On many sleepless nights, He Si imagined the scene of her reunion with Chen Shi. Maybe it would be in a cafe, a library, a quiet bar, or a theater, somewhere so artistic it felt like a movie. She would have moved on and could face him calmly. They would exchange a few pleasantries, then disappear back into the crowd.
Whatever the scenario, He Si never imagined it would happen in a crowded mahjong parlor.
Years had passed, but He Si still remembered the last time she saw Chen Shi. Young and impetuous, she had said plenty of cruel things. She thought Chen Shi must hate her to the core, but she never expected that this awkward, avoidant man would gather the courage to ask her again, "Would you consider being with me?"
"Chen Shi is a coward," everyone around him said. He was afraid of heights, the dark, thunder, and sharp-beaked animals.
His father couldn't stand his timid nature and devised a "desensitization plan" for him, forcing him to eat foods he was allergic to and keeping two pigeons that flew all over the house.
Chen Shi thought his life would stay dark forever, until he met He Si. She was always so bright and brave. When she saw lightning, she would remind him to cover his ears. She would secretly set free the pigeons that frightened him.
She told him, "Everyone has something they're afraid of. If you have to overcome something or prove something just to satisfy others, ignoring how you feel, that's not true courage."
For Chen Shi, the seven years he spent apart from He Si were one long desensitization exercise. Just when he thought he'd completely recovered, he saw her smiling face again.
