He was a pale man, not very old, probably around thirty. He was wearing a black shirt and a pair of black trousers. A man as thin as him shouldn't have chosen black clothing. The man was really thin, with a narrow shoulder and a slender waist that seemed to add up to less than a hundred pounds. The man had a three-to-seven split, wore black-framed glasses, and had drooping corners of his eyes, looking rather pitiful.
Luna and Yuan Li saw the man while he was waiting for the elevator.
It was a little past one in the afternoon and Luna and Yuan Li had finished lunch outside and were returning to the company. The man stood at the elevator entrance, his back straight, and his neck moved when he heard the two girls coming from behind him chatting and laughing, but still did not turn his head to look.
Kelly is an overly lively little girl. She graduated from school last summer and usually runs around after work at the office, chattering non-stop without a moment of peace. Kelly worked part-time as a radio host during her college years and developed a sharp tongue over the course of two years. When she first joined the company, some male employees, seeing her good looks, would come up to her for no reason. She began to act silly, and when the men thought they could tease her at will, she just moved her lips and left the men who felt good about themselves dumbfounded.
As the saying goes, a true expert can be known with just a touch of his hand. Kelly, when she opens her mouth, is full of tricks. She doesn't need to make a draft when making harm to others, and she keeps beating around the corner. Even though she has hurt someone, the person being hurt still has a stern smile on their face, taking a long time to react. Finally, everyone came to understand that this little girl was really amazing. Everyone had been fooled by her innocent and naive appearance. From then on, no one dared to provoke Kelly again in the company.
Luna wasn't really close to Kelly, but she really liked Kelly's personality. She was known for being a cold beauty in the company, serious and always keeping a moderate distance from everyone, so her colleagues gradually ignored her presence. Pretty women are a pleasant sight, but today's men are very realistic. What they need is the kind of bonsai that can be carried home in their pockets, so their eyes are always fixed on those girls who are within reach.
The only thing Luna and Kelly have in common is that they keep men at arm's length.
It's natural for them to come together at the company. They would chat in their spare time, have lunch together at the Zizhulin White-collar Restaurant, and go out to wait for the elevator after work together. In fact, their interactions were limited to that. They never had any contact outside of work. But even so, they were good friends in the eyes of the rest of the company.
That noon, the two went to the Purple Bamboo Grove restaurant for lunch again, and on their way back to the company, they met the thin man at the elevator entrance.
When the elevator came down, the thin man in front went in first, followed by Kelly and Luna. The man went in and turned around, and Kelly and Luna just met him when they came in. Kelly's eyes were fixed on the man as soon as she came in, and even Luna, who was beside her, thought her gaze was too flamboyant. Luna thought that even if she wanted to stare at the man, she should at least be reserved.
Kelly had never seen such a thin man before. His shirt, which was wrapped around him, was wobbling, and his belt, which was pulled up to the last buttoning hole, was so loose that it seemed as if it could slip off his waist at any moment. And the man's face, his chin pointed like a cone, his cheeks sunken, his nose looked particularly straight, and his glasses were particularly large.
Kelly was so mischievous that she couldn't help laughing when she looked at someone. The man became uncomfortable and shifted his body to the side, trying to avoid Kelly's gaze. As he turned, Kelly turned along with him. The man coughed softly, his face flushed, his eyes flashing as he looked back at Kelly, then quickly averted his gaze.
This time Kelly laughed even more happily, and she took Luna's hand, her body shaking with laughter.
Luna frowned, pulled her hand down and said in a low voice, "All right, all right, stop laughing." Kelly said, "Do you know why I'm laughing? I was thinking about a friend of mine last autumn. My friend bought a motorcycle last year and rode it around all day long. One night when it was windy, he rode his motorcycle so fast that he passed me without seeing me. There happened to be a crossroads not far ahead, and I watched him stop his bike at the intersection, and then slowly -- "Kelly leaned slowly towards Luna, his hands in a handlebar position.
