A Boatful of Clear Dreams Floating Over the Galaxy - Chapter 1
When Ruan Qingmeng arrived at the Old Fisherman Bookstore on her bicycle, someone was already waiting at the door.
It was a young girl with a student bob haircut. Her blue-and-white sporty-style school uniform was a bit too large, hanging loosely on her frame. She was sitting on the steps, reciting texts from a book.
What a diligent and serious student, Ruan Qingmeng thought.
She parked her bike next to the shop and patted the girl’s shoulder. The girl started, the book in her hand falling to the ground with a thud. Her face, raised in surprise, was pale and tender, full of collagen, her eyes wide with panic.
Sighing internally about the blessings of youth, Ruan Qingmeng unlocked the shop door with her keys and asked, “What would you like to buy?”
“Books,” the girl replied timidly from behind her.
“…”
This is a bookstore. Of course, you’re here to buy books.
Ruan Qingmeng rubbed her forehead and asked patiently, “What kind of books?”
The girl raised her hand and pointed softly in a certain direction. “That one.”
Ruan Qingmeng followed her finger and saw it was the second-hand section.
She moved a ladder over and carefully climbed up. Her pale, slender fingers hovered over the pile of old books. “Which one?”
The girl looked up and said softly, “The one on the far right.”
Squinting, Ruan Qingmeng looked. Most of the books in the second-hand section were ones that hadn’t sold and were just left there. The pages were generally yellowed with worn edges, and the covers were faded, the words barely legible. She could just make out the words “Buddhist Sutra.”
The A-frame ladder wasn’t positioned quite far enough to the right. She reached out to pull at the book but only managed to touch the very edge.
No good. Need to reach a bit further. Pull harder. Surely, I can get it out.
The girl below said anxiously, “Be careful, Sister!”
Sister?
Ruan Qingmeng felt a wave of pleasant surprise.
Although only twenty-four, ever since she started working, few people called her ‘Sister’ anymore.
Having been ‘Auntie Ruan’ for so long, she had almost forgotten she was still a young woman.
Just for that crisp, clear “Sister,” she had to get that old book out!
Gritting her teeth, Ruan Qingmeng steadied herself on the bookshelf with her right hand and stretched her left arm out to reach for the book.
Harder, just a little bit more!
She tugged and pulled with small motions, finally managing to wrest the book from its place on the shelf.
A small sense of victorious joy filled her heart, and she let out a long sigh of relief.
But her happiness lasted less than two seconds before tragedy struck.
This Buddhist sutra had truly been sitting there for too long, who knows how many years. Ruan Qingmeng was usually lazy and didn’t clean the second-hand bookcase often. This forceful tug released a massive cloud of accumulated old dust into the air. The floating particles flew everywhere, rushing into her face, blinding her eyes, and drilling into her nose.
“Cough, cough, cough!” Ruan Qingmeng coughed uncontrollably.
“Sister, are you okay?!”
Ruan Qingmeng waved her hand, about to say she was fine, but the movement was too abrupt. Her body swayed, she lost her balance, her head spun, the world turned upside down, and with a thump, she tumbled to the ground.
Good grief, that hurts!
Everything happened so suddenly. It took the young girl a couple of seconds to react with great alarm. She hurried over in a fluster to help her up. “Sister, are you alright?!”
“Mmm…” She wasn’t feeling great.
Ruan Qingmeng had fallen in a very undignified manner, splayed out on her back on the floor. She rubbed the back of her head with her fingers and turned to look. The Buddhist sutra lay quietly beside her head, as if mocking her.
“I’m fine… Why are you buying this book? Are you religious?” She sat up, rubbing her head again, and found her long hair completely tangled. She tried combing it with her fingers, but it wouldn’t loosen.
The girl squatted down and carefully picked up the Buddhist sutra, her face filled with a cautious, almost reverent expression.
She murmured to herself, “Luckily, the book is okay…”
“…” So her falling didn’t matter at all, huh?
The young girl took a transparent plastic bag from her backpack, carefully wrapped the Buddhist sutra in it, and then placed it into her school bag with extreme caution.
“Sister, how much is it?”
“Forget it, it’s yours. No charge.” Ruan Qingmeng said with a pout, her hands on the ground as she tried to stand up. “Talking about money feels like an insult to Buddha.”
She moved her foot, and a sharp pain shot from her ankle. She immediately sucked in a breath and looked down. Sure enough, a slight redness and swelling had appeared there.
She was wearing high-heeled boots; she must have twisted her ankle when she fell earlier.
The girl, overjoyed, hugged her backpack, her eyes curved into happy crescents. “Thank you, Sister! You’re so kind, Buddha is sure to bless you.”
Your Buddha just made me twist my ankle.
Ruan Qingmeng put on a formal, practiced smile, stood still, and nodded. “You’re welcome.”
“I must thank you properly.”
The girl fished something out of her bag, reached for Ruan Qingmeng’s hand, and placed it in her palm.
Ruan Qingmeng looked down and saw it was a bracelet—a red cord with a pendant hanging from it, engraved with some unknown symbolic characters.
