Special female backpacker
The lights of the 24-hour convenience store are laid out at an angle on the ground.
The Ferrari parked within the parking lines in front of the convenience store stood out conspicuously, drawing stares from passersby on the street. Wen Dai, who had just gotten out of the car, was still criticizing Chen Sizhe; her hair, tucked into her hood, was whipped about by the wind.
"Can't you give me a kinder adjective? What do you mean by walking like Sun Wukong with seventy-two transformations? Isn't walking posture determined by one's mood? If I'm happy, I'll walk briskly. Besides, am I marching in formation? Walking like that is very easy."
"Doesn't being volatile by mood mean you're highly changeable? That's like having seventy-two transformations, but I don't think even seventy-two transformations can describe you."
Wen Dai, who was walking ahead, turned around and glared at him. As he approached, her arm, which had been supporting the door, had a mischievous thought—perhaps she'd suddenly let go and hit him. But a pang of conscience made her hold the door open for him until he came in. She hadn't intended to hear a thank you from him, but this guy always seemed to have a way of provoking her—
Chen Sizhe calmly straightened his coat, glanced at Wen Dai who had a sour face, and said in a lazy tone with a hint of mischief, "I thought you were going to suddenly let go and hit me."
Wen Dai froze as she walked toward the shelf, then glared at him again, saying in a firm voice, "You're just judging a gentleman by your own petty standards. Do you think I'm that kind of person?"
"Um."
"..." Unable to bear it any longer, Wen Dai grabbed a shopping basket in one hand and punched Chen Sizhe's arm hard with the other.
Chen Sizhe, used to being hit, rubbed his arm as usual. He glanced at the person standing in front of the shelf, who had turned into a conflicted figure. He took two leisurely steps and stopped beside her. "So how did you get away unscathed? Quite a few people must be looking for you." He could tell from her appearance that she was alright, so he decided to skip the unnecessary concern.
Reaching out, Wen Dai tossed a bag of chocolates into her shopping basket. Her eyes never left the shelf. She replied absentmindedly, "They've committed so many evil deeds, they must have a lot of karmic debts waiting for them to pay. The timing of their visit to me was just bad luck; they chose a time when the yin energy was at its heaviest. I noticed the vengeful spirits following them, so I just gave them a little push."
She picked up a few more bags of snacks and tossed them into the basket. Wen Dai tilted her head and looked up at him, a sly smile playing on her lips. She raised one hand and made a "just a little bit" gesture, touching her index finger and thumb together a few times. "The spirits behind me released those wronged souls from their restraints. Ordinary ghosts can't really touch humans, so this requires cultivation. It just gave them a little bit of blessing. After that, those people got beaten up, especially that one who looks like a pig. The sins he committed were too grave."
“Sun Yang?” Chen Sizhe crossed his arms, raising one eyebrow slightly.
Wen Dai walked between the shelves with a shopping basket slung over her shoulder. She tapped her forehead and said, "I wonder if they've finished beating up yet. Anyway, they're prepared to get beaten up every time they come to me—but I guess they won't dare to bother me again." She reached for the last can of unsweetened yogurt in the refrigerated section—along with her other hand.
I instinctively turned my head and saw a young woman carrying a backpack. The woman was dressed quite neatly, with her long hair tied in a high ponytail, a short down jacket over fitted trousers tucked into her Doc Martens; her delicate face was tanned to a vibrant light wheat color, and her bright black eyes met mine.
The woman smiled at her, then withdrew her hand, pointing to the yogurt with her palm facing up. "You can have it." She then grabbed a bottle of juice and tossed it into the shopping basket on her forearm.
Wen Dai, whose hand was still loosely resting on the yogurt, moved her fingers and put the yogurt into the basket. Her gaze remained fixed on the woman from before, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed.
"What's wrong?" Chen Sizhe, who was watching from the sidelines, glanced at her, and then followed her gaze to the female backpacker from earlier.
"There's a problem." Wen Dai's words were ambiguous as she spoke with her lips slightly parted. She quickened her pace as she picked out items, hurriedly grabbed several buckets of instant noodles and ingredients, and followed closely behind the woman.
She frowned and stared at the woman, her gaze lingering on the top of the woman's head for a moment before settling on the woman's profile.
After paying the bill, Wen Dai jogged after the woman, carrying her things. The words she had been hesitating to say finally came out: "Um... wait a minute!"
