The Creatures that We Are

Exposed and embarrassed, Gao Shou instinctively denied the truth, but the old lady was too bright to be fooled. Gao Shou had no choice but to admit it.

“Look at you. You’re a big boy, but you’ve been coming here for a year without the courage to even say a word to her. What a wimp.” The old lady didn’t hide her disapproval.

Gao Shou insisted, “Our relationship is a spiritual one. It’s the platonic ideal. You don’t get it!”

“You’re in denial!” The old lady got curious. “What does the girl look like? Perhaps I know her.”

“Really?” Gao Shou wasn’t convinced.

“I’ve been running this shop for more than ten years. I won’t claim to know every student of the school, but I should be able to recognize half of them.” The old lady sounded proud of that.

Gao Shou was unconvinced, but he still described Lin Yue to her.

Hearing the description, the old lady thought for a moment. “That’s Lin Yue. She sometimes comes to my shop with her friends to buy food. I remember her.”

“Haha, isn’t she pretty?” Gao Shou boasted like he felt vicariously proud of her beauty.

Gao Shou said vehemently, “You don’t get it. She’s elegance personified!”

“Whatever you say.”

The old lady let the issue slide. Glancing at the pouring rain, she turned to grab a black umbrella in the shop. “The rain won’t stop anytime soon. No customers are coming here. Time to close down shop and go home.”

Gao Shou glanced at the sky. “It’s pouring. Where do you live, Granny? I’ll walk you home. I don’t want you to fall.”

“Hoho.” The old lady glanced at Gao Shou. “You have an ulterior motive, don’t you? You want me to play matchmaker for you?”

“Of course not,” Gao Shou said earnestly and smiled bashfully. “Even if you are willing to introduce us, I don’t have the courage to be introduced to her, or I wouldn’t have come here for a year straight.”

The old lady chuckled and handed the umbrella to him. “Then I’ll be in your care.”

“Don’t mention it. I have the time.”

Gao Shou helped her close the wooden door to the shop. Then he walked her home with the umbrella.

The old lady lived in a rammed earth house at the foot of a mountain outside the town. To make it to the house, they had to walk across a farmfield. It was a little far.

Gao Shou walked her to the door. The old lady invited him in for some tea and shelter from the rain. Since Gao Shou didn’t have to work the night shift, he gladly took the offer.

The moment the old lady opened the door, Gao Shou gaped.

In the living room was an old square table for eight and a few wooden chairs. A girl was sitting at the table doing homework.

From the door, Gao Shou saw her side profile, her slim figure a little too thin, blanketed by her silky long black hair. With her fair skin, she looked bookish and quiet.

It was Lin Yue, for whom he had been pining over the past year.

Lin Yue looked up and saw the old lady before spotting Gao Shou standing in the back. She shot to her feet warily, her brows furrowed. “Granny, who…is he?”

…

Little Qing Ling laughed at Gao Shou’s expense. “Why is it so funny?”

“Haha, I find it funny thinking about it now, too.” Gao Shou popped a fry into his mouth. “But back then, I was stunned. I wanted nothing but to find a hole to hide my head in.”

“Lin Yue’s maternal grandmother insisted on keeping me for dinner to thank me for walking her home. I’d eaten at the canteen already, but I stayed for another meal. I heard a lot from Lin Yue’s grandmother and learned quite a lot about Lin Yue.”

“They have had it quite hard.” Gao Shou let out a drawn out sigh. “Lin Yue’s parents got divorced when she was little. Her mother ran away with her lover, and her gambler father gambled away all the savings and then the house. In the end, he ran after accumulating a great debt. Lin Yue had been living with her grandmother since she was young. They only had each other.”

“Her grandmother was quite old. They only had a storefront in the town, and her grandmother opened a small shop, which was their only source of income. After Lin Yue entered high school, her grandmother told Lin Yue to not greet her after school, pretending they were strangers; she didn’t want Lin Yue’s classmates to mock her after finding out about her family’s financial situation.”

