A Lovely Girl Turning into a Rat

When Luo Nan came back home in the evening, Dong Ci, who was sitting on the sofa, gave him an ingratiating smile and said, “Honey, go take a bubble bath.”

She had already filled the bathtub with water and put some fresh green tea into it. Now there were lots of light green bubbles swimming on the water.

Luo Nan laughed, “I know there’s no such thing as a free ride in this world.”

She pretended to be annoyed and said, “So, you don’t want to take a bath? All right, I will drain the bathtub.”

“Wait! Well, thank you. I’ll be taking a bath right away.” Luo Nan took off his coat and said, “Wait for me in the bed.”

Luo Nan walked barefoot into the bathtub. Next to the bathtub were a magazine rack, a stack of books and a glass of warm milk. The green tea had a refreshing fragrance. He closed his eyes and lay in the bathtub. It was one of the nicest moments in his life. When he returned from work, a beautiful and lovely woman handed him a pair of slippers and filled the bathtub with water for him. It was really enjoyable. But it was a pity that she seldom treated him like that. Usually when he returned home late at night, Dong Ci was asleep with her mouth open, snoring and drooling on the pillow. Sometimes when he came home early, she was watching TV while saying, “Honey, you are back. Go and take a bath. Then, run a bath for me. I want to bathe too.”

Luo Nan fell asleep in the bathtub. He dreamed about a strange woman. She went to the bathtub, pulled out a mouse from her furry mouth and threw it to him. The mouse lay on his wet and slippery belly and soon fell into the bathtub.

When he woke up, he was sweating all over. He tried to stand up and almost fell because of having soaked in the bath for a long time.

He wrapped himself in a bath towel and went to the bedroom. On seeing him, Dong Ci said, “You hooligan! How could you appear in front of me without wearing your underpants?”

“You little rascal. Even if I wear my underpants, you will take it off, won’t you?” Luo Nan drew back the bath towel and laughed, “Look at my elephant. We are both ready for you…”

Dong Ci closed her eyes and laughed, “You are a real hooligan! Let’s stop talking about that. I’m going to have a cool shower.”

Luo Nan climbed into the bed and held Dong Ci in his arms. “My elephant has stretched out his long trunk. Please come back soon.” With that he dimmed the lighting, rested his head on his own arm, and then turned on the TV to watch the news.

The water in the bathtub was still so green. “This guy went too far! He should have drained the bathtub after the bath.” She pulled out the plug of the bathtub and the water level slowly dropped accompanied by a low rumbling sound.

“The drain seems to be clogged.” Dong Ci reached out a hand and felt the bottom of the bathtub. Then she found a soft thing.

It was a mouse.

The mouse with a short tail had drunk too much green tea and been drowned in the bathtub, its gray eye and belly bulging like a frog.

She fetched a pair of chopsticks from the kitchen, picked up the mouse and threw it out of the window. With a slight bang, the dead mouse hit the ground.

The smell of disinfectant replaced the fragrance of green tea. Dong Ci wore plastic gloves and kept scrubbing the bathtub until her arms fell off in utter weakness by her sides. She turned on the shower and stood under it. The hot water flowed through her whole body, washing every inch of her skin. The bathtub was very clean. She felt that the smell of disinfectant was pleasant.

When she went back to bed, Luo Nan was asleep.

She lay down and rested her head against his shoulder. Gradually, she slipped into a dreamless and sound sleep.

For a woman, to love a man was to stay with him. For a man, to love a woman was to make love with her.

For Dong Ci, Chai Wenxiu was the only real friend among her colleagues. Last time they had gone to the temple together to burn incense and pray. After that, Dong Ci cherished her friendship with Chai Wenxiu a lot more. When Chai Wenxiu saw Luo Nan drive Dong Ci to the entrance of the shopping mall, she felt jealous and said, “You are fortunate to have such a considerate boyfriend. You don’t need to work. When you want to go shopping, he will drive you to the shopping mall. Alas, my boyfriend Hai Ming can’t compare with Luo Nan.”

Everyone in the world envied others’ happiness but ignored his or her own happiness. We should cherish the people around us, especially those who loved us.

They did some shopping and then had lunch. After a short rest, they continued shopping.

At eight o’clock in the evening, Luo Nan gave Chai Wenxiu a free ride. When the car arrived at her house, she said to Luo Nan, “Thank you for your kindness.”

