Chapter 102: Concentric Shells

Some people love to watch the sea—its deep, mesmerizing azure hue, its boundless form, its vast legends. The surging waves inscribe stories of shifting seas and changing times; the conch horns sounding along the shore, the ancient stranded ships, the soaring gulls—all of them speak of the sea's artistry. Those adrift in a dreamlike, heedless world need the sea's surge to jolt them awake, for its blue sentiment teaches us never to abandon our dreams, never to surrender the passion in our hearts. Nor, of course, should we forget the ones we hold dear beside us.

The winter sea loses the soft blue tenderness of summer, yet gains more roiling waves; it sheds the noise and vanity of summer, yet gains more tranquility and peace. The winter seawater is a greenish blue. Standing on the shore and gazing into the distance, what you see are undulating waves and a clean, vast horizon. It is often said that the sea meets the sky at the horizon—and this saying is not without reason. Because the sea is so immense, one can never see its end at a single glance. What you see is the convergence of sky and sea, and at that moment, there is no longer any distance between fish and bird; they are joined as one.

At the seaside, Xiao Lin had his arm around Wang Yuqing's shoulders as they wandered along the coastline, occasionally letting out exclamations like "Oh, the sea! Oh, my homeland!" Xiao Lin, at least, was delighted. At home, his mother had been constantly pressing him about his love life, driving him up the wall, so he had found an excuse to coax Wang Yuqing out, to enjoy the rare tranquility of the seaside. But Wang Yuqing pouted her small mouth, looking rather reluctant.

Yesterday, Xiao Lin had called Wang Yuqing and said they were going to see the sea today. Wang Yuqing hadn't wanted to come. She said it wasn't as if she'd never seen the sea before, and what was there to admire about the winter sea anyway—the sea breeze was so cold, and Xiao Lin was still nursing an injury. But Xiao Lin said he would give her a surprise. So Wang Yuqing had come only because she wanted to see his surprise. Yet when they arrived at the beach, Xiao Lin's surprise turned out to be waiting together until dusk to watch the evening clouds over the sea. This so irritated Wang Yuqing that she thumped him a few times—they had sat through two hours of bus ride, all just to wait until evening and watch the sunset glow.

Wang Yuqing tightened the scarf around her neck and gave Xiao Lin, who had his arm around her shoulder, a cold look. "You say you haven't seen the sea before? You had to come all the way here to look at it, and now you want to stay until dusk. Did you eat something that scrambled your brains yesterday?"

"Hey now, Yuqing. Just look at how beautiful the sea is. It's so peaceful in winter—perfect for us to have a romantic story right here." Xiao Lin gestured at the sea before them, lifting his handsome face with a smile.

"Tsk. You like peace and quiet? Then let's go read at the bookstore. I remember Liuguang just published a new book recently. Let's go take a look, shall we?" Wang Yuqing's eyes twirled—she wanted to go read.

"Cough, cough. Yuqing, look over there—what are those kids doing?" Xiao Lin gave a flustered laugh, changing the subject as he pointed at a group of children up ahead.

Following the direction of Xiao Lin's finger, Wang Yuqing spotted a group of eleven- or twelve-year-old kids, each carrying a little bucket, searching for something along the shore.

"Probably collecting seashells," Wang Yuqing said.

"Then let's go too, shall we? It's still two or three hours until sunset." Xiao Lin suddenly suggested.

"Uh... collecting seashells? How old are you, and you're still—" Before Wang Yuqing could finish, she saw Xiao Lin running off toward the children. Left with no choice, she shook her head helplessly and followed.

"Hey, little buddy, are you collecting seashells?" Xiao Lin asked a cute little boy upon reaching them.

"Yeah, big brother. We're making a bet to see who can find a twin-heart shell. Whoever finds one first, the rest of us have to do what he says." The little boy puffed out his chubby cheeks.

Twin-heart shell. The boy's words gave Xiao Lin pause—weren't those artificially crafted?

"Yuqing, are there twin-heart shells here?" Xiao Lin, seeing Wang Yuqing catch up, asked out of curiosity.

"I don't think so. As far as I remember, they're all man-made." Wang Yuqing answered. Watching the five or six boys, each carrying a bucket and bending over to search for shells, she found it quite amusing.

"Big sister, you're wrong. Twin-heart shells do exist. Last time, Xiaohu found one—it was beautiful. Later, a big brother and big sister bought it from him. They said a natural twin-heart shell is a sign of fate." A cute boy, who had been looking down at the ground, lifted his head and spoke.

Oh—Wang Yuqing's eyes lit up. She was intrigued. Girls generally believe in things like fate or keepsakes with sentimental meaning, and Wang Yuqing was no exception. For instance, the last time she went to Snow Village, she had brought back a pair of "lovebirds." This time, she was swayed by the boy's mention of twin-heart shells.

