Forty-two, The Poignant Feelings in Poetry (2)

  After walking for a while, Ouyang Xiao pointed to the stone benches not far away and said, "Mu Xian, I'm a bit tired from walking. Let's go sit over there for a bit."

  "Alright," I nodded, "we were going to come to the square to admire the moon, almost forgot about it, just in time, we can rest while admiring the moon."

  I walked with Ouyang Xiao to the stone bench, sat down and rested. Ouyang Xiao put her handbag and small leather bag on another stone bench beside us, while the rose I gave her was placed on top of the handbag.

  At this time, the moon had just risen and was still a dark yellow.

  "I remember when I was a kid, it was almost Mid-Autumn Festival, I went to my uncle's house, they lived in the countryside. At night, my cousin and I went to the fields to catch crickets. On the way back, I saw a huge moon, it was the most impressive one I've ever seen in all these years. I felt like it was even bigger than the moon on Mid-Autumn Festival," I said while gesturing to Ouyang Xiaoxiao.

  "The room where I sleep has a very large window, and when I couldn't fall asleep at night, I would open the curtains to look at the moon and stars. However, I have never seen a moon as big as you described. But one time, I woke up around 2 am, and the whole house was lit up, so I got up and looked out of the window, only to find that it had snowed heavily outside." said Ouyang Xiaoxiao.

  "It would be great if it could snow now, this hot weather is almost unbearable," I said.

  "You've brought Dou E back to life, it might be snowing now," Ouyang Xiaoxiao smiled, "But I still think summer is better than winter, although it's a bit hotter and there are more mosquitoes."

  "But in the summer, I easily get dizzy and sleepy during the day, and at night it's too hot to sleep. I think winter is better, the quilt is so warm, you can sleep in as long as you want," I said.

  "I think girls like summer more," said Ouyang Xiaoxiao.

  "Why?" I asked.

  "Because I can wear beautiful dresses and walk on the street with a high rate of people turning their heads," said Ouyang Xiaoxiao with a smile.

  "That's no good either, wearing too little, taking the bus and it's easy to get molested," I retorted.

  "Then take a taxi," said Ouyang Xiaoxiao.

  "But it costs a lot of money," I said.

  "Well, it can't be helped then. The bus doesn't want to squeeze in and the taxi won't start, so it's better not to go out."

  "By what you're saying, it seems like people as poor as me shouldn't live."

  "I didn't tell you not to live, it's what you said, girls wear less and take the bus inconveniently." Ouyang Xiaoxiao explained.

  "Alright, I won't argue with you anymore, lest you say I'm poor. Let's change the subject a bit. You said that in summer, the girls on this street wear thinner and less clothing than each other, all of them can wear three-inch sleeves but not four inches. This makes men inevitably take an extra glance, and also inevitably have some improper thoughts. These girls then get unhappy, saying you men are all alike, both lustful and unscrupulous. But they don't think about who caused this?"

  "You say, walking on the street, exposing chest and back, exposing buttocks and thighs, can't this man's mind be distracted? If not harassing them, who is being harassed?"

  Ouyang Xiao burst out laughing, "Haha! Su Mu Xian, I thought you were speaking up for the girl earlier, but it turns out you're actually standing up for the guy! Alright, let's talk about sexual harassment. Let me give you an example. If you see a beautiful and expensive ring in a store window that you can't afford, what do you do? Do you just go ahead and steal it? Isn't this the same logic? Just because a girl is pretty and dresses revealingly, doesn't mean she's your girlfriend. You think you can take advantage of her and get some benefits from her just because of how she looks? Is that okay?"