Contemporary Chinese Short-Short Stories: A Parallel Text

It had never occurred to him that Taipei might be so small. Doing business in the city proper he could easily run into previous clients or his competitors as passengers. He refused to charge acquaintances—not a big deal for him to give up his own time or pay for the gas. The most difficult of all his encounters were when he had to serve his past competitors. They gave him 300 yuan when the fare was 230, and accompanied the payment with a throwaway comment, “Keep the change—you are going to need it!” He felt like a total loser; it was a living hell to be forced to suffer their odd looks and sniggers.

Because of all this, he decided to only work the airport route, in the hope that he could avoid any more embarrassing situations, as well as the aimless fare hunting that went with driving in the city. Both made him feel like the defeated remnant of a battlefield or a hopeless middle-aged vagrant.

He also admitted, however, that there was another hope he clung to in running the airport route: he might have the opportunity to see his kids, if his ex-wife happened to secretly come back to Taiwan with them. “I can only imagine what they look like now. I haven’t seen them since the divorce…”

Once inside, she told him only the name of the hospital, followed by an “if you don’t mind…” before she looked out the window and fell into silence. He was the one who spent the ride wondering whether or not she would recognize him from his work ID inside the taxi. She, though, didn’t seem to notice. Once she took her eyes off the scenery outside, she took out her phone and began to dial.

He could tell the first calls were made back home to Australia. Her husband was apparently in England on business. One after the other, she spoke with her two kids, telling the boy not to use ball games as an excuse to miss Chinese class and the girl to practice her piano well. She then assured them that she’d give their love to Grandma once she saw her. He didn’t realize that her mother must be sick until she said, “I’m not at the hospital yet, but Mom is positive that Grandma will be fine.”

He could still remember her mother’s look, her voice, and her great cooking. And he would never forget that day after they broke up. Her mother came to the company and asked him, sobbing, “How could you treat my daughter like that?” Her trembling voice and her mournful eyes had engraved themselves on his memory.

When she was done with the calls back home, she went on to call her company. In her crisp English, she gave clear instructions, and he noticed that her spontaneous flow of genuine concern for her colleagues was still there, just as it had always been.

In college, the two of them had been friends. After graduation, he had gone on to serve his term in the military while she went to work for a foreign company. When he was discharged, she brought some clients over from her former company, and the two of them became business partners. Three years later, their company of two grew into one with two dozen employees. Just as their business was showing signs of great promise, he—for no reason anyone could fathom—had a one-night stand with the daughter of a client…

To say “no reason anyone could fathom” was a cop-out. Well, he thought, with things as they stood now, there is no point in denying the real reason for what he had done…After all, a stranger’s body is always more exciting than a familiar one, and also, her father’s company had been hundreds of times bigger than mine…Wasn’t it the saying of the time that the right wife could save you dozens of years of struggle?

His former sweetheart in the backseat was now talking with a former colleague of theirs. They chatted about how they were feeling about Taipei, Australia, and their children, especially now that their daughters had reached a certain age. Then they talked about her stay and made plans to have a meal together. “It’ll give me a chance to see what you look like now,” she said.

Finally the taxi pulled over at the hospital entrance. Still trying to avoid her, he was also debating whether he should charge her at all or give her a discount when, to his surprise, the woman behind him spoke in a very calm voice, smiling, “I’ve updated you on everything about me, my state of mind, people I miss…everything that I could think of, and you…you don’t even want to say hello to me?”

Wu Nianzhen (1952–) was born in Ruifang, Taiwan. He went to college for an accounting degree after his service in the army. He started writing fiction in the mid-1970s and penned his first screenplay in 1978. Now Wu Nianzhen is better known as a scriptwriter, a director, and a leading artist of the visual media, having written more than sixty screenplays, many of which have been made into films and won such awards as Golden Horse Awards for Best Original Screenplay (金马奖最佳原著剧本) and the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Screenplay (第十届香港电影金像奖最佳编剧). Here we acknowledge him as “the best storyteller in Taiwan,” who enjoys large readerships on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and beyond. Like many writers of short-shorts, Wu Nianzhen started creative writing to accommodate his own interests outside of work and study; yet unlike most writers of short-shorts, Wu Nianzhen landed a job writing screenplays for the Central Motion Picture Corporation before he finished business school. His most well-known works include A Special Day (特別的一天, 1988), These People, Those Things (这些人，那些事, 2010), and Taiwan, Say the Truth (台湾念真情, 2011).

