Chapter 8

When the date on the letter reached March 31st-the day of heavy rain recorded in the diary-I still hadn’t gone looking for Chen Yabai; instead, he found me first, his handwriting loose and meandering: “Are you there? Ten yuan-can you do a reading for me?”

I replied calmly, “I’m from a Western tradition, not a Taoist.”

He didn’t care, doodling absentmindedly over my neat script, clearly distracted.

I gave in: “Alright, what do you want me to read?”

“Tell me: what are the odds I’ll find her?”

I was a little at a loss, and he seemed dissatisfied with my clumsiness. I could almost imagine him clicking his tongue: “It’s only noon-she just rushed home, didn’t even take her backpack. Seeing all that unfinished homework would bother me, so I’m planning to skip class and deliver her assignments.”

Thank you for your kindness, on behalf of seventeen-year-old Lin Yu’an.

He replied casually, “The thing is, I don’t know where she lives. None of the nearby classmates know, either. All I know is she always takes a certain bus route-there are lots of old neighborhoods along there. I’ll have to check them one by one.”

I froze. I never knew that was how he ended up in front of me. By then, it was already night-no wonder he’d said he was lucky.

“I just did a reading for you. Head east along Qingchun South Road-you’ll see her.”

He was half-skeptical: “Really?” In truth, my home was in the west of the city, and Qingchun South Road was in the east. He could search everywhere and still never find me. Chen Yabai, I did a reading for you. This time, you won’t find her.

I felt a little guilty, but afraid he’d notice, I wrote quickly and steadily: “Really. When have I ever lied to you?”

I stared at the letter for a long time, but no new words appeared. It seemed he believed me. A wave of drowsiness washed over me, and I went to bed. In my dreams, new memories surfaced and gradually replaced the old ones, erasing them bit by bit from my mind.

That night-March 31st, 2017-I never managed to wait for Chen Yabai. I sat on that sofa, listening to the sounds of an argument, watching the belated downpour arrive.

Chen Yabai wandered repeatedly along Qingchun South Road, caught in the rainstorm, but never found his girl.