Hsin-mei pretended not to have heard. Kao darted a fierce glance in his direction and was about to take a look at his own watch, when Wang Ch’u-hou strode over to the round table, pounded it with his hand the way judges once used the wooden court gavel, and bellowed, “I won’t permit you to speak to him. Tell me the truth, what is your relationship with him?”
“My relationship with him—I’ve forgotten myself. Hsin-mei, what’s our relationship?”
Hsin-mei was so dismayed he did not know how to respond. Kao angrily clenched his fists and shook them at the floor. Wang pounded the table again and demanded, “You—speak up!” furtively rubbing his injured palm against his thigh.
“You want me to tell the truth?” asked Mrs. Wang. “All right. But mind you, don’t ask any questions. You already saw everything with your own eyes. Since you understand everything, what’s there to ask? In any case it’s nothing to glory in. Why look for trouble by asking a lot of questions? Really!”
Mr. Wang dashed at his wife as though crazed. Fortunately, President Kao caught hold of him in time and cautioned, “Don’t lose your temper. Ask him. Ask him.”
At the same time Hsin-mei pressed his hands together and beseeched Mrs. Wang, “Mrs. Wang, don’t talk nonsense, please—Mr. Wang, don’t misunderstand. There’s absolutely nothing between your wife and me. What happened today is all my fault. Let me explain—”
Mrs. Wang burst into hysterical laughter and said, “Your courage is no bigger than a mustard seed,” and she indicated the size with her thumb pressed against the tip of her forefinger. “So you’re as frightened as all that! Well, you can’t clear yourself now, ha, ha! President Kao, what are you urging him to ‘speak up’ for? It’s not for you to be jealous. Let’s just get this all out in the open today, hmm? How about it, Mr. Kao?”
Hsin-mei stared wide-eyed at the cringing Kao Sung-nien and with a “Humph” turned and departed. With Wang Ch’u-hou’s attention now shifted to Kao, there was no one to stop Hsin-mei. Only Mrs. Wang’s peals of hysterical laughter followed him out the gate.
Hung-chien had not gone to bed yet. Hsin-mei came in as though drunk, his face flushed a bright red and staggering on his feet. Without waiting for Hung-chien to speak, he said, “Hung-chien, I’m leaving this school at once. I can’t stay here any longer.”
Hung-chien pressed Hsin-mei’s shoulder in amazement and asked him why. When Hsin-mei told him what had happened, Hung-chien thought, “What a mess!” but could only ask, “You’re leaving tonight? Where do you plan to go?”
Hsin-mei replied that a friend of his in Chungking had written several times asking him to go there. He would stay at a hotel in town for the night and set off early the next morning. Hung-chien knew there was no use trying to stop him, and with his mind in a turmoil, followed him upstairs to pack. Hsin-mei gave the dozen or so books he had brought with him to Hung-chien, saying, “Later on if you find you can’t take these with you, donate them to the library for me.” He also left his winter bedding.
When he had finished packing, Hsin-mei said, “Ai ya! I haven’t written a letter to Kao Sung-nien. You think I should ask him for a leave of absence or resign? I guess I’ll ask for a long-term leave of absence.”
When he had written the letter, he gave it to Hung-chien to have it delivered the next day. Hung-chien woke the errand boy to come carry the baggage, and with a heavy heart, accompanied Hsin-mei to the hotel. Hsin-mei said with a rueful smile, “I’ll welcome you to Chungking in the latter part of the year. This is the best way to part—very abruptly. You go on back to campus and go to bed—Oh, by the way, when you go home for summer vacation, take Miss Sun back to her father; that is, if she wants to return to Shanghai.”
Hung-chien returned to the school, feeling as though his whole world had suddenly gone dark. The errand boy asked him why Mr. Chao had left, and he replied offhandedly that someone in Mr. Chao’s family was ill. The errand boy asked if it was Mr. Chao’s mother, and Hung-chien suddenly woke with a start. While Mrs. Chao is alive, he thought, better not bring her any bad luck, and he said, “No, it’s his father.”
Hung-chien rose quite late the next morning. He was just washing his face when a messenger from the president came to summon him. He gave Hsin-mei’s letter to the messenger to take over first. Shortly afterwards he arrived at the president’s bedroom. When Kao Sung-nien heard that he was there, Kao arranged his expression. The dignity was piled so thickly on his face it could have been scraped off with a knife.
