It wasn’t until the next day that Yin Li finally returned . He came in the room and turned off the TV . The entertainment gossip channels were currently broadcasting the press conference clip with Yin Xuan and Yin Li . Even though Yin Li had tried to suppress the news, there still were stations that were willing to offend him for the sake of getting more viewers . Currently, the anchor was excitedly deducing why the Yin siblings had both called out for “Yan Xiao”, but with entirely different att.i.tudes . From old newspapers, one could see that Yan Xiao was Yin Li’s supposed fiancee and the actress for the main supporting character in “Only I Dance . ”

Because the press conference was cut short so abruptly, many people believed that there was something going on behind the scenes . The drama from the three of us caused the media and spectators to concoct a crazy, melodramatic story of the rich and wealthy . 　

“Yan Xiao, I’ve rescheduled all my work and have half a month of free time . ” Yin Li came over to brush my messy bangs into place .

I looked up at him . “I want to go away to a place where no one will recognize me, and just quietly stroll around . ” Yin Li had already planned to send Yin Xuan back to France to avoid the tabloids and do some introspection . But I didn’t want to go back there, too .

I was unable to confront Paris and ballet . I only recovered a small portion of my memories . Why exactly did I want to end my life in that horrific manner?

This was the first time I had felt afraid of France . I tried to use Tchaikovsky and ballet to calm myself, but facing the row of mirrors in the studio, my fears only deepened . I was unable to face myself, and I was no longer able to dance peacefully . Right now, I only wanted to go to an unfamiliar country and wander around alone . I even didn’t want Yin Li to come with me .

When Yin Li heard my thoughts, he surprisingly didn’t object . He was shockingly calm . “That’s fine . You and Xuan Xuan both need some time to yourselves . I also think solo traveling is good . Traveling and experiencing different cultures will help you be kinder to not just the world, but also to yourself .

I saw his beautiful smile and became a little lost in it .

“But I only have one request . Even if you want to travel alone, bring me along as your luggage . I just want to see the world with you . ” When he said that, his tone softened considerably .

His gaze concentrated on me, but was still calm and composed . He was sure I wouldn’t reject him, and he was right .  

I nodded .

We packed our small backpacks just like that . Without knowing a lick of Spanish, we appeared in Mexico City .

Mexico City was dusty . The streets were filled with bright, colorful graffiti . This was a wild, crowded, lively, and unfamiliar place .

Yin Li and I quickly became lost in the crowd . The various foreign people and languages made me happy . Here, there were no Asians . All the natives that pa.s.sed us gave us strange looks and pointed . We only walked the length of one block before we were stopped by four people asking for a picture . Surprisingly, I wasn’t offended . Here, away from the close gaze of the media, there were no paparazzi . There was only the naive curiosity of the people .

We were only pa.s.sing travelers . I felt at ease and happy .

They thought of us as novel, and likewise, we thought the same about them .

Yin Li could speak beautiful, fluent French and English . But when it came to Spanish, he was hopeless . The locals didn’t seem to know much English either . I saw Yin Li gesture and wave his arms around when he tried to order food and ask for directions . When he became anxious, he lost his calm, restrained demeanor . “Dos! Dos!” Sometimes, his eyes would bulge and he would stick up two fingers . He wanted to use his newly-learned Spanish to stress that he wanted two orders of the dish, not one . Surprisingly, it was kind of cute .

We ate at all the local spots . One time, Yin Li and I decided to indulge our curiosity . We ordered beer and one of each item on the menu . We purposely sat along the breezy promenade . I was sitting on an elevated chair and swung my feet . We ate avocado-topped tacos and other foreign dishes I can’t remember the name of .

“I’m going to gain so much weight from this vacation . When I get back, I’ll have to go on a diet to maintain my figure . ” As I stuffed food in my mouth, I jokingly lamented . “I feel like I’ve never eaten this happily before . ”

Yin Li drank his beer and only looked at me .

I rubbed my tummy and also took a sip of the beer . Then I scooched closer and faced Yin Li .

“Now that I think about it, I still hate you a little,” I said gloomily .

“Right now, I don’t even want to dance anymore . I don’t know what memories I’ve lost, but clearly they weren’t as happy as I thought . In my past, there was also pain . I feel conflicted . To be honest, I really hate you . ” Yin Li showed me how wonderful the outside world could be . Humans are lazy by nature . Compared to sweating it out in the practice studio, eating and sitting outside was infinitely better . I took a big gulp of the Caldo de Res, a Mexican beef soup .

In that moment, three Mexican street performers strolled into the shop . They stopped in front of a table . Bursting with energy and joy, they played the accordion, fiddle, and saxophone for the couple sitting at the table . The couple put down their utensils and begun clapping with an uncontainable smile on their faces . It sounded like a merry tune . Nearby, a few Mexican hombres started to sing . The couple then stood up and started dancing and twirling about . The area sounded with rhythmic clapping . They were cheering something in Spanish . In response, the couple abandoned their table, walked outside, and danced uninhibited . Other diners and pa.s.sersby soon joined in on the dancing .  

The shop owner didn’t nag the customers to pay their bills . In fact, he didn’t raise an eyebrow to this at all . He merely laughed along from the sidelines .

See? Isn’t the world so full of color and life?

This wonderful, colorful mortal world has joys aplenty that entice and slowly wear down a person’s willpower .

I felt happy—happier than when I did beautiful ballet pirouettes .

To the rhythm, I dragged Yin Li out of his seat and into the dancing crowd .

The Mexicans finally noticed the foreign travelers, namely Yin Li and I . Their clapping became even more lively . The three street performers circled in front of us and started playing with even more gusto .

They all had smiling, warm-hearted expressions .