“I like cloudy days.”
The double-decker bus swayed gently as it meandered through the drizzly city. Sitting on the upper deck, a youthful girl turned her gaze toward the window. Between the buildings and streets, she could glimpse the sky—a deep, rich navy blue, heavy clouds plotting to tilt and spill a basin of rain.
Unfortunately, a passenger sat between her and the window, preventing her from getting closer to see the sky more clearly.
After finishing a conversation with a friend who could only stand by her seat, she glanced unintentionally at an older man leaning against the bus wall by the window, his body askew. He wore a hooded raincoat tightly around himself, apparently asleep.
What a pity—the stormy weather and the charming cityscape seem to be lost on older folks, perhaps worn down by life to the point of losing the strength and mood to enjoy the passing scenery.
The girl was always full of whimsical thoughts and particularly prone to distractions.
When the friend standing by her seat suddenly brought up zodiac signs, the girl quickly forgot her regret about not sitting by the window and her contemplative thoughts about the man’s life, enthusiastically joining the discussion, sharing her knowledge about star signs:
“I really love Scorpio, though they are a bit dominant, they are also very responsible.”
“No, I prefer Libra, they have such a great sense of humor.”
As the double-decker bus reached Tsim Sha Tsui, the girls hurriedly ran down, their long hair and the hems of their clothes flying, as they dashed into the light rain with their umbrellas.
No one noticed the few pink spots, resembling droplets of blood, on the skirt of the girl who had just descended.
The double-decker bus continued its route around the city, picking up and dropping off passengers. Some hurried onto the bus for a brief rest, leaving immediately upon reaching their destinations, while others enjoyed the views from the windows, seriously sightseeing.
Some breathed a sigh of relief as they boarded the bus from the rainy streets, while others, arriving at their destinations with hopeful smiles, quickly opened their colorful umbrellas and stepped into the rain.
Today, with many passengers, the bus driver’s dinner was merely a sandwich eaten while seated on the bus. Not stopping for dinner allowed the bus to make at least one more round.
As evening approached, the neon lights were switched on, and the driver remained unaware that, seemingly, a passenger had been sitting on the upper deck all along, never disembarking.
In the late afternoon, the rain suddenly stopped, the dark clouds withdrew, and surprisingly, a few streaks of sunset appeared in the western sky.
Pedestrians put away their umbrellas and breathed deeply, enjoying the moist and refreshing air after the rain.
A young woman walked along the street with her boyfriend, looking for a restaurant to their liking.
Turning her head by chance, she saw a tram passing by. Her gaze shifted upwards and just happened to see someone sitting by the window on the upper level.
Her heart tightened abruptly, and in that instant, all her body hair and goosebumps erupted.
The colorful neon lights made everything around vividly multicolored, accentuating the ghastly pale face of the older man sitting on the upper deck of the bus.
Leaning against the car window, his lips were ashen, his eyes vacant and cold as he stared at her.
His gaze was unblinking, fixated on her continuously…
The woman was frightened, her breathing quickened, and even as the bus drove away and turned at the intersection ahead, she still felt that the man was staring at her.
Her boyfriend noticed her trembling hand gripping his arm and couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong?”
“Just now, on the bus, it seemed like there was a ghost. He kept staring at me…”
…
Jiaru wanted to go into her sister’s bedroom to see, but Jiayi refused her, saying there was a surprise inside that she would show her in the evening.
She had to be patient.
While hosting her brothers who came to help with the move, watching TV, drinking tea, and eating snacks, Jiaru ran to a box to search, pulling out a small tape recorder her sister had bought for her. She opened the tape recorder, took out the English cassette, and inserted a tape of various singers’ songs.
She pressed play, and instantly, melodious music filled the room, enhancing the party atmosphere. It would have been even more romantic if not for the detectives gathered, discussing a case.
Yi Jiadong was cooking dinner in the kitchen; he had done much of the prep work the day before. The semi-prepared dishes for the eight courses were all in the fridge, ready to be finished off.
