The Mystery of Revenge (4 page)

“I can tell you like your routines,” he said with a
smile.

“Yes, I’m an animal with
habits.”

“When is your
lunchtime?”

“Around twelve, and after that, I nap until two in the
afternoon”

“If someone came in around, say, one or one-thirty in the afternoon, you wouldn’t be able to hear it, would you?” he said
meditatively.

“Well, I’m not deaf, you know,” she said defensively. “I would have heard it if someone came in and shot my neighbor downstairs. I would’ve woken up from my nap instantly. The floors and walls are very thin in this building as I told
you.”

But Paul wasn’t so sure. Somebody could have come in and shot the victim with a pillow, and Ms. White wouldn’t be any wiser in her
sleep.

“Plus, I’m not a heavy sleeper,” she said, looking at him severely. “I woke up every time when they were doing their deeds downstairs, every time
indeed!”

Chapter 4

Refurbishing Fang Chen’s apartment was fun. Yi-yun first rearranged his living room, replacing most of his decorations with her own including a big picture of her family, on the top shelf of the entertainment center next to their wedding picture. Although they didn’t have a formal church wedding since nobody in their families was in the States, they did have their wedding pictures taken by a professional photographer. In the picture, they both smiled
brightly.

Then she renovated the kitchen, repainted all the walls, and acquired quite a few items for it, including a set of beautiful French cooking pans to hand along the wall. The reddish copper gave it a feel of a gourmet kitchen, which she always thought she would love to have. Plus, she had thrown out almost everything in the bedroom and bought a king-size bed and a set of extra soft mattresses nesting in a sled-shaped maple frame and a matched dresser. She did keep the old bureau where Fang Chen kept his underwear and
socks.

Her in-laws had sent them a fat check as their wedding gift. After some serious discussions, she finally agreed to deposit it so they could use it as a down payment when they were ready to buy a house with a yard. She had wanted to buy it immediately, but Fang Chen persuaded her to wait until he finished
school.

“We can’t buy a house now,” he had said, “when I don’t even know where my future job will be.” She had to agree he had a point. They would definitely have to move if he got a job in New York City, or some other cities. She secretly hoped it would be New York City because she had never been there, and everyone had told her it was a great city to live
in.

Three years into his PhD program, Fang Chen had been extremely busy working on his dissertation while working as a teaching assistant, so he left his new wife alone with his credit cards, which pleased Yi-yun
tremendously.

Among all the activities she loved, shopping was on top of the list. In Shanghai, her family lived not far from the shopping district where the roots of some department stores could be traced back to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when capitalism was first introduced to the country. As soon as Yi-yun was old enough to walk to school by herself, she had enjoyed window-shopping along the way. She saw the store windows change from almost bare to plentiful as the country transformed following the end of the Cultural Revolution. Although she didn’t have money then, she was satisfied to walk by and look at the colorful windows every day. Once or twice a year, her parents would take her to the stores and let her choose gifts for her birthday and the Chinese New Year. These were the happiest times in her life as she went through all the items she liked, then picked a few that she could
have.

She stopped window-shopping only after she moved to Boston when it became a torture. Walking along fashionable streets clustered with brand-name stores brought her mental agony. Her heart twisted in pain every time her eyes caught an item she would love to have but couldn’t afford. And there were so many! Although she found a decent job almost immediately thanks to Mrs. Chang, whom Lisa said was enchanted by Yi-yun’s good looks, the owner of the China Dragon believed beautiful young women would attract clients, the money Yi-yun made from waiting tables and bartending had to go to her tuition and rent first. After paying thousands a semester for her education, there was nothing left for her to spend on herself, no matter how hard she worked. To survive, she had to share a tiny apartment with another student, eating bags of instant noodles for months before she could afford something as simple as a pair of jeans. To make the matter worse, she had no relatives in Boston; nobody would walk her into a store twice a year and let her choose whatever she wanted for her birthday and Christmas. She was totally alone and
penniless.

