MAy I TreAT you To dInner?

By Mu Er

MAy I TreAT you To dInner?

By Mu Er

I met my husband in autumn, October.

He came to Beijing for short-term study and travel. At that time, I worked in a training center operated by Dutch people. I taught them Chinese and worked as a part-time tour guide during the day. Together,we would go to the Art District, the Temple of Heaven, and the Great Wall. We had endless topics to talk about.

Approaching the end of the two weeks, one man came to me and said: “Teacher, do you have a USB? I’ll give you a copy of the photos we took on the tour.”

Browsing the photos, I saw all the photos were of me,apart from a few shots of the landscapes and the group photos.

The Friday before he went back, he came to me asking:“Teacher, may I treat you to dinner individually?”

I said: “Okay, but you can’t let the center know that it is me you will have dinner with.” He thought for a while and came up with an excuse.

I stood at the entry of the metro station, seeing him running toward me with his empurpled face. He said:“This is my first lie. ” Later, I came to know that it was true.

The next day, I went to see him off. He held my hand and asked: “Can I call you and write you emails in the future?”

與先生相識在金秋十月。

他來北京做短期游學，彼時，我在一家荷蘭人開的培訓中心工作，上午，教他們漢語，兼職做他們的導游。我帶他們去過798藝術區、天壇、長城，我跟他總有說不完的話題。

兩周快結束的時候，他說：“老師，你有U盤嗎？我把這幾天的照片拷給你。”

拷來照片，我才發現，里面除了風景和寥寥幾張大家的合影外，鏡頭里都是我。

他在回國前的周五，偷偷問我：“老師，我可以單獨請你吃頓飯嗎？”

我說：“可以，但不能告訴培訓中心，是我跟你一起吃飯。”他想了好久，找了個借口。

我站在地鐵口等他，看到他滿臉通紅地跑過來。他說：“這是我第一次撒謊。”后來，我才知道，那是真的。

第二天，我趕去送他。他握了握我的手，問我：“回去以后，可不可以給你打電話、寫郵件？” 我微微一笑：“當然可以啊。”心里想的是：“就這么一說。你們這些老外，我還不知道嗎？”

他伸手從我的線衫上小心翼翼地揀起幾根我散落的頭發，用手指繞起來，打開錢夾，裝進側邊的一個小袋里。 我戲謔地笑：“可不可以別這樣假啊？誰不知道你們西方人熱情開放，尤其是荷蘭人。能記得我，做個朋友就好啦。”

I smiled and said: “Sure.” But I didn’t take it seriously, thinking that foreigners all say these words out of courtesy.

He carefully picked up the pieces of hair sticking on my sweater, rolling them up with fingers, opening his wallet and putting the little fluffy ring into a small pocket on the left side.

I said banteringly: “Don’t be so hokey please.I know western people are very sociable,especially Dutch people. I would be very grateful if you remember me as a friend.”

He said with a severe look on his face: “This is prejudice. Have you ever read Pride and Prejudice? You are Elizabeth and I am Darcy. I am stereotyped.” He flushed.

I felt annoyed but amused at the same time.

On my way back, I bought a giant pomelo.That night, when I was watching an American TV series and eating my pomelo, the phone rang.

“Hi, I’m at the Amsterdam airport. The plane landed safely,” he said with a high tone.

“Hi.” I was surprised, not expecting him to call me in such a short time. Hanging up the phone, I started to reminisce about the things happened in the two weeks. “If he is serious,then I’ll just let it be.” I told myself.

The next day when I woke up, in my mailbox was a letter from him, telling me everything was fine and how he missed me. Attached to the letter were two photos he took of me at the airport.

He kept sending me e-mails and text messages. He told me everything he did on a daily basis and text me if he was out. He showed me his sincerity in the most primitive manner.He gave me all his leisure time. He showed me his house in video calls, asking for my advice on the color of the walls. When he bought his new car, he showed me photos of potential cars, asking for my opinion before making the decision.