The duck was laid on the chopping board, skillfully carved and separated, the sharp cleaver swiftly slicing the whole duck into perfectly uniform pieces. With a scoop of the knife under the duck meat, it was lifted and neatly placed on the plate, his large hand pressing down to neatly arrange it.
This done, he proceeded to carve the other half. Finally, the duck neck was cut off, and the duck legs were chopped and beautifully arranged around and in front of the duck meat, with sauce evenly poured over the whole plate. Then, he garnished the dish with cilantro, completing the beautiful presentation of the roasted duck.
The dish was visually appealing and mouthwatering.
Just as Yi Jiadong was about to ask Jiayi, who was assisting him, to serve the duck on the table, he suddenly heard the music behind him:
“…waited so long, finally, waiting for this day;
“…dreamed so long, finally, making the dream come true…”
Standing in the bright, spacious, and beautiful new kitchen, he felt his culinary skills were even more refined.
Turning left, he could see the scenic view of the Hong Kong River through the clear windows; turning right, he could see his family happily chatting with the detectives in the living room:
“Brother Yue, you see how Van just nodded at me, he understands when I talk,” said Jiajun.
Fang Zhenyue mercilessly pointed out, “If you poke its head with your hand, of course it will nod. It’s just trying to escape your clutches.”
Joy surged in his chest, and tears suddenly came, bursting forth like a spring.
“The unchanging trials and hardships have long ceased to matter, too tired to even speak of it…” Andy Lau’s voice still sang in the background.
Yi Jiadong, with his back to the living room, sobbed softly.
Yes, those trials and hardships no longer mattered. Even if living in such a house, life would still have its trials, but people became stronger, no longer feeling weary of the hardships.
“Both success and failure are somewhat illusory… Why hide in the dark, tormenting and pitying oneself… Long awaited, finally awaited this day…”
Yi Jiadong pulled out a tissue, quietly blowing his nose.
Indeed, success or failure can lead to illusions, making one believe that success will continue indefinitely, or that failure will perpetuate.
In reality, a momentary success doesn’t guarantee a smooth path ahead, nor does a momentary failure mean having nothing at all, nor that one cannot turn back. The future might still take a favorable turn.
Just yesterday, a family of four lived in an old public housing unit, but today they have moved into such a beautiful and spacious house.
When he first took over Yi’s store, he had also secretly squatted behind the counter, weeping alone, feeling that he couldn’t possibly support his family. Life felt so hard, so challenging…
But listen now, the laughter of his younger siblings in the living room is so loud, they have food and drink, and the family is getting better every day.
Yi Jiadong raised his forearm to cover his eyes, his sleeves soaking up all the tears, also hiding his red, teary eyes.
Jiayi brought all the washed fruits to the table, chatted with Uncle Yue and others for a bit, and returned to the kitchen only to hear her big brother crying to the accompaniment of Andy Lau’s “Today,” his sobs sounding so pitiful.
A smile quickly formed on her lips; how adorable her big brother was.
But the smile had only formed halfway when it suddenly changed direction; Jiayi’s smile turned into tears, streaming down her face.
“The long road ahead is mine to take, fortunately, I have you by my side; waited so long, finally, awaited this day; endured so long, finally, realized the dream…”
Jiayi walked up behind her big brother, gently resting her cheek against his back, rubbing away her tears on his back. She raised her hand, gently patting his trembling shoulders.
After a while, Gary also noticed the situation in the kitchen, then Liu Jiaming found out, and then everyone knew, all peering and looking.
Jiayi turned back and stuck out her tongue at everyone, shaking her head to signal everyone to pretend they didn’t know.
The agents then tacitly turned back to the living room, continuing to watch the drama or listen to music, either standing or sitting.
Little Jiajun finally stopped bothering Van, and also peeked at the back of his brother being comforted by their eldest sister, sighing softly like a little adult: “Adults really love to cry, huh.”
Fang Zhenyue pressed his head and pulled him in front of the TV, “Watch the drama.”
“Romance is so boring.” Jiajun tilted his head to watch the endless tug-of-war between men and women on the TV, sighing again.