Chapter Two: Collision at the Street Corner, Part Two

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Chapter 2: A Collision at the Street Corner, Part Two

Bai Li froze.

Was the umbrella meant for her?

She instinctively looked up. Rain blown in by the wind had already dampened the young man’s brows and the corners of his eyes, while half of his profile was concealed in darkness.

His brows were faintly furrowed, revealing a trace of impatience.

Perhaps he did not want to stand in the wind any longer. He had been waiting for her to take the umbrella.

Bai Li did need an umbrella.

Besides, it was already open, which made it difficult to refuse.

After hesitating for a second, she accepted the handle with both hands. Faced with a stranger’s kindness, she offered him a polite smile.

“Thank you.”

The young man nodded. He did not linger for even a moment, turning around and reaching for the doorknob.

“Wait a moment, please.” Bai Li called after him thoughtfully. “Do you come to this bar often? Or could you give me your address? I’ll return the umbrella to you tomorrow.”

In the slightly cool air of June, the young man stood with his back to her and waved carelessly.

“No need. Lingjiang will be rainy for the next few days. Keep the umbrella.”

Bai Li awkwardly raised her eyes toward him.

In the dim light, the young man had returned to his original seat. He truly seemed not to want the umbrella back, and he did not look at her again.

Her feelings were complicated because of the comic.

Yet she could not help curving her lips into a smile.

How could she not be happy? On the very first day of her journey, she had met someone who looked like Fang Ye—and that person had even helped her.

A long-lost kindness was like a soft, warm quilt, wrapping around her body chilled by the wind.

The rain fell so heavily that it urged people onward. The water pooled in the streets had already risen above her ankles.

Coming back to herself, Bai Li did not dare impose on him any longer. She raised the broad black umbrella and plunged into the night without looking back.

Only after her figure disappeared around the corner did the young man lift his head.

The curiosity in his eyes seemed denser than the mist over the lake.

…

After finding a nearby hotel, Bai Li dragged her luggage back to her room.

The hotel was tastefully decorated, with a comfortable, fluffy bed, exquisite murals, and a large floor-to-ceiling window through which one could look down upon the entire ancient city at night.

She took off her soaked shoes and stepped barefoot onto the carpet. After carefully hanging the umbrella by the door, she removed her damp clothes and went into the bathroom for a shower.

Warm water streamed over her waist, washing away the exhaustion that covered her. Only then did she have the energy to think about the young man she had met that day.

There was indeed something extraordinary about a comic-book character stepping into reality.

But Bai Li’s happiness faded before long.

Because the real-life inspiration for the character in her comic…

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Had died long ago.

He had been swept mercilessly over a cliff by the river while trying to save her.

The sound of wind mingled with the rain outside, striking the windows without cease.

Bai Li closed her eyes. Her heart gave several strange, frantic skips, as though she were once again witnessing the scene from all those years ago.

It had perhaps been a summer like this one.

During the hottest month of the year, firecrackers and colored paper adorned the communal courtyard in celebration.

She had been only three years old.

Her mother married for the second time, to a widowed soldier who was rarely home.

The only change was that their family now had a boy two years older than her.

She did not understand what that meant.

She only knew that she had an older brother named Fang Ye. The adults all said he was very clever, and he treated her well. Right or wrong, he always indulged her, never allowing anyone to bully her. Her mother was seldom at home, so it was he who looked after her.

Thus, even as a little girl, she was often grateful. She had gained someone who cherished her, and she had secretly sworn to be the best little sister in the world to him.

Then another summer came.

Holding her brother’s hand, she had grown to five.

One of her playmates said that beautiful goldfish could be caught in a little river outside the city. Children that age knew nothing of danger. The moment they heard about the fish, they began clamoring to go.

She joined in, and though her brother was worried, he still accompanied her.

It took most of the day to walk from the city to the countryside.

The children were delighted to see water at last and played with such abandon that they failed to notice the river rising. By the time they realized what was happening, their feet could no longer touch the riverbed.

None of the children could swim. In her panic, she swallowed several mouthfuls of water. The sensation of suffocation clutched at her throat. It was the first time she had ever come so close to death.

Just as she thought she was about to die, her brother seized her arm and struggled to get her to the riverbank.

Then he turned back and rescued the other children, one after another…

The children who reached shore were all frightened into tears, and their cries drew nearby adults to the scene.

Bai Li cried too, but not because she was afraid.

She cried because the brother who had been best to her had not come back out of the river, and the adults would not let her go down to search for him.

Later, in a daze, she saw the police and the children’s parents arrive. The playmates were taken home and given thorough beatings by their parents.

Bai Li was the only one who was not punished. Her mother was busy answering the police’s questions.

The day dragged on until nightfall.

The police officer told them gravely that her brother had been swept away by the current. There was a cliff downstream. If he was not found that day, and no report came in over the next few days, there would be little hope left.

He spoke with great difficulty and in guarded terms.

But she understood what he meant.

If her brother did not come back that day, he would never come back.

She wept terribly, until she had no strength left and fainted on the ground. After returning home, she fell seriously ill.

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Later, when the police came to offer their condolences, she finally learned the truth.

Her brother really was dead, and terrible news had come of the soldier as well.

Fate had silently taken them both away.

She no longer had an older brother.

The seasons passed as they always did. Everyone in the courtyard tacitly kept silent, allowing him to fade from memory. Perhaps out of guilt and shame, her playmates treated her kindly, but no one ever thought of Fang Ye anymore.

Her mother remarried the following year and moved away from the courtyard. That name was completely sealed away in her memory.

The television had said that a person’s death was not true death. To be forgotten was.

She did not want that. She could not accept it. So she began learning to draw in her spare time.

Portrait after portrait came into being. Her strokes developed from clumsy to mature, yet the person she drew most often was still the most important one from her childhood.

It was only when she began wondering what her brother might have looked like as an adult that this comic came into existence—a continuation, in some small way, of her brother’s brief life.

The shower sent a fine mist spraying across her face. She quickly finished bathing, then lay down on the clean, comfortable bed.

For some inexplicable reason, she did not suffer from insomnia that night.

Listening to the patter of rain outside, she peacefully drifted into sleep.

Perhaps the examinations and journey had exhausted her. Or perhaps it was because she had encountered someone so unbelievable.

Whatever the reason, she spent the night dreaming again and again of the young man who had given her his umbrella.

The next day.

After lunch, a thick layer of clouds still covered the sky, and the rain came down intermittently.

It continued without pause until evening.

Since she had come all this way, she still ought to go out and look around.

Even if the owner did not want the borrowed item back, it should still be returned.

With that thought in mind, Bai Li went downstairs and bought an umbrella of her own. She hung the young man’s black umbrella from her wrist, carefully waded through the standing water, and made her way toward the lakeshore.

On rainy days in the south, the roads were wet and the stones slippery, while the air she breathed was thick with moisture.

She looked around. Everywhere she turned, she saw commercial streets, the lake, and trees.

She found the bar from the previous night. Because of the rain, there were few customers, but it was still open.

When she pushed the door open, the bell chimed. The owner greeted her, and upon learning that she had come to return the umbrella, he showed no disappointment. Instead, he warmly invited her to sit and wait out the rain.

Bai Li thanked him with a smile but declined.

Before leaving the bar, she looked through the glass window and thought:

That young man probably would not come.

Once she returned the umbrella, she would not come again either.

End of Chapter