Crimson sky quickly darkened that evening, like an arrow shooting out of a bow. The chilly wind was caressing the skin quite tightly. That gale gusts incessantly swept the streets, which were still covered by the busyness of everyday life. Like the previous day, the sky was cloudy, ready to pour out all the drops of water on the face of the earth.
"Why don't you open the umbrella?"
A cute voice roused Duanmuh Shannchyuan from his reverie. He felt the raindrops had fallen from the sky. He at once opened the umbrella in his hand.
"Thank you." Shannchyuan turned to the voice's source. He smiled at the person who had just knocked him out of his daydreaming. Her voice sounded familiar. As soon as his eyes saw the voice's owner, he was astonished. The umbrella handle almost fell from his grasp. The cute voice owner's face was very like someone he had known several years ago. For a split second, Shannchyuan hesitated. He thought they were the same person. But he immediately brushed off the possibility. His old acquaintance couldn't possibly be in this place. Besides, she looked much younger than his acquaintance.
"You're welcome," she answered while she was smiling and holding a brightly colored umbrella. She paused for about five seconds. Then suddenly, with a serious face, she said, "I notice you looked confused."
"Do I look confused?" With a confused look, Shannchyuan asked her. Nothing confused him earlier. He just daydreaming instead. Something that he never forgot to do when he was alone. But the question she just asked might confuse him.
<
The young woman showed an expression like a person who was worried that she just had made a big mistake. Slowly she continued, "Yes, you look confused. You look like someone who is lost. Are you new here?"
This time, the question was obvious enough that Shannchyuan could answer it right away. "I've lived here for more than a year. I was just thinking about something. So, it may seem like someone who is lost."
"I see. Sorry, I was wrong." She smiled.
"Never mind. Thanks again."
"The last few days, it has always rained before and shortly after sunset. So every day, we have to carry an umbrella when we go outside." She said while looking up at the inside of her umbrella.
"That's right! It's quite strange the weather recently. But fortunately, it usually rains only briefly. So if we don't bring an umbrella, then we can just find a place to take shelter temporarily," Shannchyuan replied.
She nodded her head at Shannchyuan's words. It seems she agreed one hundred percent with him. She then said, "the few days I was here, I saw a lot. I mean, I saw there were lots of places on the side of the road that I could use as a shelter when suddenly it rained."
"Where do you come from?" Asked Shannchyuan. From that person's accent, it was clear that she was not from this city.
"I come from Yeuandong," said that person.
"Oh! I also happen to be from Yeuandong," said Shannchyuan, "where exactly is your hometown in Yeuandong?"
"Yehjing," said that person. Her face shone. She looked so proud of her hometown.
<
"Ah! I also come from Yehjing," said Shannchyuan enthusiastically.
"But since I was five years old, I moved to another place. So my accent is not the same as that of the Yehjing. It was only five years ago that I moved back to Yehjing. From what I hear, your accent is also not exactly the same as the Yehjing," the person continued what she said after being interrupted by Shannchyuan.
"You are right!" Shannchyuan said. "Even though I was born and raised in Yehjing, both of my parents are not native of Yehjing, so my accent is a mixture of the Yehjing accent and my parents' accent."
"I see! It's so nice to meet fellow Yehjing in this city." Suddenly, she reached into the pocket of her jacket. "May I ask you a question?"
Before Shannchyuan could answer the question, she took out a piece of paper and handed it to him. "Do you know this address?"
Shannchyuan instantly grabbed the paper. After watching it for a while, he then replied, "It's two blocks from here. Just go straight. There'll be a gigantic sign with the name of the place on it so it won't be mistaken."
It seemed the brief explanation was satisfactory to her. "Thank you." She put the paper back into her jacket pocket.
Shannchyuan continued his words, "But I don't know if the place is still open or closed. It's already dusk. Maybe it's better for you to go there tomorrow morning."
Hearing Shannchyuan's answer, she looked like she was considering something. But then she said, "That's right. It's almost night. Most likely, the place was closed. But I would try it, anyway. If it's closed, then I would try again tomorrow."
