It's raining!
The rain will stop soon.
Yìngyuè thought the rain this time was just light rain. The rain suddenly fell and wet the earth. A moment before, it was boiling, so there was absolutely no cloudiness. It just liked yesterday. In a few minutes, the rain would have stopped.
Yìngyuè's guess was wrong; the rain fell even more massive. The falling water droplets had soaked Yìngyuè's clothes.
I have to find shelter right now!
The girl was standing on the sidewalk of a reasonably large road. The width of the road was about thirteen meters. It was a two-way street. Each way comprises two lanes—each lane three meters wide. There was a dividing line in the middle of the street, which was one meter wide. On both sides of the road, there were sidewalks, each of which was two-and-a-half meters wide. Several vehicles were passing by on both sides of the road. But no one was on the sidewalk. At least, as far as yìngyuè's eyes could see, no one else was standing or walking on the sidewalk. Of course, when the rain fell like this, everyone would take shelter.
Yìngyuè sped up her pace. She walked, half running. With a backpack that was heavy enough, there was no way she could run at full speed. Luckily, after running a few dozen meters, to the left of yìngyuè was a public phone booth. The phone booth was not easy to notice because it was not on the sidewalk. It's on a plot of land on the left side of the road. The phone booth was about two meters from the sidewalk. Without thinking anymore, Yìngyuè ran toward the phone booth right away. She opens the door, then rushed inside.
The phone booth was eggplant colored. It was not transparent, so from the outside, we couldn't see the inside. Once inside, people would lock the door before starting to make calls. Then other people could not enter if there were already people inside. The phone booth measures one and a half meters by one and a half meters. Big enough for a phone booth. The phone booth in this city was usually blue or green. Sometimes it's red or black. But for eggplants like this, this was the first time Yìngyuè saw them. Yìngyuè was sure that it was a phone booth because it clearly said "Public Phone" on its roof. So it was impossible for Yìngyuè to enter a public restroom box accidentally, for example.
"Eh!"
As Yìngyuè walked into the box, someone shrieked. It turned out someone was inside. It was raining hard outside, so Yìngyuè couldn't come out again. Quickly she closed the door. Automatically her hand turned the lock button on the door handle. But the lock was broken.
"Sorry. It's raining. I have to take shelter."
Yìngyuè said to the man.
"It's all right," replied the man.
"I'm also taking shelter here," he smiled as he continued his words. Just like Yìngyuè, that person's clothes were already wet. Even though it wasn't as wet as Yìngyuè's clothes, it looked as though he had only entered here a minute or two before Yìngyuè.
Everyone considered the box measuring one and a half meters by one and a half meters wide for a public phone booth. Anyway, that did not apply to those two strangers standing close to each other. Under these conditions, they both agreed that the place was tiny.
The person who had been inside looking at Yìngyuè then said.
"Hopefully, the rain will stop soon."
He was a grown man. Yìngyuè had a little trouble guessing his age. From the look in his eyes, it seemed the person was over forty years old. But his face and figure looked like he was in his late twenties or early thirties. Yìngyuè herself was a very young girl who didn't have much experience, so it was only natural that she couldn't guess the stranger's age.
That man was wearing a shirt wrapped with a vest, complete with a tie. He did not wear a suit, which should be an integral part of the vest and pants he was wearing. Maybe because it was a hot day, so he wore no suits. Or perhaps he didn't enjoy wearing suits, so he only wore a shirt, tie, and vest. His shirt was bright yellow, while the tie was light green. He wore a vest and pants, which were dark blue. The man was about 165 centimeters tall. Not tall, but not short either.
"Do you live around here?" Yìngyuè tried to break the ice by asking a simple question.
That person seemed to daydream, so he didn't immediately answer Yìngyuè's question. Yìngyuè thought that person really didn't enjoy talking. A quiet person who didn't want to converse with other people, especially to a stranger.
"What are you asking?"
Suddenly that person spoke. He was weird. Yìngyuè felt this person might have autism or something like that. He was slow to respond to questions.
"Do you live around here?" Yìngyuè repeated her question.
Instead of answering, the person asked her back.
"Why are you guessing I live around here?"
Yìngyuè had not guessed. She just had asked that question to break the stiff atmosphere. But she still replied, "You don't have an umbrella, bag, or anything else. But your clothes are neat. Usually, with these neat clothes, at least people always carry something—either a bag or other items. So I thought you lived around here. "
Yìngyuè had not really thought that way when she had answered that question. She just said the first thing that had come to her mind.
"I see," the person answered while looking at Yìngyuè. Then he added.
"I live far from here. Regarding this outfit, I really like to dress like this. So it's just a habit. "
Yìngyuè nodded at the person's explanation.
"Have you live in this city long?" It seemed the atmosphere had dissolved, so Yìngyuè asked again.
"Last year, I moved to this city." The man answered.
Yìngyuè nodded again. Then she said.
"I just arrived three days ago. So today is the fourth day I am in this city. "
"Where did you live for these three days?" The man asked curiously. Looking at the backpack carried by Yìngyuè, everyone could guess the girl had no permanent place to stay while in this city.
"I live in a capsule hotel at the station," Yìngyuè answered straightforwardly.
"You are so brave," the man praised Yìngyuè. Then he continued, "when I was your age, I have never lived far from my parents."
"My parents had passed away," the girl replied flatly.
"Oh, sorry." Suddenly the man showed a guilty face after saying something about the parents.
"It is okay. Both of my parents passed away a long time ago. In fact, I had never seen my father because he died before I was born. I even forgot my mother's face because she died when I was only two years old."
Yìngyuè could see the man felt sorry for her. This young girl continued her words.
"I grew up moving around under the care of my relatives. They took turns taking care of me. Because of that, I never stay in any place for long. Always move according to where my relatives live."
"So, are you heading to the place of the relative who currently has a turn to take care of you?"
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