"I'm going to have a cat." Before lunch, Lang Zhisong said this.

"Having a cat? An eight-foot-tall man, what kind of cat does he have? ”

She doesn't know much about the American pet craze. In her mind, having a cat is just a vassal elegance of the noble ladies and young ladies: casual and pleasant, filling the emptiness. But what kind of cat does a big man have? Besides, he was busy all day long, and his life was not easy.

She knew he was speaking to her. For several days, she deliberately distanced herself from him and snubbed him. She was afraid that if this continued, there would be a situation beyond her control, even though she respectfully called him Teacher Lang, even though he was a full twenty years older than her.

In the restaurant on the third floor, the Thais in the research center gathered again for a once-a-day lunch. This is a very unique phenomenon in this center. Although everyone knows that talking to foreigners during lunch time can not only communicate ideas, enhance understanding, but also improve English, which has many benefits. But when the Thais get together, they can't help but speak Thai. Pull the nostalgia, talk about current affairs, the south and the north, the past and the present, blowing all the way to the sky, forgetful. It's no wonder that the strings are tight all day long, and only at this time can you relax.

She hesitated with her lunch box, not knowing whether to stay with Lang Zhisong or join the circle of Thais? As early as the first day of work, Lang Zhisong told her that she should not go over there for dinner, and should not mix with these Thais. Since she said it, she didn't dare not listen. But after a long time, she realized that the taste was wrong. You say, lonely men and widows, eat together, live together, what is the matter? If this goes on for a long time, I'm afraid that I won't be able to tell the relationship between them without being able to tell the whole body. But what if you don't? She found this job after being introduced by Lang Zhisong.

She is an associate professor at a university in Thailand and came to the United States on the occasion of an academic conference. Through the introduction of her classmates, she met Lang Zhisong. As soon as he heard that she was engaged in electrophysiology, Lang Zhisong immediately came to his senses, and when he met and talked, he became even more energetic, and strongly recommended her to the boss. He said he needed a right-hand man, and he said there was a shortage of electrophysiology technicians in the lab. She didn't know if she really meant that much to the lab, or if he needed someone to relieve his loneliness?

She is on a B visa. How easy is it to change from a tourist visa to a work visa without Lang Zhisong's help? She had to stay, she had to rely on him, she had to obey him.

When I first arrived, my eyes were black, and everything felt at a loss. Plus she has no legs and no mouth, even if she used to be so strong, she has to become a weak woman at this time.

Lang Zhisong treated her well, took her to the bank to open an account, took her to apply for a social security number, took her out to shop for shopping, and gave her a house in the family to live in. He said to her: "My home is my own, it is empty, you live first, and then move out when you find a suitable house." ”

This hospitality is indeed rich, and she vaguely heard that the two biggest expenses in American life are housing and buying a car. The traditional clothing, food, housing and transportation of the Thai people must be reversed here, and the clothing, clothing, and food are the national conditions of the United States. What can she do? When she rents a house outside, the rent is $300 a month, but she has not yet received a penny of salary, and her bag is already empty.

She didn't speak, silently accepting all his help. She vaguely felt that her good luck came entirely from her woman's body, and if she was a man, would Lang Zhisong still have so much enthusiasm? She coldly observed the Thai people in the research center, everyone got along very happily, but he was the only one who did not fit in with everyone. Is he to blame? Or is it someone else's fault?

Lang Zhisong's home is a newly bought big house, with four bedrooms and one living room. But when she arrived, he was the only one in the huge suite. "Where's the wife?" She used to ask him. "Went to my daughter." He swept past with an understatement. "Where's my daughter? Is it a short-term visit or a long-term separation? She didn't dare to ask again.

The room was empty, and the air smelled faintly of paint. She didn't know the standard of living of Americans, but with the decoration of this house, it was enough to withstand the corrupt bureaucracy in Thailand. The living room is filled with bonsai, and spider orchids gently brush the guests' sideburns. Lying on the soft sofa and looking out of the window, you can see the green lawn in front of the door, the swaying maple forest behind the house, and the flowers in front of and behind the house.

"Is this the American dream? She's here for all of this? ”

But the American Dream is sometimes weird and scary. When night fell, a hint of panic rose in her heart. In this big house like a wilderness shop, just the two of them, if he really wants to do anything wrong, I'm afraid that she will shout every day and cry without a way. You know, although he is fifty years old, he is an eight-foot tall man after all. Besides, if a man does that kind of thing, even if he is a three-inch nail Wu Dalang, he can burst out with the brute strength that tears Pan Jinlian!