You may already know that Wu Nianzhen is one of the screenwriters for Hou Xiaoxian’s 1989 film A City of Sadness. Some of you may have seen him as the protagonist in Edward Young’s award-winning 2000 film Yi Yi. Many of his works in different media represent the best of the Chinese cultural tradition and its contemporary manifestation.

说得出口拿得出手	shuōdéchūkŏu nádéchūshŏu	presentable; deserve to be seen	我们是去参加婚礼！就这么点儿东西？能说得出口拿得出手吗！
选择	xuănzé	select; selection	现在的孩子选择多了，可他们面对的竞争也更激烈了。
计程车	jìchéngchē	taxi; cab	开计程车是个很辛苦的职业。
倒贴	dàotiē	lose; subsidize	我心甘情愿倒贴钱支持儿子创业。
车资	chēzī	carfare; fare	在这里，“车资” 就是打的费用，也可以说 “车钱。”
奉送	fèngsòng	offer as a gift	有家电影院为了吸引早场观众免费奉送油条。
外加	wàijiā	in addition; plus	他一人要了三份套餐，还外加一份冰淇淋。
窝囊	wōnang	feel vexed and helpless	被机器人打败了，他也不觉得特别窝囊。
算了	suànle	let it be; let it pass; forget about it	反正这道题我不会做，随便写个答案算了。
类似	lèisì	similar; analogous	不稀奇，类似的垃圾文章报上网上每天都有。
残兵败将	cánbīngbài jiàng	remnants of a defeated army	我们都是残兵败将，没有能力再拼杀了。
奢望	shēwàng	extravagant hopes; wild wishes	爸爸，你不该奢望大学四年我门门功课都拿满分。
凭空	píngkōng	out of thin air; without foundation	关于他的这些说法并不都是凭空捏造的。
昔日	xīrì	formerly; in olden days	我十分想念昔日的同学和朋友。
沉默	chénmò	silent; silence	他装着不认识我，跟我擦肩而过，却沉默着不说话。
留意	liúyì	pay attention to; look at	你想做房地产生意就该留意股市楼市的行情。
视线	shìxiàn	sight; view	那座新起的高楼挡住了我家观海的视线。
通	tōng	a measure word	他先打了一通电话，然后又出去喝了一通酒。
轮流	lúnliú	take turns	学校没有专职清洁工，学生们轮流打扫卫生。
哽咽	gĕngyè	choked (with sobs)	我哽咽着，说不出话来。
颤抖	chàndŏu	shudder; shiver	他气得胡子都颤抖起来。
哀怨	āiyuàn	sad	她没说什么，但眼神里的哀怨总让我心里有些不安。
眼神	yănshén	expression in one’s eyes
利落	lìluo	deft; agile; crispy	爸爸做起家务活来比妈妈还利落。
指令	zhĭlìng	order; command	我们团队的每个人都严格按照主管的指令行事。
流露	liúlù	reveal; betray	一听说要加班，他脸上立刻流露出不满。
一如既往	yīrújìwăng	as always	她的美一如既往；二十年没有一点儿变化。
大有起色	dà yŏu qĭsè	improved significantly	自从你交了一个中国朋友你的中文大有起色。
莫明其妙	mòmíngqímiào	inexplicable; baffling	他没病没灾的，死的是有些莫名其妙。
一夜情	yīyèqíng	one-night stand	她不能接受丈夫跟别的女人的 “一夜情, 所以决定跟他离婚。
剌激	cìji	stimulating; exciting	这部电视剧有些场面太刺激，儿童不宜。
栾树	luánshù	golden-rain tree	台湾栾树多种多样；开出的红花黄花都很漂亮。
逢	féng	come upon	我们2008年夏天去北京的时候正逢奥运会开幕。
灿烂	cànlàn	splendid; glitter	你看，孩子们脸上的笑容多灿烂！
打折	dăzhé	discount; on sale	你一直想要的那件衣服现在打折了。