"Little buddy, can you tell sister what a twin-heart shell looks like? Sister wants to find one too." Wang Yuqing crouched down and asked the little boy.

"A twin-heart shell is two heart-shaped shells tightly joined together," the boy replied.

"Xiao Lin, let's look too—let's find a twin-heart shell. Hurry up." Wang Yuqing said to Xiao Lin, then immediately crouched low and began searching along the shore for the shell the boy had described.

"Didn't you say that was something only kids picked up?" Xiao Lin muttered under his breath, but he too started searching.

Unfortunately, whether such a shell truly existed was anyone's guess. The several boys, plus Wang Yuqing and Xiao Lin, searched for a full two hours without catching a glimpse of a twin-heart shell. They did, however, find plenty of ordinary shells, including a few very pretty ones. Xiao Lin picked out the most beautiful of them.

"Yuqing, this one's for you. It's a rare purple shell, you know." Xiao Lin placed the small, lovely shell in Wang Yuqing's palm.

Wang Yuqing had been a little disappointed at not finding a twin-heart shell, but now she was captivated by the shell in her hand. The shell Xiao Lin had found wasn't truly purple—its color only resembled it. It was fan-shaped, bearing lovely wave-like patterns that formed a beautiful design. The shell was small, yet extremely hard and delicate, with speckled marks at its center that gave off a lovely luster.

Wang Yuqing examined the shell closely, her beautiful big eyes brimming with surprise and delight.

Seeing how happy Wang Yuqing was, Xiao Lin waved his hand grandly and called out to the boys, "Come on, stop looking for shells. Come over here, and big brother will tell you a story."

But then he found himself awkwardly realizing that all the boys were staring at him like he was an idiot. Xiao Lin rubbed his nose. "What? Don't you like stories?"

At that, the boy nearest Xiao Lin curled his lip and said, "Big brother, do you think we're seven- or eight-year-olds? Listening to stories? I'm twelve this year."

Uh... Xiao Lin looked at the pouting boy with his innocent face, opened his mouth, and found nothing to say.

"Hee hee. Xiao Lin, kids these days are hilarious." Wang Yuqing laughed so hard she couldn't straighten her back.

"Xiaotong, let's go home. We'll come back to look for shells tomorrow." A sturdy, lively-looking boy called out. With that, the boys picked up their little buckets and skipped away, leaving a trail of small footprints upon the sand—a lovely string of marks. These children all lived not far from the sea. They had played by the shore since they were young, even their games revolving around the sea.

After the boys had gone, Xiao Lin looked at Wang Yuqing with mischief in his eyes. "Yuqing, now it's just the two of us, huh?"

Seeing Xiao Lin's sly grin, Wang Yuqing instinctively shifted back a little. "What do you want to do?" She pursed her rosy lips.

"Haha, what do you think I want to do?" With a loud cry, Xiao Lin pounced on her in an instant, kissing her fiercely on the lips.

Wang Yuqing let out a soft whimper, struggled a little, then went still. "This rascal—he always attacks by surprise."

Seeing that she no longer resisted, Xiao Lin's hands began to wander, reaching toward her chest. Feeling his roving hands, Wang Yuqing bit down hard on his tongue, making him yelp in pain.

"Yuqing, are you a dog or something? Ouch, that hurts!" Xiao Lin rubbed his mouth and glared at her.

"Serves you right. Who told you to let your hands wander?" Wang Yuqing huffed, her cheeks flushed.

Just then, a touch of crimson spread across the distant horizon. Gradually, the red flooded the entire sky, and the fiery clouds cast a radiant glow.

"Xiao Lin, the sunset's starting!" Wang Yuqing cried in surprise. Hand in hand, the two walked to the shore's edge, gazing at the magnificent red expanse of the sea, unconsciously tightening their grip on each other's hands.

After a long moment... "It's truly beautiful!" Wang Yuqing said softly.

"I told you the sunset over the sea was beautiful, didn't I? Wasn't my surprise worth it? Come here, let me steal a kiss." Xiao Lin made as if to kiss her, scaring Wang Yuqing into dashing away a few steps. But she found he hadn't chased her. She lowered her little head, blushing. "That big rascal." Then, as she looked down in her shyness, she noticed a shell beneath her feet that looked strange. Curious, she crouched down and picked it up. The moment she looked at it, she gasped in astonishment. "A twin-heart shell!"

"Are you so obsessed with shells that you've lost your mind?" Xiao Lin walked over laughing, then looked at what was in her hand. There it was—two heart-shaped shells tightly joined together, reflecting intoxicating colors in the glow of the sunset. He froze. "That... that can't be possible."

Wang Yuqing held the shell up to Xiao Lin, showing it off triumphantly. "See? It's real! Exactly what those kids described!"

Watching Wang Yuqing jump for joy like a child, Xiao Lin noticed, as she bounced, the red string hanging around her neck. He couldn't help asking curiously, "Yuqing, what exactly is it that you always wear around your neck?"