Another Kiss
Wang Kuishan

When Mangzi returned to the army, Xiao's went to the city to see him off.
When they got to the railway station, the booking office was not yet open. Since it was too early to buy a ticket, Mangzi and Xiao's squatted down in the square outside the station and started chatting. A moment later, Mangzi suddenly stopped talking and gazed at Xiao's blankly.
"Will you stop staring at me in that foolish way," said Xiao'e. "You look so greedy!"
Mangzi burst out laughing, "If you hadn't been staring at me in that foolish way, how could you have seen me staring at you in that foolish way?"
"Aren't you ashamed?" she spat at him.
Then, Mangzi abruptly said in a low voice, "I really want to kiss you again."
"Are you crazy?" said Xiao'e, rising to her feet. Since she had stood up, Mangzi had to follow suit.
After he stood up, he began to walk back and forth on the same spot. Then he said, as if he had made up his mind, "I won't take the next train!"
"Why not?" asked Xiao'e.
"I won't take the next train," he said. "I will take the night train. There's a train after ten o'clock."
"You have made all the arrangements, and now you say you won't take it. One idea after another!"
"I'll take the night train instead," he smiled cunningly. Then he added in a low voice, "When it's dark, I can give you another kiss. If I don't kiss you again before I go, I won't feel good when I leave." With this, without waiting for her reply, he stroke toward the avenue. Knowing his stubbornness, Xiao'e could only catch up and accompany him.
They went window shopping. While window shopping, Mangzi saw city lovers walking hand in hand, and several times he wanted to do the same, but he fell short of stretching out his hand. Later on they went for a stroll in a park. In the park, lovers sat leaning on each other or snuggled up in each other's arms. Some simply hugged and kissed each other on the lips in broad daylight. Seeing all this, Xiao'e, scared, turned and hurried back to the entrance. When Mangzi saw her leaving so quickly, he did not know what to do. "Xiao'e, Xiao'e! Stay! Do stay!" He shouted with the accent of a mountain village and in such a loud voice that he sent all the tourists nearby into hearty laughter.
Worn out by the slow passing of time, they returned to the square outside the railway station in mid-afternoon.
"There's a five o'clock train," said Xiao'e. "You might as well take that one."
"No. I definitely won't take it!" Mangzi said angrily. "I will only take the one after ten o'clock!"
"But what should I do after you leave? It's going to be midnight," she said after she thought for a moment.
"Can't you stay in a hotel?"
"You make it sound so easy," said Xiao'e. ‘A night in the hotel will cost at least eight or ten bucks."
"No big deal. We can afford it anyway," he said.
"What a swollen head!" She threw a supercilious look at him, and he started to laugh.
Suddenly they heard someone calling, "Mangzi! Mangzi!" When they looked in the direction of the voice, they saw Mangzi's father. Not knowing what had happened, Mangzi asked at once, "Dad, why are you here?"
"Didn't you say you were taking the nine o'clock train? Why are you still here? asked the father.
"I couldn't get a ticket," Mangzi said, his face reddening.
"Your mom thought it was already late, and Xiao'e hadn't returned home," his father said. "She was worried that something might have happened, so she asked me to come and pick her up."
Mangzi immediately lost his temper. "It's daytime! What could have happened?"
Knowing his son was upset, the father said haltingly, "Your mom insisted that I come. I also said everything would be all right. But she insisted."
"Go back!" Mangzi was none too friendly.
"Why go back?" said his father. "Since I'm here, I'll see you off and go home with Xiao'e."
Hearing that, Mangzi knew his plot had fallen through. Fuming with anger, he rose to his feet and went straight to the booking office. Xiao'e immediately caught up with him.
Seeing the booking office in noisy disorder while Mangzi was lining up for his ticket, Xiao'e offered her little hand to him under the pretext of thrusting a handkerchief into his hand. Unexpectedly, he rejected it, brushing it far away from him. Smiling, she poked him in the stomach and gave her hand to him again. This time, he took it, clutching it tightly and firmly for a long time. Her hand hurt so much that she started to take deep breaths, but instead of withdrawing it, she allowed him to grasp it that way.
Mangzi eventually took the five o'clock train.
Shortly before he boarded the train, he suddenly said, "Everything is so hard for us country folks!"
"What's hard?" his father threw a questioning look at him. "The bus takes you from our village to the city, and the train takes you directly from the city to the army. What's hard about that? If—"
Xiao'e threw a secret smile at Mangzi.