Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  The hotel in the town was small but well kept.

  Yan Rusheng dragged his luggage into the room. It was the hotel that Xuxu first stayed at and also the room that she had stayed before.

  The hotel concierge said that a guest had already made an online booking and insisted on having the room when he arrived in the morning. The room had a balcony that overlooked the landscape of the town.

  Yan Rusheng had compensated the customer ten times the cost before he agreed to forfeit the booking and transferred it to him.

  There was a swing chair hanging at the balcony, and it faced the streets. A small wooden table rested on the side along with two porcelain coffee cups atop it.

  Yan Rusheng put down his luggage and walked over to the balcony. As he stretched his hand out to lightly push the swing, a gentle and affectionate smile subconsciously spread across his face.

  Images of Xuxu seated cross-legged on a swing chair appeared in his mind. In that scene, the sun rays shone onto her as she read her favorite book. She was all laid-back and peaceful.

  As he pondered over this, he bent over to sit on it. Because of his towering figure, he awkwardly sat on it. Both of his hands cautiously gripped the sides of the swing chair, a bit fearful that the chain supporting it would snap.

  It was his first time sitting on a swing chair, and it resembled closely to a pet’s cozy den.

  He thought, “This type of chair must be specially designed for women.”


  With his toes touching the floor, he gently tried swinging it. The feeling…… wasn’t particularly fantastic.

  Slowly but surely, he was no longer fearful.

  Under the bright streetlights, the town at night appeared shrouded with mist.

  The lofty man leaned his head to the side of the swing chair and thought of the person that he was longing for. Gradually, he fell asleep……

  It was barely dawn, but the town was already starting to bustle with noise and excitement.

  Yan Rusheng opened his eyes and realized that he had slept through the night while seated on the swing chair. After so many days, this was the first time that he had slept through the night.

  Perhaps it was because of it that he was able to sleep through the night while seated.

  He got up and took two steps towards the window. He looked down as he raised his hands to stretch himself. There were countless men and women along the streets, half of which were tourists while the other half was made up of the local stall owners and hawkers.

  “Ah-choo!”


  Yan Rusheng suddenly sneezed without warning. He took a sniff and his nose was blocked.

  He deduced that it must have been because he slept on the swing chair for the entire night without any blanket to cover himself with. The air-conditioner in the southern part could not be compared to the heaters in the northern. The temperature wasn’t well-distributed, and the quality wasn’t good either.

  Yan Rusheng quickly washed up and changed into a new set of clothes. He prepared to leave and continue looking for Xuxu.

  He thought that since she didn’t go back on the eve of the New Year, she definitely wouldn’t return to the capital city any time soon.

  He didn’t even use any of the things that he had brought along in his luggage as the hotel had prepared all the toiletries.

  In the past, he rarely used them, even if it’s from a 7-star hotel.

  Again, Yan Rusheng dragged his luggage and walked along the busy street. Even though the place underwent rehabilitation after a natural disaster took place over 20 years ago, its unique cultural flavors remained.

  There were fewer people at both ends of the street as compared to the middle part.

  As he walked, he stole glances at the shops located on both sides of the street.

  He wondered if Xuxu had changed hotels because she was tired of staying in the same one. She probably might be still in town, too.

  There was an old photo studio that was crowded with people. Yan Rusheng stopped in his steps and raised his head to look at the name of the photo studio – ‘Historic Photo Studio’.

  There were endless streams of people walking in and out.