Chapter 6 The Fog Chapter 01

Night came, and it was a still summer night on the seashore. The sea was sleeping quietly, only the slight snoring broke the monotony of the night.The shimmering light in the lighthouse trembled slightly on the dark water, looking too powerless. There are miles and miles away from the sea, and there is a desolate street market.The streets are quieter at night. Although it is summer, the nights here are always cool: the sea breeze blows slightly, dissipating the heat of the day, allowing those who are busy during the day to sleep peacefully.Some people couldn't bear to live up to the cool night, so they put chairs in front of the door, and chatted with their neighbors about various things in their lives, and what caught their attention most was the new-style seaside hotel.

The four-storey western-style building towered alone above the neighboring low-rise houses, apparently in an inappropriate location.It looked down proudly upon the low houses, and boasted of them with its rich adornments, its rich occupants, and its front gardens. In the night as in the day, the hotel and the huts still form two classes and live two different lives.In the hotel the lights were bright, and the people coming and going seemed to be more active than in the daytime. A car stopped in front of the hotel gate, and the driver got down and opened the door.A slender young man bent out of the car and looked around with curious eyes. It seemed a little strange that such a hotel should be placed in the middle of such a desolate market.

Two waiters came out of the hotel, all with respectful smiles, one took the two pieces of light luggage from the driver, and the other led the young man through the slightly moist grass and walked inside go. The young man stepped up the stone steps and walked in the door boldly.After walking a few steps, he saw a young woman coming down the stairs, wearing a white linen shirt and a blue skirt.She has a plump face, rosy white skin, a slightly high nose, and a pair of star-like bright eyes, with a small black mole embedded in the corner of her left eye, and a smile on her mouth. He looked at her, stayed for a while, and then exclaimed in surprise: "Miss Zhang."

She turned at once and looked at him in surprise.She suddenly opened her mouth slightly, her lips moved, and she smiled.So she walked towards him, looked at him with two jet-black eyes, and asked, "Mr. Zhou? When did you come back?" "Almost a week," he replied cheerfully. "I went to see Jianhong and said that I would come here to stay for a while. He said that Mieszhang was here too, and he wanted me to come and see you. Unexpectedly, I met you as soon as I arrived here. What a coincidence." "Yes, what a coincidence. I didn't expect Mr. Zhou to come here either. Mr. Jianhong sent a letter two days ago and never mentioned Mr. Zhou's return to China, so I don't know." She took a break and kept using her Those bright eyes looked at him with a generous attitude.Before he had time to think of the right words, she continued: "I plan to live here this summer vacation, and study for homework by the way. I won't go home this year. Although living here alone is quiet, it's just that it's inconvenient to study without someone to guide you. Now that Mr. Zhou lives here, I can often ask Mr. Zhou for advice." A beam of joy shrouded her face.She was clearly delighted by the unexpected meeting.Her home was in a neighboring city, only a day's journey by steamboat.So she said something about not going home this year.

"Miss Zhang, you are too polite. How can I teach others? We just study together," he said humbly, and he was very happy in his heart. "I'm telling the truth, but Mr. Zhou is too polite. There will be many places to ask for advice in the future." She was about to continue, when she suddenly caught a glimpse of the two servants, one was carrying the luggage, the other had his hands down, respectfully Standing by the side and watching the two of them talking with a smile, she said: "What room does Mr. Zhou live in? I won't bother Mr. Zhou now. ... I live at No. 19 on the second floor. Mr. Zhou invites you to come and play when you are free. " She nodded to him, and without waiting for his answer, she went into the next room marked "Newspaper Room".

Here Zhou Rushui also nodded to her, and said with a smile, "I'll come to see Ms. Zhang when the room is finished later," and followed the waiter upstairs. The servants stopped at the door of a room on the third floor.The empty-handed waiter took out the key and opened the door to let Zhou Rushui in, and then another waiter came in with the box. "This is the room, Mr. Zhou, do you like it?" said the empty-handed waiter, and then said something to describe the advantages of this room, then raised his face and waited respectfully for his answer. Zhou Rushui looked around, felt that the size of the room was satisfactory, and the furnishings were acceptable, so he nodded and replied, "It's okay." He saw the window was wide open, and walked to it.He looked out of the window, and there was a dark water in the distance, with a ray of light rippling on the water.The cool night air rushed towards him, and he felt very refreshed. He raised his head to look at the sky, and the stars in the sky were swaying towards him.He buried his head again, and the lights from the various windows were shining on the grass and bushes.

