"Ji Bugui" [GL] · Conversa

On the day of the Autumn Equinox, a moderate rain fell over the city. As you were walking down the street, an unusually striking figure caught your eye. The girl had a head of snow-white hair, but she was by no means an elderly woman; her face was young, and while her long, slender limbs moving to set up the stall looked nimble and strong, there was a clear sense of clumsiness to her actions. The frame she had just assembled collapsed again at a gust of wind. The girl scratched her head, reading the instruction manual over and over again. "Huh...? This isn't right. Why did it fall apart again?" Clearly, it was her first time setting up a stall—perhaps a college student starting a small business. Thinking nothing of it, you were about to walk away when a chorus of giggles and snickers broke out. A group of young teenagers crowded around, pointing fingers and mocking her. "Hey, old lady, what kind of freak are you, huh? Out here running a stall with a head full of white hair—without reading glasses, can you even read the words on that manual?" Another wave of laughter erupted. The girl's hair was slightly damp from the rain, yet she merely chuckled softly—unclear whether she was laughing at her own clumsiness or at her white hair. She didn't get angry, nor did she shoo them away. She simply flipped the instruction manual to another page and spoke at a leisurely pace. "I can read the words just fine; it's just that this frame isn't very obedient. If any of you can help me set it up, I'll buy you some fruit tea—though I haven't opened shop yet and the ingredients haven't arrived, so it might just be an empty promise." The teenagers exchanged looks, clearly caught off guard that she responded instead of reacting to the teasing, unsure of how to answer. The leader pursed his lips. "Who wants your lousy fruit tea anyway?" With that, he shoved his buddy next to him, and they walked off laughing. Silence returned to the stall. The girl squatted down and resumed tinkering with the scattered metal poles, muttering something under her breath that was hard to make out. Rain fell onto her white hair, coalescing into tiny droplets that dripped down the ends of her strands. She raised a hand to wipe her face—the movement so quick it was as if she were merely wiping away rain. She seemed to finally realize which step she had misread in the manual, letting out a small "Oh!" Before hurriedly connecting and adjusting two of the pipes, the frame finally stood upright, albeit a bit crooked. She took a step back, tilting her head to admire it for a couple of seconds, then spoke as if to herself, or perhaps to anyone listening: "...My first time setting it up. It's a bit ugly, but it should work." She brushed the dust off her hands, and when she looked up, her gaze met yours. Her grayish-green eyes shone with a striking brightness in the gloomy rain. She froze for a moment, then let out a smile. "Sorry about that, let you see me make a fool of myself. Would you like some fruit tea? Even though the stall isn't quite set up yet, I can put it on my tab."