“Lin Yue did as her grandmother said. Every day after school, she would only glance at the small shop across the street to check on her grandmother.”

Gao Shou rubbed his nose. “Pfft, I misunderstood then and thought she was looking at me.”

Gao Shou continued with his story.

After dinner, Lin Yue and Gao Shou were both embarrassed, but under her grandmother’s urging, they still tried to be friends.

Of course, her grandmother had her reason.

Her grandmother had been having health problems, and there was no telling when she would be buried six feet under. Based on her observation the past year, she thought Gao Shou was a pretty good guy, and more importantly, his family’s financial condition was good. Both his parents were alive, and Gao Shou had a good job.

If Lin Yue had feelings for Gao Shou too, she would entrust her granddaughter to him after Lin Yue graduated. If Lin Yue felt nothing for Gao Shou, he could still be her support as a friend going forward.

Moreover, Lin Yue had become prettier with age. On her way home after school, she sometimes got harassed by adult men, which worried her grandmother. Thus, her grandmother wanted Gao Shou to be Lin Yue’s bodyguard.

When Lin Yue’s grandmother made the request in a roundabout way, Gao Shou was all pumped up, feeling like a loyal knight swearing allegiance to his master. He immediately agreed.

Lin Yue, however, was furious. She thought her grandmother was overstepping. Time had changed. Why would her grandmother pick a random guy to give her away to?

She dropped the bowl and chopsticks and rushed to her room, slamming the door shut.

Gao Shou’s shoulders sagged. It seemed that not only didn’t Lin Yue have any feelings for him, she disliked him.

Her grandmother assured him, “That’s how Little Yue is. She doesn’t trust people easily, but once she does, she never wavers. If you’re serious about her, kid, you must show your genuine care and perseverance.”

That night, Gao Shou returned to the dorm of the textile mill. He couldn’t sleep at all. The thoughts of Lin Yue filled his head.

Finally, he came to a decision. He would prove his feelings and unwavering loyalty.

The next day, he had a quick meal after work and rushed to Lin Yue’s Grandmother’s shop.

…

Getting to the part of the story, Gao Shou put down the fry in his hand and lowered his head, letting out a heavy sigh.

“What’s wrong?” Little Qing Ling was immersed in the story. She could guess what happened next. “Did Auntie’s grandmother…get into an accident?”

Gao Shou nodded. “She passed away.”

…

When Gao Shou arrived in the evening, the street corner by the shop was crowded with people and cars.

Gao Shou’s heart sank. He rushed over and squeezed his way through the crowd, stunned.

A three-wheeled car carrying coal had slammed into the shop, knocking the shelves down like dominoes, and the shop was covered in glass shards and coals for residential use.

Outside the door was Lin Yue’s grandmother. She was covered in blood, lying on the ground. A few pedestrians had just saved her from the debris.

“Out of the way! Move!”

Lin Yue had just gotten off school, and as soon as she noticed the commotion, she rushed through the crowd, spotting the dying old woman.

“Granny!” Lin Yue shouted and rushed up, dropping to the ground to help her grandmother up.

A helpful older man stopped her. “Don’t! It’ll make things worse. Let her lie there…”

“Granny!” Lin Yue sobbed silently, grabbing onto the man’s leg. “Save her, please save my granny. I only have her! I can’t…I can’t live without her…”

“Calm down, girl. I’ve called the ambulance. It’ll be here soon…”

Gao Shou stood rooted to the spot. The world spinned around him as his ears rang. It felt like a fever dream.

The silver-haired old woman had a kind smile. She always wore an old-fashioned leaf-green shirt with cropped sleeves, holding an old wicker fan, and whenever he bought peanuts from her, she gave him an additional handful.

She had been joking with him and invited him to have dinner at home only yesterday. She had held his hand and had a serious private conversation with him.

How did things turn out like this in only a day?

Covered in blood, the old woman lay on the ground, face ashen, blood streaking from the corners of her mouth.

And she was no longer moving.

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