开放在别处（2）

大饼是杭州一家公关公司的总经理，他出差到南京，拖我去一家富丽堂皇的酒店吃饭，说反正公款消费，都能报销，只要在公关费用限额内就行。

Da Bing is the general manager of a public relations company in Hangzhou. He was on a business trip to Nanjing and dragged me to a lavish hotel for a meal, saying that since it was paid for by the company, it would be reimbursed as long as it stayed within the public relations budget.

几杯下肚，他眯着眼看我，说：“猜猜我为什么来这里吃饭？”

After a few drinks, he squinted at me and asked, "Guess why I came here to have dinner?"

我摇头。

I shook my head.

他说：“当年我给了黄莺六千块，她没有要。”

He said, "Back then, I gave Huang Ying six thousand yuan, and she did not take it."

我说：“为什么？”

I asked, "Why?"

他说：“黄莺自己解决的。”

He replied, "Huang Ying solved it herself."

我一惊。

I was taken aback.

他又摇摇晃晃地说道：“那天晚上，她跟我聊了二十分钟，她找了个有钱的男朋友。”

He staggered a bit and continued, "That night, we chatted for twenty minutes, and she found a wealthy boyfriend."

我不作声。

I remained silent.

他继续说：“他妈的老子心如死灰呀。毕业后才知道，她当了这家酒店老板的小三，每个月给她一万块，还答应她毕业后就扶正。有钱人的话哪里能信，真毕业了，老板不肯离婚，只是替她安排一份工作。”

He continued, "Damn it, I felt dead inside. After graduation, I found out she became the mistress of the owner of this hotel. He gives her ten thousand a month and promised to make her his legitimate partner after she graduated. But who can believe the words of a wealthy person? Once she graduated, the boss wouldn’t divorce his wife and only arranged a job for her."

大饼神秘兮兮地凑到我耳边，说：“她在这家酒店当经理，现在是总经理了。”

Da Bing leaned closer to my ear, saying mysteriously, "She is the manager here now, and she’s the general manager."

我问：“那她现在？”

I asked, "What about her now?"

大饼干了一杯，说：“能怎样，继续做二奶呗。”

Da Bing downed another glass and said, "What can she do? Just keep being a mistress."

我认真看了他一眼，说：“你怎么知道得这么清楚？”

I looked at him seriously and said, "How do you know all of this so clearly?"

大饼一笑，说：“我压根儿不关心，是有人跟我说的。”

Da Bing laughed, "I don’t care at all; someone told me."

结账的时候，他扫了一眼账单，嘿嘿冷笑，对服务员说：“我们一共吃了三千四百多，账单为什么是五千多？”

When it was time to settle the bill, he glanced at the receipt, sneered, and said to the waiter, "We only spent over three thousand, why is the bill over five thousand?"

服务员脸立刻涨得通红，连声道歉，拿回去重算。

The waiter immediately turned beet red and apologized repeatedly, taking the bill back for recalculating.

服务员走开，大饼醉醺醺地说：“喊他们总经理过来，问问她，当年不要我的钱，如今却来黑我的钱？”

As the waiter walked away, Da Bing, slightly drunk, said, "Call their general manager over and ask her why she refused my money back then but now wants to swindle my money?"

我摇摇头，说：“算了，何必，你何必见她。”

I shook my head and said, "Forget it, why bother? You don’t have to meet her."

大饼定定看我，拍拍我肩膀：“兄弟我听你的，这事就算了。别以为我不晓得，许多给我的信封里，里面是两千块，不是四千块，另外的两千块是你丫贴的吧？”

Da Bing looked at me intently and patted my shoulder, "Brother, I’ll listen to you. Let’s just forget it. Don’t think I don’t know; many of the envelopes given to me contain two thousand, not four thousand. You must have stuck the other two thousand in there, right?"

我也嘿嘿一笑。

I chuckled.

大饼掏出喜帖给我：“你一定要来，你的份子钱两千块，五年前已经给过了，别再给了。”

Da Bing pulled out an invitation and handed it to me, "You must come. Your contribution of two thousand was already given five years ago, don’t give it again."

我一看喜帖，新郎大饼，新娘许多。

I looked at the invitation: the groom was Da Bing, and the bride was Xu Duo.

他乐起来，醉态可掬：“告诉我黄莺怎样怎样了的，就是我太太许多。”

He beamed, looking adorably tipsy, "Tell me how Huang Ying has been doing; she’s my wife now."

我说：“她们是室友，知道这些不奇怪。”

I said, "They were roommates, so it’s not strange that they know each other."

大饼一挥手：“兄弟我跟你说，女孩如果说我们不适合，我不喜欢你，也许我还会痛苦良久。

Da Bing waved his hand, "Brother, let me tell you, if a girl says we’re not suited, I don’t like you, I might suffer for a long time. But if she says she wants to be a mistress, only wants to marry into a wealthy family, and loves to cheat, that’s the greatest release for the other party. Can you love a woman like that? So you don’t understand how grateful I am for such an answer in the end."

只有她说，我要去当二奶，我只想嫁豪门，我就爱劈腿，那才是给对方最大的解脱，这样的女人能爱吗？所以你不明白，我是多么感谢最后有这样的答案。”

As an apology, the hotel gave me a VIP card, offering an 88% discount. Da Bing said he wouldn't be in Nanjing, so I could use it and filled in my information.