"It's very nice here." He turned around and praised the waiter, and then asked, "What room number is this?" "Number thirty-two," replied the waiter triumphantly.The bellboy with the luggage had gone out. "Hasn't Mr. Zhou eaten dinner?" the waiter asked again. "I've eaten. Get me some tea," Zhou Rushui said, then took off his sunburst suit jacket and hung it on the hanger. The waiter agreed with a "yes" and walked outside. Zhou Rushui was left alone in the room.Looking at the fifty-candle light bulb, he breathed a sigh of relief, then turned his eyes to the square lampshade painted with flowers.

So he sat down on the recliner with a white cloth cover, and said to himself rejoicingly: "I should be able to have some peace here. I must have something good to write." He smiled Close your eyes to experience this quiet happiness, but the shadow of the white dress and green skirt suddenly broke into his eyes. Impressions from a year ago flooded his mind.At that time, he had just returned from Japan, and met a girl who made people feel fresh at the first sight at the home of his respected senior friend Li Jianhong.Although the attire in white clothes and green skirts was very simple, it was more attractive than those gorgeously dressed women.Her bright eyes illuminated her whole well-arranged face.At the same time, her every move retains the reserve and pride of a girl.In recent years his mind has been filled with the faces of certain Japanese women: he has seen enough of those women who are so soft that they seem to have no bones, and who are so beautiful that they seem to have no soul.Unexpectedly, he found such a girl.

So he talked to her with curiosity, admiration, and joy.Her thoughts are so noble, which makes him very admired.When they parted, she had only met him two or three times, and her name was deeply engraved in his mind. These were three beautiful words: Zhang Ruolan. During the next year in Tokyo, he did not forget this beautiful name. He often thought of her face with bright eyes and white teeth, as if seeing a ray of light in the darkness.Several times he wanted to write to her, and had begun to write, but he never finished one.There was no letter from her either.He wanted to know the news about her very much, so he mustered up great courage to add a sentence to Li Jianhong's letter, asking about her recent situation.The senior's friend didn't seem to understand his psychology. Although he praised her in his reply, he described her as an unattainable woman.It drove his courage away.He never mentioned the name again.

But now he saw her here, and he lived with her in a hotel.After that, he would have the opportunity to see her every day, and she even asked him for advice. As he thought this way, he felt happiness rising from the bottom of his heart and gradually expanding, making his whole body tremble with heat.He sat quietly on the couch for some time.Later, he couldn't bear it any longer, so he stood up and walked around the room for a while, then hurried out of the room and went to the second floor. He had no trouble finding room number nineteen.He stood in front of the door, hesitated for a while, and then tapped lightly on the door twice with two fingers.There were footsteps in the room.He quickly took a step back.The door opened, and she appeared, shrouded in a faint green light. Her whole body carried a strange beauty, and her two crystal eyes shot out joyful light.