The woman who had walked to the side of the road turned around and met Wen Dai's bewildered gaze.
Reaching the woman, Wen Dai took a couple of light breaths. She brushed her wind-blown hair back from her face, her bright, almond-shaped eyes filled with complex emotions, a restrained concern peeking through. Her hand, which had been rummaging in her coat pocket, pulled out a talisman. She handed the small pouch to the woman. "Um… I don't know if you'll trust me, but just in case, I hope you'll carry this with you. Just put it in your belongings, on the back of your phone case or in your wallet, but a phone case might not be able to hold it."
The words Chen Sizhe, who had followed her, overheard were just this, and he gave her a strange look.
The woman adjusted the strap of her bag, but instead of taking it off immediately, she looked up and met Wen Dai's gaze. After a moment of silent contemplation, she smiled, her cheeks twitching, and accepted the amulet Wen Dai offered, her fingertips tracing the slightly rough fabric. "Regarding whether you believe in it or not... well, perhaps you believe in fate?"
She didn't seem to mind talking in the cold wind, unmoved by the occasional stray hairs brushing against her face. A dashing smile was set in her face. "You can probably tell I'm a backpacker, right? I really believe in fate. Every encounter is fate, even holding the same bottle of yogurt is fate—so I believe in you." The woman winked at Wen Daidan, instantly gaining a mischievous air about her.
Wen Dai relaxed her shoulders and returned the gesture with a woman's cheerful smile, "That's good. I was afraid you wouldn't believe me, because... it really is fate. I can't tell you the specifics now, but you'll find out later. I don't want any money, okay? Just be careful not to get it wet. And let's exchange contact information. I think you'll contact me later."
The woman took her phone out of her pocket, held it up, and smiled, "Just what I wanted."
After exchanging contact information, the woman reached out her hand to Wen Dai, her clear eyes looking directly at her. She introduced herself, "My name is Lai Wenyi, Wen as in literature and Yi as in demeanor. I'm 24 years old. I'm about to go to the airport to catch a flight. I'm currently traveling around the world, and my next stop is Liche Island."
"Ah, I'm Wen Dai, Dai as in dark blue. This year... today is the first day of the new year, so I'll be 22 this year. I'm... I should be considered a fortune teller, and I can also perform rituals." Wen Dai was a little flustered as she introduced herself like this for the first time. She reached out and shook hands with Lai Wenyi, her head nodding involuntarily, giving off an awkward feeling.
The way we meet is often unexpected, and friendships blossom quietly.
Watching Lai Wenyi drive away, Chen Sizhe, who was standing next to Wen Dai, spoke slowly and deliberately: "I thought you were going to do your sales pitch in front of me."
"...I told you you were judging me by my own petty standards. What if I really was trying to sell something? What, are you going to accuse me of fraud in public again?" Wen Dai glanced at him with a mischievous look in her eyes. Seeing that he seemed to be speechless, she snorted, turned around, and walked gracefully to the Ferrari. She tilted her head towards him, as if beckoning him over.
After pursing his lips, Chen Sizhe walked around to the driver's side. When Wen Dai got into the car and fastened her seatbelt, he suddenly said, "Don't you think it's just a case of judging a gentleman by one's own petty standards if I call you a fraudster? Let's stick to the facts. I won't be so arbitrary in judging someone's behavior. The first time I said you were a fraudster... you really couldn't deny that there was an element of deception that time, right?"
Just when Wen Dai thought he was going to bring up old grievances and argue with her, he abruptly changed the subject: "My interactions with you weren't in vain. Now that I know what kind of person you are, I won't make any more judgments." His voice was cool and deep, filling the air in the car.
She turned her head away to look at him, but he didn't look at her.
-
As dawn broke, a hazy blue hue filled the window, with pale snowflakes drifting through the deep blue sky.
Watching the live stream all night only led to her body wanting to shut down. What forced Wen Dai to turn it back on wasn't the alarm clock, but the ringing of the phone.
With her eyelids still closed, her weak hand twitched as she reached for her phone on the bedside table. In a daze, relying on muscle memory, she answered the call. The woman's voice on the other end jolted her awake: "I...I know what you're talking about. I saw him." Her voice trembled with sobs, and she could clearly hear the other person's heavy breathing.