After saying so, she excused herself and immediately left, for the place had shown by Shannchyuan.
Shannchyuan looked at the back of the person who was rushing in the direction he had shown. Her brightly colored umbrella swayed from side to side. Looked harmonious and in line with her light but fast footsteps. In an instant, that person's figure shrank and slowly disappeared from Shannchyuan's sight. Even the way she moved was similar to someone from his past.
"Today is an exhausting day," Shannchyuan muttered to himself. He sighed.
It had been almost three months since Shannchyuan had lost his job. Previously, he had worked part-time at a bookstore. He didn't want to work full time because he didn't want to be tied down in that place. Three months ago, the bookstore had to close because the owner sold the site to someone else. The person who had bought the store wanted to turn it into a cafe. The old owner then had moved to another city. Previously, he had lived alone. His relatives, who had lived in another city, invited him to live with them.
The bookstore was a used bookstore. When the old owner had sold all the existing books to another used bookstore, the other bookstore would gladly accept Shannchyuan and other clerks, whose total number was only six people. But the other bookstore was in another city, so Shannchyuan couldn't work there. Shannchyuan felt comfortable living in this city and wanted to stay here for a few more years. The new cafe that had replaced the used bookstore could not accept Shannchyuan because they thought Shannchyuan was too old to work there. Not suitable for the cafe's target market, namely the younger generation and adolescents. Indeed, they had expressed their refusal in a very polite way. Even a little too much. Every word that had come out of their mouths was neatly and carefully arranged. But still, Shannchyuan had annoyed to hear that.
Last year Shannchyuan had arrived in this city. An enormous city. This city has a square shape, each side about 160 kilometers long. With a population density of up to 25000 people per square kilometer, the permanent resident in this city reaches over six hundred million. It was even more during the day because many commuters lived in the surrounding smaller cities, towns, and villages. They commuted every day to work in this city. There was so much to explore in this city. Shannchyuan had moved to this city to explore all corners of the city, which had a very long history. That's the most important reason on his mind when he settled down in this city. Therefore, since coming here, Shannchyuan had always chosen to work part-time only, so he had more free time to travel around the city.
After a moment's pause, then Shannchyuan also left that place. He went home because it was getting dark. The place he called home would soon not be his home. The landlord increased the rental price of the house. Shannchyuan couldn't afford the new price this time. The house was not big, but the location was very strategic, so it was only natural for the landlord to increase the rental price. He was the new landlord. The old landlord had passed away last month and had left the property for his family. This new landlord was the nephew of the old landlord. When he was still alive, the old landlord had promised not to raise rental rates for his homes shortly. Of course, after he died, the heir had the right to decide what to do with the house. The new owners might decide to sell the house or keep it leased to them as before. Two weeks ago, the new landlord had said he had no plans to sell the house soon but asked for an increase in the rent if the tenants still wanted to live there.
The old landlord properties had been scattered all over the city. The house Shannchyuan lived in was one of them. He felt comfortable inside the house he rented a year ago. He did not live alone. Apart from him, four other people also lived there. They were Yihshyong, Jenqyih, Iren, and Shinnshiow. There was one more person, Chioujen. But six months ago, Chioujen had moved to another city. The company he worked for opened a new branch in another city. They had sent Chioujen there. All of them lived under one roof. According to their calculations, living together in the house was much cheaper.
In his old age, the old landlord had other priorities for the rest of his life. He didn't intend to make a profit when he was renting out his property. Having someone who could take care of the property was enough for him, so he had charged very cheap rents. Although the house was not extensive, there were three bedrooms inside, so it was enough for the five or six of them. Those three bedrooms were not large but felt comfortable.
The house's lease would be ended the next day, so they had to search for a new site quickly. The new landlord had given them one week to find a new place to live in. So they have to use this one week appropriately to look for the new spot. Of course, they realized it was tough to find a new place to live that was comparable to the house they lived in, but they would try to find a suitable location. Maybe they could rent a small apartment for a while. Even a one-bedroom apartment was fine, as long as it was suitable for their budget.