One hand clutching a paper bag, wallet, and phone, the other pressing hard against her lower abdomen, she waited for the elevator, feeling the warm currents surging towards her belly. Fortunately, she had padded with thick tissue paper as an emergency measure when going downstairs. “Ding—” The elevator finally arrived. Ye Ye rushed in, head lowered, the pain causing her to forget to observe her surroundings… “Bump—” She collided heavily with someone. Instinctively, she staggered back, out of the elevator, and landed hard on her buttocks, scattering her belongings all over the floor. “Are you okay, sir?” a stranger’s voice said in French. Ye Ye, picking up her things, looked up following the sound to see a man in black attentively asking a tall man wearing sunglasses. Ye Ye couldn’t see the man’s features clearly, only noting his nearly 190cm tall and robust build, a head of silver-black hair standing upright, a well-defined face, and a seductive mouth. The bridge of his nose, visible beneath the sunglasses, was straight and prominent. Ye Ye couldn’t help but imagine how he would look without the sunglasses… “Sir, your phone.” The bodyguard picked up the phone from the ground and handed it to the man. The man took it, slipped it into his pocket, and remained silent. Through the sunglasses, he looked at Ye Ye on the ground, a beautiful doll like a porcelain carving, her deep red hair slightly disheveled from the fall, her star-like eyes blinking curiously at them. On the floor — a paper bag, medicine, a phone, a wallet, and — sanitary napkins?! The man’s attractive mouth curved into a slight smile… Ye Ye realized that the man opposite and his bodyguard were curiously looking at her and her scattered items. Looking at her things? Uh — sanitary napkins?! Embarrassed and shy, Ye Ye quickly gathered her belongings and rushed back into the elevator, closing the door…
Back in her room, Ye Ye threw everything onto the bed, picked up the sanitary napkins, and went into the bathroom to freshen up.
[From Paris to Rome: Three, the Same Phone]