"He fell to the ground little by little right in front of me. Luna asked strangely, "Why did he fall to the ground?" Kelly glanced at the skinny man beside her, nodded her head like a chick pecking at rice, and said, "My friend was so thin that he was blown down by the wind as soon as the car stopped." Luna, unable to hold it in, covered her mouth with her hand and sneered.
The man was stunned for a moment, his face flushed red, intending to explode but too timid to speak. Just then the elevator stopped and reached the floor where Luna and Kelly's company were, and the two girls got out of the elevator laughing. Just then Kelly turned around and said something Luna didn't expect.
"My friend is even thinner this year, and his girlfriend wants to treat him by hanging him on the wall with just a thumbtack," Kelly said. The elevator door closed slowly, and the man's pale, sullen face vanished from the elevator. The two girls had no more reservations, and even Luna laughed her head off.
Kelly said, "I've never seen a man so thin that he could be sent to the zoo for an exhibition." Luna also said, "He's really too thin, so thin that it's a bit sickly." As they went back to the office, Kelly excitedly exaggerated the appearance of the man just now, and some of her colleagues did not believe her and accused her of insulting men in various ways. Kelly then patted her chest to lead everyone upstairs to look for the man.
Chatting and laughing, time passed quickly, and when it was time to go to work, the conversation about the skinny man was over. Luna and Kelly also quickly forgot about it. With so much work to do every day, who would have the energy to focus on someone who has nothing to do with them?
They didn't expect that as they left the elevator, the pale, thin man suddenly began to tremble all over, as if he couldn't control the shudder himself. His hands drooped feebly, his shoulders slightly raised, and his face grew paler in the tremors. Then he held onto the inner wall of the elevator and slowly crouched down, with a look of despair in his eyes behind his black-framed glasses.
The elevator stopped. The people who came in saw his appearance and went up to him with concern to ask if he was not feeling well and if he needed to call an ambulance.
Without saying a word, the thin man rushed out of the elevator and headed straight for the nearest restroom.
In the bathroom, he began to vomit, and vomited non-stop.
He vomited for a long time but didn't spit out much. He finally stopped in front of the pool, scooped up water and splashed it on his face. The lenses were covered with water droplets. He took off his glasses and saw vaguely that in the mirror in front of him was a very thin man.
He began to vomit again.
In the evening, Luna, thinking that Rowan was coming to pick her up, packed up early and waited to get off work. Just after six o 'clock, she said goodbye to her colleagues and went out. As she passed by Kelly's cubicle, Kelly waved goodbye to her without looking up.
Kelly had a project to work on and had a few more chats with colleagues in the afternoon, which took her a bit of time. The plan is for the director's business trip tomorrow, so she must finish it tonight and send it to the director's email.
In fact, even if she did finish her work, she would just go downstairs with Luna and then go their separate ways at the company gate. Modern relationships seem to be getting more and more delicate, especially for those working in big companies. They are always trying to maintain an easy-going and pleasant relationship, but in fact each of them has put a barrier on themselves, not allowing others to get too close to them, and they themselves won't get close to others.
And when the relationship becomes a habit, it seems to be ignored by everyone.
While Luna was waiting for the elevator, she thought of the thin man she had seen at noon. She had a strange feeling in her heart at that moment. When she thought of the thin man, she no longer found it ridiculous, but felt extremely uncomfortable, like hearing something disgusting from someone while eating, or coming back from the street and finding her new clothes stained with something unclean.
Luna couldn't forget a time when she went to the cinema and didn't realize there was a piece of chewing gum stuck to the bottom of her pants until she went to bed at night. The gum had turned black and she tried to take it off, but it was stuck to her pants and she couldn't get it clean. That night Luna was alone in the bathroom, desperately washing, rubbing and kneading, but there was still a thin layer of that dirty piece of gum stuck to her pants.
Later Luna knocked over a basin in the bathroom and slipped herself in the water on the floor. She fell to the floor and bled on her knees. She just lay on the ground crying, and she wouldn't open the door when the family knocked outside. I don't know how long she had been crying. It seemed very late at night and all the people were asleep. Luna stopped crying. She wiped her tears and, little by little, took off her clothes and stood naked under the shower.