So she had a ball when she was finally able to shop. In the first few months, she spent hours and hours walking around Back Bay, running her fingers through racks of fine clothing at department stores and boutiques on Newbury Street. It was a thrill to see herself in the mirror, wearing various outfits; she had never looked so pretty and
stylish.

Besides shopping, Yi-yun also enjoyed being at home, so much so that she quit school almost immediately after her marriage. That allowed her to get up late, fix whatever she wanted to eat, and clean the apartment at her leisure. In between, she would laugh herself to tears or cry herself silly watching soap operas or sitcoms on their huge new TV. It was a very nice change from being poor and constantly on the run. In fact, she was so content that she thought her life in the United States had turned out better than she had ever
dreamed.

“You’ll never find such a life anywhere in the world,” her mother had replied when Yi-yun had told her she wanted to have a very rich and comfortable life in America without being overworked. Yi-yun was sure her mother just hated to see her only child leave home. She had shaken her head sadly when Yi-yun said she had been accepted at Boston
University.

“Yes, I might be poor for the first few years, but I will have the life I want eventually,” she had told her
mother.

All her friends agreed with her. There was such a life outside China. From the magazines they read, there were elegant men and women in expensive suits and gowns, smoking cigarettes, sipping cocktails, and having fun everywhere. There were also oversized houses, beautiful gardens, and gorgeous cars. In truth, her friends were so envious of Yi-yun’s college acceptance that they bet among themselves to see how long it would take Yi-yun to succeed and live happily ever after. Yi-yun smiled triumphantly every time she thought of her old schoolmates while heading home from the malls, holding several shopping bags in her
hands.

Then, unexpectedly, she lost interest in her daily routine. As if the dream life suddenly flipped, she found herself sitting on the couch one day, staring at the empty walls without knowing what she should do
next.

Did she still want to go shopping? Where should she go after having been to the same stores so many times? Did she want to watch TV? The stories had lost their magic touches after she had followed them religiously for so long. How about reading a book? No, that would bore
her.

She had lost her contacts with the outside world when she quit school and working at the restaurant. The only friend she talked to was Ann, but Ann was always so busy that she hardly had time to
chitchat.

“What’s wrong, Yi-yun?” Ann called back after hearing a tearful message on her answering
machine.

“I don’t know,” Yi-yun said. She was already in bed, waiting for Fang Chen to come home. “It seems the color of my new life is fading,” she said, looking at the fingernails of her left hand. They were so beautiful. To occupy herself, she had applied a layer of soft blue polish to match her nightgown a few hours
ago.

“Did you guys have a fight?” Ann asked, alarmed.

“No, we never fight,” Yi-yun said bitterly. “How can I fight with him when he’s never home? It’s already eleven o’clock, and I probably won’t see him tonight if I go to sleep right
now.”

“Are you upset because he’s hardly
home?”

“Not really. He hasn’t been at home through our entire marriage. It didn’t bother me before, and I’ve had such a good time by myself in last few
months.”

“You are homesick,” Ann said confidently. When they were together, they often talked about their families and friends whom they had left behind. How much they missed
them!

“Maybe it would be different if my parents were here,” Yi-yun said wistfully. It used to be so comforting when they were together. Her parents doted on her and always took good care of her. “I do miss my parents,” she said as tears welled up, “but that’s not what is making me miserable. Perhaps there’s something wrong with me that I don’t know about. I’m just so
depressed!”

“I wish I could help,” Ann said apologetically after a few minutes. “But I have so much homework to do tonight. Can I call you
tomorrow?”

“Okay, sorry to bother you,” she said
dejectedly.

“Don’t feel sorry. You know I love to talk to you. Get a good night’s sleep, and we’ll chat again
tomorrow.”

Ann called the next morning to check up on her between classes. Although it wasn’t Ann’s fault that she could only spare so little time with her, Yi-yun was upset. She burst into tears after Ann hung up the
phone.

“What’s wrong, honey?” Fang Chen rushed to her when he opened the door around noon. He came home every day for lunch, so he could see his
wife.

“Everything,” she cried, trying to dry her tears that gushed down in a flood. “I think I’m dying with
boredom.”

