Fiction: Group 4
I could not stop myself from thinking about her. My mind was bewildered by her beauty, and her childish
and innocent face.
II
It was a brand new day. In the morning, I, as usual, taught Kung Fu but everything seemed different.
Nothing was the same. I had joy in my heart. The joyful feeling was dwelling inside me so much. I kept
contemplating her pitiful face, watery eyes, demure manner and her modesty. The most important thing was
a young lady had appeared in my life. This is tremendous! How could I see her again? It seemed that she
liked me, didn't she?
It was lunchtime, and my stomach was rumbling. It was time for me to eat something. Instead of buying
something to cook, my restless heart forced me to go to aunt Daisy’s noodle shop to see Xiao Hong. From a
distance, I could see her helping with her apron on her tiny body, and she dressed neatly. Some male
customers seemed to be interested in her; they tried to flirt with her using some dirty words. Xiao Hong did
not care about what they said, and she just focused on her job. Her innocent and pure heart impressed me
once more.
Nobody seemed to pay attention to my presence but Xiao Hong knew I was there immediately. She asked
me what I would like to eat. She looked robust and healthy, and she took my order quickly. I was surprised
to see that she looked so different from before. Her face was glowing. Now, her big eyes manifested her
honesty and probably her inner beauty.
My daily routine was changed. After teaching Kung Fu classes every day. I could not restrain myself from
going to the noodle shop to see her. Aunt Daisy noticed my change, as I seldom had been to her shop
before. Instead of giving me any discount, Aunt Daisy asked Xiao Hong to take my order every day.
After a month, I decided to give her a sign that I wanted to go out with her. How could I let her know I
wanted to date her? I had never tried that before. I hung around at the market, then I saw something
shining. There were some silver necklaces hanging up at a stall. I had no experience of buying things for
ladies but the instinct of being a man told me women usually liked these kinds of things.
The stall keeper immediately recognized me once I stepped forward heading to his stall. It was a bit
embarrassing as it was apparent that I wanted to buy one of his necklaces, and they were for ladies, of course.
Out of anxiety and the tension I had inside me, I could not spend too much time choosing one for Xiao
Hong. I just picked at one which looked a bit durable and shiny. I did not care too much about the design. I
paid for that necklace as fast as possible before the stall keeper could possibly ask me any unwanted questions
which I did not intend to answer at all.
III
I put the necklace into a small paper bag with a note telling her I wanted to meet her on 1
st
October, 1939.
I could not wait to give her this gift, so I did not go to see the opera that night. To make sure I could really
date her, I went to the noodle shop to see her.
Xiao Hong was rather busy at the shop, and I guessed she was a bit tired at the time I arrived there. I
ordered a bowl of noodles with beef as usual but this time, I took out the gift I had prepared and put it into
her hand. She was stunned and she did not know how to respond.
“Xiao Hong. I hope you will like it, and I want to go out with you later. “
“Wo…”
“Please tell me if you can go out with me or not tomorrow. The date can be changed.”
Xiao Hong did not say anything. She smiled delightfully. Then, she went back to work.
Luckily, there were not so many people eating at the shop, and the customers did not know me at all, so I
felt at ease after pushing myself to make a breakthrough in our relationship.
IV
Things did not turn out well. I knew it. I am an unlucky person. I am forced to accept all the adversities I
have in my life, including this tragic event.
That night, everything was tranquil and calm. That night was like any other night, the whole village was
peaceful and placid. When I was ready to sleep, having my regular contemplation about Xiao Hong, I heard
a lot of loud noise like explosions in my village. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Then, I heard the noise of
planes flying over my house. I did not know what to do, I tried to get all my money in the room and put it
