Roger stepped on the engine tightly, and the car shot up the mountain quickly. He was a fool to marry such a childish lady! It was foolish, it only happened once in life! He loved her! He loved her! He had to visit her before the wedding ceremony this afternoon. Was she alive and well there? Would she show up on time in the church? Mrs. Michiel would not let him see Susi, because on the day of the wedding, before the wedding, the groom should not see the bride, because it was unlucky to see her. Moreover, he had already called Michiel's family twice this morning. If he went again, they would laugh at him. He had to find some excuses: it was not an easy task. Everything in the bridal chamber had been arranged, the best man and bridesmaids were lively and had no signs of illness, the wedding rings were not lost, and they would entertain relatives and friends at the bride's house after the wedding, so he did not need to worry about champagne and refreshments. ...Oh, yes, there was only one thing: the bouquets for the bride and bridesmaids had already been ordered, but he could buy half a dozen expensive tropical orchids for Mrs. Michouer and Mi Lisheng to wear. Normally, he should call to ask what color clothes they were going to wear, but he thought that the white and crystal purple orchids were the easiest to match, so it would be no big mistake to buy them rashly. So when his car passed the "Peak Tram" station, he stopped, bought flowers from the flower shop attached to the station, and got back into the car with the box under his arm, and drove to "High Street". The reason why this "High Street" got its name was because the street was several feet higher than the houses along the street, which was also one of the special phenomena of the rugged ground in Hong Kong.
Mrs. Miqiu lived in an old red brick house. The windowsill on the second floor faced the lush green grass on the street. A bamboo pole was hanging out of the window, right on the cement road. On the bamboo pole were hung white sheets, orange curtains, and the school uniform of Suxi's sister Kate Ling, a sky-blue skirt with suspenders hanging down. Kate Ling was skating in the middle of the street. From a distance, she shouted, "Roger! Roger!" Roger stopped the car, waved to her, and smiled, "Hello, Kate Ling!" Kate Ling swayed and slid over here. This afternoon, she was going to be a little girl carrying a flower basket. She had already dressed up, neatly wearing a pink and blue tulle ruffled dress and a bow on her head. Roger smiled and said, "Be careful not to dirty your clothes. They won't let you into the chapel!" Kate Ling pouted and said, "They won't let me in! Without me, you can't get married!" Roger smiled and asked, "What are they doing? Are they busy?" Kate Ling whispered, "Don't go in. They are crying!" Roger was surprised and said, "Is Suxi crying?" Kate Ling said, "Suxi is crying, and so is her mother. Mi Lisheng is crying too. Mi Lisheng started crying first, and then Suxi started crying, and her mother also started crying because of them. Only I didn't want to cry. I felt embarrassed to stay inside, so I came out." Roger didn't say anything for a long time. Kate Ling bent down to adjust the laces of her skates, and lifted her short skirt to the back of her neck, revealing a bare back above her pants, with sparse white marks of talcum powder on her back.
Roger looked at the deserted street. On the other side of the street, an Indian woman, wearing a rose purple cape and revealing her lemon yellow lotus-shaped trouser legs, walked into a gray, dilapidated house. Behind the house, there was no shelter, just the lotus-colored sky and sea. The day was hot and stuffy, and it was hard to tell whether it was sunny or cloudy. Roger leaned his arm on the car door and held his head with his hand... crying! On the wedding day! Of course, that was understandable. A girl left home and her mother for the first time... a slightly sentimental atmosphere was appropriate, even necessary. But it was emotional and polite, and it seemed a bit excessive to mourn together. In any case, this was not a robbery marriage in primitive society, marrying a daughter to another tribe, and there would be no chance of seeing each other again! As he thought about this, he felt deeply selfish. Mrs. Mi Qiuer had nothing except these three daughters. The relationship between them was naturally very close. Now he was going to take Susi away. Would he be reluctant to give them these last few hours of farewell? However, he was an Englishman. He always felt that any expression of emotion was superfluous unless it was absolutely necessary. He was afraid of real life with flesh and blood. Unfortunately, people are alive, but the less we talk about this, the better. Unfortunately, he loved Susi, but he knew very well how stupid it was. Only today could he indulge himself in such stupidity - as he told himself just now, be stupid! There is only one day in a lifetime! The women in the house could cry as much as they wanted. He had to go and greet Susi. Even if he couldn't see her, he could get some news from her. He jumped out of the car, took the flowers, walked down a long stone staircase, and rang the bell on Mi Qiu'er's door. The servant opened the door for him. In order to entertain guests, the dark and spacious living room was cleaned up today. Neither the dog nor the child were allowed in, and it seemed a little empty. Freesias and lilies were placed in the vase. In the dining room beyond the arch, there was a table full of shiny champagne glasses and a pile of colorful dragon-shaped plates. The sandwiches on the large plate were covered tightly with Irish linen. Roger sat down on the green lacquered rattan chair he usually sat on. Just as he sat down, Mrs. Micho came in. It was a hot day, and it was not suitable to be emotional at all. If people were fatter, it would be even more difficult. Mrs. Micho's philtrum was full of sweat, like a mouthful of silver-white beard stubble. Her eyes were still red, and she clasped her hands together and placed them on her chest, asking, "Roger, why did you come here at this time? What happened?" Roger stood up and smiled, "Nothing, I bought some flowers for you and Mi Lisheng, I hope the colors don't clash; I should have thought of it earlier!" He never paid much attention to women's clothes, but now he took a special look at Mrs. Micho. She had already put on her dress, which