Yu Hua - Brothers

When the black Mercedes drove up to the entrance to Baldy Li's company, he leapt out and opened the door for Lin Hong, then gallantly led her into his brightly illuminated office. Baldy Li took Lin Hong by the hand, led her over to the couch and, gazing at her tenderly, said, "I've been waiting for this day for twenty years."

Lin Hong stared at him, perplexed, and laughed noncommittally Baldy Li took the rose she was holding and tossed it onto the coffee table, then reached out and began caressing her face. Lin Hong began to tremble as Baldy Li's hands slid down to her shoulders, from her shoulders on down her arms, and finally to her hands, waiting patiently for her to stop trembling. He felt that he had a million things to tell her but didn't know where to begin. He shook his head, and said unhappily, "Lin Hong, please understand…"

Lin Hong looked at him in confusion, not knowing what she was supposed to understand. Baldy Li said pathetically, "I have forgotten how to court someone. I hope you'll understand…"

"Understand what?" Lin Hong asked quietly.

"Fuck," Baldy Li cursed. "I don't know how to talk about love. I only know how to make love."

Then he became a bandit. As Lin Hong stared at him in bewilderment, not having the slightest idea what he was talking about, he grabbed her and stuck his hand into her underpants. He did this lightning-fast, and by the time she realized what had happened, she was already pinned down on the couch with her pants pulled down to her knees. She grabbed her pants with both hands and cried out, "Stop, stop! Stop doing that!"

Baldy Li, however, was like a wild animal. Within two minutes he had stripped her naked, and within another minute he had stripped off his own clothes. Lin Hong fought him off with all her strength, while imploringly crying out her husbands name, "Song Gang, Song Gang …"

Baldy Li pinned Lin Hong down on the sofa, held her hands and feet down with his, and shouted, "Song Gang, forgive me!"

Baldy Li then entered her. Since Song Gang had been ill so long, it had been several years since a man had touched her like this, and while she cried out in terror, the subsequent pleasurable sensation almost made her pass out. As Baldy Li began to thrust she started to cry out again. Not having done this kind of thing for such a long time, she was like a piece of dry kindling exposed to a flame. She cried out, but it was unclear whether it was from shame or pleasure. After more than ten minutes, her cries became moans. As Baldy Li happily carried on she lost track of time, fully absorbed with her body's rapid contractions. Baldy Li and Lin Hong did it for more than an hour, during which time Lin Hong experienced countless orgasms — even having three in a row, each one following on the heels of the previous one, making her body tremble like the engines of Baldy Li's BMW and Mercedes and making her cry out like the cars’ horns.

When they were done, Lin Hong lay exhausted on the couch with Baldy Li on top of her, panting heavily. She remembered how she and Song Gang had never lasted more than two minutes. Even when Song Gang was healthy they would do it very perfunctorily, and after he became ill he could not manage even that. Lin Hong caressed Baldy Li's body, thinking, So this is what a real man is like.

After lying on top of her for a few minutes, Baldy Li excitedly jumped up and ran into the bathroom to rinse himself off. After he had dressed, he saw that Lin Hong had draped her clothing over her naked body. He told her to go rinse herself as well, but she merely lay on the couch, exhaustedly shaking her head and unwilling to move.

Baldy Li didn't say anything else to her but sat down at his desk and started making business calls. Lin Hong lay there, delirious — her mind in a tumult, like a boat buffeted by the waves — thinking back over what had just happened. It had all been very sudden, like a flash of lightning, starting abruptly, and concluding equally abruptly. Then in a flash of sudden clarity she realized that she was lying naked on Baldy Li's couch. Using her clothing to cover her herself, she got up and walked unsteadily to the bathroom to wash up. As she dressed she gradually revived. When she looked at herself in the mirror, she immediately blushed with embarrassment. She couldn't quite muster the courage to leave the bathroom because she didn't know how she would face Baldy Li when she did.

After Baldy Li finished his phone calls, he pushed open the bathroom door, and, announcing loudly that he was hungry, he reached in and pulled Lin Hong out into the office. Lin Hong confusedly followed Baldy Li into the Mercedes — both having completely forgotten about the unveiling ceremony — and they proceeded to a private room of a restaurant owned by Baldy Li's company. For the first time in her life Lin Hong ate abalone and shark fin. She had heard of these delicacies but knew that her annual salary at the knitting factory was enough for only a couple of servings, and therefore she had never tasted them.

Lin Hong assumed that after dinner she would be allowed to return home. What she didn't realize was that the evening had just begun. After eating, Baldy Li remained excited and proceeded to take her to a nightclub also owned by his company. She sat bewildered in a private karaoke room as Baldy Li sang her three love songs. He then asked Lin Hong to also sing a song, but she said she didn't know how. Baldy Li then pushed her down onto the couch and started to remove her pants. She struggled to pull them back up and cried out, "Don't! Don't do that!"

Baldy Li repeatedly nodded his head and said, "Just take off your trousers," then proceeded to remove them. This time she didn't cry out Song Gang's name. She lay on the couch, hugging Baldy Li while he jerked up and down on her body as though he were being shocked, continuing in this way for an hour. Lin Hong felt another orgasm coming on. This time she didn't have three in a row but only one. Then, with weak knees, she followed Baldy Li out of the nightclub and confusedly went home with him.

The two lay in bed and watched a Hong Kong movie. By this point it was three in the morning, and Lin Hong, who was accustomed to going to bed early, was so tired that she could barely keep her eyes open. When Baldy Li rolled over and again began making love to her, she no longer struggled to push him away but quietly acceded. This time she didn't have an orgasm, but she still got excited, though toward the end her vagina started to hurt. Baldy Li finally finished an hour later, whereupon Lin Hong fell sound asleep.

She had slept for only two hours when Baldy Li woke her up. It had occurred to him that they had never unveiled his portrait, so she had to get up and follow him unsteadily to his office. By the time they got there she had managed to wake up somewhat and noticed how dignified the office was. She walked over to the enormous portrait so big that it covered virtually the entire wall. Pulling away the satin drape that was covering it, she saw that the figure of Baldy Li was so immense that he resembled Atlas, wearing fancy dress clothes and smiling. Lin Hong looked at the image, then back at Baldy Li, and was about to remark that the portrait really looked like him when Baldy Li abruptly pushed her down and took her again on the red velvet cloth lying on the floor. This was the fourth time in ten hours that they had made love. This time, however, Lin Hong didn't feel anything other than excruciating pain, as though he were whipping her genitals. As she gritted her teeth Baldy Li thought that her cries of pain were moans of ecstasy. More than an hour later, when it seemed as if he had no intention of stopping, Lin Hong couldn't help but sigh. When Baldy Li asked why she was sighing, she confessed that she was in agony. He immediately stopped and, inspecting her genitals, discovered that they were red and swollen. He chastised her for not saying something sooner, saying that if he had known she was in pain, he would certainly not have continued. Even if he had been about to establish a Guinness World Record, he would still not have continued. Then he wrapped himself and Lin Hong in the red satin cloth, saying that they would stop and sleep for a while. They slept there on the floor until noon, when Deputy Liu came knocking on the door.