She stared at the door across from her, lest it would open suddenly in the middle of the night. But when you think about it, what are you afraid of? I'll tell him what is fifty years old, the same man, the same tall and good-looking man! Besides, what can I do to repay him for treating me like this? The thought arose, and when she looked at the door, she longed for it to open suddenly in the middle of the night.

This fleeting thought in the middle of the night was quickly replaced by her clear thoughts. After all, she also has a three-year-old son, after all, she also has a husband who is extremely loyal to her, after all, there are so many traditional ethics and morals that bind her and bind her.

In the dead of night, the room was as silent as the dark night around it, as if it was death, and the sound of Lang Zhisong's slippers stepping on the stairs was particularly clear. The creaking of footsteps on the stairs always upset her. From time to time, the footsteps would suddenly stop at the door of her room, and she would quickly pull the quilt over and cover her head tightly until the footsteps in front of the door sounded again and faded away.

Although she had a good grasp of proportion, and although the boundaries in her mind were clearly drawn, as soon as she arrived in the laboratory, her feelings changed completely. Even she herself was suspicious of her behavior: a man has no wife, a woman has no husband, she is in a pair, living in the same room, can she really be so innocent? She felt the pressure from the stares of her compatriots. The United States is an open-minded society, and cohabitation is nothing! Women, what do you rely on if you don't rely on this? She could read the looks of her compatriots.

If they really live together, they are not wronged. But there is no shadow at all, but she is such a clean and self-conscious woman, which can't help but make her sit on pins and needles in the peculiar eyes of everyone, and she has a thorn in her back.

"Stay away from him!" She made up her mind.

It's no good to stick together. There is no unventilated wall, and although the United States and Thailand are separated by the Pacific Ocean, there may be a gust of wind that will blow the mess to the other side of the sea. Besides, even if it was really given to him, now is not the time. Her identity has not been finalized, and her salary has not been paid, so she will easily allow herself, will he change his mind after he succeeds? She looked at Lang Zhisong's desperate head and thought so.

It's better to hang your appetite. Aren't so many men like that? Once you get a woman in hand and satisfy the novelty, the value of a woman plummets.

She picked up her lunch box and walked over to the group of Thais.

However, she did not walk directly among them, but just sat timidly on the side, across a table.

"Did Lenin hire you?"

A big-eyed man looked at her and asked her with concern.

"What?"

With a mouthful of rice in her mouth, she looked up and looked at her in confusion, not knowing what he was asking.

Everyone laughed loudly, and a white-faced person explained: "He asked if you were hired by a bald head?" ”

Only then did she understand what they meant. Baldness definitely refers to Lang Zhisong, which is a very obvious feature. But when it comes to Lenin, it is far-fetched and far from it, and only one indicator of baldness can arouse associations, so it is no wonder that she is so slow to react.

"Well," she nodded and smiled, "why call people bald?" ”

"The bald man praises him and is learned. You see, your head is bald, how hard you should work, otherwise, how to be a Faculty, how to apply for a Grant? Look at us, all of us have black and bright hair, so we have no fun, so we can only do small jobs and do chores. ”

"Miscellaneous, miscellaneous." Everyone laughed again. From the laughter of everyone, she heard Lang Zhisong's status in their hearts, and her heart sank and sour.

"It's not easy to be bald."

White-faced and spoke again, I don't know if it was to praise him or be sarcastic?

"Sharpen your head and drill into it, so it's hairless. In the United States, you have to be able to do both, one is to shoot desperately, and the other is to make up the hard work, otherwise, there is no drama, and it will not stand at all! ”

"Filming is a sycophant, but what is it to make up?" She still didn't understand.

"Make up the data!" He smiled and turned to everyone: "I have to give her a lesson." He turned back and said, "It doesn't matter if you can't make a good result, the key is whether you can draw it in the computer, as long as you can draw a good picture, it will work." ”

She didn't know if this group of people was telling the truth or falsehood, but she felt strange and uncomfortable in her heart. She stopped talking, bowed her head and ate in silence.

Lang Zhisong really bought a kitten.

"It's a female cat, a Persian cat, a fine breed."

He smiled at her and gently stroked the kitten in his arms.

The kitten is very cute, with a tiger-like color and a majestic-like mane, but it has a face as docile as water. In a pair of charming eyes, there are innocent, charming, well-behaved, and infatuated, which makes people love so much that they don't know what to do.

The kitten has become the pearl of Lang Zhisong's palm.