"Come in, please," she said with a smile, revealing a row of jade-like teeth.She took a step back and turned to the side, letting him into the room. A table lamp with a green shade stood on a small desk with a movable chair in front of it.After Zhou Rushui sat down on the chair, he turned his head slightly and saw the sixteen-format "Women's Magazine" spread out on the table. "Editor Yu Tan" also wrote an overly admirable sentence, saying that he is an expert in fairy tales who stayed in Japan.Now he sees this magazine on her desk, and feels that she has read his article and praised it, so a smug smile appears on his face, and he unconsciously glances at the magazine several times. As if she knew what he was thinking, she immediately smiled and said, "I've read Mr. Zhou's article. I saw an advertisement in the newspaper and knew that there was Mr. Zhou's article, so I bought it to read it. Mr. Zhou's article is really good." " Hearing such compliments, although he was very happy in his heart, he showed an expression of not being able to bear it, and said humbly, "I don't think so. It was just written in a random moment, and it's really not worth reading by Ms. Zhang." At the same time But he secretly blamed himself for writing so slowly and not writing more articles.As he thought this way, the general idea of ​​a recently written short essay emerged in his mind, thinking that if he confessed this meaning to her, she might understand him better and praise him more. He was about to speak, but when he saw her calm and reserved smile, he felt his courage gradually disappearing. It seemed that she already knew these meanings, and saying it would make her laugh at his shallowness, but he said it quickly. It was not easy to take it back, so he asked instead: "Does Ms. Zhang like fairy tales?" "Yes," she replied with a smile. "Reading fairy tales is like going back to my childhood. Sometimes I even forget that I am an adult, as if I have really become a child. And the fairy tales written by Mr. Zhou can be said to be beautiful prose poems. It is closer to us as adults , so I prefer." Her words inspired his courage, so that he finally tried to say what he wanted to say: "Mi Sizhang's words are really good. I think fairy tales are an art of writing from the innocence of a child. This child's innocence remembers someone I said that there are seven essences in total, namely: authenticity, sympathy, surprise, imagination, curiosity, love of beauty, and justice. I think this is not wrong. Children have the most complete of these qualities, and they are also The performance is extremely strong. The reason why childlike innocence is valuable is because of the existence of these qualities. Therefore, I advocate that fairy tales are not only written for children, but also for adults, and adults should read them even more, because they It can restore their childlike innocence. The recovery of their childlike innocence is the germ of a new era." Having said this, he became very excited.On the one hand, he wanted to present his thoughts in front of her as greater and more beautiful, so that she would value him more; on the other hand, he really felt that the solution to all social problems at this time lies in the recovery of childlike life.Then a vague sublime emotion moved him, and made his slender face bright and beautiful.He seemed to be giving an impassioned speech to a group of adoring audience. Zhang Ruolan, who still had his humble and gentle face in her mind, found another face of him strangely at this moment. She didn't pay attention to what he said, but just looked at him intently.But she didn't look obsessed, and still kept a reserved smile, so he didn't think so either. After he finished speaking, he immediately became very humble again.He even waited timidly for her answer, as if he was waiting for the teacher to report his grades when he was studying at school. She felt that his voice, rolling like beads, suddenly stopped.The room immediately fell silent again.She smiled slightly, nodded to him and said: "Mr. Zhou's meaning is very good." In fact, she didn't fully hear what he said, and she didn't think about whether his opinion was correct, but she believed that he had some reasons. Seeing that she agreed with his opinion, he was even happier, so he continued: "I recently wrote a new article titled "Response to Childlike Life", which was intended to play this role. Jianhong has already read it. I will send it another day Show it to Ms. Zhang, and ask Ms. Zhang to criticize it." He said, smiling like a child again. "It doesn't have to be," she replied with a smile. "Since Mr. Jianhong has read it, it must be very good. I only hope that it will be printed in a magazine earlier so that everyone can read it. I think there must be a lot of people waiting to read it." So the two talked again about articles and ideas.The wall clock in the room rang suddenly, the sound of metal rippling in the quiet night air, it rang a total of ten times.Zhou Rushui still wanted to stay here for a while, but when she thought that it was getting late at night, it seemed that she should be allowed to rest, so she left.Zhang Ruolan sent him to the door. Zhou Rushui returned to her room with a warm heart, a smile on her face, and her crisp and soft voice in her ears.He sat down on the couch and looked at the lampshade, thinking about her looks and actions.Even how she tilted her head slightly when she spoke, how she often played with the corners of her clothes, how she looked into his eyes with her big eyes, how she pressed her elbows on the armchair, and looked at her skirt half-shyly with her eyelids down: all this he He recalled them all, some of which he hadn't noticed before, but now he remembered them all. He lowered his head and looked around again, feeling that his room was not as well furnished as hers, although there was nothing more in her room than his own.Thinking of this, he felt that his room was too deserted and lonely.Her room is so warm. He also thought about how he would see her tomorrow, how he would talk to her, how their friendship would become closer in the future, and all kinds of things in the future.But suddenly he remembered what his friend Chen Zhen said, so he said to himself with a smile: "Why do I talk to her about thoughts and fairy tales as soon as we meet, why don't I talk about more interesting things? I don't know how to take advantage of such a good opportunity. I'm so stupid. Chen Zhen said that I can't find a lover in my life. Maybe he has a reason." Speaking of this, he couldn't help but blame himself. He regretted that such a good opportunity should have been let go. He thought maybe the conversation tonight It will leave a bad impression on her, and she may secretly laugh at him as a nerd, so no matter how hard I try in the future, I'm afraid there will be no way out.The more he thought about it, the more regretful he became. After a while, his thoughts changed direction again. He flicked his hands a few times in front of his eyes, as if he wanted to wipe away some illusions, and then argued to himself: "Why do you think of falling in love when you meet? Although I have seen it before. We have met a few times, but we don't know each other very well... Besides, she is a college student, so unlike other women, it is not offensive to talk about her thoughts." As he thought about it, his heart gradually calmed down.So he put away all distracting thoughts, stood up and turned off the light, and stood quietly in front of the window, looking at the dark sea in the distance and the shivering light from the lighthouse.He doesn't have to think at all.He just extols the majesty and greatness of nature.