“Don’t be silly,” Fang Chen said while holding both of her shoulders. “You are not dying.” Carefully, he dried her tears with his handkerchief. “Tell me, sweetie, what’s the matter?” he asked good-naturedly.

“I’m bored.” She broke down, crying hysterically again. “I’m bored of shopping. I’m bored of cooking. I’m bored of cleaning. I want to talk to somebody, but nobody’s here. I married you, but you’re never home. Oh, how I wish I were somewhere different right now than doing the same thing every
day.”

“My poor darling,” Fang Chen said, holding her even tighter. “If you want to go back to school, you can go at any time. If you don’t want to cook, I can eat at school,” he said while kissing her
tenderly.

“But I don’t know if I want to go back to school.” It wasn’t ideal considering all those dreadful examinations, tests, and quizzes that she had to take. After years and years of forcing herself to study so she could live her America dream, Yi-yun didn’t want to work hard anymore especially when her dream had already come true. “It’s too
hard.”

“Do you want to read? I can buy you some books. Oh, how about mystery books by Agatha Christie?” he became excited when he thought of those detective stories he loved to read when he was in high school. “You’d love her
books.”

“I don’t know. I don’t know if I want to do anything. I can’t think of anything that would be potentially interesting,” she said, choking
pitifully.

“Maybe you just need to make some new friends,” Fang Chen suggested
hopefully.

“How can I make some new friends when I’m at home twenty-four hours a day? What good it is to have them when they don’t have time for me?” She thought about the short phone calls she had shared with Ann and started weeping again. “Everybody’s so busy. I am married to you, but you can’t be around for more than ten minutes after lunch!” she said, angrily pushing him away. Had she known that married life would be as miserable as it was right now, she would’ve never committed herself to
it.

“I’m sorry,” Fang Chen said with a sigh. As a husband, he knew he should be home with his wife more often, but as a student, he needed to get his work done. “You know I have only a year left,” he said carefully so he wouldn’t upset her further. “As soon as I finish school, I’ll get a job. You can have your dream house, and we can spend our evenings and weekends
together.”

“I don’t know if I still want a house,” Yi-yun said, wiping away her tears. “I would be bored to death in an empty house you
know.”

“I don’t think so. You’d never be bored in your own house,” Fang Chen said enthusiastically, remembering his own mother who ran a house with three kids. “There would be so many things you could do–decorating, refurbishing, renovating, and gardening. You’d be so busy that you wouldn’t want anybody
around.”

“Really?” she asked, nuzzling against his chest. “Do you think I’d enjoy
it?”

“Yes, I
do.”

“Will I have to handle everything by myself when we have a big
house?”

“No, you won’t have to,” Fang Chen said while folding her into his arms. “We can hire a housekeeper, but it will be yours to keep. As of right now, I think you need friends who can spend some quality time with you.” Pausing for a minute, he said: “One of my childhood friends lives in the North End. Jim goes to Boston College, and his wife June stays home. They are a very nice and fun couple. Shall we invite them over for dinner this weekend? You and June can be good
friends.”

“I don’t know.” Yi-yun hesitated. “What if they don’t like me?” Making friends with strangers wasn’t as easy as it sounded. It depended a lot on chemistry. People with the same background could be as different as dogs and
cats.

“Not like you?” Fang Chen cried incredulously. “They will love you!” How could anyone not like Yi-yun?

Yi-yun was not convinced. “Maybe I could find a better way to spend my time,” she said thoughtfully. “Maybe I should get a pet to keep me company. Yes, a dog, what do you think?” she asked eagerly. “I love dogs, and I think a dog would be a great companion.” Her eyes lit up as she thought of a ball of
fur.

Fang Chen wasn’t so sure. “A dog is a lot of work,” he said. “You have to feed it, walk it, and keep it
clean.”

“I can do it,” Yi-yun said excitingly. “I need to keep myself busy, remember?”

“If you really want to take care of a dog, why don’t we have a child instead?” Fang Chen had desired a baby since day one, but Yi-yun wanted none of it. “A baby would be a much better
companion.”