The first thing he did when he got home from work was to look for his kitten. He held it in his arms, kissed it on the face, and kept asking it if it had eaten or drunk.

The kittens are also really well-behaved. Every day after work, I always wait by the door. When Lang Zhisong pushed the door in, it screamed "meow" and bent down to rub against Lang Zhisong's trouser legs. Lang Zhisong eats, it squats next to his bowl, Lang Zhisong sleeps, it gets into his quilt, Lang Zhisong watches TV, it even turns on the remote control switch for him.

Ever since he had a cat, Lang Zhisong's demented voice has sounded everywhere in the room. He told the kitten very seriously that the kitten could understand him, and he had to play with the kitten for two hours every day.

"Playing with a cat? What are you kidding, speaking Thai, or English? ”

She thought it was funny. can see Lang Zhisong's appearance towards the kitten, her heart will suddenly become sad, and she has a feeling of being left out.

"Am I still jealous of a kitten?" She scolded herself like that.

The kitten grows fast, its fur is tight and shiny, shining with a satin-like luster, like a young girl who has just grown into an adult, her tender skin is broken by blowing, and her long hair is black and flowing. He said to her, "Cats are better than people. Cats don't have people's cities, and no people's scheming. Cats are sincere, docile and obedient, and empathetic. ”

She listened and smiled bitterly.

One day, she walked out of the bathroom after taking a shower, and suddenly saw Lang Zhisong sitting on the sofa in the living room from the stairs fiddling with the kitten. The kitten lay on its back in his arms, its two hind legs open without hesitation, and one of Lang Zhisong's hands rubbed its tail.

I don't know if the bath water is too warm, her heart suddenly becomes irritable, and a "bang" heartbeat makes her feel empty. She hurriedly turned around, hurried back to the room, closed the door with a "peng", and fell onto the bed.

She suddenly remembered the first time she was loved.

On a star-studded night, she committed herself to her beloved boyfriend for the first time. It is also such an early summer, on the other side of the earth, the evening breeze blows on the body, but it can't blow away the heat in the heart. She hid under a banyan tree and snuggled up in her boyfriend's arms. made love with her boyfriend for the first time, and her passion was like an unstoppable river opening the floodgates. They clung to each other, sucking mouth-to-mouth, and then, her boyfriend's hands touched all over her body. Somehow, as soon as she saw Lang Zhisong's hand touching the kitten, she remembered the scene back then.

She vividly remembers the first time she was touched by her boyfriend, first with a shudder, then with a strange itch. She waited for her boyfriend's further love, but her boyfriend didn't know how to act further.

Of course, it's no wonder that my boyfriend, although it is a secluded place in the park, there are always three or two tourists. Long pants and long shirts, you can't take them off, what can you do if you don't take them off? It wasn't until the shouting of the gatekeeper that they had to stop the caress that had not made the slightest progress. Even so, the first one still made her heart flutter. Thinking of this, her heart fluttered again.

Why do you guard a big living person and let Lang Zhisong pet a cat? She wanted to stand up several times, walk out, and throw herself into Lang Zhisong's arms. But it was all a momentary impulse, and after a little calm, reason prevailed again.

What she still haunts is that the man she first committed to was not her husband. Before getting married, the boyfriend was admitted to the public-funded international student and went abroad, and he has not been heard from since. For this reason, she has been hating for ten years. She swore that she would also go abroad, and she vowed not to look for a man better than herself. That's why she has the family she is now.

If you want to talk about men, they are too strong to make people feel uneasy, but too weak and make people lose face. Although her current husband is obedient to her, she always feels that it is not that taste. After watching the Chinese movie "Red Sorghum", the rough and bold of the actor Jiang Wen really fascinated her for a while. She looked at her reluctant husband and hated to kick him out of bed. She even fantasized that some masculine man would take her away and rape her. But in life, she just can't meet a man she is willing to be ravaged by!

"Discharged, discharged!" Xiao pointed to the potential signal on the screen and shouted happily.

"That's the kind of nerve fiber we're trying to signal." She said to Lang Zhisong with great certainty.

Lang Zhisong took off his glasses, pointed the back of his bald head at her, and looked at the screen for a long time, and finally showed a smile on his gloomy face.

"Yes, it's good!" He kept nodding his head.

It's been two months, hundreds of times exposing the ganglion of interest, thousands of times to stick the tip of the needle into the ganglion, and today, finally elicit the action potential they wanted.

