Ren Pi's wife had taken a gentle, understanding attitude.
That should have made it easier for the two of them to communicate. Whatever the case, Ren Pi ought to have explained things to her.
But after what had happened recently, Ren Pi was afraid of his wife. I could feel his emotions directly, and his wife had picked up on them from the way he kept avoiding her.
She stayed silent for a long while, then sighed. "Why are you keeping this from me? Is there someone else? Did she come looking for you?" Bitterness had crept into her voice. Her attempt to make light of it only made things awkward.
Ren Pi shook his head, immediately denying her suspicion, but offered no other explanation.
His wife lost her temper too. She stopped talking to him, went to wash up, then got into bed. She switched off the light and turned her back to him, pulling the entire blanket over to her side.
After a while, Ren Pi went to wash up as well. He silently returned to bed, pulled a little of the blanket over himself, and lay there with his eyes open, neither sleeping nor fully awake.
Much later, his wife turned over and sat up. "We've been married for years. What could you possibly be keeping from me? Tell me!"
She flew into a rage and shoved Ren Pi several times.
Ren Pi nearly fell out of bed. He sat up too.
In the darkness, I could see tears gathering in his wife's eyes.
Ren Pi's resolve crumbled. "I don't know how to tell you... I... I saw you possessed by a ghost..."
"What are you talking about? Is that really how you're going to fob me off?" The woman grew even angrier.
"No. Wang Xiaoshuai saw