I did not sleep well that night. Once again, I dreamed about the catastrophe that happened during the cruise. The ship spun around in the whirlpool, and I even saw Wu Miao drowning in the water. I struggled to help her, but it was as though I had been tied up; no matter how hard I tried, I could not do anything. Then I fell into the water and felt the wetness.
Something was tying me up, but I did not know what. I struggled to breathe as the restraints got tighter and tighter.
I jolted awake and saw the blank ceiling above me and felt the cool breeze from the window. I understood that it was probably sleep paralysis, and I only fell asleep after some time.
Shortly after what happened to Wu Miao, my sleep became even worse. I basically did not sleep and only stared blankly at the darkness. The feeling of emptiness I felt at that time was like a poisonous snake slowly swallowing my soul away and willpower away.
The next morning, I got up and wanted to wash up. As I got out of my room, I saw Tan Jiao coming out of the shared bathroom and became stunned by her appearance. The clothes she wore were the same as mine; the ones we got from the village. It seemed that she had washed her hair this morning, which was apparent from her untied damp hair. She also seemed to have put some effort into dressing up, sporting a grey-purple wool sweater on the outside while wearing the collared shirt on the inside with the collar showing. Matching that with her usual jeans, she looked particularly pretty this morning.
She walked toward me.
Then it felt somewhat awkward between us. Perhaps it was due to our little thing last night. She let out a smile when she was close and said, Good morning, Ah Yu.
Morning.
From the corner of my eyes, I noticed her walking down the stairs elegantly and at a slower pace. I felt she was not her usual self, but I could not put my finger on it.
When I finally went downstairs after washing up, I saw Tan Jiao and Fengyan sitting on the dining table making dumplings.
Fengyan greeted me with a bright smile when she saw me. Did you sleep well?
Not bad. Then my gaze turned to Tan Jiao. I found her trying to make a dumpling, but she was having a hard time.
Ruying isnt feeling well, so she didnt come down to help. The others have things to do as well, so I got Tan Jiao to help me. Why dont you give us a hand?
Having no qualms, I washed my hands and sat down beside Tan Jiao to help. Then Fengyan left us to store some of the dumplings in the fridge, leaving the two of us alone. Tan Jiao was totally engrossed in making her dumplings. Her gaze was fixed, and she looked totally focused.
I felt like laughing when I saw the oddly-shaped, disproportionate dumpling in her hand. I did not think they should even be called dumplings, as they were more like meat in dough.
Who do you think will eat those?
She replied without looking up, You.
I was speechless. Then I picked up a piece of dumpling skin, made a dumpling, and placed it down.
Wow, why does yours look so good? Are you even a man?
What nonsense.
She let out a chuckle. Instead of making more dumplings, she just looked as I made them. Youre so good at this. Be honest, you did this for many girls, right?
When I was young, my mother used to sell dumplings out of a food stand, and I would go help her after school.
She did not say anything more.