When the cold water fell, her skin gave a sudden spasm. She folded her arms, but raised her face in the direction of the water flow.
Luna had a flawless body, a slender waist, a tall waist, long limbs, and skin as delicate and fair as jade. The water droplets landed on her body, splashing up quickly or sliding down slowly. Because of the water's nourishment, the body takes on a glistening texture, and the graceful lines hold the plump water droplets, like the morning rose petals hold the dewdrops.
But the body, having been washed by the cold water for a long time, became unusually pale later.
The night was as cold as water, and Luna's body was as cold as ice.
Luna in the elevator recalled the past and couldn't help feeling a slight chill in an instant.
There are some untouchable corners in everyone's heart, and time can disguise those corners, but there will surely be times when you feel the true feeling coming from those corners. In this way, you will be flustered, you will be scared, you will have nowhere to run.
Luna's mood dimmed for no reason, perhaps not for no reason, but at least at this moment, the dimming came rather inappropriately. Luna thought it was all because of the thin man she had seen at noon. At this moment, the image of that thin man came to mind again: his unusually pale face, his sunken cheeks, the sullen gaze behind his black-framed glasses, the deep helplessness he had when facing Kelly later, and the flickering look in his eyes when the elevator door closed.
Luna shook her head, trying hard to shake off the shadow of the thin man.
It was time to get off work, and Luna suddenly felt something was amiss in the elevator. At this time of day, the elevator is almost full of people, and there are often people who can't get in because of overcrowding. Today, I was the only one in the elevator, and my figure was reflected everywhere on the stainless steel walls of the elevator. Those shadows were blurry, somewhat distorted, indistinct like some restless ghosts.
Luna leaned back against the wall, breathing heavily, and some long-standing fears undoubtedly captured her again. All she could hope for now was that some more people would come in the elevator, or that it would go down faster, faster and faster. There was a time when she was afraid of crowds, afraid of being among many strangers, but now she has so much longing for them. There was sunlight, there was noise, and there were many things she had once shunned.
The elevator stopped and Luna rushed out without a moment's pause as she crossed the lobby. The afterglow of the setting sun slanted from the top of the building, and the buildings across the road shone with the glow of the setting sun in Luna's eyes.
That was exactly what she needed. The glow made her impatient to get up, and she knew that there was someone she loved waiting for her across the road.
Luna's figure came out through the revolving door, and she didn't see the staircase on the west side of the lobby, where a pair of eyes, with a touch of sadness, followed her closely.
It was the skinny man, still in his black coat and trousers.
He's too thin. He shouldn't have chosen black. Because of his thinness, he had all his sleeves down and only unbuttoned the top button of his collar, so that he was completely wrapped in the clothes, but the clothes were wobbling as if his body could not support them at all.
The staircase was, as usual, the darkest part of the hall, and his face was even paler in the darkness - so pale that it was almost blinding.
He looked at Luna's back, with such a deep sadness in his eyes. If it weren't for his wide-rimmed black-framed glasses, the sadness might have been even more intense.
-- Why would he be sad for Luna, who he had never met before and had only met once in an elevator?
He walked out of the staircase, his already straight back hunched a little, as if being in the bright was a headache for him. His eyebrows furrowed, but he walked without hesitation towards the door.
The thin man walks strangely. At first glance, you will think he walks very slowly because he seems to think for a moment with each step, so he walks very slowly. But he is tall, his slender legs are long, and he takes a step and a half as far as others, so he moves very fast.
The thin man had already stepped out of the revolving door and was standing on the steps of the building, witnessing Luna being knocked down by a car. At that moment, the sadness in his eyes grew even stronger. Even, he couldn't bear to go up and check on Luna's life and death like many onlookers.
Such a beautiful girl, will her death be as beautiful as her appearance?
He stood on the steps hesitating for a moment, and because the elevation was slightly higher, he could clearly see Rowan punching the driver down and bending down. At this point, the onlookers surrounded Rowan and Luna even more tightly, and he couldn't see the scene after Rowan hugged Luna. But what does it matter? A predestined outcome has already occurred and no one can change it. At this point, what else could a bystander feel except sadness?
