Night, like a thick piece of ink, weighed heavily on the city's sky. As the hour hand quietly pointed to 11 p.m., I was curled up on the sofa, aimlessly scrolling through my phone, trying to find a trace of comfort in this silent night.
Suddenly, my phone screen "dinged" and lit up. A message came in like a heavy bomb, instantly shattering the originally peaceful night. It was from my girlfriend's mother. Those few short lines of text seemed to carry a strange aura, directly piercing into my eyes: "Are you two asleep? If not, just have sex. Don't ask why. Don't tell your girlfriend. I'll explain later."
I stared at the screen with wide eyes, as if trying to see through those lines of text. Shock and confusion surged through me like a tidal wave, and my mind instantly went into a state of chaos. It was as if I had been thrown into an extremely absurd dream, where everything around me became unreal and illusory.
Before I could even recover from this sudden shock, my girlfriend's mother sent another message, attempting to explain this seemingly crazy instruction: "Don't think I'm a pervert. The reason I asked you two to have sex is to ward off the curse cast by your ex-wife. You've been arguing a lot recently, and having sex can counteract it. Remember, be gentle since your girlfriend is pregnant."
These words hit me like a bolt from the blue, leaving me dumbfounded. A curse from my ex-wife? Having sex can counteract it? How could there be such an absurd thing in the world? A myriad of question marks instantly popped up in my mind. They buzzed around like a swarm of angry flies, making me dizzy and confused. But before I could think it through, my girlfriend's mother urged again, "The master calculated that evil spirits and little ghosts are about to invade. The elders say this isn't really appropriate, but don't be shy."
In the midst of this extreme shock and confusion, my body seemed to go out of control, and I mechanically had sex with my girlfriend. Afterwards, I collapsed onto the bed, my thoughts running wild like a runaway horse on the prairie of memories. My ex-wife, the woman who had once shared the same bed with me and made solemn vows, could she really be as malicious as my girlfriend's mother said, casting a curse on me?
Recalling the past with my ex-wife, those scenes of both happiness and quarrels kept flashing through my mind like a movie. We used to stroll hand in hand on the beach at sunset, dreaming about our future lives. We also huddled together in a tiny rented apartment, carefully budgeting our expenses to get through one cold winter night after another. But later, I don't know when it started, arguments gradually became the main theme of our lives. Sometimes, she would lose control of her emotions like a raging beast, pretending to be crazy with a knife in her hand. Those seemingly mentally unstable acts now, according to my girlfriend's mother, turned out to be well-planned performances.
"Fate between people is predetermined." My girlfriend's mother's words echoed in my ears again, as if carrying a mysterious magic power. She went on to say that my ex-wife had a purely evil heart, extremely evil, and had been raising these little ghosts for more than ten years, even before I knew her. My ex-wife was destined to come after me since she was born; it was a karmic bond of doom. She also mentioned that after I transferred money to my ex-wife's account in the United States, she divorced me, and this was all planned two years ago. Moreover, her seemingly carefree and unrestrained demeanor was all a facade, and she had been scheming step by step in our life together all these years.
After hearing all this, I was shocked again, as if struck by a lightning bolt, and fell into a long period of contemplation. I found it hard to believe that the woman who had once been by my side day and night, smiling and chatting warmly, could have such an unfathomable scheming heart. If all this was true, then her disguise over the years was simply perfect, and I was like a naive fool, completely unaware and falling into the trap she had carefully set, allowing her to manipulate me at will.
The more I thought about it, the more confused I became. A flood of doubts kept surging in my heart one after another. I thought of my ex-wife, the woman with whom I once had a deep affection but was now a stranger. A surge of impulse welled up in my heart, like a raging fire burning, wanting to have a good talk with her and tell her not to do this anymore. After all, I had never done anything to对不起 (this Chinese word means "wrong" or "against") her, so please stop cursing me.
So, I mustered up my courage and told my girlfriend's mother about my thoughts. However, what I received in return was a scolding from her. She widened her eyes, her eyes filled with anger and determination, insisting that my ex-wife wasn't acting on a whim. Her heart was purely evil, extremely evil, and she had been raising little ghosts for more than ten years. All of this was premeditated.
I sat alone in the darkness, and the air around me seemed to have solidified, heavy enough to make it hard to breathe. I didn't know who to believe or what to do next. On the one hand, I found it hard to believe the evil deeds my girlfriend's mother described about my ex-wife. Those descriptions were so bizarre, like a plot from an absurd novel, but everything happening before my eyes was so real that I couldn't escape. On the other hand, I was afraid that if all this was true, what kind of danger would my girlfriend, my future child, and I face? That unknown fear was like an invisible hand, tightly gripping my throat, making it hard for me to breathe.
I tried to find some clues from my memories to verify what my girlfriend's mother had said. Recalling the details of my life with my ex-wife, some things did seem a bit odd. She always beat around the bush on key issues and avoided talking about her past. Moreover, during our most intense arguments, her behavior was indeed abnormal. That craziness and determination didn't seem like the outburst of a normal person in a moment of emotional loss of control, but more like a sudden eruption of some deep-seated malice.
But even so, I was still unwilling to believe that my ex-wife could be such a ruthless and scheming person. After all, we had so many wonderful memories together. Were those happy times, those warm smiles, and those affectionate hugs all just a facade she put on to achieve some goal?
I began to reflect on my love life. Had I overlooked some important details in my past marriage, leading to this current situation? I also started to think about how I should be more cautious in choosing a partner and better manage a relationship in the future to avoid falling into such a predicament again. I told myself that I must learn from this experience, learn to see through a person's true nature, and not be deceived by appearances again.
In this absurd vortex, I was like a small boat lost at sea, struggling in the stormy waves. I didn't know when I could find that peaceful harbor, but I knew that I had to face all this bravely and try to break free from this chaotic situation to find my own true happiness. Maybe only time could give me the final answer and let me see the true face of everything in this world. And I could only keep growing and becoming stronger during this long wait.