Mirror Image

As she was nearing the place, Alice noticed someone already standing before the stall. Judging from his back, he was a barefoot man with long black hair, dressed in a long robe.

This strange yet familiar attire made Alice look at him twice more. She heard him say to the stall owner:

"No, I don't need it this time."

There was an inexplicable familiarity in that voice. Alice felt something flicker through her subconscious, but she failed to grasp it. She stood there with a frown as the young man ahead suddenly turned around.

The two stared at each other from a short distance away. After a few breaths, the young man abruptly spun around and ran. Within moments, he vanished into the crowd, while the stall owner was still shouting:

"Hey, don't you want it anymore?!"

Alice froze for a moment, then instinctively chased after him.

Finding someone should have been easy for her, but after only a few steps, Alice stopped. She stood still and realized that the young man from just now had vanished without a trace while she had been stunned.

Combined with his bizarre outfit and the way he had fled the moment he saw her, the young man's identity was self-evident. Alice muttered to herself:

"Will Auceptin...

"It's not time yet..."

The time had not come, and the opportunity had not appeared. Thus, Fate had brought them together, and Fate had separated them again.

Alice frowned, shook her head, and returned. Smiling at the stall owner, she asked, "Do you know the person who just left?"

"I do. I was deeply impressed by him!" The stall owner nodded. "After all, in all these years, he's the only person I've seen who puts things like chili powder, pepper powder, and chopped ginger on ice cream."