When Yu He was eighteen, she slipped on her bicycle on a rainy day and hit her head on a roadside billboard, accidentally gaining a synesthesia ability.
Whenever someone spoke, she could see colored words. Some were white, some blue, and each color had a different meaning.
For instance, when a senior company executive declared that the business was doing great and would go public next year, bright yellow appeared before Yu He's eyes.
Yellow meant a lie, she thought.
A few days later, the company went bankrupt.
Because of these words, Yu He was unhappy every day. Now that she had lost her job too, she decided to go back to her hometown for a few months.
Yu He's hometown, Windbell Island, was a small island in the southern sea.
Yu He had loved cooking since she was little. She learned to make all kinds of delicious local dishes from her grandmother, and her friends loved her cooking.
So she took over the seafood restaurant her neighbor had left behind.
Steamed grouper was topped with thin strips of red pepper, and black bean oil was poured over the garlic-like flakes of fish.
For spicy stir-fried clams, fry them with scallions and ginger. Don't forget the bright red chili bean paste, and serve with an ice-cold beer.
Oysters should be placed over smoking charcoal, where the heat turns garlic and juices into golden, bubbling lava.
With her excellent cooking and mysterious synesthesia ability, the restaurant became a hit on the island.
There, Yu He met Lu Xiao, the owner of an auto repair shop. He wore a simple white tank top, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, defined muscles, and strong, powerful arms.
Yu He smelled the strong scent of engine oil and rubber in the air, and heard her own heart thumping.
Unfortunately, the man had a stern face and was cool toward everyone. The few words he did say were all a cold gray-white.
Then, on a rainy summer day in August, the power went out at Yu He's house. Wearing a white slip dress, she went to Lu Xiao's place to borrow a pair of pliers. Rainwater nestled like glittering diamonds in the hollow of her collarbone.
"Come in," he said, glancing at her coolly before turning to get the tool from the storeroom.
Yu He saw the three simple words, "Come in," turn into a giant pink heart.
[Bonus scene]
On summer nights in August, our island gets thunderstorms that last all night.
The wind strips leaves from the palm trees, and pink guava sprinkled with sour plum powder sits on the fruit plate.
The red goldfish in the enamel basin can't stand the heat and leaps out of the water.
The rain knocks golden-yellow star fruit and mangoes from the trees, turning them to mush. The whole courtyard fills with the fragrant scent of fruit.
Yu He loves to run across to Lu Xiao's house in a slip dress on nights like these.
He might be preparing seafood in the kitchen, or reading in his study.
None of that matters. What matters is that when she climbs onto his broad, solid shoulders,
they kiss in the steamy summer night.
The old-fashioned bed in the bedroom creaks in time with the rainstorm all night long.
Reading guide:
1. A gentle, short, sweet story
2. Fresh island atmosphere
Welcome, and please add it to your collection!
Theme: Living happily is what matters most.