因为表示歉意，酒店送了一张贵宾卡，消费八八折。大饼说自己不在南京，就留给我用吧，填了我的资料。

The driver took Da Bing back to the hotel while I found a bar to drink for a while.

司机将大饼弄回宾馆，我找家酒吧喝了一会儿。

I thought to myself that one day, I wanted to hear Da Bing and Xu Duo tell this ultimately beautiful story in person.

我想，有机会，要听一听大饼和许多，他们亲自讲这个终究美好的故事。

The next day, the hotel called using the VIP card's information, saying they had prepared a gift to express their apologies.

第二天，酒店按照贵宾卡资料打电话过来，说为表达歉意，准备了一份礼物。

I said the gift wasn't necessary, but could you tell me who the current general manager is?

我说礼物就不用了，你能不能告诉我，你们现在的总经理是谁。

The other party provided a name; it wasn’t Huang Ying.

对方报个名字，不是黄莺。

I refused to give up, saying, "Could it be that your general manager has changed names? Think about it; could it be Huang Ying?"

我不死心，说：“会不会你们总经理换了名字，你想想看，是不是叫黄莺？”

The other party laughed and said, "Our general manager is a man and has been in that position for over three years, and even if he changed his name, it could never be something so feminine."

对方笑着说：“我们总经理是个男人，已经做了三年多，就算换过名字，以前也不会叫这么女性化的。”

Two months later, during a torrential rainstorm, I rushed to Hangzhou to attend Da Bing’s wedding, nearly getting soaked to the bone.

两月后，暴雨，奔赴杭州参加大饼的婚礼，差点儿被淋成落汤鸡。

I saw Xu Duo again; she still looked petite and demure.

我看到了许多，依旧小巧乖顺。

While catching up, Xu Duo quietly asked me, "Did you guys go to Huang Ying's hotel?"

在叙旧的时候，许多偷偷和我说：“你们去了黄莺的酒店？”

I nodded.

我点点头。

Xu Duo looked at me, her eyes suddenly filled with sadness, and said, "On graduation day, everyone drank a lot, and I cried uncontrollably. Huang Ying asked me why I wasn’t with Da Bing."

许多看着我，眼神突然有些伤感，说：“毕业那天大家喝了好多酒，我哭得稀里哗啦。黄莺问我，为什么不同大饼在一起？”

I said, "He likes you." She asked, "What is he like now?"

我说，他喜欢的是你。她说，他现在怎么样？

I replied, "Probably a mess like me." Huang Ying hugged me, and we drank a lot again.

我说，跟我一样，一塌糊涂吧。黄莺抱着我，然后我们又喝了好多。

She said, "Xu Duo, you need to take care of yourself." I promised I would. She held me and cried, her tears soaking my shoulder.

她说，许多你要好好的。我说，一定会的。她抱着我一直哭，眼泪把我肩膀都打湿了。

As she cried, she told me about her life, about being the mistress of the hotel owner.

她一边哭，一边告诉了我这些事情，给酒店老板做二奶的事情。

Xu Duo fell silent for a moment and said, "Actually, even now, I still can’t accept it. Why did she choose to live like this?"

许多沉默了一下，说：“其实到现在，我依旧挺不能接受的，她为什么要选择这么生活？”

A scene suddenly flashed in my mind.

我的脑海里，恍惚浮现这么一个场景。

A frail and innocent girl on the steps of the school square, engulfed by the cold night, stubbornly telling a boy, "I don’t want your money; I have a boyfriend."

柔弱干净的女孩子，在学校广场的台阶上，满身冷冰冰的夜色，倔强地和男孩子说，不要你的钱，我有男朋友。

Then she opened up elsewhere.

然后她开放在别处。

In that place, people crowded around Da Bing, pushing him closer to Xu Duo, and the two embraced, smiling so happily.

在这处，人们簇拥着大饼，把他推近许多，两人拥抱在一起，笑得如此幸福。

Regardless of who spoke the truth and who lied, it was merely a note of the times.

不管谁说的真话，谁说的假话，都不过是一张岁月的便笺。

The rain would soak, the wind would blow away; they would be buried in the ground, overshadowed by the paths you walk, and soon no one would even glance back.

雨会打湿，风会吹走，它们被埋进土地，埋在你行走的路边，慢慢不会有人再去看一眼。

We walk on a one-way street, so, perhaps we will all miss out.

我们走在单行道上，所以，大概都会错过吧。

The seasons walk on a one-way street too, so even if you stop to wait, the flowers that bloom for you won't be the same as before.

季节走在单行道上，所以，就算你停下脚步等待，为你开出的花，也不是原来那一朵了。

Occasionally, there's regret, but there's no need to sigh.

偶尔惋惜，然而不必叹息。

After the rain, the sky clears; eventually, good weather will come. The world offers me countless joys, blooming wildly along the way, and it doesn’t matter what I miss as long as you bring a branch to match my disposition.

雨过天晴，终要好天气。世间予我千万种满心欢喜，沿途逐枝怒放，全部遗漏都不要紧，得你一枝配我胸襟就好。