Seeing that she has prepared a pile of rice paper, ink and brushes, Yuma walks over and asks
curiously, "Miss, what are you going to do?"
"Practicing my handwriting." She answers solemnly.
"Miss Karin, your handwriting is already beautiful, why do you still need to practice?"
She sighs, "You don't understand. What I am practicing right now is different from what we write
usually. What I am practicing is not called handwriting. To put it elegantly, it's called calligraphy."
"Oh…" Yuma nods and does not fully understand.
"By the way, help me with the ink."
"Okay, how?"
"Like this…"
Karin shows her how to do it. And when she learns how to do it, she spreads out the white paper, holds
a brush in her hand, and begins to write carefully.
She has been writing stroke by stroke for a long time, then she holds up the paper, "How’s that, Yuma?
Does it look good?"
Yuma shakes her head, "I have no idea. It looks like the calligraphy and painting in the antique shop."
She chuckles, "It's not like that. It’s far from it. If my calligraphy is put in an antique shop, the shop will
be closed in no more than half a day."
It doesn't matter if her calligraphy looks bad. What matters most is she is practicing with great
concentration.
No one knows how long she has been writing, and discarded pieces of paper are thrown at her feet
one after another. The ink drops are all over the table. Seeing how terrible it looks, Yuma leaves her to
continue writing alone, and works on something else.
She has been writing for a long time, and doesn’t even realize the time.
"Oh, what an aesthetic mood, you are practicing calligraphy."
The sound comes from behind suddenly frightens her. She turns her head immediately, and finds that it
is Troy, and she quickly stretches out her hands to cover his eyes, "Don't look at it, don't, it doesn’t look
good."
"Too late. I’ve been looking for a while."
"What?!" She drops her hands and stares at him embarrassedly, "How could you, you are peeping!"
"You put the table publicly right in the middle of the road. If I walk past carelessly, you are going to say
that again." Troy imitates her voice, "Are you ignoring me? Or are you ignoring my calligraphy?"
He bends down and picks up a piece of paper that was torn by her, frowns and sighs, "Tut, this
writing..."
"This calligraphy and what?"
She questions him annoyedly. Just look at his face, is it that bad?!
"I really can’t flatter you."
"Huh, you can’t, but someone did." She snatches it over, "Yuma said it looked like those sold in the
antique shop."
"Then let Yuma put it away quicky, and sell it tomorrow."
Troy teases her and she drops her words annoyed, "Nonsense." She turns her back at him and
continues to write.
How aggrieved she is! She is a top student of University of Zurich and how could Troy mock her that
her calligraphy looks ugly. She would rather die than being humiliated.
"Hold on, you don’t think mine is good, is it that you can write better?"
She has an idea suddenly and asks in return curiously.
Troy smiles, "I won’t say it’s great. But compared to yours, it should be slightly better."
"Alright, write then."
She puts the brush into his hand, takes out the paper that she has half written, and steps aside to make
room for him.
"Whose calligraphy do you like?"
"Will you write like the calligraphy of whoever I like?" How arrogant he is.
"Yep."
"Wang Xizhi."
"Which font?"
"The official script."
"Okay."
Troy dips his brush lightly in the ink, swipes a big stroke, and a few lines of words are done. Karin is
dumbfounded, and finally understands what is called lively and vigorous in calligraphy.
"One day you and I are old, sitting quietly in front of the court, admiring the flowers, laughing and
talking about the passing years. Because of a single glance hundred years ago, we are together here
tonight. I live my life holding your hand, and now I realize that we have been through everything."
She reads it silently and praises it from the bottom of her heart, "It's so beautiful."
"Does it resemble Wang Xizhi’s?"
"Yes, very. It’s almost like his authentic calligraphy."
"Silly girl." He pokes her forehead with his finger, "Wang Xizhi's authentic works are not preserved, and
those handed down are all copies."
Karin scratches her head embarrassedly, "But even they are copies, you are doing so well. Now I
admire you extremely..." She begins to act coquettishly, "Troy, can you teach me?"
"Why do you want to learn this?"
"To improve my ability. In ancient times, women were required to be proficient in all kinds of piano,
chess, calligraphy and painting. You see, your calligraphy is so good, but mine is poor. We don't
match."
"It's okay. In my eyes, you are already endowed with both beauty and talent, and you don't need to get
improved."
She doesn’t give up, "Don’t, even if it’s not for the sake of my beauty and talent, I can cultivate my mind
by practicing it. Think about it. You are usually busy with work and can’t accompany me in time. If I can
kill time by practicing calligraphy, isn't it pretty good?"
Troy’s mind is a little swayed, and she takes advantage of it and says, "Teach me please, please..."
"You really want to learn it?"
"Yes!"
"Well then, I’ll teach you."
He crooks his finger to beckon her. Karin stands aside him, and he circles her with his arms from
behind, leans closer to her ear and whispers, "If you want to write beautifully, you should calm your
heart, calm your spirit, and calm your mind first. Now close your eyes and follow my feelings."
Karin closes her eyes. Troy holds her hand, and starts to teach her to write stroke by stroke. She
doesn’t think about which word she is writing, but just feels the strength attentively.
"Done."
He loosens her hand and she opens her eyes right away. The next second, her heart shakes and she
is stunned.
"Karin, the love of my life."
The first thing that attracts her attention is not the beautiful cursive script on the paper, but these simple
six words.
She turns around and looks up at Troy. For a while, she is speechless.
"Why this?"
"It was what I was thinking, so I wrote it down."
"Thank you."
A single "Thank you" is what comes from the bottom of her heart. It doesn’t need to be more. She
understands it, so does he.
"I don’t need a perfect relationship; I just need someone who will never give up on me."
"I’m the one."
The sunshine on that day is especially warm. She leans on Troy's shoulders, feeling the unforgettable
happiness. Even if years later, when she thinks of that afternoon, she would still think that it was the
most beautiful time she has experienced in her life.
When Karin meets William again, she barely recognizes him. However, he remembers her.
On the avenue of University of Zurich, Billie is gossiping with Karin excitedly. Suddenly a voice comes
from behind, "Miss Karin."
They turn their heads at the same time, and Billie asks wonderingly, "Who’s this?"
Karin thinks for a few seconds, and remembers immediately, "… William?"
"Thank you for remembering me."
He steps forward and smiles brightly, with two dimples on his face.
"What a coincidence, why are you here?"
"Don’t forget, I’m your senior."
"Oh, right." She shrugs embarrassedly, "Then are you coming back school for something to deal with?
Or you are just here to miss the old days?"
"Of course I have something to deal with." William talks with them as they walk, "I’m not the nostalgic
type."
"Right, let me introduce. This is my friend, Billie. You guys come from the same place."
Billie widens her eyes, "What same place?"
"He also comes from Edinburgh." Karin points to William.
"Oh, really?" She looks very excited, and hugs William immediately, "When you see someone coming
from the same place as you do, it’s always a touching thing."
Karin chuckles and pats Billie on the shoulder, "Girl, you are freaking him out."
William is also surprised, "I didn't expect to meet an old folk at home at my alma mater. It's a fate."
"Exactly, since it’s a fate, how about eating together?"
"Sure, it’s my treat." William volunteers.
They find a Chinese restaurant, sit down and talk freely.
"William, which part of Edinburgh do you come from?"
After ordering the food, Billie taps on the table with chopsticks, and asks randomly.
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