Her sleepy eyes snapped open instantly, and Wen Dai sat up abruptly. Holding her phone, she asked seriously, "Is the talisman I gave you still on you? Is this 'he' you're talking about still with you?"
“I put the talisman in the right place. ‘He’ isn’t with me right now, but I’m terrified. I almost died just now. It was so scary.” After pouring out her heart, Lai Wenyi couldn’t stop sobbing. She sobbed, “I’ve already booked a flight for tomorrow morning. I’ll come back to China to see you right away. Really… I’m so grateful to you. But now I can’t stay here for even a moment longer. I can’t sleep in a hotel alone.”
Wen Dai, who had never been abroad since she grew up, had her time flow interrupted. She didn't remember the time difference between Liche Island and here, but according to Lai Wenyi, it was probably afternoon or evening on her end.
Her eyes, still sore from just a short rest, were sore. Wen Dai sat on the bed, knees together and propped up, one hand supporting her face, her fingers rubbing her eye sockets as she did some unorthodox eye exercises to combat her drowsiness. She softly offered advice to the startled Lai Wenyi: "You must be a 'rich backpacker,' right? I don't mean to pry into your family's financial situation, I just sensed it. You could try experiencing what it's like to be a budget backpacker, for example, staying in hostels. If there are many people around, you might not be so scared. If you're not comfortable in an environment where everyone is sleeping, you can also choose to sleep in the hostel lobby on the first floor and make do on the sofa for the night. There will be people around you."
The anxiety in the electronic-sounding female voice softened: "Um... okay, I'll book a hostel right away. Thank you, Wen Dai. I'll probably come find you tomorrow. Bye."
"Okay, bye-bye." The word "bye" had barely left her lips when a yawn eagerly escaped from Wen Dai's mouth. She closed her eyes, leaned back, and reluctantly put her phone back on the bedside table to charge. She drifted off to sleep again in just a few seconds.
The dream, hazy in my memory, came knocking again, only this time in a different setting.
Having lost her modern memories, Wen Dai stood in the ancient corridor, her intricately embroidered skirt occasionally swaying with each step, easily noticeable with a glance down. She seemed eager to see someone.
She ran towards the main hall, but someone tugged at her arm. When she turned around, she saw a maid with her hair styled in a cicada-shaped bun.
"Miss, please don't offend the young marquis again."
In her dream, Wen Dai's consciousness was hazy. She turned her head and asked, "Again? Hmph, you should say he offended me. He barged into my courtyard, which is a female member of the family. Isn't it normal for me to beat him up?"
The maid's gaze was filled with helplessness, and her hand, which was loosely holding Wen Dai's arm, did not loosen. "But you didn't have to smash someone's head with a vase. If something happens, the entire household will probably lose its head."
Wen Dai, who was being persuaded, ignored the maid's words and casually pulled her arm away. She then strode confidently into the hall, but before she could take two steps, she bumped into a man who came out.
Her nose was sore from the impact, and Wen Dai covered her nose and tilted her head back. The man's face seemed to become clearer, especially his eyes. Through the blur, she raised her voice and said, "Don't you watch where you're going?"
The shrill voice woke Wen Dai from her dream. She stared at the ceiling with her eyes open, the image of the eyes from her dream still lingering in her mind—a pair of upturned fox eyes with a beauty mark under her right eye.
It was so familiar… She subconsciously filled in the remaining blurry face with Chen Sizhe’s image, and it fit perfectly; especially the eyebrows and eyes, it was as if they had been peeled off his face.
Pressing on her aching chest did not worsen the pain, ruling out intercostal neuralgia. Wen Dai even had the urge to go to the hospital to see a cardiologist.
"This is unbelievable..." She sat on the bed, her blank eyes staring at a certain spot in front of her, unconsciously biting her lips.
This dream began when she was still young and didn't pay much attention to it. She just felt very immersed in it, but the feeling of being there was different from a lucid dream. Because in the dream, she seemed to have no self-awareness, or rather, no modern self-awareness.
The first dream was of a world filled with yellow sand, and she remembered dying, along with this man; the second dream was of her first encounter with this man, and smashing his head with a vase was quite in line with her temperament. This is the third time.
Wen Dai clenched her fingers, still unwilling to give up, she turned to the silent immortal behind her for answers: "What do these dreams mean? Is that person Chen Sizhe? What is my relationship with him?"
The reply she received was exactly what she expected: "Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed."
To hell with your secrets.
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