重逢（二）

复杂城市里的生活一样可以过得很单纯，工作、吃和睡，如此而已。一段忙乱的适应期后，接下来就是麻木的重复。

Life in a complex city can be lived simply—work, eat, and sleep, that's all. After a chaotic period of adaptation, what follows is a numb repetition.

“阿笙啊，我到处找你。”

"Ah Sheng, I've been looking for you everywhere."

默笙刚踏入杂志社，就听到老远有人在喊。

As Mo Sheng stepped into the magazine office, she heard someone calling from afar.

“老白，有什么事情？”

"Old Bai, what's up?"

老白其实很年轻，是杂志社的另一个摄影师，姓李，因为老说白字所以大家戏称他老白。他哄明星很有一套，所以杂志封面人物的拍摄都由他负责。

Old Bai is actually quite young; he's another photographer at the magazine, surnamed Li. Since he often jokes about his white hair, everyone calls him Old Bai. He has a knack for charming celebrities, so he’s responsible for the cover shoots.

“我老婆要生了，明天帮萧大模特拍照的事能不能麻烦你？”

"My wife is going to give birth. Can I trouble you to help take pictures of Xiao Da model tomorrow?"

萧筱？默笙有点为难，“我是没什么问题，但听说萧筱的脾气很怪，不是熟人根本不配合。”

Xiao Xiao? Mo Sheng felt a bit awkward. "I don’t have a problem with that, but I’ve heard that Xiao Xiao has a strange temper and doesn’t cooperate with anyone she’s not familiar with."

老白也想到了这一点，想了想说：“这样吧，你先去试试，如果实在不行再叫我。”

Old Bai considered this too and replied, "How about this, you go try it first. If it really doesn't work, call me."

第二天，当默笙见到冷艳动人的萧筱时，她完全呆住了。

The next day, when Mo Sheng met the stunning and cold Xiao Xiao, she was completely stunned.

她对国内的明星不熟，以前从来没有见过萧筱的照片，不知道她竟然……竟然跟她大学时代的好友长得那么像。

She wasn't familiar with domestic celebrities and had never seen a photo of Xiao Xiao before. She hadn’t realized that she looked so much like a friend from her university days.

可她的好友是那样一个纯朴而笨拙的农村姑娘，眼前的人却跷着修长的玉腿，抽烟的动作熟练而妩媚……

But her friend was a naive and clumsy rural girl, while the person in front of her was elegantly crossing her long legs, smoking with a skillful and alluring demeanor...

默笙不敢认，也许只是相像的人罢了。

Mo Sheng couldn’t recognize her; perhaps it was just someone who looked similar.

可萧大模特眯着眼瞅了她一眼，踏着优雅的步伐走来，停在她面前。

However, the supermodel Xiao Xiao squinted at her and walked towards her with graceful strides, stopping right in front of her.

“怎么，不认识我了？”

"What's wrong? Don’t you recognize me?"

“……少梅？”

"…Shao Mei?"

“呵！”她讽刺地轻笑一声，“可不就是我。”

“Ha!” She laughed sarcastically, “Of course it's me.”

“阿笙，你跟萧筱认识？真是太好了。”一起来的同事兴奋地说。

"Ah Sheng, you know Xiao Xiao? That’s great!" a colleague who came with her said excitedly.

“大一的时候她是我的上铺。”

“We were roommates in our freshman year.”

“大学里的上下铺可是最要好的。”萧筱的经纪人也凑上来说。

“Roommates in college are really close.” Xiao Xiao's manager chimed in.

“不是要拍照吗？快拍吧！”萧筱不耐烦了。

“Aren’t we supposed to take pictures? Let’s get started!” Xiao Xiao said impatiently.

她真的变了好多！默笙一边拍照一边想，镜头下的人不再是那个笨拙得可爱的少梅，那么她是谁呢？

She has changed so much! Mo Sheng thought while taking photos, the person behind the lens wasn’t that clumsy and adorable Shao Mei anymore. So who is she now?

