Petit à petit, Yuan fait son nid.

 Lesson 36: Look up and down… 

Today, I went to the printer’s office to check the work they already did on the upcoming Muzi product leaflets. The printer’s office is on Level 12 of the building so, after I got into the elevator, I pressed the number 12 button to get there. But before the doors of the elevator could close, suddenly a man entered in it, stretched forth his hand, and pressed the number 10 button. We were alone in the elevator.

What I immediately disliked was that the man kept peeping at me; he even moved slightly to stand closer to me. Every time I felt his shoulders turn slightly towards me, I immediately began to look down at the floor, but I could still feel his eyes sneaking around my body…

Finally, we reached the 10th floor and the doors opened; the man walked outside…

After I came back home, I told Jose about that unpleasant experience.

He burst into laughter saying, “Hahhh, I am not surprised.”

“Looking down at the floor? It is a typical Chinese woman’s behavior? Next time this happens, I have a better subterfuge for you.” Jose said.

“What?”

“Instead of looking down, you should look up. Look directly into the man’s eyes. Believe me, it will be his turn to look down at the floor; not you.” Jose said.

“Why?”

“Because it would be totally unexpected for the man, and he will feel very bad and embarrassed, hence he will have to look down at the floor himself.”

I smiled, “Ahhhh, I am not surprised, you said that out of your experiences, right?“

Jose laughed, “No. I have seen that many times but I am not that looking-down type.”

“Then what is your type?”

Jose said, “My type is to smile in such circumstances. If you look directly at me, I will simply smile to you. Which will make you feel awkward, and don’t know what to do. So you have two choices, either smile with me or look down at the floor yourself.”

… I bit my lips and asked him, “Then what will you do?”

“Me? I will keep smiling and enjoying looking at you, such a beautiful girl, looking at you makes me feel happy, so why not?”

Hmmmmmm…

Jose laughed, “Yuan, you see, I just want you to know that smile is a very vigorous power, for man.”