“When did Hsin-mei leave?” Kao asked. “Did he talk it over with you before he left?”
Hung-chien said, “He just told me he was going. He left town early this morning.”
“The school wants to ask you to go after him and bring him back.”
“He was quite firm about leaving. Even if you yourself went after him, I don’t think he’d come back.”
“Do you know the reason for his leaving?”
“I have some idea about it.”
Kao’s face looked like a shrimp or crab after being dipped in hot water. “Then I hope you’ll keep it a secret for him. If you were to let it out, it wouldn’t be too good for him—uh—for the school.”
Hung-chien bowed politely, and saying goodbye, he left, letting out a long-drawn-out “Phew.”
Since the incident of the previous evening, Kao Sung-nien’s ears had been particularly sharp. Hung-chien had let out his sigh too early, and it reached his ears. He did not utter the curse, “Scoundrel.” It was expressed on his face instead.
Since the school was still on vacation, the dean’s office did not make any announcements, but many faculty members, having learned that Hsin-mei had requested a long-term leave of absence, came over to ask Hung-chien about it. Hung-chien merely said that Hsin-mei had received an urgent telegram from home and that someone was ill. It was not until early evening that Hung-chien finally had time to go tell Miss Sun. On the way to her dormitory he met Miss Sun, who said she was just coming to ask about Uncle Chao.
Hung-chien said, “You sure are quick to get the news. No wonder they like to hire women as military spies.”
Miss Sun said, “I’m not a spy. Miss Fan told me about it. She also said that Mrs. Wang had something to do with Uncle Chao’s departure.”
“How did she know?” asked Hung-chien, stamping his foot.
“She seems to have had a quarrel with Mrs. Wang over Uncle Chao’s returning her books and wouldn’t go to the Wangs any more. This noon a note came from Mr. Wang saying that Mrs. Wang was sick and asking her to come. She came back just now bitterly cursing Uncle Chao. She says he flirted with Mrs. Wang and got her upset. She also says that she herself had long ago realized that Uncle Chao was no good, and so was going to ignore him.”
“Humph. Your Uncle Chao never called her ‘Precious darling’ is what’s bothering her. You know the source of that phrase?”
When she heard Hung-chien mention “source,” she mused, “You can’t depend on that. I’m afraid she wrote that herself. She once asked me whether the word was ‘author’ or ‘writer’ in English.”
“How shameless!” said Hung-chien, spitting out a mouthful of saliva.
Miss Sun walked on for a bit, then said softly, “Now Uncle is gone! That leaves just the two of us.”
Hung-chien stammered, “He said to me before he left, if I go back home and you want to go too, we can go together. But I’m a good-for-nothing, you know. I can’t look after you.”
“Thank you, Mr. Fang. I’m afraid I’ll just be a burden to you,” said Miss Sun, lowering her head and her voice.
“Nonsense! ” said Hung-chien politely.
“People will gossip even more now.” Miss Sun kept her head and voice down as before.
Feeling uneasy, Hung-chien said with feigned nonchalance, “Let them talk. As long as you don’t care, I’m not bothered by it.”
“Some rat—I suspect it was Lu Tzu-hsiao—wrote my father an anonymous letter, spreading—spreading a rumor about you an
d me. My father wrote asking me about it—”
When Hung-chien heard this, it seemed the sky had half fallen in on him. Just at that moment he heard a voice calling him from behind, “Mr. Fang, Mr. Fang!”
He turned and saw Li Mei-t’ing and Lu Tzu-hsiao hurrying toward them. Miss Sun gave a screech like an ambulance siren reduced several thousand times in magnitude and reached out to grab Hung-chien’s right arm as though seeking his protection. Hung-chien knew Li and Lu’s gazes were directed at his right arm and thought, It’s all over. Since the rumor has reached the Suns anyway, what’s the use of denying it?
Lu Tzu-hsiao kept his gaze fixed on Miss Sun and breathed in short gasps.