也许谁都不是。一个好的摄影师能够摄取镜头下人的灵魂，而默笙捕捉不到萧筱的灵魂，也许是她功力不足，更也许是镜头下的人根本没有。

Perhaps she is no one. A good photographer can capture the soul of the person in front of the lens, but Mo Sheng couldn’t capture Xiao Xiao’s soul. Perhaps it was due to her own lack of skill, or maybe the person behind the lens didn’t have a soul to capture.

萧筱很空洞！一种让人绝望无力的空洞，也许正是这种空洞才使她红得发紫。

Xiao Xiao felt so hollow! It was a sense of despair and powerlessness, and perhaps it was this hollowness that made her so popular.

拍完一组，萧筱挥挥手。“今天就到这吧。”

After finishing a set of photos, Xiao Xiao waved her hand. "That's enough for today."

“可是萧筱，下面还有……”她的经纪人急切地说。

"But Xiao Xiao, there’s still..." her manager said eagerly.

“就到这儿。”萧筱毫无余地地说，转头对着默笙，“我们去喝杯咖啡。”

"That’s all." Xiao Xiao replied without hesitation, then turned to Mo Sheng, "Let’s go have a coffee."

“久别重逢应该喝酒，可惜最近我的胃出了问题，只好喝咖啡了。”

"Reuniting after so long should involve having a drink, but unfortunately, my stomach has been acting up recently, so I’ll settle for coffee."

“呃，喝咖啡很好，或者你应该喝点牛奶。”默笙不知道说什么话才好，有太多太多的事想问，却不知道从何问起。

"Uh, coffee is fine, or maybe you should try some milk." Mo Sheng didn’t know what to say, there were too many questions she wanted to ask but didn’t know where to begin.

“身体比较重要，节食也要有尺度。”默笙找些不着边际的话说。

"Health is more important, dieting should have moderation." Mo Sheng said with some vague remarks.

“我从来不节食。”萧筱似笑非笑，“我酗酒。”

"I never diet." Xiao Xiao said with a half-smile, “I drink heavily.”

“少梅！”默笙惊愕于她一副自我厌恶的神色，激动地握住她的手，她怎么变成这样的呢？

"Shao Mei!" Mo Sheng was astonished at the self-loathing expression on her face and held her hand excitedly. How did she become like this?

萧筱反射地甩开她的手，默笙一愣，气氛尴尬而沉默。

Xiao Xiao instinctively shook her hand away, leaving Mo Sheng stunned, the atmosphere awkward and silent.

“你变了很多。”半晌，默笙涩涩地说。

"You’ve changed a lot." After a long pause, Mo Sheng said dryly.

“是的，还记得大一的时候我暗恋过一个人吗？”萧筱冷漠地叙述自己的故事，“有一天我告诉他我喜欢他，他接受了，但他不爱我，然后少梅死了，我现在是萧筱。”

"Yes. Do you remember in freshman year I had a crush on someone?" Xiao Xiao coldly recounted her story. "One day I told him I liked him. He accepted it, but he didn’t love me. Then Shao Mei died; now I am Xiao Xiao."

三言两语，蚀骨穿心。默笙一阵心痛，什么都问不出口了。

In just a few words, it pierced deeply into the heart. Mo Sheng felt a wave of heartache and couldn’t bring herself to ask anything.

过了一会儿，萧筱冷讽地说：“你倒没怎么变，还是一副虚情假意的样子。怎么舍得从金光闪闪的美国回来的？”

After a while, Xiao Xiao mockingly said, "You haven’t changed much; you still look insincere. How could you bear to come back from the glittering America?"

这话多少伤了默笙，但想一想毕竟是她理亏在先。当年一声不吭就走了，七年杳无音讯，是她对不起她们的友情。

Those words hurt Mo Sheng, but thinking it over, she realized she was at fault first. Back then, she left without a word, and after seven years without contact, she had let down their friendship.

“那时候，我是走得太匆忙了……”

"I left too hastily back then…"

“你不用跟我说这些。”萧筱打断她，“这些话你应该向何以琛说。”

"You don’t have to tell me this." Xiao Xiao interrupted her. "You should say these things to He Yichen."

