Shortly after this incident concluded, there was another one.
The married couple Tian Dongqing and Ruan Zhisu had a disagreement. Originally, Allah had asked all Muslims to live as a single family, with disciples treating one another as brothers, and spouses treating one another as siblings—such that all fractures could be bridged by faith. On this day, however, Imam Tian contravened Allah’s wishes and had an argument with his wife.
On the day in question, Tian Dongqing and Ruan Zhisu sat next to each other in class, and after class they left together. When they arrived at the halal canteen, however, they exchanged words. At this point, Ruan Zhisu was still smiling, as though she were telling a joke. Imam Tian, however, suddenly stopped in his tracks, his face purple with rage. He shouted, “Was it really you?” He stared at her for a moment, then angrily kicked a broken brick in the road. Finally, he turned and headed into the canteen.
Ruan Zhisu’s smile faded, and her face turned sallow. She was already thin and petite, and always wore the sort of floral shirt favored by women in the northwest. Blue flowers on a white background framed her sallow face—as though some dead leaves had fallen into a clump of vegetation. She there for a while, before going in to join Imam Tian.
At the dining table, Tian Dongqing and Ruan Zhisu sat face-to-face. Ruan Zhisu moved a piece of mutton from her bowl to his, whereupon he moved it back to hers. Ruan Zhisu stared at her husband for a while, then pursed her lips, straightened her waist, and once again moved the mutton to his bowl.
Tian Dongqing angrily slammed down his chopsticks, whereupon Ruan Zhisu slammed hers down even more forcefully. All the imams and disciples turned to look at them. Old Imam Ren Xian, who was sitting next to the window, coughed and used his gaze to transmit the Quran’s strictures and the word of Allah, in an attempt to stop the couple from quarreling in public. The entire canteen fell silent, as the other diners who had previously been eating and talking—including disciples of other religions and vegetarian students—all turned to stare. Others who were carrying over the food they had just purchased gathered around to watch the commotion, waiting for an even more dramatic outburst. The midday October sunlight poured in through the southeast-facing window, illuminating the canteen like sunlight illuminating Allah. The light shone down on Tian Dongqing and Ruan Zhisu and onto their table, making it look as though they were sitting in the middle of a stage. Even more people looked in their direction and crowded around. When the old imam saw the crowd growing in size, his gaze expressed the moral instructions of Muhammad as he looked sharply at Tian Dongqing again, transmitting Allah’s meaning with his eyes. After receiving the imam’s gaze, Tian Dongqing didn’t say a word. Instead, he glanced at his wife, then got up and left the table.
This incident quickly passed, as though a couple’s quarrel were a common occurrence. After Tian Dongqing left, everyone returned to their meals, and as they ate, they discussed topics such as which of the center’s teachers and lecturers taught well, how Allah leads the masses in accordance with God’s will, and how the Jews were driven out of Jerusalem. After everyone finished their lunch, the first disciples to return to the center’s sixth floor heard Tian Dongqing in his room shouting, crying, and breaking things. They pounded on his door, shouting, “Imam Tian! Imam Tian!”
Tian Dongqing’s room fell silent—as though there were no one inside. The students and disciples stood outside for a while, then eventually returned to their rooms.
That afternoon, Tian Dongqing went alone to the classroom. Although this class featured one of the center’s experts lecturing on the origins and subsequent development of Islam in China and all the other students were present, Ruan Zhisu did not attend. During the break everyone went to their rooms to refill their teacups, while also taking the opportunity to bow and pray. For some reason, Tian Dongqing and Gu Mingzheng were silently walking together and, one after the other, they both proceeded upstairs. When they reached the third floor, Gu Mingzheng noticed a red plastic bag hanging on the door to his room. He stared in surprise, then carefully took the bag and opened it. Inside, he found some apples and oranges, as well as a new copy of the Daodejing. The smell of fruit resembled the breath of a spirit, leaving the Daodejing enveloped by the fragrance like Laozi sleeping beneath a fruit tree. Hurriedly looking back, Gu Mingzheng saw Tian Dongqing standing in the doorway to the stairwell, smiling oddly at him before heading upstairs.