Li Mei-t’ing said with a sly smile, “You sure were having a cozy talk. I called you several times but you didn’t even hear me. I wanted to ask you, when did Hsin-mei leave—excuse me, Miss Sun, for interrupting your lovers’ talk.”
“If you knew it was lovers’ talk, then you shouldn’t have interrupted,” said Hung-chien recklessly.
“Well, you certainly are at the forefront of fashion, even walking about arm in arm in broad daylight, setting a good example for the students.”
“We can’t follow the dean of student’s example of visiting houses of ill repute.”
Li Mei-t’ing paled, and sensing a change in the wind, said, “You do love cracking jokes. Now stop talking nonsense and be serious. When are you going to invite us to the wedding dinner?”
“We won’t forget you when the time comes,” replied Hung-chien.
Miss Sun said hesitantly, “Then let’s tell Mr. Li—”
Li Mei-t’ing gave a shout, and Lu Tzu-hsiao shrieked, “Tell what? That you’re engaged? Is that it?”
Miss Sun clasped Hung-chien more tightly and did not reply.
The two of them exclaimed, “Congratulations! Miss Sun, congratulations! Did he propose today? Treat us!” and they forced him to shake hands and made all kinds of jesting remarks.
Hung-chien felt as though he were in a cloud and had completely lost touch with himself, letting them shake his hand and pat his shoulder at will. Only after he had freely promised to invite them out would they leave. When they had gone some distance away, Miss Sun said apologetically, “I just panicked when I saw the two of them. I didn’t know what to do. Please forgive me, Mr. Fang—what I just said wasn’t meant seriously.”
Hung-chien suddenly felt mentally and physically too exhausted to cope. Taking her hand, he said, “Well, I meant every word of it. Maybe it’s just what I was asking for.”
Miss Sun was silent for a long while, then said, “I hope you won’t ever regret it,” and lifted her face as though expecting him to kiss her, but he forgot about kissing her and said only, “I hope you don’t regret it.”
By the last day of spring vacation, everyone on the faculty knew that Fang Hung-chien was engaged and would be giving a party the next week. Li Mei-t’ing’s whispered remarks during those few days far outnumbered all his earnest exhortations to the students during the entire year. Like Leonardo da Vinci, he just wished there were more muscles in his tongue, so it could withstand all the exercise. As he spread the news around, he added, “There must have been an accident; otherwise they never would have gotten engaged. Just look at it. They’re getting married right after the engagement. Actually why do they have to go through the trouble twice? They might as well just go ahead and live together. Why should we care? After all, we’re getting an extra meal off him. As I see it, children’s clothes would make the most useful wedding presents, ha, ha! But then this affair touches on the moral standards of the school. I’ll have to call the president’s attention to this. I have my duties as dean of students to think of; I can’t just consider my personal friendship with Fang Hung-chien now, can I? Last year when I came here with them I thought something was not right. Lu Tzu-hsiao is the big fool! Ha, ha!”
Thus, on the day of the engagement party, many of the guests studied Miss Sun’s figure. When dessert was served, some women guests maliciously forced Miss Sun to eat more, especially Mrs. Han, who kept saying, “Sweets to the sweet.” There was the inevitable proposal that they describe the story of their love affair, which of course they refused.
Under cover of the wine, Li Mei-t’ing said, “I’ll tell it for them.”
Hung-chien shot him a warning glance and said in the Shanghai dialect, “Mr. Li, you are such a nice man.”
Li stopped short, suddenly remembering the Soochow widow. He laughed loudly and said, “You see, everyone, he’s so nervous he calls me a ‘nice man.’ Well then, I will be a nice man and won’t tell it for him. Tzu-hsiao, now it’s your turn to treat everyone to a wedding feast.”
Tzu-hsiao said, “It’s better to get married a little late. If a person marries early, he’ll be wanting a divorce before he reaches middle age.”
Everyone agreed his remarks were very inauspicious and fined him a glass of wine. Hung-chien and Miss Sun also became drunk on all the wine they were served.
