She is a new comer on skype .He ever strongly recommended skype to her,boasted its tremendous advantages and finally successfully talked her into being a skype user. He helped her download,install and create a username; skype has turned out to be a good bridge of communication between them and offered them a good chance to be able to communicate freely when both are available .

That afternoon he came back from his routine work to the office and turned on the computer ,as is his habit formed not long ago ,and noticed she is on line .In fact ,since she became his dearest contact on skype ,his most thrilling excitement is to see she is on line ;he took the attitude to ignore almost all his other contacts and paid little attention to their existence when she is there on skype .As usual he typed a few greeting words to her ;immediately she typed back .After chatting for a few minutes she said she felt a little gloomy that day ;the reason is unknown though .He said something encouraging trying to comfort and cheer her up .She thought his words reasonable and kept quiet for a while .A few minutes later an idea hit her that she would like to have an evening walk together with him .This idea came so suddenly that he was not fully prepared ;while it has long been his strong desire to take such walks with her ,he dare not ; he just lacks enough courage . He is the kind of person who likes to deal with things especially those sensitive with caution ,and he’s really afraid that their walking might attract somebody else’s attention ,and so rumors may arise and are likely to spread around .As a result he gave her an abrupt refusal with the excuse that Monday evening was his duty time ,which made her heart sink .She didn’t give up however .She typed back and requested him to change his duty time to another day ;again he turned her down and excused himself by saying it was too late to do so; but she was determined and insisted he do so and threatened she would be very sad and even cry if he should refuse her another time .His heart softened and was touched ;anyway he understand himself well that in his innermost heart she occupies a very important position –he loves her.

This way he accepted her offer and promised to have dinner together that evening .They decided on a dining place—a very good restaurant characterized by and known for its porridge .She chose this place for she knew he likes drinking porridge. Soon time came; all the others went home for supper; she rode alone to the decided place first ,and he would join her by taxi a few minutes later.

The moment he got out of the taxi at one side of the street across which is the restaurant gate where she was standing waiting ,she caught sight of him and shouted :hey,I am here.He quickly crossed the street and joined her only to be told that the dinning place was so crowded and there were no empty seats at all .They had to leave and walked down the street eastward aimlessly, hoping to find a proper place to eat though neither of them was feeling hungry. At last they walked  into a small quiet dumpling inn that sits on a dark ,narrow and quiet street .Nobody was dinning there except a waitress who was watching TV and rose to receive them as they entered. They took seats just near the door and ordered two bowls of dumplings; they chatted while eating ;the small inn was filled with joyous and happy atmosphere ;a really simple yet pleasant dinner.

Then they were outside again; ten minutes later they found themselves walking south along a wide street through a in-the-city village until they arrived where two main streets meet .It’s right here that they decided they should choose a relatively dark and quiet place to continue their meeting. So they came to a newly-built street ,very wide but with no streetlights .Surely few people were here : the street was so dark and the weather was so cold with bone-numbing wind blowing strongly .They walked along the right side of the street ;then they stopped at the middle section to have a rest ;they were just standing there in freezing cold on the sideway, her bycicle aside .They talked a lot about many things ranging from their work to family affairs; the weather was terribly cold, yet inside their hearts they both felt very warm.

Once for a while the cold made him shiver as he wasn’t wearing thick, and what’s worse, he didn’t even have a hat or something else to protect his head from cold. She came to realize this and offered him her own scarf; she stepped forward to help him put on the scarf around his neck; now his ears and mouth were well under the scarf ,still giving out her sweet smell. He felt exciting warmth not only outside but also deep within his heart. She was standing in front of him, less than one foot away as she was putting her scarf around his neck, so near that he could hear her breathe and he could smell that special sweet fragrance from her hair. He loved this smell and this feeling, the feeling of happiness seldom experienced inside his heart before. The temperature inside his body was rising sharply though it was deadly cold outside. He felt a thrilling impulse going through his whole body. He knew now he had a strong desire to hug or kiss her; and it would have been so easy a thing; after all she was so near him; the only one thing he needed is to stretch out his arms and put them around her waist ; thus everything would be done. He didn’t do that, however, at the moment as he was not sure whether she would like him to do that. He loves her but also respects her. It seemed a golden opportunity slip away due to his lack of courage.

