We looked at each other.

  It was still her, when I walked closer, she seemed to be a little embarrassed, looked away and no longer made eye contact with me.

  She is still dressed up beautifully today, just as beautiful as yesterday.

  I lowered my head to light a cigarette, leaning against the rolling shutter door, quietly taking a few puffs. She just stood there, her face slowly turning red. A few repair workers passed by and were glared at by me, all of them retreated far away.

  The two of us just stood there in silence for several minutes.

  "Aren't you already having a card? Why apply for another one?" I spoke first.

  Tan Jiao said: "Lost." She showed a confident and unyielding expression.

  I suppressed my emotions, extinguished the cigarette in my hand and said, "Alright, I'll go wash up." She stood still, not moving or making a sound.

  I walked out of the store and saw her car, with clear edges and spotless under the sunlight. Ah, she had just washed it yesterday. And here she is again today. I touched this familiar car, picked up the hose from the ground, and started rinsing it from head to toe.

  Halfway through washing, the sound of "clattering" high heels came from behind, and I knew it was her without turning my head.

  I turned my back on her.

  She said: "Wu Ou, don't think that I'm looking for you to wash the car just to pester you. You washing my car is something we agreed on before."

  "Uh-huh."

  She also said: "I don't have much thought about you anymore."

  I stared at the shiny car door, where the light warped and reflected the sky and buildings. I slowly wiped it clean, not wanting to say a word.

  She slowly said: "Actually, before that, I didn't have many thoughts about it. It was you who wanted to kiss me and then asked if we were together or not. Don't get the wrong idea."

  I dropped the rag in my hand to the ground and turned to look at her. She seemed startled, shrinking back slightly. I only then realized that my previous action had been too big.

  I remained silent, suppressing the surging emotions and said: "Alright, let's not mention that matter again. I'm going to Lishui County this afternoon and might be back in a day or two. We'll discuss the ship later."

  Her black eyes were fixed, and she showed the same calm and independent temperament as when they first met on the boat. She said: "I'm not interested in mentioning it again. Are you going to see that professor and Ru Xuan? Your voice was loud yesterday."

  My heart ached slightly again, and I replied: "The professor had been kind to me before, something happened at his home, and I have to go. There's another thing: At that time, she and her mother were also on the same boat as us."

  Tan Jiao's expression finally showed some emotion: "They're on the ship too? The professor's wife and daughter, why didn't you mention them before?"

  "I replied: 'What was the need to mention them earlier?'"

  She raised her eyes and looked at me. We gazed quietly at each other for a few seconds.

  She rolled her eyes, and suddenly seemed to regain some of her usual vitality. "Oh... but I have something to tell you too," she said. "About what happened when we got back on the ship, I told Zhuang Yu about it, and she said..." Tan Jiao went on to talk about parallel timelines, wormhole curves, and mysterious cosmic powers.

  It turns out that this is also consistent with my speculation in my heart. So when I saw it, I wasn't surprised at all. She glanced at me twice and said, "You understand it this way too? Of course, you're originally a top student, just like Zhuang Yu." There was a hint of desolation in her tone.

  But I saw her gradually recovering her vitality, and the originally suppressed emotions seemed to have become lighter as well. That impulsive night of separation was as if it had never happened. We started speaking to each other again like we used to. I felt fortunate about this, realizing that this was what I wanted.

  I said: "We should have encountered that mysterious power on those days when we were on the boat."

  She nodded: "I think so too. But how can we know the truth?"

  I calmed down a bit and said: "Maybe I can find out. Tan Jiao, have you ever thought that we might return to the ship again?"