The Fourth Pill

Divine Guidance

For several consecutive nights, Gui Tingyue had trouble falling asleep.

But her state was different from before – it had nothing to do with emptiness or melancholy. Instead, she was racking her brain, trying to figure out how to get to know the man across the street.

Depression and medication had dulled her thinking process.

Apart from orchestrating a chance encounter and seizing the opportunity to strike up a conversation, she couldn’t think of a better way.

Meanwhile, Gui Tingyue’s frequency of observing (spying on) him increased daily—morning, noon, and night—because she needed to know when he left home so she could quickly plan an appropriate move.

Auntie Li, who lived under the same roof, had excessive preoccupation with the drumming sounds and the drummer himself. One day at the dining table, she couldn’t help but mention: “I was chatting with Granny Zhang at the entrance of the opposite building this morning and saw that young drummer.”

Gui Tingyue, who had been quietly picking up food, looked up at her with bright eyes.

Auntie Li continued, “He was wearing a cap, tall and thin. But he was walking too fast for me to get a good look at his face. Granny Zhang said he’d been reported by other residents in the same building, and the property management came to talk to him yesterday.”

Gui Tingyue frowned slightly, puzzled, and said, “But he doesn’t drum during quiet hours, so why would he be reported?”

Auntie Li sighed, “Not everyone likes that kind of sound.”

Gui Tingyue defended him, “But I’ve never heard of the piano students around here being reported.”

Auntie Li replied, “That’s different.”

Gui Tingyue’s tone was tinged with indignation, “How is it different?”

Aunt Li was silent for a few seconds, “Piano sounds more elegant.”

Gui Tingyue lowered her eyes, picking at her rice with the tip of her chopsticks, “I don’t think there’s a difference between musical instruments.”

After lunch, Gui Tingyue returned to her room, restless for a few hours, worried that she might never hear her daily tonic again.

But at four in the afternoon, the familiar drumming shattered the monotonous and dull afternoon, breathing new life into it.

She happily ran out of her bedroom and onto the balcony, becoming a punctual die-hard fan.

The man’s state was completely unaffected.

The drumbeats were as unrestrained as ever, dense words carved into the air, written in wild cursive, composing a rousing battle hymn.

Gui Tingyue propped her chin with one hand, smiling faintly, thinking how unnecessary her worries were.

After the drumming stopped, he went to the living room again. Gui Tingyue hurried back to the window and unfolded her telescope.

Today, he was still in a black T-shirt, his side profile sharp, his eyelids drooping indifferently, his bangs a bit messy.

He seemed to be going out, casually taking a black baseball cap from the hook by the door and putting it on.

The next moment, his face turned slightly towards her direction, a small but unexpected movement.

Gui Tingyue was startled, ducking down to hide herself as if avoiding a stray bullet.

After crouching for a full minute, Gui Tingyue suppressed her frantic heartbeat and slowly stood up.

The entryway was already empty.

Had he already left? Gui Tingyue guessed, opening the window and leaning out to look downstairs.

Soon, Gui Tingyue was reassured because the man walked out from the entrance.

At this hour, there were many children running and playing downstairs, like colorful candies rolling around, making him seem out of place, like a sharpened black pencil.

He was deliberately avoiding the crowd, but still, a little boy in red, walking backwards quickly while screaming to his companions, bumped into his stomach.

He stopped and steadied the child. The boy was startled and looked up at him.

He probably asked a couple of questions, and the little boy shook his head vigorously before quickly distancing himself and running away with his little friend.

He continued walking, his pace becoming increasingly hurried.

Gui Tingyue couldn’t help but smile as she watched, then after a moment, she came to her senses and turned around to walk towards the entryway.

She pulled out a mask and put it on, throwing out a “I’ll be back soon” before rushing to the elevator.

Auntie Li’s delayed response was blocked behind the door.

Gui Tingyue jogged into the elevator, panting, and pressed 1F.

What was she doing?

Gui Tingyue’s thoughts were in chaos because of her impulsive action that lacked forethought—was it to follow him or catch up to him? And what if she really caught up to him? What would she say if?

But soon, self-reflection turned into self-encouragement, self-indulgence, and self-justification.

Just let things happen naturally, she comforted herself, and with her hands slightly clenched into fists, she walked out of the elevator and headed towards the main gate of the community.

