Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  She realized that it was also about time for her to return to the restaurant. Otherwise, Yan Rusheng wouldn’t be able to find her when he went back.

  “You are Chinese.” The man pointed at Xuxu as he spoke in Chinese, however, it sounded awkward, as if he wasn’t fluent.

  He shot Xuxu a look of surprise, although his voice sounded far different from being surprised.

  After all, Xuxu looked like an oriental lady from head-to-toe.

  It didn’t surprise Xuxu when he spoke in Mandarin. She calmly replied, “Oh, so you’re Chinese too.”


  The man knitted his eyebrows and was curious of Xuxu’s reaction. “Why aren’t you surprised?”


  Perhaps he was brought up overseas and wasn’t used to speaking in Mandarin. Hence, he switched back to English.

  Xuxu pressed her lips together while looking at his naturally curled hair. “What’s there to be surprised about? Your raven black hair, which resembles hog bristles. It doesn’t make you look like a Westerner at all.”


  In Country Y, there were Chinese tourists and ethnic Chinese everywhere, so it was not at all

  surprising to run into someone of the same nationality.

  Just like when she was back in the Capital City, she would run into a foreigner almost every day.

  “Hog bristles?” The man stretched out his hand to touch his hair. Without shame in his words, he asked, “What hog bristles?”


  Looking at his naïve expression, Xuxu could hardly suppress her laughter. She wondered if she was being too unethical when she used Mandarin to tease a fellow countryman who was clueless about the Chinese language. Would she appear to be too unpatriotic?

  But this fellow was getting on her nerves by incessantly following her.

  As she mulled over it, she pointed to his charming face and sternly warned him a second time. “Don’t keep following me, or I’ll call the police.”


  But the man wasn’t intimidated. “Is this considered as meeting an old friend in a foreign place? Don’t be so cold. Shall we exchange names?”


  Without waiting for Xuxu to respond, he introduced himself in faltering Mandarin. “My name is Su Yan. The character

  refers to Suzhou while

  n refers to speech.”


  Why was this fellow jabbering on and on at her ears? What was he up to? Why was there a need to strike a conversation when he was so good-looking? He’s obviously up to no good.

  As Xuxu thought to herself, she halted her footsteps again. She then turned around to look at Su Yan with all seriousness she could muster. “Little rascal, do you know the meaning of

  ?”


  Su Yan innocently blinked his eyes and shook his head as he waited for Xuxu to enlighten him.

  Xuxu clarified, ”

  refers to a long-time friend, and

  means meeting a long-time friend at a place far away from home. Thus, we are not considered old friends but just fellow countrymen. Do you understand?”


  She explained in detailed English.

  Su Yan nodded with an .

  “I got it. Are you here on a vacation?”


  Xuxu was speechless……

  It’s too difficult to communicate properly with this fellow.

  Forget it. The best way to disregard a person is to completely ignore him. Thus, she turned around and continued walking ahead.

  This time around, she let Su Yan rattle on. Once she returned to the restaurant, everything would be fine.

  Su Yan followed her all the way and continuously took photos of her. One moment, he’ll be bouncing to her left and the next moment, he’ll be on her right. Occasionally, he’ll run in front of her and take pictures of her front profile.

  It was tranquil along the vintage-looking street. The lady was dressed in an orange dress and white flats. The wind blew and messed up her hair, so she raised her hand and tucked them behind her ears. Such casual action of hers revealed her aloof and dignified aura.

  Su Yan stared blankly for a moment at the lady from his camera lens. After he had snapped out of his daze, he swiftly pressed the shutter.

  “Smile a little.”


  He felt that if this lady were to smile more, he could find a sense of warmth from her.