Among those who had been invited but did not attend that day were Mr. and Mrs. Wang and Mr. and Mrs. Liu. Liu Tung-fang blamed Hung-chien for his sister’s unsuccessful marriage bid. He had also planned to hold an exhibit of the students’ achievements in English composition after the spring vacation, intending to make public Hung-chien’s errors in correcting the papers. He had not anticipated, however, that most of the students would want to keep their papers modestly hidden away, refusing to take them out and lay bare their weaknesses. Then, too, since Hsin-mei had already left, if Hung-chien became angry and refused to teach English, there wouldn’t be anyone to replace him. A gentleman must be flexible. He decided he would let Hung-chien teach for the remainder of the semester. If the shirt and shoes Mrs. Han gave his eldest daughter had not been delivered just before the end of the semester, he could have made his peace with the Hans already and not have had to wait till next semester to give Hung-chien’s classes to her in return. Wang Ch’u-hou did not invite his colleagues or the president over for dinner again. Liu Tung-fang complained that he had not done his best as matchmaker. Now that Chao Hsin-mei had left and his clique had dissolved, Mr. Wang was ready to resign and return to Ch’engtu. Though President Kao had acted as a witness for Hung-chien’s engagement, he was not at all pleased with him. Li Mei-t’ing’s prediction about the marriage was not confirmed either. Lu Tzu-hsiao happened to see in Fang Hung-chien’s room a small “Home University Library” edition of [Harold] Laski’s Communism, one of the books Hsin-mei had left behind. Though Lu Tzu-hsiao’s understanding of English was no sharper than the nose of a man with a bad cold, he did recognize the word “communism” on the cover, and secretly told Li Mei-t’ing, who then reported it to President Kao.
President Kao said, “I was planning to promote him. Who would have known his thought was open to question? Next semester I’ll just have to dismiss him. The man has potential. Such a pity! Such a pity!”
Thus even as a “concubine” Hung-chien was not secure and just had to “leave the house.” Before he left he gave all of Hsin-mei’s books to the library, including that one small volume. When Han Hsüeh-yü heard that Hung-chien’s contract was not to be renewed, he grabbed his White Russian wife and they hopped around the house like a frog and a flea. Henceforth his secret could not be divulged by any insider.
On the evening of July fourth, the last day of the final examinations, Han threw a big party for his colleagues with his wife’s name appearing on the invitations. The occasion was American Independence Day. This of course proved that his wife was indeed a genuine, full-fledged American; for otherwise, how could she always be thinking about her mother country? Patriotism is not something that can be simulated. If the wife’s nationality were real, could the husband’s academic credentials then be fake?
8
IN THE WEST whenever a mule driver has a mule that refuses to move and won’t respond to the whip, he will dangle a carrot on a string in front of the mule just above its lips. The stupid m
ule thinks that, if it takes a step forward, it can get a bite out of the carrot, so it keeps going forward step by step. The more it hankers for a bite, the faster it goes, and before the mule realizes it, it will have reached the next station. Whether or not it then gets the carrot depends on the whim of the mule driver. The heads of organizations always use this kind of ploy to “drive” their subordinates, such as the way Kao Sung-nien had promised Hung-chien a full professorship for the next semester.
Since Hsin-mei’s departure, Hung-chien had seen enough of this promotion business and his mouth no longer watered for it. He decided he would look for other prospects after summer vacation. When the contract came, he was prepared to send it back untouched with a letter attached roundly criticizing the administration—his parting words of advice. It would be a good chance to let out the year’s pent-up frustration. He had not yet decided on the exact wording of the letter, since he did not know what sort of contract the president’s office would be sending him. Sometimes he hoped it would still be for associate professor. Then he could write back in righteous indignation, denouncing the president for breach of promise. Sometimes he hoped the contract would promote him to full professor. In that case, his letter could be even more beautifully phrased, indicating that his dissatisfaction arose not from any private grievance, but as a matter of principle.
Hung-chien never anticipated that Kao would save him the trouble of drafting or writing a letter by simply not sending him any contract at all. On the other hand, Miss Sun received a contract and was even raised a step on the salary scale. Some people said this was Kao’s prank—a deliberate attempt to break them apart. Kao himself asserted that he was only acting out of fairness and would not make the woman suffer because of her fiancé. “It’s not just a question of their not being married yet. Even if they were married and had a child, if the husband’s thought is under question, one cannot implicate wife and children in the crime! In running an institution of higher learning in the twentieth-century Republic of China, one should at least have that much democratic spirit.”
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