But the truth is not what he thinks.
He seemed to have quieted down when he saw Rowan pick up Luna. He opened his eyes wide, and then saw Luna break free from Rowan's embrace and stand straight in the middle of the crowd.
-- It was strange that Luna, who had been knocked down by a car, was unscathed.
He couldn't quite believe his eyes, but the truth was right in front of him. He began to wheeze more heavily and felt some force surging within him.
There was only one possibility that Luna was unharmed, that the car had stopped before it hit her body, and that she, out of fear, instinctively fell in the direction the car was speeding, and because of the shock, she fainted as she fell.
The driver on the other side stroked his nose, blood smeared on his smiling face.
The onlookers had different expressions. Some were relieved, some were disappointed, and others went up to ask questions. Rowan and Luna were clearly not accustomed to being the center of attention in this situation. Luna turned her gaze to Rowan, who understood her intention, held her apart from the crowd, stopped a passing taxi, and quickly left the scene.
Luna left, the skinny man still standing on the steps. There was an uncontainable disappointment in his eyes, though separated by a layer of lenses. Disappointment and sadness appeared on his face, and his expression was rather strange. Some people passing by him stared at him with strange eyes, but then withdrew their gaze and hurried away.
The thin man's chest rose and fell as he faced the crowd that was gradually dispersing. He stood there in a daze like an old monk, and then finally went down the steps and walked forward.
He walked slowly but fast, and in a moment he disappeared from our sight.
The setting sun finally vanished, and the brilliant clouds of the west were dispersed by the deepening dusk. Then the lights came on, and all the neon lights on the street lit up in an instant. Night came, and the city lived in the desolation of the night.
Kelly finished the plan and sent it to the director's email, and that was the end of the day. She stretched lazily and found that there was no one else in the company except her. In the large office, only the desk lamp in her cubicle was still on. She grumbled something discontentedly, vented her emotions, and took out her makeup bag from her bag to touch up her makeup.
Pretty girls always care a lot about their appearance, but it's the plain-looking or ugly girls who are too lazy to dress up. Kelly hummed a song and fiddled with her face for a full half an hour. Although night has come, it is not too late. People who are used to nightlife always consider night as their best adornment.
Kelly finally chose a rose lipstick on her lips, and she immediately looked a little more seductive. Just then she seemed to hear a faint sound of footsteps coming from the corridor outside. The footsteps were strange, as if they were half a beat slower than the average person. She listened intently for a moment, and then the footsteps disappeared.
Perhaps someone from another office has just left. Kelly thought.
Kelly left the office and waited for a long time before the elevator came up. There were few people left in the building by then.
As she got into the elevator, she suddenly felt a chill, as if a gust of wind had swept over her body. She subconsciously glanced around the elevator and smiled. How could there be a gap in the elevator? It was a ridiculous thought. But the chill was so real that she could even look down and see goosebumps on her bare arms.
Even more strangely, her mind, like Luna's when she got into the elevator, suddenly thought of the pale, thin man she had seen at noon. The man was so thin that he probably wouldn't be of much use in this world, Kelly thought, if anyone found such a man as a boyfriend, it would be the greatest disaster of her life. Fortunately, she had nothing to do with the man. They just passed by each other, or they might run into each other again in this elevator, but Kelly decided never to look at the man again.
The thought of the man made her feel a chill in her heart.
Kelly shook her head, trying to drive the skinny man out of her mind, but the pale face still shook before her eyes. Kelly thought, "What's wrong with me? Why do I keep thinking about that man?" So Kelly was thinking about where to go for a meal later. A colleague at the company said that a "Haokelai" steakhouse had just opened on the South Pole Road, and it was said that the beef was all imported from the United States. Kelly thought of going to Haokelai for a while, but going to Haokelai would have to wait for the elevator to stop, and today the elevator seemed to be going down very slowly.
Finally, Kelly wondered if the pale, thin man would be waiting for her at the elevator entrance when the elevator stopped.