Chapter 5
At the banquet, my stepmother changed into a crimson silk qipao and dressed even more grandly than I had. My sister wore a floor-length cocktail dress. The two of them floated around the reception like brilliant flowers, as though they were the day’s true stars.
I was happy to be ignored. Still in my daytime T-shirt and short skirt, I sat at the head table gnawing on a rib.
Wei Yuxi held his chopsticks and asked gently, “Do you like shrimp?”
“It’s all right.”
He nodded and asked a Wei relative to bring him a plate. He was happily peeling them when my sister approached with her skirt gathered in one hand and a bottle of Moutai in the other, trailing perfume.
“Brother-in-law, let me pour you a drink.”
“Thank you.”
He thanked her but did not drink. I leaned close and whispered, “Do our voices really sound alike?”
“A little.”
Ridiculous. One of us had a mature, commanding voice, the other sounded sweet and girlish. How were we alike?
“Maybe if you listened to less heavy metal, your hearing would improve.”
He took no offense. Smiling, he handed me half a bowl of peeled shrimp.
“All right. Whatever you say.”
I had never been looked after like this in my life. I held the bowl in silence.
Above me, my stepsister stared blankly at the scene.
My stepmother overheard from nearby. “So Xiaoye likes shrimp too? You never ate them at home. Have you been saving them for your sister all these years?”
She always spoke that way—benevolent on the surface, barbed underneath.
“Why would anyone need to save shrimp?” Wei Yuxi wiped his hands. “Families like ours can certainly afford them.”
“Whether it is peeling shrimp or anything else, I will gladly do it for Xiaoye.”
Everyone hurried to agree.
My stepmother tried to smile, but only managed a stiff twitch of her lips. My stepsister looked from him to me, dazed by thoughts she could not voice.
Custom dictated that a married daughter spend the night at her parents’ home on this visit. No matter how badly my stepmother treated me, she would never slight a member of the Wei family. She even prepared a large south-facing guest room for the newlyweds.
Late that night, I made the bed. Wei Yuxi gazed at me through hazy eyes.
“Little Leaf?”
“Yes?”
“Do you think I’m pitiful?”
“Why would you ask that?”
He sighed. “My parents died young. My grandfather raised me.”
“Since I lost my sight, my uncles have used every means they can to force me out of my executive position.”
“Perhaps I’ve used up all the luck I was allotted in this life.”
I knew how to argue with people. Comforting them was another matter.
After struggling for a while, I produced two words.
“That’s nonsense.”
He was clearly unconsoled. He rolled himself into the blanket, turned toward the wall, and sighed mournfully. Feeling guilty, I said, “You know, you aren’t the most unfortunate person in the world. I have a friend…”
I had once read that if you did not know how to comfort someone, you should tell them an even sadder story. Naturally, they would feel less miserable by comparison.
I sat at the foot of the bed. “My friend’s father met a wealthy woman in the city. Her mother couldn’t bear it and took poison, so my friend had to live with her father and stepmother.”
“You know the sort of stepmother I mean, don’t you?”
“Cruel in private, but determined to look kind in public. She was pleasant to my friend in front of others, then refused to give her even a bite of meat.”
My eyes grew wet as I spoke.
“And because the stepmother had a daughter of her own, my friend was never allowed to stand out. She had to make herself small so everyone would praise the other child.”
“Children with mothers are different. A motherless child is nothing but a weed…”
It had been so long since anyone loved me that I had forgotten what love felt like.
Tears slipped out without warning. I quickly wiped them away and cleared my throat. “Hey, Wei Yuxi. Are you still listening?”
There was no answer from the bed.
I stood and looked. His eyes were closed, his breathing deep and even. At some point, he had fallen asleep.
So much for true empathy.