The Lost Tomb Vol. 8

Chapter 76: Poker-Face's Farewell

Poker-Face and I found a table by the window at the restaurant next door. The sky was overcast, cloudy and gloomy, and the dark clouds were depressing. It seemed like it would rain soon.

Poker-Face was as silent as ever, but luckily I was used to his indifference. When I finished ordering alone, I saw him silently looking out the window.

I knew that if I didn't speak, this state of his would continue until he left. He would never speak first to break the awkward silence.

After blowing in the cold wind of West Lake for five or six minutes, I lit a cigarette as the first dish was served and asked him, "Have you finished your business?"

"Mmm." He nodded his head and I realized it was true. In his eyes, the persistent aura had disappeared and was replaced with a deeper indifference. Different from the time when he lost his memory, this deeper indifference was from an extreme peace of mind.

"Is everything finished?" I asked him.

He turned to look at me: "It's over."

"What are you going to do after this? Is there any place you want to go? Or are you planning to stay in Hangzhou?" I asked, privately calculating my assets. Recently, housing prices in Hangzhou had been rising very fast. If this poor man wanted to buy a house in Hangzhou, he would certainly ask me to lend him some money! I didn't know where all his money had gone, as I had never seen him with any large bills in his pocket. Damn it, I didn't have enough money. If he really wanted to borrow money from me to buy a house, I'd better persuade him to rent it for a while.

"I have to go back to where I'm supposed to be." He said.

"Where's that? Is it far?" I asked him. He picked up the chopsticks, silently took a mouthful of food, and nodded his head.

"Then you're here..." I seldom chatted with him so seriously and felt particularly embarrassed, so I had to follow his words and ask one by one.

"I came to say goodbye to you." He said, "It's all over. I thought about it, about my relationship with the world. It seems that you're the only one I can find now."

"It's ok, you can call me in the future, or write to me. You can't type, but you can write, can't you?" I asked. "In modern society, there's no such thing as long distance."

He didn't respond and continued to eat.

Poker-Face's movements were very light, as if he didn't need to use any strength, and this was actually the reason why his wrist strength was extremely strong and his movements were so accurately controlled. When I had dinner with him before, there were always various people around and I didn't pay much attention to him, but now, I felt very amazed looking at him.

The atmosphere was silent again, and I began to miss Fatty so much. The original reason I never felt awkward was because Fatty silently paid so much attention to the atmosphere. Now there was only the two of us, and I really couldn't help it.

"Speak, where are you going? After all we've experienced, we must be life-long friends at this point. Just keep in touch." I continued, "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask me. Although I'm not rich, I can still support you with a basic life."

"I'm going to Changbai Mountain." He said.

"Oh, that's a very cold place." I said, "Jiangnan's a good place to support people, with four clear seasons and a humid climate."

"I can only go there." He said and put down his chopsticks.

After he said this sentence, we didn't have a decent conversation again. In the quiet, we finished eating silently, and I didn't feel embarrassed anymore. He put down his chopsticks, looked at me, and said, "Goodbye."