When Bright Moon Encounter the Dark Clouds

I thought I had come across a sweet and charming woman. Yet, after seeing me yell at Wu Miao, she revealed her hostility to me.

She took another glance at me, seemingly hesitant. Then she bit her lip and continued her barrage, “The brand of the T-shirt you’re wearing is good, and even your pants are new. But your shoes are old and cheap. This shows that you come from a middle-income family, so you’re thrifty by nature. You came on this trip with the money you made by helping your professor with projects, right? But…” She paused for a moment and looked me in the eye. “That beautiful girlfriend of yours is also wearing very plain clothes. That means her family’s financial situation is similar to yours. However, she was not wearing a single piece of new clothing. Someone has been buying new clothes to show off but didn’t get her any. Humph…”

I felt stunned; I had never anticipated her to talk about this matter. Wu Miao’s appearance promptly appeared in my mind. I admit I had never minded what Wu Miao wore. I had never taken note of the old and cheap branded clothing my mother and Wu Miao had been wearing. I sent the excess money I made recently to my mother while keeping a little bit for my living expenses. Being a thrifty person as well, perhaps my mother could not bear to spend the money. My mother had also been talking about saving money for my marriage.

“Are you done?” I asked.

While glaring at me, she took half a step back and moved her torso to face the entrance to her room; perhaps, she had sensed the anger growing inside me and was now set to escape at any moment. She said, “Mister, I hope you’re not thinking that I am prying into your personal affairs. I’m absolutely not interested in it. I’m just intervening in an unjust situation that I saw. I bet you never thought a stranger like me could judge you with the few interactions we had. Like that book you threw on the ground, you never read it seriously, did you? How would you know it's not a wonderful and touching book? That book has been the best-seller among youth literature for eight consecutive weeks! Yet, you say it’s rubbish and nonsense. You arrogant, snobbish man!”

Her sudden change of topic mid-conversation confused me. Yet, she was already walking toward her room as she said, “These small clues tell a bigger story. Since you don’t care for your girlfriend, of course, you’ll think she’s reading trash. You don’t respect or understand her enough.

“You may be poor, diligent, self-disciplined, intelligent, and ambitious. Yet, you’re talking about grades, overall abilities, and competitiveness while on vacation? You’re the type of person that does everything with a strong purpose.

“Let me give you some advice. We should neither live our lives too purposefully nor too selfishly. Otherwise, you might lose a lot when you’ve made your gains in the future. You might even lose what you cherish the most, making you regret everything you’ve done!”

I felt a sting in my heart. I looked at her arrogant figure from behind and felt the urge to bring her back. Although I wanted to give her an explanation, I did not want to at the same time.

“She’s not my girlfriend.” I heard myself say with a cold tone. “She’s my sister.”

She stopped and seemed a little embarrassed, but she still kept her head up and said, "It’s the same logic!"

After she gave me a good scolding, she returned to her room, leaving me alone on the balcony. After standing there briefly, I looked down at my watch and saw that it was already five-twenty.

I went to Wu Miao’s room and saw that she was still working on her grade-four questions with a frown and a pencil in her mouth. I patted her head and said, "Let's go eat." She immediately tossed the pencil aside and cheered, "Oh yeah!"

I told Wu Miao to go to the restaurant first while I stood outside the entrance.

The sky gradually darkened, and it began to pour. The rain came suddenly, hitting the ship's top and decks, pitter-patter, pitter-patter. I leaned against the wall in the corridor, waiting at the door. Suddenly, I realized that I did not even know her name.

Later on, I would not even have the chance to know her name.