Chapter 33.1 (2/2)

They thought of us as novel, and likewise, we thought the same about them .

Yin Li could speak beautiful, fluent French and English . But when it came to Spanish, he was hopeless . The locals didn’t seem to know much English either . I saw Yin Li gesture and wave his arms around when he tried to order food and ask for directions . When he became anxious, he lost his calm, restrained demeanor . “Dos! Dos!” Sometimes, his eyes would bulge and he would stick up two fingers . He wanted to use his newly-learned Spanish to stress that he wanted two orders of the dish, not one . Surprisingly, it was kind of cute .

We ate at all the local spots . One time, Yin Li and I decided to indulge our curiosity . We ordered beer and one of each item on the menu . We purposely sat along the breezy promenade . I was sitting on an elevated chair and swung my feet . We ate avocado-topped tacos and other foreign dishes I can’t remember the name of .

“I’m going to gain so much weight from this vacation . When I get back, I’ll have to go on a diet to maintain my figure . ” As I stuffed food in my mouth, I jokingly lamented . “I feel like I’ve never eaten this happily before . ”

Yin Li drank his beer and only looked at me .

I rubbed my tummy and also took a sip of the beer . Then I scooched closer and faced Yin Li .

“Now that I think about it, I still hate you a little,” I said gloomily .

“Right now, I don’t even want to dance anymore . I don’t know what memories I’ve lost, but clearly they weren’t as happy as I thought . In my past, there was also pain . I feel conflicted . To be honest, I really hate you . ” Yin Li showed me how wonderful the outside world could be . Humans are lazy by nature . Compared to sweating it out in the practice studio, eating and sitting outside was infinitely better . I took a big gulp of the Caldo de Res, a Mexican beef soup .

In that moment, three Mexican street performers strolled into the shop . They stopped in front of a table . Bursting with energy and joy, they played the accordion, fiddle, and saxophone for the couple sitting at the table . The couple put down their utensils and begun clapping with an uncontainable smile on their faces . It sounded like a merry tune . Nearby, a few Mexican hombres started to sing . The couple then stood up and started dancing and twirling about . The area sounded with rhythmic clapping . They were cheering something in Spanish . In response, the couple abandoned their table, walked outside, and danced uninhibited . Other diners and pa.s.sersby soon joined in on the dancing .

The shop owner didn’t nag the customers to pay their bills . In fact, he didn’t raise an eyebrow to this at all . He merely laughed along from the sidelines .

See? Isn’t the world so full of color and life?

This wonderful, colorful mortal world has joys aplenty that entice and slowly wear down a person’s willpower .

I felt happy—happier than when I did beautiful ballet pirouettes .

To the rhythm, I dragged Yin Li out of his seat and into the dancing crowd .

The Mexicans finally noticed the foreign travelers, namely Yin Li and I . Their clapping became even more lively . The three street performers circled in front of us and started playing with even more gusto .

They all had smiling, warm-hearted expressions .

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