"Of course it’s true," Jiutiao Meiji said, her gaze shifting to the Shiba Inu.
"Then why did you arrive at the date spot earlier than me?"
"You wanna die, huh?"
"Hahaha, I know, your love for me is all kept inside, unspoken."
"It was the driver who drove fast, how could this young lady possibly wait for someone?" Jiutiao Meiji said discontentedly, "Missing you... only to the extent of swimming at home."
Dubian Che hugged her tightly: "Swimming from Yachuan to Tokyo is about 370 kilometers, it’s too small just swimming in the pool!"
"Who knows if you really swam?" Jiutiao Meiji, feeling a slight pressure that was quite comfortable, leaned her head on his chest.
"I’ll swim for you right now!"
"Go ahead, I’ll watch."
"I’m really, really going."
"Go on, hurry up." Jiutiao Meiji pretended to push him away.
Dubian Che hugged her even tighter and whispered in her ear: "The river water is too cold in fall, let’s wait for summer."
Jiutiao Meiji was tired of walking and wanted to find a place to rest.
There was a bench nearby.
A cat emerged from the ornamental bushes, leaped gracefully, and sat down on the bench in a Sphinx-like posture.
Its eyes, big and clear as glass beads, stared unmoving at Yachuan.
The scene looked much like an alien from another planet missing its homeland.
"What should we do?" the two of them stood still; Dubian Che asked Jiutiao Meiji.
"Chase it away," Jiutiao Meiji commanded.
"People here cherish the integration of humans and nature; look at others, some are even sitting on the ground. Let’s not disturb it, let’s walk further forward; there are other seats."
"Which is more important, nature or me?"
"Do you even have to ask? Of course, you are."
"Then chase it away."
Dubian Che approached the cat and crouched in front of it: "Friend from Kyoto, could you please move aside? We are guests from Tokyo who came here specifically to see Yachuan."
"Can’t understand?" Dubian Che switched to a Kyoto accent that could provoke a fight with someone from Kansai, "Hey, don’t make me lose face in front of my girlfriend, or I won’t be nice."
The cat turned its fluffy round face, looked him in the eye, then continued to gaze into the distance, missing the scenery of its homeland.
Dubian Che raised his head and said to Jiutiao Meiji, who was standing: "I think this cat might think I’m a fool."
"I think you’re a fool too."
"That explains it; I was wondering why I would do this? Now it makes sense."
Jiutiao Meiji had a stern face, looking down at him coldly.
But on closer inspection, her lips were curling up, smoothing out, curling up, smoothing out, until she finally burst into laughter.
She tried not to laugh but ended up sneering just before she did.
Laughing, Dubian Che stood up, hugged her slender waist, and sighed, "Let’s go, let’s leave the cat here and find another place for us fools to sit."
They walked on, luckily no more cats jumped out from the bushes.
Dubian Che cleaned the bench, and they both finally sat down, quietly enjoying the scenery of Yachuan.
On the stones in the creek, tourists hopped across, taking photos;
A woman in her thirties sat on the riverbank eating grilled rice cakes, a bottle of 120 yen green tea next to her;
On the riverside path, under the wooden terrace of a Japanese restaurant, a young man from China studying at Kyoto University strummed a guitar, singing the Chengdu version of "Capital City."
Sounding almost like crying, truly unpleasant.
In the lyrics ’Walking to the end of Hanami Street, sitting at the doorway of a small pub’, Dubian Che pointed at the ducks in the waterweeds: "I wonder how much meat would remain after plucking the feathers."
"Wasn’t it about humans and nature?"
"Well—" Dubian Che whined jealously, "Which is more important, nature or me?"
Jiutiao Meiji, unable to stand it, rolled her eyes at him flirtatiously.
Dubian Che started laughing, leaned in, and kissed her.
It was a kiss devoid of any lust, filled only with a faint warmth lingering in the heart.
The water in Yachuan was crystal clear, hitting the rocks and splashing sparks, shimmering brilliantly under the warm autumn sun.