Luo Nan smiled, “My pleasure. Dong Ci has few friends. I appreciate you going shopping with her.”

Chai Wenxiu got off the car. As she entered the door, Hai Ming sitting in front of the computer raised his head and asked, “Did you go shopping?”

“Yes. I bought some new clothes.” Chai Wenxiu collapsed on the sofa, looked at Hai Ming who was studying at the desk and continued, “You have already read so many books, but you earn very little money. Why did you choose that obscure university and that useless major? It was really an unwise decision.”

“Have you eaten?” Hai Ming pushed his spectacles back to the bridge of his nose and continued, “There are some leftover dumplings from my lunch in the fridge.”

“Dumplings? We eat dumplings every day. I hate dumplings,” complained Chai Wenxiu. She let her eyes settle upon the table on which were various kinds of bills, including the property management fee bills, water bills, electricity bills, telephone bills and debit notes. Besides, they had to pay the mortgage over the next 32 years. It was really a heavy load for them.

Chai Wenxiu turned on the TV. Unfortunately, the TV show relating to lottery had been shielded and she could only watch the news. So, she went downstairs and asked Ming, the owner of a small convenience store, about the result of the lottery. Her ticket had drawn no prize and she lost 1, 000 yuan. Ming comforted, “Don’t be discouraged! It’s said that someone knows the inside information of the next lottery. Sister Xiuwen, you will win a lottery as long as you keep at it.”

Chai Wenxiu bought a bag of instant noodles and said, “Okay. I’ll take your word for it and try once more.”

She returned home and went to bed without taking a shower. Hai Ming undressed himself, got into bed and whispered in her ear, “You smell nice.”

Chai Wenxiu turned over and said, “Be quiet. Tomorrow is Monday and I have to lead a tour group to some scenic spots. I’m exhausted after a day’s shopping. Let’s hit the sack.”

Hai Ming sighed and turned off the light. He felt a little hungry, but gave up the idea of eating night snacks at the sight of her sleeping quietly. He turned over and slowly fell asleep.

Chen Qi sitting in his office repeatedly dialed Dong Ci’s number, but he couldn’t get through. All he heard was a recording, “Sorry, the number you dialed is non-existent. Please check it and dial it later…”

‘The number is non-existent? It cannot be,’ he thought to himself.

Chen Qi went to Starlight International Travel Agency to find Chai Wenxiu who was said by the receptionist to be Dong Ci’s only good friend.

“I don’t know you.” Chai Wenxiu looked at Chen Qi with a puzzled look on her face.

“But I want to make friends with you. I know you are Dong Ci’s friend. I’ll treat you to dinner after work,” said Chen Qi.

Chai Wenxiu was full to the brim with joy, but she pretended to be aloof and replied, “Suit yourself.”

Before leaving work, she phoned her boyfriend. “Hai Ming, I’m engaged with a client this evening. Don’t wait dinner for me.”

Chen Qi parked his car in front of Starlight International Travel Agency. Chai Wenxiu thought, ‘My poor Hai Ming, if I break up with you, will you have the courage to face it and pull yourself together?’Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

The atmosphere in the restaurant was harmonious. Chai Wenxiu smiled. “Now I know you.”

“Miss Chai, you have a nice figure.” Chen Qi raised his glass and said, “It’s my pleasure to have dinner with you.”

“Oh, you are flattering me.”

” I’m saying it from the bottom of my heart.”

‘French food looks good but is not tasty. I think dumplings are more delicious,’ Chai Wenxiu thought.

Chen Qi patiently waited for Chai Wenxiu to finish the last dessert, and then said, “I want Dong Ci’s new number.”

“That’s why you invited me to dinner.” Chai Wenxiu was a little disappointed. “She’s engaged. And without her permission, I won’t…”

Before she could finish speaking, Chen Qi took out a bank card from his pocket and interrupted, “The password is 000000. You can use it to buy what you want. Sorry, I have other fish to fry. My phone number is written on the back of the card. Call me after the money run out.”

For Chai Wenxiu, it was the luckiest day of this year because she got a sudden windfall, but from another angle, it was also the worst day of this year because she would have to pay for her greed someday.

A week later, Chen Qi received a call from Chai Wenxiu. He got Dong Ci’s new number and address. He put his legs on his desk with a self-satisfied smile and thought, ‘There is no information that cannot be bought with money in the world.’