“Sister, this is something I asked for from Buddha. It can bless the wearer to have their wishes fulfilled and lead a complete, happy life. I’m giving it to you now, wishing you smooth sailing in all your endeavors too.”
Before Ruan Qingmeng could refuse, the girl stuffed the cord bracelet into her hand, hoisted her backpack onto her shoulders, and skipped away from the Old Fisherman Bookstore. She was small but moved quite fast, her figure shrinking to a dot and soon disappearing.
Ruan Qingmeng shook her head helplessly. She pinched the end of the cord between her thumb and index finger, holding the red bracelet up to her eyes for a closer look. No matter how she looked at it, it just seemed like a simple red cord with a cheap pendant—the kind that probably sold for about two dollars at a street stall.
‘Asked for from Buddha’? More like got scammed.
Ruan Qingmeng curled her lip, put the bracelet in her pocket, and turned around to put away the A-frame ladder. But after just two steps, the ache in her ankle became unbearable.
She couldn’t be bothered to tough it out. Abandoning the ladder for now, she hopped on one foot over to the lounge chair by the counter and sat down. Picking up her phone, she planned to send a WeChat message to Ruan Qingcheng later, asking him to come and take care of it.
It’s not like this guy has anything to do at home all day anyway.
After sending the WeChat message, her gaze drifted casually across the table. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted an open book lying alone on the counter.
Ruan Qingmeng frowned and leaned forward.
She always tidied and organized the books in the shop on the same day, never leaving them lying around haphazardly, and especially not on the counter.
Remembering the girl muttering over a book earlier, she understood.
It wasn’t the first time a customer had left something behind. She had specifically set up a storage box for such items, making it easier for customers to retrieve them later.
Ruan Qingmeng pressed her fingers on the book’s cover, sliding it towards herself, while her other hand reached underneath to flip open the lid of the storage cabinet.
The book was very new, a collection of ancient poetry. The pages weren’t printed with complex patterns, just a few branches of red plum blossoms in the upper right corner. In the middle was a poem printed in black regular script, with a few small lines of annotation below.
The font was really large, as if specifically printed for elderly readers. Ruan Qingmeng wasn’t particularly interested in poetry collections, but as she glanced casually, the entire poem fell into her view, character for character.
“The west wind has aged the waves of Dongting Lake,
Overnight, the Lady of Xiang River’s hair turned white.
Drunk, I know not if the sky is in the water,
My boat laden with clear dreams seems to float on the River of Stars.”
Her hand, which was flipping the lid, suddenly froze mid-air. Her distinctively dark eyes quietly stared at the lines of poetry. Her slender, pale fingers tapped lightly on the words of the final line. The pressure she applied increased unconsciously, her nail leaving a slight indentation on the paper.
“My boat laden with clear dreams seems to float on the River of Stars,” she murmured under her breath.
It was only half past seven, and the bookstore was empty, the surroundings utterly quiet.
So quiet that a young woman’s secret feelings had nowhere to hide.
After a long while, Ruan Qingmeng finally let out a self-mocking laugh. She closed the book, didn’t look at it again, and placed it inside the storage box under the counter.
The wind chimes at the door of the Old Fisherman Bookstore tinkled in the wind. It was supposed to be a cheerful sound, but in the winter, it felt desolate instead.
Sitting in the lounge chair, Ruan Qingmeng bent over and rubbed her foot over her boot. She had sent a WeChat message to Ruan Qingcheng, telling him to remember to bring some medicated patches, and as expected, he had scolded her thoroughly.
His fiery temper hadn’t changed one bit in over twenty years.
Her phone was still buzzing on the counter. She found it tiresome and tossed it aside, pretending not to see it.
A throbbing pain came from her ankle. She was a bit delicate when it came to pain, finding even a little bit hard to bear. She took off her high-heeled boot and pressed her fingers against the swollen skin. It felt slightly warm, and the slightest movement brought a sore, itchy pain.
As if guided by some strange impulse, she pressed down hard.
“Hiss—” So painful! Tears welled up in Ruan Qingmeng’s eyes as she quickly let go. She mentally scolded herself for being masochistic, and then her thoughts began to wander uncontrollably.
I wonder if it hurt when he had his amputation back then.
It must have hurt terribly.
If just a sprain hurts this much, how much worse must it have been to have a lower leg sawn off?
But he would never say it out loud. Even if it were killing him, he’d probably just groan a couple of times.
Just like a stubborn, obstinate piece of rock.
Ruan Qingmeng sighed, stuffed her foot back into the boot, and after a moment’s thought, pulled the red cord bracelet from her pocket. She stared at the strange symbols on the pendant for a moment, then put it on her left wrist.
The left side is closer to the heart.
Can it make wishes come true?
Her original wish was probably impossible now. So, she’d change it.
Buddha, oh Buddha, if I am destined never to have He Xinghe in this life, then I beg you to bless him with a lifetime of peace and health. Let him not suffer any more hardship or torment.
I beg you to ensure his remaining years are smooth and successful.
If you can truly hear me, please, you must bless him.