Grievances and Affections

Without waiting for an answer, I pressed my lips to her cheek. As I did, Jin Yulian flusteredly tried to push my head away and cried out, “Let me go, you scoundrel, you bastard! If you don’t, I’ll make sure you regret it for the rest of your life!”

At that moment, I heard footsteps outside. I released her from my embrace and slipped away.

Xiao He watched my retreating figure and asked Jin Yulian, “Manager, should we call the police?”

Jin Yulian, her face flushed scarlet, replied, “No need, but I’ll make sure he pays for this.”

That night, the autumn rain poured without end. I rode my battered bicycle into the storm, heading to my night shift. It was a three-shift job. The graveyard shift was so exhausting and miserable that few were willing to take it, making it difficult to find workers. That was the only reason the boss’s wife agreed to hire me.

I had little education and a prison record—finding work with such a background was nearly impossible. This hard-won night job was precious to me, and I cherished it deeply.

Tonight was my third night at the factory. I was determined not to be late, so even as the rain lashed down, I braved the storm to get to work. After my release, with no income to speak of, I could only afford a room on the rural outskirts where city and countryside melded—a remote place, five kilometers from the factory, reachable only by bicycle.

The late hour and the downpour left the roads nearly deserted—hardly a pedestrian or vehicle in sight. Suddenly, a car approached, its high beams glaring straight into my eyes. The harsh light blinded me; I could barely see ahead and almost rode my bicycle straight into the ditch. Cursing under my breath, I thought, “Damn, what kind of jerk blinds someone with high beams like that?”

I braked in a hurry, pulling over to let the car pass first.

The car sped by, splashing a wave of muddy water all over me. I was about to curse this inconsiderate fool when the car screeched to a stop beside me. Through the rain, I saw it was a black BMW.

This was no mere accident—this was provocation. Outraged, I readied myself to confront the driver, regardless of his luxury car.

To my surprise, four burly men leapt out, each wielding a foot-and-a-half long wooden club. They surrounded me without a word—their intent clear, their arrival no coincidence.

They were strangers to me; I wondered if I had unknowingly offended someone or if they had the wrong man. Outnumbered, I was no match for them. I said, “What do you want? I don’t know you. Are you sure you’ve got the right person?”

The four thugs gripped their clubs menacingly but remained silent. Then I understood—they were hired muscle.

But who had sent them? As doubt gnawed at me, a young man stepped out of the BMW, dressed in a suit, a thick gold chain around his neck, a gold watch on his wrist. He looked at me with a sneer and said, “You mangy dog, do you remember me? If you hadn’t ruined my plans back then, I would’ve had Ling Xue already.”

At his words, I immediately recognized him—Jin Baoqiang, Jin Yulian’s scoundrel brother. Years ago, he tried to force himself on a girl named Ling Xue at a KTV bar. I was a waiter there at the time and happened to walk in on his attempt.

Ling Xue had been the beauty of my middle school class, though after I dropped out, we’d had no further contact. Even back in school, my classmates looked down on me; I always sat alone, keeping my distance from the others.

Though Ling Xue and I were little more than strangers, when I saw Jin Baoqiang trying to take advantage of her, I instinctively charged in to stop him.

A fight broke out between us, drawing a crowd. Jin Baoqiang, ever the schemer, turned things around and accused me of trying to assault Ling Xue, claiming he was the one who’d come to her rescue.

Ling Xue was unconscious from drink, and there was no surveillance footage of Jin Baoqiang’s actions. The truth became hopelessly muddled, and both of us were taken to the police station for investigation.

With no third-party witnesses, Jin Baoqiang accused me of preying on Ling Xue while he was away, insisting he’d saved her. Our stories contradicted each other completely, and Ling Xue herself could remember nothing upon waking. The police couldn’t tell who was telling the truth, so both of us were locked up in the detention room, the case at an impasse.

It was then that Jin Baoqiang’s sister, Jin Yulian, learned her brother had been detained and came to see me. She said she wanted to talk with me.

I never learned what methods she used, but she drove her BMW to get me out of the police station.

Sitting in her car, she said, “Things are at a standstill now. You have nothing to gain from this. If you admit to attempting to assault Ling Xue, I’ll give you a hundred thousand, and when you’re released, I’ll marry you myself.”

Her offer stirred something in me—I was in desperate need of money. But I also knew that if I confessed to an attempted assault, I’d be charged with attempted rape and could face two or three years in prison. And what if Jin Yulian was lying? I’d be the perfect scapegoat.

Sensing my hesitation and doubt, Jin Yulian blushed, then, biting her lip, unbuttoned her blouse, revealing her snowy skin.

I flushed, instinctively lowering my head. She took my hand, pressing it to her softness, and said, “Xiaofeng, do you believe now that I’d never deceive you?”