Sheng Keyi - Northern Girls - Life Goes On

‘Alright. Hurry up. It’s about time for work. If people find out, it will be bad.’ Youqing finished her whining speech, then kissed him a couple of times, pushing him out and closing the door. Xiaohong rushed back a couple of steps to the floor below then pretended to be just coming into the stairwell. At the point where the staircase turned between the second and third floors, she ‘bumped’ into Xiao Yuan.

‘Hey! Good morning.’ Xiaohong smiled in a tacit understanding then noticed that Xiao Yuan’s zip was only half closed, as if it had been hastily done up. In snatching some pleasure during working hours, Youqing had rushed him a little too much. Or perhaps he was the one who was a little too hasty, making love as quickly as clearing his bowels rather than taking the time to enjoy himself. Xiaohong gave another knowing smile and pointed at his crotch.

Xiao Yuan looked down and, as he zipped up his fly, said jocularly, ‘Hey, you shouldn’t be looking.’

‘I thought you were showing it off on purpose.’ Xiaohong found dealing with men to be a simple thing, joking easily like this with them. With women, especially the doctors and staff at the hospital, it was different. Just take her relationship with Youqing. It was as hard as uncooked rice, no matter what she did.

‘What’re you doing here anyway? I’m off to work.’ Xiao Yuan said as he walked down the stairs. When he tried to pass Xiaohong, the staircase was too narrow. She did her best to pull her breasts in close but still brushed them up against his arm. Or rather, let his arm brush up against her chest.

‘My period came,’ Xiaohong said provocatively. Xiao Yuan smiled shyly at her and walked off quickly. Xiaohong watched him go down the staircase and open the door. She noticed that his arse was like a woman’s, full and sensuous.

VI

When Liao dropped in, Xiaohong’s holiday was over. She pretended that her back was hurting so that Liao would not dare act rashly. He was becoming more urgent, always reaching an end just as Xiaohong was beginning to get excited. The duration was shorter each time. It was like an incurable disease. He just could not help himself. The more he worried about his endurance, the more quickly things came to an end. The more Xiaohong concentrated on reaching a climax, worrying that he would come to an early finish, the more unlikely she was to climax at all. Over time, it became a vicious circle. Xiaohong put up with it for a while then grew irritable. She had lost the morsel of interest she had once taken in Liao’s body. All the same, even if they didn’t engage in physical relations, Xiaohong was willing to carry on with him. He had plenty of fresh ideas, was always full of good advice and knew a lot about life. What he didn’t understand was why his cock had become so powerless.

He chatted about some of the recent cases he had encountered. It all sounded a lot like the hospital. Other than the doctors, there were no healthy people. Hearing about the cases just created a feeling that the world was in turmoil. There was murder, arson, adultery, prostitution and gambling everywhere. He mentioned Julia Wilde now and then, and how time just ticked on without regard for human suffering. As he chatted casually, he took some pleasure in Xiaohong’s upper body.

Xiaohong’s breasts were not as sensitive as before. She was virtually numb as Liao caressed her. Later, he rubbed his naked thigh back and forth over hers, slowly finding some satisfaction. Suddenly, he seemed preoccupied. He sighed, then stopped stroking her and said, ‘Xiaohong, I’m getting married.’

Xiaohong remained silent.

‘I’m getting married!’ he repeated loudly. Then he buried his face into her large bosom. The room was dark and he could only see the curves of her body. She seemed to be asleep. Liao shifted so that there was a space between them, then moved to the other side of the bed and lay there.

‘You should get married. Don’t waste your youth and your lively sperm. When you’re married, you will have a perfect place to store them.’

Xiaohong was wide awake.

VII

Prior to being discharged from the hospital, Sijiang suddenly came down with a high fever. She came very close to registering her name for the afterlife. It left just as suddenly as it had come on. It scared the hospital staff half to death. If Sijiang got ill and died like that, this surgical procedure would become an even more complicated issue. Sijiang became an object to be carefully protected. The doctors and nurses came in turn, touching her forehead and checking her temperature. They did everything they could, acting as if Sijiang were their own daughter.

Dr Lei, representing the hospital, came especially to see Sijiang. The visiting envoy had a huge team with him. Lined up in order of priority behind Dr Lei were the hospital’s vice president, chief executive officer and several departmental heads who had come spontaneously to support the rest. They surrounded Sijiang, looking down at her in turn, as if paying respect to her mortal remains. She felt like a martyr returning home from some heroic battle. They stayed for a few short minutes, expressed brief words of earnest expectation then filed out. Their white forms receded from the room like a solemn row of priests, slowly disappearing into the ward.

Sijiang’s hair was dishevelled. Her face, once the fever was gone, wore a faint smile. It was the first time she had done so since the operation. Her smile brought a happy tremble to Specs’s lips, and he cried, ‘Sijiang! It’s good to see you smile!’

Specs held her clammy hand, looking like he would never leave her side. Her body had begun to give off a thick odour of sweat, like a length of nearly rotten meat. But this cut of meat could move now and its fingers were flexible once again. When Specs told her that the hospital fees and medication were all to be absorbed by the hospital, she curled those fingers round the medicine and popped it into her mouth, looking much more relaxed. Perhaps the drugs had numbed her. No matter how tough the pill was to swallow, it also had a wonderful aftertaste to it. Once she was given injections in her hip, or some liquid medicine, she no longer looked like she was going to join the heroic ranks of martyrdom.

‘Sijiang, we’ll work out what to do when you’re out of hospital. We can sue them, get compensation and an explanation,’ Specs said quietly but firmly, almost as if he were shaking a fist.

Sijiang nodded, fully empowering Specs to act in the matter, just as if he were already head of the family.

I

Youqing, the little bitch, was kind of pushy. Making use of the hospital’s karaoke room for a party, she called all the doctors and her friends together to celebrate her twenty-fifth birthday and went on about it constantly. The karaoke room was big and equipped with a fair-sized dance floor. The older doctors took a few turns then went home to their wives, leaving the younger singletons to carry on partying. Youqing had taken extra care in making herself up. Hair washed, blow-dried and swept across her forehead in the most fashionable style, she was quite charming.

Xiaohong had not intended to join the party. She hesitated for a long time but seeing as Youqing had invited her, she felt she should at least go and offer her congratulations. When Xiaohong came sauntering in, she saw Youqing dressed in a perky white dress, looking like a butterfly spinning proudly across the dance floor. Xiaohong sat down, peeled a banana and drank some tea. She took out a present wrapped in bright paper, waiting to give it to Youqing when the dance was over. Youqing swayed in Xiao Yuan’s arms, dancing slowly. She turned, gliding to one side then twisted the other way before returning to his embrace, like a yo-yo reaching the end of its line before coming back to the palm. Xiao Yuan handled Youqing’s body with a delicate touch, as if he held a little chick in his hand.