The ganglion is only the size of a sesame seed, and it is soaked in a patch of blood from time to time. And this ganglia, which can only be seen clearly under the microscope, contains thousands of different kinds of nerve cells, and who knew that the electrode needle as thin as a hair could be pierced just enough to pierce the nerve cell membrane she wanted?

"America's science rice is not delicious!"

Lang Zhisong removed his bald head from the screen, shook his head and sighed softly.

"Why is it not delicious, can't you make it and make it up?" She suddenly remembered the ridicule of the Thais gathered at lunch, and looked suspiciously at the bald head.

At this moment, the personnel secretary of the research center came over, shook a form in his hand and said to her, "Wen, your visa has been approved." ”

"Really?" She was overjoyed.

"Sign it and you'll get paid next month!"

It is said that good things are difficult to double, look, the identity has changed, and the experimental results have also made gratifying progress, isn't this a good thing in pairs? She shook off the moisture from her hands and walked over to take the form from her secretary. But as soon as he saw it, the fire rose sharply. She turned her face to Lang Zhisong and asked, "Didn't you say that the annual salary was eighteen thousand, how did it become fifteen thousand?" ”

"Ahh......h

Lang Zhisong's face suddenly turned red, and he couldn't say what was ugly.

She stared straight at him with her eyes. couldn't hide, and he finally held back a sentence:

"I, that's what I told him, who knows what the hell the big boss is doing, how can there be three thousand less?"

She didn't know what to believe. Is the big boss backtracking, or is Lang Zhisong a ghost? Anyway, the Thais, it's not worth much, and someone will do it! However, the 18,000 that was said was good, but it became 15,000 on the black and white paper, plus the three months of white work, she felt that her chest was blocked in a panic, and her heart was not smooth.

"Sign it, you have to sign it for fifteen thousand, if you don't sign it, you won't even have this fifteen thousand?"

Reluctantly, she picked up the pen and signed her name in the empty field, and her stomach began to sour.

After packing up the form, the secretary handed over another piece of material and said to Lang Zhisong: "Lang, your application form for scientific research funding has been returned." ”

"It's back! Why? ”

Lang Zhisong was very surprised and didn't believe his ears.

"The deadline has passed."

"How so? I also caught my boss before he went abroad and asked him to sign it. We said well, he signed it and let you send it away, and there were still two days before the deadline! ”

"I didn't know, he gave me the materials when he came back from a meeting abroad, and I sent them away at the time, but they were still returned."

The secretary shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands helplessly.

"! I was smacked by him, the old fox. ”

Lang Zhisong suddenly scolded in Thai.

The secretary saw that his face was not good, and knew that he was not happy, but he did not know what he was talking about, so he had to leave the thick stack of materials and turn away in a boring manner.

Lang Zhisong was extremely depressed, like a deflated ball. He said with a bitter face: "The boss looks down on the Thais!" ”

There was no sound. He paused for a moment and continued: "He didn't want me to apply for funding, he wanted to support the Japanese. But that Japanese man is a stupid person, and for two years in a row, he didn't get anything. I said to my boss that this is not fair, and everyone should have a chance. Besides, the Japanese chose a topic that was not good, and if they failed again, they would completely smash the brand of the laboratory, and in the future, people would throw everything out of this laboratory into the trash without looking at it. The boss listened, and then reluctantly agreed to let me declare, but I didn't expect that he was lying to me! ”

He couldn't go on talking. She vaguely felt that there must be some sacrifices of her interests as a quid pro quo, and the $3,000 might be a bargaining chip for Lang Zhisong and the boss. But who would have thought that even at the expense of her interests, he would not get what he wanted in the end.

Hope had to be pinned on the coming year, and the electrical signals could no longer stimulate the excitement in their cerebral cortex, and they had no intention of doing anything more, so they had to put away their stalls and go home early to rest.

That night, Lang Zhisong's wife suddenly returned. As soon as they entered, they realized that something was wrong, because his beloved kitten was not at the door to greet him today.

"Cat, where are the cats?"

Lang Zhisong's tone suddenly became numb, and the energy that he usually had in the laboratory ran away.

The cat was not found, but Mrs. Lin was transferred out of the room. All three froze at the same time, and the air suddenly tensed.

Mrs. Lin is not old. The faint red makeup and curly perm hair are just like creating a spring in autumn, although it is also beautiful, it can show traces of artificiality everywhere.

She looked at the few with her eyes fixedly, not even the slightest chill of the first meeting. The eyes seemed to be looking at a thief, wondering what treasure she had stolen from her family.

