Clearly at ease, yet carrying a speed and passion that instills fear.
"Girl, open your eyes." Suddenly, Louis Cox’s confident voice came from the side. Instinctively, Mia Ginger opened her eyes. The motorcycle swooped down the middle of the overpass with a "whoosh," horns blaring from vehicles on either side. Mia let out an "ah," as the hat on her head was swept away by the wind.
Louis Cox chuckled softly, pressing her head down with his palm, gradually slowing down.
Pushed the motorcycle onto the sidewalk.
Pedestrians below the bridge looked as tiny as ants. Holding onto the railing, Mia gazed down, and the melancholy and grievances in her heart instantly vanished without a trace.
"Lost the hat." Raising his hand, Louis Cox ruffled her hair even more, "You’ll have to compensate me with one."
Without the hat, he appeared younger and more handsome, lacking any strange air, and his eyebrows and eyes looked particularly attractive, a kind of carefree charm that was especially endearing.
Mia lowered her head, avoiding his gaze, "I’ll buy you one another day when I have time."
"Deal." Louis replied, "I’ll remember that."
"Thank you." Mia finally let out a breath of relief, a faint smile rising at the corners of her lips.
Louis stared at her dimples for a long moment, then said softly, "Are you not doing well at the Ginger Family?"
Louis pondered briefly, then turned her around by the shoulder, looking into her eyes he said, "Is it okay if you don’t go back? If you’re not happy here, I can take you away."
His expression and tone were unusually earnest, making Mia freeze for a second. Then she heard him continue, "Anywhere you want. I can take you wherever you want to go. Don’t you like the desert, the sea, and ancient towns? I can accompany you anywhere, you see, I’m both a rider and well-off, protecting you won’t be an issue."
"Louis." Mia chuckled as she looked at him, "I’m not leaving."
Her short, soft hair was lifted behind her ears by the wind, her fair and beautiful face slightly translucent under the bright sunlight, with an unusually gentle smile at the corners of her lips.
For a moment, Louis was a bit captivated, yet felt defeated.
"Why?" He turned his head in a mocking laugh, clutching the railing with one hand, "Do you really have to stay and torture yourself?"
"I’m engaged." Mia whispered, "Actually, I’ve been engaged since I was born."
"Engaged... ha..." Louis laughed out of anger, "Just a man who suddenly popped up, you fancy him, and what’s always on your mind?"
"He’s my dream." Mia looked at the bright blue sky in the distance, "I met him even before you, the year I first arrived in Eastern Peak Village, I met him. I went to steal something, he gave me money, told me to be a good girl."
"That’s it?" Louis looked at her in disbelief, frowning deeply.
"He made me realize there’s a way of living that’s completely different from Eastern Peak Village," Mia’s eyes crinkled with a smile, "To be a little dramatic, he might have saved me. You know? I have longed for him since I was ten."
"Is that love?" Louis stared at her intently, "That’s a dream, not love. It’s as illusory as those martial arts novels you write. When you truly understand him, you’ll surely know, damn it, that’s not the case at all!"
"Maybe." Mia smiled, "But I still want to understand him."
"Damn it." Louis cursed softly at the ground, then looked up at her, feeling both defeated and frustrated, muttering, "You’re really cruel, you know I..."