Page 166 - I Live in the Slums: Stories (The Margellos World Republic of Letters)

road. It was dark inside. The two of them almost fell onto a bed with a big
mattress. Zhou Yizhen struggled to get up because she hadn’t taken off her
shoes. Bai E was still holding her tightly. She said there was no point in
following any rules in her home. It was best to simply fit in.

“It’s dark outside. Where can you go?” Bai E’s voice turned eerie.
Zhou Yizhen stopped struggling and calmed down. A minute later, her eyes
closed heavily. She felt a quilt being put over her. She could faintly hear Bai E
arguing with someone outside.

When Zhou Yizhen awakened, it was daylight. She saw her former workmate
Bai E sitting beside the bed, quietly watching her; she looked fascinated. Zhou
Yizhen blushed; she wasn’t accustomed to people looking at her so closely.
“Yizhen, we’ve finally met,” she said.
“Yes. Finally,” Zhou Yizhen responded in kind.

“I thought I wouldn’t be able to wait for this day.”
“Everything depends on luck,” Zhou Yizhen said.
“No! That’s wrong!”
Bai E stood up angrily, and began pacing back and forth in the room. She was
agitated.
Zhou Yizhen made the bed, whisking the dust from the quilt. She waited for
Bai E to explode.
But Bai E didn’t lose her temper. Her anger was suddenly replaced by
happiness, and she whispered, “I know you came over from Zhu Mei’s place. As
soon as you arrived at her home yesterday, everyone from the plant knew.
Everyone was eager to see you. I got to you before anyone else!”
“If that’s the way all of you felt, then why did everyone pretend not to know

me in the small shops? I saw several of my former workmates,” Zhou Yizhen
said.
“Everyone was keeping an eye on everyone else. We had to pretend not to
know you. We had to wait until night to take you by surprise and get hold of
you. It’s the way things are done here. I did it just like that, didn’t I? All these
years, we were curious. Everyone wanted to know how you had survived. You
were everyone’s hope.”
After Zhou Yizhen washed her face and brushed her teeth, she sat down and
ate breakfast with Bai E. Noticing that Bai E kept looking her up and down, she
asked with a smile, “Is there something nice-looking about me?” “I’m not
looking at you, I’m looking at myself. When you left, you took my soul with
you. I’ve been thinking all along, People say that Zhou Yizhen didn’t die; she
survived. What happened? I have to see her again. Last night, my dream came