Under this aggressive gaze, she became uncomfortable. She smiled awkwardly and tried to say something, but opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

Lang Zhisong wanted to introduce it and ease the atmosphere, but after opening his mouth a few times, he didn't say anything.

Yes, what is there to say? If people have prejudices, it is useless to say anything. Can he tell his wife that there's nothing between them? I'm afraid that this kind of thing will become more and more chaotic the more you talk about it, and the more you describe it, the darker it becomes. He simply didn't say anything, twisted his head, and went on looking for his cat.

She stood at the door in a daze, not knowing whether it was better to enter or retreat? Mrs. Lin is like a sow that has just given birth, although she doesn't speak, her nose is humming, and she doesn't let people touch it, and she doesn't let people touch it.

"I still have to go upstairs. At the very least, there are my things in the bedroom, my luggage. She smiled awkwardly at her again, walked around her side, and cautiously walked upstairs.

She locked herself tightly in the room, and she was not even in the mood to go downstairs to cook. Not only was she afraid of Mrs. Lin's aggressive gaze, but most importantly, she didn't even have the slightest appetite. After a day of work, she didn't know where she got the energy, and she was neither tired nor hungry.

She sat in front of the bed in a daze, her eyes fixed on the wall. With such a loss, isn't it just living in her house for nothing and saving a little money? Thankfully, she didn't sell herself to him, otherwise, she wouldn't be able to say anything now.

She couldn't help but think of her three-year-old son, her husband, her colleagues in the department, and the days when she was not rich but high-spirited in China. I have traveled thousands of miles, left my hometown, looked for hardship, and suffered guilt, why am I here? She couldn't help but feel sad about her situation, her nose was sour, and she wanted to cry.

Hmph, why is it so unbelievable, it's a big deal to pay her salary for two months! Thinking of this, she suddenly became angry.

In the middle of the night, the solemn air downstairs finally caused a war, and Lang Zhisong began to slap the table and roar.

Strange to say, his beloved kitten is also uncharacteristically irritable like its owner. It walked around the living room uneasily, looking at the dark night sky outside the door, and wailed one after another, its voice was terrible and miserable, like a ghost crying, like a wolf howling, more like the screams of desperate people for survival. Mixed with Lang Zhisong's wild roar, Mrs. Lin screamed like a wheat, and the whole room was like a boiling oil pot, turning people's hearts tossing and frying, and the heavy gasp was the simmering oil foam.

Mrs. Lin's unbearable crying and scolding came intermittently downstairs: "That slut, little slut, it's not a good thing at first glance." Hot men and women, one stay is two months, who knows what good things you have done? ”

Then, the crash of tables, chairs and benches was heard.

Unable to stand still any longer, she suddenly jumped to her feet and quickly packed her belongings. When Mrs. Lin continued to quarrel with her husband with those dirty words, she turned her face and saw how little she had cleaned up. The barrage suddenly stopped, and she stared at her in horror with her mouth wide open.

It was useless to look at her at all, and said to Lang Zhisong, who was pale and panting on the side:

"Excuse me, please send me away."

"Send away? Where to go? In the dead of night! ”

Lang Zhisong's eyes widened.

"Laboratory."

Xiao said coldly. At this time, she didn't feel the slightest guilt in her heart. If he had helped her, she had far compensated him for all the help he had given her, and she felt that she owed him nothing.

When he went to work the next day, he asked him why he treated his wife like this. He almost jumped to his feet and shouted, "Ma'am, what ma'am?" He said that when he came to the United States, he couldn't find a job, and his wife gave him 1,000 yuan and told him not to come back if he couldn't find a job after spending 1,000 yuan. Now, he is mixed up, and his wife can't do without him, but he will never forget those days.

"What's the matter with the kitten?"

She remembered the kitten because it was so cute.

"It's called Spring."

She listened, and her face flushed slightly. It turns out that no matter how good it is to him, it is also hypocritical, and in the end, it still has to find its own kind.

"I went to the vet to have it operated on, and it will never happen again." Lang Zhisong is proud of his shrewdness.

A few days later, she asked him again, "Is the kitten alright?" He said to her, "Well, it's as cute as ever." ”

Because she had nothing to talk to him about except the cat.

Lang Zhisong's painstaking scientific research plan was finally aborted because the boss did not pass the level.

After a few more days, Lang Zhisong said sadly to Xiaoyu that when the cat died of old age, he would bury it in the garden. Then, it's time for him to go back home.