He took out a cigarette, lit it, and started to lean there, smoking, not knowing what to think. His mind was just a mess, and his ears buzzed with a relentless humming. It was utter chaos, filled with fear.
He feared that this friend, this brother who grew up with him, had left him forever.
While he stood there smoking one cigarette after another, his ears caught what seemed like the sound of a woman's high heels hurriedly clicking over the floor, tap-tap, distinctly crisp against the tiled floor, and particularly grating.
Finally, he lifted his head and looked in the direction of the sound, only to see, through the haze of blue smoke, a young woman in a beige chiffon shirt and an army-green cotton long skirt approaching.
Who was that?
Seeing the woman's slender, pale face, he felt he had seen her somewhere before but couldn't quite recall.
It wasn't until she approached him, saw him, and called out, "Ou Mucen, how is he doing? Is everything okay?"
Ou Mucen?
