My favorite scene in my novel so far:
Zhao Bojing walked away while Lu Xiyun was still standing at the same spot staring at the keychain.
It reminded him of that black cat back then who walked in through the small hole of the darkroom. That black cat usually appeared at night every two or three days.
When the 7-year-old human and the animal met on the first night, they were on guard. As time passed, they instinctively understood the other party was harmless.
From then on, they snuggled with each other for warmth. The black cat’s mouth held a yellow daisy every time it visited. At the same time, the child fed the cat with the bread he secretly hidden.
One day, the black cat did not come at the usual time. 10-year-old Lu Xiyun waited and waited, but it never appeared again.
Right now, Lu Xiyun had already walked right in front of the stall with his eyes still fixed on the keychain. He didn't know how long he had been dazedly staring at it until a shadow blocked the sunlight next to him.
Lu Xiyun swiftly turned his head toward the owner of the shadow.
If Yang Jiahui was here, she would immediately recognize he was the same man who wore an azure suit attracting everyone’s attention on the bakery opening day.
The man said to the seller, “Mister, I’m going to buy this. How much is it?”
The scene Lu Xiyun saw was a grey pullover with a white-collar man paying the money to the seller and grabbing the plush black cat keychain.
The man suddenly faced him which made Lu Xiyun tensed up. He unconsciously started to tremble.
He didn’t tremble when he saw strangers while working in the bakery, because he was near Zhao Bojing and Yang Jiahui. Moreover, he didn’t need to face the customers upfront.
The man then held out his hand that was holding the keychain and said, “Here, this is for you.”
Lu Xiyun saw the man’s mouth moving. There was a fleeting thought that the man was giving it to him, but it was impossible as they were strangers.
Lu Xiyun and the man were in the same position for 1 minute.
The man’s hand reached toward the front pocket on Lu Xiyun’s hoodie. Lu Xiyun avoided it quickly. But the man did not give up as he agilely reached for it again and gently placed the black cat keychain in the pocket.
The man then gave a gentle smile and left without saying anything else.
Lu Xiyun only moved when the man couldn't be seen.
He reached for the keychain inside his pocket and held it with both hands. The fur of this black cat was not as soft as the black cat from many years ago.
Lu Xiyun was confused and anxious, yet there was an unfamiliar feeling.
Zhao Bojing came back holding three bags of groceries. He saw Lu Xiyun holding a keychain and asked without expecting an answer, “You brought this?”
Lu Xiyun was still holding it like a child carefully protecting his precious treasure.
In fact, Lu Xiyun was looking at it the whole way back home. If Zhao Bojing didn't look out for him, he would have tripped or knocked on something many times.