Xu Jing pulled his silver cab up to the curb of my apartment as I walked out the door. Seeing me struggle with the three paintings I was carrying, he got out of the cab to help me.
"Hey Ru Wen, let me help you there."
"Hello, thanks," I smiled at him.
Xu Jing was my favorite cab driver, and I've known him since I moved to Shanghai. When I call a cab, I always ask for him, sometimes he's available and sometimes he's not. He stood about 6ft with a muscular build.
He always wore his black hair in a ponytail, and his eyes always sparkled when I'd ask him about his kids. He was a family man and one of the nicest people I have ever met. His cab was the one that first picked me and Mo Ting up when we first arrived in Shanghai. I sat in front of the cab with him so my paintings could sit comfortably in the back.
"How's Mo Ting doing, my dear? "
"He moved out over a week ago Xu Jing," I sighed.
The expression on his face was sympathetic.
"I'm so sorry dear, are you ok?" I looked over at him, and a light smile came over my lips.
"I'm doing ok. I was a mess last week, but now I'm adjusting." I said.
Was I really? Or was I just a good actress.
He pulled up to the art gallery and helped me take the paintings out of the cab. I paid him the fare and thanked him for his help.
"If you need anything, call me Ru Wen and I really mean that," he pointed at me as he got into the cab and slowly pulled away.
Mei Lin saw me from the window of the gallery and came outside to help me bring in the paintings. She called the owner, Lu Fan, and told him that I arrived.
He came down from his office and hugged me.
"Ah, let me see what you have done here Ru Wen," he said as he took the paintings one by one and laid them up against the wall.
So I was contracted to submit three painting to his gallery as a trial. One of the
paintings was an innocent of a white lady dancing under the moonlight surrounded by
the blues lake. The second one was of a little girl play in garden that full with peach
blossom flowers that fall from the three and the last one was three red fox that living
happily in their forest cave. All the three paintings presented dreams.
"Great, these are living. I'm sure I won't have any problem selling these," Lu Fan
smiled.
I felt a little embarrassed because this was the first time I was going to be showing my
work to the world.
Then he led me over to a small wall that was sitting bare.
"This is where your paintings will be displayed. And I will call as soon as one or all of
them sell." Lu Fan informed.
I thanked him and as soon as he walked away and Mei Lin started jumping up and
clapping her hands.
"Oh yeah! We shall to go out and celebrate tonight then," she squealed.
Oh no. Going out was the last thing on my mind right now as I was not ready to do as
a single girl, out at night thing, but she's was persistent, and I knew I won't stand a
chance against her.
So, I agreed to.