Reasons for people to cry are different to each of them individually and those reasons often appear every once a year. It was Li Lian’s very first ti hear soone had not cried for years, and it surprised her. She recalled her earlier image of the man which she illustrates in her mind and sowhere she had thought of him to appear as a person who attracts people but doesn’t get acquainted with them and for once, she wondered if her guess might have been right on the mark.
"Honestly yes," Li Lian answered his question.
"What about you?" The man then asked as if he knew she still hadn’t been able to find her reply to his earlier remark. "Do you often feel lonely?"
"No... I was locked here," she explained.
"I know, but also at the sa ti, I feel like you don’t seem to mind the darkness. I thought maybe you also find the company of being alone as enjoyable?"
Li Lian hadn’t thought about it and now that she put her mind into it maybe his words were true. She was locked inside the dark ergency staircase and supposed to be in a panic now and yet she was fine with it. Maybe like what this man had said, she actually wanted to find a place where she could be alone?
"Was I too intrusive?" ca his next question and Li Lian quickly shake her head but the room was dark therefore she spoke,
"No, of course not. I was thinking that maybe your words were indeed true. Maybe I was actually trying to find a silent place. I don’t like the darkness, but I find the silence pleasant."
"Maybe it would be better if I am not here?" asked the man who twisted his lips to a grin but Li Lian couldn’t see how he found himself full of smile which was strange as he was soone who doesn’t often laugh or smile.
"That’s far from it," Li Lian quickly denied, "About earlier. Maybe you cannot cry because you haven’t had anything sad the past few years? Which is rather a good thing in my opinion. Or maybe it’s because you don’t have people to listen to your burden?"
"Sad things happen occasionally," the man replied, "But I indeed rarely open myself to others." As he sounded like, thought Li Lian.
An idea then suddenly dawned on Li Lian and she said, "Coincidentally I am here. You know people said that it is easier to tell other’s what you feel especially stranger. If you don’t mind I can lend you my ears. We still have ti together, anyway."
The man didn’t answer and she wondered if once again she had crossed the line, but like before, the man unexpectedly agrees to her words rather easily, "Okay."
Li Lian wondered what she should ask and think a lighthearted question would be better than a personal one, "What is the last thing that troubles you?"
"My younger brother," answered the man, a typical problem for family and siblings thought Li Lian, "For the past few years since high school I felt that I might have distanced myself with him. We have a gap of years between us. He was younger when we lost our parents. Unlike , he is bright and cheerful. I am not a person who spoke with others well."
"I hardly can believe that with how good you are speaking with ," Li Lian encouraged, receiving the breathy chuckles again. "I also have a younger sister. I wish to say that we have a good relationship but recently sothing not too good happens."
"Did you fought?" he asked.
"We didn’t. I do not want to doubt her but one day I found that she might be the reason for a problem that happened to ," drawled Li Lian, "But let’s not talk about . If you have to describe your relationship with your younger brother, would you say it’s closer to good or bad?"
"I would say natural. Almost too neutral that we felt like strangers. It hasn’t been a few days ago when I found how he tip-toed when he talked to . He was nervous. And the other day, I heard one of his friends said that he would always walk on eggshells when he ca and talk with . I never noticed it," a sigh passed by his lips. "I began to think if all this ti I had unconsciously placed a wall between and my family. Before my parents died, they warned to take care of him and love him. When they were gone I thought it was my position to act as his brother, father, and mother. However, I didn’t realize that I have beco an outsider-like existence to him."
Li Lian kept a close listen to his words. "You know, in my opinion, I don’t think walking on eggshell ans he took you as a stranger. There is soone in my family who I respect a lot. He is a very strict person regardless, he is very kind and felt like the oldest brother to . At one point, I found myself tense up when I talked to him. Maybe that’s why your brother felt like he needs to tip-toe around you. When you respect that person a lot, you tend to look the best to not disappoint them."
"I see," the man said, sincerely finding her point of view to be his surprise and solution. "Thank you for listening to my concerns."
"It’s nothing. Rather I am glad that I could speak with you. I also spilled so secrets that I wasn’t supposed to," and compared to the man’s assessnt of himself, Li Lian found that he might be one of those people who she enjoyed to talk with."
"If you would like-"
"Ah! The door!" exclaid Li Lian, not knowing that she had interjected the man on his words. "Oh no, look at the ti. I only have another ten minutes to prepare. Thank you sir for opening the door," Li Lian quickly thanked the man who had opened the door, noticing how the man was dressed in a black suit that stood out to her. She then recalled the man who she had spoken with and quickly turned her head to look at him only to feel two hands covering her eyes from behind.
The man’s voice then fell low beside her ears, "Thank you for speaking with . You are a good listener and advisor, Miss Li Lian."
Li Lian was surprised by how he had co behind her and covered her eyes. Her reflection would usually make her on guard but she finds herself suddenly lost her sight with the man’s sudden move but another strange thing was she didn’t find his sudden action to be offensive.
"You are a good listener yourself, sir..."
The man didn’t give her his na and instead, he spoke with a tinge of disappointnt, "I feel regret that you won’t rember again."
"If I can see your face, I can rember you," she wondered why the man didn’t want her to look at his face. Maybe he has a condition that doesn’t allow his face to be looked at by others? Not to forget the attire the man who opened the door for them wore earlier reminded her of one of the people who worked under a mafia group though she doubt this man was from a mafia.
"I can’t let you see now, I suppose not to be here," he said.
"Then it is still fine. I have a rather good hearing. I can rember you based on your voice alone."
"Really?" the man questioned with interest.
"Of course," Li Lian said with a slight grin, "I have my pride in this. How about this. If one day we et again and I look at your face, I can promise you that I will recognize you only by your voice. But in exchange, you don’t have to tell who you are or remind of yourself."
"Hm, what will you bet if you lose?"
"You," Li Lian said, "I find you as a great person, Mister. So if you think about it, this would be my loss to lose you as a..." when her words hang, without her knowing the man’s eyes on her subtly peruse fiercer than before, "friend." and his fierce gaze turn into a sigh over her following words.
"I will settle it for that today," he whispered and released his hands from her eyes. Protecting the promise she made, Li Lian didn’t imdiately turn her face, and only after a while did she looked on her back, finding the man whom she saw earlier disappear like light rain in winter.
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