When Anti came over with the swimming ring, Jania had completely forgotten the previous encounter. She did have a strange feeling about the boy, but this feeling was not uncommon in her past life. In the final analysis, it is just a boring fantasy in an ordinary life, groping for novelty and weirdness in the ordinary, so as to polish one's dull senses. She used to have strange feelings about people, but it actually only came true twice. It was not so much that her intuition came true, but that her mother's tireless safety education made her susceptible to sensitivity.
Now that the boy has disappeared from her sight, she doesn't think about him anymore. Onti bought her juice and they went for a few swims in the sea. Incredibly, Antiy, whose driver's license says he is thirty years old, has never been in contact with the sea. Her limbs were as flexible as a snake, but she didn't know how to swim. She was absolutely terrified of water, especially deep water with no bottom. Fortunately, the sea was very clear, so Anti was not too nervous.
Jania knows some simple sign language. She and Ondy also often talk in sign language. When they brought up Anti-Pierre's fear of deep water, the music teacher described a horror story. She told Zhaniya that there was such a river, which was filled with milky white fog all year round. If a person fell into such a river, he would never be able to come out again. Jania asked her if that was a river of acid, and Antiy looked at her with wide eyes, as if she didn't know why.
Over the past two years, Jania had grown accustomed to the occasional strange behavior of her strikingly beautiful Aunt Pierre. She guessed that Mademoiselle Antiy might have lived in some remote country, a place full of ghosts and gods and ghostly stories. That place gave her a beautiful singing voice and moving dance, but it made Ondy lack common sense in many places. At a snow-covered weekend party, Jania once saw Cologne in the community, blushing, clumsily taking out a bouquet of pink roses from his coat. Antiy took it in his arms and smiled gratefully at Cologne. The neighbors were ready to applaud and congratulate, until Antiy opened his mouth and ate all the flowers one by one.
Poor Colon must have been heartbroken, or scared. And that incident became the biggest topic of conversation in the entire town within half a month. In such a small community, word spreads incredibly quickly. Everyone needs a little bit of fresh news to spice up their boring and monotonous real life. They guessed that Anti-Pierre must have come from a very remote place, and maybe he was abused by his family when he was a child. In short, he did not grow up like a normal person.
Yu Qingshu didn't see it that way. Their family lives so close to Ondy, they have frequent contacts, and we can see many of her daily activities. They knew that there was nothing suspicious about her life, except that she liked to eat a lot of junk food that made Yu Qingshu frown. The key point of Yu Qingshu's theory is that this is the method used by Anti-Pierre to dismiss the pursuit of outsiders. As a mute but charming single girl, she is easily harassed by certain men, sometimes even dangerously. Pretending to be horribly eccentric is an ingenious trick.
Jania didn't care much about such things. She didn't hate Aunt Antique to begin with, and thought that Antique Pierre was somewhat cool. If she were the high priestess of some secret sect, wouldn't that be much more interesting than a pretty-faced music teacher? Life is mysterious, she has such an unusual neighbor, and a rich brother who went to Africa to study insects; life is ultimately boring, and she has never received a giant insect specimen from Africa. , and I have never seen Antiy make a magic circle with candles and spices.
Then let’s swim. Jania took a refreshing swim in the cool waves. The water waves made her feel light and relaxed. She dived deeper and stepped on a soft ball of algae with her toes on the soft sand bed. She took it into her hands and kneaded it, frowning at the little thing.
Malcolm Dubois is an artist known for his work in murals and public decoration. He is also good at making all kinds of gadgets. When Yu Qingshu first met Malcolm at a neighbor's birthday party, he was busy handing out self-made rubber plant coasters to everyone. They were all small films in the shape of starfish, with small purple-blue cornflowers and yellow ginkgo leaves inside. Yu Qingshu liked the bright colors and walked over to him to ask for one.
They then talked about botany, gardening and Latin literature, and also talked about several beautiful lawsuits that Yu Qingshu had won in the past. Finally, Malcolm gave her two rubber coasters. One, like the others, was made of blue cornflowers and ginkgo leaves, while the other was filled with fluffy, emerald-green thread algae and a few pea-sized shell pieces. He told Yu Qingshu that this kind of coaster was more suitable for making his special seaweed tea. Two months later, he made seaweed tea in the living room of Yu Qingshu's house.