was a maroon one, but Mrs. Michoer was used to wearing black. She had absorbed a lot of the dark atmosphere of the usual polite and prudent widows into her personality. No matter what color clothes she wore, she always seemed to be dressed in black. Although she was fat, she was still pitiful. She opened the flower box and said, "Look at you, you wasteful child!" Then she came over and K!ssed him, her eyes redder. Roger said, "How do you feel, Suxi? Is everything okay?" Mrs. Michoer smiled reluctantly and said, "She is fixing her hair. I think you don't need to sit here any longer. She is very confused now. How can she spare the time to entertain you? Even if she has time, it won't work; that's the rule. If you have already eaten lunch, you can go and change your clothes." Roger was reminded by her words. He vaguely remembered that ordinary people seemed to have such a habit of eating between 12 noon and 1:30. He said, "I'm not hungry. I just had something to eat this morning." Mrs. Michoer said, "That's unacceptable! You don't even want to eat. That's not okay!" Roger had to pick up his hat and said, "I'll go to the restaurant right now." Mrs. Michoer said, "I don't believe you'll really go. My dear Roger, you're too hungry and your nerves are too tense. It's not right to be in the chapel. You should wait here for a while. I'll get you something cold." Then she hurried out. After her urging, Roger suddenly felt that he really needed to relax his nerves. He leaned back on the rattan chair, stretched his legs, and put his hands in his trouser pockets. He whistled softly. Halfway through, he realized that he was whistling the wedding march, so he stopped immediately. The door opened and Milissen came in holding an electric fan. Milissen probably didn't know there was someone in the living room. Her face was wet with tears, and her reddish-brown hair was draped over her cheeks. She was wearing a half-worn snow-blue crepe collared blouse and an ivory-white shantung silk skirt. Perhaps in the eyes of some people, Mi Lisheng was as beautiful as Suxi, but her face was too thin. She had thick double eyelids like Suxi, but the corners of her eyes drooped slightly, giving her a unique sad charm. Luo Jie jumped up and said with a smile: "Good morning, Mi Lisheng." Mi Lisheng stopped and said: "Ah, you are here!" She put the electric fan on the ground and walked towards him quickly. When she came to him, she put one hand on her exposed throat and called out softly "Roger!" Luo Jie felt very uneasy. He pushed the rattan chair behind him a little, and then stepped back and asked: "Mi Lisheng, are you feeling uncomfortable?" Mi Lisheng suddenly grabbed his shoulders, held her face with the other hand, and sobbed: "Roger, please take good care of Suxi!" Luo Jie smiled and said: "Don't worry, I love her, I will not be careless about her!" As he spoke, he gently moved the hand she had placed on his shoulder and stepped back to the side of the rattan chair. Mi Lisheng dejectedly put her hands on the back of the rattan chair, and then staggered to the rattan chair and fell down. Roger was anxious and asked repeatedly: "What's wrong with you? What's wrong with you, Mi Lisheng?" Mi Lisheng turned around, leaned on the back of the chair, and burst into tears. She cried and talked at the same time. Roger couldn't hear what she said, so he had to bend down and said softly: "I'm sorry, Mi Lisheng, say it again." Mi Lisheng raised her head, opened a pair of empty blue-gray eyes, stared at the electric fan on the ground in fascination, and said intermittently: "You love her... My husband loves me too, but he... He treats me... His attitude towards me is worse than that of a beast... He simply doesn't care about me at all. In the eyes of others, because... he said it was because he loved me..." Roger stood up straight, turned his back and said: "Mi Lisheng, you shouldn't tell me these words. I am not qualified to know your family secrets." Mi Lisheng said: "Yes, I shouldn't tell you such shameful things and embarrass you. Why do you want to sympathize with me?" Roger turned his back to her, frowned, clenched his fists, and gently hit them together. He said in a solemn and slightly stiff voice: "I fully sympathize with your misfortune." Mi Lisheng trembled: "Don't get me wrong; I... I don't I'm not telling you this for your sympathy. I'm afraid for Suxi. Men...are all the same---" Roger laughed unhappily and interrupted her, saying, "You're wrong about this; there are very few people like your husband." Mi Lisheng rested her pointed chin on the back of her hand, looked at him miserably, and said, "How do you know you're not one of the few? My husband looks like a very normal person. You may not have noticed that you are different from others; this is your first marriage." Roger suddenly lost control of himself, he turned around and shouted to Mi Lisheng "Yes, this is my first marriage! Please remember, I will be getting married in two hours! Why can't you tell me these discouraging words at any time? Why do you have to say them today?" Mi Lisheng cried, "Please forgive me, I did it all for Suxi---" Roger said, "For Suxi! Even if I were the most normal person, I would be driven crazy by you! Are you planning for Suxi?" Mi Lisheng sobbed and replied, "I'm afraid for Suxi..." Roger shook her shoulders violently and asked in a hoarse voice, "Does Suxi know the truth about your divorce?" Mi Lisheng was shaken so hard that tears splashed all over her eyes and she couldn't answer. Roger said, "You tell me! You tell me!"Have you told your sister these words?" What a bad impression that would leave in Susi's mind! How could he overcome Susi's fear! Mi Lisheng shouted, "Roger, stop it, I can't stand it!" Roger loosened her shoulders, slammed her on the back of the chair, and said, "Tell me: your mother certainly knows everything about you, but what about your sister?" Mi Lisheng answered tiredly, "She doesn't know. Do you think my mother would allow her to know? Even the newspapers we read have to be checked by my mother before we can read them." Roger gradually recovered his breath, and he also felt unusually tired. He grabbed his hat and wanted to leave. While there was still time, he wanted to go back and drink two glasses of whiskey to refresh himself, and then change into a dress. He had long forgotten what he was waiting for here.
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