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墨書 Inktalez
A young woman asked me, "Hey, what are you laughing at? Do you look down on me?"
I smiled lightly, "Do you know about Giant Perspective?"
She paused for a moment, "What is that?"
I waved my hand, catching a glimpse of an old man holding a paddle, smiling meaningfully. He probably knew what it was, but I didn't want to elaborate. After all, I was also here to jump into the river, and I wouldn't want to see how my future demise would look like. "It's nothing."
The young woman pouted and stretched her neck to gaze into the thick fog. "Hey, old man, when will we arrive?"
"Soon—soon—" the old man said as he paddled toward the center of the river.
The woman mumbled something under her breath, hugging her knees as if she were feeling cold.
I glanced over at the middle-aged woman; she remained unmoved, unaffected by the young woman's story.
"I have a question," I turned to the young woman. When she looked over, I felt a bit nervous. "Do you really— not care at all about Xu Wenmo?"
Her expression momentarily blanked out as her gaze shifted from my face to the river's surface. "I don't care."
I was unwilling to let it go and pressed on, "She is sincere with you; why can't you return that sincerity?"
The young woman opened her mouth but hadn't spoken before the old man interrupted, "We're here; it's this spot, girl. You can get off now."
"Oh." The boat slowly came to a stop. The young woman stood up, smoothing out the wrinkles in her short skirt and fixing her hair. She looked at me and asked, "Do I look good?"
I nodded at her heavy makeup. "You look good."
She smiled faintly at me and walked to the edge of the boat in her high heels. Taking a deep breath, just as she was about to jump down, the old man suddenly said, "Girl, were you born in '94?"
The young woman turned back, "Yeah, '94."
"Alright then, jump." The old man waved his hand.
The young woman took another deep breath, one hand holding her bag and the other swinging her arm before she jumped in with a splash—strangely enough, there wasn't even a ripple.
"Let's go—" The old man paddled as the boat drifted toward the opposite bank.
As the boat moved, the middle-aged woman finally made a move; her face was tightly covered as she gazed longingly at where the young woman had jumped in. I was curious about what kind of expression lay behind her sunglasses.
She said she came to experience it but hadn't made up her mind yet; did the young woman's death make her realize the preciousness of life or strengthen her resolve to die?
"Girl," the old man suddenly seemed lost in thought. I turned to look at him as he said, "Did you hear what that girl said?"
"Huh?"
"She said she was born in '94."
"So what?"
"Xu Xiaoran was born in '93, so think carefully about what year it is this year."
I was a bit confused. "It's 2015 this year, old man. Are you losing your mind?"
"Then how old is Xu Xiaoran this year?" The old man's cloudy eyes stared at me. Did he have some kind of magic? Facing his gaze, my head suddenly started to throb intensely, a sharp pain that felt like it was about to explode.
I held my head, burying my upper body into my knees, groaning in agony.
"What's wrong with you?" A woman leaned closer to me, wrapping her arms around me with concern.
I broke free from her embrace and pushed her away forcefully, feeling extremely irritated, as if a fire was burning inside me, like an incessant toothache that made me want to kill someone.
"Little Girl, don't rush. What needs to come will come."
The old man must be a hermit or something because after he said that, the pain suddenly subsided. I gasped for air, wiped the cold sweat from my forehead, and looked up at the old man's profile. Wrapped in the thick fog, I couldn't see his face clearly, only vaguely distinguishing his features.
"We've arrived; get off the boat." The boat had stopped at the shallow bank.
I felt a surge of fear towards the old man and didn't even glance back at the woman behind me. I rushed ashore, stepping into the icy river water and fleeing into the distance.
"Girl—" The old man's voice called out again.
"What is it?" I turned back cautiously to look at him.
"What date is it today?"
"April 4th," I answered hurriedly and stepped into the boundless darkness of the city.
"Remember to come back tomorrow night." The old man's words flew into my ears from a distant edge as I walked along the roadside, nodding slightly. "Okay, I'll come back tomorrow night as promised."
The next day, no, the next night, I arrived at the riverside as agreed, boarded the boat along the familiar path, and grabbed a Stool to sit by the boat's side.
The woman from last night was there too, dressed the same way, sitting in the same spot, and just as silent as before.
Recalling my rudeness from last night made me feel ashamed; I scratched my head awkwardly and turned towards her direction. "I'm sorry about yesterday; I didn't mean it."
I wasn't sure if her eyes behind the sunglasses were looking at me; she shook her head slightly and said, "It's fine," seemingly not wanting to waste words with me.
I forced a smile at her and asked the old man who was propping up the boat pole, "It's my turn today, right?"
"Mm-hmm," he replied vaguely while looking towards the shore where people were boarding.
"You can't let me down again," I emphasized.
"Oh, you finally made it!" The old man, disregarding my words, stood up joyfully and waved towards the shore. "This is—" he lowered his head to share his excitement with me, "this is a wealthy person, quite impressive. Tonight's earnings should be good."
I was speechless; I hoped I wouldn't lose my chance again.
I sulked, muttering to myself, "Just picking on my good temper."
Before I finished speaking, a shiny black shoe stepped onto the boat's edge, causing it to sway gently. I looked up along the man's black suit pants. He was impeccably dressed in a three-piece suit, with a striped tie hanging in front of him as he slightly bent down to step inside the boat. His handsome face and slicked-back hair suggested he was a successful professional. Judging by his age, he seemed to be in his thirties, fitting the description of Xu Zhou that the young woman mentioned last night. However, since Xu Zhou had a daughter in college, he should be in his forties. The young woman had said Xu Zhou looked young, but surely not ten years younger than his actual age.
I thought to myself.
"Come, have a seat," the old man said as he pulled out a folding stool from somewhere. This small boat was surprisingly capable of hiding so many things without a trace, which was quite astonishing.
"Thank you," the man nodded and took the stool at the bow of the boat. The woman sat behind me on my right, while the man sat in front of me on my left, forming a straight diagonal line among us.
I examined the man as he adjusted his suit jacket over his legs and loosened his tie slightly. Noticing my gaze, he inclined his head towards me—truly a composed gentleman with great poise.
"I know the rules here," the man said to me, "but could you kindly let this lady give way?"
I sighed silently in my heart—"the reason."
"I'm here to atone," the man said. "You might as well listen to my story first; then you can decide whether to let me or not."
I turned to ask the old man, "Is that allowed? Telling a story isn't directly related to jumping into the river, right?"
The old man nodded. "That's right; if you refuse to let him now, he can come back tomorrow night."
"Alright then," I turned back to look at the man shrouded in foul mist. "Go ahead."
"Thank you," the man smiled at me.
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