About 40 minutes later, they turned back and walked northward along the same dark cold road. It was not long before they found a more quiet path, one that was narrow, ruggy and bumpy, wild dry grass or bush shivering and rustling on both sides in the cold winter wind; obviously the path was in disrepair for long and trodden by only few people. Without any hesitation he took this path; in his eyes this little path suits them perfectly; he loves quietness and it’s quiet here; surely nobody will notice them on this lonely little path in such cold weather and dark evening; it seems the purpose of its existence is only for their visit that evening. She walked her own electrical bicycle and followed him onto this path without saying anything. They moved eastward side by side in a relatively slow pace talking low while walking. To walk a heavy electrical bicycle on such a ruggy and bumpy path on the cold dark evening is in no way an easy thing for a woman. Unfortunately, he failed to realize this at first but luckily she likes to be independent and was reluctant to ask for help, so maybe she wouldn’t take his slow reaction seriously.

He was on her left side and the bicycle on the right. Now in his mind there lingered one question ,that is, whether it’s proper to touch her a little. His mind was in fact going through a violent conflict all the evening. While he had a strong desire in his inner heart, yet every time reason was able to conquer impulse. This time, however, things were a little different; he plucked up all his courage and put his right hand on her back; he was feeling extremely excited as he was doing so; he could even hear the sound of his beating heart. He was content with himself this time anyway; he didn’t know he should have such great courage.

Time went minute by minute; they walked on. They were now treading on a south-north path, wider than the previous one they took yet just as ruggy and bumpy. They passed an observatory station, and stopped near a farm house where they felt a little warm as the farm house could serve as a shelter and the wind was checked and reduced a lot. This place seemed like an ideal harbour  to seek shelter from rough weather---for them to seek warm from cold. Happiness atmosphere was all over the harbour. Sometimes they were talking fervently; sometimes silent; whatever it is, their hearts are open and so close to each other.

Once in a while, she noticed he kept taking a look at his watch, so frequently, almost once every few minutes. “Why so?” She wondered, “maybe he is anxious to go home?” She knows he is a responsible man just as what he knows she is. She got him wrong this time. He frquently looked at his watch because he just wanted to be sure that time was not passing too quickly; and he wanted to keep this hour of happiness forever if he could. He treasured this moment and enjoyed it so much.

There’s another reason why he cared so much about time at the moment. He felt a tremendous impulse rising sharply inside his body, accompanied by evil thoughts as she called it later, that is, he hoped there would be enough time so that he could hug or even kiss her. He’s really afraid that he might lose this good opportunity, as never before had he been favored such a good opportunity—to be with her alone in a dark and quiet place like this and surely he could do anything without being noticed. Anyway he is a man of reason and knows right from wrong. He loves but also respects her. He knows it well that any improper action might offend her or even cause her deep repugnance towards him; she might disgust him and think him evil from this time on and that’s not what he is expecting. He lapsed into a deep dilemma and was at a full loss what to do. For his part he desired so much to hug or even kiss her; yet worries occupied him: he might lose her even as an ordianry friend just because of an improper action. This could well explain why he always kept his eyes on the time.

These self-contradictions plagued him for quite a while. Obviously he couldn’t bear to lose such a good opportunity. He might regret if he should lose it. This time impulse got over reason: he put both his arms around her waist and held her tightly for a moment; no language in the world can describe his feeling of excitement; just imagine what a feeling it is when you finally have got a chance to hug a woman you’re in deep love with after 10 years’ waiting. In such an enchanting atmosphere, he almost forgot himself and indulged into obsession of enjoying that comfortable feeling. Right now he was reluctant to think anything else; his head near her ears, he could easily smell her sweet fragrance; this alone could drive him crazy. He asked for more but she refused him. Her tone of refusal was that of low, gentle and sweet one, the kind a woman give only to her beloved one. In fact it was half refusal half consent. As a result he gave up his request for he respects her; he’ll never do anything against her will. On the contrary he’ll do whatever she likes to. And he’ll remember forever the words she ever said, words full of philosophy: you can never force one to do what one is unwilling to.