Chapter 1 (2/2)
With the help of the light illuminating from the bedside lamp, Bo Ziren started to read the book that was once her favorite during High School years.
This book possessed some similarities to an autobiography. It was telling the story about a girl named He Mo who travelled to many places after graduating; she saw the big ocean, crossed the desert, experiencing barren lands and exotic sceneries, and by a chance encounter got to know a candid tomboyish girl; fell in love with a handsome, melancholy Rock 'n Roll uncle; experiencing happiness and heartache along the way. At last, feeling tired, she returned home, reuniting with her family.
The book ended with the candid tomboyish girl became He Mo's best friend, and her loving family was all around. The one person missing was that Rock 'n Roll uncle.
The book indirectly expressed some thoughts that, between the three kinds of relations.h.i.+p−−friends.h.i.+p, family, and love; familial affections were the most stable, and most honest; bold was the friends.h.i.+p; yet the most fleeting actually was love.
The Bo Ziren then had liked this book was not because she envied He Mo's unrestrained freedom, in fact, she did not quite agree with He Mo's lifestyle. Compared to the risky adventures and the lure of the unknown, she preferred logic and science. The reason why she liked this book, in the final a.n.a.lysis, was due to one of the characters in the story; He Mo's elder brother, He Yan.
That forever soft, generous, and righteous elder brother had a clear and expressive thoughts; the outer appearance was as good as his inner. Every time He Mo befall any difficulties, he would always say: ”It's nothing, I will take care of it.”
Silently, he fulfilled the duty of an elder brother, giving He Mo the most complete and pure support. With someone like that at your back, no matter how lacking He Mo's inner world was, she would always feel content.
From the very beginning, he was the main reason Bo Ziren had liked the book. He was a person that did not have much presence in the entire book, a supporting role. He was probably a fictional character made up by He Mo that had actually provide a real sense of joy. Reading the book again and again, Bo Ziren became fixated with every tiny little details related to him. Then she started to indulge in them, with certain subtle emotions being stirred within.
Being attracted to a person from a book.
Truth to be told, it sounded ridiculous. She had never been in a relations.h.i.+p and never chased after idols, and the first person she fantasized about turned out to be a character from a book.
Was that not… silly?
Under the light, the yellowed pages looked like a halo, the words began to swim further away. Bo Ziren rubbed her eyes tiredly, then closed the book and placed it next to the pillow.
It was already deep into the night, even the little noise that usually came through the windows cease to exist. The night was so silent to the point she could hear her own soft breathe.
Gazing around the clean and neat room, the surroundings gave off a cold vibe. Everything could also be considered as too much of a coincidence. She recalled that on the first day she had moved in, she received a notice saying her roommate met with some family issues and granted a one-year leave from the University. Therefore, the double occupancy dormitory had temporarily turned into a single occupancy, causing many students to feel envious.
It was a proven fact that by living alone with n.o.body to talk to, only serves to turn her into a shut-in.
As time went by, unless it was absolutely necessary, she would always avoid taking the initiative to talk to anyone, and just focusing on her own a.s.signments so she does not feel it was hard to pa.s.s the time. As days rushed in and out like the fallen brown leaves in the autumn sky, time flew silently by.
Another Friday finally came. With the afternoon cla.s.ses ended on early, Bo Ziren decided to go to the Lighthouse Café after she had had her dinner.
But she had not expected this week's Book Exchange Club's gathering, other than her, there was no other present. She sat there alone for more than an hour, drank two cups of hot drinks, and finally went down to pay.
There was a gla.s.s bookcase at the corner on the side of the staircase going up from the ground floor to the first floor. It was filled up with books, several movies' banners hung above it; from left to right was All Quiet on the Western Front, Ben-Hur, Sunset Boulevard, and The Bicycle Thief.
Descending the staircase, Bo Ziren heard a 'boom' coming from the ground floor. Following which by a bar waitress's chagrin voice: ”I've messed everything up! What should I do now?”
Going down along the wooden staircase, Bo Ziren came upon the scene of a small accident. There was an opened carton box across the bar counter that was filled with many books, and next to it were pieces of broken gla.s.s pots. At the front, a man was bending down to check the water stains on the books.
”It's all my fault, I'm so stupid!” the waitress at the side sighed and followed the man's action, bending down, ”Now, this box of books are ruined. What's to be done now? How about we try to dry them up, else I'll go and look for a hair dryer. What other ways are there to remedy this, if Manager finds out…….”
The steady man calmly interjected the waitress's babbling, ”Do you have an iron here?”
The waitress was startled, and then quickly said: ”I'll go and find one.”
She stood and turned around, taking out a set of keys from a drawer. Her actions were clumsy and rushed, ”I'm finished if Manager Zhang finds out about this.”
The man took out one of the books and stood up slowly, flicking a corner of the book, his voice sounded light as he said, ”It's nothing, I'll take care of this.”
Bo Ziren, who was standing two meters away from the bar counter, just as she was about to pay for the bill, heard this sentence. Her hand’s movement halted, eyes locked onto the man opposite her as he raised his head.
A clear face, eyes that curved down at the corner, straight nose, and a slightly pale white complexion. Really a handsome man with refined temperament.
When he felt her gaze, a polite expression appeared on his face.
”Bill.” Bo Ziren was almost gawking at him, unable to s.h.i.+ft away her sight.
He nodded, turned around and came behind the bar counter. He told the waitress to take care of the customer and he will look for the keys.
The waitress breathed out in relief hearing this. She smiled politely at Bo Ziren, then quickly she proceeded with the payment process.
While paying, Bo Ziren's sight subconsciously followed the man's tall silhouette till he found the keys and left the bar. Even after he went up the stairs, she was still standing at the same spot.
The waitress seemed accustomed to female customers losing their composure to their shop's handsome guy's looks. She merely smiled inwardly, yet did not interrupt Bo Ziren in her daze.
Half a minute had pa.s.sed when Bo Ziren finally realized she was supposed to leave the café some time ago.
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Note:
[1] Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is also known as social phobia. SAd is the fear of social situations that involve interaction with other people.
Translated by: woodear
Edited by: ChocolateMorn
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