Chapter 27: A Summer Encounter and a Deep Sea Tale

By early July, Nanan City’s weather had grown intensely hot. Even clad in a light skirt and sitting before an electric fan, Lin Duo still felt stifled. Hailing from the north, she found Nanan City’s scorching summers perpetually challenging to adapt to.

It was on this very day that Uncle Wang, a familiar face after a long absence, reappeared at the shop. Dressed in a loose tank top, he incessantly fanned himself with a palm-leaf fan, his grumbling echoing through the air.

“This cursed weather is truly killing me, old man that I am. Hey, Little Yue, come over here for a moment!”

Uncle Wang had been Yue Renhui’s employer in his youth, and moreover, the very person who had introduced him to the fruit industry. Thus, his familiar address of ‘Little Yue’ was entirely justified.

Yue Renhui swiftly approached. Uncle Wang leaned in, murmuring a few words conspiratorially into his ear. A flicker of hesitation crossed Yue Renhui’s face, yet he ultimately gave a nod of assent.

Once their private discussion concluded, Uncle Wang turned to Lin Duo, eager for a chat.

“Little Lin, I hear you successfully passed the entrance exam for Nanli Affiliated High School. My heartfelt congratulations!”

“Thank you, Uncle Wang! Speaking of which, Wang Linshu also managed to pass, just barely, so I should be congratulating you as well!” Lin Duo replied, ever the epitome of politeness and deference before her elders.

Uncle Wang nodded contentedly. “Truth be told, that boy is remarkably intelligent, though he tends to be mischievous and prefers playing over serious study.”

“However, about half a year ago, he suddenly transformed, becoming an absolute fiend for books and practice problems every single day. And, honestly, a great deal of that is thanks to you!”

Lin Duo, naturally, comprehended the underlying meaning of his words. Her cheeks flushed a delicate pink, leaving her at a loss for how to respond.

“Hahahaha, it’s perfectly normal for a young girl to be a bit shy and lose face,” Uncle Wang chuckled, shaking his large palm-leaf fan with renewed vigor.

“By the way, are you free tomorrow? My grandson would like to treat you to a meal, as a token of gratitude for all your help with his studies recently. The boy is a bit thin-skinned and too embarrassed to ask himself, so he had to send this old man to do his bidding. Little Lin, what are your thoughts?”

Lin Duo understood perfectly well that Wang Linshu’s reluctance wasn’t due to a lack of courage, but rather a fear of rejection, which had prompted him to enlist his grandfather’s help. Given Uncle Wang’s deep ties with Lin Duo’s adoptive parents, and the crucial assistance he had provided in her return to school, refusing an elder was simply not an option.

With no other recourse, Lin Duo offered a reluctant nod.

After Uncle Wang departed, Yue Renhui approached Lin Duo, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Daughter,” he began, “truthfully, we also believe that Uncle Wang’s grandson is a fine young man—honest, diligent, polite, and academically capable.”

“Dad, please stop talking about it~” Lin Duo pleaded, tugging playfully at Yue Renhui’s sleeve in a bout of affectionate protest.

“Alright, alright, I understand our daughter is shy,” Yue Renhui conceded, his gaze filled with affectionate tenderness. “You’re still quite young, and talk of marriage is far too premature.”

“However, you could certainly try to get to know the boy better. If you find common ground, that’s wonderful; if not, there’s no harm done. After all, matters of the heart cannot be forced, and I’m sure Uncle Wang would understand.”

****

The following day at noon, Wang Linshu stood waiting patiently at the bus stop. At last, a familiar, graceful silhouette emerged into his line of sight.

The young woman’s hair was styled into adorable twin pigtails, and she wore a pink, round-neck T-shirt paired with a blue-black gradient skirt. Her exposed limbs appeared remarkably slender, her frame so delicate it seemed a mere gust of wind could carry her away.

“Hey, over here! Lin Duo!” Wang Linshu called out, waving frantically.

Lin Duo meandered over to his side, offering a somewhat forced smile. “Good morning!” she greeted. “There are plenty of places to eat near my home; why did we have to come all this way?”

“Because I wanted to treat you to something special!” Wang Linshu explained, his words flowing smoothly. “Plus, I heard you haven’t really been out much this past year. Now that exams are over, it’s a good chance to relax and clear your head.’ He had, in fact, prepared this exact line of reasoning long before leaving the house.

A short while later, the bus glided gracefully into the station. Being midday, the carriage was remarkably empty, allowing the two of them to easily find an entire row to themselves.

Since settling into the fruit shop last June, Lin Duo’s world had been confined to an elliptical radius of three kilometers, with the shop and school as its two focal points. Consequently, her head remained glued to the window throughout the journey, her expression brimming with wide-eyed wonder.

As a local, Wang Linshu was far from being a country bumpkin, yet he was hardly idle. His peripheral vision, however, was covertly fixed on a particular area: Lin Duo’s chest.

Her T-shirt, with its rather wide neckline, revealed a tantalizing expanse of snow-white skin on her upper chest, even hinting at the delicate upper edge of a white camisole beneath. For a fifteen-year-old Wang Linshu, this sight was utterly captivating, causing him to involuntarily swallow.

Alas, the bus window’s reflection offered Lin Duo a clear, unobstructed view of Wang Linshu’s actions. She promptly crossed her arms over her chest, casting a disdainful glare in his direction.