Jania had heard this story told many times by her father, and once or twice by her mother. All in all, that is the official origin of her other name - Yu Xiaorong. That was her actual name on her birth certificate, but most of the neighbors found it difficult to pronounce and remember, so most of the time she was Jania. She herself had no objection to either name, but she didn't like Yu Qingshu using "Rongrong" as her nickname.
It's all trivial things. She put the green algae back into the water and teased a stupid sea anemone. At this time, Antiy had adapted to the floating feeling brought to her by the sea water, and swam towards Jania with a rubber swimming ring. Jania saw Aunt Pierre's eyes sparkle and she was splashing with all her limbs like a child. She felt a little funny, but she also felt that if she came into contact with the sea for the first time in her life, not a swimming pool but the sea, then she might be like Ondy.
They soaked in the sea for a whole afternoon, and in the evening took a small boat to go around the nearby coral reefs several times. Dinner was potato fillet, grilled oysters, mussels with wine and cream of trout soup. Each portion was generous, so Jania only ate a small portion of it. But Miss Ondy was in high spirits and ate everything deliciously. She also drank a whole bottle of frozen ice wine, plus a large bowl of after-dinner ice cream and crispy French fries. Jania sat in the chair and stared at her, thinking about what kind of exercise she usually did.
This day was really fun. During such a happy holiday, Jania could not concentrate on thinking about the mystery of Mademoiselle Ondy. She casually took a shower and then fell asleep on the bed in the hotel room. She was indeed exhausted, but perhaps because she had eaten too much, she had not been able to sleep deeply.
A series of confusing dreams caused her to toss and turn in bed. In a trance, she seemed to see her brother who had fled Africa crawling in the tropical rain forest, surrounded by shadows and vines, and the buzzing of mosquitoes and flies was like a ghost chanting a curse. He was concentrating on getting closer to something, and was covered in sweat and mud. Jania stared at him over his head, wanting to kick him with her toes or ask him what the hell he was doing. But she can't do that because she's just a ghost. This rainforest was so dark, humid and hot that she could hardly breathe. She heard the mosquitoes singing louder and louder, and the roar of wild beasts came from the depths of the jungle——
Jania rolled off the edge of the bed. Her cheek touched the slightly damp old wooden floor. The sound of mosquitoes became clearer, and it turned out to be raindrops tapping on the windows and walls. Her whole body was soaked with sweat. She found her slippers in a daze, stepped on them and stood up.
There was an iron night lamp in the shape of a boat beside the bedside table. Miss Ondy fell asleep deeply on the bed near the door. Her hair was undulating, like a dark river covering the linen sheets. Jania studied it for a moment and noticed a cold scent in the room. They were eucalyptus leaves and dried lavender flowers inserted on the bedside. She didn't remember seeing them before going to bed. Maybe Miss Ondy put them there for them. Jania nodded to herself, of course the priestess should be proficient in herbalism.
It was pitch black outside the window, but she was not sleepy at all. There was a stuffy dampness in the room, which made her still think about the strange dream about the rainforest adventure. So she walked over and opened the window a crack, letting the night wind mixed with some raindrops slip into the house. The cold air smelled of sea water, because they lived in a small hotel very close to the beach, and could see the night sea from the window.
Jania had not expected to rent such a good location during the peak tourist season, but Miss Anti was able to secure a reservation for her. At this time, she looked out of the small window at the world in the rain, and all she could see were mostly hazy patches of color. She imagined that black clouds covered the moon, and wolves like thick ink were roaring on the sea. The seagulls huddled in the recesses of the rocks and cliffs, while the fish were reveling silently. The wild world belongs to the ancient aquatic tribe and has nothing to do with the civilized animals making seaweed tea. Just when Jania thought this, she saw a swaying light on the beach. Candle flame. A hurricane lantern.
There are people walking on the beach. Zhannia blinked her eyes hard a few times, then ran to turn off the small lamp beside the bed. When the surroundings were completely plunged into darkness, she seemed to gradually adapt to the environment and be able to see clearly what was going on underneath.
The man holding the lantern was wearing a gray-white raincoat. He was very tall and looked like a strong man. His skin was definitely not white, it was probably brown or black, and it was hard to see clearly in that light. This strange man took a lantern and walked around on the beach around the hotel. From time to time he used the lantern to shine around, as if he was looking for something. But he probably didn't find it, and finally walked to the door of the hotel. He did not go in, but sat down at a few tables in front of the hotel. Zhaniya did not see him lighting the fire, but within a few seconds, a lit cigarette appeared on his lips.
