, some lying with their limbs splayed wherever space would allow, their mouths wide open, breathing in the filthy air and snoring indulgently. The piercing whistle of the steamboat didn’t bother them; it was quite obvious they weren’t passengers.

Miaoyue and Li Yong were almost the last two passengers aboard. Li Yong was pulling Miaoyue along firmly by one hand. With the other hand, she held up her long black skirt as she was dragged like a puppet towards the ticket-taker. She seemed to know what sort of a figure she cut, judging by the mortified expression frozen on her face. Reaching the ticket examiner she bumped into someone who looked like a farmer, and instead of apologizing to the man, her reaction was to shrug off Li Yong’s hand. ‘What’s the bloody rush? The boat hasn’t even left. There’s no need to hurry.’

Li Yong turned back to cast a fleeting glance at his girlfriend; he was carrying a travel bag slung over each arm and shoulder and Miaoyue’s purse hung around his neck. Li Yong realized she was angry, but he remained calm. He stood on his tiptoes to look up to the deck of the steamboat and called out loudly, ‘My bro! There’s my bro!’ He waved to a man on the deck, at the same time pulling Miaoyue towards him in an embrace. ‘Do you see my bro? He’s waving at us right now.’

Miaoyue could see a man wearing a collared blue-and-white striped shirt. A cigarette was dangling from his lips and he was leaning on the railing, one hand raised high in a salute. It was a quick, casual wave, much like that of a VIP. Miaoyue’s automatic reaction was to look behind her, but of course there was no one there; in fact, she had realized immediately that he was waving at her, but she deliberately looked away. Actually, even without Li Yong pointing him out, she would have known that he was Mr Cui.

As they boarded the ship, she continued to look steadily in front of her; but then she said, ‘Your bro? Hmph! Is that your bro?’

Miaoyue was quick to make remarks, often resulting in comments she didn’t even know the meaning of herself. She was a girl who liked to take men down a peg. With regard to Mr Cui, the truth of the matter was that when she had seen him on the deck she had found him taller and better built than she’d imagined, and also a little younger and a little more handsome than she had expected.

* * *

The three of them had reserved a second-class cabin. The room was not particularly big, but quite clean. It was Miaoyue’s first time on a boat and her face lit up with pleasure despite herself; her eyes strayed over the room, then she felt the bedclothes with her fingers, ‘Pretty comfy, huh?’ As soon as she spoke she regretted it, for she saw the look Cui cast towards her.

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