The Mystery of Revenge (9 page)

“Who is this Tom?” Ann had asked when Yi-yun told her she was going back to work at China Dragon. Ann knew Yi-yun hated Coffin Face and vowed never to return when she left to marry Fang Chen the year earlier. Tom had to be someone very special to be able to change Yi-yun’s
mind.

Yi-yun blushed. “I don’t know how to put it,” she said, glancing at Ann uneasily. “He’s a great musician, and we care about each other a lot.” In fact, they had been inseparable for the past few weeks. She spent most of her free time with him, helping him with every aspect of his life—cooking, cleaning, and running errands–so he could concentrate on the piano. Tom had been preparing for the international competition in Prague. She had decided to help him pay for the trip. “He’s the pianist you saw when we went to his concert a few months
ago.”

“Oh, him! Are you having an affair?” Ann asked, blurted out in
shock.

Yi-yun was taken aback by Ann’s outburst but couldn’t lie to her friend, so she nodded her head
reluctantly.

“But I thought you were happily married,” Ann said, looking at her friend incredulously. She remembered when she saw two of them together: Fang Chen so doting and Yi-yun so
content.

“No, I’m not happily married,” Yi-yun said sullenly. “I don’t love Fang Chen, and I never have.” She might have never known love if she hadn’t met Tom. The total opposite of Fang Chen, Tom brought out her raw sexuality, making her appreciate and in turn craving his love. He knew how to turn her on with his passionate kisses and foreplay even when she didn’t feel like it. They had made love on the floor, in the car, behind a tree, which would have been unthinkable with Fang Chen who would back away as soon as she raised her eyebrows in disagreement. Tom wanted her like no other, and he would turn to her as soon as he was done practicing the piano, which was his greatest love in life, other than Yi-yun of
course.

“I’m totally lost,” Ann said ungracefully. “Why did you marry Fang if you didn’t love
him?”

“Because I didn’t know what love was,” Yi-yun said, looking down at her feet. “I thought I loved him because I respected and admired him. He is so smart and generous, and he offered to rescue me from the financial disaster I was in at that time. You certainly know how difficult it is to pay for your rent and meals as a scholarship student, it’s ten times more difficult for me as I had to pay everything myself. It’s just impossible! So I saw him not only as a potential lover but also a lifesaver. I was so poor, and he was there, generous, sympathetic, and supportive. How could I not turn to him for help? I know it sounds very selfish, but it’s true.” She sighed. “Oh, Ann, I wish you could
understand.”

Ann knew everything Yi-yun said was true but couldn’t accept her decision to leave Fang Chen. It was so
unfair!

“I wish we could have the permit to work off campus,” Ann said longingly. As foreign students with F-1 visa, they weren’t allowed to work outside the campus by immigration law. Only places would hire them were restaurants like China Dragon where she and Yi-yun were paid by the owners who hired illegal for lower wages. She was paid $2 an hour, plus tips, all in cash and no benefits. If she had a work permit, the outcome of her job search would be totally different. She hated working for the cold-blooded Coffin Face. “Or that we were able to take out student loans like American students do.” Then nothing like this would have ever
happened.

“Yes, I wish I were an American citizen,” Yi-yun said with a twisted smile. “It was my dream to come to America when I was a teenager. But I didn’t realize how hard life can be when you are not a citizen. Sometimes I do regret not listening to my parents when they told me to stay home in China. If I had listened, I wouldn’t be in this mess right now. I’d probably be married to a guy I really love and I would be a different
person.”

Ann nodded. Yes, probably. Did she have regrets? Yes, when she was abused by Coffin Face, when she stayed up all night to finish her school work, and when she could barely afford to pay the rent. Sometimes, she couldn’t help wondering if it had been worth to trade in her daily comforts for
freedom.

“I know it’s difficult to justify having an affair,” Yi-yun continued in a dreamy voice. “But I do hope you can
understand.”

Ann dropped her eyes. “Have you talked to Fang Chen yet?” she asked without looking at Yi-yun.

“No,” Yi-yun said in a small voice. “I haven’t. I don’t know
how.”

“But he needs to know,” Ann said quietly, looking up at her friend. Poor Yi-yun, how lost she looked at that moment. “It’s unfair to keep him in the
dark.”

“I believe he already knows,” Yi-yun said, turning her head away. “I told him whom I’ve been hanging out with from the
start.”

“Then you have to choose between the two of them. You can’t live with Fang Chen when you are in love with Tom,” Ann
said.

Yi-yun shook her head sadly. “I know. I have to leave Fang because I know I can’t live without Tom.” In addition to the intense love they shared, for the first time in her life Yi-yun had a purpose, which made her happy even though she had to work in order to make money. To be with Tom, she would no longer be an useless and spoiled princess but a heroine engaging in something huge and noble. Imagine supporting and nurturing a great musician! Imagine being the source of his beautiful
music!

“Poor Fang Chen,” Ann said helplessly because she genuinely liked him. “I don’t know what to
say.”

