Unable to curse in Japanese, I switched to Chinese, hurling every curse I knew, questioning his ancestors to the eighth generation.
He stubbornly refused to leave.
Helpless, I ended up paying for the magazine myself to make him take it.
Less than an hour later, he returned with another pornographic magazine, still grinning at me.
Alone in the dark night, facing a Japanese madman, I felt somewhat scared. In a panic, I involuntarily dialed Ye Zhengchen’s number.
His phone rang for a long time before being answered by his cold voice, “What is it?”
My nose felt sour, regretting making this call.
“Sorry!” I suppressed my unsteady breathing. “I dialed by mistake!”
The Japanese man waved a magazine in front of me, mumbling in Japanese. I understood a few words: “I like… very fun… is this money enough?”
Just as I was about to speak, the phone hung up.
In this strange country, I felt alone. I snatched the magazine from the man’s hand and hit his head. “Get out, you idiot. If you don’t leave, I’ll call the police!”
He ran around, knocking things off the shelves. Just as I was about to call the police, a loud noise came from the door, and a figure rushed in with force.
Calming down, I saw it was Ye Zhengchen, furious.
“Senior brother, he…”
Before I could finish, Ye Zhengchen grabbed the Japanese man’s clothes and dragged him out. I followed to see the man rolling in pain on the ground.
Ye Zhengchen hesitated when he saw me and offered a tissue. “No need!” I tilted my head to stop tears. “Why did you come?”
He looked elsewhere, the moonlight reflecting his restraint.
“Forget it!”
I walked into the convenience store. Before closing the door, I saw him angrily kick the man, then drag him into his car and drive away.
Later, I heard he found a psychiatric authority to assess the madman and locked him in a mental hospital.
I tidied up the messy items, but my heart grew more chaotic. I could see he still cared about me, but why did he break up with me? Could it be his parents couldn’t accept a girl from an ordinary background, and he broke up to prevent me from wasting my feelings?
If that was the reason, it seemed absurd. After all, I never expected a future with him. I just wanted to love him wholeheartedly once. Was this too much to ask? I believed we could be friends after breaking up.
But if the heart no longer tore, without hidden emotions read in each other’s eyes or unspoken words in brief conversations, then Ye Zhengchen and I could never be friends. Avoiding each other was the best way.
From that day on, unless the professor called me, I avoided the research room, spending my free time in the library or doing homework. To pass the sleepless nights, I applied for two shifts at the convenience store: six to nine doing lunch boxes and nine to twelve at the cash register. Li Kai adjusted my shift to six to nine at the cash register to accommodate me. I didn’t know if there were other motives behind his accommodation.
Thus, I left home early every day and returned to my apartment past midnight. My apartment had been without the smell of life for a long time.
In the morning, I’d drink hot milk in the campus rest area. Lunch was either in the cafeteria or with convenience store food past its prime. Dinner was fried chicken or a set meal I made at the store.
Despite Ye Zhengchen’s deliberate avoidance, we still unexpectedly met in the cafeteria, on the path lined with cherry blossom trees, or near the medical department.
I greeted him with a smile. “Senior brother, what a coincidence!”
He slowed his hurried footsteps, offering a shallow smile. “Are you very busy? You’ve been coming back only at dawn recently.”
Every day when I returned, he had already turned off the lights. It turns out he still cared about me, and my heart warmed a little. “Well, quite busy. When I’m not busy, I’ll treat you to hot pot.”
“Okay…” he replied, his tone trailing off.
We brushed past each other without further small talk. I smiled until it felt numbing, as early spring turned into late autumn—bleak and desolate. As my smile faded, tears unexpectedly fell. I wiped them dry and quickened my pace, almost running, feeling exhausted but not in pain, leaning against a thick ginkgo tree, gasping heavily. I told myself: It will pass, it will definitely pass.
The potato chips we bought while watching a disc, preserved in the refrigerator, expired after two days. Our passionate intimacy, which I carefully preserved, expired in less than half a month. The memories we created are now kept only by me. How long until they expire? I hope not for a lifetime.
Of course, I miss him sometimes, especially wanting to see him. Whenever I can’t control myself, I go to the sterile laboratory to find him. Wearing a white coat, he stands by the wall looking at his phone, more serious than performing surgery.
“Senior,” I walked in, placing the chicken wings meal I made for him on the table. “I made this at the convenience store; try it!” He closed his phone and held it in his hand.
“Thank you!” I politely bowed and withdrew.
The grass doesn’t mind – whoever eats, eats; why not let familiar ones eat! They say money can make ghosts push millstones, but ghosts disagree – pushing millstones should be paid. Money given to ghosts doesn’t harm people, but giving it to people might. I wished everyone a happy Mid-Autumn Festival, and I wish everyone happiness before, during, and after it!
In the blink of an eye, a month passed. I thought days without him would be unbearable, but life goes on, just with a longer, more exhausting journey home. At the start of the new semester, many international students left, and new people moved in. A young girl moved in upstairs from Ye Zhengchen’s place, with an elegant beauty and a subtle smile. Our first meeting was at midnight when I returned from the convenience store. She had her long black hair tied up, wore tight jeans and a white T-shirt, and greeted me with a polite smile. “Hello!”
I cautiously asked, “Chinese?” She nodded.
“Hello, I’m Bai Lingling, just moved in yesterday.” “I’m Bo Bing, room 322, and you?” “421.” I was secretly worried for this beautiful woman, wanting to warn her about the pervert downstairs, but held back to avoid misunderstandings. Lingling, also an engineering doctoral student, had been in Japan for almost a year, finally applying for the Osaka University international student dormitory this vacation. We got along well quickly. Learning her dorm had no internet and she stayed in the study room online late every night, I gave her Ye Zhengchen’s account and password, thinking it was just Japanese resources. One rainy day during a holiday, I invited Lingling to Arashiyama in Kyoto to see cherry blossoms. In the light rain, Arashiyama was filled with dancing cherry blossoms, no longer the lush red leaves of autumn from last year. She gazed into the distance, a tear sliding down her cheek, perhaps missing home. I stood quietly, seeing myself from last year, remembering Ye Zhengchen holding my hand running across Togetsukyo Bridge… That clear memory made me understand: During the last Kyoto trip, Ye Zhengchen had already paused in a corner of my heart. I just didn’t want to admit it! “What are you thinking?” I asked Lingling. She looked distantly.
“Thinking of someone, wondering how he’s doing.” “Your boyfriend?” “Yes, we’ve already broken up.” Perhaps due to the recent breakup, I sensed the helplessness and lack of regret in her eyes. I believed that man must have hurt her deeply, yet she remained complaint-free. I looked up, breathing in the crisp air and said, “It’s okay, it will pass.” She smiled and wiped away her tears. I took her hand and walked quickly toward the bridge’s end: “Come, I’ll show you the stone tablet with our premier’s inscription!”