Gui Tingyue’s spontaneous plan to strike up a conversation failed halfway through.

She lost him.

To be more precise, the attempt was doomed from the start. After going downstairs, she didn’t see him again.

She had acted too slowly. Gui Tingyue returned home dejectedly and couldn’t even taste the flavors of her meal.

In the following days, Gui Tingyue tried every means to stake out and pay attention to his whereabouts, waiting for an opportunity to act. However, that man seldom went out, he was tall with long legs, and walked very fast, so even when she had a chance, she couldn’t keep up.

But it wasn’t all in vain. Gui Tingyue took the opportunity to figure out his frequency of going out.

He was very mysterious, like a solitary ascetic, only going out on rainy days or after sunset, mostly to purchase items or pick up deliveries.

Since this path wasn’t working, Gui Tingyue tried a new approach, giving up waiting at home and instead going downstairs to take a walk for an hour or two at the times he usually went out.

Her activity area was basically centered on his building, expanding outwards in small circles, wandering round and round.

This continued for a week, but Gui Tingyue still only heard his sound without seeing the person.

Her diary was filled with her daily unsuccessful attempts at making friends.

After putting a period at the end and closing the pages, Gui Tingyue helplessly held her forehead, wondering what happened to the “perseverance pays off” and “what you seek is seeking you”.

Before going to bed, Gui Tingyue took her sleeping pills and took out a wishing coin she had received during a tour years ago from her bedside drawer. She prayed in her heart: Please let me talk to him tomorrow. Heads means I’ll see him, tails means I won’t. Please give me heads.

Then she flipped it high, watching it spin mid-air, and as it fell, she quickly snatched it back to the back of her hand, then opened it.

It showed the side with the star and moon magic circle.

Heads.

Gui Tingyue’s heart lifted for a moment, and she also curled up the corners of her mouth in pleasant surprise.

Getting the ideal result, she felt much more at ease and slept dreamlessly through the night.

The next day, the weather was bad. The sky was gray and gloomy, staring down at the world, but Gui Tingyue’s mood was bright with anticipation.

Around ten o’clock, Auntie Li, who was marinating chicken wings in the kitchen, suddenly called out: “Yueyue, are you going out today?”

Gui Tingyue turned her head from the sofa: “I am going out.”

Auntie Li walked over to her with a soy sauce bottle in her hand: “We’re out of light soy sauce. I meant to buy it this morning but forgot. If it’s convenient when you go out, can you get a bottle for me?”

Gui Tingyue nodded: “I’ll go buy it now.”

Auntie Li said: “No rush, I see there’s still some at the bottom of the bottle, enough for lunch.”

Gui Tingyue got up and walked towards the entryway: “It’s fine, I have nothing to do right now anyway.”

Walking out of the building, Gui Tingyue jogged to the convenience store at the entrance of the community.

She had purposely worn lightweight running shoes.

Thanks to the “chasing scenes” she had been secretly doing recently, Gui Tingyue felt her body was lighter, and no longer seemed heavy or cumbersome.

Entering the convenience store, the cashier behind the counter smiled at her.

Gui Tingyue asked, “Where’s the soy sauce?”

The cashier pointed to a section.

Gui Tingyue nodded slightly, thanked her, and walked to the indicated shelf.

She stopped in front of the neatly arranged seasoning section, recalling the brand of the soy sauce Auntie Li had mentioned, her gaze immediately scanning over the various bottles.

Gui Tingyue quickly locked onto it, took down a bottle, thought for a moment, then took another, holding one in each hand like dumbbells, and walked towards the checkout counter.

Just as she was about to walk out of the narrow aisle, a tall, thin man passed by in front of her, carrying a shopping basket, wearing a black cap and black T-shirt, walking neither fast nor slow.

As if pressing a pause, Gui Tingyue froze in place.

It was him.

In person, he looked younger than through the lens, and more distinct, from head to toe.

From the side, he had a very youthful thinness, but his gait was casual, with the nonchalance of someone who had seen it all.

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump.

Gui Tingyue didn’t blink, her surroundings blurred, all was silent except for her wildly pounding heart, her thoughts swirling like boiling water.

The person she had been watching from afar was now right in front of her. She guessed that maybe, last night’s wishing coin might really have been divine guidance.