何以琛？怎么会扯到他？默笙想起那日他和以玫俪影双双，“我想他并不在意……”

He Yichen? How did he get dragged into this? Mo Sheng recalled that day when he and Yi Mei were together. "I don’t think he cares…"

“不在意？你以为每个人都和你一样无情无义没心没肺？”萧筱的声音激动起来，“你刚失踪的那几天，他找你找得快要发疯，后来干脆整天在宿舍楼下等，可是他等来了什么？”

"Doesn’t care? Do you think everyone is as heartless as you?" Xiao Xiao’s voice grew agitated. "In the days right after you disappeared, he was nearly going mad looking for you. Later, he just waited downstairs in the dorm all day, but what did he end up waiting for?"

萧筱目光冷冷地指责她。“来了几个人把你的东西都拿走了，然后告诉他告诉我们，你已经去了美国，可能永远不会回来。”

Xiao Xiao’s cold eyes accused her. "Some people came and took all your things, then told him and us that you’d gone to America and might never come back."

“默笙，你真狠。”萧筱顿了顿，又说，“我永远忘不掉他当时的样子，仿佛一下子被掏空了，绝望到了极点，叫人都不忍心看，他是那样高傲的人，居然会露出那样的表情……”

"Mo Sheng, you’re truly heartless." Xiao Xiao paused before saying again, "I can never forget the way he looked at that time, as if he had been hollowed out, hopeless to the extreme, it broke my heart to see him. He was such a proud man, and yet he showed that expression…"

默笙听得浑浑噩噩，这些事情真的发生过吗？

Mo Sheng felt muddled; did all this really happen?

“也许他是内疚……”

"Maybe he felt guilty…"

“赵默笙，抛弃他去美国的是你，该内疚的也是你。”

"Zhao Mo Sheng, it was you who abandoned him to go to America; the one who should feel guilty is you."

“少梅，你不明白……”

"Shao Mei, you don’t understand…"

“我有眼睛会看。”

"I have eyes to see."

默笙停住不说了，所有的人都以为是她抛弃了他吗？明明不是啊！

Mo Sheng fell silent; did everyone think that she had abandoned him? That wasn’t true!

明明是他说那样的话……他说他不想再见到她，他说他宁愿从来都不认识她，他叫她滚得越远越好……

It was clearly him who said those things... He said he didn’t want to see her again, that he would rather never have met her. He told her to get as far away as possible...

明明是他！

It was clearly him!

告别萧筱，默笙走在初夏的街道上，脑中仍回响着萧筱的话。

After saying goodbye to Xiao Xiao, Mo Sheng walked down the early summer street, Xiao Xiao's words echoing in her head.

“他后来一直一个人……何以玫？她不是他妹妹吗？”

"He’s been alone ever since… He Yimei? Isn’t she his sister?"

他们竟然没有在一起，那她当年离开又是为了什么？

They didn’t end up together, so what was the point of her leaving back then?

他又是为什么要说那样的话？

Why did he say those things?

摊开手掌，掌心里稳稳躺着的纸片上写着“袁向何律师事务所”的地址。

Opening her palm, she saw the paper with the address "Yuan Xiang He Law Firm" lying steadily in her hand.

萧筱说：“也许你需要。”

Xiao Xiao said, "Maybe you need this."

她不是特意来的，她只是路过。可她毕竟已经站在“袁向何律师事务所”里了。

She hadn’t come here on purpose; she just passed by. But she had ended up standing inside “Yuan Xiang He Law Firm.”

接待她的小姐抱歉地微笑：“何律师不在所里，请问你有预约吗？”

The receptionist smiled apologetically: "Lawyer He is not in the office right now. Do you have an appointment?"

默笙说不清自己是失落多些还是轻松多些：“没有。”

Mo Sheng couldn’t tell if she felt more disappointed or relieved: “No."

“那你有什么事情吗？我可以帮你转告，或者……”小姐看向时钟，“你在这里等一下，何律师也快回来了。”

"Then what is it you need? I can pass on a message for you, or…" The receptionist glanced at the clock. "You can wait a moment here; Lawyer He should be back soon."

