"You're here! We've been looking for you for so long!" Sayma said, slightly out of breath.Alif suddenly came running from behind her and grabbed our hands, shouting, "They're performing the dragon dance—hurry up!"As we rushed out of the crowd, I looked back at him once more. There he was. The lights from the lanterns reflected on his face, making him shine like an idol on stage. I wanted to be his number one fan.
After enjoying the dragon dance, we wandered around the stalls. We tried calligraphy, paper cutting, and more. Each stall had friendly teachers giving instructions, and Sayma and Alif recorded everything to make a vlog.Then I saw her—a beautiful Chinese teacher crafting something delicate using colorful pipe cleaners. She wore a stunning hanfu, and she was so graceful that the word "漂亮 (piàoliang)" slipped from my mouth without thinking. I quietly took her photo as she worked. My friends and I stood there for a while, mesmerized.Looking at her, a thought crossed my mind: If Teacher Wang saw her, he'd definitely fall for her instead. She was that pretty. But then it hit me—I hadn't seen Teacher Wang anywhere. My eyes started searching the crowd again, hoping to spot either him or that Chinese boy.
The cultural performances began soon after. One by one, we watched every performance, enjoying them all. The final act was a dance performance, and among the dancers—I saw her again, that same beautiful teacher. I couldn't help but record the whole performance, keeping her in focus.
By the time it ended, it was already 8:30 p.m. The stalls were closing, and people were heading home. Just then, a familiar melody floated through the air—"Perfect." Both Sayma and I gasped at the same time. "It's our song!" she shouted. She ran to Alif, she was standing a little far away, handed phone to Alif, and said, "Record this!" Then she ran back to me, grabbed my waist, and started to dance.
"Baby, I'm dancin' in the dark, with you between my arms, barefoot on the grass, while listenin' to our favorite song…" floating all around.
At 9 p.m., we finally decided to head home. My eyes kept searching for that boy one last time, but I never saw him again.Teacher Wang hadn't come either. At first, I felt disappointed, but then I remembered that stunning teacher.Somehow, I was relieved he wasn't there—I didn't want him to meet her. She seemed like someone who would be perfect for him, though that thought made me smile sadly.
Later that night near 11p.m., I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling. The room was quiet, yet a strange loneliness started to wrap around me. Maybe it was because of that boy—his face, his song—it all replayed in my mind. That time, I felt the need to have a boyfriend. Someone young and beautiful...maybe just like him. I wanted to know his name, and who he was, but I didn't know if our paths would ever cross again.
Just then, my phone buzzed.
"How was today's event?"
It was from an unknown number. No—not exactly unknown. I knew the number, but not the person. For months, I had been receiving messages like this from different numbers. Even when I blocked one, another message would appear from a new one. Eventually, I gave up. The messages came almost every night around this time,sometimes not even checking.
At first, I was deeply afraid— I knew this person stalked me. But since he never showed up or escalated his actions, I had learned to stop caring but that night I felt different. In the grip of that intense loneliness, I felt like replying. I just wanted to talk to someone, anyone, even a stranger.