“I know everybody will blame me for leaving him, but we all know there are two sides to every argument,” Yi-yun pointed out
defiantly.

“I guess so,” Ann said meekly. “As the Chinese old saying goes, there is no black and white in a
divorce.”

“No, there isn’t” Yi-yun said
firmly.

“Have you talked to Fang Chen yet?” Ann asked Paul Winderman. “I think he is the ultimate victim in this
affair.”

“Yes,” he said. “We have, and I’m planning on chatting with him
again.”

She nodded. “I wish Yi-yun had just stayed with him. If she had, she would still be alive
today.”

Chapter 10

Paul Winderman looked at the man sitting across him and couldn’t help feeling sorry for him. The dark eyes at the back of the thick glasses were almost expressionless, but his tightly clenched muscle betrayed tremendous pain. Every line on his face was forcefully smoothed over to conceal the deep emotions he was trying to
contain.

“I really don’t want to poke into your private life,” he said apologetically. “But to understand the reason why you and Yi-yun Lin divorced and why she ended up being killed, I need to hear from you what exactly
happened.”

Fang Chen dropped his eyes; his hands tugged unconsciously at his pants, trying to smooth out the nonexisting
wrinkles.

For more than ten minutes, nobody said a word. Paul Winderman waited patiently; he had been trained to get people open up to him. In most cases, they would if he waited long enough. Slowly, Fang Chen lifted his eyes and spoke in a very low
voice.

The night was deadly quiet, but Fang Chen could occasionally hear the dimmed sound of cars passing along the streets outside. He had been tossing and turning in vain to try to fall asleep as the events of the night spun inside his
head.

It was almost midnight when Yi-yun opened the front
door.

“Where have you been?” he asked. It was unusual for her to come home so late. In fact, this was the first time he had ever come home to a dark and empty
apartment.

Instead of answering his question, she asked him rather innocently, “What time is it?” Flushed from the freezing air outside, her smile disappeared when she saw his icy
expression.

“It’s almost midnight,” he said moodily, kicking off his slippers and climbing in their king-size
bed.

“Sorry, I didn’t even notice the time,” Yi-yun said while taking off her
jacket.

She was whistling lightheartedly when she locked herself in the bathroom.
What’s going on
, Fang Chen wondered sourly. Only a few weeks ago, she would tell him without being asked if she were going to be out, particularly if it was late at night. Tonight, she didn’t even bother to answer his
question.

“Where have you been?” he asked again when Yi-yun opened the bathroom door. “Were you at Jim’s house?” He knew she and June often out
together.

“No,” she said without looking at him. “I was with Tom. He played at the Ritz
tonight.”

“Why do you,” Fang Chen asked, irritated, “have to follow him around like a brainless teenager? He’s not even a rock
star!”

She turned around, and her beautiful eyes stared at him incredulously. “If you don’t realize by now, it’s because I like his music,” she
retorted.

“It’s not that simple.” He raised his voice. “You’re married, Yi-yun. You can’t follow a guy around just because you like his music. It’s inappropriate. It’s
outrageous!”

“I don’t see anything inappropriate with my behavior. Tom doesn’t care if a member of his audience is married,” Yi-yun said coldly and left the
bedroom.

Yi-yun came back in an hour later. Quietly, she changed into a nightgown and turned off the lights. His heart sank when she slid under the blanket without kissing him a good night; she had never forgotten to kiss him before she went to
bed.

Something was wrong with the picture. She said she followed Tom because she liked his music, but the way she reacted earlier made Fang Chen feel that there was more to the relationship. Did she have feeling for him? Were they having an
affair?

Yi-yun fell asleep almost immediately. Listening to the clicks of the clock on the nightstand, Fang Chen turned and tossed in
frustration.

He had first met Yi-yun more than three years ago when she showed up at his office door unexpectedly. He was a teaching assistant while pursuing his PhD. Yi-yun was looking for Dr. Smith, her teacher and his advisor. Standing in the doorway, she looked so timid and confused that Fang Chen volunteered to walk her around the corridor to Dr. Smith’s office door. Their first encounter led to a friendly coffee, and soon they became
friends.

He fell in love almost immediately, before he even realized. The girl was so beautiful; when she smiled, he thought the whole world was smiling. Her big eyes shone like diamonds, and her mouth shaped like a new moon in the dark sky. When she sought his advice for her course selections, Fang Chen jumped at the chance to help
her.

Having grown up as the middle child, unattractive, and near-sighted, Fang Chen was a loner from a very early age, living miserably in the shadow of his brilliant and beautiful siblings. His older brother Lee, handsome and athletic, was good at everything he chose to do. His younger sister Mary, a talented pianist, had won several national competitions before becoming a successful concert pianist. Quiet and self-conscious, Fang Chen was always awkward in social
gatherings.

But he turned into a different person when Yi-yun was around because she made him feel comfortable and relaxed. He became talkative, sharing his dreams, goals, and his research projects with her. She didn’t seem to mind if he wasn’t handsome, or sociable. She saw him as her equal—an intelligent, polite, and generous
guy.