“哦，不用了，我下次再来。”默笙走出两步又回头，“这是何律师的钱包，请你帮我转交给他，谢谢。”

"Oh, no need, I'll come back another time." Mo Sheng took a couple of steps, then turned back. "This is Lawyer He’s wallet. Please help me pass it to him, thank you."

这就是结果吧。

This is the outcome, then.

向来缘浅，奈何情深。

A shallow bond, yet deep feelings.

“阿笙，你在国外工作和国内工作感觉有什么不同？”快下班了，杂志社的人也无心工作，闲聊时突然问起。

"Ah Sheng, do you feel any difference working abroad compared to here?" As closing time approached, the staff at the magazine office were also feeling a bit unfocused, so they suddenly asked during a casual chat.

“呃。”默笙四处张望一下，见头头不在，“薪水高很多。”

"Uh." Mo Sheng looked around and saw the boss wasn’t around. "The salary is much higher."

希罕！吃不到葡萄的同事们立刻鼻孔出气表示不屑。

Surprised! The colleagues who couldn’t reach the grapes instantly snorted disdainfully.

“你在那边有没有受到歧视？”

“Did you experience any discrimination over there?”

“多少吧。”

“A bit, I suppose.”

“其实这也没什么好在意的，香港人还不是看不起大陆人！”大宝从香港回来后感受颇深。

"Actually, it’s not something to care too much about; Hong Kong people look down on mainlanders too!" Daba, back from Hong Kong, felt deeply on that matter.

“当自己真的遇到就不会这么想得开了。有次我老板就当着所有同事的面说中国没有真正的艺术家。我一听气极了，从来没有那么真切地感觉到自己是中国人，当场就指着洋老头的鼻子说，你懂什么中国艺术，我们中国人玩艺术的时候你们美国人还不知道在哪里混呢。”

"When you actually encounter it, you wouldn’t wish to be so lenient. One time my boss said in front of all the colleagues that there are no real artists in China. Hearing that made me furious, and I had never felt more truly Chinese than at that moment. I pointed at that foreign old man’s nose and said, 'What do you know about Chinese art? When we Chinese were playing with art, you Americans didn’t even know where to mix!'"

“真猛！有气节！”同事们纷纷拍手，赞口不绝，然后一齐问她，“后来你是被什么借口炒掉的？”

"Wow, that's bold! You have principles!" The colleagues applauded and praised. Then they all asked her, “In the end, what excuse did they use to fire you?”

“……”默笙哭笑不得，“老美虽然自大，度量倒还是和身材成正比的。后来有一天老板居然拿着不知道哪弄来的文房四宝来找我要我写几个中国字，说他要挂在客厅。”

"..." Mo Sheng felt both amused and frustrated. "Although the Americans are arrogant, their capacity is still proportional to their size. Then one day my boss brought some unusual writing materials and asked me to write a few Chinese characters for him to hang in the living room."

“哇，真的假的？”

"Really?!"

“阿笙，你的字能看吗？”

"Ah Sheng, can your handwriting be recognized?"

“哈，我露了一手郑板桥的绝活，先把墨汁统统倒在宣纸上，再装模作样勾勾弄弄了半天，把那些美国人唬得一愣愣地叹为观止。不过说实话那几个字要不是我自己写的我绝对看不出是什么。”

"Haha, I showed off my skills like Zheng Banjiao, pouring all the ink on the rice paper, and then pretended to do my thing for a while, leaving those Americans so stunned they could only sigh in amazement. But to be honest, if I hadn’t written it myself, I wouldn't have recognized what it was."

“你写了什么？”

"What did you write?"

“尔乃蛮夷！”

"It was ‘Er nai man yi!’"

扑嗤！有个同事喷茶。

Pff! One colleague sprayed tea everywhere.

一片哈哈声中，远远地有人叫：“阿笙，有人找你。”

Amid the laughter, someone called from a distance: "Ah Sheng, someone is looking for you."