She raised her head and stared at me blankly with her messy, wet, shampoo-fragrant-filled hair resting on her shoulder. She had on a set of home-wear while wearing a pair of slippers without socks. Not far behind her was her car, blinkers still on; evidently, she had come out from her home in a rush.
After recognizing me, the look in her eyes became strange: filled with caution, shock, and even a sliver of fear. Her face seemed deathly pale under the faint glow shining down on us.
Unlike her cute self when we were together during the day, she seemed like a completely different person now.
What happened to her during this short period of time?
Why did she come here alone at this hour?
I had many questions I wanted to ask. Yet, before I could speak, Tan Jiao asked in a slightly quivering voice, Why Why are you here?
I looked down and fixed my gaze at her. What about you? Why are you here?
She looked me in the eye at close range before biting her lip briefly and said, I have an appointment with someone.
Who? I asked.
Does it concern you?
Again, her chilling, thorny, slightly stubborn attitude brought me to my senses. I raised my head and found that those birds had long disappeared. I let out a chuckle and said, Indeed, it doesnt concern me.
She seemed to relax a little after hearing my answer and said, Since this has nothing to do with you, please leave. I still have something to do.
I did not move. Instead, I maintained both my hands pressed against the wall, trapping her in between. I asked her once more, Who are you seeing?
Anger and shock surfaced briefly in her eyes, but she did not seem like she would act upon her anger. For some reason, the way she looked made my heart somewhat soft.
She said with repressed anger in her voice, You have also not told me why youre here at this hour!
I fell silent for a moment, looking at her innocent eyes while pondering whether to tell her my motive. That almost ridiculous reason of mine, running here: just because a flock of waterbirds had appeared in the wrong place.
But she was also on that ship.
Just that shes unable to recognize who I am.
Tan Jiao, I I looked down and said with my jaw almost touching the tip of her nose; it was probably because we were too close. She turned her head away slightly when she noticed this, but our bodies were still close. On this remote riverside road in the middle of the night, we stood close while looking at each others eyes, about to share our secrets.
However, the appearance of someone unexpected interrupted us.
Tan Jiao and I raised our heads simultaneously when we heard the sounds of hurried footsteps and became stunned when we saw that person.
There were no houses or buildings in this area, as the nearest residential area was hundreds of meters away. There was a silent construction site around, while the streets only had a few street lights and were sparse with trees.
That person came from the residential area.
A strange and dirty man that was carrying a child on his shoulder.
The man had long and messy hair that looked like tangled seaweed, while his face was too dirty to see clearly. However, his eyes seemed luminous while containing a hint of excitement. He wore a wrinkled coat that was too dirty to see the color of, and he wore a pair of sports shoes with holes in them. It seemed obvious to us that he was a hobo with an unsound mind.
The child seemed to be around five or six-year-old and was sleeping in a set of clean pajamas, barefooted.
As the man ran past us from across the street, he saw us.
He grinned, revealing his yellowish-black teeth. The smile seemed uncomfortable, as he seemed happy and in pain at the same time. He ran light-footed as though his feet were not touching the ground. In mere seconds, he had already run into the darkness.
Tan Jiao grabbed my arm and asked, What the hell was that?
I heard a faint cry in the distance from the direction of the residential area.
Stay here. I shoved her hand aside and chased after the man.