Chapter Forty-Eight: Discussing Dreams

Usually, aside from staying in the cabin in the woods, Qiu Fengyu’s furthest venture was to Escondido. The town was somewhat larger than Abilene, bustling with the energy of tourists, making it livelier by far. San Diego’s coastal towns were accustomed to a steady stream of visitors, and Escondido was no exception. Qiu Fengyu’s errands there were mostly to buy some alcohol, or perhaps a few necessities and snacks.

When it came time to pay, the scattered packages of sanitary pads drew several curious glances from the young cashier. No matter how liberal America might seem, it was unusual for men to buy such things for women, and women rarely requested men to purchase them. It appeared trivial, yet the sentiment of macho pride was universal across all nations.

Carrying the bags back to the cabin, April rushed over impatiently, rummaging through the snacks before turning to Qiu Fengyu, demanding, “Where are the pads I asked for?”

“Right here.” Qiu Fengyu pointed to the scattered packages.

“These?” April suddenly regretted entrusting this task to a man.

“Is there something wrong?” Qiu Fengyu picked one up, glanced at April. She couldn’t help but burst out laughing, hugging her snacks and fleeing to her room.

Bewildered, Qiu Fengyu examined the package, and his eyes widened in disbelief. In his haste, he’d grabbed the wrong thing—what was this nonsense? Reading the fine print by the label: “Elderly adult diapers.” God, his composure faltered, especially when another line caught his eye: “For men only.” No wonder the cashier had looked at him so strangely.

“Luckily, I still have a few left. Tomorrow, I’ll go to town myself,” April announced as she emerged from her room, waving a pad at Qiu Fengyu. “That thing you bought, keep it for yourself!” She laughed heartily.

Qiu Fengyu took a deep breath and retreated to the kitchen to brew coffee.

At lunch, there was no pizza for April. Watching Qiu Fengyu eat with gusto, his cheeks bulging as he chewed, drove April nearly mad.

“All right, I promise not to bring up that incident again,” April raised her hand to Qiu Fengyu.

“Which incident?”

“That one—where you mistook elderly men’s diapers for sanitary pads…”

“You still remember?”

“All right, you did nothing. You know, I’m a clumsy girl; when I go shopping, I might grab the wrong thing, so I bought myself elderly men’s diapers. I’m just a fool!” April gritted her teeth.

“Very well, the foolish girl who mistakes adult diapers for pads—by the way, the pizza is in the oven. All you need to do is lift a finger,” Qiu Fengyu stuffed the last slice into his mouth and took out a pen.

“This is a voice recorder. Don’t think you can deny it—if you dare mention this again, I’ll make sure you relive every detail.” With that, Qiu Fengyu picked up his copy of “The Old Man and the Fish” and went out to the balcony.

“Oh, you bastard…” April felt herself on the verge of madness. She knew that, when it came to mind games, she stood no chance against him.

“All right, I’m the fool!” April finally conceded, humming as she retreated to her room, one hand holding the pizza, the other cradling Qiu Fengyu’s coffee.

Now, it seemed, though he was infuriating, this man was actually quite decent.

After reading for a while and checking the time, Qiu Fengyu took his fishing rod and headed to the beach again, to the same spot as before. He sat and fished; a few tourists milled about, but everyone minded their own business. There was nothing much to see—this time, Qiu Fengyu caught nothing.

He returned with an empty bucket, only to be greeted by April’s ridicule. As a result, she didn’t get any of the grilled halibut for dinner and had to make do with a steak and two large cups of coffee, before sulking off to stroll by the sea. This time, her protest was clear—she didn’t wash the dishes.

April was cautious; her movements never strayed from the surveillance camera’s range. One camera was fixed on the area outside, farther away.

Qiu Fengyu had watched the screens since she arrived, monitoring the feed from every angle, capturing the surroundings in detail. He kept his eyes on the display until dusk, when April finally returned. Only then did he feign nonchalance, sitting on the balcony with his book.

“It’s getting dark,” April said, turning on the balcony light.

Qiu Fengyu said nothing, but closed his book and set it on the table.

April sat across from him, tapping her fingers on the tabletop. “What’s your dream?”

“What?” Qiu Fengyu was surprised. Was this girl suddenly pondering life? Did a walk on the beach trigger some transformation?

“What’s the one thing you most want to succeed at?” April smiled. “Everyone has something they want to achieve in life.”

“To have someone take over everything here, and then go back to buy ramen.” Qiu Fengyu replied. “Is it that important?”

April glared at him. “That’s all you want?”

“Do you expect me to ride a horse, carry a gun, get into shootouts, and play cowboy in Texas?”

“Haha… You’ve been traumatized by American movies.” April laughed loudly. “Cowboys aren’t like that, at least not anymore. Now I’m convinced you haven’t been an immigrant for long.”

“All right, I admit my idea of Texas cowboys comes straight from Hollywood.” Qiu Fengyu shrugged, looking at April. “What about you?”

“My life’s been ordinary. I always wanted to be a screenwriter, but I haven’t written a single script I’m satisfied with, not one. The movie that’s coming out—I co-wrote it with others. It wasn’t mine alone, but it’s the best I’ve contributed to. Still, it’s not what I truly wanted.”

“I understand.”

“You understand? You’re not even a screenwriter—how can you…”

“Like a father understands his child…”

“You’re not my father… You’re a bastard!”

Qiu Fengyu was taken aback, then nodded. “Even bastards can become fathers. I’ve thought, if I married a girl from Abilene, I’d be the father of a little cowboy myself. Sometimes, dreams are simpler than you think.”

April was stunned; she hadn’t expected him to say that. After a moment, she laughed. “You must have fallen for some girl in Abilene. Is it Sheriff Coffin?”

Qiu Fengyu shook his head.

“Then it must be that girl you video-chatted with—the pretty one. Is she still misunderstanding you?” April referred to the incident at the bar with Eliza.

“Does it matter?”

“You don’t like her?” Gossiping, April couldn’t help herself.

Qiu Fengyu ignored her and walked out.

The night breeze on the beach felt refreshing. April walked barefoot, arms outstretched like a kite with wings, graceful and carefree.

Qiu Fengyu followed behind her.

“Want to swim?” April suddenly turned to him.

“I’d have to go back and change into a swimsuit. I’ll pass,” Qiu Fengyu declined.

“Why change? I’ve seen you, and you’ve seen me. Don’t you like skinny dipping?”

Honestly, it was a tempting suggestion.

Qiu Fengyu’s smile curled at his lips, but he firmly shook his head.

“If you want to swim naked, I won’t object. I’ll guard your clothes, make sure they stay clean. But I won’t go in.”

“You’re a coward!” April laughed. “Fine, I’ll go alone.” She started to undress.

“No, no—” Qiu Fengyu suddenly pressed a finger to his lips, signaling silence. He spotted the headlights of a car approaching the beach.

“Come here.” He grabbed her hand and raced toward the woods.

“Put this on!” Qiu Fengyu handed her a bulletproof vest—stripped from one of the black-clad men he’d dealt with.