Jania stared at the man for several minutes. Her face and neck were chilled by the night wind, and she could have gone back to bed and slept comfortably. But curiosity tickled her feet at such an inappropriate time. What is this person doing down there? What is he looking for on the beach? Why don't you go to bed now? There didn't seem to be anything wrong with going on a little adventure, and there was a security camera at the right angle at the entrance to the hotel.
She reconsidered the matter, then quietly retrieved a large-pocket coat and a lightweight retractable sling stick from her suitcase. She left a brief note to Antiy and put Antiy's cell phone on the bedside table so that she could call her guardian at any time. After she finished all this, she put on her coat, hid the stick in her pocket, and slipped downstairs quietly.
She deliberately made a little noise before opening the small door of the hotel, so that she could pretend that she came out for air by chance. The clerk behind the counter was fast asleep and was not disturbed by her movements at all. She walked half a circle around the eaves of the hotel and came to where the man was smoking.
In the short sixteen years of her growth, Jania had encountered a lot of troubles. The reasons are complicated, and it cannot be entirely said to be her fault, but her desire for adventure that breaks out from time to time is certainly not to blame. No matter what, she has seen many troubles that her peers would not encounter, and she is always prepared in her heart. She could encounter anything around the corner of her life, a drug addict, a serial killer, an alien invader. She always made sure she was mentally prepared.
But she was overly worried. The man sitting in the rain is not a drug addict. There was a cigar in his mouth, and his skin was a rare reddish brown. Red has more ingredients than brown. Jania didn't know what kind of blood it was, or if it was some kind of skin disease. This middle-aged man has a somewhat ugly appearance, his facial features are tightly packed, and there are bruises everywhere on his cheeks. However, his eyes were friendly and easy-going, with a hint of humor. When Jania came closer, he naturally took the cigar away and put it out in the rain outside.
"Hello, little girl." He greeted her in English. "The rain kept you awake?"
Jania also speaks English very proficiently. She said: "I came down to get something to drink."
"The guy at the counter is dead asleep, but I know where the freezer is. You can go get a bottle and just put the change on it. I saw someone do that earlier."
So Jania did just that. She went to get a bottle of ginger ale and returned to the door of the hotel. The red-skinned man stopped smoking his cigar, but still stared idly at the dark sea. Jania sat down at the table a little away from him and asked while drinking a soda: "What are you looking at?"
"Let's see if something interesting happens," the man said. "Life is full of interesting things, little girl."
"Do we have to wait in this weather?"
"Oh, that's not the case. But rainy nights make people feel wonderful, don't they? It makes people think about it, as if anything could happen. A tryst, a breakup, or a murder would not seem out of place on a rainy night. Rainy nights make people think. People think it's special. If you want to write about an unusual event and don't want to put a lot of effort into the idea, you should set it on a rainy night."
Jania raised her eyebrows: "Are you a writer?"
"I am planning to write a play." The man shook his head and said, "I am a playwright, should I say that? But I am ashamed to say it, little girl, this is my first play. Before this, I There are no formal works. So if I call myself a playwright now, that would be a bit of a boast.”
"Have you never written before?"
"I have done some similar work. Like... let's put it this way, I revised other people's scripts and added details. But the main plot was not decided by me, so it can't be said to be my work. That It's a very classic book, or I should say it's a new story. The country girl who was chosen by the fairy suddenly became a princess, and she also saved the entire royal city. Tell me, this is something that girls of your age will like. story?"
"She can be a queen."
"But what about the prince?"
"Be a prince. Or don't ask for it at all."
The red-skinned man laughed silently. His expression was still friendly and not offensive, as if he had discovered a secret interesting fact that Jania didn't know.
"You are a very suitable girl to play the leading role, little girl." He said quite cheerfully. "You have a personality and you are lovable. If I were to put together a play, I would be happy to have a little girl like you play the leading role. Yes. What’s your name?”
"Jennifer Eisen."
"I'm Akurahama." The red-skinned man said, shaking hands with her. "My family used to be farmers, doing mechanized farming. Then... I went to study in the city and learned some cultural knowledge. . Then I came here, hoping that this place would give me some good luck in my career."
Jania nodded and asked, "What about your farm?"
"I'm afraid it's closed down," the red-skinned man said. But he laughed happily.
