Angle of view

  I didn't expect Tan Jiao to mind Chen Ruying's way of addressing me.

  In the past at school lab, several guys all called out "Ah Ou" "Ah Ou", Chen Ruying followed along calling, I didn't pay much attention to it either.

  But now I'm back in my room, lying on the bed, and yet my mind is filled with Tan Jiao's image from earlier, lying on the bed. Her posture wasn't elegant, her two slender legs in jeans wiggling slightly as she softly called out "Yu".

  So many people have called out my name, but only her voice is the softest and most bone-penetrating.

  She's right, I don't want to hear another woman call me like she does either.

  Just now, looking at her face, her body was within arm's reach, and the two words "Jiāo Jiāo" in my heart couldn't be suppressed no matter how hard I tried. I got up wanting to leave, but she opened her eyes, a pair of clear and intelligent eyes, and asked: "Do you have anything else to say?"

  The fire that had been suppressed in my heart seemed to be ignited again, burning through my arms, my face, my eyes and my throat. Those two words jumped out by themselves.

  Bright and clear.

  Friends call you Big Pearl, readers also call you all sorts of names, but I've always thought that those names don't sound very good.

  The quiet moon is bright and clean, with no flaws. When you glance at it, its beauty is born, and that's the most suitable title for you.

  Those two words escaped, and I suddenly felt a sense of embarrassment that I had never experienced before. Unable to look into her eyes again, I stood up and left.

  ……

  Bright. I lie in bed, savoring this name. A certain sense of indulgence, as if hidden in this name, in my call. I also feel a little like laughing, with a sweet and thrilling feeling deep in my chest.

  Someone is knocking at the door.

  "Come in."

  It's Chen Ruying. I sat up immediately. She had obviously just taken a bath, her long hair was slightly damp and draped over her shoulders, making her face look even whiter. And unusually, she wore a black skirt, which made her skin look like snow. Her face looked even more pointed and thin. She held a plate and smiled at me: "Yu, freshly squeezed juice, and cookies that I learned to bake with mom, in case you get hungry tonight."

  I sat still: "No need, I'm not hungry."

  She just smiled and put things on the table, seeming a bit awkward, saying: "Ah Yu, I really haven't seen you for a long time, since leaving the boat..."

  I raised my eyes and looked at her, saying: "I also have something to ask you. Do you still remember what happened on the boat?"

  She shook her head: "I don't remember, my mom doesn't either. I only remember waking up and already being in a hotel arranged by the travel company and local government. They said the boat had a malfunction, refunded our money, and let us go home. And at that time many tourists had left, so we didn't investigate further."

  Her experience was the same as mine. At that time, after getting off the boat, I was also confused, but the project on the Beijing side was urgent, and my mother was worried about me and Wu Miao, plus there was no loss of money, so I left.

  "I asked again: 'Then... half a year later, was there anything unusual that happened?'"

  Chen Ruying was taken aback and said: "No, nothing... Ah Yu, what are you talking about?"

  Looking at her bewildered expression, I reckon there's no point asking any more questions. I said: "Nothing much. And from now on, don't call me Ah Yu, just call me by my name."

  Her face changed slightly: "Why?"

  "I replied: 'No reason, just feel it's not suitable.'"

  This probably made her even more uncomfortable, and I didn't really like getting entangled with a woman either. So I turned my face away without looking at her, lit a cigarette, and lowered my head. But then I heard her voice become even more humble: "Is it... Sister Tan, you don't like it? That's why you won't let me call you that?"

  I glanced at her and almost shed tears, feeling a bit uneasy, but I didn't like the tone she mentioned Tan Jiao. I said: "It has nothing to do with her, it's my own feeling."

  "What's with you?" she said. "What's gotten into you? I used to call you that before, now she can call you that, but I'm not allowed to? She's not...she's not your..."

  I raised my eyes and quietly looked at her.

  Chen Ruying is not stupid and can even be said to be sensitive, gradually understanding my eyes.

  She turned pale and stood up saying: "I... it's late, you go to sleep early, I'm leaving..."