Later, in my four years in Beijing, he came and visited me 17 times. He saved all his vacation time and came to China. He didn’t bring me much, but he captured my heart in his own way. He kept his phone on 24 hours a day and tried to reply my messages as quickly as possible. Although there were thousands of miles between us, I knew he was always there,waiting for me.

Four years later, I decided to follow him to the other side of the world.

He came and picked me up in China. “You still think foreigners are very frivolous? Do you still view your Mr. Darcy with bias?”

“Yes, I do. You need to prove me wrong with your whole life.” I said stubbornly.

He pinched my nose and answered indulgently: “Fine.”

On the wedding day, I told him when the guests left: “The Dutch vow is too long. Let’s use Chinese and finish it in 16 words: ‘死生契闊，與子成說。執子之手，與子偕老。’ (‘In death or life (we are) separated and far apart;With you I made an agreement: I grasped your hand, Together with you I was to grow old.’)

“It is so beautiful.” I explained to him and he begged me to teach him.

Sleepily, hearing him read “死生契闊，與子成說。執子之手，與子偕老” with his foreign accent, my eyes blurred.

In the past, I’ve gone through many setbacks.My husband has helped me forgive all the obstructions that life imposed on me. He broke all my bias and melted the ice between me and my life. Because of him, I fell in love with the world. ◆

(From Mr.Darcy,Qingdao Publishing House.Translation: Yu Lan.)

他正色道：“這是偏見。你看過《傲慢與偏見》嗎？你就是那個伊麗莎白，我好比是達西先生。你對我存在偏見。”他漲紅了臉。

真是好氣又好笑。

回去的路上，我買了一個大柚子。到了晚上，一部美劇還沒看完，柚子剛剛吃了一半，手機響了起來。

“嗨。我在阿姆斯特丹機場。飛機安全降落了。”他語調高昂。“嗨。”我很意外，沒料到他會給我打國際長途，而且這么快就有聯系。掛掉電話，我開始認真回憶起兩周來的點點滴滴。“他若認真，一切就順其自然吧。”我對自己說。

第二天起床的時候，我的郵箱里，靜靜躺著他的一封郵件，報平安、表達思念之情，還有兩張照片，是在機場的時候，鏡頭里的我。

從這天開始，他的郵件和短信，再也沒有中斷過。每天固定匯報行蹤，出門在外就短信聯系。他用最原始的方法，讓我知道他的真心：他把所有的空閑時間留給我。視頻電話的時候，他給我看他的房子，問我想要把墻壁刷成什么顏色；他換車的時候，先拍車子的照片，讓我給建議。

后來，我在北京的4年里，他看了我17次。他把所有的假期攢起來，來了中國。他并沒有給我買多貴重的禮物，但他用他的方式俘獲了我的心。24小時開機，盡量秒回我的信息。雖然遠隔千山萬水，但我知道，他始終在那里等著我。

4年以后，我終于決定追隨他，遠赴天涯。

他來中國接我：“你現在還覺得老外都很隨便嗎？還對你的達西先生有偏見嗎？”

“還有，你要用一生證明給我看。”我固執地說。

他捏了捏我的鼻子，嗔怪地說：“好。”

婚禮那天，賓客散盡，我說：“荷蘭語的結婚誓言那么長，用我們中文，16個字搞定：‘死生契闊，與子成說。執子之手，與子偕老。’”

“太美了。”我解釋給他聽，他纏著要我教他讀。

睡眼蒙眬中，聽著他洋腔怪調地讀著“死生契闊，與子成說。執子之手，與子偕老”。我鼻子一酸，眼睛濕潤了。

過去的歲月里，我經歷許多挫折，先生的出現讓我原諒了生活對我所有的刁難。他用實際行動瓦解了我的偏見，冰釋我對生活的前嫌。因為他，我愛上這個世界。◆

（摘自《世間唯有我的達西先生》 青島出版社）

我可以請你吃頓飯嗎

文/沐兒