Chapter 4 An Abyss of Disgrace

Seeing Miss May again had me pleasantly surprised.

As the saying goes, “something that stays in your mind will someday spring up in your life”. That was probably what it meant.

Seated opposite her was a middle-aged man with a huge belly. The two of them were talking.

I listened carefully for a while, only to discover that they were also on a date!

They were asking each other questions - the man asked a lot more questions, while Miss May spoke very little, only a few words occasionally. I could hear that she was trying to humor him just to liven up the atmosphere.

It seemed that she was not interested in this man, and this made me feel relieved. I reckoned that the man was not a good fit for Miss May at all. He was not on the same level as Miss May.

The man seemingly did not know how to jazz up an atmosphere. The conversation was entirely awkward.

After a while, Miss May made an excuse to go to the washroom, probably because she could no longer bear the awkward vibe.

As soon as Chloe returned to her seat, she asked me, “Where should we go after this?”

Her question confirmed my judgment. It seemed that she was truly satisfied with me. This is the unspoken rule of a date. Generally, for blind dates, if one did not like the other party, those who were impatient would most likely pretend that they had something to attend to and excuse themselves from the date. Those who were kind would not express their opinion in a direct manner, but would stay on until the end of the date. They would then turn down the date tactfully upon returning home. After all, it took some courage to reject someone in person.

Since she asked for a second date, her message was clear ‒ she liked hanging out with me.

If I had not met Miss May, I thought I would take her to the movies or roller skating without hesitation, as I kind of liked her.

Now that the situation was a little different, I declined her tactfully, “I have something to do later, how about we catch up again on another day?”

Chloe’s reaction was a visible mix of surprise and disappointment. She seemed to think that I would not reject her. This expression did not last long, then she said with a smile, “Alright, go ahead with what you need to do. I’ll excuse myself then.”

Before leaving, she insisted on paying the bills, but I dissuaded her from that. I already felt a little guilty for her deep inside, how could I let her settle the bills? Besides, it was a man’s responsibility anyway.

This action of hers had definitely scored some bonus points in my heart. Girls who rushed to pay the bill were generally kind. I could see she was not doing it just for the sake of politeness.

She was indeed a nice girl, what a pity that we met at the wrong time.

After seeing Chloe out, I returned to my seat. I asked for a cup of coffee and continued drinking, while eavesdropping on the conversation between Miss May and that man.

“How...do you feel about me?” The man asked.

I never expected he would ask such a straightforward question. I would not have dared to ask it. Even though I was confident that Chloe had interest in me, I would not pose this question. What if she refused? How would I be able to get myself out of such an embarrassing situation?

I had no idea how he had mustered up his courage. As a bystander, I could hear that Miss May was not interested in him at all, and yet he had the audacity to ask the question.

“You’re alright.” Miss May responded.

This was obviously a euphemistic excuse. Miss May was being kind to him.

Unexpectedly, that man did not even sense her tone of voice, and thought that he had earned some recognition from Miss May. He gladly added, “So how about we go to Disneyland later?”

Predictably enough, Miss May declined his invitation, “Sorry, I have something to take care of later.”

That man finally grasped Miss May’s reaction. Looking a little surprised, he asked, “May, are you not satisfied with me?”

Miss May became a little impatient and said, “You have pretty good qualities, it’s just that… we’re not compatible with each other.”

“Why not?” That man said, “I have a car, a house, and savings. In fact, I have two cars. I can give you everything you want. Besides, I heard from the introducer that you’re going through some difficulties, I think I can help you.”

Well, this dude was too uncultured. Although modern women were generally realistic and materialistic, they were not foolish enough to bring this up in a conversation. Even if they were tempted by your car, house and savings, they would not express that desire right away. Moreover, Miss May might not be that type of woman.

The guy was hopelessly foolish. I almost felt like chuckling while listening to him.

“Let go of my hands!” Miss May suddenly sounded angry.

I quickly turned around and saw the man grabbing Miss May’s hand. This action was a bit shameless!

“Since you’re being like this, then I’ll be honest with you. I don’t like you!” Miss May said it without any hesitation.

Then she stood up, turned around and left the cafe in a stride, leaving behind the puzzled man, who lowered his head under everyone's gaze.

I hurriedly rushed out. The afternoon sun cast down like dust, the streets were busy, and the crowd was chilling.

I followed closely behind her. Miss May walked in the crowd, looking especially tall and marvellous. Her tight skirt, which wrapped around her hips, accentuated her body’s curves, like a mermaid swimming in a school of ordinary fish. She outshone the crowd, glistening beautifully.

I noticed men who passed by her could not help but turn their heads to catch a glimpse of her a few times, as though there was a magnet in her body that attracted their attention.

As I remained in close proximity behind her, Miss May’s footsteps stopped abruptly, then turned around swiftly.

I got caught off guard and quickly stopped walking.

Miss May was very surprised when she saw me, “Why are you here?”

“I...saw you at that cafe earlier.” I said.

“Oh.” Miss May seemed unwilling to bring up the earlier incident.

We talked for a while again. She paused and suddenly thought of something, saying “I…have something to catch up on. I’ll leave now.”

I was extremely disappointed as she did not know how much I did not want this precious reunion to end like this. For half a year, I had been looking forward to this scene deep within me almost everyday.

Who knew she would not even stay for a moment, but instead find an excuse to leave?

In my heart, this had exhausted all of my luck for us to reunite; but in her eyes, this was an insignificant encounter.

I was unwilling to accept such a failure. However, since she had said it, I could not persuade her to stay even if it was out of politeness.

“Oh, alright.” I said.

“Then… I’m leaving.” Her tone sounded like she was testing the waters. Evidently, she probably felt that bidding farewell that way seemed a little unfriendly.

I nodded with a blank expression. She smiled and gently swung her hair. The moment that she turned her back around was so beautiful. I saw the gentleness of sunlight passing through her hairline.

I watched her back as she left, and for a moment I felt like I was losing my heart, as if my soul had been withdrawn from me.

It was almost like witnessing a beautiful soap bubble flying into the distance but ending up bursting ruthlessly.

No, I could not just let her leave my life so soon, with only a moment‘s pleasant memory for me to reminisce upon in my later life.

I mustered up my courage, took a huge step forward, like a superhero entering the scene and saving his own princess in that heroic moment.

I was walking at a brisk and vigorous pace, and was about to catch up with her, when I suddenly tripped on something under my feet. I lost my balance with my limbs spread out in the air, and then I landed flat on my face!