“Where exactly are you looking, you pervert!”

Wang Linshu, mortified, cleared his throat delicately, desperate to change the subject. “We’re only three stops away from Qianda Plaza,” he announced.

“I’ve already booked movie tickets online for a 1 PM showing, so we should arrive just in time.”

“A movie? Which one?” Lin Duo inquired, her curiosity piqued. Her only previous cinema experiences had been school-organized viewings of patriotic educational films; this would be her first time independently watching a commercial feature.

Wang Linshu retrieved his phone and scrolled through it. “Ah, here it is,” he said. “It’s called ‘Love in the Deep Sea’, and it has quite a high rating online.”

Five minutes later, the bus pulled into its stop. Lin Duo stood rooted to the spot, her gaze sweeping over the towering commercial buildings, the kaleidoscope of dazzling billboards, and the endless tide of pedestrians.

Confronted by such a bustling spectacle, Lin Duo felt akin to Grandma Liu’s first bewildered steps into the Grand View Garden. She instinctively clung close to Wang Linshu’s heels, terrified of getting separated.

Qianda Plaza ranked among Nanan City’s ten most vibrant commercial hubs, boasting an array of malls, restaurants, and karaoke lounges. Wang Linshu, having frequented the area, navigated with ease.

He led Lin Duo to the cinema on the third floor of a particular mall, where he exchanged two movie tickets using his phone’s QR code. After purchasing a large bucket of popcorn and two bottles of cola, he finally guided Lin Duo into the screening hall.

‘Love in the Deep Sea’ was a poignant romance film, depicting a mermaid from a deep-sea tribe who fell deeply in love with a human man.

Driven by her affection, she underwent immense sacrifices and painstaking transformations to assume human form, venturing ashore to be with him, a love that blossomed beautifully.

However, as a creature of the sea, she could not endure prolonged separation from the ocean’s depths. With each passing day, her suffering intensified; she frequently fainted without explanation, and baffled doctors could offer no diagnosis.

Eventually, the mermaid confessed her true nature to the man. He, in turn, expressed his enduring love, yet pleaded for her to return to the deep sea to survive. She refused.

One day, however, she witnessed the man intimately embracing another woman. Heartbroken, she reverted to her mermaid form and retreated to the ocean’s abyss.

Three years later, a faint light pierced the silent deep, emanating from a human exploratory submarine. Inside sat the very man she had loved.

It was then revealed that his earlier intimacy with the other woman had been a cruel charade, meticulously staged to compel the mermaid to return to the deep and save her own life.

Yet, the man’s longing proved insurmountable; he yearned to find his beloved mermaid, if only for one last glimpse. To ensure she would discover him, he continuously broadcast her favorite songs through the submarine’s powerful loudspeaker.

He remained unaware, however, that the mermaid had succumbed to depression a year prior, leaving only the melancholic strains of her cherished music to drift eternally through the dark, silent depths.

“Wuwuwu…wuwu…” As the credits rolled, Lin Duo wept uncontrollably. The mermaid’s tragic fate resonated with her on a profound, deeply personal level.

Wang Linshu, startled by Lin Duo’s profound sensitivity, fumbled for tissues and clumsily offered them. “Please don’t cry,” he urged softly.

“It’s all just a story, after all. There are no mermaids in real life.”

Lin Duo finally managed to stifle her sobs, though her voice remained fractured and unsteady. “But,” she choked out, “there are people who pay an enormous price and make immense sacrifices to become the person they wish to be.”

“And even then, they might never find true happiness. Wuwu, why is fate so incredibly cruel and unfair!”

Unaware of Lin Duo’s true, deeper thoughts, Wang Linshu could only offer a haphazard attempt at comfort. “Alright, alright, it’s just a movie,” he said gently.

“Look how red and swollen your eyes are; someone might think I’ve been bullying you!”

At last, a spark of her usual vivacity returned to Lin Duo’s eyes. She playfully brandished a small fist at Wang Linshu, a mischievous glint in her gaze.

“You think you can bully me? Do you truly take me for a mere ‘sick cat’?”

“Alright, alright, I know you’re formidable,” he conceded with a smile. “By the way, we haven’t had lunch yet, have we? You must be hungry. Shall we go to the sushi restaurant upstairs?”

This marked Lin Duo’s inaugural experience with conveyor belt sushi. As her gaze fell upon the prices displayed on the menu, she gently tugged at Wang Linshu’s sleeve.

“This place is incredibly expensive,” she whispered. “Perhaps we should try somewhere else?”

“My treat, don’t worry about it!” Wang Linshu declared, confidently patting his chest. “Eat as much as you like!”

With such a generous benefactor, Lin Duo saw no reason to hold back. She began selecting plates that weren’t excessively priced, savoring each bite.

Indeed, the flavors proved quite exceptional. Lin Duo, who typically had a modest appetite, found herself eating until her lower abdomen was pleasantly, if slightly, distended.

Just as the two were preparing to settle the bill, a tall man and woman entered the restaurant, their arms wrapped around each other’s waists, radiating an air of sweet affection.

As Lin Duo’s gaze swept over the man, she paused, a flicker of surprise crossing her features. How incredibly coincidental to encounter an old acquaintance here.