Chapter 17: Beach Vacation (4)
Time flew by, and before they knew it, it was already the last day of the vacation.
Early in the morning, Zhou Qikuan said he was going out with Ye Feilu. As for what they were going to do, he did not tell Li Nuo.
Li Nuo had originally wanted to invite him to the water park today.
Sure enough, once a man gets a girl, he forgets his friends.
All those sayings like "Brothers are like limbs, women are like clothes" were clearly just nice words.
Since it was the last day of the holiday, Li Nuo had no plans to continue working at the café.
In just five days of part-time work, he had earned a full 1,500 yuan.
That was much more than he had expected.
After paying for transportation and other expenses, he should still have around 1,000 yuan left.
That was far more than he could earn from part-time jobs back in his small city.
The only problem was that he did not really like the job itself.
Lying on the hotel bed, tossing and turning, he struggled with his thoughts for a long time.
Finally, he gathered his courage, opened his phone, and sent a message to An Ran'er.
[Um... Classmate An, would you like to go to the water park with me?]
About ten minutes later, she replied with only three words.
[Not going. Busy.]
After waiting nervously for over ten minutes, all he got was a rejection.
A disappointed expression appeared on Li Nuo's face.
He wanted to ask another question, but after thinking about it, he gave up.
These past few days together had made him wonder.
Could An Ran'er like me?
Does she have feelings for me?
But her hot-and-cold attitude made him unable to be sure.
"Ahhh... thinking that the person I like might like me back really is one of life's biggest misunderstandings."
He looked at his phone and laughed bitterly at himself.
Even though he had been rejected, he did not plan to spend the entire day lying in his hotel room.
After getting himself ready, he decided to go out and look around.
He had been here for five days already.
Other than the café and the nearby beach, he had not visited anywhere else.
That's so typical of me, he thought.
Even on vacation, I'm still boring.
The truth was that he did not really know what fun places there were on the island.
Besides the amusement attractions and water activities, there was mainly a shopping street that sold souvenirs.
Since he could not swim, going alone to a water park felt a little strange.
After some thought, he decided to visit the souvenir street instead.
Not that he planned to buy anything.
After all, there was nobody he could give souvenirs to.
Because the island was located in a tropical monsoon climate zone, there were many tropical fruits.
As a result, most of the souvenirs were dried fruits and handmade shell accessories.
Most visitors walked around with their partners or groups of friends.
People wandering around alone like Li Nuo were rare.
Almost nonexistent, really.
Well, that was because he simply did not have many friends.
Halfway through his walk, he suddenly saw someone familiar.
"An Ran'er?"
At that moment, An Ran'er was standing in front of a souvenir shop, chatting and laughing with a man.
The man was around 180 centimeters tall.
He wore gold-rimmed glasses.
His high nose bridge and well-defined facial features gave him a handsome appearance.
More than that, his movements and mannerisms gave off a gentle and refined feeling.
Seeing how happily An Ran'er was smiling, Li Nuo did not want to think this way, but he felt he was probably right.
That man was most likely her boyfriend.
Although he had long suspected that she had a boyfriend, seeing it with his own eyes still made his heart feel empty.
As if he had lost something important.
"So that's why she said she was busy."
"How ridiculous. I'm not her boyfriend. Why should I feel sad?"
"I should have known. A girl as amazing as her would obviously have a boyfriend."
Looking at the two of them talking and laughing together, the handsome man and the beautiful girl, Li Nuo thought they looked like a perfect match.
Then he looked at himself.
He looked so feminine.
How could any girl possibly like someone like him?
Yet every day he kept imagining whether someone might have feelings for him.
He felt like a complete clown.
Maybe someone like him was destined to spend his life alone.
When he saw them walking in his direction, Li Nuo quickly turned around and squatted beside a roadside stall.
Pretending to look at shell accessories.
Only after they had walked far away did he stand up.
Just as he was about to leave, someone called out to him.
"Hey! You haven't paid for that item yet!"
"Huh?"
Only then did Li Nuo realize he was holding a bracelet made of purple shells.
He tried to put it back.
But the stall owner grabbed his hand.
"Wait, young lady! Don't you want to know what this bracelet means?"
"The meaning?"
Although being called "young lady" annoyed him, he was not in the mood to explain.
"This bracelet is made from very rare purple shells. Do you know what purple shells symbolize?"
"No."
"Purple shells symbolize perfection and everlasting love. They're considered guardians of love. A bracelet like this is perfect as a gift for your lover."
After hearing that, Li Nuo looked at the bracelet in surprise.
He had never known shells could have symbolic meanings.
Curious, he asked, "How much is it?"
"Not expensive. Only 9,999 yuan."
After hearing the price, Li Nuo looked at the bracelet again.
Without hesitation, he put it back and turned around to leave.
What a joke.
He did not even have a lover.
Why would he buy something like that?
Seeing him leave, the stall owner quickly shouted:
"Special sale price! Only 999 yuan!"
Li Nuo kept walking. The stall owner gritted his teeth.
"Only 99 yuan! Buy one, get one free!"
……………………………
Afternoon.
Back in his hotel room.
Li Nuo stared at the two purple shell bracelets in his hands with regret.
He had no idea why he had bought them.
It was simply a waste of money. He had already checked online.
There was no way real purple shells could be sold that cheaply.
It was obvious the stall owner had simply dyed ordinary shells purple.
He could only blame himself for being absent-minded enough to actually buy them.
Lying face-down on the bed, all he could think about was the scene from earlier.
An Ran'er smiling and chatting happily with that man.
Although he really liked An Ran'er, she already had a boyfriend. So he could only give up.
After all, he could never bring himself to interfere in someone else's relationship.
While he was lost in his thoughts, his phone suddenly received a message.
He opened it.
It was from Zhou Qikuan.
[Bro Nuo, there's going to be a bonfire party here tonight. Want to join?]
Li Nuo originally wanted to refuse.
But after thinking about it, staying in the room would only make him overthink things.
He might as well go. At least it could help improve his gloomy mood. So he replied,
[I'm in.]