When He Ziguo met Liang Yu, she couldn't speak.
It was a scorching summer day when she moved into her new home. She sat on the cluttered floor, covered in sweat, until someone knocked on the door.
The sixteen-year-old boy had a pair of inky black eyes.
Holding half a watermelon, he drawled, "I live upstairs. My mom asked me to bring this over. I'm your new neighbor. Do me a favor and accept it?"
She said nothing.
Liang Yu smiled charmingly. "Come on, little sis. At least say something so I can report back."
He Ziguo pointed at her mouth and shook her head.
Liang Yu paused. "You're mute?"
He Ziguo flushed red.
He Ziguo had once heard that the most powerful way for lovers to express themselves wasn't necessarily to use their vocal cords to vibrate the air and produce a clumsy "I love you."
In her youthful innocence, she had wondered a thousand times:
How could she tell Liang Yu she liked him?
-
When He Ziguo met Liang Yu again, she could speak.
The man, no longer boyish, lowered his eyes to look at her. His dry fingertips rubbed firmly across her cheek as he coaxed her with a smile. "Little sis, say something to me."
She said nothing.
Liang Yu watched her for a long while, then sighed. "I'll say it for you."
"I like Liang Yu."
"I like Liang Yu best."
"I like Liang Yu most of all."
"..."
Liang Yu looked at her reddening eyes and said softly, "I can hear everything Xiao Guo says in her heart."
He Ziguo choked out, "You're lying."
No one would ever know. Liang Yu didn't know, either.
She had said it in her heart thousands and thousands of times, but no one had heard.
○ Note: The most powerful way for lovers to express themselves isn't to use their vocal cords to vibrate the air and produce a clumsy "I love you." From Songshu Li.
2021.10.16
Theme: Never forget your original intention.
