Huayu: Starting with living with a girl from Taiwan

A laptop computer rests on Alyssa Chia's plump, fair thighs.

The screen was lit up, displaying an unpublished blog page.

She clicked the browser's refresh button with her mouse.

The page reloaded... No new content was added.

She pursed her red lips slightly, a hint of dissatisfaction mixed with anticipation, and pressed F5 again.

It remains the same as before.

"That little rascal Lin Mo..."

She murmured to herself, her voice unusually clear in the empty, quiet living room, carrying a hint of reproach she herself was unaware of.

"They really don't update until the show is over."

She was referring to Lin Mo's promise on the show that he would release the "adapted story" behind the lyrics of "Fireworks Fade Easily" online on the night the episode aired.

These past few days, the nascent story of waiting and the lonely city has been gently scratching at her most tender spot, like a feather.

It made her incredibly curious.

What kind of story could inspire lyrics as desolate, poignant, and full of a sense of fate as "Fireworks Fade Easily"?

What kind of ancient and moving world was in the mind of that 22-year-old boy?

This pent-up curiosity, which she couldn't quite satisfy, left her feeling restless and unsatisfied.

This itching has lasted for several days.

At this moment, with the official broadcast of the program, it reached its peak.

She listened to the television, but her gaze lingered more on the computer screen on her lap.

My fingers tapped the keyboard unconsciously, refreshing the page every now and then.

On television, Lin Mo had finished her performance on the show "Super Star Avenue" and was now in the judging panel's commentary segment.

Huang Zih-jiao was spouting nonsense when... he was led astray by Lin Mo.

As Alyssa Chia watched this scene on TV, a slight smile curved her lips.

When Lin Mo on the screen made that promise, she tapped refresh again.

Finally, at the top of the page, a log entry with a title quietly appeared.

The title was simple, with only three words, but it instantly captured Alyssa Chia's attention.

Alyssa Chia paused slightly with her fingertips, then clicked on the blog post titled "Galan Rain".

The page redirects, and the text slowly appears.

Her gaze calmed down, shedding the languor and anxiety of waiting, and she became immersed in the glow of the screen.

[During the Yongxi era, Luoyang.]

Rain falls on the temple.

The monks were striking a wooden fish in the meditation room, the monotonous sound mingling with the sound of rain.

He suddenly stopped and looked out at the swirling rain and mist.

Many years ago, it was also Luoyang.

A young general from the Liu Song dynasty was ordered to garrison this city.

In the midst of chaos, he encountered a woman in the city's streets and alleys.

There weren't many words exchanged.

Perhaps it was on a sunset evening, or perhaps it was a fleeting glance as we passed each other.

They hit it off immediately and secretly pledged their lives to each other.

The iron cavalry of the Northern Wei has arrived.

The general was ordered to lead an expedition.

On the day of their parting, he held the woman's hand, his eyes burning with passion: "When I win, I will definitely come back to marry you."

The woman stood at the city gate, watching him mount his warhorse and disappear into the dust without looking back.

She believed he would come back.

War is more brutal than imagined.

The Southern Song Dynasty suffered repeated defeats.

Luoyang fell.

The general was seriously wounded and ended up in a deserted temple.

After recovering from his injuries, he found that his homeland was no longer what it used to be; the king was incompetent and had killed many good generals.

Going back is a dead end.

He was not afraid of death.

But he remembered that vow.

He removed his tattered armor, put on a monk's robe, and devoted himself to the Garan Temple.

Amidst the sound of the wooden fish drum, he waited, waiting for the war to end, waiting for the day he could return to her side.

And beneath that city gate where they parted ways.

The woman sat on a bluestone slab day after day.

Whenever a passerby walked by, she would look up and ask, "Have you seen a general?"

The answer was always a shake of the head.

But she never left.

Spring comes and autumn goes, and the bluestone slabs are worn smooth by her figure.

Her story circulated in Luoyang and eventually reached the monks' quarters of the Garan Temple.

The wooden fish in the monk's hand stopped.

He heard about her waiting.

However, the Northern Wei had already established its capital in Luoyang, leading to a standoff between the north and south, and the war had not yet ended.

He cannot go back.

He could only pray for her in this desolate temple, accompanied by the ancient Buddha and the flickering lamp, and also pray for his own uncertain return.

I don't know how many years have passed.

The war has finally come to a temporary end.

One morning, the monk pushed open the sloping gate of the temple for the first time.

He changed into coarse cloth clothes and returned to the city he had longed for.

Luoyang is now in ruins.

He found the city gate, but the old tree they had once leaned against had long since withered.

His hands trembled as he stroked the smooth, weathered bluestone slab—the place where she waited every day.

An elderly man passing by told him:

"There used to be a woman sitting on the stone slab here, waiting for someone."

I waited my whole life, and died alone.

The rain started falling again, seemingly out of nowhere.

It fell on the eaves of the temple, on the ruined city gate, and on that cold stone slab.

The monk returned to the temple.

Inside the meditation room, the sound of the wooden fish drum rang out again, one strike after another.

The sound mingled with the rain outside the door, making it impossible to distinguish anything.

......

The sins of war, the tragic love, the devoted woman, the eternal love!

Moreover, each story matches the lyrics of "Fireworks Fade Easily".

"I'm a little vulnerable."

After reading Lin Mo's blog, Alyssa Chia's eyes reddened slightly.

Then, a surge of inexplicable anger welled up inside me.

No, you've kept me in suspense for days, that's enough.

Why does even writing a short story have to be so "heart-wrenching"?

The more she thought about it, the more her chest felt heavy, and her plump, fair legs trembled unconsciously—

"oops!"

The laptop that was resting on her lap suddenly slipped and hit her delicate, jade-like toes.

"Hiss!" The ten fingers are connected to the heart, and so are the toes!

Alyssa Chia gasped in pain, and her eyes, which had just been slightly red with emotion, suddenly burst into tears.

"It hurts so much... It's all Lin Mo's fault..." she muttered angrily as she gasped for breath.

But soon, when the pain subsided a little, a sudden inspiration flashed in her mind.

He then limped over to a display cabinet on one side of the living room and rummaged through it.

I found the latest Sony digital camera and adjusted the angle.

Without even bothering to tidy her messy hair or the slightly slipped strap of her silk nightgown, she took a selfie of her tear-streaked face.

In the photo, the beautiful woman's eyes are glistening with tears, a sight that evokes pity.

The background is the title of "Galan Rain" on the computer screen.

Despite the lingering pain in her toes, she plugged in the data cable, imported the photos to her computer, and logged into her personal blog.

After a moment's thought, she quickly typed out a caption and then clicked publish without hesitation.

[Caption]: "I was moved to tears late at night by 'Galan Rain'... The story is so touching, and the song is so beautiful. @LinMo, you're amazing!"

Below the text was a selfie she had just taken, her eyes still wet with tears.