Boy in the Twilight by Yu Hua Read Free Book Online Page A

room for their expression. In one of the letters, the woman told Li Hanlin she had a new telephone number.
    AFTER LIN HONG GOT HOME , she sat down on the sofa and studied this seven-digit number. She tried to collect herself, and then she picked up the phone and dialed. She heard ringing, and then a woman answered. “Hello?”
    “I’d like to speak to Qingqing,” Lin Hong said.
    “Speaking. Who’s calling?”
    Lin Hong detected a husky quality to the woman’s voice. “I’m the wife of Li Hanlin,” she said.
    For a long time there was no reply, but Lin Hong could hear breathing, uneven breathing. “You’re shameless,” Lin Hong said. “You’re despicable, you sneaky little …” Lin Hong didn’t know what to say next; her whole body was shaking.
    The other party now spoke. “Tell it to Li Hanlin.”
    “You’re shameless!” Lin Hong shouted into the phone. “You’ve destroyed our marriage!”
    “I haven’t destroyed your marriage,” the other woman said. “Relax, I’m not going to do that. Li Hanlin and I won’t go any further; this is our limit. I’m not interested in marrying him—not all women are like you.” She hung up.
    Lin Hong stood there, quivering from head to toe, as tears of indignation poured from her eyes and the dial tone rang in her ears. After a long time she put down the receiver, but she remained standing there, and then she picked up the phone again and dialed another number.
    At the other end a male voice could be heard. “Hello? Hello? Who’s calling? Why don’t you say something?”
    “This is Lin Hong.”
    “Oh, Lin Hong … Is Li Hanlin back now?”
    “No.”
    “How come he’s not back yet? It’s been a while now, hasn’t it? No, it can’t be that long. I saw him three days ago. What’s he doing this time? Is he still promoting that water filter? What a scam that is! He gave me one and I tried it out. I put filtered water in one glass and water from the faucet in another glass, and I couldn’t see any difference between the two. Then I drank a mouthful from each glass and they tasted the same, too.”
    Lin Hong interrupted him. “Do you know Qingqing?”
    “Qingqing?” he said. There was a pause. Lin Hong waited, holding the receiver. “I don’t know her,” he said finally.
    Lin Hong tried to stay calm. “Li Hanlin is having an affair. He’s hooked up with some woman behind my back. Her name is Qingqing. I just found out today. They meet, they talk onthe phone, they write to each other. I have the letters she sent him. They’ve known each other for more than a year now—”
    This time it was the man at the other end who interrupted her. “I know Li Hanlin pretty well,” he said, “but I don’t know anything about this Qingqing person. Could you have misinterpreted? Perhaps they’re just friends … Excuse me, someone’s knocking at the door. Hold on.”
    He put down the phone, and after a moment she heard two men talking and steps coming toward the telephone. The receiver was picked up and the man said, “Hello?”
    She knew that he was waiting for her to go on, but she didn’t want to say more, so all she said was “If you have a guest, I’ll let you go.”
    “Okay, we’ll talk about it later.”
    He hung up. Lin Hong still clutched the receiver. She looked up the number of another friend of Li Hanlin. She dialed and heard someone pick up the phone. “Hello?”
    “This is Lin Hong,” she said.
    “Lin Hong, how are you? And how’s Li Hanlin? What’s he up to these days?”
    She was quiet for a moment. “Do you know Qingqing?”
    There was a long silence at the other end of the line. She had no choice but to continue. “Li Hanlin has been carrying on with another woman behind my back.”
    “Surely not.” Now, at last, he spoke. “Li Hanlin wouldn’t do that kind of thing. I know him. Is it possible that you’re being a bit … over-suspicious?”
    “I’ve got evidence,” Lin Hong said. “I’ve got the letters this